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AstronomyEnigmatic Eruptions: Gamma-ray bursts lack supernova fireworks
The most powerful bursts in the universe may have gotten more mysterious.
By Ron Cowen -
19732
This article states that gamma-ray bursts are “a million trillion times as bright as the sun.” The sun is so bright that humans can’t look directly at it from 93 million miles away. How can we possibly wrap our minds around something a million trillion times brighter? Astronomy is great. Donald KaufmannPhiladelphia, Pa. ?
By Science News -
Health & MedicineGraveyard Shift: Prostate cancer linked to rotating work schedule
Men who alternate between daytime and nighttime shifts on their jobs have triple the normal rate of prostate cancer, according to a Japanese nationwide study.
By Ben Harder -
AnthropologyEvolution’s Child: Fossil puts youthful twist on Lucy’s kind
Researchers have announced the discovery of the oldest and most complete fossil child in our evolutionary family yet found.
By Bruce Bower -
Mood disorder cuts work performance
A national survey finds that people with bipolar disorder lose even more workdays each year as a result of their illness than do workers with major depression.
By Bruce Bower -
19731
This article says that people with bipolar disorder tend to have more lost workdays than those with major depression do. The data shows this is true. However, the authors point out that in the sample of 3,378 workers, 1 percent suffered from bipolar disorder while 6 percent experienced major depression. Clearly, the greater impact on […]
By Science News -
TechStart your engines
Mechanical engineers have developed a system that greatly decreases the amount of toxic hydrocarbons a car releases.
By Eric Jaffe -
Planetary ScienceSMART stop
The European Space Agency's first mission to the moon ended with a deliberate bang on Sept. 3.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineShingles shot’s value is uncertain
The cost-effectiveness of a new vaccine against shingles remains uncertain, making it difficult to assess whether adults should routinely receive the shot.
By Ben Harder -
Planetary ScienceMartian doings
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has finished reshaping its orbit, while the venerable rover Opportunity is approaching the rim of the widest and deepest crater it has yet visited.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineProgestin linked to hearing loss in older women
Elderly women who received progestin as part of hormone replacement therapy have poorer hearing than do women who didn't get progestin.
By Nathan Seppa -
AnthropologyNeandertal debate goes south
A controversial report concludes that Neandertals lived on southwestern Europe's Iberian coast until 24,000 years ago, sharing the area for several thousand years with modern humans before dying out.
By Bruce Bower