Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the May 5, 2007, issue of Science News
Mere kats? “Science behind the Soap Opera” (SN: 3/3/07, p. 138) shows that meerkats bear an uncanny resemblance to human beings. We, too, have an innate sense of responsibility for our group and individually commit acts of unspeakable violence. John HagerhorstFrederick, Md. Just a dram “Natural-Born Addicts: Brain differences may herald drug addiction” (SN: 3/3/07, […]
- Computing
Computer, Name That Tune!
Computers can analyze music mathematically and use the result to track down songs, without even knowing the composer, performer, or title.
- Humans
From the April 24, 1937, issue
Solving a local mystery and closing in on chlorophyll synthesis.
- Humans
Federal Citizen Information Center
This unit of the U.S. government provides practical guides and fact sheets, most of which are free, on a variety topics related to particular aspects of health, food, computers, and more. Recent free documents include “Sleep Disorders,” “Sunscreens and Tanning,” and “Internet Auctions: A Guide for Buyers and Sellers.” Go to: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov
- Earth
Ash Detector: Laser device could protect aircraft in flight
Analysis of a volcanic plume that wafted over central Alaska suggests that polarized laser beams can detect airborne ash, which can be a threat to aircraft.
- Health & Medicine
Diabetes from Depression: Older adults face dual risk
Adults 65 and older who report depressive symptoms are 50 to 60 percent more likely to develop diabetes than are their peers.
- Earth
Pregnancy and Pollution: Women living in areas with poor air quality have babies with lower birthweights
Pregnant women exposed even to moderate amounts of several common air pollutants tend to have babies with low birthweights.
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Sleep on It: Time delay plus slumber equals memory boost
Sleep revs up a person's ability to discern connections among pieces of information encountered in novel situations.
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I was surprised that the findings on the brain’s processing of information and discerning of relationships would come as a surprise. I have long been aware of, and have even come to count on, the fact that a surprising degree of insight and clarity often comes in the morning after having fallen asleep the night […]
- Animals
Living Fossil: DNA puts rodent in family that’s not extinct after all
The Laotian rock rat, which is very much alive, belongs to a rodent family that supposedly vanished 11 million years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Inherited Burden? Early menarche in moms tied to obesity in kids
Women who reach puberty at an early age are more likely to have children who are overweight.
- Planetary Science
In the Zone: Extrasolar planet with the potential for life
Astronomers this week announced that they had found Earth's closest known analog outside the solar system, an object with an average temperature that may allow water to be liquid on its surface.
