More Stories from the April 29, 2006 issue
- Archaeology
Ancient text gives Judas heroic glow
Researchers have announced the restoration and translation of a 1,700-year-old papyrus document containing the Gospel of Judas, an account that portrays Judas Iscariot as a hero, not as Jesus' betrayer.
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Stimulant use eases in U.S. children
The sharp increase in youngsters taking prescribed stimulants that was noted a decade ago largely leveled off between 1997 and 2002.
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Mutation blocks fat absorption
A newly discovered gene in zebrafish seems to prevent the animals from absorbing fat molecules from their diets.
- Materials Science
Microbe holds fast
A common aquatic microbe makes a sticky substance that produces the strongest biological adhesion ever discovered.
- Physics
Abuzz about uranium
A type of atomic vibration never before seen in ordinary solid materials has been observed in uranium.
- Earth
Greenland glacial quakes becoming more common
The number of earthquakes that occur beneath surging glaciers in Greenland has doubled in the past 4 years.
- Paleontology
Dinosaur neck size reaches new extreme
Scientists have unearthed remains of a massive, plant-eating dinosaur whose neck may have been twice as long as its body.
- Tech
Long-lasting liposomes
A coat of nanoparticles can prevent a popular lab-made capsule from fusing with its neighbors and losing its structure.
- Physics
Universe in Flux: Constant of nature might have changed
Researchers have found signs that one of the constants of nature has undergone a subtle shift since the universe's infancy.
- Earth
Seismic Speed Traps: Iron-rich regions may slow deep-Earth vibes
Large quantities of iron-rich minerals may be responsible for the sluggishness of seismic waves traveling through certain regions deep within Earth.
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Nixing Malaria: DNA segment provides parasite resistance
A section of the mosquito genome appears to give the insects a natural resistance to malaria.
- Earth
Brain Delay: Air pollutants linked to slow childhood mental development
Pollutants spewing from vehicles and power plants may be harmful to fetal brains.
- Astronomy
Energy-Saving Space Engines: Black holes can be green
Some seemingly quiet black holes are actually efficient engines that emit jets of high-energy particles.
- Animals
Grammar’s for the Birds: Human-only language rule? Tell starlings
A grammatical pattern called recursion, once proposed as unique to human language, turns out to fall within the learning abilities of starlings.
- Health & Medicine
Small Wonder: Taking the bite out of anthrax toxin
Using a submicroscopic synthetic blob called a liposome, scientists have neutralized anthrax toxin in rats.
- Health & Medicine
Ultrasound’s New Focus
No longer limiting the use of sound waves to diagnostic medicine, researchers are studying high-intensity focused ultrasound as a treatment for uterine fibroids, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other cancers.
- Earth
Buried Treasures
Geologists have long understood the chemical processes that sculpt many cave formations, but they've only recently come up with a physical model that explains some of their shapes.
- Humans
Letters from the April 29, 2006, issue of Science News
Creating a controversy The real irony of ironies is that evolution has not evolved (“Evolution in Action: The trials and tribulations of intelligent design,” SN: 2/25/06, p. 120). When even mainstream evolutionary scientists propose any change to “the fact of evolution,” they are immediately silenced. That’s not science. As it has been practiced by many, […]
