Uncategorized
- Planetary Science
Gassy Geysers: Cassini surveys Saturn’s moon
NASA's Cassini spacecraft had a close encounter with the giant vapor plume gushing from Saturn's tiny moon Enceladus.
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Foul Play: Genetics may affect athlete doping tests
Athletes' genetic makeup may allow them to beat anti-doping tests.
- Planetary Science
Titan may harbor underground ocean
Observations by the Cassini spacecraft hint that Saturn's smog-shrouded moon Titan may harbor a global ocean of water and ammonia 100 kilometers below its surface.
- Tech
Power from heat
A more efficient material that converts heat into electricity could make a new kind of solar panel possible.
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Fingerprinting fugitive microbes
A new computational tool can identify engineered bacteria by finding the genetic "fingerprints" that distinguish altered bacteria from natural ones.
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Crustacean shuffle
A twisted joint might have made all the difference to scurrying crabs as they diverged from their clunky lobsterlike brethren.
- Anthropology
A hip stance by an ancient ancestor
By 6 million years ago, upright human ancestors had evolved a hip design that remained stable for perhaps the next 4 million years, until the appearance of hip modifications in Homo erectus.
- Health & Medicine
Strong support for a basic diet
The alkalinity of diets rich in potassium—usually a reflection of heavy fruit and vegetable consumption—helps preserve muscle.
- Humans
What’s Cookin’
Science and cooking have gotten intimate, resulting in a new understanding of how molecules are transformed into food and how food is transformed by the body.
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Dad’s Hidden Influence
Fathers share more than genes with their children. Where a man works, the chemicals he is exposed to, and even his age can leave a medical legacy for future children.
- Math
Humanitarian Statistics
From Iraq to Sierra Leone to New Orleans, statistical tools help guide responses to human rights crises.
- Humans
Letters from the March 29, 2008, issue of Science News
Why switch to grass? Regarding “Switchgrass may yield biofuel bounty” (SN: 1/19/08, p. 46): Distilleries have been around since the dawn of time, including barleycorn (whiskey), maize (whiskey), potatoes (vodka), sugarcane (rum), and arcane brews distilled from beets, bread crumbs, and bamboo. The ethanol molecule cares not one wit about its particular provenance, so what […]
