Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. 19823

    Your article posits that every 64 million years a mass die-off occurs due to increased cosmic rays. When will the cosmic rays again be at their maximum? Robert RichardsMetairie, La. The article failed to mention when the next cosmic-ray bath is due. Now, I’m worried that it might be so imminent that Science News didn’t […]

  2. 19822

    In this article, an association is found between young offenders being tried as adults and increased criminal offenses later. The implication is made that one thing causes the other. Perhaps a better interpretation of the data would be that, because not every young offender is treated as an adult, the system is good at picking […]

  3. 19821

    The title of this article exemplifies the problem. By law, the official and preferred system of measurement for all U.S. activities is SI, or the modern metric system. We too often forget that a gram of prevention is worth three kilograms of cure. Education reform at all levels needs to model and teach SI units. […]

  4. Humans

    Letters from the April 21, 2007, issue of Science News

    How the West isn’t one The author of “Why So Dry? Ocean temperatures alone don’t explain droughts” (SN: 2/10/07, p. 84), seems to feel, like most other writers do, that “the western United States” properly covers all geographical bases. Believe me, the Pacific Northwest is anything but dry. One other point about geography: Weather phenomena, […]

  5. From the April 10, 1937, issue

    Living pearls and a clue to atomic structure.

  6. Earth

    Greaseball Challenge

    And they’re off! The participants in this charity biofuel car rally are on their way from the U.S. East Coast to San Jose, Costa Rica. Powered by biodiesel, vegetable oil, waste grease, and other alternative fuels, the vehicles will all be donated to local communities at the end of the rally, which runs until April […]

  7. 19820

    The existence of ancient proteins is no surprise. Evidence of remnants of durable, skeleton-associated proteins such as collagen are not uncommon in the fossil record long before Tyrannosaurus rex. For example, remains of bivalve ligaments are known from the mid-Ordovician, over 400 million years ago. Other durable but pliable organic materials, such as protist resting […]

  8. 19819

    I was interested to read in this article that running portable generators caused carbon monoxide poisoning, presumably by improper fuel burning. A good solution to this problem is to use a generator that is designed for much lower emissions. I use my Toyota Prius as an emergency generator that can power my house! It can […]

  9. Humans

    Letters from the April 14, 2007, issue of Science News

    Heated comments I am disappointed in your article on the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) summary (“From Bad to Worse: Earth’s warming to accelerate,” SN: 2/10/07, p. 83). It was a political summary, not the 1,500 page report that’s due in May 2007. How often have you seen a scientific summary published 3 […]

  10. Humans

    From the April 3, 1937, issue

    Life in glass and the science of gambling.

  11. Ecosystems

    The Great Turtle Race

    This international conservation event involves 11 leatherback turtles that are “racing” toward feeding areas south of the Galapagos Islands. Pick your favorite of these endangered animals and follow its progress, as tracked by satellite, from April 16 to April 29. Go to: http://greatturtlerace.com

  12. 19818

    I find it interesting that even the scientists studying Mars can’t accept that our local star can have a major impact on climate. I am still waiting for the global-warming-crisis mongers to explain how carbon dioxide causes global warming. Donald R. Laster Jr.West Long Branch, N.J. So now we are asked to believe that the […]