Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Learning From the Octopus: How Secrets from Nature Can Help Us Fight Terrorist Attacks, Natural Disasters, and Disease by Rafe Sagarin

    Octopus defenses, marmot lie detection, salmon suicide and other natural phenomena provide inspiration for ways to improve national security. Basic Books, 2012, 320 p., $26.99

  2. Transit of Venus: 1631 to the Present by Nick Lomb

    This illustrated history recounts the scientific contributions and adventures of the 18th and 19th century astronomers who traveled the world to observe Venus passing in front of the sun. The Experiment, 2011, 228 p., $24.95

  3. Dolphin Confidential: Confessions of a Field Biologist by Maddalena Bearzi

    A marine biologist chronicles her life in the field and offers an insider’s view of how scientists study marine mammals in the wild. Univ. of Chicago, 2012, 216 p., $26

  4. Evolution in a Toxic World by Emily Monosson

    A toxicologist traces how life evolved to deal with toxic substances and how this plays into chemical exposures today. Island Press, 2012, 232 p., $35

  5. BOOK REVIEW: Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet by Andrew Blum

    Review by Sid Perkins.

  6. BOOK REVIEW: The Cure For Everything: Untangling Twisted Messages about Health, Fitness, and Happiness by Timothy Caulfield

    Review by Nathan Seppa.

  7. Letters

    Information as substrate In a recent article (“Enriched with information,” SN: 3/10/12, p. 22), you point out that some researchers consider consciousness to be a form of information. In another (“Bits of reality,” SN: 4/7/12, p. 26), you mention that increasing numbers of physicists are coming to regard information as the basic “stuff” from which […]

  8. SN Online

    HUMANS Learn what confidence means for group decision-making strategies in “Two heads sometimes better than one.” S. Osaki/Phys. Rev. Lett. 2012 MATTER & ENERGY A structural change in spider silk (below) makes it strong enough to string a violin. Read “Scientist fiddles with spider silk.” BODY & BRAIN A physician describes controversial anatomical evidence for […]

  9. Science Future for June 2, 2012

    June 9 Researchers hold car washes and bake sales nationwide to raise money and bring attention to budget cuts for planetary science programs. Find out more at bit.ly/SFcarwash June 26 Learn about the science of local food at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City. A panel discusses whether eating locally is […]

  10. Science Past from the issue of June 2, 1962

    SECOND U.S. ASTRONAUT — Lt. Comdr. M. Scott Carpenter was rocketed into space at 8:45 a.m., EST, on May 24 to become the second U. S. astronaut.… As one of his experiments, Astronaut Carpenter released a small, 30-inch balloon…. The idea of the experiment was to determine whether a man undergoing the rigors of weightlessness […]

  11. The Practical Einstein: Experiments, Patents, Inventions by József Illy

    Einstein’s papers reveal a down-to-earth side. Learn about his inventions and ideas, including waterproof breathable clothes and an explanation for rivers’ meanderings. Johns Hopkins Univ., 2012, 202 p., $60

  12. A World of Insects by Ring T. Cardé and Vincent H. Resh, eds.

    Two entomologists present insect essays that explore everything from insect sex to crime scene investigation. Harvard Univ., 2012, 404 p., $19.95