Uncategorized
- Astronomy
When Galaxies Collide
Dramatic images from the largest computer simulation ever of a plausible collision between the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies highlight this report from the National Partnership for Advanced Computational Infrastructure and the San Diego Supercomputer Center. Astrophysicist John Dubinski describes the science underlying the computations. Go to: http://www.npaci.edu/online/v4.9/galaxies2.html and http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~dubinski/tflops/.
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From the August 1, 1931, issue
THE TRUTH ABOUT DEATH VALLEY Death Valley is a deep trough between two mountain ranges. It is something over 100 miles long and averages 10 miles wide. Within less than 100 miles of Mt. Whitney, the highest peak in the United States proper, it sinks its lowest depression to 276 feet below sea level. This […]
- Animals
Don’t look now, but is that dog laughing?
Researchers have identified a particular exhalation that dogs make while playing as a possible counterpart to a human laugh.
- Paleontology
For past climate clues, ask a stalag-mite
Mites fossilized in cave formations in the American Southwest show that at times during the past 3,200 years the climate there was much wetter and cooler.
- Earth
Climate accord reached
Negotiators, without U.S. representatives' input, resolved controversies in Bonn that were blocking an international treaty to limit greenhouse gases.
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Deaf kids establish own sign language
Deaf children in Nicaragua display evidence of having created a fully grammatical sign language on their own in under 2 decades.
- Health & Medicine
Synthetic protein may yield malaria vaccine
A molecule patterned after part of the parasite that causes most severe malaria induces a strong immune response in people.
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Bacteria live inside bacteria in mealybug
In a new twist on how life forms can exploit each other and with implications for how complex cells originated, scientists have discovered one bacterium living inside another.
- Planetary Science
Craft tracks giant dust storm on Mars
The largest dust storm observed on Mars in 25 years is now engulfing the Red Planet.
- Tech
Setting electronics in artificial stone
Electronics components made of Portland cement may one day be part of buildngs and roadways that double as gargantuan sensors or other current-carrying devices.
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New Antibiotics Take Poke at Bacteria
Small rings of amino acids can self-assemble into tubes that punch holes in bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
Fighting Herself
Autoimmune diseases are more common in women than in men, and researchers are beginning to tease out the cellular mechanisms that may be responsible for this phenomenon.
