A weasel has shut down the Large Hadron Collider
CERN’s Large Hadron Collider is in standby mode after a 66-kilovolt/18-kilovolt electrical transformer suffered a short circuit April 29 at 5:30 a.m. Central European Time. The culprit: A small wild…
Heartburn drugs can damage cells that line blood vessels
A popular type of heartburn medicine could hasten wear and tear of blood vessels. Proton pump inhibitors, or PPIs, gunk up cells that typically line the veins and arteries like…
Hornbills join toucans in the cool beak club
In the scorching heat of the Kalahari Desert, some birds still manage to keep their cool. Thermal imaging reveals that the southern yellow-billed hornbill (Tockus leucomelas) vents heat from its…
Bacteria resistant to last-resort antibiotic appears in U.S.
A last-ditch weapon against drug-resistant bacteria has met its match in Pennsylvania. A 49-year-old woman has tested positive for a strain of Escherichia coli resistant to the antibiotic colistin, researchers…
Bacteria-sized molecules created in lab
Scientists have created giant molecules — the size of bacteria — that may be useful in future quantum computers. The molecules of unusual size are formed from pairs of Rydberg…
How one scientist’s gut microbes changed over a year
Where you live and what you eat can rapidly affect the types of friendly bacteria inhabiting your body. To see how the microbes that inhabit the mouth and intestines change…
Sugar industry sought to sugarcoat causes of heart disease
Using records unearthed from library storage vaults, researchers recently revealed that the sugar industry paid nutrition experts from Harvard University to downplay studies linking sugar and heart disease. Although the…
There’s a new way to stop an earthquake: put a volcano in its path
Editor’s note: Science has retracted the study described in this article. The May 3, 2019, issue of the journal notes that a panel of outside experts convened by Kyoto University…
Young planets carve rings and spirals in the gas around their suns
Growing planets carve rings and spiral arms out of the gas and dust surrounding their young stars, researchers report in three papers to be published in Astronomy & Astrophysics. And…
Cell biologists learn how Zika kills brain cells, devise schemes to stop it
SAN FRANCISCO — Cell biologists are learning more about how the Zika virus disrupts brain cells to cause the birth defect microcephaly, in which a baby’s brain and head are…