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Astronomy

Votes cast for and against the WIMP factor

Physicists this week duked it out over a bunch of WIMPs, elementary particles that—if they exist—could solve a decades-old mystery in cosmology and help unify the four fundamental forces of nature.

Chemistry

Power plants: Algae churn out hydrogen

Green algae can produce hydrogen, a clean-burning fuel that could one day power pollution-free cars.

Physics

Manhandled molecules, midget memories

A thick coating of organic chemicals can record information at densities potentially a million times greater than is possible with current compact disk technology.

Archaeology

Vase shows that ancients dug fossils, too

A painting on an ancient Corinthian vase may be the first record of a fossil find.

Animals

New frog-killing disease may not be so new

The skin disease that savaged amphibians in remote wildernesses in the 1990s has been linked to outbreaks in the 1970s.

Health & Medicine

Marrow Can Hide Breast Cancer Cells

Breast cancer patients who have stray cancer cells in bone marrow are more likely to die of cancer or have a recurrence of cancer elsewhere in the body than are breast cancer patients not harboring such cells.

Humans

From the February 22, 1930, issue

THE “BARREL” OF CORONA When high voltage surges on electric transmission lines jump an ordinary string of insulators, arcs form from one insulator to the other and destroy them. But when both ends of the string are protected by metal grading shields, the arc jumps through the air from shield to shield and saves the […]

Health & Medicine

Surgery Guide

Designed for patients and their families, physicians, and students, this Web site provides detailed information about a variety of common surgical procedures, ranging from hernia repair to LASIK for vision correction. Illuminating diagrams and cutting-edge animation accompany each description of a type of surgery. Go to: http://yoursurgery.com/index.cfm

Humans

From the August 27, 1932, issue

DEDICATE WORLD’S LARGEST POWER PLANT IN RUSSIA Dneprostroy was dedicated on August 25. This hydroelectric power project exceeds similar undertakings in size and difficulty of accomplishment. It is on the Dnieper river in the U.S.S.R. From an installed capacity of 756,000 horsepower, abundant electricity will be available to smelt iron and other metals and to […]

Astronomy

Close Encounter

In mid-August, asteroid 2002 NY40 came within 524,000 kilometers of Earth. Students from Yale University using a telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory captured a sequence of images of the 700-meter asteroid. Strung together into a movie, these images demonstrate the asteroid’s impressive speed, as seen from Earth over a period of two hours. The […]