Uncategorized
- Astronomy
Sputnik + 50
The launch of Sputnik 1, 50 years ago, ushered in a scientific and technological revolution, but dreams of the human conquest of space have faded.
- Agriculture
Web Special: You fertilized with what?
A study shows that farmers can substitute human urine for conventional fertilizer.
- Humans
From the September 25, 1937, issue
Insulin's molecular structure revealed, a new supernova observed less than a fortnight after an earlier one, and a hypothesis for how X rays kill cancer cells.
- Animals
Not Your Ordinary Amphibians
They resemble mondo worms or perhaps eels and snakes. But caecilians (seh sil yenz) are actually legless amphibians, and along with deep sea fishes are among the least well known vertebrates on the planet. Some run to a meter or more in length. Although information on these elusive animals and photos of them are hard […]
- Anthropology
Sail Away: Tools reveal extent of ancient Polynesian trips
Rock from Hawaii was fashioned into a stone tool found in Polynesian islands more than 4,000 kilometers to the south, indicating that canoeists made the sea journey around 1,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Lack of Evidence: Vaccine additive not linked to developmental problems
Thimerosal, a mercury-containing vaccine preservative, shows no signs of causing memory, attention or other problems in children.
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Bugs in Space: Genes explain why salmonella grow deadlier when freed from Earth’s gravity
Bacteria that flew on a space shuttle became deadlier than their earthbound counterparts.
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Double Trouble: Tumors have two-pronged defense
By depleting an essential amino acid and releasing a toxin, cancer cells can ward off attack by the immune system.
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Jungle Down There: What’s a kelp forest doing in the tropics?
Kelp, algae that grow in cold water, turn out to be surprisingly widespread in tropical seas.
- Health & Medicine
Keep Out: Treated mosquito nets limit child deaths
Mosquito nets treated with insecticides decrease death rates among children in Kenya's malarial zones.
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19886
This article states that Kenyan researchers report insecticide-treated bed nets can reduce malaria-related deaths in children. While these nets appear to provide preventive measures against malaria, my only concern is the toxicity of the insecticides. The World Health Organization lists two of the insecticides used on the nets, bifenthrin and permethrin, as possible human carcinogens. […]
- Paleontology
Unexpected Archive: Mammoth hair yields ancient DNA
Hair from ancient mammoths contains enough genetic material to permit reconstruction of parts of the animal's genome.
