Science News

Two possible Ebola cases in Brazil ruled out as patients test negative

The two patients had recently returned from the DR Congo and Uganda respectively.

Why cats prefer silver vine to catnip and other May highlights

Prehistoric mining in the Pyrenees, a new species of tiny blue octopus, slapstick acoustics, and more.

The devastating reality of life with endometriosis

Emma Barnett exposes the devastating reality of endometriosis and its toll on women.

Moderna gets $50 million to develop mRNA Ebola vaccine against Bundibugyo

Amid a raging Ebola outbreak, officials "urgently accelerate development" of vaccines.

'Transformative' pancreatic cancer drug doubles survival time

People with advanced pancreatic cancer taking an experimental daily pill lived nearly twice as long as those receiving…

Do turmeric and curcumin have any actual health benefits?

Turmeric is heralded for its anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties, but columnist Alice Klein finds that the…

A golden age of maths is dawning and mathematicians are freaking out

Mathematicians are stunned at the progress AI is making in solving advanced problems, leaving some questioning whether…

Can You Stop a Hypersonic Missile?

# Summary True hypersonic weapons—those that sustain hypersonic speeds over thousands of kilometers, maneuver in…

The Dirt That Refused to Die

# Summary French biochemist Sébastien Fontaine discovered that sterilized soil continued to emit carbon dioxide for six…

Three Ebola vaccines in development amid growing outbreak fears

IAVI, Moderna and the University of Oxford are all working on new vaccines.

Huge study of Alzheimer’s genetics identifies new drug targets

Almost 50 more genes have been flagged as being linked to Alzheimer’s, along with changes in activity in crucial cells…

Five patients recover from Ebola in DR Congo and leave hospital

The four nurses - three men and a woman - received certificates to celebrate their recoveries.

Geoengineering can thicken Arctic sea ice, but for how long?

Two companies are aiming to preserve Arctic ice by pumping water onto the sheet and letting it freeze, but only one of…

Rubin Tracks Skyscraper-Size Asteroids and Failed Supernovas

The Vera C.

New solar desalination breakthrough makes fresh water without toxic brine

# Summary Scientists at the University of Rochester have developed a solar desalination system that converts seawater…

Dead whale towed ashore in Denmark ahead of autopsy

"Timmy" was found dead off the coast of Anholt despite multiple attempts to rescue it.

Brazil monitors two patients for possible Ebola infection

If confirmed, they would be the first infection cases outside Africa, since the outbreak began in DR Congo.

Creatine raise brain energy levels and slow Alzheimer's cognitive decline by 30%

# Summary Creatine, a supplement commonly used for muscle growth, crosses the blood-brain barrier and raises…

Daily pill can double survival time for deadliest cancer, trial shows

A clinical trial of 500 patients shows that a daily pill called daraxonrasib doubled survival time in advanced…

Folding Beijing

# Summary "Folding Beijing" follows Lao Dao, a 48-year-old waste processing station worker, as he waits to meet Peng Li…

Human brains are misaligned, hallucinative, stochastic parrots

On its 40th anniversary, we reassess 1986's SpaceCamp

Is it a hidden gem, a cult classic, or hopelessly dumb? We vote "all of the above."

They call it stupid hot for a reason: Heat muddles animal brains

As temperatures rise, some creatures pick fights while others struggle to learn.

Avian Visitors

Teddy Warner created "Avian Visitors," a project that uses a microphone mounted on an apartment balcony to detect and…

A pictorial introduction to differential geometry (2017)

Jonathan Gratus presents a pictorial introduction to differential geometry using 73 figures and no equations, making the…

Ebola spread in DR Congo 'alarming', charity warns, as WHO chief visits worst-hit area

Médicins Sans Frontières says that never before has an Ebola outbreak recorded so many cases so soon after its…

Memory decline after menopause linked to loss of estrogen production in brain

A Northwestern Medicine preclinical study found that women experience unique sensitivity to loss of estrogen in the…

Grifters, cynics, and true believers: The family tree of vaccine opponents

A new book looks into the long history of people who have opposed vaccines.

Iron-rich immune cells help homing pigeons navigate