Notebook

  1. Physics

    Tea time

    Leave it to the English to solve the mystery of a tea kettle’s whistle.

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  2. Animals

    Unusual new species names of 2013

    Here are five species with tongue-twister titles.

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  3. Genetics

    Top genomes of 2013

    Scientists continue to decode the genetic blueprints of the planet’s myriad flora and fauna.

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  4. Astronomy

    Top exoplanet finds of 2013

    Here are some of the year’s most notable finds.

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  5. Environment

    World’s worst polluted

    A new report by Green Cross Switzerland and the Blacksmith Institute lists places posing the greatest risk to human health.

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  6. Animals

    A corsage that bites

    The orchid mantis uses a flowery subterfuge to lure prey.

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  7. Earth

    Cryovolcano

    An ice volcano that erupts slurries of volatile compounds such as water or methane instead of lava.

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  8. Computing

    Fastest supercomputers

    The new list of the world’s fastest computers, now in its 20th year, has China’s Tianhe-2 on top with a processing speed of 33.9 petaflops — or quadrillions of calculations per second.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Cancer vaccine in near future foreseen

    Excerpt from the December 21, 1963 issue of SCIENCE NEWS LETTER.

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  10. Physics

    Ripple effect

    If you want ripples in your icicles, just add salt. This recipe comes from physicists reporting in the October New Journal of Physics.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Drug use on the rise in older set

    The use of illicit drugs has declined slightly over the last decade among teens but is growing more common in people over age 50.

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  12. Life

    Fungal fight club

    Combat between fungal individuals is a bit like war between heaps of spaghetti.

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