All Stories by Science News
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19114
In this article, you state, “The first Fermat number is 22+1, or 5,” and later, “the first four Fermat numbers are prime, but [among] the rest, up to and now including the 24th, none are prime.” Almost all number theorists consider the first Fermat prime to be F0 = 220 + 1 = 3, so […]
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19113
Why not explore the connection to much greater use of antibiotics, particularly in recent years, including by expectant mothers and very young children? Could not this factor negatively affect immature immune systems, leading to increases in allergic disorders in otherwise healthy people? Robert C. WaggonerMountain Lakes, N.J.
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From the September 3, 1932, issue
INSECT LARVAE MAKE MOSAIC JEWELRY Manufacturers of modern jewelry might well turn to the larvae of the caddis fly for effective models for small containers–tiny perfume bottles, say, or lipstick cases. These water-dwelling “worms” build mosaic coverings for the little cylindrical houses they spin for themselves, taking bits of sand and gravel from the streambed […]
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Art of the Gene
Artworks and essays inspired by current genetics research are featured at the Web site accompanying the traveling art exhibition known as “Gene(sis): Contemporary Art Explores Human Genomics.” Curated by Robin Held of the Henry Art Gallery in Seattle, the exhibition offers a wide variety of artistic speculations–from the whimsical to the starkly dramatic–on the implications […]
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19026
Rather than early exposure to pets preventing allergies, I suspect that families who have allergies may generally tend to avoid having pets in the home because they cause physical discomfort to allergy sufferers. Terry LeeYerington, Nev.
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19112
Your article brought to mind how this affects me. I’m a firefighter, so prone to sleep deprivation. I have noticed that when sleep patterns are repeatedly interrupted by emergency calls, I tend to be more susceptible to illness. This is anecdotal but seems to hold true for my colleagues and me. Ryan SmithForest Grove, Ore. […]
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19111
Regarding this article, I was shocked. Not by the findings but the resources that were wasted. I have been involved in the radiation sterilization of medical devices for 30 years. Yellowing and brittleness of cellulose materials is well known, as are discoloration and damage to many plastics. Computer chips, CDs, film, and video and audiotapes […]
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19109
The image in this article looks to me more like a yo-yo or taco than a hamburger. Then again, turned 45 to the left, it looks like the mouth of a frog with two small eyes on top. Jacky MemoleLargo, Fla.
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From the March 1, 1930, issue
BEAUTY IN A DITCH Among the photographs that attracted much attention at an exhibition of the London Salon of Photography not long ago was one that stood out as a gleaming example of the beauty to be found in common things–even in ugly things–by a sufficiently discerning eye. S. Uyeda saw a lot of big, […]
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Weird Science Projects
The name of this site–Bizarre Stuff You Can Make in Your Kitchen–sums it up nicely. It describes, in detail, classic science projects originally published in books and magazines from the 1930s to 1960s. The list includes lessons on how to build your own seismograph, manufacture strange goo, or make pickles glow. The site even explains […]
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19110
I’m glad to see that other mathematicians are working on the fair-division problem. The challenge is not so much with the optimizing-allocating procedures or algorithms but with how to explain the process and results in a way that is satisfying, understandable, and binding to the participants without seeming to benefit some distant party, like the […]
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19108
This article, in which among other things you gave a description of William’s syndrome, really surprised me. I said to myself, I know a boy like that. I finished the article and called the boy’s parents to see if they had ever heard about this genetic syndrome. They hadn’t. Numerous health-care providers had failed to […]
