Uncategorized
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Natural Computing by Dennis Shasha and Cathy Lazere
Next-generation computers using biological approaches could revolutionize fields from finance to pharmacology. NATURAL COMPUTING BY DENNIS SHASHA AND CATHY LAZERE W.W. Norton, 2010, 268 p., $16.95.
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Nonsense on Stilts: How to Tell Science from Bunk by Massimo Pigliucci
A philosopher examines science and pseudoscience in medicine, climate change and more. NONSENSE ON STILTS: HOW TO TELL SCIENCE FROM BUNK BY MASSIMO PIGLIUCCI Univ. of Chicago Press, 2010, 332 p., $20.
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How Pleasure Works: The New Science of Why We Like What We Like by Paul Bloom
Neuroscience, psychology and economics inform what makes something — or someone — pleasurable. HOW PLEASURE WORKS: THE NEW SCIENCE OF WHY WE LIKE WHAT WE LIKE BY PAUL BLOOM W.W. Norton, 2010, 280 p., $26.95.
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The Ptarmigan’s Dilemma by John Theberge and Mary Theberge
The forces of ecology and genetics combine to drive evolution and organize life as it is today. THE PTARMIGAN’S DILEMMA BY JOHN THEBERGE AND MARY THEBERGE McClelland & Stewart, 2010, 416 p., $28.95.
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Deadly Kingdom: The Book of Dangerous Animals by Gordon Grice
The animal kingdom offers myriad ways to kill a human, this survey of lethal tactics shows. DEADLY KINGDOM: THE BOOK OF DANGEROUS ANIMALS BY GORDON GRICE Random House, 2010, 324 p., $27.
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Letters
Call for caution “Bar codes may check out next” (SN: 4/24/10, p. 14) describes a new ink that would enable a full grocery cart to be quickly checked out electronically. Hurrah? Undoubtedly the amount of radio frequency per package would be minimal. However, if much of our food were handled that way, and people used […]
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In synthetic life, the can is as important as the Coke
A paper published online May 20 in Science touted the creation of the world’s first synthetic cell by researchers from the J. Craig Venter Institute who assembled a bacterial genome from scratch and used it to reprogram an existing organism (Page 5). The accomplishment is a major advance in the burgeoning field of synthetic biology, […]
- Animals
Sex, crickets and videotape
Security cameras focused on insects in the wild are looking at whether lab science has gotten the singing, mating and fighting right.
- Humans
2010 Kavli Prizes awarded
The 2010 Kavli laureates in astrophysics, nanoscience and neuroscience are named for work on powerful telescopes, neuron chatter molecules, building structures with DNA and a method for moving individual atoms.
- Health & Medicine
New angle on treating sepsis
An enzyme that plays a role in the lethal inflammatory disorder may be a suitable drug target, early tests show.
- Humans
Tracing Jewish roots
An analysis of the entire genome of Jewish people shows Middle Eastern roots and traces ancestry across the globe.
- Animals
Diversified portfolio yields benefit for salmon stocks
Local diversity keeps sockeye from going bust every few years, a study finds.
