Uncategorized
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Tech
Electronics in the Round: Mixing plastic and silicon yields form-fitting circuitry
Investigators used ordinary integrated-circuit fabrication techniques to pattern arrays of silicon-based transistors onto a flat, deformable sheet of plastic.
By Peter Weiss -
Animals
Getting a Grip: How gecko toes stick
Scientists have pinned down the molecular basis of the gecko's astonishing ability to scamper up polished walls and hang from ceilings, paving the way for a new type of synthetic dry adhesive.
By Kristin Cobb -
Health & Medicine
You’re Feeling Sleepy . . . : Anesthetics activate brain’s sleep switch
Anesthesia's sedative effect may depend on activating sleep circuits in the brain.
By John Travis -
Plants
Time Capsules: Seeds sprout 120 years after going underground
An experiment designed by a botany professor to last longer than his own life has demonstrated that seeds of two common flowers still sprout and blossom despite more than a century in a bottle.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Flower Power: Corn lily compound stops cancer in mice
A new study in mice suggests that cyclopamine, a plant derivative that causes birth defects in animals, can inhibit medulloblastoma, a brain cancer in children.
By Nathan Seppa -
Planetary Science
Planetary Beginnings: Data reveal Earth’s quick gestation
Two new studies confirm that Earth's core formed in a hurry—during the first 30 million years after the solar system's birth.
By Ron Cowen -
Chemistry
Down to the bone
A new method for making bone cement could simplify hip and knee replacements and improve the surgeries' outcomes.
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Materials Science
What the mail must go through
Mail irradiation in Washington, D.C. is damaging valuable objects and documents intended for scientific study or archiving at the Smithsonian, the White House, and other government organizations.
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19111
Regarding this article, I was shocked. Not by the findings but the resources that were wasted. I have been involved in the radiation sterilization of medical devices for 30 years. Yellowing and brittleness of cellulose materials is well known, as are discoloration and damage to many plastics. Computer chips, CDs, film, and video and audiotapes […]
By Science News -
Astronomy
An image to relish
The Hubble Space Telescope has captured a high-resolution image of an object that looks like a giant hamburger.
By Ron Cowen -
19109
The image in this article looks to me more like a yo-yo or taco than a hamburger. Then again, turned 45 to the left, it looks like the mouth of a frog with two small eyes on top. Jacky MemoleLargo, Fla.
By Science News -
Computing
Writing faster with your eyes
A new method for gaze-operated, hands-free text entry is faster and more accurate than using an on-screen keyboard.
By Kristin Cobb