Uncategorized
- Humans
From the December 19 & 26, 1936, issues
CHRISTMAS HOLLY TREES HAVE THEIR FLOWERS TOO Despite the popularity of the familiar red holly berries for Christmas decorations, few of us are familiar with the rare beauty of the holly tree’s flower. The illustration on the front cover of this week’s Science News Letter is one of the superb enlargements in Walter E. Rogers’ […]
- Tech
Ahead of the Curve: Novel morphing wing may reduce aircraft’s fuel use
A prototype aircraft wing has demonstrated in its first flight tests that its morphing might save fuel.
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19774
I haven’t seen any reference to the similarity between the “morphing” wing in this article and the “warping” wing that the Wright brothers used on their gliders and powered aircraft. It seems we’ve come full circle in our quest to emulate the flight of birds. Paul BakerBrowns Valley, Calif.
- Earth
Irony on High: Global warming cools, thins upper atmosphere
Increasing concentrations of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the air, which cause temperatures at Earth’s surface to warm, will turn the upper layers of the atmosphere cooler and thinner in coming decades, new research suggests. This counterintuitive phenomenon, first predicted in the late 1980s and recently inferred from satellite data, will probably lead […]
- Planetary Science
The Big Picture: Cassini spies Titan’s tall mountains
A spacecraft has discovered the largest mountains known on Titan, Saturn's smog-shrouded moon.
- Health & Medicine
AIDS Avoidance: More studies find that circumcision deters HIV
Two large trials in Africa find that male circumcision limits HIV infection, which could prompt governments on that continent to promote or subsidize the operation.
- Planetary Science
Craft reveals Martian site of ancient water
The distribution of materials in this composite image of the Nili Fossae region of Mars tells scientists that water resided there no more recently than nearly 4 billion years ago. Green indicates clay minerals that formed in a wet environment. Red depicts the mineral olivine, which formed about 3.8 billion years ago, according to the […]
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Not so Silent: Mutation alters protein but not its components
A single swap in the letters of a gene's sequence could modify the protein it encodes, even if it doesn't change which amino acids make up the molecule.
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Aging Lessons: Training gives elderly practical assistance
Sessions aimed at improving memory, reasoning, or visual concentration in healthy elderly people yield notable cognitive returns, even 5 years later, a long-term study suggests. The training largely protected the participants from age-related declines in the ability to perform everyday tasks such as preparing meals, doing housework, and managing money. A handful of booster sessions […]
- Animals
No-Dad Dragons: Komodos reproduce without males
Two female Komodo dragons in zoos have startled their keepers by laying viable eggs without males, possibly as a last resort at a time when mates are in increasingly short supply.
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19773
This article seems to gloss over an important issue. With only 4,000 dragons left in the world, why was this female, one of only a thousand females remaining, not paired with a mate? I read several versions of this story, none of which touched on this topic. I believe this reveals an even more interesting […]
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2006
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2006.
