Notebook
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Be a Cognitive-Test Subject
You can become an online participant in tests of how the mind uses and processes words at this several-month-old site, administered by Harvard University’s Cognition and Language Laboratory (with collaborators at other institutions). Alternatively, you can just read the results from earlier experiments. They’re quick, fun, and sometimes embarrassingly challenging. Go to: http://coglanglab.org
- Humans
From the January 22, 1938, issue
Lightning striking again and again, estimating the age of the oceans, and dangerous, youthful drivers.
- Earth
Identifying Polluters
Three major business schools have teamed up to map some 20,000 sources of industrial pollution. You can search for polluters in a particular region, in a designated industry, or those associated with a named company, then probe their emissions by type and quantity, look at how their pollutant trends have changed over time, and compare […]
- Humans
From the January 15, 1938, issue
Radio-assisted snowplows, getting to know the "X" particle, and ancient frozen mammoths found in Siberia.
- Animals
Secret Lives of Worms
Colorful and compelling, this science-rich, 15-minute video offers an up-close glimpse into the weird world of segmented worms—from nightcrawlers and leeches to feathery coral-dwelling dazzlers. Go to: https://www.sciencenews.org/sn-magazine/april-11-1987
- Health & Medicine
The State of Our Nutrition
With the new year, people start thinking about dieting and developing better overall health habits. Want to know which regions of the nation started out the year as the most and least healthy—and by what measures? Turn to new maps prepared by the Agriculture Department and click on the state(s) of interest. Agency scientists have […]
- Humans
From the January 8, 1938, issue
Social scientist named AAAS president, rarest of the rare found high in the air, and an unusual joint for a skull.
- Earth
Focus on Our Planet
Although the United Nations has officially designated 2008 as the International Year of Planet Earth, the 3-year celebration actually began a year ago and will continue through December 2009. The program’s ultimate goal: “to build safer, healthier and wealthier societies around the globe” through a better appreciation for and harnessing of Earth sciences. The UN […]
- Humans
From the January 1, 1938, issue
Giant electric machines in the works, a mysterious new subatomic particle, and seeking the age of an isthmus.
- Humans
From the December 18 & 25, 1937, issues
The infinite variety of snowflakes, making Java Man human, dinosaurs on the battlefield, Santa Claus in stone, filling empty space, and science progress in 1937.
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It’s a Small World
The apparently fictitious “Institute for the Promotion of the Less than One Millimeter” offers a visual smorgasbord of microbiological images. Wim van Egmond describes his “Micropolitan Museum” as portraits of what he can scoop up with a pipette or tweezers. He’s got marine and freshwater collections, a botanical garden, and an insectarium. The latter two […]
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My DNA Project
Having trouble cracking the code that geneticists use to describe new molecular advances in health and medicine? Well, researchers at the University of Massachusetts have developed a program aimed at helping the public acquire the tools—including vocabulary, and background information—necessary to “become comfortable with genome issues, and to learn how to take advantage of the […]
