All Stories by Stephen Ornes
- Health & Medicine
Mice on steroids
A new mouse study suggests the effects of steroids can last at least months. That’s long after most sporting authorities would be able to identify signs of doping in athletes.
- Earth
Energy companies triggered quakes, study says
Injecting carbon dioxide underground seems like a good way to slow down global warming. A new study shows, however, that the process could trigger earthquakes.
- Brain
Seeing without light
Many people report seeing their own hands moving in the dark, a new study finds. In these people, brain areas responsible for motion appear to fool vision centers into seeing what they would have — if there had been enough light to do so.
- Brain
Sleeping brains take a bath
During waking hours, litter builds up in the spaces between brain cells. A new study shows that during sleep, fluid from the brain and spinal cord takes out this trash.
- Earth
Water helped erect Iceland’s lava towers
Science pointed the way to understanding why these curious natural pillars form.
- Brain
One eye, 3-D
Most scientists think people need two eyes to see a flat image or movie in three dimensions. However, a new study suggests seeing in 3-D with one-eye is possible.
- Brain
Restoring a sense of touch
A zap to a monkey’s brain fools the animal into thinking its finger has been touched. The findings point to a way for artificial fingers to communicate with the brain so that touch “feels” more real.
- Health & Medicine
Veggies: A radiation shield
Here’s another reason to eat broccoli and related veggies: They protect the body’s cells from killer radiation — at least in rats.
- Health & Medicine
Mining medicine from poop
Researchers find a much less yucky way to treat people with a common killer infection.
- Chemistry
Grape scents repel mosquitoes
Safer than DEET, the new compounds could lead to insect repellents that would be affordable even in poor regions where mosquitoes carry malaria.
- Earth
Hacking the planet
The big backup plan: Scientists reluctantly consider altering Earth’s climate to head off the catastrophic effects of global warming.
- Planets
Scratching the Martian surface
What’s Mars made of? Volcanic rock, glassy particles and a poisonous rocket-fuel chemical, among other things. That’s the latest from tests by NASA’s Curiosity rover.
