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AnimalsMany fish run on empty
Many fish eat all the time, while some others spend their days going from brief feast to lengthy famine.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineProtein 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.
By Nathan Seppa -
AnimalsSinging 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.
By Susan Milius -
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 […]
By Science News -
MathSolving 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.
By Science News -
Health & MedicineArctic Sneeze: Greenlanders’ allergies are increasing
Allergies in Greenland nearly doubled from 1987 to 1998.
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ChemistryWine 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.
By Kristin Cobb -
PhysicsBitty 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.
By Peter Weiss -
AnthropologyLost-and-Found Fossil Tot: Neandertal baby rises from French archive
The approximately 40,000-year-old skeleton of a Neandertal baby, filed and forgotten in a French museum for nearly 90 years, has been recovered by an anthropologist.
By Bruce Bower -
HumansFrom the September 3, 1932, issue
INSECT LARVAE MAKE MOSAIC JEWELRY Manufacturers of modern jewelry might well turn to the larvae of the caddis fly for effective models for small containers–tiny perfume bottles, say, or lipstick cases. These water-dwelling “worms” build mosaic coverings for the little cylindrical houses they spin for themselves, taking bits of sand and gravel from the streambed […]
By Science News