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  1. Humans

    From the October 18, 1930, issue

    alt=”Click to view larger image”> ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND PATIENT PERUVIAN SURGEONS LOST One of the most interesting of the many ancient skulls that have been brought out of Peru bears what is probably the earliest known gauze compress–certainly the earliest surgical dressing of the kind that has been discovered on this continent. The bold cranial surgery […]

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  2. Math

    Math on Stamps

    Jeff Miller, a mathematics teacher in Florida, has assembled an amazing collection of images featuring mathematicians and mathematical ideas or events on postage stamps. Check out your favorites, from Niels Henrik Abel to Stanislaw Zaremba. Go to: http://jeff560.tripod.com/.

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  3. Earth

    Composted sewage captures dirt’s lead

    Lead-contaminated soil in urban parks, gardens, and schoolyards could be made safer by adding composted organic waste.

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  4. Uncertainty fires up some neurons

    In monkeys, a small set of brain cells that transmit the chemical messenger dopamine to various neural destinations works as an uncertainty meter.

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  5. After West Nile Virus

    As biologists try to estimate the impact of West Nile virus on wildlife, it's not the famously susceptible crows that are causing alarm but much rarer species.

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  6. Earth

    When do EMFs disturb the heart?

    Whether electromagnetic fields can blunt the healthy variability in heart rate may depend on an exposed individual being aroused or stressed during exposure.

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  7. Earth

    Methylmercury’s toxic toll

    More than 60,000 children are born each year with neurodevelopmental impairments due to their prenatal exposure to methylmercury.

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  8. Earth

    China: A mercury megapolluter

    China's heavy reliance on coal burning makes it a world leader in mercury air pollution.

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  9. Earth

    Living routes to toxic routs

    Scientists are developing novel techniques for removing perchlorate, a potentially carcinogenic pollutant, from water.

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  10. When autism aids memory

    People with autism may often have a superior memory for factual details, possibly because of their inability to use context in remembering information.

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  11. Looking for the brain’s g force

    Controversial evidence suggests that a frontal-brain network underlies psychological measures of general intelligence.

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  12. Astronomy

    X-ray flare from a dim source

    An X-ray flare coming from a old, failed star has surprised astronomers.

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