Uncategorized
- Physics
A Curie-ous Tale
Marie Curie discovered two elements and won two Nobel Prizes for her pioneering studies on radioactivity. A new online exhibit at the American Institute of Physics’ history site depicts how she displayed her ardor and brilliance in many other facets of life as well, such as organizing and equipping a radiological medicine unit for French […]
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Bioscience Challenges
Why preserve life’s variety? How fragile is our planet? What does the genome reveal? How is biotech changing the world? The Action Bioscience Web site offers original material and links to articles and classroom resources that help shed light on these and other issues affecting everyday life in a variety of ways. Go to: http://www.actionbioscience.org/
- Math
Cracking Fermat Numbers
Fermat numbers have what mathematicians sometimes describe as a “beautiful mathematical form,” involving powers of 2. They were of interest 400 years ago and are now the subject of a wide-ranging worldwide computer search. A Fermat number has the form 22n + 1, where n is a whole number equal to or greater than 0. […]
- Earth
Ancient Taint: Likely source of old dioxins identified
Lab experiments show that the burning of peat from coastal areas of Scotland could be responsible for the enigmatic concentrations of dioxins sometimes found in pre-20th-century soils.
- Humans
Jonathan Eberhart (1942–2003)
After chronicling space science and exploration for 3 decades on behalf of Science News, Jonathan Eberhart died last week from complications of multiple sclerosis.
- Ecosystems
After Invasions: Can an ant takeover change the rules?
A rare before-and-after study of a takeover by an invasive ant species shows the interloper quickly disassembling the basic rules of the invaded community.
- Health & Medicine
Mixed Results: AIDS vaccine falters in whites, may help blacks
In its first large test, an AIDS vaccine has failed to shield an at-risk population from acquiring AIDS.
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19226
This article on waterproof coats was interesting, but the process used by the Turkish scientists would require evaporating the solvent. Should not possible harmful environmental side effects be considered before a new industrial process is created? Kenneth CrookSan Jose, Calif. I believe this same phenomenon occurs on the leaves of the common perennial lady’s mantle […]
- Materials Science
Waterproof Coats: Materials repel water with simplicity, style
Researchers have produced new types of water-repelling surfaces, including one that's colorful and another made of inexpensive plastic.
- Earth
Sexual Hang-Up: Fish hormones change when oxygen is scarce
Oxygen deprivation—an escalating problem in freshwater ecosystems worldwide—tampers with sex hormones in carp and might underlie the decline in some fish and amphibian species.
- Anthropology
Pieces of a Disputed Past: Fossil finds enter row over humanity’s roots
Two new fossil discoveries have fueled scientific debates about the evolutionary status of a pair of species traditionally considered to have been our direct ancestors, Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
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Stem Cell Surprise: Blood cells form liver, nerve cells
Human blood contains stem cells that can be transformed outside the body into a variety of cell types, suggesting that a person's blood could someday provide replacement cells for that individual's damaged brain or kidney.
