Global Climate Change Action

The powerful black holes at the center of massive galaxies and galaxy clusters act as hearts to the systems, pumping energy out at regular intervals to regulate the growth of the black holes themselves, as well as star formation, according to new data from NASA's Chandra X-Ray Observatory.

The cancer preventive properties of broccoli and other cruciferous vegetables appear to work specifically in smokers, according to new research.

NASA has successfully tested the first deep space communications network modeled on the Internet. Engineers from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory used software called Disruption-Tolerant Networking, or DTN, to transmit dozens of space images to and from a NASA science spacecraft located about more than 32 million kilometers (20 million miles) from Earth.

A newly developed equation produces more accurate estimates of the glomerular filtration rate, a key indicator of kidney function in patients with chronic kidney disease, according to new research.

An ingenious social behavior that mobilizes yeast cells to cooperate in protecting each other from stress, antibiotics and other dangers is driven by the activity of a single gene, scientists report in the journal Cell. The cooperating cells use the same gene, dubbed FLO1, as a marker for detecting "cheaters:" cells that try to profit from the group's protection without investing in the group's welfare.

All of us have experienced being in a new place and feeling certain that we have been there before. A new report published in Current Directions in Psychological Science describes recent findings about deja vu, including the many similarities that exist between déjà vu and our understanding of human recognition memory.

Anthropologists have discovered a group of primates not seen alive in 85 years. The pygmy tarsiers, furry Furby-like, or gremlin-looking, creatures about the size of a small mouse and weighing less than two ounces, have not been observed since they were last collected for a museum in 1921.

The medicinal herb Ginkgo biloba does not reduce the risk of dementia or Alzheimer's disease development in either the healthy elderly or those with mild cognitive impairment, according to a large multicenter trial.

Fiber optics as light conductors are obviously not just a recent invention. Sponges (Porifera), the phylogenetically oldest, multicellular organisms (Metazoa) are able to transduce light inside their bodies by employing amorphous, siliceous structures. Already more than ten years ago, the finding of photosynthetically active organisms inside sponges raised the question, how they could survive there in an otherwise presumably dark space. As early as that time, marine biologists have hypothesized, that light might be transferred inside the sponge body.

ECG tests commonly given to people with suspected angina to predict the likelihood future of heart disease have limited accuracy, according to a new study.

An engineering student reports on the manufacturing of synthetic cartilage similar to human cartilage, for medical use. Protection of the knee for disabled people with prostheses may be one of the first applications.

Why do so many of us give up on those New Year's resolutions to lose weight or curb luxury spending? A new study in the Journal of Consumer Research says it has to do with the way our goals intersect with our natures.

Astronomers have discovered a new planet that is closely orbiting a red-giant star, HD 102272, which is much older than our own Sun. The planet has a mass that is nearly six times that of Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. The research sheds light on the ways in which aging stars can influence nearby planets.

Researchers are enrolling people in a new clinical trial that uses a patient's own stem cells to treat ischemic and non-ischemic heart failure. The one-year Cardiac Repair Cell Treatment of Patients with Dilated Cardiomyopathy study will look at the safety of injecting Cardiac Repair Cells and their ability to improve heart function.

When cockroaches flee their predators, they choose, seemingly at random, amongst one of a handful of preferred escape routes, according to a new report.

Inside every axon is a dendrite waiting to get out. Scientists converted mature axons into dendrites by banishing a protein crucial for neuron development. The results suggest that this transformation could occur after nerve cell damage.

Engineers in Spain have developed an algorithm that can optimize hybrid electricity generation systems through combined use of renewable energies, such as photovoltaic and wind power, and non-renewables, such as diesel. Their study envisions storing the energy in batteries or hydrogen tanks.

Sleep helps the mind learn complicated tasks and helps people recover learning they otherwise thought they had forgotten. Using a test that involved learning to play video games, researchers showed for the first time that people who had "forgotten" how to perform a complex task 12 hours after training found that those abilities were restored after a night's sleep.

Using a novel technique developed at the Marine Biological Laboratory to identify different types of bacteria, scientists have completed the most precise survey to date of how microbial communities in the human gut respond to antibiotic treatment.

It's a leading cause of death, but no one knows for sure how and why it happens. It's a major source of health care costs, adding days or weeks to the hospital stays of millions of people. But no one fully understands how best to fight it. Now, new research is tackling the problem at its most basic level, in hopes of finding new and more effective ways to treat bacteremia and sepsis.