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19193
I note with some incredulity that happiness (joy, elation) in some form is missing from the list of “basic” universal emotions, and even from the extended list of 9 or 10. Is happiness not considered a basic emotion? Did ancient Hindus not experience joy and hence not express it in dance? Or is happiness considered […]
- Humans
From the December 10, 1932, issue
CALVES RETAIN PART OF WILD THINGS’ CHARM Cows are prosaic. Like all the rest of us who have grown into maturity and (alas!) responsibility, they have their workaday jobs in a workaday world, seeing to it that we get butter and, eventually, beefsteaks. But calves still have something reminiscent of the long-lost wild freedom of […]
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Grossology
This Web site from the Carnegie Science Center in Pittsburgh accompanies a traveling exhibit, based on the book Grossology by Sylvia Branzei, that addresses many of the “slimy, oozy, crusty, stinky” questions that kids love to ask about the human body. Visitors can view scenes from the exhibit, listen to gross body sounds, try out […]
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19213
This article says that in cavitation, “bubbles form when falling pressure permits dissolved gases to pop out of solution.” A cavitation-vapor bubble is formed when the pressure drops below the vapor-liquid saturation pressure for the liquid. Dissolved gas bubbles will just give you a fizzy cola. A.J. McPhateBaton Rouge, La.
- Tech
Deadly Bubble Bath: Ultrasound fizz kills microbes under pressure
A modest pressure increase on a liquid agitated by ultrasound dramatically boosts the microbe-killing power of those high-frequency sound waves.
- Astronomy
Hubble Weighs In: Pinning down an extrasolar planet’s mass
Using a decades-old technique, astronomers have precisely measured the mass of a planet outside our solar system.
- Materials Science
Nanotube ID: New signatures aid nanotech progress
Researchers have developed a means for rapidly distinguishing among 33 semiconducting varieties of carbon nanotubes.
- Health & Medicine
Cluster Bombs: Metabolic syndrome tied to heart disease deaths
Men with a certain cluster of metabolic characteristics are about three times as likely to die of heart disease as men without the traits are.
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19212
It’s no surprise to find that the Borneo tree frog tunes into his tree hole. From the resonance of electron shells to the orbits of planets, stars, and galaxies, harmonic relationships define all of creation. Many frogs have external tympanic membranes that resonate to their tiny chirpings. This mechanism helps put entire ponds full of […]
- Animals
Frogs Play Tree: Male tunes his call to specific tree hole
Borneo's tree-hole frog may come as close to playing a musical instrument as any wild animal does. [With audio file.]
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19211
This article recommended shock absorbers and cushioned seats. Did this study survey what type of bikes the volunteers rode? Doug LandonSimi Valley, Calif. Study coauthor Ferdinand Frauscher notes that although most of the long-time bikers now use bikes with shock absorbers and padded seats, they almost all originally rode bikes with little or no padding […]
- Health & Medicine
Jarring Result: Extreme biking can hurt men’s fertility
Men who maintain grueling mountain-bicycling programs are apt to have lower sperm counts than nonbikers are.
