Uncategorized
- Anthropology
Evolution’s Lost Bite: Gene change tied to ancestral brain gains
In a controversial new report, a research team proposes that an inactivating gene mutation unique to people emerged around 2.4 million years ago and, by decreasing the size of jaw muscles, set the stage for brain expansion in our direct ancestors.
- Humans
Letters from the March 27, 2004, issue of Science News
Nobody’s board The article “Danger on Deck?” (SN: 1/31/04, p. 74: Danger on Deck?), or at least part of it, could have been titled “Danger on Dock” or maybe “Danger under Dock.” After reading about how chromated-copper arsenate (CCA) is leached from the wood, I began wondering how it affects aquatic organisms. Many fish, especially […]
- Archaeology
Reconstructing ancient drinking habits
A new technique involving the analysis of residue from pottery jars can discern the color of wine consumed by ancient Egyptians.
- Physics
Quantum link connects light, ions
By proving experimentally for the first time that an atom and a photon can become entwined in a quantum embrace called entanglement, physicists took a step toward teleporting quantum characteristics from one atom to another.
- Health & Medicine
Bug bites suggest new stroke drug
Changing a human enzyme so that it resembles one from blood-sucking insects may lead to a new treatment for strokes.
- Astronomy
Andromeda’s building blocks
A radio telescope has made the first conclusive observations of gas clouds that could be the leftover building blocks of the Andromeda galaxy, the Milky Way’s closest large spiral neighbor.
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Fish guts reveal microbial alliance
Scientists are studying germfree zebra fish to better understand how microbes influence gut development.
- Health & Medicine
Is ‘drink plenty of fluids’ good advice?
Definitive studies need to determine whether increasing fluid intake during respiratory infections is really a good idea, says a team of researchers.
- Plants
Sudden oak death jumps quarantine
The funguslike microbe that causes sudden oak death has turned up on nursery plants in southern California for the first time.
- Tech
Golden waves make stretchy microcircuits
Microscale wires with stretchy, wiggly shapes may prove useful for sensors and other electronic gadgets embedded in pliable or elastic items such as clothing or living tissue.
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19395
This article was an eye-opener. Our courts may be accepting many analytical techniques that haven’t been adequately validated. We should be careful, especially where the death penalty is involved, not to be guilty of hubris in the application of scientific knowledge. Bob SauerPrinceton, Mass.
- Materials Science
Forensics on Trial
A decades-long practice of matching bullets on the basis of their chemical makeup is flawed, and the story behind this forensic technique reveals how science can get distorted in the courtroom.
