News

  1. Chemistry

    How hot was it?

    Scientists have created heat-sensing polymers that indicate exposure to high temperatures by changing color under ultraviolet light.

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  2. Chemistry

    Novel reaction produces hydrogen

    Chemists have found a new way to produce hydrogen using only water, an organic liquid, and a metal catalyst.

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  3. Chemistry

    Cactus goo purifies water

    Scientists are working on an environmentally benign water-filtering process that uses the nopal cactus.

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  4. Archaeology

    French site sparks Neandertal debate

    Radiocarbon analyses of material from a French cave indicate that Neandertal and modern human occupations of the site overlapped around 36,000 years ago, possibly explaining why Neandertals began to employ some new toolmaking techniques around that time.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Lead in spice mixes caused poisonings

    Contaminated spices, purchased from poorly regulated sources, can explain some cases of lead poisoning that involve several members of a family.

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  6. Earth

    The river’s rising: A depressing effect

    When the Amazon River swells in flood each rainy season, the immense weight of the water causes Earth's surface in the region to sink dozens of centimeters.

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  7. Physics

    Champion of strength is forged in mighty anvil

    A new form of carbon created in an anvil and composed of microscopic needles of diamond has emerged as the strongest known material.

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  8. ***Notice to Subscribers in Areas Affected by Hurricane Katrina***

    The U.S. Postal Service has asked magazine publishers to suspend subscription mailings to areas that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Science News subscribers in those areas won't be charged for issues that are withheld, and their subscriptions will be extended. Mailings will resume upon notification by the USPS that delivery is reinstated.

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  9. Animals

    Perfect Match: Tied contest gives fish no hormone rush

    A male fish produces a burst of hormones as he fights off an intruder, but this surge isn't triggered simply by fighting.

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  10. Tech

    Electronics Gets Y’s: Nanotubes branch out as novel transistors

    Y-shaped nanotubes might become a common component in ultrasmall electronic circuitry.

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  11. Materials Science

    Sun and Sand: Dirty silicon could supply solar power

    Scientists have proposed a way to control the distribution of contaminants in silicon, potentially opening up the use of cheaper starting materials for making solar cells.

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  12. Planetary Science

    Top of the Martian hill

    After a 14-month climb up a Martian hill, NASA's rover Spirit took a panoramic image of the view from the top.

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