Uncategorized
- Humans
From the October 1, 1932, issue
WARNING SPOTS OR TARGETS? Eye-spots, like those on the wings of the Cecropia moth on the front cover, are commonly interpreted either as warning markings, to scare off enemies, or as “targets” to draw the enemy’s attention to a non-vital spot. But moths get eaten anyway.–(Photo by Cornelia Clarke). COSMIC RAYS BOMBARD EARTH WITH 40,000 […]
- Tech
Cool Contraptions
The J. Paul Getty Museum’s intriguing online exhibition, “Devices of Wonder,” features optical devices, robots, thinking machines, and other fanciful contrivances of yesteryear. Check out a variety of ingenious contraptions for projecting images, playing music, revealing secrets, and more. Go to: http://www.getty.edu/art/exhibitions/devices/choice.html
- Humans
From the April 12, 1930, issue
MEDICAL WORLD HONORS DR. WELCH While the whole medical world united in honoring Dr. William Henry Welch on his 80th birthday on April 8, and the president of the United States delivered an address at the Washington celebration, few outside the world of science know who Dr. Welch is or why he was honored in […]
- Physics
Interacting with Physics
Drag an electric charge to see how it affects a nearby water molecule. Fool around with a laser to cool an atom. The University of Colorado’s Physics 2000 Web site relies heavily on interactive animations to demonstrate important concepts and discoveries in modern physics. Topics range from X rays and CAT scans to the quantum […]
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19144
Why am I not surprised that the pH of lung moisture decreases during an asthma attack? Poor ventilation of the alveoli would retain carbon dioxide, which is carbonic acid in solution. Does the change in pH correspond to a buildup of carbonate or bicarbonate in the blood? Would it be a better measure of an […]
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19143
Your article, regarding the glycemic index in relation to obesity and diabetes, is incomplete and misleading. Although potatoes do have a high glycemic index, systematic research on satiety shows that potatoes are one of the most satiating foods known to science. The effect persists until the next meal and beyond. This counterexample suggests that concern […]
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19142
Sanity and dementia aren’t so much discrete states as poles of a continuum. It seems to me that slightly irrational (perhaps inappropriate is a better word) behavior would tend to make other people avoid you. And as you tend to do less well in social interactions, you would tend to avoid them. Perhaps dementia causes […]
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19141
This article suggests a few other questions. How hungry were the monkeys? And would the student volunteers make the same choices if they were in debt and given the option of splitting $20,000 or $40,000, amounts that would potentially change their lives? If I lose $10, I don’t really feel penniless, and my wife will […]
- Tech
Coal: The cool fuel for future jets
To power faster supersonic jets, scientists are developing coal-derived fuels that can absorb heat without breaking down at high temperatures.
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19140
Unfortunately, scientific reports on the widely disclosed environmental dangers of using MTBE in gasoline still routinely repeat the state and federal EPA propaganda that MTBE and other oxygenates such as ethanol are beneficial to cleaning the air. Our best University of California scientists commissioned by the State of California and many others long ago reported […]
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19139
It would have been helpful to mention in this article that the free-PSA-ratio test is effective only for men with a prostate volume less than 40 cubic centimeters. The test doesn’t work for men with larger prostates. This is because, for larger prostates, the ratio of free to total PSA is elevated to roughly the […]
- Math
Hiding in DNA
Spies might have to start boning up on molecular biology to pass along and decipher secret messages. During World War II, German spies used microdots to hide information in plain view. Consisting of a greatly reduced photograph of a typed page, a microdot could be pasted on top of a printed period at the end […]
