Uncategorized
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Worst of Two Worlds: Hybrid mosquitoes spread West Nile virus
Interbreeding between two Old World mosquito species may explain why their blood-sucking brethren in the United States transmit West Nile virus to people as readily as they do.
- Humans
Letters from the March 6, 2004, issue of Science News
All we have to fear In “9/11’s Fatal Road Toll: Terror attacks presaged rise in U.S. car deaths” (SN: 1/17/04, p. 37: 9/11’s Fatal Road Toll: Terror attacks presaged rise in U.S. car deaths), it was assumed that people who switched from planes to cars after the terrorist attacks did so because of fear. However, […]
- Physics
Bubble Fusion: Once-maligned claim rebounds
Researchers who reported 2 years ago that they created nuclear-fusion reactions inside bubbles imploding in a vat of liquid acetone have now bolstered their controversial claim with new evidence.
- Anthropology
Early Ancestors Come Together: Humanity’s roots may lie in single, diverse genus
Newly discovered fossil teeth in eastern Africa that are more than 5 million years old suggest that the earliest members of the human family evolved as a single, anatomically diverse genus.
- Animals
Jungle Genes: First bird genome is decoded
Researchers have unveiled a draft of the first bird genome to be sequenced, a vintage chicken.
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I know some people who carefully shield their bodies from the sun with sunscreen and clothing, and their skin is extremely pale. But if tanning acts as a protector, is it actually safer to maintain a “healthy” tan? Chris EsseBeverly Hills, Calif. Scientists continue to debate this question vigorously. Some say any tanning indicates skin-cell […]
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Sunny Solution: Lotion speeds DNA repair, protects mice from skin cancer
Snippets of DNA that activate a cell's DNA repair process may protect mice from skin cancer caused by ultraviolet radiation.
- Planetary Science
Red Planet Makes a Splash: Rover finds gush of evidence for past water
A robotic rover on Mars has gathered what scientists are calling the best evidence to date that liquid water once flowed on the Red Planet.
- Chemistry
Clean hydrogen fuel from corn?
A new reactor can convert ethanol from corn into hydrogen fuel with enough efficiency to make the process economical.
- Tech
Silicon goes optical
The advent of a fast, light-manipulating microdevice made from silicon suggests that speedy optical-fiber links now too expensive for broad use in businesses and homes may soon become widespread.
- Health & Medicine
Quantum sentinels
Quantum physics may soon help physicians track whether a cancer has spread.
- Health & Medicine
Gene transfer puts good fats in mammals
Scientists have used a worm gene to genetically engineer mice whose tissues are unusually rich in the heart-healthy fats found mainly in fish.
