Uncategorized
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19097
This article gives the incorrect and highly misleading definition of how wood preservatives work: by releasing “toxins into the water, killing everything nearby.” False. The treated wood itself becomes unpalatable to these organisms. Leaching does occur, but the literature is full of conflicting results as to the extent of the effect. Ironically, probably the most […]
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Return of a Castaway
Wood-eating shipworms have been forging a costly comeback in some U.S. harbors in recent years, yet researchers say that these mislabeled animals (they're clams, not worms) are a scientific treasure.
- Math
Home Runs and Ballparks
When baseball slugger Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his record-breaking, 62nd home run on Sept. 8, 1998, the ball barely passed over the left field fence at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The same hit would not have been a home run at, say, Fenway Park in Boston. This episode suggests an […]
- Math
Home Runs and Ballparks
When baseball slugger Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals hit his record-breaking, 62nd home run on Sept. 8, 1998, the ball barely passed over the left field fence at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. The same hit would not have been a home run at, say, Fenway Park in Boston. This episode suggests an […]
- Humans
From the July 30, 1932, issue
LAYMAN TAKES GREAT INTEREST IN VIEWING TOTAL ECLIPSE When, on the afternoon of Wednesday, August 31, the shadow of the moon sweeps across eastern Canada and New England at the rate of some 2,000 miles an hour, hiding the sun for a little over a minute and a half, probably millions of people will see […]
- Animals
Dragonfly Glitter
Dragonflies bring a lot of glitter to glamour shots. Texas A&M’s entomology program offers a variety of stunning images to illustrate the considerable diversity of dragonfly species. A video captures a female laying eggs, and a sequence of images shows how junior grows up. Go to: http://stephenville.tamu.edu/~fmitchel/dragonfly/index.html
- Earth
Monsoon Warning: Data hint at wet and blustery future
Asian monsoons have been intensifying over the last 400 years, and they're slated to get worse.
- Health & Medicine
For Failing Hearts: Gene therapy stops decline in animals
Tests in hamsters have raised hopes for creating a gene therapy to stop the common downward spiral of chronic heart failure.
- Chemistry
Mimicking the Best of Nature’s Binders: New technique produces artificial receptors
Scientists have devised a new way to make artificial receptors that differentiate among similar molecules.
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19023
This article advances the idea that a positive attitude is conducive to longevity. As a senior citizen, 87, looking at my contemporaries, I wonder about that. Possibly, the good health prompted the positive attitude as much as the attitude influenced the health. Wayne LewisGate, Okla. While the researchers accounted for some confounding factors, they did […]
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Staying Alive with Attitude: Beliefs about aging sway seniors’ survival
In a small Ohio town, people aged 50 and over who reported a positive outlook on aging lived about 7½ years longer than those who held negative views about getting older.
- Earth
A Stinging Forecast: Model predicts chance of encountering jellyfish
Weather forecasters usually prognosticate precipitation, pollen, and poor air quality, but in some areas, they could soon provide beachgoers with the probability of confronting a jellyfish.
