Humans
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Humans
Letters from the September 3, 2005, issue of Science News
Pick of the crop “Honey, We Shrank the Snow Lotus: Picking big plants reduces species’ height” (SN: 7/9/05, p. 20) suggests that the change is an evolutionary process. However, this and the other examples given are all more selective breeding than natural selection. In this case, organisms with undesirable characteristics (smaller size) are overrepresented during […]
- Humans
Movies put smoking in a bad light
Smokers in American films are more likely to be villains than heroes, a review of movies from the 1990s shows.
- Humans
From the August 24, 1935, issue
Learning from spiders, a tiny electric motor, and two new cancer-causing chemicals.
- Health & Medicine
Dark Side of a Blood Builder: Hormone linked to diabetic blindness
Erythropoietin, a hormone that orchestrates growth processes, may contribute to eye damage in people with diabetic retinopathy.
- Anthropology
A Seasoned Ancient State: Chinese site adds salt to civilization’s rise
Analyses of remains from an ancient Chinese site situated along a river indicate that salt making occurred there as long as 4,000 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Stroke site is often not right
Thousands of strokes in the right half of the brain may go unrecognized because their symptoms are less distinctive than those of left-side strokes.
- Health & Medicine
Targeted Attack
Scientists are piecing together the details of how mutations in a protein called EGFR can lead to cancer, and they are designing a new class of drugs to stop the protein's destructive behavior.
- Health & Medicine
The Kindest Cuts Are Underwater
Fruits and veggies stay fresher longer when they're peeled and sliced underwater, not on the countertop.
- Humans
Letters from the August 20, 2005, issue of Science News
Just a little gas “Energy on Ice” (SN: 6/25/05, p. 410) states that the gas-hydrate deposit near Prudhoe Bay “contains more than 1.2 trillion cubic meters of gas. That’s twice the total amount of natural gas consumed annually in the United States. …” Does it behoove us to invest the time and dollars it will […]
- Humans
From the August 17, 1935, issue
Cactus gardening for a dry summer, Echo-sounding to locate fish, and suspended animation in humans.
- Health & Medicine
X Ray Excels: Technique brings a new image to medicine
Recent advances in a technique called phase-contrast x-ray imaging could make it easier for physicians to spot tumors, clogged arteries, and other soft-tissue problems.
- Health & Medicine
Comb over Chemicals: Tool may rid heads of pesticideproof lice
Used systematically, special combs may be more effective than insecticidal shampoos at ridding a child's scalp of head lice.
