Uncategorized
- Humans
Udder Beauty
Sophisticated screening of livestock championship winners may become as common as urine tests of Olympic athletes.
By Janet Raloff - Math
Alphamagic Squares
Magic squares have fascinated people for thousands of years. They consist of a set of whole numbers arranged in a square so that the sum of the numbers is the same in each row, in each column, and along each diagonal. Some magic squares have special properties, such as using only consecutive numbers. In ancient […]
- Health & Medicine
Epilepsy drug eases diabetes woes
The epilepsy drug topiramate relieves pain, seems to initiate nerve repair, aids weight loss, and may have other benefits for persons with diabetes.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Strict regimen pays off years later
Diabetes patients who adhered to a strict program of blood sugar control over nearly 7 years starting in the 1980s are still showing heart benefits.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Tobacco treaty penned
Just one day after the World Health Organization drafted a tobacco-control treaty, more than 28 nations signed on.
By Janet Raloff - Physics
Magnetic current flows solo
By exploiting quantum mechanical interactions, physicists have generated glows of the magnetic fields of electrons without corresponding flows of their electric charges.
By Peter Weiss - Physics
Monitoring radiation with Britney Spears?
Compact disks can serve as home radon detectors.
By Janet Raloff - Animals
Sumo wrestling keeps big ants in line
In a Malaysian ant species, the large workers establish a hierarchy by engaging in spectacular shaking contests.
By Susan Milius - Earth
Satellites show Earth is greener
Daily observations from space for nearly 2 decades indicate that our planet is getting greener.
By Sid Perkins - Earth
Second cancer type linked to shift work
Women who have worked at least a few nights a month for many years appear to face a somewhat increased risk of colorectal cancer.
By Janet Raloff -
19260
Lowered melatonin secretion was an implied factor in the 35 percent increase in colon cancer among night shift nurses, compared with their daytime counterparts. A couple of altered lifestyle factors may contribute, as well: The night shift is often occasion for a sedentary work style, and decreased alertness might even affect daytime activity. Also, there […]
By Science News - Anthropology
The Ultimate Colonists
Human ancestors managed to adjust to life in a variety of ecosystems during the Stone Age, indicating that their social lives were more complex than they've often been given credit for.
By Bruce Bower