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Treat science right and it could help save the world
Harold Kroto, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for the discovery of buckminsterfullerene (the molecules commonly known as buckyballs), is a chemist at Florida State University in Tallahassee. His research interests extend from the microworld of nanoparticles to the chemistry of interstellar space. He also campaigns for a new vision of science education, […]
By Harold Kroto -
Space
Twinkle, twinkle, little dot
A faint object was once thought to be the first extrasolar planet to be photographed. Then it wasn’t. But now it may go down in the history books after all.
By Ron Cowen -
Tech
The people’s pulsar
Thousands of volunteers help discover a neutron star by donating the processing power in their idle home computers.
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Life
New titi monkey, at last
Travel risks in parts of Colombia had kept primatologists out for decades.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Delivering a knockout
Scientists have finally succeeded in genetically engineering rats.
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Haiti quake reveals previously unknown fault
Scientists say the risk of future temblors in region is unclear.
By Sid Perkins -
Life
How salmonella helps kill cancer cells
A bacterial foe gives the immune system a boost to seek and destroy melanoma. The findings may point to a vaccine for melanoma and other malignancies.
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Archaeology
Lucy’s kind used stone tools to butcher animals
Animal bones found in East Africa show the oldest signs of stone-tool use and meat eating by hominids.
By Bruce Bower -
Chemistry
Superconductors go fractal
Oxygen atoms arrange themselves in a self-similar pattern to help conduct electricity without resistance.
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Life
Orangutans can mime their desires
Animals’ ability to act out what they want suggests an understanding of others’ perspectives, researchers say.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Spindles foster sound slumber
In “a very clever study,” researchers show that distinctive brain signals help sustain sleep in noisy environments.