More Stories from the June 1, 2013 issue
- Humans
Group size affects racial makeup of friend groups
Larger settings seem to promote segregation, simulation finds.
- Life
Infants, whether mice or human, love to be carried
Being toted around calms and quiets babies of both species.
- Psychology
Disputed signs of consciousness seen in babies’ brains
Within five months of birth, infants produce a possible neural marker of being aware of what they see.
- Health & Medicine
Circumcision changes penis biology
Altered mix of microbes might reduce susceptibility to viral infections.
- Life
Mutation makes H5N1 flu lose its grip
Laboratory-added genetic change makes avian influenza unable to bind to bird cells.
- Earth
Early Earth’s chlorine blown away by giant impacts
Low levels of chlorine on planet's surface have long puzzled scientists.
- Humans
Web searches for money words anticipate market moves
Dow drops follow weeks when more people search Google for ‘debt’ or ‘stocks.’
- Humans
Maya civilization’s roots may lie in ritual
Cultural exchanges in southern Mexico and Guatemala tied to ancient society's rise.
- Life
Signs of culture in whales and monkeys
Mammals learn feeding behaviors from their friends and family members.
- Health & Medicine
Hookah smoking delivers carcinogens and carbon monoxide
Water pipes deliver carcinogens, nicotine and carbon monoxide to the user, a study finds.
- Health & Medicine
Brain measurements predict math progress with tutoring
The size and connections of a brain structure associated with memory formation predicted learning ability in 8- and 9-year-old children.
- Life
Genetic fossils betray hepatitis B’s ancient roots
Modern bird genomes reveal evidence that virus is at least 82 million years old.
- Tech
Recreating the eye of the fly
Inspired by insect vision, camera with 180 linked lenses captures panoramic views.
- Physics
Counting cracks in glass gives speed of projectile
There is a simple relationship between an object's velocity and the number of spokes it leaves in a dinged windshield or fractured windowpane.
- Humans
Cannibalism in Colonial America comes to life
Researchers have found the first skeletal evidence that starving colonists ate their own.
- Humans
Human ancestors had taste for meat, brains
A mix of hunting and scavenging fed carnivorous cravings of early Homo species.
- Animals
Winged robots may shed light on fly aerobatics
After years of trying, researchers create flapping machines that can hover and perform rudimentary flight maneuvers.
- Health & Medicine
Highlights from the Pediatric Academic Societies meeting
Highlights from the pediatrics meeting held May 4-7 in Washington, D.C., include adolescent suicide risk and access to guns, a reason to let preemies get more umbilical cord blood and teens' cognitive dissonance on football concussions.
- Climate
Ice loss from Greenland’s glaciers may level off
Simulation suggests long-term effect on sea level not as dire as some predictions.
- Life
Gut bacteria adapt to life in bladder
E. coli moving between systems may cause urinary tract infections.
- Earth
Japan’s 2011 earthquake upped Tokyo’s risk
Chance more than doubled that capital city will soon experience big temblor, researchers calculate.
- Climate
Carbon dioxide in atmosphere reaches landmark level
At 400 parts per million, greenhouse gas concentration is now higher than it has been for millions of years.
- Animals
Embracing the swarm
Entomologist Michael Raupp is enjoying Swarmageddon. The giant batch of cicadas began emerging from the ground in late April and will be heard in some northeastern states through June.
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Upcoming events
Science Future for June 1, 2013.
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- Psychology
Closed Thinking
Without scientific competition and open debate, much psychology research goes nowhere.
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Letters to the editor
Fusion reactions It is not true that fusion packs the highest punch of any known energy-generating process (“Ignition failed,” SN: 4/20/13, p. 26). Matter-antimatter annihilation far exceeds it (Star Trek had it right back in the 1960s). I believe that under certain conditions, matter falling into a black hole can also yield more energy than […]
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- Science & Society
The Girls of Atomic City
The Untold Story of the Women Who Helped Win World War II by Denise Kiernan.
