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  1. Ecosystems

    New Farmers: Salt marsh snails plow leaves, fertilize fungus

    A salt marsh snail works the leaves of a plant in what researchers say looks like a simple form of farming.

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  2. Physics

    Doppler Toppler: Experiment upends normal frequency shift

    The expected drop in frequency of a signal from a receding source—the Doppler effect—becomes a frequency increase when a high-current electric pulse creates extraordinary electromagnetic conditions in a web of electrical components.

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  3. 19362

    Your article uses the words ā€œplacebo therapies such as supportive counseling.ā€ I think that people in the profession and people who have been paying for such therapy would disagree with the characterization. Also, the various permutations of treatment covered in the article didn’t include a very common one: drugs without any serious counseling. In such […]

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  4. Allies in Therapy: Depression fix feeds off patient-therapist bond

    Psychotherapy's ability to quell symptoms of depression may depend more on the therapeutic alliance, a measure of the bond between patient and therapist, than on any specific techniques wielded by the therapist.

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  5. Paleontology

    Proud paleontologists proclaim: It’s a boy!

    Marine sediments deposited about 425 million years ago have yielded what scientists contend is the world’s oldest undoubtedly male fossil.

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  6. 19361

    This article describes the use of the mosquito-borne Sindbis virus to kill cancer cells in lab dishes and mice. It would be interesting to determine whether the human population of the Egyptian town of Sindbis exhibits a reduced incidence of certain cancers. Perhaps large-scale efforts directed toward elimination of the mosquito in populated areas are […]

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  7. Seek and Destroy: Virus attacks cancer, spares normal cells

    A virus carried by mosquitoes naturally homes in on cancer cells and destroys them.

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  8. Earth

    Cloud Chemistry: Atmospheric scientists dissect cirrus clouds

    Cirrus cloud formation is influenced by the particles in the atmosphere, including pollutants.

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  9. Astronomy

    Solar Flip-Flops: Sun storms spawn magnetic reversal

    Coronal mass ejections, billion-ton clouds of charged particles blasted from the sun, appear to play a key role in reversing the sun's magnetic poles every 11 years.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    No Scope: CT scan works as well as colonoscopy

    A computed tomography scan of the large intestine works as well as colonoscopy in detecting signs of colon cancer.

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  11. Humans

    Letters

    Letters from the Dec. 6, 2003, issue of Science News.

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  12. Humans

    Nanotech bill gives field a boost

    Congress has approved a nanotechnology act that commits $3.7 billion in funding over 4 years and calls for research on the societal, environmental, and ethical implications of this rapidly growing field.

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