6,745 results
- Earth
Farmers could help heal Gulf of Mexico
Farm-derived nutrients in the Mississippi River that create a huge dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico could probably be substantially reduced if farmers simply used a little less fertilizer.
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Meeting Danielle the Tarantula
Insect zoos have no lions, tigers, or bears but can give plenty of thrills, courtesy of tarantulas, giant beetles, and exotic grasshoppers.
- Paleontology
Did Mammals Spread from Asia? Carbon blip gives clue to animals’ Eden
A new dating of Chinese fossils buttresses the idea than an Asian Eden gave rise to at least one of the groups of mammal species that appeared in North America some 55 million years ago.
- Archaeology
Wild Chimps Rocked On: Apes left unique record of stone tools
Researchers have uncovered the first archaeological site attributed to chimpanzees, which includes stone implements that were used to crack nuts on top of thick tree roots.
- Materials Science
The Buck Starts Here
The U.S. Mint performed some neat tricks to make a golden dollar.
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Copy Crab: DNA confirms that crab forms have several origins
New genetic evidence suggests that crabs aren't all close relatives and their characteristic shape evolved independently on numerous occasions.
- Math
Algebra, Philosophy, and Fun
I don’t often encounter the words “philosophy” and “fun” right next to the term “algebra.” Nowadays, these words don’t seem to fit together comfortably. However, the three terms do appear in the title of an engaging little book called Philosophy and Fun of Algebra, written by Mary Everest Boole (1832–1916) and published in 1909. I […]
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From the March 12, 1932, issue
UNEARTH NEW PORTRAIT OF KING TUT’S GIRL-WIFE A new portrait of the girl-wife of that well-known Egyptian pharaoh, Tutankhamon, has been unearthed from the ruins of Tel-el-Amarna, where the Egypt Exploration Society has been excavating. The portrait is a beautiful little head, with exquisitely modeled features. It is less than 2 inches long. Identity of […]
- Earth
Clipping the Fin Trade
New research and policy developments aim to curb the wasteful and gruesome practice of killing sharks solely for their fins.
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From the February 13, 1932, issue
TESTS SHOW STEEL COLUMNS STRENGTHENED BY BRICK WALL Steel-frame buildings, from modest structures of just a few floors to the tallest skyscrapers, may be built more economically with the use of less steel as the result of facts discovered by research at the U.S. Bureau of Standards. This study, which was carried out in the […]
- Ecosystems
The Buzz over Coffee
Most people consider the continued spread of Africanized honeybees in the Americas as horrifying news. Nicknamed killer bees, these notorious social insects rile into stinging mobs with little provocation. But new research finds evidence that these irritable insects have been performing a hitherto unrecognized service for people around the world. They’ve helped keep down the […]
- Math
Scrabble’s Random Letters
In the popular SCRABBLE Brand Crossword Game, players create words from letters selected at random from a stockpile of 100 tiles. The tiles are laid down on a board 15 squares high by 15 squares wide to form an interlocking, crossword arrangement. Each letter of the alphabet has a particular value and the number of […]
