Uncategorized
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Planetary Science
Radar probes frozen water at Martian pole
If all the frozen water stored near the south pole of Mars suddenly melted, it would make a planetwide ocean 11 meters deep.
By Ron Cowen -
Math
Big prize for unlikely research
A New York University mathematician has won one of the highest prizes in mathematics for figuring out the likelihood of unlikely events.
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How smart are amoebas?
Amoebas seem to possess a rudimentary form of memory that keeps them from walking around in circles.
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Plants
Old plants were lost in the grass
An obscure family of plants long thought to be relatives of grasses turns out to represent one of the most ancient surviving lineages of flowering plants.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Working in a cotton mill has bright side
People who work amid bales of raw cotton are less likely to get lung cancer than are people in the general population, a study of Chinese women indicates. While past research has shown that workers in a cotton mill tend to develop shortness of breath, chronic cough, and other health problems, some scientists also noted […]
By Nathan Seppa -
Earth
Fits and Starts
New data identify some factors that influence the highly variable flow rates of ice streams, the megaglaciers that carry most of Antarctica's ice to the sea.
By Sid Perkins -
Animals
Honey, I Ate the Kids
Some of the most devoted parents in the animal kingdom routinely devour some of their own children.
By Susan Milius -
Humans
Letters from the March 31, 2007, issue of Science News
On the hoof Do cows and other domestic-herd animals really emit more methane than bison and other wild-herd animals emitted before people came along? Do grass, alfalfa, and other pasture plants remove less carbon dioxide than do forests? There were open grasslands before pastures replaced some forests. I hope the people who are researching these […]
By Science News -
Science & Society
From the March 20, 1937, issue
The real Groundhog Day, microfilm book storage, and turning farm waste into chemical products.
By Science News -
Ecosystems
Lakeshore Nature Preserve
This nature preserve at the University of Wisconsin–Madison protects undeveloped lands along the shore of Lake Mendota. Even if you can’t visit it in person, the award-winning interactive map will help you appreciate the qualities of this beautiful slice of nature. Go to: http://www.lakeshorepreserve.wisc.edu
By Science News -
Feeling Right from Wrong: Brain’s social emotions steer moral judgments
A new study of people who suffered damage to a brain area involved in social sentiments supports the notion that emotional, intuitive reactions typically guide decisions about moral dilemmas.
By Bruce Bower -
Not So Wimpy: Antimalarial mosquito has an edge in tests
For the first time, mosquitoes engineered to resist malaria have shed their underbug image and outperformed regular mosquitoes in a lab test.
By Susan Milius