All Stories
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2010 SCIENCE NEWS OF THE YEAR
A year ago, most geneticists had all but dismissed the notion that humans and Neandertals interbred. But with the cataloging of the full Neandertal genome, announced in May, we now know that people of European and Asian descent really have inherited a small percentage of their DNA from a rival species that went extinct about […]
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2010 Science News of the Year: Matter & Energy
Approaching the island of stability Smashing together the elements calcium-48, with 20 protons, and berkelium-249, with 97, has produced superheavy atoms containing 117 protons, albeit for a tiny sliver of a second (SN: 4/24/10, p. 15). Temporarily known as ununseptium, the new element fills an empty spot in the periodic table between the previously discovered […]
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2010 Science News of the Year: Life
Credit: Javier García Warming changes how and where animals live New concerns have emerged about how climate warming might challenge animals and change the way they go about their lives. For example, a coalition of lizard specialists suggests that by midcentury a third of lizard populations won’t have enough time for foraging or other vital […]
- Chemistry
Twisted rules of chemistry explained
A theorist uses quantum mechanics to explain why Möbius molecules have different numbers of electrons than standard rings.
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Science Past from the issue of December 31, 1960
“TAKING IT EASY” IS BAD FOR BUSINESS EXECUTIVES — Physicians should not always tell worried, nervous business executives to “take it easy,” [said] Dr. Gerald Gordon…. If the emotions were not released, they would be turned inward and result in “suicide through stress diseases like heart disorders,” [he] said…. The basic emotions of pain, hunger, […]
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Science Future for January 1, 2011
January 3 – 4The Quadrantid meteor shower peaks. Look east and up between midnight and dawn. Visit www.seasky.org/sky.html for more information. January 8 Test engineering skills in a LEGO Building Challenge in Portland, Ore. See www.omsi.edu January 11 – 20 Preschoolers experiment with the rainbow’s colors at Phoenix’s Arizona Science Center. See www.azscience.org
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Book Review: Deadly Choices: How the Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All by Paul A. Offit
Review by Nathan Seppa.
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What Technology Wants by Kevin Kelly
By viewing technology as an organism, a tech journalist projects how new devices might evolve. Viking, 2010, 336 p., $27.95.
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Escape from the Ivory Tower by Nancy Baron
A communications expert gives scientists a practical guide to making their work better understood. Island Press, 2010, 272 p., $27.50.
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Come See the Earth Turn by Lori Mortensen, illustrations by Raúl Allén
Aimed at kids age 7 to 9, this picture book shows how Léon Foucault and his pendulum demonstrated the Earth’s spin. Tricycle Press, 2010, 32 p., $17.99.
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Where Good Ideas Come From by Steven Johnson
In what he calls a “natural history of innovation,” a science writer identifies patterns throughout history, mining the past for lessons in creativity. Riverhead Books, 2010, 336 p., $26.95.
