All Stories by Science News
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19054
In your coverage of the recent sonofusion work, you make the unsubstantiated and false remark regarding cold fusion and Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons: “However, neither the original pair nor anyone else could reproduce those findings, which have largely been discredited as a case study in mistaken science.” The peer-reviewed literature since 1989 does indeed […]
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19053
As mavericks often are, Egon Brunswik was ahead of his time. It is becoming increasingly apparent that our cognitive abilities are the result of the gradual evolution of neurochemical brain processes that record the often-ambiguous sensory cues we perceive from our external physical and social environment, as well as internal cues from memory, habitual patterns, […]
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From the March 5, 1932, issue
WEIRD LEATHER COSTUMES PROTECT ELECTRIC WORKERS Dressed in the clothes of imagined creatures from a distant planet, these power plant operators open and close the switches of transmission lines that bring power for electric lamp and industrial motor. The costume, a new invention of safety engineers, is designed to protect the wearer from flashes of […]
- Math
Pi Day Festivities
Pi Day celebrations take place, appropriately enough, on March 14 at 1:59 p.m. For a glimpse of activities highlighting the enduring fascination of the digits of pi (the ratio of a circle’s circumference to its diameter), take a look at the Exploratorium’s Web pages devoted to pi, then try the links to other weird and […]
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18995
In this article, Bruce Tremper states how predictable avalanches are (more so than a stock market crash), yet the whole last page describes the opposite. Am I missing something? Jeff CottonLake City, Calif. Tremper didn’t quite say that avalanches are predictable. He said they don’t occur without warning signs. –S. Perkins
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19052
The Dutch researchers featured in this article seem to have discovered something that has been known for a long time. They conclude that the people who make the best recovery from loss are those who “cite mainly positive feelings” about the deceased. Jews, who are among the human race’s experts in recovering from losses, have […]
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18994
There is another mechanism besides muscle that gives energy to running and hopping animals. It enables such animals as kangaroos to run faster than their muscles alone can take them. What happens is the tendons act as springs that stretch and then snap back. There is no reason to think that a large and heavy […]
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18993
Just a simple question from an avid subscriber. Is the homocysteine in this article the same as the l-cysteine or acetyl-l-cysteine that people take for health reasons in pill form? Paul A. PagnatoMcLean, Va. L-cysteine and acetyl-l-cysteine are quite different from homocysteine. l-cysteine is a detoxifying agent and free radical scavenger that’s the mirror image […]
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Ivorybill Search
The huge ivory-billed woodpecker has remained one of the United States’ most charismatic birds, even years after its presumed demise. In the latest effort to find the bird, a Zeiss-sponsored expedition this year sought the woodpecker in a Louisiana swamp. Catch up with the doings of the woodpecker’s many fans and learn more about its […]
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From the February 27, 1932, issue
PUSSY WILLOW Florists shops have long been offering big, beautiful, and expensive wands of pussy willows. But now the willow trees and bushes out of doors are putting forth their own offerings: smaller catkins, perhaps, but with the authentic tang of the wild about them. Harmless, charming, furry wild kittens, beloved of children everywhere! Pussy […]
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From the February 20, 1932, issue
LIGHT FLOODS MONUMENT FOR CELEBRATION Science and engineering are aiding the Washington Bicentennial celebration, for they have just joined hands to illuminate in a very realistic fashion the famous obelisk that is named for the father of his country. The striking photograph of the shaft and its reflection in the Lincoln Memorial pool shows how […]
- Math
Math Class Artifacts
Do you recall the 7-foot-long slide rule that used to hang above the blackboard in math class? Ever wonder who invented graph paper? Have you worked with a geoboard? The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History has put together an exhibit displaying tools used to teach mathematics in the United States from the 1800s to […]
