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  1. Science Past from the issue of January 28, 1961

    SEE ATOMIC WASTE USE IN SALT WATER CONVERSION — Radioactive waste products from atomic plants may soon be a source of energy for converting salt water to fresh water. This use could help solve the problem of disposing of highly radioactive material, and also help combat the growing water shortage in the United States…. The […]

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  2. Book Review: Massive: The Missing Particle That Sparked the Greatest Hunt in Science by Ian Sample

    Review by Marissa Cevallos.

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  3. Neuroscience

    The Tell-Tale Brain

    A Neuroscientist's Quest for What Makes Us Human by V.S. Ramachandran.

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  4. Hidden Harmonies: The Lives and Times of the Pythagorean Theorem by Robert and Ellen Kaplan

    Inspired by their Harvard-based math program, two educators delve into the history and uses of the Pythagorean theorem. HIDDEN HARMONIES: THE LIVES AND TIMES OF THE PYTHAGOREAN THEOREM BY ROBERT AND ELLEN KAPLAN Bloomsbury Press, 2011, 304 p., $25.

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  5. Mysteries of the Komodo Dragon: The Biggest, Deadliest Lizard Gives Up Its Secrets by Marty Crump

    For kids 9 to 11 who like all the gory details, this children’s book doesn’t shy away from showing dragons at their fiercest. MYSTERIES OF THE KOMODO DRAGON: THE BIGGEST, DEADLIEST LIZARD GIVES UP ITS SECRETS BY MARTY CRUMP Boyds Mills Press, 2010, 40 p., $18.95.

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  6. Alone Together: Why We Expect More from Technology and Less from Each Other by Sherry Turkle

    A psychologist explores the ramifications of constant online connectivity for real-world human connections. MYSTERIES OF THE KOMODO DRAGON: THE BIGGEST, DEADLIEST LIZARD GIVES UP ITS SECRETS BY MARTY CRUMP Basic Books, 2011, 360 p., $28.95.

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  7. Discoveries of the Census of Marine Life: Making Ocean Life Count by Paul V.R. Snelgrove

    Stunning photographs illustrate this compendium of new scientific knowledge gleaned from the largest-ever cataloging of ocean life. DISCOVERIES OF THE CENSUS OF MARINE LIFE: MAKING OCEAN LIFE COUNT BY PAUL V.R. SNELGROVE Cambridge Univ. Press, 2011, 270 p., $45.

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  8. Chasing the Sun: The Epic Story of the Star That Gives Us Life by Richard Cohen

    Traveling to nearly 20 countries, the author traces efforts to understand Earth’s nearest star, from ancient Egyptian sun myths to a modern-day Antarctic observatory. CHASING THE SUN: THE EPIC STORY OF THE STAR THAT GIVES US LIFE BY RICHARD COHEN Random House, 2010, 574 p., $35.

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  9. Neuroscience exposes pernicious effects of poverty

    At the 2010 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego, a group of scientists held a session on how poverty changes the brain. Neuroscientist Helen Neville of the University of Oregon in Eugene joined the discussion and described some of her group’s studies on the brains of 3- to 5-year-old children who grow up poor. […]

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  10. Letters

    Prescient Editor in Chief? I got behind on magazine reading over the summer; now that colder weather is here I’m catching up, randomly. I read the Nov. 6 issue one day, with the Life article on microbes that walk on their pili (“Sure, but can they chew gum too?” SN: 11/6/10, p. 8); the next […]

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  11. Math

    Fruit flies teach computers a lesson

    Insect's nerve cell development is a model of efficiency for sensing networks.

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  12. Psychology

    The write stuff for test anxiety

    A brief writing exercise prompts higher exam scores for students struggling with academic stress.

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