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19825
The NASA researchers baffled in this article by the hexagonal shape in Saturn’s soupy atmosphere at its northern pole should read “As waters part, polygons appear” (SN: 6/3/06, p. 348). It is worth investigating whether there is a similar phenomenon—I still suspect some sort of standing sine wave effect—at work in both cases. Ellery FrahmMinneapolis, […]
By Science News - Planetary Science
A hexagon on the ringed planet
NASA scientists are puzzled by a giant, hexagon-shaped feature that covers Saturn's entire north pole.
By Ron Cowen - Earth
Flotsam Science
Researchers have harnessed the power of flotsam—floating items as diverse as tennis shoes, tub toys, and hockey gloves—to chart the path and speed of the Pacific Subarctic Gyre, a group of currents in the North Pacific Ocean.
By Sid Perkins - Anthropology
Children of Prehistory
Accumulating evidence suggests that children and teenagers produced much prehistoric cave art and perhaps left behind many fledgling attempts at stone-tool making as well.
By Bruce Bower -
19824
The lines on the cave ceilings remind me very much of what a large pot of finger paint looks like after children extract what they want to draw with. I could easily see my children (especially when younger) drawing on their own faces and bodies all kinds of designs using the colored clay. Dan WoitulewiczDetroit, […]
By Science News - Humans
Letters from the April 28, 2007, issue of Science News
Long ago gas Finding CO2 levels that are 2,500 times higher in 5,000-year-old fulgurites than in modern samples, scientists have speculated that the extra CO2 resulted from vaporization of organic material by lightning (“Stroke of Good Fortune: A wealth of data from petrified lightning,” SN: 2/17/07, p. 101). Could some of this gas reflect elevated […]
By Science News - Earth
Earth 911
Earth Day comes only once a year, but you can give Mother Earth a gift every day. The site Earth 911 makes it easy to be environmentally responsible. The Web portal offers ideas on how to recycle old electronics, dispose of hazardous materials, conserve energy, and shop green—and all its tips are tailored to your […]
By Science News - Humans
From the April 17, 1937, issue
Signs of spring, new elements in space, and the future of atomic energy.
By Science News - Astronomy
Back to (Near) the Beginning: Galactic springtime
In their quest to capture ever-earlier moments of cosmic history, astronomers may have found some of the first galaxies.
By Ron Cowen - Health & Medicine
Tenacious STD: Drug-resistant gonorrhea is spreading
Responding to a surge in tough-to-treat gonorrhea, the CDC has stopped recommending Cipro-class antibiotics for the disease.
By Brian Vastag - Health & Medicine
Visual Clarity: People with MS maintain eyesight with drug
A drug for multiple sclerosis seems to prevent subtle vision loss in many patients.
By Nathan Seppa - Tech
A New Low: Lilliputian pipette releases tiniest drops
Physicists have constructed a pipette that dispenses a billionth of a trillionth of a liter.