Uncategorized
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Amazing Paper Airplanes
If you want to build paper airplane models of the space shuttle, F-16 Falcon, F/A-18 Hornet, and other aircraft, this page from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers offers plans and folding instructions. For additional designs, see Kyong H. Lee’s “Amazing Paper Airplanes” Web site. Go to: http://www.asme.org/events/flight/paperarchive.shtml?URL=www.asme.org and http://www.amazingpaperairplanes.com/
- Tech
In Its Own Image: Simple robot replicates itself block by block
A robot made by stacking identical, cubelike modules has demonstrated that it can copy itself.
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19551
This article makes the common claim that self-replicating robots could be a boon for clearing minefields. In truth, a complex electronic device simply does not last long in the field. When it breaks and you are 3 days from the nearest town, where do you get a spare part or battery? Tools for removing land […]
- Health & Medicine
Watch and Wait, or Not: Studies weigh risks of delaying prostate surgery
Two long-running studies of men with prostate cancer have partly clarified the risks of postponing treatment of the disease.
- Chemistry
Metal Rebel: Under extreme pressure, sodium breaks the rules for turning into liquid
In a demonstration that defies certain basic assumptions in physics, researchers have created liquid sodium at room temperature under high pressures.
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DNA’s Moody Temperament: Gene variant linked to depression-ready brain
A common version of a gene involved in regulating the neurotransmitter serotonin creates a brain that responds sensitively to stress and is therefore more likely to become depressed.
- Astronomy
Fleeting Flash: Pinpointing a short gamma-ray burst
An invisible, highly energetic flash detected by a spacecraft early this week may have given astronomers their first glimpse of two neutron stars colliding to forge a black hole.
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19550
This article states that “the resulting blurred view is good enough for spotting large objects such as mangrove roots.” It seems to me that the article is missing the crucial biological question presented by these eyes. My understanding is that the nervous system of a jellyfish contains no true nerves and no centralization. How can […]
- Animals
Built for Blurs: Jellyfish have great eyes that can’t focus
Eight of a box jellyfish's eyes have superb lenses, but their structure prevents them from focusing sharply.
- Health & Medicine
Proteins’ Promise: New test could reveal early ovarian cancer
A screening test for ovarian cancer shows promise in preliminary trials.
- Physics
Galactic data shore up a constant
Alpha, a constant of nature found to vary in some astrophysical studies, actually holds steady, according to the first survey of galaxies used to evaluate alpha's constancy.
- Physics
Scales tilt against five-quark particles
Studies that fail to find purported five-quark particles, or pentaquarks, are stacking up quicker than studies that claim to have found such particles, suggesting that they might not really exist.
