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  1. Health & Medicine

    Women of childbearing age still aren’t getting enough folic acid

    To head off a risk of neural tube defects, a class of potentially devastating birth defects, women of childbearing age are supposed to get at least 400 micrograms of folic acid daily. A government study now finds that the vast majority of these women fall short. It finds that the national average for women in this age group is some 40 percent below the recommended minimum.

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  2. Feedback

    Letters for May 8, 2010.

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  3. Science Past from the issue of May 7, 1960

    WHISTLING SWANS DYED TO STUDY MIGRATION ROUTE —  The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been dyeing whistling swans vivid colors to learn more about their migratory movements. With their wings, tails or other body parts colored blue, yellow, green or red, the swans are easier to observe both when flying and resting on the ground. […]

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  4. Science Future for May 8, 2010

    May 12 Students can visit scientists or conduct their own experiments to celebrate National Lab Day. Find local events at www.nationallabday.org May 27 – 30 The Association for Psychological Science hosts its annual meeting in Boston. See www.psychologicalscience.org June 4 – 8 The American Society of Clinical Oncology meets in Chicago. See www.asco.org

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  5. Physics

    Lasing Beyond Light

    Laser physicists have set their sights on new types of waves — manufacturing beams of sound, creating plasma swells and looking for ripples in spacetime.

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  6. Physics

    Inventing the Light Fantastic

    The history of the laser: An idea that began with Albert Einstein inspired a race to create a special beam of light that has since infiltrated numerous aspects of everyday life.

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  7. Physics

    Laser pioneer reflects on making Einstein’s idea real

    Science News reporter Ron Cowen's Q&A with Nobel laureate and laser-technology pioneer Charles Townes.

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  8. Life

    Paradox of dining in deep, wet mud

    A bonanza of food doesn’t necessarily result in biodiversity among deep sediment dwellers off California’s coast.

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  9. Space

    Life in the sticky lane

    Tropical asphalt lake could be analog for extraterrestrial microbial habitat.

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  10. Astronomy

    Hubble’s new instant classic

    NASA has released a stunning image of a nearby star-forming region to celebrate the telescope's 20th birthday.

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  11. Earth

    Emerging Northwest fungal disease develops virulent Oregon strain

    Uncommon but sometimes fatal infections of the lung or brain can show up months after someone inhales spores.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    Data from many drug trials for stroke go unpublished

    Important details from roughly one in five drug trials for the acute treatment of the most common type of stroke have never entered the public domain, a new study finds. The masked data come from 125 trials that tested effects of 89 different drugs.

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