Uncategorized
- Physics
Reflections on Art
By dissecting famous paintings in new ways, scientists are testing the veracity of artist David Hockney's controversial theory that some masters of Renaissance art secretly used optical projection devices.
By Peter Weiss - Math
Measuring with Jugs
Given a 5-liter jug, a 3-liter jug, and an unlimited supply of water, how do you measure out exactly 4 liters? In her book In Code: A Mathematical Journey, Sarah Flannery gives this classic brainteaser as an example of the sorts of playful puzzles that her father, a mathematics lecturer at the Cork Institute of […]
- Physics
Light Switch: Crystal flaws tune the wavelengths
By tweaking the crystal structure of the semiconductor gallium arsenide, researchers may have found a way to make cheaper components for fiberoptic networks.
By Peter Weiss - Health & Medicine
Flawed Therapy: Hormone replacement takes more hits
Elderly women taking estrogen and progestin are more likely to develop dementia, including Alzheimer's disease, and stroke than are women not taking the hormones.
By Nathan Seppa -
Gut Check
The normal microbial inhabitants of our intestines do a lot for their host.
By John Travis - Astronomy
Red Team, Blue Team: Galaxy survey shows that color matters
Using the largest survey of galaxies ever compiled, astronomers have found that the cosmos divides sharply along color lines.
By Ron Cowen - Planetary Science
New view of Earth
On May 8, 2003, scientists pointed a camera on board the Mars Global Surveyor probe back at Earth and captured the first image from another planet that shows our world as more than a point of light.
By Sid Perkins -
Memorable Shot: Smallpox vaccine has lasting effect
People vaccinated against smallpox decades ago may retain significant immunity to the virus that causes the disease.
By John Travis - Agriculture
Mad Cow Future: Tests explore next generation of defenses
As Canadian health officials investigate mad cow disease within the country's borders, researchers are already working on the next generation of defenses.
By Susan Milius - Chemistry
Multiple Motions: Applied electrons make molecules vibrate and move
A new technique enables scientists to choreograph individual molecules to vibrate, break bonds, and move on a surface in specified ways.
- Earth
Count Down: Chemicals linked to inferior sperm
New data suggest that typical exposures to chemicals called phthalates are associated with reduced fertility in men, but the specific phthalates they finger aren't those that researchers most expected to cause problems.
By Ben Harder - Humans
From the May 27, 1933, issue
CRYSTAL WONDERLAND You can see all these things through a microscope, as scientists and laymen have been seeing them for many years. But the way into this Lilliputia of the waters is being made even easier for you through the amazing artistry in glass of a worker at the American Museum of Natural History in […]
By Science News