All Stories
- Chemistry
Catalyzing green chemistry
A recyclable catalyst promises to eliminate the waste generated during the manufacture of a wide range of chemicals, including drugs and ceramics.
- Earth
Indonesian reefs fell prey to fires
The fires that swept through Indonesian rain forests late in 1997 apparently laid waste to some marine ecosystems, as well.
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Babies show eye for object lessons
Between 4 months and 6 months of age, babies learn that objects continue to exist even when they disappear behind barriers.
- Astronomy
Lights out
Astronomers who have conducted a detailed analysis of the colors of some 37,000 nearby galaxies conclude that the universe is gradually growing darker.
- Chemistry
Amino acid lends a heavy hand
Scientists have identified a mechanism to explain how amino acids evolved to become exclusively left-handed in all living organisms.
- Tech
Smart dust can swarm target
Microscopic mirrors can swarm a target and produce an optical signal that identifies the target to the observer.
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Flag raised for kids’ mental health
A study of North Carolina children and teenagers finds that at least 1 in 3 developed one or more psychiatric disorders by age 16.
- Planetary Science
A phoenix on Mars
If all goes according to plan, a spacecraft will land on the north polar region of Mars in 2008 and scoop up samples of the icy terrain.
- Astronomy
Getting the GOODS on Galaxies
A coordinated effort among the most powerful space and ground-based observatories to stare in detail at the same two patches of sky is revealing how galaxies assembled, how rapidly star formation proceeded in the early universe, and whether dark energy has recently revved up the expansion of the universe.
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A New Shot at Fighting Obesity
In another sign that people in the United States are losing the battle of the bulging waistlines, the New York Times recently ran a front-page story on the legion of people resorting to drastic obesity-fighting operations such as gastric bypass surgery. “Doctors and hospitals across the country are scrambling to satisfy the booming demand for […]
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Buyer Beware
A growing number of psychological studies conclude that excessively materialistic values undermine happiness and well-being, although the emotional effects of pursuing money and fancy possessions remain controversial.
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19340
The multiple-origin theory of ancient New World immigration reported in this article has a long and respectable scholarly history, though it’s tarnished from time to time by enthusiasts for one race or another. For an early popular treatment, see Men out of Asia by Harold Sterling Gladwin (1947, McGraw-Hill). Gladwin even mentioned the Pericú, who […]
