Vol. 174 No. #8
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More Stories from the October 11, 2008 issue

  1. Neuroscience

    Highly wired

    Men’s brain tissue shows higher density of neuron connections than similar tissue from women.

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  2. Life

    Female frogs play the field

    A female frog insures a safe home for her young by mating with many males.

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  3. Life

    Giant honeybees do the wave

    Giant bees coordinate and make waves that would rival those in any football stadium. Predators of the bees don’t find it cheering.

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  4. Life

    This bite won’t hurt a bit

    A team dissects the physics of a mosquito bite, working to find a way to design gentler needles.

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  5. Humans

    Teen depression: No genes required

    The family-shattering effects of a mother’s depression can prompt the same mood disorder in her children, independent of any genetic risk.

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  6. Space

    Snapshot of a planet beyond the solar system

    After years of false alarms, astronomers may finally have recorded the first image of a planet orbiting a sunlike star beyond the solar system.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Late nights and disease

    Getting too little sleep may lead to health problems. A new study shows that after only one night of sleep deprivation, women have higher levels of an inflammatory molecule linked to cancer, heart disease and other illnesses.

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  8. Life

    New ant species found

    One weird ant suggests lost world of ancient ants living underground

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Plastics chemical linked to heart disease, diabetes

    Study is based on data collected from human adults and matches urine concentrations of bisphenol A with type 2 diabetes, heart disease and liver enzyme problems

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  10. Immune cell plays good cop, bad cop

    Immune cells called macrophages aid neuron regeneration in some parts of the nervous system, but hinder regeneration in the brain and spinal cord.

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  11. Humans

    Pain relief to believe in

    Religious believers shown pictures that evoke spiritual responses display brain activity that may contribute to feeling relief from physical pain, a new study finds.

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  12. Life

    First lipid hormone discovered

    An omega-7 fatty acid made by fat and liver cells acts as a hormone, even mimicking the health benefits of insulin.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    Lo-Cal bones hold up

    One study of many recent investigations of how calorie restriction affects people shows that bone density does not necessarily suffer when a person loses weight quickly.

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  14. Earth

    Continental clash cooled the climate

    The collision between India and Asia set off events that caused long-term cooling in Earth’s climate, new research suggests.

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  15. Earth

    New contender for Earth’s oldest rocks

    Observing rare isotopes in rocks along the Hudson Bay in Northern Quebec suggest the rocks have remained intact for 4.28 billion years, making them Earth's oldest.

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  16. Space

    With a twinkle, pulsating stars could deliver signals from E.T.

    Neutrino beams may turn Cepheids into messengers for advanced alien civilizations.

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  17. Space

    Around the ring

    The first protons beamed out at the Large Hadron Collider.

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  18. Humans

    The Science Vote: Linking energy to greenhouse risks

    Science and technology have not played out as major presidential campaign issues this year. And following Sen. John McCain’s unexpected announcement that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin would be his running mate, even foreign policy and major energy issues have been relegated to the back seat as the media feverishly probe the views, background and administrative […]

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  19. Humans

    The Science Vote: Spending priorities differ

    Federal funding for academic research — a major engine of innovation — has experienced an “unprecedented” two-year decline, the National Science Foundation reported in late August. Between fiscal years 2005 and 2007, Uncle Sam’s share of academic research funding fell from 64 percent to 62 percent. To take up the slack, universities turned to industry […]

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  20. Humans

    The Science Vote

    Science News runs down what the two presidential candidates and their campaigns have been saying about science and technology issues.

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  21. Earth

    Let’s Get Vertical

    City buildings offer opportunities for farms to grow up instead of out.

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  22. Astronomy

    Dead — but not duds

    White dwarfs shed light on physics and the fate of the cosmos.

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