Feature
- Astronomy
A New Spin
Using a flotilla of spacecraft to study X-ray emissions from the vicinity of black holes, astronomers are nudging ever closer to the whirlpool of activity surrounding these gravitational monsters.
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2006
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2006.
- Earth
Rocking the House
A recent test that simulated the effect of a magnitude-6.7 earthquake on a full-size, wood-frame townhouse may help engineers and analysts design more earthquake-resistant homes. With sound and video.
- Math
Crafty Geometry
By mastering traditional handicrafts such as knitting and crocheting, mathematicians are better able to understand complex surfaces.
- Computing
What a Flake
New ways to simulate ice-crystal growth yield patterns remarkably similar to the beautiful and intricate shapes of snowflakes and may shed light on how those real-life shapes come about.
- Health & Medicine
Salad Doubts
Researchers are looking into new ways to sanitize harvested produce and prevent foodborne pathogens from infecting people.
- Humans
Peer Review under the Microscope
The traditional method for communicating results of scientific research could get its biggest facelift in hundreds of years.
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The Predator’s Gaze
A new wave of research is trying to untangle the origins and nature of psychopathy, a personality style characterized by a lack of conscience, empathy, or guilt that attracts intense interest from the legal system.
- Health & Medicine
Milk Therapy
Breast milk has long been known to be the best food for babies, but compounds in breast milk promise to be a tonic for many adult ills as well.
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Inherit the Warmer Wind
The genetic makeup of organisms ranging from fruit flies to birds appears to be changing in response to global warming.
- Astronomy
What’s a Planet?
Recent observations have blurred distinctions among stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.
- Math
The Mind of the Swarm
Mathematics is helping explain how animals form flocks, swarms, and schools.
