Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Letters

    Well-tooled apes The fascinating article “Aping the Stone Age” (SN: 11/21/09, p. 24) led me to wonder whether researchers who work with chimps or other higher apes have ever introduced them to the modern tools used by humans, such as saws, axes, hammers or pliers. If so, it would be interesting to know whether the […]

  2. Book Review: Megadisasters: The Science of Predicting the Next Catastrophe by Florin Diacu

    Review by Kristina Bartlett Brody.

  3. Book Review: Danger to Self: On the Front Line with an E.R. Psychiatrist by Paul R. Linde

    Review by Rachel Zelkowitz.

  4. The Double Helix and the Law of Evidence by David H. Kaye

    A  legal scholar describes the history and future of DNA-based evidence in the  American justice system. Harvard University Press, 2010, 330 p., $45. THE DOUBLE HELIX AND THE LAW OF EVIDENCE BY DAVID H. KAYE

  5. Toward the Healthy City: People, Places, and the Politics of Urban Planning by Jason Corburn

    City planners could increase health equity by considering environmental and public health issues during urban redevelopment. MIT Press, 2009, 282 p., $24. TOWARD THE HEALTHY CITY: PEOPLE, PLACES, AND THE POLITICS OF URBAN PLANNING BY JASON CORBURN

  6. Engineering Invention: Frank J. Sprague and the U.S. Electrical Industry by Frederick Dalzell

    The inventor and entrepreneur worked for Edison before coming up with the electric railway and electric elevator. MIT Press, 2009, 288 p., $30. ENGINEERING INVENTION: FRANK J. SPRAGUE AND THE U.S. ELECTRICAL INDUSTRY BY FREDERICK DALZELL

  7. Life Along the Inner Coast by Robert L. Lippson and Alice Jane Lippson

    Southeast waterways host tremendous diversity, described in this field guide by two naturalists. University of North Carolina Press, 2009, 454 p., $35. LIFE ALONG THE INNER COAST BY ROBERT L. LIPPSON AND ALICE JANE LIPPSON

  8. Jump into Science: Active Learning for Preschool Children by Rae Pica

    Science education starts early through experiments that keep kids moving. JUMP INTO SCIENCE: ACTIVE LEARNING FOR PRESCHOOL CHILDREN BY RAE PICA Gryphon House, 2009, 131 p., $14.95.

  9. 2009 Science News of the Year

    Brevity is in. If what you have to say can’t be delivered in 140 characters or less, you should reconsider your message — or so it seems in a world agog with texting and Twitter. Compiling Science News’ annual list of scientific highlights brought home the good and bad of this trend. Indeed, some of […]

  10. Math

    2009 Science News of the Year: Numbers

    Detroit Tigers second baseman Placido Polanco, a 2009 Gold Glove winner, applies the tag as Chicago White Sox’s Gordon Beckham slides into second. Image credit: Duane Burleson – file The stats on fielding Astute baseball fans know who has the golden glove, but assigning a number to a player’s defensive merits has been tricky. Benjamin […]

  11. Life

    2009 Science News of the Year: Genes & Cells

    Cancer-fighting roles Scientists have discovered a new role in cancer protection for an already well-known tumor suppressor protein. The protein, called p53, protects cells from becoming cancerous by sensing stress and either shutting down cell division or triggering cell death. Researchers at the University of Tokyo and colleagues have discovered that p53 also plays a […]

  12. Chemistry

    2009 Science News of the Year: Molecules

    Tangles of collagen IV chains link at globules via sulfur-nitrogen bonding (illustrated above). Credit: Courtesy of Science/AAAS New bond in the basementBasements house hidden treasures — including a chemical bond never before seen in living things. Scientists have discovered that collagen fibers in the basement membrane — a tough, structural layer of cells that surrounds […]