Stories by JR Minkel

String Theory's Extra Dimensions Must Be Less Than Half the Width of a Human Hair

Tabletop experiment puts new limits on string theory

Microscopic Plumbing Set to Unclog the Cell's Tangled Web of Connections

Hydraulic lab-on-a-chip shows its stuff by revealing where proteins stick to genes

How to Build a Better Mouse Model of Human Disease

Hint: Precisely insert large swaths of human DNA into the mouse genome

Rapid Spinning of Plutonium Helps Judge the Lifetime of Waste-Storage Materials

Precise measurements of zircon's dismal durability may point the way to better radiation-proof containers

Slight Slowdown in 2005 Health Care Spending Driven by Drug Expenditures

Whether the slower growth will last remains to be seen

New Assay Test Exposes Tiny Pockets of Drug-Resistant HIV in the Blood

Detection technique may pave the way for a more tailored treatment that delays the onset of drug resistance

Gene Behind Mendel's Green Pea Seeds Finally Identified

More than a century later, researchers isolate a gene manipulated by the Austrian monk in his groundbreaking experiments

Free-Falling Atoms Offer New Test of Gravity's Strength

Technique promises a sharper view of the weakest force

Swirly Shock Waves May Spin Pulsars like a Top

First 3-D simulation of supernovae points to rotating shock waves as source of pulsar spin

How Much AIDS Vaccine Do Poor Countries Really Want?

Public health groups take a page from business to understand the developing world's weak demand for drugs and vaccines

"Marathon Mice" Spotlight a Rare Type of Muscle

Transformed muscle fibers hint at new strategies for muscle-wasting diseases

I Don't See the Light

Is Sense of Smell Powered by Quantum Vibrations?

Controversial theory gets green light from physicists

Virgin Births Lead to Transplantable Stem Cells

Stem cells created from unfertilized mice eggs are successfully transplanted without immune rejection

Overworked "Scrubs" Are More Likely to Make Mistakes that Harm or Kill Their Patients

A new study shows that sleep-deprived interns are prone to err--sometimes fatally

A "Molecular Condom" against HIV

Vaginal gel liquefies to release an antiviral drug in response to semen

Lead Paint Is No Match for Blinding Rays

Light pulses may strip lead paint more efficiently than scrapers and solvents can

DNA Strands Weaved into High-Complexity Logic Circuits and Multiple "Robot Arms"

DNA computing may scale up dramatically by taking a page from the electronic world

Martian Gullies Show Traces of Flowing Water within the Past Decade

Water may be trickling down Martian craters as you read this

Offerings to a Stone Snake Provide the Earliest Evidence of Religion

70,000-year-old African ritual practices linked to mythology of modern Botswanans