Uncategorized
- Tech
Powering the Revolution
Sensors and other electronic devices that can scavenge energy could open a new realm for technology.
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I would debate the “1,000 watts or more” value attributed to typical adults during strenuous exercise as mentioned in this story. Hiking up steep slopes, I rarely exceed 250 W myself, and typical hikers are going much slower. The 1,000-watt figure can only apply to elite athletes during brief periods of peak exertion. David B. […]
- Ecosystems
Slime Dwellers
The health of corals, and their adaptability in the face of adversity, may rest largely on the microbes they recruit into a slime that coats their surfaces.
- Humans
From the May 22, 1937, issue
Hidden beauty revealed, an electric french horn, and safer toy balloons.
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Earth Portal
This Web site, created by the National Council for Science and the Environment, is a comprehensive, free, and dynamic resource for timely, objective, science-based information about the environment built by a global community of environmental experts. It features news, a forum, the Encyclopedia of Earth, and more. Go to: http://www.earthportal.org
- Humans
Hot Competition: Students display winning projects
High school students from 51 countries gathered in Albuquerque last week to compete for scholarships and other prizes at the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair.
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Face Talk: Babies see their way to language insights
Babies 4 to 6 months old can distinguish between two languages solely by watching a speaker's face, without hearing sound.
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Dark Power: Pigment seems to put radiation to good use
The pigment melanin may enable certain fungi to convert dangerous radiation into usable energy.
- Earth
Fish Free Fall: Hormone leads to population decline
Trace amounts of the synthetic estrogen used in birth control pills can cause a fish population to collapse.
- Health & Medicine
Circadian Fix: Viagra may lessen effects of jet lag
Sildenafil, the male-impotence drug marketed as Viagra, helps laboratory rodents recovery from circadian disruptions similar to jet lag.
- Animals
Virgin Birth: Shark has daughter without a dad
DNA testing of two sharks confirms an instance of reproduction without mating, adding a fifth major vertebrate lineage to those known for occasional virgin births.
- Planetary Science
Violent Past: Young sun withstood a supernova blast
A big bully pummeled the infant solar system, first by blasting it with a massive wind, then by exploding nearby, driving shock waves into the fledgling solar system and irrevocably altering its chemistry.
