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AnimalsHot Bother: Ground squirrels taunt in infrared
California ground squirrels broadcast an infrared signal when confronting a rattlesnake.
By Susan Milius -
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I don’t think anyone should be surprised that squirrels have figured out how to say “nyah, nyah” to rattlesnakes. After all, it’s what they’ve been saying to cats, dogs, and bird-feeder owning humans for years. R. Kelly WagnerAustin, Texas
By Science News -
HumansFrom the June 23, 1934, issue
Young desert hawks in their nest, properties of newly found element 93, and the effect of high pressure on phosphorus.
By Science News -
AstronomyTracking Solar Activity
Part of the Student Observation Network, this NASA Web site offers information and activities related to solar flares and storms. Vividly illustrated online tutorials provide guidelines and background for observing sunspots, recording radio waves, collecting data from magnetometers, and viewing auroras. Learn how to make a sunspot viewer or magnetometer. See live images of the […]
By Science News -
HumansLetters from the June 26, 2004, issue of Science News
Theory and practice Like physicists, mathematicians have always been divided into theorists and experimentalists (“Math Lab: Computer experiments are transforming mathematics,” SN: 4/24/04, p. 266: Math Lab). And, as with the physicists, the two groups of mathematicians have not gotten along very well. Still, in physics, there has always been an understanding that both groups […]
By Science News -
Sleepy brains take learning seriously
After people practice a hand-eye coordination task, electrical activity in specific areas of the brain during sleep reflects neural processes involved in learning to perform that task better.
By Bruce Bower -
PhysicsNew pass at neutrino mass
The first experiment to create neutrinos in an accelerator and then beam them a long distance has found a long-awaited, new form of evidence that those fundamental particles weigh something.
By Peter Weiss -
EarthCost of protecting the oceans
Operating an extensive global network of marine parks in which fishing and habitat-stressing activities are restricted would probably be more affordable for governments than continuing to subsidize struggling fisheries at current levels.
By Ben Harder -
PhysicsWhy the thinnest sticky hairs rule
The foot hairs of geckos and other creatures that can walk on ceilings may be microscopic because only such slender hairs offer optimal adhesion, regardless of shape.
By Peter Weiss -
ChemistryConnection blocker may stop viruses
Using compounds that disrupt the interface of two viral proteins might present a novel strategy for combating viruses, a study of herpes suggests.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineFish toxin stops cancer pain
An experimental drug fashioned from the toxin of the puffer fish can suppress pain in cancer patients.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & MedicineNew diabetes drug passes early tests
The drug exenatide stabilizes and can reduce blood sugar in diabetes patients.
By Nathan Seppa