Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Humans

    Letters from the October 21, 2006, issue of Science News

    Fish story? To argue that the concentrations reported in “Macho Moms: Perchlorate pollutant masculinizes fish” (SN: 8/12/06, p. 99) are environmentally relevant is misleading. Those concentrations are usually in groundwater, not surface waters. I’ve been involved in the environmental field for almost 20 years and have yet to hear of any fish being caught in […]

  2. Humans

    From the October 10, 1936, issue

    The inner beauty of leaves, a better treatment for pneumonia, and alcohol fuel for cars.

  3. Physics

    Hawking at CERN

    Physicist Stephen Hawking visited the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in late September 2006. The CERN Web site offers a glimpse of Hawking’s visit and video of two lectures that he presented, one for a general audience on the origin of the universe and the other for a specialist audience on the “semi-classical birth […]

  4. 19743

    It is ironic that the father of the current recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry won the prize in medicine. Looking at the research of 2006 winner Roger D. Kornberg, his prize should have been awarded in medicine. For his father, Arthur Kornberg, the prize in 1959 should have been in chemistry. The good […]

  5. 19742

    In the study that was cited in this article misoprostol was tested as a more practical means of inducing postdelivery contractions in women in developing countries, despite “troubling side effects.” Because most women need no intervention to cause the uterus to contract, why not wait a few minutes to see which of them will require […]

  6. Humans

    Letters from the October 14, 2006, issue of Science News

    Name game “Named medical trials garner extra attention” (SN: 8/5/06, p. 93), I think, has it backwards. It’s not that labeled trials are more likely to be funded. Rather, well-funded, large trials are more likely to be named. We research chemists label only the important projects. The name makes the project easier to track and […]

  7. 19741

    Reading this article prompted me to consider the biological significance of fever and our impulse to reduce it when given the choice. Isn’t it possible that an increase in cancer incidence could be related to the prevalence of fever-reducing medications or the overall reduction in illnesses that cause fever? Wendy GordonAustin, Texas

  8. Humans

    From the October 3, 1936, issue

    Testing concrete columns, life in the Dead Sea, and watching enzymes at work.

  9. Humans

    Learning about Engineering

    This site, created by biomedical engineer Celeste Baine of Eugene, Ore., offers material and access to resources to help motivate teachers, counselors, and students to learn about and consider pursuing careers in engineering. Go to: http://www.engineeringedu.com/

  10. 19740

    It is ironic that the father of the current recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry won the prize in medicine. Looking at the research of 2006 winner Roger D. Kornberg, his prize should have been awarded in medicine. For his father, Arthur Kornberg, the prize in 1959 should have been in chemistry. The good […]

  11. 19739

    The explanation in this article for the increased ocean-surface temperature seemed to focus solely on atmospheric effects. I wonder if variations in undersea volcanism might have contributed to the sudden spike in Pacific Ocean surface temperatures during the Aptian epoch of the Cretaceous period. If so, then a moderately higher release of volcanic ash might […]

  12. 19738

    This article concludes with the interesting fact that the only annual drop in U.S. population during the past century “occurred between July 1917 and July 1918, when the country was at war,” implying a military cause for the decline. Indeed, the honored dead of the First World War did total 116,708. However, you missed the […]