Uncategorized
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19919
We must dissociate the attacks themselves from the intense media barrage that followed. Under the guise of providing information, the press seemed intent on inflaming our most negative feelings of fear, hatred, and grief. While the attacks were no doubt emotionally distressing, the psychological trauma was amplified a thousandfold by the nonstop and repetitive coverage. […]
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Antidepressants get overly positive spin
Studies finding beneficial effects of antidepressant drugs for depressed patients get published far more often than do studies that uncover no antidepressant benefits.
- Paleontology
Life explodes twice
The Ediacaran fauna were as varied as all animals in existence today and, more impressively, as in the Cambrian, report paleontologists.
- Animals
Fenced-off trees drop their friends
Protecting acacia trees from large, tree-munching animals sets off a chain of events that ends up ruining the trees' partnership with their bodyguard ants.
- Materials Science
Life in Print
Tissues printed with an ink-jet could provide patches for damaged organs, new cell-based materials for drug testing, new ways to probe cellular communication, living sensors, or even fuel cell–type batteries.
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19918
This article keeps the reader on track with accurate, entertaining metaphors. It ends with a riveting observation from the White Mountains of New Hampshire: The tree line occurs where windchill temperatures reach 220 kelvins, the temperature at which supercooled water “undergoes a phase transition.” Windchill temperatures are not physical temperatures—neither the trees nor the air […]
- Physics
Supercool, and Strange
Scientists tracking H2O's highs and lows are finding new clues as to how and why the familiar substance is so odd. Recent research, for example, suggests that water may exist in two distinct liquid phases at ultralow temperatures.
- Humans
Letters from the January 26, 2008, issue of Science News
Bad medicine? In “Unseen Risk: Lifestyle, physical problems may underlie psoriasis link to early mortality” (SN: 12/22&29/07, p. 389), the definition of patients with severe psoriasis as those needing systemic drugs raises the question whether treatment itself may be linked to early mortality. The journal article cited in the story indicates that some systemic treatments […]
- Math
Checking It Twice
Election officials have had no practical way to guarantee a correct ballot count—until now.
- 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
- Astronomy
X-raying a galactic jet set
The deepest X-ray portrait ever taken of the galaxy Centaurus A highlights its jets and activity around its supermassive black hole.
