Uncategorized
- Earth
Rocks for Kids
Can’t tell pyrite from magnetite? Looking for an entertaining, colorful introduction to rocks and minerals? The Mineralogical Society of America has created a Web site, aimed at kids, that provides information about minerals and their classification, properties, and uses. It includes a selection of games with a mineral theme. Go to: http://www.minsocam.org/MSA/K12/K_12.html
-
19254
It’s appropriate that research into the genes for caffeine in tea and coffee plants should be done at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo. The university is named for the Ochanomizu district of Tokyo, a name that literally means tea water. The name arose in the early 17th century, when the second Tokugawa shogun took such a […]
- Health & Medicine
Domestic Disease: Exotic pets bring pathogens home
The potentially deadly monkeypox virus has spread from Africa to people in several states via infected pet prairie dogs.
- Astronomy
Sharpening a Heavenly Image: Clear view of globular cluster’s crowded core
Using innovative optics to take the twinkle out of starlight, the Gemini North Telescope on Hawaii's Mauna Kea has recorded the sharpest infrared images ever of a crowded grouping of Milky Way stars.
- Materials Science
Fixed Focus: Adjustable lenses from liquid droplets
Seasoned with a pinch of salt, droplets of a polymer precursor become voltage-adjustable lenses that may cut costs in fiberoptic telecommunications.
-
Lease on Life: Old mice live longer when given young ovaries
Implanting young ovaries in old mice extends their life expectancy.
- Materials Science
Super Fibers: Nanotubes make tough threads
New fibers made from carbon nanotubes and a polymer appear tougher than any other known synthetic or natural material.
- Health & Medicine
Full-Length Pregnancy: Progesterone product may reduce premature births
A drug related to the female hormone progesterone helps some pregnant women who are prone to premature birth extend their pregnancies.
-
19253
I have always been fascinated by the subject of this article. I have a simple question: Is there a definitive set of standards (physical or behavioral or both) that defines modern Homo sapiens? Lew RobertsFranklin Square, N.Y. No. This is a topic that inspires much discussion and debate .–B. Bower
- Anthropology
African Legacy: Fossils plug gap in human origins
Scientists who discovered three partial Homo sapiens skulls in Ethiopia that date to nearly 160,000 years ago say that the finds document humanity's evolution in Africa, independently of European Neandertals.
- Earth
More fish survive if plankton bloom early
Data collected by Earth-orbiting satellites and oceangoing trawlers suggest that juvenile haddock of Nova Scotia are more abundant in years when plankton populations peak earlier than normal.
- Materials Science
Convenient hydrogen storage?
A new porous material of metal and organic molecular parts may prove useful for storing hydrogen fuel.
