News

  1. Humans

    Hurricane provisions

    We at Science News express our strong concern and extend our deepest sympathy to those who are suffering through the ongoing ordeal caused by Hurricane Katrina.

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  2. Dead Tired: Weary doctors function as if intoxicated

    After a month of long hours of challenging work, fatigued physicians show impairments in driving and other tasks requiring constant attention and quick reactions.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Critical for Coating: Protein directs nerve-sheath construction

    A protein produced by nerve cells is essential for the manufacture of myelin, the fatty sheath surrounding nerve fibers.

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  4. ***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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  5. Earth

    Cancer-fighting e-mails

    A new federal service, offered jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service, will notify individuals, via e-mail, when the sun's cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation is forecast to be unusually high.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Rooting out hidden HIV

    A drug called valproic acid, used in combination with other medications, can ferret out HIV that is lying dormant in cells.

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  7. Planetary Science

    Satellites could detect quakes on Venus

    Strong seismic activity on Venus could cause brief but detectable temperature increases high in that planet's atmosphere.

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  8. Tech

    Body-fluid battery

    A battery that's activated by body fluids such as saliva or urine may one day power devices ranging from disposable home health-care testing kits to emergency radio transmitters that turn on with a lick.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Protein fingered in rare psychosis

    A protein is pivotal in bringing on the psychotic attacks that beset people with porphyria, a rare inherited disease.

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  10. Animals

    Bumblebee 007: Bees can spy on others’ flower choices

    Bumblebees that watched their neighbors feast on unusual flowers often later checked out the same kinds of blossoms themselves, a behavior that amounts to social learning.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    A New Role for Statin Drugs? Cholesterol fighters may reduce deaths soon after heart attacks

    Statin drugs given within 24 hours of a heart attack improve a patient's chance of surviving.

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  12. Tech

    Wings warp for birdlike agility

    An easily maneuverable, bird-size airplane whose wings can change shape in flight may be able to carry out a variety of assignments in tight spots.

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