Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Nemesis: Searching for the sun’s deadly companion star

    Read the full article (PDF) | Vote on future topic | Search archives September 1, 1984 | Vol. 126 | No. 9 Nemesis: Searching for the sun’s deadly companion star If the sun is not a member of a binary or multiple star system, it is among the minority of stars. Yet if the sun has a […]

  2. Letters

    Clocking neutrinos In response to “Hints of a flaw in special relativity” (SN: 10/22/11, p. 18): When supernova 1987a was detected in the Large Magellenic Cloud (a distance of roughly 168,000 light-years) an influx of neutrinos was detected simultaneously (or nearly so) in Japan, the United States and Russia. Had these neutrinos traveled at the […]

  3. SN Online

    LIFE Schooling fish stay together by focusing on neighbors rather than the group. See “School rules.” Gustavo Hormiga Spiders known for their web architecture can trace their lineage to one crafty ancestor that lived 200 million years ago. See “The origin of orbs.” BODY & BRAIN Scientists have pinpointed what makes hearing nails on a […]

  4. Science Future for December 3, 2011

    December 5 Discuss scientist Ellen Prager’s book Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime in Portland. Go to www.omsi.edu/sciencepubportland December 15 Explore the Maryland Science Center with baby at Infant Wonders. See www.mdsci.org December 17–23 Learn more about trains at the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, Ohio. See www.cosi.org

  5. Science Past from the issue of December 2, 1961

    ELECTRONIC COIN TOSSING — An electronic method of tossing coins that determines “heads” or “tails” 200,000 times a second has been devised at the U.S. Navy Electronics Laboratory, San Diego, Calif. The new machine is not a gambling device but is being used to develop automatic signal detection methods for future Navy radar. It promises […]

  6. Caterpillars by Marilyn Singer

    A colorful look at cater­pillars — sometimes woolly, sometimes spotted, occasionally sporting fake faces — shows how they transform into delicate, winged insects. EarlyLight Books, 2011, 40 p., $14.95, ages 4–7

  7. Catch the Wind, Harness the Sun: 22 Super-Charged Projects for Kids by Michael J. Caduto

    Do try these at home: Writing with the sun, powering a battery with a bicycle and creating mini-windmills are projects that help kids learn about renewable energy. Storey Publishing, 2011, 223 p., $16.95, ages 8–13

  8. What’s So Hot About Volcanoes (What’s So Cool About Geology) by Wendell A. Duffield

    A volcanologist transports readers to Hawaii, Chile and Japan to show how volcanoes form, why they erupt and how scientists are trying to predict eruptions. Mountain Press, 2011, 89 p., $16, young adult

  9. You Just Can’t Help It!: Your Guide to the Wild and Wacky World of Human Behavior by Jeff Szpirglas

    A teacher gives insight into human behavior by explaining the science behind involuntary reactions such as wrinkling the nose at a disgusting smell or laughing. Maple Tree, 2011, 64 p., $10.95, ages 9–12

  10. Worst-Case Scenario Ultimate Adventure #2: Mars! by Hena Khan and David Borgenicht

    Kids must use their science know-how to navigate a mission to Mars in this choose-your-adventure book, picking up facts about space along the way. Chronicle Books, 2011, 204 p., $12.99, ages 8–12

  11. Eye-Popping 3-D Bugs: Phantogram Bugs You Can Practically Touch! by Barry Rothstein and Betsy Rothstein

    Scientific facts about creepy crawlies boost this book’s real thrill —the phantogram images that make beetles, wasps and spiders pop off the page. Chronicle Books, 2011, 61 p., $19.99, ages 3 and up

  12. Digging for Troy: From Homer to Hisarlik by Jill Rubalcaba and Eric H. Cline

    What starts off as a retelling of the epic tale of the Odyssey turns into a story about archaeologists’ hunt for Homer’s Troy in modern-day Turkey. Charlesbridge, 2011, 71 p., $17.95, ages 9–12