Uncategorized
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19655
I am rather surprised at all the attention the find mentioned in this article is getting. Some would think that these mammals caused the downfall of the dinosaurs, but the fossil record suggests a very different scenario. There is no evidence of possum-to-coyote–size mammals for the 70-odd million years that the dinosaurs ruled the planet. […]
- Paleontology
Out of the Shadows
An ongoing flurry of fossil finds is triggering a reevaluation of how early mammals and their close kin eked out an existence during the Age of Dinosaurs.
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19654
Light pollution is a side effect of cheap fossil fuels. As such, we may be closer to the end of this problem than most people think. Electricity is still the best bargain in the civilized world, but blowing it off into the night sky has always been folly. When energy prices reach a high-enough level, […]
- Ecosystems
Light All Night
New digital images demonstrate that artificial light from urban areas penetrates deep into some of America's most remote wild places, where it may disrupt ecosystems that have evolved with a nightly quota of darkness.
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19653
I wouldn’t allow a child of mine to receive SSRIs for treatment of depression, unless that depression were truly crippling and my child required in patient care and a 24-hour suicide watch. The marginally lower effect of talk therapy alone, while presenting half the risk of committing suicide and imposing no unknown long-term pharmacological side […]
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Prescription for Controversy
Increasing concerns about the efficacy and safety of a popular class of antidepressant drugs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, especially in depressed youth, has sparked regulatory action and scientific debate.
- Humans
Letters from the March 18, 2006, issue of Science News
Comfort zones Just because living organisms were found in extreme conditions does not necessarily mean they were created in these localities (“Is Anybody out There?” SN: 1/21/06, p. 42). Another possibility is that the creation of life took place under more amenable conditions and that these organisms, through evolution, gradually adapted as the conditions changed. […]
- Math
From Counting to Writing
Counting and numbers played a crucial role in the development of writing.
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Quark Colors
The Jefferson Lab (Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility) in Newport News, Va., offers a six-page coloring book devoted to particle physics and quarks. Use a flash plug-in or download a copy to color the pages and learn about the fundamental particles of matter. Go to: http://education.jlab.org/coloringbook/index.html
- Humans
From the March 7, 1936, issue
Canadian caves, television field tests, and violin makers' secrets.
- Earth
Vesuvius’ Shadow: A major volcanic blast could threaten Naples
When Italy's Mount Vesuvius begins to rumble again, nearby Naples may be in danger.
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Fit Moms, Brainier Babies: Exercising mothers provide neurological benefits
Offspring of mice that jogged each day during pregnancy may have a mental advantage over pups of sedentary moms.
