Uncategorized

  1. Earth

    Blasts from the Past: Orbiting radar spots old nuclear-test sites

    A technique that analyzes satellite images to detect subtle ground motions often can perceive subsidence over underground nuclear-test sites, sometimes even if those tests occurred decades ago.

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  2. Paleontology

    Ancestral Handful: Tiny skull puts Asia at root of primate tree

    Researchers have unearthed the partial skull of the oldest known primate, a tiny creature that lived in south-central China 55 million years ago.

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  3. 19368

    In this article, the statement is made that personal environmental exposures to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are easily solved. The implication is that if you have a long commute and are thereby exposed to high concentrations of VOCs, you should just quit your job to avoid exposure. I find that completely absurd. Mark PalmerRichland, Wash. […]

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  4. Earth

    My Own Private Bad-Air Day: Outdoor data underrate pollutant exposure

    Most people breathe in substantially more organic contaminants than airborne concentrations of such substances in their homes and communities would suggest.

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  5. Animals

    Whale Haunt: Nursing, feeding spot found off south Chile

    A survey along the coast of southern Chile has turned up a previously undocumented blue whale hangout that seems to be a feeding ground.

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  6. Physics

    Topsy Turvy: In neutrons and protons, quarks take wrong turns

    Revved-up particles, namely quarks, spinning inside neutrons in the opposite direction to that of the neutrons themselves, challenge the prevailing model of how quarks behave.

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  7. Humans

    Letters

    Letters from the Jan. 3, 2004, issue of Science News.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Journey to Mars

    The rugged Mars Exploration Rover (MER) is scheduled to land on Mars on Jan. 4, 2004. A variety of Web sites offer information about the exploration of Mars and Mars rovers. Check out the official MER Web site for background information and up-to-the-minute reports. San Francisco’s Exploratorium Web site highlights various Mars-related activities. Go to: […]

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  9. Earth

    New technique dates glaze on desert rocks

    Scientists have developed a quick, easy, portable, and nondestructive way to determine the age of desert varnish, the mysterious dark coating that slowly develops on rocks in many arid regions of the world.

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  10. Earth

    Newfound fault may explain quakes

    Tsunami simulations suggest that a newly discovered fault zone beneath the Atlantic Ocean could have released most of the seismic energy from three earthquakes that destroyed Lisbon, Portugal, on the morning of Nov. 1, 1755.

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  11. Earth

    Alaska shook, mountains spoke

    Small pulses in atmospheric pressure detected in Fairbanks soon after the magnitude 7.9 Denali quake on Nov. 3, 2002, suggest that the temblor literally moved mountains.

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  12. Earth

    Earth sometimes shivers beneath thick blankets of ice

    New analyses of old seismic data have distinguished the ground motions spawned by a previously unrecognized type of earthquake—quakes created by brief surges of massive glaciers.

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