Notebook
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Bioscience Challenges
Why preserve life’s variety? How fragile is our planet? What does the genome reveal? How is biotech changing the world? The Action Bioscience Web site offers original material and links to articles and classroom resources that help shed light on these and other issues affecting everyday life in a variety of ways. Go to: http://www.actionbioscience.org/
- Humans
From the February 25, 1933, issue
ADAM AND EVE IN THE OLDEST CITY In the oldest city that archaeologists have ever explored they have dug up “Adam and Eve” and the serpent. There they are, the figures of a man and a woman, which have been stamped on clay with a seal. They are a dejected human pair, bent, and stumbling […]
- Tech
A Theremin’s Electronic Wail
A pioneering electronic instrument played without touch, the theremin can produce a wide range of eerie sounds. Introduced by Lev Sergeyvich Termen in 1921, the instrument responds to hand motions, which control the pitch and loudness. Information about the theremin is available at various Web sites, and if you’re dying to play it yourself, you […]
- Humans
From the February 18, 1933, issue
OUTWITTING VAMPIRES AND VIPERS When a vampire is a supernatural creature, science laughs at it. But when it is a disease-bearing bat, science sets its disease-fighters to work seeking a way to conquer it. Down in Panama, the disease-fighters of the Gorgas Memorial Institute, in addition to carrying on their regular job of fighting malaria, […]
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Quest
Developed at Emory University, the CancerQuest Web site offers insights into the biology of cancer. The site provides clear, concise information about how the disease works, accompanied by interactive graphics and a handy glossary. Topics range from cell structure and genetic change to tumor biology and cancer treatment. Go to: http://www.cancerquest.org/
- Humans
From the July 12, 1930, issue
FISH’S-EYE VIEW A poet once wished for the gift to see ourselves as others see us. An artist has achieved it. Wilfrid Swancourt Bronson, of New York, has cultivated the ability to see things from the fish’s point of view, taking into account the squeezed perspective one gets through the little “window” in the water […]
- Planetary Science
Space Class
If you’re looking for classroom materials tied to recent NASA news reports, such as evidence suggesting the presence of water on Mars, this Web site pulls together a variety of articles, images, and Web links related to any given report. The archive includes topics such as solar storms, meteors, planetary alignments, eclipses, and many others. […]
- Tech
Bridge Building
For those fascinated by the art, science, and history of building bridges, this Web site provides a wealth of information and images devoted to structures designed to span obstacles of various sorts. Check out different bridge types, key components of bridges, explanations of forces that act on bridges, and much more. Go to: http://www.brantacan.co.uk/bridges.htm
- Humans
From the February 11, 1933, issue
YELLOW SODIUM LIGHT EFFECTIVE OUTDOORS A commercial application has been found for the extremely efficient sodium-vapor lamp. A highway in Holland is now illuminated with these light units giving off an intense yellow glow; and this light, which makes color discrimination impossible and is devastating to Miladys makeup, is said to be especially desirable for […]
- Humans
From the February 4, 1933, issue
SUPERLATIVE SPLENDOR REVEALED BY EXCAVATIONS IN PERSIA Eastern magnificence that surrounded Persian emperors 2,500 years ago is revealed by excavations at Persepolis. Palaces of the kings are being brought to light there by Dr. Ernest Herzfeld excavating for the Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago. The sculptured walls arouse comparisons with glories of one […]
- Physics
Powers of Ten
Florida State University’s “Molecular Expressions” Web site offers a fascinating sequence of images, each one 10 times bigger or smaller in scale than the one preceding or following it. The journey ranges from a view of the universe 10 million light years away from the Milky Way to an impressionistic glimpse of a diminutive sea […]
- Humans
From the July 5, 1930, issue
POWER PLANT SENTINELS When hundreds of thousands of horsepower traveling with the speed of lightning are instantly halted, you may be sure there will be a grand disturbance. And there is, but all the fuss is confined in steel tanks 25 feet tall and 10 feet wide, filled with oil. Two such tanks are shown […]
