All Stories by Science News
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19413
I am not an advocate of capital punishment, but I wonder whether the people and organizations who are so anxious to use findings on brain maturity to raise the age of capitol punishment have considered the consequences of winning their case. One might argue on the same basis that anyone who has not yet reached […]
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19412
Your article suggests that somehow X rays caused low-birth-weight babies in women who had their teeth X-rayed during their pregnancies. Here is an alternative possibility: Perhaps unhealthy people are more likely to have low-birth-weight babies and bad teeth. Stephen WoodOrlando, FL. The article hypothesizes that the dental X-rays hitting the thyroid glands of pregnant women […]
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19411
In this article Rus Hoelzel states, “One thing I want to make clear is that I think whale watching is a good thing.” He then states that the activity may just need “tighter regulations.” I feel that this argument isn’t valid. If whale watching is causing danger to the species, then it’s not good. Whales […]
- Humans
From the April 28, 1934, issue
An ancient crocodile, how loudness affects pitch, and observing the sun's corona.
- Humans
Messing Around with Music
San Francisco’s Exploratorium offers an entertaining, multimedia excursion into the science of music. Visit a virtual kitchen to sample some appliance sounds. Use video of a step dancer to compose music. Discover how various cultures around the world create musical instruments out of everyday objects. Try out a sound mixer and much more. Go to: […]
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19410
The Essential Oils Desk Reference lists cinnamon as one of the oils to use for diabetes. Coincidence? I think not. Ancient natural remedies are very effective if you use high-grade therapeutic oils. More testing should be done with natural “medicines,” even though this wouldn’t be profitable for the drug industry. Tom E. KlassenNoblesville, Ind. Chemist […]
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19409
It’s pitiful to see supposedly objective scientists fantasizing that there’s a “fact that life could be widespread” because they’ve found organic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in space. Even if researchers found all the amino acids floating in space, it would be like finding a pile of bricks and other building materials and imagining they could form […]
- Humans
Letters from the May 1, 2004, issue of Science News
Skins game I know some people who carefully shield their bodies from the sun with sunscreen and clothing, and their skin is extremely pale. But if tanning acts as a protector (“Sunny Solution: Lotion speeds DNA repair, protects mice from skin cancer,” SN: 3/6/04, p. 147: Sunny Solution: Lotion speeds DNA repair, protects mice from […]
- Humans
From the April 21, 1934, issue
Archaeological explorations at Ur, creating elements of mass three, and bouncing radio waves off the moon.
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DNA Day
Celebrate DNA Day on April 30, commemorating the completion of the Human Genome Project in 2003 and the description of DNA’s structure as a double helix in 1953. The National Human Genome Research Institute offers a variety of resources, including genetic education modules for teachers and other curriculum materials and teaching tools. Go to: http://www.genome.gov/DNAday/
- Humans
Letters from the April 24, 2004, issue of Science News
Extreme makeover The observations in “Wrenching Findings: Homing in on dark energy” (SN: 2/28/04, p. 132: Wrenching Findings: Homing in on dark energy) are of stars and galaxies billions of light-years away and billions of years old. Has anyone ever thought about what the universe out there looks like today? Earl RosenwinkelDuluth, Minn. People have […]
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19408
I described everything in this article almost 50 years ago in The City and the Stars (1956, Harcourt, Brace, and World). See chapter 6: “He set up the matrix of all possible integers, and started his computer stringing the primes across its surface as beads might be arranged at the intersections of a mesh. Jeserac […]
