Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. BOOK REVIEW: The Forever Fix: Gene Therapy and the Boy Who Saved It by Ricki Lewis

    Review by Alexandra Witze.

  2. SN Online

    LIFE Plants use adhesion and bubbles to spread spores. See “Plants’ reproductive weaponry unfurled.” Sharp scales (shown) help propel sharks. See “Shark’s skin adds forward boost.” MOLECULES The sugar in corn syrup may be a concern for diabetics. Read “Taste of fructose revs up metabolism.” DELETED SCENES BLOG Measurements of the W boson hint at […]

  3. Science Future for March 24, 2012

    April 4 Artists and scientists come together at the Leonardo Art/Science Evening Rendezvous at Stanford University. See bit.ly/SNartnite April 13–29 Science talks, lab tours and hands-on activities will be held statewide as part of the North Carolina Science Festival. For a schedule of events, go to www.ncsciencefestival.org

  4. Science Past from the issue of March 24, 1962

    ANTI-PARTICLE DISCOVERED — Three international teams of scientists, working in the United States, Switzerland and France, have discovered and identified one of the last predicted anti-particles of matter, the anti-Xi-minus. Also known as the anti-cascade-hyperon, the tiny particle of anti-matter exists only for one ten-billionth of a second. Nevertheless, it has been observed, measured and […]

  5. Three-inch pieces of light

    Because of quantum mechanics, the chopping of photons is a fuzzy endeavor.

  6. Letters

    Pondering speedy neutrinos Regarding “Hints of a flaw in special relativity” (SN: 10/22/11, p. 18), there could be a simple explanation for neutrinos being measured as traveling faster than the speed of light in a vacuum. While a vacuum is typically defined as a space entirely devoid of matter, in fact a vacuum is a […]

  7. Reinventing Discovery: The New Era of Networked Science by Michael Nielsen

    Review by Rachel Ehrenberg.

  8. Babel No More: The Search for the World’s Most Extraordinary Language Learners by Michael Erard

    Review by Nathan Seppa.

  9. Lights of Mankind: The Earth at Night as Seen from Space by L. Douglas Keeney

    Panoramic images of Earth at night illustrate the story of humankind’s global spread. Lyons Press, 2012, 282 p., $32.50

  10. Roald Hoffmann on the Philosophy, Art, and Science of Chemistry by Jeffrey Kovac and Michael Weisberg, eds.

    A selection of the Nobel laureate’s essays reveals his thoughts on everything from the beauty of molecules to teaching strategies. Oxford Univ., 2012, 416 p., $35

  11. The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess: Race, Religion, and DNA by Jeff Wheelwright

    A breast-cancer gene is the thread weaving together the history of Sephardic Jews, the Spanish Inquisition and the 1999 death of a Colorado woman. Norton, 2012, 260 p., $26.95

  12. Deep-Sky Wonders: A Tour of the Universe with Sky and Telescope’s Sue French by Sue French

    Visit the outer reaches of space with 100 celestial tours, arranged according to the best months for viewing each one. Firefly, 2011, 320 p., $39.95