Skin cells emit slow electrical pulses after injury

Wounded skin cells scream with slow-motion electric pulses. Such electric spikes are a surprise because only nerve cells were thought to communicate this way. These signals move at a snail’s pace compared to nerve impulses and can be detected at least 500 micrometers away — about the distance of 40 cells — researchers report in…

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More details about the Myanmar earthquake are emerging

As rescue and recovery efforts continue to ramp-up in earthquake-ravaged Myanmar, new details about how the geologic setting amplified the disaster are beginning to emerge. The March 28 magnitude 7.7 earthquake that rocked through Southeast Asia collapsed buildings, dams and bridges, and killed at least 2,700 people. The rupture occurred along several hundred kilometers of…

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A new antifungal drug works in a surprising way

A newly discovered bacterial weapon against fungi can kill even drug-resistant strains, raising hopes for a new antifungal drug. Fungal infections have been spreading rapidly and widely in recent years, fueled in part by climate change. Some fungi, including Candida auris, have developed resistance to some highly effective antifungal drugs which have been in use…

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Neandertal-like tools found in China present a mystery

Stone tools traditionally attributed to European and western Asian Neandertals have turned up nearly a continent away in southern China. Artifacts unearthed at a river valley site called Longtan include distinctive stone cutting and scraping implements and the rocks from which these items were struck. Until now, such items have been linked only to geographically…

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