Science

Science

Research May Give Potential Homicide Victims A Heads Up

9:13am October 09, 2014

by Shankar Vedantam

New research in Chicago finds that homicide victims are concentrated among a tiny network. Tracing that network might lead to public health measures to protect would-be victims.

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A comparison of reproduction numbers, or R0s, for several viruses. R0 is one measure of contagiousness.

No, Seriously, How Contagious Is Ebola?

8:22pm October 08, 2014

by Michaeleen Doucleff

A man with Ebola spent four days out in the Dallas community, possibly infecting others. So why are health officials so sure they can stop Ebola from spreading?

A collection of stills from the Skunk Bear video "Life in a Beer."

Science
Arts

VIDEO: Glimpse The History Of Life In A Beer

5:04pm October 08, 2014

by Adam Cole

It took more than a billion years of evolution to yield the biology behind a beer. Here, we bring you a video celebration of the science in a cold one.

Feeling blue? That may not be a great excuse to tuck into some mac and cheese.

Eating Comfort Foods May Not Be So Comforting After All

5:01pm October 08, 2014

by Maanvi Singh

It's tempting to seek out the mac and cheese or a pint of ice cream after a terrible, horrible, no good day. But fresh research suggests such comfort foods might not be mood boosters after all.

The history of how the birth control pill was developed in the 1950s is recounted in Jonathan Eig's new book The Birth of the Pill.

The Great Bluff That Led To A 'Magical' Pill And A Sexual Revolution

4:20pm October 08, 2014

In the '50s, four people collaborated to create a pill so women could enjoy sex. They fibbed about their motivations and skirted the law. Jonathan Eig details the history in The Birth of the Pill.

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The "blood moon" eclipse above the Washington Monument just before dawn on the National Mall, in Washington, D.C.

Science

The 'Blood Moon' Eclipse Was Quite A Show

3:45pm October 08, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The total lunar eclipse today that could be seen over North America and across the Asia-Pacific region had the added feature of a reddish hue caused by sunlight filtered through Earth's atmosphere.

Science

LED Lights Shine In Nobel Prize; Now How About Your Home?

2:24pm October 08, 2014

by Geoff Brumfiel

The time has never been better to invest in LED lighting, with the price of LED bulbs — which use the Nobel-winning blue LEDs — now below $10 each.

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Ideally, the best place to care for someone ill with Ebola is at the end of a hall in a room with its own bathroom, anteroom and entrance, says Dr. Jack Ross of Hartford Hospital.

One U.S. Hospital's Strategy For Stopping Ebola's Advance

12:22pm October 08, 2014

by Jeff Cohen

There are no known cases of Ebola in Connecticut. But a leading Hartford hospital is already updating its infection controls to stop the virus before it gets a foothold.

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Science

Nobel Committee: 3 Scientists Win Chemistry Prize

12:22pm October 08, 2014

by Richard Harris

Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner and German scientist Stefan Hell have won the Nobel Prize in chemistry for "the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy."

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The three winners of the 2014 Nobel Prize for chemistry: Americans Eric Betzig and William Moerner, and German scientist Stefan Hell.

Scientists Share Chemistry Nobel For Breakthrough In Microscopy

8:18am October 08, 2014

by Scott Neuman

Two Americans and a German get the prestigious prize for pushing back the limits of what was long thought of as an insurmountable barrier to viewing individual molecules.