Humans

  1. Health & Medicine

    The Race to Prescribe

    Race-based medicine could be a stepping-stone to the higher goal of targeting medicines toward the genetics of individual patients, but some researchers are troubled by the implications of practicing medicine according to patients' racial identities.

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  2. Humans

    From the April 6, 1935, issue

    Early cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C., nebulae as remnants of exploded stars, and 6,000-year-old leftovers.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Molecular Switch: Protein may influence chronic-pain disorder

    A cell-surface protein found in the nervous system may play a central role in a chronic-pain condition known as neuropathy.

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  4. Anthropology

    Untangling Ancient Roots: Earliest hominid shows new, improved face

    New fossil finds and a digitally reconstructed skull bolster the claim that the oldest known member of the human evolutionary family lived in central Africa between 6 million and 7 million years ago.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Detecting cancer in a flash

    Instant identification of cancer cells may become possible following experiments demonstrating that healthy and cancerous cells alter laser light in different, and distinguishable, ways.

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  6. Humans

    Letters from the April 9, 2005, issue of Science News

    Big ideas Your article “Life on the Scales” (SN: 2/12/05, p. 106) reminded me that taking a bird’s song and transposing it down four octaves makes it sound like a whale’s song. The opposite is also true. To hear this, go to http://www.mind.net/music/birdwhaleDemo.mp3. Todd BartonAshland, Ore. The article would imply that the only anomaly to […]

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Improving Prospects for Functional Foods

    A new analysis recommends streamlining rules that govern the production and sale of foods that improve health.

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  8. Humans

    From the March 30, 1935, issue

    Dust storms over Washington, D.C., 300 successive generations of fruit flies, and the world's oldest cemetery.

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  9. Humans

    Science Cartoons

    The science-themed cartoons of Sidney Harris have entertained readers of magazines ranging from American Scientist to The New Yorker for many years. You can find a selection of his delightful cartoons, organized by topic, in this Web gallery. Go to: http://www.sciencecartoonsplus.com/gallery.htm

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Molecular decoy thwarts Alzheimer’s

    Biomedical engineers have developed polymer molecules that bind to and block the activity of proteins associated with Alzheimer's disease.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    Still Hungry?

    New research indicates that diet and lifestyle can affect the body's production of a hunger hormone in ways that might unwittingly foster overeating.

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  12. Humans

    Letters from the April 2, 2005, issue of Science News

    Zoom in, drop out On reading the interesting research on droplets (“Dial-a-Splash: Thin air quells liquid splatter,” SN: 2/12/05, p. 99), I noticed that the two droplets shown in the photos at the moment of first contact have different shapes. In air at normal pressure, the droplet has the characteristic hamburger-bun shape. In contrast, the […]

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