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  1. Math

    Software’s Origin

    One of the main functions of the venerable and massive Oxford English Dictionary is to record the earliest known use of a word (or sense of a word) in English. The current edition of the dictionary dates the word software back to 1960, though researchers have discovered an 1850 occurrence of the term in a […]

    By Ivars Peterson
  2. Humans

    From the July 26, 1930, issue

    DID THE MOUNDBUILDERS COME FROM MEXICO? Were the Indians who built the mysterious mounds of the great interior valley of our country kinsmen to the Mayas of Yucatan and the other highly cultured peoples of the Mexican plateau? Are the decidedly Maya- and Aztec-like sculptures taken from mounds in the Southeast really witnesses to an […]

    By Science News
  3. Paleontology

    Pretty Pollen

    The pinup of the pollen grain of the month is just one of several intriguing features at this University of Arizona Web site devoted to palynology–the study of the microscopic, decay-resistant remains of plants and animals.