Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the November 25, 2006, issue of Science News
Wasted youth The experiments with mice infected with the 1918 influenza virus are important but not surprising (“The Bad Fight: Immune systems harmed 1918 flu patients,” SN: 9/30/06, p. 211). John Barry’s The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History (2004, Viking) explains that many, perhaps most, of the victims were […]
- Health & Medicine
Bone Health
The Web site of the International Osteoporosis Foundation offers information for health professionals and the public about osteoporosis, a disease that reduces the density and quality of a person’s bones. It includes a 1-minute osteoporosis risk test, patient stories, facts and statistics on the disease, articles, and more. Go to: http://www.iofbonehealth.org/
- Humans
From the November 14, 1936, issue
Counting dust particles, fighting viral diseases, and aging whiskey.
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Derailing a Disease: Stem cells slow dogs’ muscular dystrophy
Injecting a special type of stem cell into dogs with the canine equivalent of Duchenne muscular dystrophy significantly slowed the disease's progression.
- Animals
Chicken Speak: Birds pass test for fancy communication
The chicken may be the first animal other than primates that's been shown to make sounds that, like words, represent something in the environment. With audio.
- Tech
Cleanup Speedup: Device improves oil-spill recovery
By adding grooves to the surface of a common oil-skimming device, researchers recovered up to three times as much oil as they do with smooth-surfaced devices.
- Health & Medicine
More Evidence of Protection: Circumcision reduces STD risk in men
Circumcised men are less likely to get sexually transmitted diseases than uncircumcised men are.
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19757
Concerning this article, I have yet to read a single study regarding the alleged benefits of circumcision that acknowledges that the foreskin is erogenous tissue. Removal of erogenous tissue from a female would be considered barbaric, even if it did offer some protection against sexually transmitted diseases. Jerry MalonePueblo, Colo. This is surgery, which should […]
- Tech
Unstoppable Bot: Armed with self-scrutiny, a mangled robot moves on
Roboticists have made a walking machine that carries on despite serious damage.
- Astronomy
Dark Fingerprints: Hubble sheds light on cosmic expansion
The mysterious cosmic push that's tearing up the universe began revving up about 5 billion years ago.
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19756
It would seem difficult to distinguish between the repulsive force that dark energy proposes and the regular gravitational pull of ordinary matter. Somehow, the idea of multiple universes surrounding our universe, embodying the known laws of physics and providing the gravitational pull, is easier for me to accept than a mysterious dark energy nobody can […]
- Anthropology
Ancient Gene Yield: New methods retrieve Neandertals’ DNA
Researchers have retrieved and analyzed a huge chunk of Neandertal DNA.
