More Stories from the April 24, 2010 issue
- Physics
Next on CSI: Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy
The modification of a powerful chemical analysis technique could make it the gold standard in detecting trace substances.
- Health & Medicine
Ingredient of dark roasted coffees may make them easier on the tummy
A compound generated in the roasting process appears to reduce acid production in the stomach.
- Life
Hawaiian caterpillars are first known amphibious insects
Developing underwater or above, it’s all good for moths that evolved new lifestyle in the islands
- Health & Medicine
UV radiation, not vitamin D, might limit multiple sclerosis symptoms
The rarity of MS in the tropics may be due to higher ultraviolet light exposure, not necessarily increased vitamin production, new research suggests.
- Humans
Ancient DNA suggests new hominid line
Genetic data unveil a previously unknown Stone Age ancestor in central Asia.
- Chemistry
Building a cheaper catalyst
Using perovskite instead of platinum in catalytic converters could shave many hundreds of dollars off the cost of a diesel car.
- Physics
Bar codes could be next to check out
New radio frequency tags would use nanotechnology to identify and track products.
- Earth
Alternative flame retardants leach into the environment
Supposedly safer chemicals are spotted in peregrine falcon eggs in California.
- Health & Medicine
Cap or cork, it’s the wine that matters most
Comparative study finds that screw tops can perform just as well in regulating the aging process.
- Health & Medicine
Identical twins may not be so identical when it comes to gut bacteria
A new study suggests that intestinal microbe populations vary widely from one person to another.
- Life
Elephant legs bend like ‘big human limb’
Mechanics suggests the creatures are more limber than thought and use all their legs to come to a four-way stop.
- Physics
LHC revs up
The world’s most powerful atom smasher achieves its most energetic collisions yet.
- Planetary Science
Warmth in the dark age
Lower reflectivity kept Earth from freezing under a fainter young sun.
- Life
First songbird genome arrives with spring
The genome of a songbird has been decoded for the first time. Zebra finches join chickens as the only birds to have detailed maps of their genetic blueprints.
- Space
Cosmic magnetic field strength measured
Hints of weak magnetism between galaxies narrows options for how the early universe got its fields.
- Health & Medicine
Bees forage with their guts
Researchers show that a gene helps honeybees choose between nectar and pollen.
- Chemistry
Superheavy element 117 makes debut
An international team of researchers fill a gap in the periodic table, and lay another stepping stone along the path to the “island of stability.”
- Health & Medicine
Walnuts may slow prostate cancer
More news from the American Chemical Society meeting.
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Science Future for April 24, 2010
May 9 – 14 The 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is held in San Jose, Calif. See www.societyforscience.org/isef June 3 – 4 Researchers meet in Chicago to discuss social factors affecting mental health. See www.adler.edu/news/events June 14 – 17 Mathematicians meet in Austin, Texas, to assess progress in discrete mathematics. See www.siam.org/meetings/dm10
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Duel at Dawn: Heroes, Martyrs, and the Rise of Modern Mathematics by Amir Alexander
The Romantic Age zeitgeist profoundly influenced modern mathematicians, a science historian argues. DUEL AT DAWN: HEROES, MARTYRS, AND THE RISE OF MODERN MATHEMATICS BY AMIR ALEXANDER Harvard Univ. Press, 2010, 320 p., $28.95.
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Wild Urban Plants of the Northeast: A Field Guide by Peter Del Tredici
An exploration of the plant life that springs up amid chain-link fences and asphalt jungles. WILD URBAN PLANTS OF THE NORTHEAST: A FIELD GUIDE BY PETER DEL TREDICI Cornell Univ. Press, 2010, 374 p., $29.95.
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The Match: “Savior Siblings” and One Family’s Battle to Heal Their Daughter by Beth Whitehouse
A family medical crisis uncovers issues around reproductive technology. THE MATCH: “SAVIOR SIBLINGS” AND ONE FAMILY’S BATTLE TO HEAL THEIR DAUGHTER BY BETH WHITEHOUSE Beacon Press, 2010, 272 p., $24.95.
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Book Review: Here Be Dragons by Dennis McCarthy
Review by Sid Perkins.
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Book Review: The Eerie Silence: Renewing Our Search for Alien Intelligence by Paul Davies
Review by Elizabeth Quill.
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How We Know What We Know About Our Changing Climate by Lynne Cherry and Gary Braasch
Kids can learn about climate change by reading scientists’ firsthand accounts from the field. Dawn Publications, 2010, 66 p., $11.95. HOW WE KNOW WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT OUR CHANGING CLIMATE BY LYNNE CHERRY AND GARY BRAASCH
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Jumping to conclusions can make for good decisions
Gary Klein, a psychologist and chief scientist at Applied Research Associates in Fairborn, Ohio, has for the past 25 years studied how people make real-life, critical decisions under extreme time pressure. In his 2009 book Streetlights and Shadows: Searching for the Keys to Adaptive Decision Making (MIT Press), Klein discusses 10 surprising ways effective thinkers […]
- Earth
A fresh look at Mount St. Helens
Nearly 30 years after the peak’s major eruption, recovery has just begun.
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Letters
Naked speed The article “Running barefoot cushions impact of forces on foot” (SN: 02/27/10, p. 14) says a lot about whether running barefoot is or isn’t healthier than running shod. Has anyone looked into which is faster? Henry Jones, Baton Rouge, La. “No,” responds Daniel Lieberman, a professor of evolutionary biology at Harvard University. But […]
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Science Past from the issue of April 23, 1960
MEAT FLAVOR ISOLATED; MAY MAKE ALGAE EDIBLE — Two U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists have isolated and freeze-dried substances that give beef and pork their flavor and aroma. The substances could add flavor to the unappetizing algae that may be grown in interplanetary manned space ships as food for astronauts…. The [researchers] used cold water […]
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50 Great Myths of Popular Psychology by S.O. Lilienfeld, S.J. Lynn, J. Ruscio and B.L. Beyerstein
Psychologists team up to debunk popular urban legends in that field. Wiley-Blackwell, 2010, 332 p., $26.95. 50 GREAT MYTHS OF POPULAR PSYCHOLOGY BY S.O. LILIENFELD, S.J. LYNN, J. RUSCIO AND B.L. BEYERSTEIN
