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Astronomy
Heavy Find: Weighty neutron stars may rule out exotic core
Neutron stars may be the weirdest stars in the universe, but they don't seem to be very strange, a weighty new report finds.
By Ron Cowen -
19915
This article says that the companion star of the pulsar PSR B1516+02B must be “tiny” because it cannot be seen. Isn’t it possible that the companion is made of dark matter? Is there a “wobble” test or other way to discern between a companion that is truly tiny (low mass) and one that is perhaps […]
By Science News -
Mind Control: Hypnosis offers amnesia clues
Results of a new study using hypnosis may shed light on the process of memory retrieval and the potential for one part of the brain to block it.
By Amy Maxmen -
Earth
Hued Afterglow: Fingerprinting diamonds via phosphorescence
The eerie phosphorescence displayed by a rare form of blue diamond can be used as an easy, cheap, and nondestructive way to identify individual gemstones and to distinguish natural blue diamonds from synthetic ones.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & Medicine
Risky DNA: Autism studies yield fresh genetic leads
Two new studies point to the diverse genetic roots of autism and related developmental disorders, while other evidence questions the claim that mercury-based childhood vaccines have contributed to rising autism rates.
By Bruce Bower -
Math
Small Infinity, Big Infinity
A mathematician develops a new proof showing that infinity comes in different sizes.
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Humans
Letters from the January 12, 2008, issue of Science News
Shades of meaning In “Going Coastal: Sea cave yields ancient signs of modern behavior” (SN: 10/20/07, p. 243), researcher Curtis Marean refers to Stone Age people using a reddish pigment for “body coloring or other symbolic acts.” What reason is there for jumping to this conclusion? As with cave painting and figurines, there seems to […]
By Science News -
Tech
Energy forest
Silicon nanowires can at least double the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries.
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Health & Medicine
Down syndrome’s anti-tumor effect
The chromosomal abnormality that causes Down syndrome might protect against some solid tumors.
By Nathan Seppa -
Foster care benefits abandoned kids
Orphan infants living in Romanian institutions who were randomly assigned to receive foster care showed marked improvements in thinking and reasoning skills by age 4-1/2, compared with their peers who remained institutionalized.
By Bruce Bower -
Paleontology
The warm jungles of ancient France
Chemical analyses of amber excavated near Paris suggest that France was covered with a dense tropical forest about 55 million years ago.
By Sid Perkins -
Animals
Purring birds teach their chicks to beg
African birds called pied babblers teach their chicks that certain parental noises mean food is on the way.
By Susan Milius