Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. 18968

    I’ve just read your account of the “ekpyrotic model” of the universe. Although descriptive, “ekpyrotic” seems rather contrived and is hard to pronounce. Certainly it lacks the pizzazz of “Big Bang.” And “Big Crunch” has been used previously to refer to the “anti-Big Bang” catastrophe thought to be awaiting the universe. How about the “Big […]

  2. From the September 19, 1931, issue

    ORCHIDS THAT LOOK LIKE GIRLS Plucked from their stems and stood on the table, they are the daintiest little dancers imaginable–dancers in the latest fashionable costumes at that. Their skirts are long and concealing, tight over the slim hips and flaring widely at the bottom. The dancers stand poised, their arms thrown up and out, […]

  3. Chemistry

    Web Elements

    Want to know more than just selenium’s symbol, atomic number, and atomic weight? Created by chemist Mark Winter of the University of Sheffield, WebElements provides information on each chemical element’s history, uses, reactions, bulk and thermal properties, and more. Go to: http://www.webelements.com/

  4. 18973

    “Bt corn risk to monarchs is ‘negligible'” is full of manipulative words. How exactly was the “highly polarized atmosphere surrounding genetically modified crops . . . hampering attempts to rationally plan and evaluate research”? The companies that make the strains of corn discussed in the article are not named, of course. Nor are any ties […]

  5. 18967

    Regarding “Neandertals show ancient signs of caring,” it seems to me that rather than “pounding, chopping, or cooking tougher food” for a friend or relative, these kindly Neandertals probably just masticated a mouthful before passing it on. This is something people do all over the world. Sharon Rudahl Los Angeles, Calif.

  6. 18972

    Several key ideas seem missing from “Life on the edge”: 1) the fundamental nature of overpopulation and how it combines with technology to drive mass extinction; 2) the concept of functional extinction, an example being the decimated numbers and diminished range of elephants; and 3) a reasonable extrapolation of human technology. The statement that our […]

  7. 18966

    One cannot be around cats long without observing that they have intelligence and personalities nearly as complex and diverse as people do. They communicate with each other and people, both verbally and with body language. They have preferences for whom they associate with, both human and feline, and those can change. I think that complexity […]

  8. From the September 12, 1931 issue

    ELEPHANTS JAWBONE SHOWS LIKENESS TO SCOOP SHOVEL Where the idea of the present-day scoop shovel came from is suggested in the illustration on the cover of this weeks Science News Letter. When President Henry Fairfield Osborn of the American Museum of Natural History received the weird lower jawbone of an ancient Asian elephant, he was […]

  9. Physics

    Caught in a Flash

    View the tip of a snapped towel (which moves faster than the speed of sound), then take a look at a bursting water balloon, a collapsing water drop, a tennis ball in mid-collision with a racket, and many other amazing images in this gallery of high-speed photos snapped by high school students. Sorry! This Web […]

  10. 18965

    The article says that evidence of past climate variations in Antarctica may invalidate global warming as a cause for the recent demise of several ice shelves in that area. Isn’t the length of time over which the changes occurred the critical thing? If the changes are occurring over roughly the same time span as they […]

  11. Human Cloning

    Did you miss last month’s National Academy of Sciences workshop on scientific and medical aspects of human cloning? You can listen to the recorded presentations via RealPlayer (use the links at Workshop Agenda) and view the accompanying slides (see Speaker Presentations). Go to: http://www7.nationalacademies.org/COSEPUP/Workshop_Agenda.html –updated 8/26/03–VM.

  12. From the September 5, 1931, issue

    SEEING EYE TO EYE WITH A WHITE WASP The medieval Japanese, who sometimes closed up the fronts of their helmets with ferocious metal masks painted with vivid war paint, knew the right psychology for hand-to-hand encounters. It is much more disconcerting to be confronted with an immobile, wholly artificial hobgoblin face than to see that […]