All Stories
- Animals
Flight burns less fuel than stopovers
The first measurements of energy use in migrating songbirds confirms that birds burn more energy during stopovers along the way than during their total flying time.
By Susan Milius - Humans
From the July 8, 1933, issue
THE NYMPHS’ FLOWER Serene, cool, immaculate, the water lily floats beneath the summer sun, where the big flat drops of water shine like silver coins on the round, flat leaves. The water lily has been the delight of poets of all ages and peoples. Of moralists, too, who like to reflect that all that superb […]
By Science News - Astronomy
Strange Matter
What’s materials science? This engaging Web site for kids of all ages introduces “the study of stuff.” It describes how materials fit into different categories and provides accounts of what materials scientists do. Games and activities require a browser with a Flash plug-in. Go to: http://www.strangematterexhibit.com/
By Science News -
19261
This article raised so many questions. Do children who play in the dirt get their increased immune resistance from phages in the dirt? Is there a phage connection in the AIDS story? Does the risk of dying of heart attacks have a phage connection? If so, is group A Streptococcus involved? Do we need a […]
By Science News - Life
All the World’s a Phage
There are an amazing number of bacteriophages—viruses that kill bacteria—in the world.
By John Travis -
19036
Regarding the article on udder tampering in livestock competitions, it’s sad that the push for easy success is so pervasive. Although colleges and universities receiving federal research funds must require research-ethics education of their students, I don’t see an impact on plagiarism. How might we encourage future generations of students in all disciplines to internalize […]
By Science News - Humans
Udder Beauty
Sophisticated screening of livestock championship winners may become as common as urine tests of Olympic athletes.
By Janet Raloff - Math
Alphamagic Squares
Magic squares have fascinated people for thousands of years. They consist of a set of whole numbers arranged in a square so that the sum of the numbers is the same in each row, in each column, and along each diagonal. Some magic squares have special properties, such as using only consecutive numbers. In ancient […]
- Health & Medicine
Epilepsy drug eases diabetes woes
The epilepsy drug topiramate relieves pain, seems to initiate nerve repair, aids weight loss, and may have other benefits for persons with diabetes.
By Nathan Seppa - Health & Medicine
Strict regimen pays off years later
Diabetes patients who adhered to a strict program of blood sugar control over nearly 7 years starting in the 1980s are still showing heart benefits.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Tobacco treaty penned
Just one day after the World Health Organization drafted a tobacco-control treaty, more than 28 nations signed on.
By Janet Raloff - Physics
Magnetic current flows solo
By exploiting quantum mechanical interactions, physicists have generated glows of the magnetic fields of electrons without corresponding flows of their electric charges.
By Peter Weiss