Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. From the January 23, 1932, issue

    FLOODLIGHTS ILLUMINATE LONDON’S TOWER BRIDGE Light from a new age is cast upon the pointed heights of London’s Tower Bridge by floodlights turned on the structure during recent engineering and scientific celebrations in England. The Tower Bridge is just one of the many structures illuminated. This bridge across the Thames, one of the most famous […]

  2. Health & Medicine

    Painful Thoughts

    It may not surprise people terrified by a visit to the dentist that one of the top pain research groups at the National Institutes of Health is located within the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Check out the group’s history in NIDCR’s fascinating primer on the science of pain. Go to: http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/pain/

  3. 18990

    The concluding comment in this article that both sexes preferred unsmeared birds doesn’t show any support for the researchers’ contention that non-UV-blocking smears didn’t impact the sexual behavior of birds. M.J. RaichykCincinnati, Ohio The researchers had noticed that birds preferred companions of the opposite sex with fluorescent feathers still glowing. But might this just be […]

  4. 18989

    I have to tell you that your new look will keep your base audience and attract new readers. Your new design leaped off the kitchen counter and said, “Read me, read me!” It is still serious, as it should be, but so much more inviting. Becky MoserKings Mountain, N.C. I hate the new look. The […]

  5. 18988

    I was disappointed to see Science News depart from its usual objective reporting to cite an antinuclear propagandist as sole authority on the “dangers” of nuclear waste. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) is a single-issue political action group. Such organizations have a right to exist, but they should be identified as such in […]

  6. 18987

    The discovery that silicon would explode is not news to me. I made a serendipitous discovery over 20 years ago as a computer hobbyist. I discovered that silicon would explode when I accidentally injected 15,000 volts into some integrated circuits designed for 5 volts. Fortunately, the detonations were small and no damage was done to […]

  7. Humans

    From the January 16, 1932, issue

    A PHARAOH’S RIGHTHAND MAN Add the name of Ken-Amun, ambitious Egyptian politician, a Pharaoh’s righthand man, to the list of unusual personalities from ancient Egypt. Ken-Amun’s tomb, cut into a rocky hillside in the Valley of the Kings, has been known for almost a century, but has been strangely neglected. Now, it has been thoroughly […]

  8. Astronomy

    Planet Quest

    Need help in tracking discoveries of planets orbiting stars beyond our solar system? NASA’s new Planet Quest Web site offers one-stop shopping for planet discovery news. Check out the latest findings, search an atlas of extrasolar planets, and learn about NASA’s proposed missions to search for new worlds, particularly those that might harbor life. Interactive […]

  9. 18986

    If the stones in this article simply were used for grinding ocher to make powder, would not the grinder rough up the surface to make it a better grindstone? The marks may be nothing more than primitive knurls. Rather than art, this looks like a tool to me, not different in principle from flaked flint. […]

  10. 19048

    I seem to be missing something when I read articles that refer to the immense pressures at Earth’s core. If the source of gravity is mass and there’s equal mass in all directions at the core, then the core should be suspended in zero gravity. It’s very frustrating for me to get this wrong. Glenn […]

  11. 18985

    Reading this article, I wondered about other species. I have a golden retriever that licks her legs to the point of making them raw. I had thought it was a nervous habit learned as a puppy, then a previous golden retriever owner told me that it is a trait of the breed. I am now […]

  12. From the January 9, 1932, issue

    DR. ABEL OF JOHNS HOPKINS ELECTED NEW AAAS HEAD Dr. John J. Abel, professor of pharmacology at the Johns Hopkins Medical School, Baltimore, has been elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for 1932. This action was taken at the annual meeting of the Association in New Orleans. Dr. Abel succeeds […]