Uncategorized
- Earth
Solar changes help create cold northern winters
Fluctuations in ultraviolet light can set up frigid, snowy conditions across parts of the Northern Hemisphere.
- Space
Saturn’s rings tell a comet’s tale
Ripples made by a celestial impact 600 years ago can still be seen today.
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Mathematicians think of everything as rubber
How the rubbery world of topology may help describe the universe.
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Letters
Lumpy lunar illusion Are you folks aware of a phenomenon based on the universal expectation that objects are illuminated by light coming from above? Several startling optical illusions are based on this quirk of the mind. For example, the sharp moon map in “Orbiter delivers sharp moon map” (SN: 7/30/11, p. 12) makes the moon […]
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SN Online
BODY & BRAIN ‘Normal’ B12 levels may not be enough for the brain. Read “B12 shortage linked to cognitive problems.” LIFE A penguin can find its kin even in a sea of black and white. See “Penguins may sniff out relatives.” ATOM & COSMOS A NASA probe has found bizarre landforms on the planet nearest […]
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Science Future for October 22, 2011
October 31 Last day for artists to apply for a residency at the CERN particle physics lab near Geneva. Learn more at www.aec.at/prix/collide/ November 4 Chicago’s Field Museum opens its “Restoring Earth” exhibit. See www.fieldmuseum.org November 6 The National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., explores MIT labs as hot spots of invention. See […]
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Science Past from the issue of October 21, 1961
‘ALARM CLOCK’ BRINGS SNAKES TO SURFACE — A built-in “alarm clock” apparently helps a brightly-banded little desert snake come to the surface at night after he has buried himself to escape the day’s heat…. It had been noted that these snakes, which remain buried in the sand most of the time, appear to come to […]
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Becoming Dr. Q: My Journey from Migrant Farm Worker to Brain Surgeon by Alfredo Qui±ones-Hinojosa with Mim Eichler Rivas
An autobiography charts one man’s voyage from migrant worker to brain surgeon. Univ. of California Press, 2011, 317 p., $27.50
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Disease Maps: Epidemics on the Ground by Tom Koch
This unconventional history charts the rise of epidemiology by examining how maps have been used to follow the spread of disease. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2011, 330 p., $45
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The Dolphin in the Mirror: Exploring Dolphin Minds and Saving Dolphin Lives by Diana Reiss
A dolphin researcher describes studies of the animals’ intelligence and makes a case for their protection. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2011, 276 p., $27
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The Prince of Evolution: Peter Kropotkin’s Adventures in Science and Politics by Lee Alan Dugatkin
A biologist tells the tale of Peter Kropotkin, a Russian prince whose adventures and studies of evolution and society made him an international celebrity. CreateSpace, 2011, 121 p., $12.99
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Cosmic Numbers: The Numbers That Define Our Universe by James D. Stein
The stories behind numbers — their discoveries and relationships to one another — come to life in this tale of universal constants. Basic Books, 2011, 228 p., $25.99
