Science

A baby born with microcephaly in Brazil is examined by a neurologist.

Zika Is Linked To Microcephaly, Health Agencies Confirm

11:38pm March 31, 2016

by Michaeleen Doucleff

Scientists say research has establish a connection between Zika and microcephaly. More research is needed to establish how much danger a fetus is in if a pregnant woman becomes infected.

State attorneys allege that the Casa Real Health Center, a Santa Fe nursing home, is one of seven facilities that billed Medicaid and private insurers for services they couldn't have delivered, given their low staffing levels.

Industrial Science Hunts For Nursing Home Fraud In New Mexico Case

8:00pm March 31, 2016

by Ina Jaffe

New Mexico is using time-motion studies to sue a chain of nursing homes for fraud. State prosecutors say the facilities couldn't possibly have provided the care promised — and billed for.

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The Secret, Social Lives Of Mountain Lions

5:00pm March 31, 2016

by Melodie Edwards

Mountain lions are known to be scary lone hunters, but a biologist aims to prove us wrong with thousands of videos showing the big cats in their natural habitat.

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FDA Approves Experimental Zika Screening For Blood Donations

4:27pm March 31, 2016

On Wednesday, the FDA approved an experimental test that screens blood donations for the Zika virus. It's a response to a blood donation shortage in Puerto Rico, where local donations were halted out of fear of spreading the virus.

A map by cartographer Andy Woodruff shows the coastlines around the world from which you could "see" Australia and Oceania, if you could follow your gaze around the Earth's curvature.

What's Over The Horizon? Cartographer Traces 'Beyond The Sea'

4:26pm March 31, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

From the beaches of New England, you could be looking toward Africa, Australia, Europe or South America. Andy Woodruff has illustrated the surprising paths we'd trace if we could follow our gaze.

Science

Tundra Issue: How To Keep Oil Workers From Crossing Paths With Bears

3:11pm March 31, 2016

by Rachel Waldholz

March is when oil equipment starts using ice roads on the Alaskan North Slope. It's also when polar bears and cubs emerge from dens. Aerial spotters find dens so roads and workers can bypass bears.

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A man holds Peruvian quinoa. New studies of detailed data gathered by Peru's government find that the global quinoa boom really was good both for Peruvians â both those who grow it and those who eat it.

Your Quinoa Habit Really Did Help Peru's Poor. But There's Trouble Ahead

3:04pm March 31, 2016

by Jeremy Cherfas

Headlines once warned the global quinoa boom was putting the nutritious crop out of the reach of those who grow it. New studies put those fears to rest. But bad news may loom for Andean farmers.

Dr. Dorry Segev (right), of Johns Hopkins Medicine, led the team of doctors that transplanted an HIV-positive liver and kidney into two different HIV-positive patients this month.

New Source Of Transplant Organs For Patients With HIV: Others With HIV

2:31pm March 31, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

The organ donor and both recipients in the procedure this month were all HIV-positive — a first in the U.S. Using HIV-positive organs for some patients could enable a thousand more transplants a year.

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Fatty plaque (shown here in yellow) blocks about 60 percent of this coronary artery's width. The increasing thickness of artery walls is just one factor that can increase vulnerability to a heart attack or stroke.

Possible Heart Benefits Of Taking Estrogen Get Another Look

8:05pm March 30, 2016

by Rae Ellen Bichell

Evidence has ping-ponged over the decades on the effects of hormone therapy on a woman's arteries. The latest study suggests a brief stint on hormones might be helpful — if given at the right time.

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Idmonarachne brasieri, from the Late Carboniferous period and found in Montceau-les-Mines, France.

Science

305 Million-Year-Old Fossil A Glimpse Into The Origins Of Spiders

7:47pm March 30, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

The main point of distinction between this creature and true spiders: It very likely could produce silk but lacked the spinnerets used by true spiders to, well, spin it, scientists say.