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Pushing Cancer over the Edge: Compounds trigger tumor-cell suicide
Compounds that free cancer cells to commit suicide slow tumor growth.
By John Travis -
PlantsDawn of the Y: Papaya—Glimpse of early sex chromosome
Genetic mappers say that the papaya plant has a rudimentary Y chromosome, the youngest one in evolutionary terms yet found, offering a glimpse of the evolution of sex chromosomes.
By Susan Milius -
Planetary ScienceSpirit Gets Its Wheels Dirty: Mars rover begins scientific work
Spirit, the rover that landed on Mars on Jan. 3, last week began studying the rocks and soil at its landing site.
By Ron Cowen -
Health & MedicineCluster Buster: Might a simple sugar derail Huntington’s?
A study in mice with a disease resembling Huntington's shows that a simple sugar impedes the protein aggregation that kills brain cells.
By Nathan Seppa -
PhysicsWet ‘n’ Wild
Scientists have tracked the weirdness of water to microscopic arrangements of molecules and perhaps to the existence of a second, low-temperature form of the familiar substance.
By Peter Weiss -
19372
John Harris is quoted as saying that the absence of opossums is a “curious exception” to the list of current mammals of the Los Angeles Basin preserved in the La Brea tar pits. But the presence of opossums on the West Coast is well documented to be very recent. All current California opossums derive entirely […]
By Science News -
PaleontologyL.A.’s Oldest Tourist Trap
Modern excavations at the La Brea tar pits are revealing a wealth of information about local food chains during recent ice ages, as well as details about what happened to trapped animals in their final hours.
By Sid Perkins -
Reef Relations
The discovery of humanlike genes in coral means that the common ancestor of both humans and coral was more complex than previously assumed.
By John Travis -
19371
One of your sources in this article claims, “After all, even the sacred first law’s conservation of energy breaks down in the quantum realm, albeit in a limited way, he notes. That’s because Heisenberg’s uncertainty principle allows energy momentarily to appear from nothing, although it must be quickly paid back.” This claim is heard occasionally, […]
By Science News -
MathExtreme Tides
If Earth had been somewhat larger, it’s possible that it would not have survived tides induced by its moon or even by an encounter with a passing asteroid. That’s one scenario suggested by a recent investigation of a venerable equation that serves as a model for planetary tidal effects. Tidal effects are caused by the […]
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HumansFrom the January 13, 1934, issue
alt=”Click to view larger image”> PROVING THAT BABY CAN SEE “Can he see me?” This is often the first question asked by the young mother when she looks at the depths of solemn mystery in the eyes of her newborn baby. The answer has heretofore always been “No.” Until now, it has been generally thought […]
By Science News