Uncategorized
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AnthropologyNeandertals take out their small blades
Excavations of Neandertal artifacts have yielded a trove of thin, double-edged stone blades that researchers usually regard as the work of Stone Age people who lived much later.
By Bruce Bower -
AnthropologyAncient islanders get a leg up
A new analysis of bones from a tiny evolutionary cousin of people found on a Pacific island indicates that these late Stone Age individuals carried a lot of weight on short frames and had extremely strong legs.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & MedicineAn aging protein?
The defective protein that, when defective, causes a premature-aging disease may also play a role in normal aging.
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AstronomyCrust on a star
By analyzing X rays generated by the rumblings of a neutron star 40,000 light-years from Earth, astronomers have estimated the thickness of the dense star's crust.
By Ron Cowen -
PlantsNectar: The First Soft Drink
Plants have long competed with one another to lure animals in for a sip of their sweet formulations.
By Susan Milius -
Health & MedicinePredicting Parkinson’s
Scientists are searching for ways to detect the earliest signs in the brain of Parkinson's disease.
By Science News -
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HumansFrom the May 2, 1936, issue
Atomic bullets, exploding cornstarch, and an unstable solar system.
By Science News -
TechAircraft Photos
The Dryden Flight Research Center is NASA’s center for aeronautical flight research and atmospheric flight operations. The Center’s Web site has an extensive photo collection, which features images of many of the research and experimental aircraft flown at the test facility, from the 1940s to today. Go to: http://www.dfrc.nasa.gov/Gallery/Photo/index.html
By Science News -
Blood Sucker: Like the adult heart, the developing heart takes advantage of suction
The embryonic heart works more like the adult heart than scientists had long assumed.
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Health & MedicineDefending against a Deadly Foe: Vaccine forestalls fearsome virus
A single injection of an experimental vaccine prevents infection by the lethal Marburg virus in monkeys.
By Nathan Seppa -
AstronomyBig Breakup: That’s the way the comet crumbles
Scores of telescopes are watching the continuing breakup of a comet as it nears the sun.
By Ron Cowen