Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. From the January 17, 1931, issue

    AN AMERICAN ROMANCE IN STEEL AND STEAM Things mechanical offer the photographer an unlimited field for the exercise of his talents, and the locomotive–romantic and symbolical as it can be made–is especially attractive to him. On the front cover of this week’s SCIENCE NEWS LETTER, Photographer Rittase of Philadelphia has chosen the Boardwalk Flyer of […]

  2. 18901

    Since pandas produce twins “roughly half the time” and “the mother routinely selects one, and the other dies in a few days,” it seems that there is an opportunity to rear the discarded one experimentally (away from the mother). Has this been tried? It seems a waste to let one of the twins perish. Rhodes […]

  3. 18913

    If the studies done by Lene V. Hau and by Ronald Walsworth and Mikhail Lukin are correct, then are we saying that our current interpretation of space and time can be misinterpreted? For example, if light passes through cold sodium gas, the speed of light can be greatly slowed. If this is so, then can […]

  4. 18900

    What is the etymology of Yanomami? Unless someone pulled my leg, I was told that it was Yanomamo originally. If so, then it may be that the tribe was named by outsiders, much like Native Americans were called Indians by Columbus and others. Anibal José da Silva Houston, Texas The Yanomamo are the most numerous […]

  5. Earth

    Eye above the Timberline

    The Tundra-Cam, operated by the University of Colorado’s Institute of Arctic and Alpine Research, sits at an elevation of 11,600 feet near the U.S. Continental Divide. Visitors to the Web site can operate the remotely controlled webcam, panning across the mountainous landscape and zooming in on particular features of interest. Go to: http://tundracam.colorado.edu

  6. Physics

    From the January 24, 1931, issue

    EINSTEIN DISCUSSES REVOLUTION HE CAUSED IN SCIENTIFIC THOUGHT – By Dr. Albert Einstein From far away I have come to you, but not to strangers. I have come among men who for many years have been true comrades with me in my labors. You, my honored Dr. Michelson, began with this work when I was […]

  7. 18899

    I enjoy your well-written articles, obviously by individuals who are not only proficient in their fields, but who also have great verbal skills and an excellent grasp of the English language. Therefore, it was with a great deal of surprise and dismay that I read the revolting title “Flood’s rising? Quick, start peeing!” Helen Burkin […]

  8. Astronomy

    Eerie Sounds of Space

    NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, approaching Jupiter, is detecting electromagnetic waves at low radio frequencies in the thin gas of charged particles that fills the space between the sun and its planets. Converting such waves into sound makes them eerily audible. Go to: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/acoustic/ and http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/cassini/english/press/scinews/scinews001230a.html

  9. 18898

    Both definitions of “source of the Amazon” advanced by its would-be finders are capricious. They imply that a river can be a lesser stream than its tributary, which runs counter to any plausible definition of tributary. Travel up the Amazon and at every fork take the branch with greater water flow. You will eventually reach […]

  10. 18896

    The story “Stormy weather” carries some statements that I think need clarification: “If high-energy protons happen to strike astronauts outside the shelter of their spacecraft, they could be severely injured” or even killed. “Because the ionosphere absorbs much of the protons’ energy, they don’t pose a threat to people or electrical systems on Earth.” However, […]

  11. 18917

    While applauding the great advance that nerve regeneration would bring to people with spinal cord injuries, I wonder if there is a reason that nature has designed the body so that these nerves do not regenerate. Perhaps an unintended consequence in genetically altering the proteins mentioned in your article could be the onset of some […]

  12. From the January 10, 1931, issue

    ANTHROPOLOGIST IS ELECTED NEW A.A.A.S. PRESIDENT Dr. Franz Boas, noted anthropologist of Columbia University, was elected president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science for 1931, during the Cleveland meeting. Dr. Boas is one of the leading figures in the field of anthropology. He has been engaged in this work throughout a very […]