Uncategorized
- Earth
Chinese records show typhoon cycles
Historical records compiled by local governments along China's southeastern coast during the past 1,000 years suggest that there's a 50-year cycle in the annual number of typhoons that strike the area.
- Earth
Cave formations yield seismic clues
Analyses of toppled stalagmites and other fallen rock formations in two Israeli caves may provide hints about the rate of ancient earthquakes in the area.
- Animals
Many fish run on empty
Many fish eat all the time, while some others spend their days going from brief feast to lengthy famine.
- Health & Medicine
Protein flags colon, prostate cancers
A compound first identified as a possible culprit in Huntington's disease may be an indicator of cancers of the prostate gland and colon.
- Animals
Singing frog in China evokes whales, primates
A frog in China warbles and flutes with such versatility that its high-pitched calls sound like those of birds or whales.
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19114
In this article, you state, “The first Fermat number is 22+1, or 5,” and later, “the first four Fermat numbers are prime, but [among] the rest, up to and now including the 24th, none are prime.” Almost all number theorists consider the first Fermat prime to be F0 = 220 + 1 = 3, so […]
- Math
Solving an Ancient African Game
The game of awari has entranced players for thousands of years. Originating in Africa, it remains a popular pastime in many parts of the world. Awari and its numerous variants are instances of “count-and-capture” strategy games, and they are known generically as mancala games. In its traditional form, the awari game “board” consists of two […]
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19113
Why not explore the connection to much greater use of antibiotics, particularly in recent years, including by expectant mothers and very young children? Could not this factor negatively affect immature immune systems, leading to increases in allergic disorders in otherwise healthy people? Robert C. WaggonerMountain Lakes, N.J.
- Health & Medicine
Arctic Sneeze: Greenlanders’ allergies are increasing
Allergies in Greenland nearly doubled from 1987 to 1998.
- Chemistry
Wine Tasting: Instrument can sniff out vinegar in sealed wine
A new system could determine whether a sealed bottle of wine has turned to vinegar.
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Chimp Change: Did an HIV-like virus ravage early chimps?
Modern chimpanzees may be the offspring of survivors of an HIV-like pandemic that took place 2 million years ago.
- Physics
Bitty Beacon: Wee disks probe materials at microscales
Illuminated by lasers, disks no larger than red blood cells can project rotating beams bright enough to create a light show in a darkened room.
