All Stories by Science News
-
19017
Thank you for your update of the antics of those madcap scientists who continue to very creatively search for “dark matter.” Their frantic quest seems more and more like a comedy of the absurd. Exotic theories such as of “cold dark matter” have now been joined by desperate, contrived fantasies of “self-interacting” and “just warm […]
-
18940
In your article you refer to imploding “air bubbles” that are produced by shrimp. However, these cavities, which are formed by cavitation, are filled with water vapor, not air. As the shrimp claws move rapidly through the water, a low-pressure area is formed behind the claws. If the pressure is below the vapor pressure of […]
-
18962
I just read the article and I’m dying to know what motivated the patient to undergo such an experimental (transatlantic) form of an otherwise routine surgery. Any info available? Henry Jones Baton Rouge, La.Her doctors say the patient was simply interested in advancing medical science and that she knew that several surgeons were standing by […]
-
18961
I detect a blind spot in this article. Theorists were quick to offer explanations of why the fine-structure constant might have been different 12 billion years ago. But no one thought to question the chain of reasoning that led to that conclusion. We know that quasar spectra are drastically redshifted during their multibillion-year journey to […]
-
18969
If, as it appears from “Ill winds,” dust storms are so important, and if they can be tracked from space, it would seem as though the weather bureaus should give dust storm warnings, as they do for hurricanes, tornados, and thunderstorms. It might be difficult to get across to government bureaus that this is important, […]
-
From the October 3, 1931 issue
A SEA-GOING LIZARD FROM GALAPAGOS When Darwin, as a young naturalist just out of school, visited the Galpagos islands, he saw a number of things that helped to crystallize and precipitate in his mind the concept, already seeded there, that later revolutionized all biology and much of philosophy. Not the least provocative of speculation was […]
- Math
Knot Views
Interested in playing around with some mathematical knots? Manuel Arala Chaves of the University of Porto in Portugal has created a table illustrating all 75 knots with up to 9 crossings in their standard representation. If your computer can handle LiveGraphics3D, you can manipulate the knots in three dimensions and look at them from different […]
-
18976
The story correlates red tides in Florida with Saharan dust storms. The cover story of the same issue (“Dust, the thermostat,” p. 200: Dust, the Thermostat) dealt, in part, with dust blowing across the Mediterranean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. Are there “red tides” in these areas? Are they correlated with Saharan dust? David D. […]
-
18975
We read that the Chaco Anasazi builders used “large timbers” 5 meters long, 22 centimeters in diameter, and weighing 275 kilograms. As anyone who splits his own firewood could tell you, something is amiss here. The Handbook of Chemistry and Physics tells us that ponderosa pine has a density of about 0.5 gram per cubic […]
-
Issues of Medical Research
Should researchers be allowed to tinker with our genetic codes, or create copies of human beings? Could we somehow be harming future generations by aiding sick people today? Public Agenda Online offers a nonpartisan guide to these and other policy issues related to medical research. Go to: http://www.publicagenda.org/issues/frontdoor.cfm?issue_type=medical_research
-
From the September 26, 1931, issue
FLASH WELDING JOINS METAL AMID SHOWER OF SPARKS A brilliant shower of sparks for a few seconds, and two pieces of steel have become one, with a union as strong as the original metal itself. The picture on the front cover from the Pittsfield, Mass., works of the General Electric Company illustrates a recent adaptation […]
-
18974
Regarding “Constipation might signal Parkinson’s,” did anyone consider that the patients’ diet might be the reason for constipation and the Parkinson’s disease? Your article reads as if diet can’t affect constipation. Mark Bremer Benicia, Calif.The researchers accounted for smoking, coffee consumption, laxative use, jogging, and intake of fruits, vegetables, and grains. –N. Seppa
