Uncategorized
- 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.
- Astronomy
A Rocky Bicentennial
Mounting evidence that many asteroids aren't solid rock but collections of loosely bound fragments could have far-reaching implications for elucidating their internal structure, understanding planet formation, and developing strategies to mitigate the threat of one striking Earth.
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18939
I am writing in response to an article in the July 28 issue, “Having gathered moss, water drops roll.” You should have taken the time to find out that Lycopodium is not a moss. It’s true that a common name for the plant is club moss, but Lycopodium is in the division Lycophyta, sometimes called […]
- Tech
Having gathered moss, water drops roll
A coating of water-repellent powder transforms water droplets into remarkably mobile and resiliant balls, hoops, or peanut-shaped blobs.
- Tech
Biotechnology may fortify U.S. Army
A government-sponsored study says the U.S. Army may benefit from advances in biotechnology during the next 25 years, including sensors that identify soldiers by the food they ate, protein-based computers, near-instant vaccines, and automated wound treatments.
- Astronomy
Bow-wowing them with radar
The sharpest radar image ever of an asteroid shows features on 1999 KW4 as small as 7.5 meters—about the length of a stretch limo.
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From the July 25, 1931, issue
98-TON BUTTERFLY VALVE, A SIMPLE DEVICE A good place for a photographer to take a picture, this penstock will be serving an even better purpose when it begins to carry water through the dam to turn the huge turbines of the Ruskin power plant, British Columbia. The flow of water through this 19-foot-diameter intake pipe […]
- Planetary Science
Space Flight Basics
For armchair space explorers, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory offers a tutorial on how to operate an interplanetary space mission. Originally created a decade ago, the newly updated guide includes information on spacecraft engineering, mission design, trajectories, launch, navigation, telecommunications, and much more. Go to: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/basics/
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18938
In grad school, I read and learned from Ernst Mayr’s Populations, Species, and Evolution (1963, 1970, Harvard University Press). I think that “Alarming butterflies and go-getter fish” extremely simplifies Mayr’s position on speciation. The article says that Mayr focuses solely on geographic separation, “allopathic speciation.” This ignores the fact that Mayr discussed a variety of […]
