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Tag Archives: topstories

Infectious animals

By Amanda Leigh Mascarelli / April 17, 2013

Critters spread many germs that can sicken each other — and even kill people

Posted in Animals, Body & Health | Tagged AIDS, bush meat, bushmeat, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Columbia University, Ebola, EcoHealth Alliance, ecology, emerging infectious disease, epidemic, epidemiology, feature, flu, Hendra virus, HIV, Ian Lipkin, Influenza, Jonathan Epstein, Kristine Smith, Melissa Miller, microbiology, Nipah virus, pathogen, Salmonella, salmonellosis, SARS, severe acute respiratory syndrome, simian immunodeficiency syndrome, SIV, topstories, vaccination, vaccine, zoonosis, zoonotic

Microscopic caffeine fiends

By Sid Perkins / April 15, 2013

Scientists tweaked the genes of a bacterium so that it requires caffeine to live and reproduce. Now, they can use this microbe to measure concentrations of caffeine in beverages such as soda, coffee and energy drinks. When the microbes are added to a water-weakened version of one of those drinks, the bacteria grow and the liquid turns cloudy — but only if the drink contained caffeine. In caffeine-free Coke (top left), no cloudiness appears. Credit: Barrick Lab/University of Texas at Austin

Researchers create a bacterium that can’t live or reproduce without a stimulant found in soft drinks, chocolate, coffee and tea

Posted in Microbes, Fungi & Algae | Tagged biochemist, bioengineer, caffeine, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), E. coli (Escherichia coli), gene, Genetic engineering, getinvolved, Jeffrey Barrick, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); guanine, topstories, University of Texas at Austin; Christopher Voigt

Sound cloak

By Stephen Ornes / April 14, 2013

Caption: This strange-looking cage can hide an object inside it from being detected by sound waves. Credit: L. Sanchis et al

New device hides objects from sonar

Posted in Physics, Technology & Engineering | Tagged acoustics, cloak, echo, getinvolved, Invisibility, José Sánchez-Dehesa, noise cancellation, noise cancelling, sonar, sound waves, submarines, topstories

Stem cells: The secret to change

By Alison Pearce Stevens / April 10, 2013

Unusual, versatile cells hold the key to regrowing lost tissues

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged adult stem cells, Anne Cherry, axon, cornea, dachshund, embryonic stem cells, feature, genetic disease, glaucoma, Harvard University, induced pluripotent stem cells, Iowa State University, iP stem cells, iPS cells, Iqbal Ahmad, Kyoto University, marrow, neuron, Nick Jeffery, Nobel prize, Pearson syndrome, red blood cells, retina, Robin Franklin, Shinya Yamanaka, specialization, spinal cord injury, Stem cells, topstories, University of Cambridge, University of Nebraska Medical Center, vision loss, white blood cells

Building a better battery

By Sid Perkins / April 8, 2013

Researchers designed a way to make better batteries using supersmall sulfur particles coated with titanium dioxide. Credit: Seh et al., Nature Communications (2013)

Researchers develop a way to make batteries that hold more charge and don’t weaken with age

Posted in Chemistry, Computers & Electronics | Tagged Battery, Cornell University, getinvolved, lithium-sulfur battery, materials science, nanostructure, polysulfides, Stanford University; Hector Abruña, sulfur, titanium dioxide; Yi Cui, topstories

When one question leads to another

By Susan Gaidos / April 7, 2013

Student Erika DeBenedictis spent years studying the so-called interplanetary superhighway. Her persistence paid off: In 2010, Erika placed first in the Intel Science Talent Search for her research. Credit: Martin Lo, Caltech

Young scientists find advantages to pursuing related problems — sometimes for years on end

Posted in Teaching Science, Young Scientists | Tagged American Sign Language, animal behavior, Anirudh Jain, antibiotic, audio speakers, bacteria, biocide, Brazil nut effect, Broadcom MASTERS, California Institute of Technology, Caltech, drinking water, Elizabeth Baker, Erika DeBenedictis, feature, gibbon, gorilla, Harvard, Intel International Science and Engineering Fair, Intel Science Talent Search, Intel STS, ISEF, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, John Sheppard, JPL, Kartik Sameer Madiraju, Koko, lagrange points, low frequency sound, McGill University, Meredith MacGregor, microbial fuel cells, nano silver, nanoparticles, Nanosilver, nanotechnology, NASA, nuclear fusion, observational study, science fair, Science project, scientific method, silver, space navigation, spacecraft, topstories, University of North Carolina

No high notes for these blind fish

By Stephen Ornes / April 5, 2013

This southern cavefish is blind and, new research suggests, partially deaf. But don’t feel sorry for the little fish; it may just be adapting to a dark and noisy habitat. Credit: Matthew Niemiller

Cave dwellers that can’t see are also partially deaf

Posted in Animals | Tagged Adaptation, biology, blind fish, blindness, brains, cave fish, cavefish, caves, College Park, Daphne Soares, deaf, deaf fish, evolution, getinvolved, Kentucky, Martina Bradic, neurology, neuromast, New York University, pitch, sounds, Tennessee, topstories, University of Maryland, waves

A plant enemy’s enemy

By Jill Richardson / April 3, 2013

When eaten by caterpillars, some plants can emit chemicals that signal the help of special wasps. Once called, a wasp lays its egg inside a caterpillar. Credit: Ted Turlings

Plants use chemicals to recruit help in fighting off pests

Posted in Agriculture, Chemistry, Plants | Tagged Ali Zakir, Amanuel Tamiru, Barack Obama, botany, caterpillars, corn, corn rootworms, cotton, crop protection, Desmodium, Egyptian cotton leafworm, entomology, fall armyworm, farming, feature, features, insect communications, insects, integrated pest management, John Pickett, Kenya, larvae, Marcel Dicke, Maurice W. Sabelis, mite, moths, Napier grass, nematodes, pesticides, pests, plant breeding, plant communications, plant protection, plant signaling, plants, predation, predators, priming, push-pull, Sarah Obama, stem borer, Ted Turlings, Thomas Degen, topstories, volatiles, wasp, Zeyaur Khan

Out-of-this-world atmospheres

By Stephen Ornes / March 29, 2013

This illustration depicts the planet HR 8799c (foreground) orbiting its star. Two other planets in the system can also be seen in the drawing.
Credit: Image courtesy of Dunlap Institute for Astronomy & Astrophysics; Mediafarm

Light from a distant, giant world offers clues to the gases in its atmosphere

Posted in Space | Tagged astronomy, atmosphere, Ben Oppenheimer, Earth, exoplanets, getinvolved, HR 8799, infrared, Jonathan Fortney, light, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Neptune, planets, Quinn Konopacky, radiation, Santa Cruz, Saturn, Smithsonian Institution, space, spectral lines, spectrometry, topstories, University of California, University of Toronto

This shrimp packs a punch

By Roberta Kwok / March 27, 2013

Mantis shrimp are related to crabs and lobsters. They come in a gorgeous array of colors. Credit: Roy Caldwell

Researchers learn a lot from mantis shrimp, colorful marine creatures that possess deadly weapons and complex vision

Posted in Animals | Tagged Adaptation, Amherst, animal behavior, animal communication, animal physiology, arthropod, Baltimore County, Berkeley, biomaterials, biomimicry, cavitation, crab, crustacean, David Kisailus, exoskeleton, feature, Haptosquilla trispinosa, high-speed video, hydroxyapatite, invertebrates, lobster, mantis shrimp, marine science, materials science, oceanography, photoreceptors, praying mantis, receptors, Riverside, Roy Caldwell, Santa Catalina Island, Sheila Patek, sound, stomatopod, Tom Cronin, topstories, University of California, University of Maryland, University of Massachusetts, vision

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