Uncategorized
-
IQ Yo-Yo: Test changes alter retardation diagnoses
Mental retardation placements in U.S. schools rose dramatically in the first five years after a commonly used IQ test was revised, raising concerns about how IQ scores are used to diagnose mental retardation.
By Bruce Bower -
AstronomyVanishing planet
An object orbiting a distant star is too heavy to be a planet, researchers have concluded.
By Ron Cowen -
AstronomyExtrasolar planet gets heavier
An extrasolar planet that tightly orbits its parent star is heavier than astronomers had thought.
By Ron Cowen -
19354
It is quite sad that your otherwise-excellent publication systematically fails to report error bars in your reports. Time and again I read articles and am left wondering whether the effect reported is even statistically significant. As just one example, this article said that the rate of subsequent infection from breast milk dropped from 12 percent […]
By Science News -
Health & MedicineTreatment helps newborns avoid HIV
Giving healthy newborns whose mothers are infected with HIV a combination of anti-HIV drugs shortly after birth makes the infants less likely to contract the virus through breastfeeding.
By Nathan Seppa -
TechSweet-toothed microbe tapped for power
Using a newly discovered bacterium that both frees electrons from sugars and injects those charges straight into electric circuits, scientists have created a fuel cell that converts carbohydrates to electricity with extraordinary efficiency.
By Peter Weiss -
EarthGulf War vets face elevated ALS risk
Two studies suggest that veterans of the 1991 Gulf War are at elevated risk of developing the fatal neurodegenerative condition amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) compared with other military personnel and with the general population.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineBalance benefits from noisy insoles
Sending subliminal vibrations to nerves on the bottoms of feet helps people, especially the elderly, keep their balance.
By Janet Raloff -
EarthFlame retardants take a vacation
The lifetime in blood of flame- retarding diphenyl ethers, now-ubiquitous pollutants, ranges from 2 weeks to 2 years, Swedish researchers find.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineCocoa puffs up insulin in blood
Eating foods flavored with cocoa powder as opposed to other flavorings stimulates surplus production of the sugar-processing hormone insulin, but the metabolic implications of the finding aren’t yet known.
By Ben Harder -
EarthNew PCBs?
New studies have begun linking toxic risks with a ubiquitous family of flame retardants.
By Janet Raloff -
ChemistryThe Nature of Things
An earth scientist's proposed alternative periodic table of elements is emblematic of the growing desire among scientists to recast this 130-year-old chart.