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  1. Physics

    Electrons grab unexpected energy share

    When atoms or molecules react with a metal surface, even briefly, they can inject much more energy into surface electrons than previously realized.

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  2. Physics

    Liquid computer takes key quantum step

    The first, rudimentary implementation of a method, called Shor's algorithm, for using quantum mechanics in computations suggests that larger-scale implementations are possible and may eventually break the codes used today to protect secret messages on the Internet and elsewhere.

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  3. Earth

    Finding fault for an old earthquake

    Scientists in Southern California believe they've found evidence that finally identifies the source of one of the region's largest quakes, a magnitude 7-plus temblor that struck the area on Dec. 21, 1812.

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  4. Earth

    Satellites could help track sea level

    Experiments that used signals from Global Positioning System satellites to precisely measure altitude above a lake's surface may pave the way for fleets of spaceborne sensors that can quickly and inexpensively monitor local and global changes in sea level.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Rwandan patients show unusual HIV

    Blood tests on people in Rwanda who have had HIV infections for years without symptoms of AIDS indicate that the viruses in these patients have rare mutations.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Will new approach cure Chagas disease?

    Scientists may be able to disable the parasite that causes Chagas disease by targeting the enzyme it uses to make essential fats.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Suppressive drug therapy hinders herpes

    A daily regimen of the antiviral drug valacyclovir controls genital herpes vastly better than does the same medication when used only to treat outbreaks of the disease.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Ominous drug-resistance hints appear

    The first signs of partial resistance to an important class of drugs called quinolones have appeared in Haemophilus influenzae, a bacterium that can cause pneumonia and meningitis.

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  9. From the January 9, 1932, issue

    DR. ABEL OF JOHNS HOPKINS ELECTED NEW AAAS HEAD Dr. John J. Abel, professor of pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, has been elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for 1932. This action was taken at the annual meeting of the Association in New Orleans. Dr. Abel succeeds […]

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  10. Physics

    Organized Disorder

    This well-organized Web site introduces visitors to the realm of thermodynamics and the concept of entropy. Originally created by autonomous software agent “Chris Hillman” and now maintained by Penn State’s Roland Gunesch, these Web pages start with the Chinese character for entropy, then offer intriguing glimpses of disorder and randomness in information and coding theory, […]

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  11. Math

    How Far Away?

    As you look around, you constantly make decisions about how far away something is–whether it’s a dog sniffing at a nearby tree or a friend down the street. If you were a surveyor, you could measure angles and then use high-school trigonometry to calculate distances. That’s great for drawing a map or establishing property lines, […]

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  12. Math

    How Far Away?

    As you look around, you constantly make decisions about how far away something is–whether it’s a dog sniffing at a nearby tree or a friend down the street. If you were a surveyor, you could measure angles and then use high-school trigonometry to calculate distances. That’s great for drawing a map or establishing property lines, […]

    By