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Fat Burning on the ‘fly
Insects may be useful models to understand more about metabolic dysfunction in humans. Penn State researchers found that parasite-infected dragonflies suffer the same metabolic disorders that lead to obesity and diabetes in humans. Their discovery link…
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“Special Delivery DNA” — The Discovery Files
Cornell researchers used synthetic DNA to develop inexpensive hydrogels that offer great control for drug delivery and hold promise for tissue engineering and repair. These biocompatible and biodegradable hydrogels can be easily formed into any desired…
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“Dino Dining” — The Discovery Files
Findings of palentologists from the American Museum of Natural History are forcing a revision of popular beliefs on dinosaur behavior. After re-examining fossils, they overturned a 1950s claim that theropod dinosaurs were cannibals that ate juveniles o…
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“Gas-tronomical” — The Discovery Files
Could gas conservation be another reason to diet? Maybe so, according to recent findings from researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Virginia Commonwealth University. As Americans’ waistlines have expanded over the past few d…
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“Dried Lice” — The Discovery Files
University of Utah biologists invented a hairdryer-like device — the “LouseBuster” — to rid children of head lice infestations. Their “weapon” effectively eradicates infestations with a single 30-minute treatment that requires no chemicals but instea…
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“Dimmer Switch” — The Discovery Files
Researchers from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, sent a fleet of unmanned aerial drones through the pollution-filled skies over the Indian Ocean and achieved an important milestone in tracking polluta…
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“Forecast: Extreme” — The Discovery Files
Much of the world could face longer heat waves, more intense precipitation, and other weather extremes by the end of the century, say NCAR scientists and colleagues, based on a new study using the world’s most advanced climate models. The good news is….
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“Traffic Tracker” — The Discovery Files
New technology uses cell phone positioning to identify traffic speed and congestion. Engineers from IntelliOne Technologies have developed a system that converts ordinary cell-phone signaling data to live roadway information for emergency responders an…
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“Moon Ice on the Rocks” — The Discovery Files
No ice at the poles… could it be true? Yes, if you’re talking about the moon. Despite earlier thoughts of plentiful ice at the lunar poles, astronomers from Cornell and the Smithsonian Institution, using high-resolution radar-mapping techniques, foun…
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“Gray Matters” — The Discovery Files
Multi-tasking… we all do it, but is it a good idea? Researchers at UCLA say not if you’re trying to learn something new that you hope to remember. Psychologists report that multi-tasking affects the brain’s learning systems, so we don’t learn as well…