Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the March 12, 2005, issue of Science News
Cheaters like us? The model for the emergence of a population of “cheaters” out of a population of “cooperators” described in “When Laziness Pays: Math explains how cooperation and cheating evolve” (SN: 1/15/05, p. 35) gives a fresh viewpoint on existing ecosystems—and much more. Might the evolution of asymmetric modern sex from symmetric DNA exchange […]
- Health & Medicine
Inner-brain electrode may curb depression
Deep-brain electrical stimulation has shown promise in treating severe depression.
- Astronomy
Radiation from a baby star
X-ray telescopes have captured the earliest and clearest view of the core of a gas cloud about to transform into a star.
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Master gene found for insect smell
A single gene may oversee the sense of smell in a variety of insect species.
- Anthropology
Inside view of our wee, ancient cousins
A tiny, humanlike species that inhabited an Indonesian island more than 20,000 years ago possessed a brain that shared some organizational features with Homo erectus, a large-brained human ancestor that thought in complex ways.
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Faces elicit strong emotions in autism
Children with autism avoid eye contact because they experience uncomfortably intense emotional reactions when looking at faces.
- Physics
Primordial Nukes
The rocky remains of nuclear reactors that formed spontaneously in African uranium deposits 2 billion years ago are yielding striking new details about their operation as well as signs that a fundamental aspect of the universe may have once been stronger than it is today.
- Materials Science
Venetian Grinds
Venetian Renaissance artists, renowned for their vibrant colors, mixed powdered glass with their paints in an attempt to expand their palettes and create unique optical effects.
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From the March 2, 1935, issue
A new telescope nears completion, a new therapy for heart disease succeeds, and a new low temperature is reached.
- Earth
What’s in the Dirt?
Curious about the abundance of various chemical elements in the area where you live? The U.S. Geological Survey offers a database of more than 60,000 chemical analyses of stream sediment and soil in different parts of the United States. Color-coded maps provide county-by-county data on the concentrations of such elements as mercury, arsenic, selenium, and […]
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Infectious Evolution: Ancient virus hit apes, not our ancestors, in the genes
A potentially deadly infection wormed its way into the DNA of ancestral chimpanzees and gorillas between 4 million and 3 million years ago, thus altering the evolution of these African apes while keeping clear of human ancestors on that same continent.
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19524
The many reports of the explorations of Mars looking for water seem to be motivated by mere curiosity. Even if water is found on Mars, the lack of a Martian magnetic field would expose any life on Mars to the ravages of radiation from space. The high-velocity sandstorms would also be adverse to any life […]
