We are all mutants
First direct whole-genome measure of human mutation predicts 60 new mutations in each of us
Each one of us receives approximately 60 new mutations in our genome from our parents.
  First 'living' laser made from kidney cell
It's not quite Cyclops, the sci-fi superhero from the X-Men franchise whose eyes produce destructive blasts of light, but for the first time a laser has been created using a biological cell.
  Brain scan identifies patterns of plaques and tangles in adults with Down syndrome
In one of the first studies of its kind, UCLA researchers used a unique brain scan to assess the levels of amyloid plaques and neurofibrillary tangles ― the hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease ― in adults with Down syndrome.
  Cooling the brain during sleep may be a natural and effective treatment for insomnia
Study finds that treatment with frontal cerebral thermal transfer can eliminate insomnia symptoms
  Under pressure, sodium, hydrogen could undergo a metamorphosis, emerging as superconductor
In the search for superconductors, finding ways to compress hydrogen into a metal has been a point of focus ever since scientists predicted many years ago that electricity would flow, uninhibited, through such a material.
  Science explains ancient copper artifacts
Researchers reveal how prehistoric Native Americans of Cahokia made copper artifacts
Mother hopes to donate womb to her daughter
A 56-year-old says she hopes to become the first woman to have her womb transplanted into her daughter.
  A Defect That May Lead to a Masterpiece
In learning to draw or paint, it helps to have a sense of composition, color and originality.
  Low-carbohydrate, high-protein diets may reduce both tumor growth rates and cancer risk
Eating a low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet may reduce the risk of cancer and slow the growth of tumors already present, according to a study published in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
Copper folds protein into precursors of Parkinson's plaques
Researchers at North Carolina State University have figured out how copper induces misfolding in the protein associated with Parkinson's disease, leading to creation of the fibrillar plaques which characterize the disease.
  Heart Without Beat or Pulse Could Save Lives
For decades, the quest for the perfect artificial heart has been wrought with many technical challenges that have made it difficult to design a device that mimics the living, pumping organ.
Sleep position during pregnancy 'link to still-birth'
Pregnant woman sleeping Even among the women surveyed who lay on their right, the risk remained extremely small
Neutrinos change flavors while crossing Japan
By shooting a beam of neutrinos through a small slice of the Earth under Japan, physicists say they've caught the particles changing their stripes in new ways.
MIT research: Life after 'Snowball Earth'
New fossils suggest rapid recovery of life after global freeze
Dawn of agriculture took toll on health
Global review of research on stature and health during agriculture transition finds consistent trends, Emory University survey finds
Protein from Bones of 600,000-Year-Old Mammoth Extracted Successfully
Researchers from the University of York and Manchester have successfully extracted protein from the bones of a 600,000-year-old mammoth, paving the way for the identification of ancient fossils.
Tasty Mushrooms From Dirty Diapers
Changing a dirty diaper isn't a fun job. Eating a diaper is even less fun, but luckily there is a fungi that can do just that.
Spying Devices Found on Thousands of Hong Kong Cars
Note to drivers and passengers travelling through Hong Kong: Mum's the word.
  After 55 years, surgery restores sight
After being hit in the eye by a stone, a detached retina left a man blind in his right eye.
Postnatal depression linked to depression in offspring until age 16
Fortunately, postnatal depression often resolves itself in the weeks following childbirth.
How many US deaths are caused by poverty, low levels of education and other social factors?
A new study finds that the numbers are in the same range as deaths from heart attacks and stroke
Breeding with Neanderthals helped humans go global
WHEN the first modern humans left Africa they were ill-equipped to cope with unfamiliar diseases. But by interbreeding with the local hominins, it seems they picked up genes that protected them and helped them eventually spread across the planet.
No healing in a vacuum
Negative-pressure wound therapy probably does not promote healing.
Restoring memory, repairing damaged brains
Biomedical engineers analyze -- and duplicate -- the neural mechanism of learning in rats
Close Up, Mercury Is Looking Less Boring
For years, many planetary scientists did not express much curiosity about Mercury, which looked gray and cratered - a slightly larger version of the Moon.
Chinese medicine offers new Parkinson's treatments
A hooked herb, root extract and a dash of bark – it may sound like a witches' brew, but these compounds could provide treatments for diseases that have so far foiled western doctors, such as Parkinson's and irritable bowel syndrome.
Honda Owner Nears One Million Miles
A Maine man has been racking up the mileage since 1996.
Packing the ions: Discovery boosts supercapacitor energy storage
Flat is in the eye of the beholder. When you're talking about nanomaterials, however, that eye is pretty much useless unless it's looking through an electron microscope or at a computer visualization.
NOAA Makes It Official: 2011 Among Most Extreme Weather Years in History
Near the halfway point, 2011 has already seen eight weather-related disasters in the U.S. that caused more than $1 billion in damages
$4.3 Billion Pledged at Vaccine Fund-Raiser
Public and private donors have pledged $4.3 billion toward vaccinating children against a variety of diseases, according to the GAVI Alliance, which held its first fund-raising conference for vaccines in London on Monday.
Arctic snow harbors deadly assassin
Heavy and prolonged snowfall can bring about unexpected conditions that encourage fungal growth, leading to the death of plants in the Arctic, according to experts.