Feature
- Planetary Science
Exploring the Red Planet
Searching for signs of subsurface water on the Red Planet and analyzing the elemental and mineral composition of surface rock, NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft begins its main mapping mission next month and may shed light on several enduring puzzles about the planet.
-
- Ecosystems
Tadpole Science Gets Its Legs . . .
The amazingly complex tadpole now shines in ecological studies.
-
Biological Dark Matter
The discovery that some genes encode RNA strands instead of proteins has surprised biologists.
- Materials Science
Getting Out the Thorn
Researchers are developing new ways to improve the compatibility of implantable biomaterials in the body.
- Earth
Hormones: Here’s the Beef
Runoff of the hormones excreted by steroid-treated livestock could subtly harm aquatic life.
- Humans
Weekly Science Snoop
WARNING: This fake tabloid contains rumor, humor, and other words that don't rhyme with truth.
-
Science News of the Year 2001
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2001.
- Astronomy
Journey through the Universe
A new permanent exhibit at the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum traces the development of tools used to study the heavens and how they have changed our understanding of the universe.
- Math
Polyhedron Man
Mathematician and artist George Hart has created a variety of sculptures based on polyhedra and collaborated with other researchers to define and visualize new geometric shapes.
- Anthropology
Evolving in Their Graves
Understanding what early, rudimentary burials meant to modern humans' antecedents—assuming early humans did, in fact, bury their dead—could help anthropologsts untangle a lasting mystery of human evolution.
- Paleontology
Turn Your Head and Roar
The analysis of fossils that preserve evidence of diseases that appear to be similar or identical to afflictions that strike modern animals, including humans, could help scientists better grasp the causes and courses of today's ailments.
