Featured Articles in this Issue
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Cover Story
Clash of the Quantum Titans
After decades of debate, disputes over the mathematical rules governing reality remain unresolved.
More Stories from the November 20, 2010 issue
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- Quantum Physics
Like fate of cat, quantum debate is still unresolved
Entanglement is now one of the hottest research fields in physics. It is pursued not only for insights into the nature of reality, but also for developing new technologies.
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75 years of entanglement
Though it has been confirmed numerous times since 1935, entanglement is as spooky as ever.
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Past SN Quantum coverage
Science News has been covering quantum entanglement since the 1920s. Read past stories.
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Quantum weirdness
Here are some key concepts in quantum mechanics experiments — and how those concepts play out in the real world.
- Physics
Holy moley
Adding more decimal places to Avogadro constant could produce a better definition of the kilogram.
- Life
Gene therapy for depression
Researchers were able to reduce pathological behaviors in mice by delivering genetic material to a particular brain region.
- Math
Marathoning made easy
Or at least endurable, by calculating and then keeping to a physiologically sustainable pace.
- Physics
Sailing toward the island of stability
The creation of six new superheavy isotopes has encouraged researchers who hope to find long-lived elements of even greater mass.
- Health & Medicine
Anticancer protein might combat HIV
The tumor suppressor p21 shows up in abundance in some people who are impervious to developing AIDS despite being infected, a study shows.
- Health & Medicine
Pet frogs can transmit salmonella
A CDC investigation adds a common aquarium species to the list of amphibians that can carry and spread bacteria.
- Chemistry
Breathe better with bitter
Taste receptors in the lungs open airways in response to acrid gases.
- Tech
Robots can use coffee as a picker-upper
A gripper made of a bag of loose grains has advantages over grasping devices that use individual digits.
- Humans
Weighing risks, convicts display blind spots
Prisoners often don’t appreciate likely gains or losses in making decisions, a finding with possible policy implications.
- Health & Medicine
Pancreatic cancer years in the making
A decade elapses from the first cancer-related mutation to tumor formation, and several more years pass until the disease spreads to other organs, a new study finds. The work raises the possibility that a usually deadly malignancy can be treated before it’s too late.
- Life
1000 Genomes pilot a hit with geneticists
The first stage of a project to probe human genetic diversity has found millions of new variations.
- Health & Medicine
The fingers don’t lie
The brain has at least two copy editors, typing experiments show.
- Space
Revealing the galaxy’s dark side
Observations of the Milky Way’s center detect gamma rays characteristic of the universe’s missing mass.
- Tech
Trading places
As the pace of financial transactions accelerates, researchers look forward to a time when the only limiting factor is the speed of light.
- Earth
Arctic lake yields climate record
A Siberian drilling project goes to great lengths to capture an ancient climate record in a 3.6 million-year-old crater.
- Planetary Science
New rock type found on moon
Odd spots on the lunar farside could be ancient material that originated deep inside the moon.
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Science Future for November 20, 2010
November 20 New York’s American Museum of Natural History opens its interactive brain exhibit. Go to www.amnh.org/exhibitions/brain December 2 San Francisco’s Exploratorium considers sugar, from its bodily functions to art. With cocktails. See www.exploratorium.edu December 2–3 Howard Hughes Medical Institute airs live classroom webcasts on infectious diseases. See www.holidaylectures.org
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Virtual Words by Jonathon Keats
Twenty-eight essays trace the births and lives (sometimes short) of blog, qubit and other science- and technology-inspired words. VIRTUAL WORDS BY JONATHON KEATS Oxford Univ., 2010, 177 p., $19.95.
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Atlas of Science by Katy Börner
A large-format book highlights attractive and informative illustrations of a variety of science topics, and creators of the images describe how they were made. ATLAS OF SCIENCE BY KATY BöRNER MIT, 2010, 254 p., $29.95.
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Super Species by Garry Hamilton
In this cautionary tale, a journalist profiles 20 of the invasive organisms that may one day dominate the planet. SUPER SPECIES BY GARRY HAMILTON Firefly, 2010, 271 p., $35.
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The Field Guide to Natural Phenomena by Keith Heidorn and Ian Whitelaw
An illustrated tour of everyday events and amazing spectacles, from mirages and meteors to ball lightning. THE FIELD GUIDE TO NATURAL PHENOMENA BY KEITH HEIDORN AND IAN WHITELAW Firefly, 2010, 223 p., $24.95.
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Absolutely Small: How Quantum Theory Explains Our Everyday World by Michael D. Fayer
In clear and mostly math-free language, a chemist describes quantum theory in everyday life, relating such tidbits as why blueberries are blue and how a photon can be in two places at once. ABSOLUTELY SMALL: HOW QUANTUM THEORY EXPLAINS OUR EVERYDAY WORLD BY MICHAEL D. FAYER AMACOM, 2010, 383 p., $24.
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Present at the Creation: The Story of CERN and the Large Hadron Collider by Amir D. Aczel
The story of the Large Hadron Collider — the biggest and most powerful machine ever built — is told in part from its control room, where scientists are working to re-create the moments immediately after the Big Bang. PRESENT AT THE CREATION: THE STORY OF CERN AND THE LARGE HADRON COLLIDER BY AMIR D. ACZEL […]
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ThermoPoetics: Energy in Victorian Literature and Science by Barri J. Gold
For the literary-minded physics aficionado, this book examines literature’s role in shaping and wrestling with emerging ideas of energy and thermodynamics in the Victorian age. THERMOPOETICS: ENERGY IN VICTORIAN LITERATURE AND SCIENCE BY BARRI J. GOLD MIT, 2010, 343 p., $30.
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The Instant Physicist: An Illustrated Guide by Richard A. Muller
In this collection of physics-related curiosities, every page flip reveals a basic principle of physics and a humorous cartoon by Joey Manfre. Examples include why wine is radioactive and how much plutonium it takes to build a bomb (enough to fill a coffee mug). THE INSTANT PHYSICIST: AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE BY RICHARD A. MULLER W.W. […]
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The Shape of Inner Space: String Theory and the Geometry of the Universe’s Hidden Dimensions by Shing-Tung Yau and Steve Nadis
Taking another angle on the string theory genre, a Harvard mathematician and a science writer join up to explore the geometry of curled-up universes too small to see. THE SHAPE OF INNER SPACE: STRING THEORY AND THE GEOMETRY OF THE UNIVERSE’S HIDDEN DIMENSIONS BY SHING-TUNG YAU AND STEVE NADIS Basic Books, 2010, 377 p., $30.
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Physics of the Human Body by Richard P. McCall
Looking at the body as a physics laboratory lends a fresh perspective, from how the properties of light affect eyesight to the fluid dynamics of the circulatory system. A good resource for doctors or the general reader. PHYSICS OF THE HUMAN BODY BY RICHARD P. MCCALL Johns Hopkins Univ., 2010, 301 p., $45.
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Book Review: The Mind’s Eye by Oliver Sacks
Review by Nathan Seppa.
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Science Past from the issue of November 19, 1960
MERCURY CAPSULE FAILS — Failure of the test shot of the Mercury space capsule and its pilot escape system will not “necessarily” delay putting a man in space, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration reported. NASA has scheduled a manned rocket launch for 1961. The Mercury spacecraft, designed to take an astronaut safely into outer […]
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The Price of Altruism by Oren Harman
A biography of George Price follows the eccentric and reclusive scientist in his quest to explain altruism in a Darwinian world. THE PRICE OF ALTRUISM BY OREN HARMAN W.W. Norton & Co., 2010, 451 p., $27.95.
