Uncategorized
-
19767
This article states that “human-breast milk is not available for sale.” When I was breast-feeding my children, had I known that my breast milk could help people suffering from disease or that it could have helped scientific research, I certainly would have been willing to donate extra milk. While the concept may raise ethical questions, […]
- Humans
Letters from the December 9, 2006, issue of Science News
War is not the answer “U.S. Population to surpass 300 million” (SN: 10/7/06, p. 238) concludes with the interesting fact that the only annual drop in U.S. population during the past century “occurred between July 1917 and July 1918, when the country was at war,” implying a military cause for the decline. Indeed, the honored […]
- Math
Scripting Boffo Box Office
A computer model can help select movie scripts that lead to success at the box office.
-
- Humans
Artistic Artificial Life
This Web-based project represents the work of three Calgary artists: Vera Gartley, Arlene Stamp, and Mary Shannon Will. These artists use computers and other technology to generate designs that simulate growth patterns found in nature, explore image and text relationships by engaging viewers in movement and drawing, and combine layers of color and pattern with […]
-
19766
Regarding this article, economists would suggest that population growth allowed the division of labor. Notice that the most advanced economies are those with the largest populations, allowing for specialization in production. As Adam Smith wrote in 1776, “The division of labor is determined by the extent of the market.” Jim KleinSan Francisco, Calif.
- Anthropology
Stone Age Role Revolution: Modern humans may have divided labor to conquer
A new analysis of Stone Age sites indicates that a division of labor first emerged in modern-human groups living in the African tropics around 40,000 years ago, providing our ancestors with a social advantage over Neandertals.
- Tech
Crusty Old Computer: New imaging techniques reveal construction of ancient marvel
Scientists have figured out the arrangement and functions of nearly all the parts of a mysterious astronomical computer that was recovered from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck.
- Earth
Lead in the Water: Mapping gets a handle on disinfectant’s danger
Researchers are investigating the link between lead-contaminated water and chloramine, a chemical disinfectant that is increasingly used in municipal water supplies.
- Health & Medicine
A Toast to Healthy Hearts: Wine compounds benefit blood vessels
Researchers have identified a class of compounds in red wine that might be responsible for much of the beverage's cardiovascular benefit.
-
19765
This article leaves us up in the air with this statement: “. . . since the traditional wine-making techniques still in use in southwestern France and Sardinia increase concentrations of polymeric procyanidins, he says, other vintners may soon adopt such methods.” As a home winemaker, I have to ask, Which techniques contribute to increasing procyanidins? […]
-
19764
This article says that a planet so close to a red dwarf would be forced to “rotate in sync” with the star. Is this the same situation that causes the moon to rotate in sync with Earth? Ken BollersHudson, Colo. Yes. First, the larger body (the red dwarf) pulls the smaller body (the planet) slightly […]
