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  1. 19361

    This article describes the use of the mosquito-borne Sindbis virus to kill cancer cells in lab dishes and mice. It would be interesting to determine whether the human population of the Egyptian town of Sindbis exhibits a reduced incidence of certain cancers. Perhaps large-scale efforts directed toward elimination of the mosquito in populated areas are […]

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  2. Earth

    Cloud Chemistry: Atmospheric scientists dissect cirrus clouds

    Cirrus cloud formation is influenced by the particles in the atmosphere, including pollutants.

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  3. Astronomy

    Solar Flip-Flops: Sun storms spawn magnetic reversal

    Coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of charged particles blasted from the sun, appear to play a key role in reversing the sun's magnetic poles every 11 years.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    No Scope: CT scan works as well as colonoscopy

    A computed tomography scan of the large intestine works as well as colonoscopy in detecting signs of colon cancer.

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  5. Humans

    Letters

    Letters from the Dec. 6, 2003, issue of Science News.

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  6. Humans

    Nanotech bill gives field a boost

    Congress has approved a nanotechnology act that commits $3.7 billion in funding over 4 years and calls for research on the societal, environmental, and ethical implications of this rapidly growing field.

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  7. Plants, bats magnify neurotoxin in Guam

    Researchers have found that the natural neurotoxin BMAA gets magnified as it rises through a food chain on Guam, a finding that strengthens a recent hypothesis that attempts to explain a spike in neurological disease on that island.

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  8. Planetary Science

    Martian sand ripples are taller than Earth’s

    New data gathered by a Mars-orbiting probe suggest that large ripples found in sandy areas of the Red Planet are more than twice as tall as their terrestrial counterparts.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Two markers may predict heart risk

    Two proteins that play a role in inflammation may serve as indicators of a person's risk of heart disease and stroke.

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  10. Tiny Bubbles

    Microscopic vesicles shed by cells may help the AIDS virus, benefit cancer cells, and drive the immune response.

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  11. 19290

    Unfortunately your article got something wrong in describing the reshaping of aircraft surfaces. It states, “The recently retired supersonic commercial transport, the Concorde, tilted its nose downward for subsonic flight.” This is not the (whole) truth because the reason for this reshaping was not to reduce air drag, but to achieve a far-better view of […]

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  12. Tech

    Wings of Change

    Inspired by the Wright brothers, who steered their first flyer by twisting its pliant wings, engineers are developing versatile and flexible flying machines expected to undergo radical shape changes in flight.

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