More Stories from the December 28, 2002 issue
-
Science News of the Year 2002
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2002.
- Anthropology
Chinese Roots: Skull may complicate human-origins debate
A Chinese Homo sapiens skull, estimated in a controversial new study to be at least 68,000 years old and probably more than 100,000 years old, may challenge the theory that modern humans originated solely in Africa.
- Earth
Life at the Frigid Edge: Microbes turn up deep in Antarctic lake ice
A pocket of cold, concentrated saltwater at the bottom of an Antarctic lake could harbor life, say researchers who found microbes in the ice right above the briny layer.
- Animals
Ant Traffic Flow: Raiding swarms with few rules avoid gridlock
The 200,000 virtually blind army ants using a single trail to swarm out to a raid and return home with the booty naturally develop three traffic lanes, and a study now shows that simple individual behavior makes the pattern.
- Materials Science
Gold Deposits: Scientists design nanoparticle films
In a step toward a cheaper, easier way to connect computer chips to computers, scientists have patterned semiconductors with a film of extremely small gold particles.
-
Showing Some Spine: Imaging of nerve cell branches stirs debate
Two research groups have taken unprecedented, high-resolution images of nerve cells inside the brains of live mice—and come to seemingly contradictory views.
- Health & Medicine
Sea Sickness: Despite cleaner cruises, diarrhea outbreaks persist
Improvements in vessel sanitation have apparently contributed to a gradual decline in diarrheal infections on cruise ships, but standard cleaning practices don't reliably wipe out the viruses that are behind a recent rash of outbreaks.
- Astronomy
News of the Early Universe: Findings from the cosmic microwave background
The most detailed snapshots so far of the infant universe confirm that the cosmos consists mostly of mystery material, called dark energy, that accelerates the universe's expansion.
- Paleontology
New fossil weighs in on primate origins
A 55-million-year-old primate skeleton found in Wyoming indicates that the common ancestor of modern monkeys, apes, and people was built primarily for hanging tightly onto tree branches.
- Health & Medicine
Herpes vaccine progresses
A new vaccine for genital herpes protects some women but not men.
- Physics
Prying apart antimatter
Matter and antimatter look reassuringly alike in physicists' first investigations of energy levels of antihydrogen atoms.
- Anthropology
Ethiopians reveal high-altitude twist
To the surprise of researchers, blood measures of oxygen-rich hemoglobin in Ethiopian villagers living more than 2 miles above sea level are the same as those of lowland dwellers.
- Planetary Science
Fresh crater found on lunar images
Scientists analyzing images of the moon's surface taken from lunar orbit believe they've identified the crater that formed when a small asteroid slammed into the moon almost 5 decades ago.
- Earth
Contrails forecast on the horizon
Studies of the contrails generated by jets flying high over Alaska may lead to improved techniques for predicting the formation of the artificial clouds, which some scientists suggest have a warming effect on Earth's climate.
- Earth
Toppling icebergs sped breakup of Larsen B ice shelf
Scientists now think they know what accelerated the rapid disintegration of most of Antarctica's Larsen B ice shelf early this year after a strong summer storm pummeled the region.
- Earth
Warm arctic summer melted much ice
Satellite observations of the Arctic Ocean show that the amount of sea ice there this year was the lowest it's been in more than 20 years.
- Math
Drama in Numbers
Several mathematics-rich stage productions of the last few years have not only captivated mathematicians but also attracted diverse and enthusiastic audiences.
- Physics
Getting Warped
While museum displays such as simulations of warped space-time acquaint visitors with the ideas behind Albert Einstein's scientific discoveries, other galleries of artifacts, letters, and even film footage reveal the multifaceted man that Einstein was.
-
