Uncategorized
- Humans
Budget Boosts and Busts: R&D for Defense, NASA garner funding rise
The President's $2.23 trillion federal budget proposal contains nearly $123 billion to fund federal research and development, an increase of about $8 billion over last year’s proposal.
By Sid Perkins - Math
A Graceful Sculpture’s Showy Snow Crash
Brent Collins has spent more than two decades carving gracefully curvaceous sculptures out of wood. Born of his imagination, rendered in wire and wax, then painstakingly realized in wood in his Gower, Missouri, workshop, each creation demands many weeks of labor. Whirled White Web: An award-winning, ill-fated snow sculpture. Séquin Central portion of Scherk’s second […]
- Math
A Graceful Sculpture’s Showy Snow Crash
Brent Collins has spent more than two decades carving gracefully curvaceous sculptures out of wood. Born of his imagination, rendered in wire and wax, then painstakingly realized in wood in his Gower, Missouri, workshop, each creation demands many weeks of labor. Whirled White Web: An award-winning, ill-fated snow sculpture. Séquin Central portion of Scherk’s second […]
- Agriculture
Bt Cotton: Yields up in India; pests low in Arizona
Two cotton-growing centers that could hardly differ more—small farms in India and industrial fields in Arizona—provide case studies that show the bright side of a widespread genetically engineered crop.
By Susan Milius -
Bad Sleepers Hurry Death: Snoozing soundly staves off the Big Sleep
Healthy elderly people who experienced difficulty falling or staying asleep die from natural causes at a much higher rate than those who slept well.
By Bruce Bower - Health & Medicine
Exonerated? Foods’ acrylamide risks appear low
A new study downplays the likelihood that people will develop cancer from eating foods naturally tainted with acrylamide, a building block of many plastics and an animal carcinogen.
By Janet Raloff - 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.
By Ron Cowen -
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 […]
By Science News -
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 […]
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Dietary Dilemmas
Low-carbohydrate diets, such as the Atkins diet, could be more effective for weight loss than low-fat diets are.
-
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, […]
By Science News -
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.
By Bruce Bower