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Genetic Code Cracking
Can’t tell a base pair from a Bosc pear? The National Library of Medicine offers an impressive, informative Web site devoted to the intricacies of genetics and molecular biology. Its science primer explains basic concepts, from bioinformatics to gene maps. The site also points users toward helpful resources on topics such as the human genome. […]
- Math
Guessing Secrets
Analyzing an intriguing variant of the familiar game of 20 questions provides insights into Internet communication.
- Math
Rainbow Randomness
The branch of pure mathematics known as Ramsey theory concerns the existence of highly regular patterns in sufficiently large sets of randomly selected objects, whether they are gatherings of people, piles of pebbles, stars in the night sky, or sequences of numbers generated by the throw of a die. Jacob Licht Patterns can arise out […]
- Animals
Nephews, Cousins . . . Who Cares? Detecting kin doesn’t mean favoring them
New tests of the amazing nose power of Belding's ground squirrels has solved a 25-year-old puzzle about doing dangerous favors for relatives.
- Earth
All Cracked Up from the Heat? Major hunk of an Antarctic ice shelf shatters and drifts away
A Rhode Island-size section of an Antarctic ice shelf splintered into thousands of icebergs in a mere 5-week period during the area's warmest summer on record.
- Health & Medicine
Deciphering Virulence: Heart-harming bacteria flaunt unique viral genes
By documenting genetic variation among bacteria responsible for a heart-damaging illness known as rheumatic fever, researchers may have opened paths to new preventive measures and treatments.
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Bright Idea: Protein relocation helps eyes adapt to light
Animals appear to adapt to bright light by reducing their use of proteins involved in the eye's light-detecting systems.
- Astronomy
Long Ago and Far Away: Astronomers find distant galaxy, early cluster
Peering ever deeper into space and further back in time, two teams of astronomers have uncovered new details about the earliest galaxies and galaxy clusters in the universe.
- Archaeology
Wild Chimps Rocked On: Apes left unique record of stone tools
Researchers have uncovered the first archaeological site attributed to chimpanzees, which includes stone implements that were used to crack nuts on top of thick tree roots.
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Icy Birth? Amino acids form in simulations of space ice
Two experiments simulating the environment of interstellar space have produced amino acids—the building blocks of proteins.
- Health & Medicine
X rays tell stirring tale about fat
X rays reveal how food processing shapes microscopic crystals of edible fats.
- Tech
Sowing neat rows of seeds on silicon
A new way to introduce foreign atoms into silicon with atomic-scale precision may help chip manufacturers over a looming hurdle.
