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Math
Tolstoy’s Calculus
“Absolute continuity of motion is not comprehensible to the human mind. Laws of motion of any kind become comprehensible to man only when he examines arbitrarily selected elements of that motion; but at the same time, a large proportion of human error comes from the arbitrary division of continuous motion into discontinuous elements.” This striking […]
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Health & Medicine
Team locates anthrax-receptor protein
Scientists have identified the protein that enables the anthrax toxin to attach to cells and trigger disease, while another team has mapped the molecular structure of the toxin component that does most of the damage to cells.
By Nathan Seppa -
Paleontology
Fossils Indicate. . .Wow, What a Croc!
Newly discovered fossils of an ancient cousin of modern crocodiles suggest that adults of the species may have been dinosaur-munching behemoths that grew to the length of a school bus and weighed as much as 8 metric tons.
By Sid Perkins -
Tech
Brain cells stay in focus as rats roam
So light that it doesn't weigh down a rat's head, a new microscope mounted over a hole in the awake animal's skull promises to open a window into individual neurons as a rat carries out normal activities.
By Peter Weiss -
Tech
Natural micromachines get the points
In custom-made microscopic channels marked with arrows, mobile and thread-like cell structures called microtubules no longer wander aimlessly but slither in a fixed direction—a potential step toward tiny, man-made factories where cellular micromachinery churns out drugs or novel materials.
By Peter Weiss -
Gene defect leads to warts and more
Scientists have found the gene for an immunodeficiency syndrome.
By John Travis -
DNA hints at origin of all language
A genetic study of African tribes suggests early language contained clicking sounds.
By John Travis -
Astronomy
Young stars shed light on young sun
If our own sun had been as active in its youth as is a group of young sunlike stars recently observed with the Chandra X-ray Observatory, it could account for the abundance of several isotopes, such as aluminum-26, calcium-41, and beryllium-10 found in meteorites.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Asteroid studies reveal new puzzles
Belying the image of an asteroid as a bare rock, a detailed study of the asteroid 433 Eros reveals that many of its crater floors and depressions are coated with fine dust and nearly half of the largest rocks strewn across the asteroid's surface represent material blasted from a single crater.
By Ron Cowen -
Astronomy
Moon plume breaks the record
The Galileo spacecraft has found the tallest plume seen so far on Jupiter's moon Io, the only volcanically active moon known in the solar system.
By Ron Cowen -
Plight of the Untouchables
Stigma's largely unexplored effects on the health of people sufering from ailments ranging from AIDS to schizophrenia attracted much interest at a recent conference.
By Bruce Bower -
19032
A Canadian nurse I know is working in Mt. Selinda, Zimbabwe. She is currently designing her dissertation, in which she will interview local women in an attempt to understand their perspectives on health and how to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. When I read your article on stigmas’ harm to public health , I e-mailed […]
By Science News