Feature
- Earth
Aquatic Non-Scents
Many common pollutants appear to be jeopardizing the survival of fish and other aquatic species by blunting their sense of smell.
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Perchance to Hibernate
As scientists work to unravel the secrets of mammalian hibernation, they're eyeing medical applications that could aid wounded soldiers, stroke victims, and transplant recipients, among others.
- Earth
Counterintuitive Toxicity
Toxicologists risk missing important health effects, both good and bad, if they don't begin regularly probing the impacts of very low doses of poisons.
- Humans
Weighing In on City Planning
Accumulating evidence suggests that urban sprawl discourages physical activity and may thereby contribute to obesity and related health problems.
- Computing
Digital Fingerprints
New methods to identify Internet users by their behavior can uncover criminals online, but these techniques may also track millions of innocent users.
- Physics
Cellular Contortionist
Mounting, but controversial, evidence suggests that DNA flexes more easily than previously thought, with potentially important implications for genetics, cell biology, and nanotechnology.
- Ecosystems
Most Bees Live Alone
Concern about honeybee shortages has inspired new interest in bees that lead solitary lives and don't bother storing honey.
- Astronomy
A New Spin
Using a flotilla of spacecraft to study X-ray emissions from the vicinity of black holes, astronomers are nudging ever closer to the whirlpool of activity surrounding these gravitational monsters.
- Humans
Science News of the Year 2006
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the year 2006.
- Earth
Rocking the House
A recent test that simulated the effect of a magnitude-6.7 earthquake on a full-size, wood-frame townhouse may help engineers and analysts design more earthquake-resistant homes. With sound and video.
- Math
Crafty Geometry
By mastering traditional handicrafts such as knitting and crocheting, mathematicians are better able to understand complex surfaces.
- Computing
What a Flake
New ways to simulate ice-crystal growth yield patterns remarkably similar to the beautiful and intricate shapes of snowflakes and may shed light on how those real-life shapes come about.
