Uncategorized
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Unintended consequences of cancer therapies
Radiation and chemotherapy can destroy a tumor, but they may also indirectly promote metastasis, the spread of cancerous cells to other organs.
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Synesthesia tied to brain connections
People who see specific colors when looking at particular letters possess an unusually large number of connections in brain areas that influence word and color perception.
- Earth
Southern seas slow their uptake of CO2
In recent decades, the rate at which oceans in the Southern Hemisphere soak up atmospheric carbon dioxide has slowed.
- Anthropology
When female chimps become baby killers
Although long thought to be rare, instances in which female chimps band together to kill other females' infants occur fairly regularly under certain circumstances.
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19837
As I read this article, I wondered if the sex of the killed infant was determined. In a troop characterized as having a disproportionate number of females, could it be that the chimps are selectively killing females in an attempt to balance sexes in the group? Eliza GouverneurPrinceton, N.J.
- Health & Medicine
Migraines in men linked to heart attack risk
Men who experience migraine headaches are somewhat more likely to have heart attacks than are other men.
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19836
This article states that although men who suffer from migraines are more likely to experience heart attacks, scientists have failed to find a biological mechanism linking them. Such a link seems to be suggested in an earlier Science News article, “A Gasping Heart” (SN: 4/7/07, p. 218), which states that a patent foramen ovale is […]
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19835
When this article says that “scientists don’t expect traditional silicon-based solar cells to become competitive with fossil fuels,” one has to ask, “Ever?” Can anyone accurately predict the future price of polysilicon or of fossil fuels? Peter A. KaczowkaLenox, Mass. Your article notes as a put-down that it would be necessary to build a 1-gigawatt […]
- Tech
Reaching for Rays
Harnessing the sun's rays cheaply and efficiently could address the planet's energy needs.
- Health & Medicine
Dangerous History
The genome of the TB bacterium has small but significant pockets of diversity, giving scientists new targets for preventing and treating the disease.
- Math
Covering New Ground with Polygons
Mathematicians can cover larger areas than they'd realized using polygons with fixed diameters.
- Humans
Letters from the May 26, 2007, issue of Science News
It’s cold out there I couldn’t help noticing the last sentence of “World’s climate map gets an update” (SN: 3/24/07, p. 190): “One of the system’s 30 possible climate subtypes—a temperate climate with a cold, dry summer—wasn’t found anywhere on Earth.” The comment reveals that the writer has never read Mark Twain’s comment that the […]
