Uncategorized

  1. Tadpole Slayer: Mystery epidemic imperils frogs

    An emerging protozoal disease has begun to trigger mass die-offs of frog tadpoles throughout much of the United States.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    9/11 reflux

    Up to 20 percent of 9/11 workers in New York City experience symptoms of gastroesophageal reflux disease, also called acid reflux.

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  3. Tech

    Crystal clear

    Growing nanowires directly on a crystal might lead to high-density memory chips and transparent LEDs

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  4. Math

    Net advantage

    When damaged, networks that seem resilient can still become inefficient to the point of being unusable.

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  5. Astronomy

    One star, five planets

    With the discovery of a fifth planet circling the nearby star 55 Cancri, astronomers have found the most abundant—and heaviest—planetary system beyond the sun's.

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  6. Eastern farms have native-bee insurance

    If honeybees somehow vanished, the pockets of wild land in the Delaware Valley still harbor enough native bees to fill in and do the tough job of pollinating watermelon farms.

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  7. 19904

    This article says that patches of uncultivated land provide a haven for native bees that can help with pollination. Flowering hedgerows, as used in England instead of fences, would also ensure a source of wild bees as well as a refuge for wild bird populations. Roger W. OttoSan Mateo, Calif.

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  8. Humans

    Letters from the November 24, 2007, issue of Science News

    Blame where it’s due Although multinational agreements on global warming try to spread the burden among all nations, data from the MILAGRO project in Mexico City (“What Goes Up,” SN: 9/8/07, p. 152) suggest that the major responsibility for excess production of greenhouse gases and other pollutants lies with the megacities, which constitute a rather […]

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  9. Tech

    A smaller magnetometer

    A novel sensor the size of a rice grain can detect magnetic fields as small as those produced by brain or heart waves.

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  10. 19903

    We in Maine were surprised to learn that the beautiful Penobscot Narrows Bridge runs between Bangor and Brewer. In fact, it connects Prospect, in Waldo County, with Verona, in Hancock County. The three bridges that connect Bangor and Brewer are frankly boring in comparison. And if you’re in the area, please head 30 miles up […]

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  11. Tech

    Bad Vibrations

    Despite computer models and wind tunnel tests, bridges show surprising vibrations and movements that engineers are still learning to cope with.

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  12. 19902

    In all the recent discussions regarding science education in the U.S., one factor that has not been mentioned is the antiscience attitude of many leaders and people in the media. It is fashionable to be ignorant of math, but not to be illiterate. This must have some effect on motivation to learn about science. Dennis […]

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