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19568
Your article suggests that the change is an evolutionary process. However, this and the other examples given are all more selective breeding than natural selection. In this case, organisms with undesirable characteristics (smaller size) are overrepresented during reproduction as the result of removing the larger organisms from the breeding population. Robert ArdreyPrescott, Ariz. The tale […]
By Science News -
AstronomyCore Finding: Latest, oddest planet hints at how orbs form
A newly discovered planet beyond the solar system has the most massive core of any planet known.
By Ron Cowen -
Same Difference: Twins’ gene regulation isn’t identical
As identical twins go through life, environmental influences differently affect which genes are turned on and which are switched off.
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19567
Why slam a copper impactor into Comet Tempel 1? Wouldn’t copper vapor contaminate the spray? Why not a high-temperature ceramic? P.M. deLaubenfelsCorvallis, Ore. According to Casey Lisse of the Deep Impact team, copper was chosen because its density put a lot of mass into a small package, its relative softness reduced bounce at impact, and […]
By Science News -
Planetary ScienceA Grand Slam
A 372-kilogram copper projectile released from NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft successfully slammed into Comet Tempel 1 on July 4, producing some heavenly fireworks.
By Ron Cowen -
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Health & MedicineEpilepsy surgery stands test of time
Brain surgery for people with severe epilepsy keeps many of these patients free of seizures for decades.
By Nathan Seppa -
AnimalsMore junk makes for better dads
A new analysis links dutiful fatherhood in prairie voles to a stretch of DNA once dismissed as meaningless.
By Susan Milius -
AstronomyRumblings from a dead star
The burned-out cinder left behind when a massive Milky Way star exploded recently underwent its own outburst.
By Ron Cowen -
TechA nanoprinter for cheaper diagnostics
Using strands of DNA as movable type, scientists have created a miniaturized printing technique for mass-producing medical diagnostic chips.
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Health & MedicineStem cell shift may lead to infections, leukemia
Aging of blood-producing stem cells could be responsible for the relatively high incidence of infections and myeloid leukemia in the elderly.
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19566
I have experienced sleep paralysis in almost all of its forms, from terrors to vibrations and auditory hallucinations to out-of-body experiences. Most often it is completely terrifying, but I did have one episode that was elating. Sweet dreams. Kathleen MilroyOntario, Canada The manifestations reported by sufferers of sleep paralysis are eerily similar to the visitation […]
By Science News