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In This Issue

Ultramassive: as big as it gets: A black hole can consume anything in its path. These monsters can become huge — but perhaps only so huge.
Body In Mind: Long thought the province of the abstract, cognition may actually evolve as physical experiences and actions ignite mental life
This week's table of contents

:: Life

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Nobel Prize in chemistry commends finding and use of green fluorescent protein

One researcher is awarded for discovering the protein that helps jellyfish glow and two for making the protein into a crucial tool for biologists.
Found in: Biology, Chemistry and Genes & Cells
Salinity sensors

Trace elements in the carbonate shells of freshwater mussels could serve as an archive of road salt pollution.
Found in: Earth, Environment and Life
Body In Mind

Long thought the province of the abstract, cognition may actually evolve as physical experiences and actions ignite mental life
Found in: Behavior, Body & Brain, Humans, Life, Psychology and Technology
Parenthood: Male sharks need not apply

A second case of a virgin shark birth suggests some female sharks may be able to reproduce without males.
Found in: Life
Climate warms, creatures head for the hills

Unusual data let scientists test predictions that global warming drives species up slopes.
Found in: Climate Change and Life
Community of one

Scientists have discovered how a single bacterial species living in a gold mine in South Africa survives on its own. Its genome contains everything it needs to live independently.
Found in: Genes & Cells and Life
New arthropod species really stuck together

Recent fossil discovery shows that new species of arthropod formed chains, raising the possibility of communal behavior.
Found in: Paleontology
Pterodactyls may soar once more

Paleontologists and aeronautical engineers are designing a reconnaissance drone that will mimic the flight of an ancient flying reptile.
Found in: Earth, Earth Science, Paleontology and Technology
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Sights and Sounds

Photography

Blogs:

Science & the Public By Janet Raloff Oct 9th 2008

Columns:

Comment By Guest Columnists Oct 10th 2008

Math Trek By Julie Rehmeyer
The U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities are largely arbitrary, according to a new mathematical analysis. Oct 3rd 2008

SN Bookshelf:

Book Review: The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind
Review by Tom Siegfried
Buy now | More Books

Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula by Jules G. Evens
Univ. of California, 2008, 366 p., $24.95
Buy now | More Books