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From Mind to Matter: Data analysis challenges psychokinesis
Numerous experiments in which volunteers mentally attempt to influence the output of computers that generate random sequences of 1s and 0s have failed to show that individuals can use their minds to manipulate the physical world.
By Bruce Bower -
Deadly Disorder: Imagined-ugliness illness yields high suicide rate
The suicide rate among people with a psychiatric disorder that causes them to perceive themselves as ugly is higher than that among people with major depression.
By Eric Jaffe -
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This article raises some questions. What about people who are physically unattractive—those whom a majority of the society considers ugly? I suspect that many people treated for body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) are unattractive by that definition. The psychiatric profession tends to deny that many of the “illnesses” it treats are the result of realities that […]
By Science News -
Gender Divide: Gene expression differs in males and females
The two sexes vary in the amounts of proteins produced by thousands of genes.
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Bee Concerned: Big study—Selective pollinators are declining
A new study provides evidence of a decline among some of Europe's insect pollinators and the wild plants that need them.
By Susan Milius -
PhysicsTerrific Timekeeper: Optical atomic clock beats world standard
An innovative atomic clock is more precise than the breed of clocks that's been the best for 50 years.
By Peter Weiss -
EarthGlobal warming heats up nursery of hurricanes
Sea-surface temperatures in the North Atlantic Ocean reached record highs last year.
By Sid Perkins -
EarthAlaskan coral beds get new protection
To protect cold-water corals, huge areas of Alaskan waters will be off limits to trawls and other fishing gear that typically scrape the seafloor.
By Janet Raloff -
HumansLetters from the July 22, 2006, issue of Science News
First, count all the lawyers The study in “Legal Debate: Assumptions on medical malpractice called into question” (SN: 5/13/06, p. 291) fails to address the more disturbing issue: Most of the insurance money (apparently) goes to lawyers (both sides), and very little to those injured. Peter WilsonSimi Valley, Calif. The numbers in the story pose […]
By Science News -
Health & MedicineIngredient might prevent sexually transmitted disease
A seaweed derivative that's commonly added to many consumer products as a thickening agent can inhibit the virus that causes cervical cancer and genital warts.
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Mammoths: Blondes and brunettes?
The wool of woolly mammoths may have come in at least two shades.
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PlantsOrchid bends around to insert pollen
An orchid species in China has set a new record for acrobatics in self-pollination, twisting its male organs around and inserting them into the cavity where the female organ lies.
By Susan Milius