Uncategorized
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19216
Years of budgetary constraints and compromises have all but destroyed NASA’s ability to deliver on the grand visions of yesteryear. Sadly, I think that the best outcome of this tragedy would be to acknowledge that the shuttles are unsafe at any speed. Perhaps the national embarrassment is just what the U.S. government needs to get […]
- Tech
Columbia Disaster: Why did the space shuttle burn up?
The space shuttle Columbia, which tore apart killing all seven of its crew on Feb. 1 just minutes before it was scheduled to land, may have been doomed since its liftoff.
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19175
This article makes disturbing use of Neal Barnard as a spokesman warning against the high-protein weight-loss diet. Barnard represents Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM). What’s not to love about an outfit with a name like that? PCRM places op-ed pieces condemning animal products, and it advocates a vegan agenda. A more balanced response might […]
- Health & Medicine
Dietary Dilemmas
Low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, could be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets are.
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19215
I wish the testing described in this article had used airline pilots, policemen, and other people who are accustomed to operating their machines while carrying on a conversation. Cell phones are new, and perhaps all that is needed is time for drivers to train themselves in multitasking. Mike KuzaraWyarno, Wyo. Shortly after reading the article, […]
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Cell phones distract drivers, hands down
Laboratory experiments indicate that using a hands-free cell phone while driving markedly interferes with the ability to maneuver a vehicle safely.
- Materials Science
Microscopic glass ribbons provide molecular labels
A new type of barcode too small to see with the naked eye holds promise for biomedical research, law enforcement, and everyday life.
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Sleepy brains make memorable waves
Precisely timed electrical discharges in two parts of the brains of sleeping rodents offer clues to how slumber may foster memories of recently learned material.
- Earth
Dust devils produce magnetic fields
Scientists who chase dust devils report that the tiny twisters can produce a small magnetic field that changes magnitude between 3 and 30 times per second.
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19174
I scuba dive, and I’ve noticed that when the current is brisk through some coral formations, small swirls behave exactly as dust devils. Would the researchers predict that any magnetic phenomena could be produced by silt in salt water? Lindsey Randal Potts San Antonio, Texas Probably not, says William M. Farrell of NASA. Any charges […]
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19214
Your article refers to “the current theory that high intelligence arises from the coating of brain cells with especially large amounts of the fatty substance called myelin.” As a person with multiple sclerosis, anything about myelin interests me greatly, yet I have never heard of this. Marion Leeds Carroll Arlington, Mass. For more, see Daniele […]
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Essence of g
New efforts to probe the biology of intelligence stir up a long-running controversy over what mental tests actually measure.
