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For what you want to know, Bayes offers superior stats
It turns out that the old adage about statistics and damned lies wasn’t a joke. Sticks and stones may be bonebreakers, and words inflict no (physical) pain, but numbers can kill. In 2004, for instance, a statistical analysis suggested that antidepressant drugs raised the risk of suicide in youngsters and adolescents, leading the U.S. Food […]
- Chemistry
Molecules/Matter & Energy
An atom steps in as a mirror, ladybug chemical weapons and more in this week's news.
- Health & Medicine
Nose divides sweet from foul
The way scent-detection machinery is laid out suggests that people are born with some innate olfactory preferences.
- Earth
Earth/Environment
Diamonds from the depths have shallow elements, New Zealand earthquake helped triggered its successor and more in this week’s news.
- Physics
Neutrinos seen to fly faster than light
Though few physicists expect it to withstand scrutiny, confirmation of the observation would shake physics to its core.
- Earth
Pole flips tied to plate tectonics
A lopsided arrangement of continents could lead to reversals in Earth's magnetic field.
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Ancient Rome forbade downtown traffic in day
Roman road congestion is as enduring as the Eternal City.
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Letters
Lowdown on Earth’s heat “Science Stats” (SN: 8/27/11, p. 4) understates the power Earth radiates into space and mistakenly suggests that Earth radiates more energy from internal sources than it receives from the sun. The total (44 trillion watts) shown in your diagram must represent only the minuscule percentage (about 0.02 percent) from internal energy […]
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SN Online
ENVIRONMENT Plastics sloughed off clothing can pollute coastlines. See “Synthetic lint ends up in oceans.” G.D. Rak et al/PLoS Biology 2011 Arctic sea ice this year was near its smallest extent on record. Read “Summer Arctic melt among worst ever.” GENES & CELLS Natural killer cells are caught in the act of feeding poison pills […]
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Science Future for October 8, 2011
October 16Comet Elenin comes its closest to Earth and may be visible with binoculars. See NASA’s FAQ at 1.usa.gov/oeX6hP October 31Deadline for middle schoolers to enter the Future City engineering competition. Learn more at www.futurecity.org October 18Get hands-on at the American Museum of Natural History’s Family Party in New York City. See amnh.org/familyparty
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Science Past from the issue of October 7, 1961
CHEAPER WATER FROM SEA — Lower cost conversion of undrinkable sea or brackish water to potable fresh water will come closer to practicality through use of $75,000,000 appropriated by Congress for the next six years. Lowest cost achieved so far is one dollar per thousand gallons compared with the cost from ordinary sources of 30¢ […]
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The Beginning of Infinity: Explanations That Transform the World by David Deutsch
A physicist explores the elaborate relationship between science and other realms of human endeavor, with a focus on physical, biological and social phenomena. Viking, 2011, 487 p., $30
