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Genetic tests for cancer have come a long way since they first entered the clinic in 1995. Back then, mutations in two genes—known as BRCA1 and BRCA2—hinted at the crucial role that genetics can play in treatment decisions. Women carrying one of those mutations (and having a family history of breast or ovarian cancer) were much more likely than the general population to develop tumors in their breasts or ovaries. Then, as now, some of these women opted to have their breasts and ovaries removed before any malignant growths could arise....

In april 2011, as reactors at japan’s fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant were melting down following a lethal earthquake and tsunami, a maintenance worker in his 20s was among those who volunteered to reenter the plant to try to help bring things back under control. He knew the air was poisoned and expected the choice would keep him from ever marrying or having children for fear of burdening them with health consequences....

For the most part, clinical trials in Alzheimer’s disease have been woefully disappointing—failed drug after failed drug. Even colossal drugmaker Pfizer announced earlier this month that it will stop pursuing treatments for the disorder out of scientific and financial frustration. Yet a Japanese study published Jan. 31 in Nature reports on a screening test that could improve the success of Alzheimer’s drug research. The new findings suggest a simple blood test can accurately predict levels of a protein called amyloid beta in the brain that begins appearing early in the course of the disease before symptoms appear....

By Quirin Schiermeier and Yana BallingA week after around one million cubic meters of red sludge escaped from a Hungarian alumina factory, an analysis commissioned by the environmental group Greenpeace has revealed that more than 50 tonnes of arsenic may have been released as a result of the spill.The sludge, a by-product of alumina (aluminum oxide) production, has killed at least seven people and contaminated several thousand hectares of land north of Hungary’s Lake Balaton on October 4, which escaped contamination....

Treatment: Naproxcinod Maker: NicOx Stage: Phase III, may apply for approval in early 2009. Why It Matters Osteoarthritis is by far the most common form of arthritis, affecting nearly 21 million people in the U.S. In osteoarthritis, the cartilage covering the ends of bones in joints degenerates, causing pain and stiffness as bone rubs against bone. Millions of people rely on nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and ibuprofen to treat chronic pain related to osteoarthritis and other conditions, but these are linked to gut ailments such as heartburn, ulcers and bleeding, as well as high blood pressure....

Why am I sometimes awakened in the middle of the night by explosions going off in my head? —Jade Peifer, Cypress, Fla. Randolph W. Evans, professor of neurology at the Baylor College of Medicine, responds: THERE MAY BE several reasons why you’re experiencing these explosions erupting in your head. Perhaps you’re in love, as the lyrics to Atreyu’s “When Two Are One” suggest: Bang! Explosions in my head that just won’t quit....

The COVID pandemic has taught America’s health-care system a lot about fighting a highly contagious, deadly virus. There have been victories and failures, and we hope both will make us better prepared for the next infectious disease threat. But other medical providers and I working in HIV prevention say we should not wait to put those lessons to work. We need to apply some of the urgency and innovation we are using to fight the raging inferno of the COVID pandemic to extinguish the smoldering embers of the still deadly HIV/AIDS epidemic....

Dear EarthTalk: It is starting to get colder and I’m eager to try out the fireplace in our new home, but we don’t want to create health or environmental problems. Are there materials that would be more eco-friendly to burn in a fireplace than regular firewood? – Emily Eidenier, Durham, NC Burning wood may be humanity’s oldest way of generating heat—and in the home it definitely creates a nice ambience. But it has its downside....

In June the state of Florida made an unusual announcement: it would sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers over the corps’s plan to reduce water flow from reservoirs in Georgia into the Apalachicola River, which runs through Florida from the Georgia-Alabama border. Florida was concerned that the restricted flow would threaten certain endangered species. Alabama also objected, worried about another species: nuclear power plants, which use enormous quantities of water, usually drawn from rivers and lakes, to cool their big reactors....

The Supreme Court battle isn’t the only fiercely partisan confirmation fight looming ahead for the Senate. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt’s resignation yesterday came shortly after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement this month from the Supreme Court, setting up the Senate for two highly charged confirmation tussles just four months before midterm elections. Pruitt was confirmed last February on a largely partisan 52-46 vote. But a Senate vote on his successor could be even more polarizing because senators will be juggling fewer nominations and will have more time to focus on the nominee’s record, said Norman Ornstein, a resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute....

FRYTOWN, Iowa—Warren McKenna’s Jeep SUV glides past stubbled farm fields, kicking up dust and fresh snow where only weeks ago a bumper crop of corn and soybeans filled the horizon. Among the Amish and Mennonite families who have farmed this part of southeast Iowa for generations, McKenna is an outsider, or an “English,” as the German-speaking Amish call non-natives. Yet he is well-known in both town and country as manager of the 650-member Farmers Electric Cooperative of Kalona, a job he has held since 1992....

Like the detectives on the CBS drama Cold Case, anthropologist Ann H. Ross of North Carolina State University spends many of her days thinking about unsolved crimes. Her most recent work has aimed at developing software that helps forensic scientists determine the sex and ancestry of modern ­human skulls. Typically forensic scientists measure remains with sliding rulers called calipers. Doing so results in two-dimensional measurements. Ross’s software, called 3D-ID and developed with a grant from the U....

The following essay is reprinted with permission from The Conversation, an online publication covering the latest research. Have you ever wondered why the coffee you make at home tastes different from the drinks you buy in cafes? Or why coffee from the same place can taste different throughout the week? You may be quick to blame the barista for changing the recipe, but our recent study, published in Matter, suggests that this variation is down to an inherent inconsistency of common brewing methods....

In the suddenly zooming story of electric cars, it’s the cars themselves that have tended to hog the spotlight. Later this year, Nissan and GM will be the first to unveil their hyped first attempts at cars they hope will appeal to both America’s inner motorist and its inner environmentalist: cars that get much or all of their fuel from electricity. But others, including the White House, are devoting more attention to a larger, almost society-wide, task: preparing Americans to use electric cars in a way that actually cuts their electric bills and benefits the climate....

There are so many factors to consider when buying a new smartphone and choosing a wireless service. The truth is that what’s good for one consumer may not satisfy the needs of another. In this edition of Ask Maggie, I offer some buying advice for a consumer considering the iPhone 5 and the Samsung Galaxy S3. It’s not an easy decision. These devices are both excellent choices. I also explain to a different reader why I didn’t even consider Sprint’s network when buying my iPhone 5....

That was an important question immediately after the arrival of the iPhone and its competitors. But now it’s time to admit that today’s smartphones (and tablets) are nearly identical. Apple and Google (maker of Android phone software) have copied each other’s ideas so completely that the resultant phones are incredibly close in looks, price, speed and features. These days the Apples, Googles and Microsofts of the world are competing on a different battlefield: they’re racing to build the best, most enticing ecosystem....

Apparatus for underwater environmental energy transfer with a long lead zirconate titanate transducer: Buoys bobbing in the ocean do more than just mark navigational hazards. They help researchers track water and wind conditions, aid weather forecasters, listen for whale song and help the military detect underwater vehicles. Most buoys use batteries for power, but engineers have long tried to harness the crashing, roiling power of waves. Waves, however, do not move turbines fast enough to generate consistent current....

Samsung Electronics has broad ambitions for Tizen, an open operating system the company has taken a lead role in developing as it looks to wean itself off its dependence on Android and Google. That’s according to Samsung Electronics co-CEO J.K. Shin, who runs the company’s IT and mobile communications division. In a joint interview with CNET Korea (Korean language) and CNET, Shin made it clear that Tizen is more than a pet project and “simple alternative for Android....

New Hampshire health officials announced last week that hospitals in three New England states may have accidentally exposed 15 people to prions, the infectious protein that ravages the brain and leaves it full of holes. Evidently, the hospitals involved used surgical tools that had previously been deployed on a patient who officials suspect later died from a particular prion infection called sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD). As disturbing as the revelation was, it pales in comparison with the announcement in 2002, when the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Presbyterian announced that up to 4,000 patients might have been exposed to the prion....

Interactive by Jan Willem Tulp What makes one country better than another in science? It’s not an easy thing to measure. Publishing research papers is a good way to get a bead on basic research, but it doesn’t say much about whether a nation is taking advantage of those good ideas. For this, other metrics come into play. Patents give a clue as to how well a country is exploiting its ideas for commercial gain....