More Stories from the October 2, 2004 issue
- Anthropology
Ancient head case
A 1.8-million-year-old Homo erectus skullcap came from a 1-year-old child whose brain grew at a rate more like that of chimpanzees than of people.
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Schizophrenia takes fatal turn in China
Suicides among people with schizophrenia are a major public-health concern in China.
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The tree of life, with tangled roots
Two ancient, rudimentary organisms merged to create the first complex cell, new data suggest.
- Physics
Marrying matter and light
Physicists have created circuit components that, in a manner analogous to atoms, meld with light, opening new ways to study fundamental light-matter interactions.
- Health & Medicine
Coffee’s curious heart effects
Very high or low daily consumption of coffee appears to pose far more of a heart risk than drinking moderately.
- Planetary Science
Tiny scope spies distant planet
Using a telescope not much bigger than Galileo's, astronomers have discovered a planet orbiting a star 500 light-years from Earth.
- Chemistry
Buckyballs at Bat: Toxic nanomaterials get a tune-up
The soccer-ball-shaped carbon molecules known as buckyballs are toxic to human cells, yet coating the particles can switch off their toxicity.
- Astronomy
Big Smash: Galaxy clusters in collision
Astronomers have unveiled the most detailed image ever taken of the collision of two clusters of galaxies.
- Physics
Wake Up, Little Surfers: Riding waves toward tabletop accelerators
Prospects that today's giant particle accelerators could shrink to the size of rooms look better than ever, now that new experiments have produced electron pulses of uniform energy from laser-powered accelerators that act over millimeter distances.
- Earth
Humming Along: Ocean waves may cause global seismic noise
The slow and nearly constant vibrations of Earth's crust stem from severe winter weather over some of the world's oceans.
- Animals
Beat Goes On: Carp heart keeps pace when fish lacks oxygen
Without oxygen, a Scandinavian fish not only can survive but also maintains a normal heartbeat for days.
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Two-Headed Memories: Collaboration gives recall lift to elderly
Collaboration with a spouse improves the accuracy of older people's memories on tasks such as remembering items on a shopping list or identifying familiar landmarks on a local map.
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Pinpointing Poachers: Gene sleuths map illicit elephant kills
A new, genetics-based technique for determining ivory's place of origin is geographically precise enough to aid forensic pursuit of African elephant poachers.
- Archaeology
Original Microbrews
Pots, vats, and other artifacts unearthed on three continents are giving archaeologists new clues about ancient cultures' beer-brewing practices.
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- Humans
Letters from the October 2, 2004, issue of Science News
On a diet While heart disease victim Jody Gorran’s lawsuit against the Atkins empire will be decided in court (“Counting Carbs,” SN: 7/17/04, p. 40: Counting Carbs), the deadlier battle is being waged in the research laboratory. Several studies confirm that low-carbohydrate diets cause marked cholesterol elevations for many individuals. In contrast, a vegetarian diet […]
