Uncategorized
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Letters
Get the real life In the article “Scientists get a second life” (SN: 5/24/08, p. 20), I take exception to Joanna Scott’s statement that “Second Life is real life.” In fairness, one could debate what she means by “life,” but the statement is just too strong to ignore. As technical director at a major theater, […]
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Science Future for July 5, 2008
July 9–10 New Energy Symposium in New York. Visit www.neny.org/nes/2008/home href> July 22–25 Smithsonian’s Franzini Family Science Circus explores gravity, inertia and balance with hula hoops and balls. Visit discoverytheater.org href> August 16–20 Human Proteome Organisation’s Seventh Annual World Congress to be held in Amsterdam. Visit hupo2008.nl href>
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Strategies for nurturing science’s next generation
Nobel laureate Thomas R. Cech discusses the conclusions of ARISE, a new report that emphasizes the need for grant support for early-career scientific researchers and basic science research that may have no immediate tangible benefit. Cech is chair of the ARISE report panel and president of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
- Physics
Left in the cold
An optical trap lets atoms in but not out, and it can be used to study matter at ultracold temperatures.
- Astronomy
ExtraSolar
Astronomers hope that new tools will enable them to capture the first image of one of the 300 known planets orbiting distant stars.
- Psychology
Simpleminded Voters
An innovative research technique has led researchers to conclude that well-informed voters often use simple rules of thumb to sift through mountains of campaign information and pick the candidate who best reflects their own political views.
- Plants
Forest invades tundra
The Arctic tundra is under assault from trees, with serious implications for global climate change.
- Chemistry
Catching your breath
Scientists are investigating how to use the human breath to diagnose diseases and environmental ills.
- Humans
Worth the cooties
Boys who attend preschool classes with a majority of girls do better developmentally than other boys.
- Animals
Peril of play
A new study shows that playful 2-year-old chimpanzees may be particularly vulnerable to infectious diseases — some caught from humans.
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- Health & Medicine
Stomaching diabetes
A new way to treat diabetes could recruit cells in the gut to make insulin when the pancreas can’t.
