Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Science Past from the issue of October 24, 1959

    Sons with ulcers have dominant mothers — Men who get duodenal ulcers early in life tend to have dominant mothers and submissive fathers. In a Medical Research Council report, a research team recorded that two-thirds of a group of men who got ulcers before they were 25 had mothers who were “dominant and controlling personalities […]

  2. Letters

    Biofuel feedback “The biofuel future” (SN: 8/1/09, p. 24) proved very enjoyable reading. However, the future and direction of biofuels will be determined by politicians, not scientists. Scientists seem to use crazy things like facts, research and logic to determine the most efficient way to convert plants to fuel. I find it incredible that we […]

  3. Book Review: The Medicine Cabinet of Curiosities by Nicholas Bakalar

    Review by Rachel Zelkowitz.

  4. Why Does E=mc²? (And Why Should We Care?) by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

    By exploring each part of Albert Einstein’s famous equation, two physicists ultimately explain the theory of relativity. Da Capo Press, 2009, 249 p., $24. Why Does E=mc²? (And Why Should We Care?) by Brian Cox and Jeff Forshaw

  5. Simulation and its Discontents by Sherry Turkle

    Computer simulation has altered standard practices in science and engineering, but its ubiquity has drawbacks. MIT Press, 2009, 217 p., $22. Simulation and its Discontents by Sherry Turkle

  6. Book Review: How We Live and Why We Die: The Secret Lives of Cells by Lewis Wolpert

    Review by Nathan Seppa.

  7. Book Review: Connected: The Surprising Power of Social Networks and How They Shape Our Lives by Nicholas A. Christakis and James H. Fowler

    Review by Rachel Zelkowitz.

  8. Grace Hopper and the Invention of the Information Age by Kurt W. Beyer

    This biography explores the trials and triumphs of one of computer programming’s few female pioneers.MIT Press, 2009, 389 p., $27.95. GRACE HOPPER AND THE INVENTION OF THE INFORMATION AGE

  9. The 10,000 Year Explosion: How Civilization Accelerated Human Evolution by Gregory Cochran and Henry Harpending

    Genetic changes reveal how culture has shaped recent human evolution, the authors argue. Basic Books, 2009, 288 p., $27. THE 10,000 YEAR EXPLOSION: HOW CIVILIZATION ACCELERATED HUMAN EVOLUTION

  10. Instant Egghead Guide: The Universe by J.R. Minkel and Scientific American

    Bite-sized knowledge on subatomic particles, supernovas, time dilation and more.St. Martin’s Griffin, 2009, 221 p., $14.99. INSTANT EGGHEAD GUIDE: THE UNIVERSE

  11. Green Intelligence: Creating Environments that Protect Human Health by John Wargo

    Pollution’s past effects could inform today’s environmental policy. Yale Univ. Press, 2009, 400 p., $32.50. GREEN INTELLIGENCE: CREATING ENVIRONMENTS THAT PROTECT HUMAN HEALTH

  12. Mathematics in 10 Lessons: The Grand Tour by Jerry P. King

    A few fundamental principles and an aesthetic awareness underlie all math, King shows. Prometheus, 2009, 394 p., $18.95. Instant Egghead Guide: The Universe by J.R. Minkel and Scientific American Mathematics in 10 Lessons: The Grand Tour by Jerry P. King