Uncategorized
- Humans
From the August 21, 1937, issue
Solar astronomers argue over the influence of sunspots on the weather, Hubble (the man, not the telescope) finds a comet, and paramecia discover sex.
- Earth
O River Deltas, Where Art Thou? Coastal sinking stalls sediment accumulation
The western coast of Siberia lacks river deltas because of the way the terrain has subsided since the end of the last ice age.
- Physics
Crueltyfree: Counting photons without killing them
A delicate quantum measurement counts photons without destroying them.
- Astronomy
Separation Anxiety: Cosmic collision may shed light on dark matter
The debris from an ancient collision of galaxy clusters seems to show cosmic dark matter behaving in a puzzling way.
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Groomed for Trouble: Mice yield obsessive-compulsive insights
Mice lacking a gene that makes a certain brain protein display behaviors much like those of people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, a poorly understood psychiatric ailment.
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19876
Researchers may only recently have discovered that female zebra finches are more likely to flirt with strangers when background noise goes up, but young male humans seem to have known that about females of their species for eons. Jim SchneringerDallas, Texas
- Animals
High Volume, Low Fidelity: Birds are less faithful as sounds blare
In noisy surroundings, normally faithful female zebra finches flirt with unfamiliar males.
- Health & Medicine
Infectious Obesity: Adenovirus fattens stem cells
Some cases of obesity may result from infection by a virus that can transform adult stem cells into fat-storing cells.
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19875
This article states that “those who get the [bariatric] surgery live longer than those who don’t.” That raises the question whether liposuction to reduce a disproportionately large waistline in a nonobese person would yield medical benefits such as a reduced risk for coronary heart disease. Angela LamberthIndian Island, Maine
- Health & Medicine
If You Can Stomach It: Obesity surgery extends life span
Drastic weight loss achieved through gastric bypass and other stomach surgeries improves long-term survival for very obese people.
- Physics
Frizzed molecular carpets
Measurements of the speed with which heat travels along single hydrocarbon molecules could aid in the design of molecular electronics.
- Health & Medicine
Vaccine targets ovarian-cancer cells
A vaccine for ovarian cancer enables some women who've undergone chemotherapy to stay in remission.
