Uncategorized
- Astronomy
Strange Matter
What’s materials science? This engaging Web site for kids of all ages introduces “the study of stuff.” It describes how materials fit into different categories and provides accounts of what materials scientists do. Games and activities require a browser with a Flash plug-in. Go to: http://www.strangematterexhibit.com/
- Life
All the World’s a Phage
There are an amazing number of bacteriophages—viruses that kill bacteria—in the world.
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19261
This article raised so many questions. Do children who play in the dirt get their increased immune resistance from phages in the dirt? Is there a phage connection in the AIDS story? Does the risk of dying of heart attacks have a phage connection? If so, is group A Streptococcus involved? Do we need a […]
- Humans
Udder Beauty
Sophisticated screening of livestock championship winners may become as common as urine tests of Olympic athletes.
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19036
Regarding the article on udder tampering in livestock competitions, it’s sad that the push for easy success is so pervasive. Although colleges and universities receiving federal research funds must require research-ethics education of their students, I don’t see an impact on plagiarism. How might we encourage future generations of students in all disciplines to internalize […]
- Math
Alphamagic Squares
Magic squares have fascinated people for thousands of years. They consist of a set of whole numbers arranged in a square so that the sum of the numbers is the same in each row, in each column, and along each diagonal. Some magic squares have special properties, such as using only consecutive numbers. In ancient […]
- Health & Medicine
Epilepsy drug eases diabetes woes
The epilepsy drug topiramate relieves pain, seems to initiate nerve repair, aids weight loss, and may have other benefits for persons with diabetes.
- Health & Medicine
Strict regimen pays off years later
Diabetes patients who adhered to a strict program of blood sugar control over nearly 7 years starting in the 1980s are still showing heart benefits.
- Humans
Tobacco treaty penned
Just one day after the World Health Organization drafted a tobacco-control treaty, more than 28 nations signed on.
- Physics
Magnetic current flows solo
By exploiting quantum mechanical interactions, physicists have generated glows of the magnetic fields of electrons without corresponding flows of their electric charges.
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- Animals
Sumo wrestling keeps big ants in line
In a Malaysian ant species, the large workers establish a hierarchy by engaging in spectacular shaking contests.
