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  1. Health & Medicine

    Soy estrogens: Too much of a good thing?

    Two studies of female mice suggest that genistein, an estrogen analog found in soy, could contribute to cancer risk.

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  2. Earth

    Memory problems linked to PCBs in fish

    Adult exposures to polychlorinated biphenyls, from eating tainted fish, correlate with lower scores on learning and memorization tasks.

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  3. Materials Science

    Scientists get a handle on crystal shape

    Researchers have discovered how the orientation of amino acid molecules can make a growing crystal take on either a right- or a left-handed form.

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  4. Healthy aging may depend on past habits

    A 60-year study indicates that middle-aged men can exert a considerable amount of personal control over their eventual physical and mental health as seniors.

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  5. 18951

    That is a neat little recycle program described in “New test traces underground forest carbon.” As fast as the CO2 comes out of the ground, the tree grabs the carbon by photosynthesis and leaves two oxygen atoms in the atmosphere. A portion of the carbon is stored until the wood rots or burns. Some carbon […]

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  6. Earth

    New test traces underground forest carbon

    An unusual method of studying soil respiration by girdling trees may clear up several vital mysteries in the way carbon cycles through forests.

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  7. 18950

    In the space of a single paragraph, you report that the National Academy of Sciences and the United Nations conclude that human activity “very likely” has caused global warming and that “uncertainties remain about the role of human-generated gas emissions.” One can’t have it both ways. Given the uncertainties involved, President Bush is following the […]

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  8. Earth

    Global Warming Debate Gets Hotter

    President Bush gets the global warming report he commissioned just days before he meets with European leaders.

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  9. Math

    Bubbles and Math Olympiads

    Predicting the geometric shapes of soap bubble clusters can lead to surprisingly difficult mathematical problems. Which one of these two configurations of five planar bubbles of equal area has the smaller total perimeter? The more symmetric candidate isn’t always the winner. Frank Morgan Frank Morgan of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., recently illustrated such difficulties […]

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  10. Math

    Bubbles and Math Olympiads

    Predicting the geometric shapes of soap bubble clusters can lead to surprisingly difficult mathematical problems. Which one of these two configurations of five planar bubbles of equal area has the smaller total perimeter? The more symmetric candidate isn’t always the winner. Frank Morgan Frank Morgan of Williams College in Williamstown, Mass., recently illustrated such difficulties […]

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  11. Geo Name Game

    Is your name Bob? Want to see how many lakes in the United States are named after you? (Twelve in all, and four of them are in Michigan!) The U.S. Geological Survey’s Geographic Names Information System (GNIS) contains data about nearly 2 million geographic features in the United States. Just enter a name or any […]

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  12. From the June 13, 1931, issue

    TWIN ALBINO ROBINS HATCHED WITH NORMAL BIRD Two albino robins, highly interesting and rather rare oddities in the bird world, have been watched from hatching to early maturity at the home of H.D. Shaw of Grinnell, Iowa, and had their pictures taken by Miss Cornelia Clarke, nature photographer. The nest was built high up on […]

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