Uncategorized
-
Firefly Alight
The Firefly Files Web site is dedicated to “the sparks of bioluminescent light that inspire awe and wonder around the earth.” Developed by the Museum of Biological Diversity at Ohio State University, this site provides a variety of information about fireflies, from where they live to how they glow. Go to: http://iris.biosci.ohio-state.edu/projects/FFiles/top.html
- Math
If It Looks Like a Sphere…
A Russian mathematician has proposed a proof of the Poincaré conjecture, a question about the shapes of three-dimensional spaces.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Advance: Treatment combinations stall colorectal cancer
Two experimental drugs can induce remission in colorectal cancer patients and extend their survival.
- Animals
Skin Scam: Parasite’s host provides an insect hideaway
A group of parasitic insects called Strepsiptera can hide inside their victim by making the host form a protective bag of its own skin.
-
Babble Rousers: Babies find their voice when given social push
Eight-month-old infants utter more complex, speechlike sounds when their mothers encourage them with well-timed touches and smiles rather than with words offered as models to imitate.
- Planetary Science
Slowdown on Saturn? Windy doings on the ringed planet
The winds in Saturn’s upper atmosphere are some of the swiftest in the solar system, but recent findings suggest there’s been a dramatic slowdown.
- Materials Science
Caught on Tape: Gecko-inspired adhesive is superstrong
Researchers have emulated a gecko's sticking power to create a superstrong adhesive.
-
19164
This article reports that, wearing a gecko-inspired glove, “a person could dangle from the ceiling.” How would that person let go? David D. JonesSt. Paul, Minn. The microscopic hairs on a gecko’s feet stick only when the angle at which they meet the surface is just right. To unstick its feet, a gecko peels them […]
- Math
A Dog, a Ball, and Calculus
Some dogs live to play fetch, especially if the object of interest is a favorite tennis ball or toy. Others, like ours, fetch only when the reward is a particularly tantalizing tidbit. At least one dog, however, appears to take the enterprise seriously enough to figure out an optimal path to the target. Elvis and […]
- Math
A Dog, a Ball, and Calculus
Some dogs live to play fetch, especially if the object of interest is a favorite tennis ball or toy. Others, like ours, fetch only when the reward is a particularly tantalizing tidbit. At least one dog, however, appears to take the enterprise seriously enough to figure out an optimal path to the target. Elvis and […]
- Earth
Sticky Situation: Nonstick surfaces can turn toxic at high heat
Nonstick cookware can, if overheated, sicken people and kill birds, according to a new analysis of research published over the past 40 years.
-
19244
Your article noted that “. . . with food in it, a pan will never reach temperatures that produce toxic PTFE-derived gases.” However, to fry items like eggs and pancakes, the pan has to be hot before you put oil and food into it. The article was enough to send me out to replace my […]
