Mind & Brain
Pain Cases May Usher Brain Scans into the Courtroom
Questions surround whether brain-scan measures of whether someone is in pain are reliable enough to be used in legal proceedings
Stories by Nature magazine
Health
Placenta Research Attracts $41.5 Million in Federal Funding
An NIH project seeks to develop technologies to help monitor the organ in real time
Space & Physics
Young Black Hole Had Monstrous Growth Spurt
Supermassive object found in the early universe tests theories of cosmic evolution
Health
6 Challenges to Stamping Out Ebola
Despite a recent sharp drop in the overall number of Ebola cases, the situation remains precarious in west Africa
Environment
Documents Spur Investigation of Climate Skeptic
Questions are raised about conflict-of-interest disclosures by Willie Soon, employed by the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Space & Physics
Star Buzzed Our Solar System during Human Prehistory
A faint star with an even fainter companion came close enough some 70,000 years ago to perturb distant comets in our solar system
Mind & Brain
Marijuana Flips Appetite Switch in Brain
Sudden attacks of the munchies are triggered by a change in the hormone released by neurons
Space & Physics
Jupiter, as Aliens Might See It
A view of the gas giant as if it were an exoplanet cross-checks methods for studying worlds outside our solar system
Technology
Biodefense Aims to Simulate Human Bodies by Linking Mini "Organs on Chips"
3-D systems could mimic human physiology and allow for ethical tests of the impact of potential biological, chemical and radiological warfare agents
Evolution
Darwin's Finches Get Their Genomes Sequenced
The genomes of all 15 of these finch species have been sequenced, pinpointing a gene responsible for the famous beak variations
Health
Measles by the Numbers
The U.S. media is abuzz due to an outbreak at Disneyland in California, but the disease will keep popping up until it is wiped out worldwide
Health
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Gets Controversial Redefinition
An HHS panel recommends changing the condition's name to "systemic exertion intolerance disease"
Technology
New Lightweight Steel Could Improve Cars' Fuel Efficiency
The material bests titanium alloys for its strength and ductility
Space & Physics
Plan Abandoned for Close Search This Month for Lost Comet Lander
The Rosetta comet orbiter will continue its planned course which rules out making a special trip to find Philae
The Sciences
Obama's Budget Seeks Big Boost for Science
The White House plan would increase research and development funding but faces a rough road in Congress
The Sciences
Gravitational Waves Discovery Now Officially Dead
Data from the South Pole experiment BICEP2 and the Planck probe point to galactic dust as a confounding signal
Chemistry
The Future of Nano-Gold [Video]
See how gold could be used to kill cancer cells, improve the efficiency of solar cells and catalyze chemical reactions
Evolution
New Skull Could Be from Human Group that Interbred with Neandertals
The discovery shows, for the first time, that Homo sapiens was living in the Near East at the same time as Neandertals
Health
NIH Modifies but Still Defends Experiments on Monkeys
Changes have been made to controversial experiments at a lab receiving NIH funding, but the agency says that the work causes only slight pain or distress
Evolution
Genghis Khan's Genetic Legacy Has Competition
The Mongolian leader left a strong footprint in the Y chromosomes of his modern descendants, but he was not the only one
