Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. Bulletproof Feathers by Robert Allen, ed.

    Photos and illustrations highlight how nature inspires technology, from airplane wings that change shape to stainproof fabrics. BULLETPROOF FEATHERS BY ROBERT ALLEN, ED. University of Chicago Press, 2010, 192 p., $35.

  2. What’s Eating You? People and Parasites by Eugene H. Kaplan

    An ecologist takes readers on an engaging, if sometimes squirm-worthy, tour of the world’s hangers-on. WHAT’S EATING YOU? BY EUGENE H. KAPLAN Princeton University Press, 2010, 302 p., $26.95.

  3. Off the Grid by Nick Rosen

    A journalist travels the country to visit Americans who, for a variety of reasons, have opted out of the electrical grid and into alternative lifestyles. OFF THE GRID BY NICK ROSEN Penguin, 2010, 292 p., $15.

  4. Letters

    New views of enzymes “Enzymes exposed” (SN: 7/17/10, p. 22) was an interesting read, but is there more to the story? When biologists consider the lock-and-key model for enzymes, I wonder if they are stuck in the static stick-and-ball mentality of traditional chemistry. Is biochemistry really static or is it dictated by the vibrational mode […]

  5. Science Future for September 11, 2010

    September 16 The North Carolina Museum of Life and Science hosts a Science of Beer event. Go to www.ncmls.org/visit/events/science-beer September 26 An exhibit on archaeology of the Ottoman Empire comes to Philadelphia. See www.penn.museum/upcoming-exhibits.html October 15 Entry deadline for National Engineers Week Future City design competition for middle-schoolers. See www.futurecity.org

  6. Science Past from September 10, 1960 issue

    PRIMARY CLUE TO MATTER — The shortest lifetime of an elementary particle — only a quarter of a millionth of a billionth of a second — gives a primary clue to the structure of matter…. [S]cientists have known for about ten years of the neutral pi-meson and have been trying to pin down its lifetime. […]

  7. The Wave: In Pursuit of the Rogues, Freaks, and Giants of the Ocean by Susan Casey

    The author interweaves tales of scientists and surfers who, whether for study or an adrenaline rush, seek out monster waves. THE WAVE: IN PURSUIT OF THE ROGUES, FREAKS, AND GIANTS OF THE OCEAN BY SUSAN CASEY Doubleday, 2010, 352 p., $27.95.

  8. The Grand Design by Stephen Hawking and Leonard Mlodinow

    In his first major work in nearly a decade, Hawking ponders the origins of the universe and the pursuit of a unified theory. THE GRAND DESIGN BY STEPHEN HAWKING AND LEONARD MLODINOW Bantam Books, 2010, 208 p., $28.

  9. Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine’s Greatest Mysteries by Molly Caldwell Crosby

    A historical account of the sleeping sickness pandemic of the 1920s and the science behind it. ASLEEP BY MOLLY CALDWELL CROSBY Berkley, 2010, 291 p., $24.95.

  10. Deep Blue Home: An Intimate Ecology of Our Wild Ocean by Julia Whitty

    Underwater rivers pulse with life in this lyrical exploration of ocean currents. DEEP BLUE HOME: AN INTIMATE ECOLOGY OF OUR WILD OCEAN BY JULIA WHITTY Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2010, 246 p., $24.

  11. Physics and Technology for Future Presidents by Richard A. Muller

    A Berkeley physics professor puts his popular course for nonscientists into book form. PHYSICS AND TECHNOLOGY FOR FUTURE PRESIDENTS BY RICHARD A. MULLER Princeton Univ. Press, 2010, 517 p., $49.50.

  12. Letters

    Designing for chance The science in “Life from scratch” (SN: 7/3/10, p. 22) is extremely interesting, and I look forward to hearing further results. However, a few comments in the article play into a common Intelligent Design error. The stated aim is “to show how unguided natural events might have led to life…”; the reference […]