More Stories from the January 3, 2009 issue
- Earth
Plate tectonics got an early start
The chemistry of minerals preserved in Australian rocks suggests tectonic activity for Earth’s earliest eon.
- Earth
Methane even escapes from freezing permafrost
An extended field season reveals that the autumn freeze in the arctic squeezes methane from some high-latitude wetland soils, a match even for summertime methane release.
- Health & Medicine
Fine-scale structure of egg crucial for fertility
Scientists describe the shape of a protein required for conception. These new molecular details will lead to an improved understanding of how sperm and egg unite.
- Health & Medicine
Men line up for circumcision in Africa
But demand for the operation, shown to guard against HIV and other infections, exceeds availability.
- Life
Spanish Inquisition couldn’t quash Moorish, Jewish genes
Finding suggests modern history, not just prehistory, can leave a strong mark on a region’s genetic signature.
- Space
Martian stairs suggest predictable ancient climate
Tilt in Mars' axis could have created stair-stepped rock formations long ago.
- Health & Medicine
Lack of sleep has genetic link with type 2 diabetes
Large genomic studies show body rhythms, melatonin may influence sugar levels in the blood.
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- Health & Medicine
Malaria vaccine closer to reality
The success of two trials sets the stage for a final, large-scale trial that could mean approval of what would be the first vaccine against Malaria.
- Humans
When giving gifts, the price is wrong
Gift givers expect that expensive presents will be appreciated by gift receivers more than inexpensive presents, but three new investigations suggest that that’s not the case.
- Space
First detection of carbon dioxide in an exoplanet
Moving one step closer to finding the fingerprints of life in a habitable planet beyond the solar system, astronomers have for the first time detected carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of an extrasolar planet.
- Animals
Dolphins wield tools of the sea
A long-term study of dolphins living off Australia’s coast finds that a small number of them, mostly females, frequently use sea sponges to forage for fish on the ocean floor.
- Space
Astronomers zero in on Milky Way’s black hole
Astronomers report a new value for the supermassive black hole at the galaxy’s center.
- Health & Medicine
Breast density signals tamoxifen’s effectiveness
Decreasing breast density signals the drug tamoxifen is working in women at risk of developing breast cancer.
- Health & Medicine
Soy compound revs up cancer fighter in healthy tissue
A lab study of healthy breast tissue cells shows increases in the tumor suppressor protein PTEN in the presence of soy isoflavone genistein, a compound believed to fight breast cancer.
- Space
Dark energy constantly with us
New X-ray and visible-light observations of the growth of galaxy groups and clusters are offering confirming evidence for the existence of dark energy and suggest that it may resemble the cosmological constant.
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The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour through Alan Turing’s Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine by Charles Petzold
The Annotated Turing: A Guided Tour through Alan Turing’s Historic Paper on Computability and the Turing Machine by Charles Petzold
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Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America by Stephen Trimble
Bargaining for Eden: The Fight for the Last Open Spaces in America by Stephen Trimble
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Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain by Roderick I. Nicolson and Angela J. Fawcett
Dyslexia, Learning, and the Brain by Roderick I. Nicolson and Angela J. Fawcett
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Cranes: A Natural History of a Bird in Crisis by Janice M. Hughes
Cranes: A Natural History of a Bird in Crisis by Janice M. Hughes
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Book Review: Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War by Jeffrey A. Lockwood
Book Review: Six-Legged Soldiers: Using Insects as Weapons of War by Jeffrey A. Lockwood
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Book Review: The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces by Frank Wilczek
Book Review: The Lightness of Being: Mass, Ether, and the Unification of Forces by Frank Wilczek
- Earth
Obama administration should lead energy transition
R.K. Pachauri, an engineer and economist by training, is director-general of The Energy and Resources Institute in New Delhi, India, and a corecipient of the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for his role as chief of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC periodically issues consensus reports on the science of climate change. Senior editor Janet Raloff spoke with him about changes he hopes to see from the Obama administration.
- Humans
Science & Society: News of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in the interface of Science & Society. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Life
Genes & Cells: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Genes & Cells. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Life
Life: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Life. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Physics
Matter & Energy: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Matter & Energy. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Tech
Technology: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Technology. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Health & Medicine
Body & Brain: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Body & Brain. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Health & Medicine
Nutrition: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Nutrition. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Earth
Earth: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Earth. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Math
Numbers: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Numbers. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Earth
Environment: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Environment. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Chemistry
Molecules: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Molecules. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Science & Society
2008: Science news of the year
Science News editors and writers survey the top news from the world of science in 2008. The selected stories are featured in this year-end issue, with links to the original, longer stories.
- Space
Atom & Cosmos: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Atom & Cosmos. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
- Humans
Humans: Science news of the year, 2008
Science News writers and editors looked back at the past year's stories and selected a handful as the year's most interesting and important in Humans. Follow hotlinks to the full, original stories.
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Letters
A better way The article “Thinning fuel before injection boosts efficiency” (SN: 10/25/08, p. 9) shows that there are many ways to find efficiency when we look. One place I see for improvement is moisture injection in the feed airstream to gasoline engines. Here in the Southwest, where humidity runs at 20 percent, rainy days […]
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Nobel: A Century of Prize Winners by Michael Worek, ed.
Nobel: A Century of Prize Winners by Michael Worek, ed.
