Uncategorized
- Earth
Wave’s-eye view of a hurricane
Strong hurricanes aren't as effective at transmitting their energy to the ocean's surface as weak ones are, a counterintuitive finding that may help researchers estimate the size of storm surges.
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Rare flower needs prickly neighbors
A flowering plant found only in Mauritius makes more fruit if dense stands of pandanus trees grow nearby.
- Health & Medicine
A Gasping Heart
A common imperfection in the structure of the heart may exacerbate obstructive sleep apnea and, in mountaineers, trigger a life-threatening lung condition called high-altitude pulmonary edema.
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19813
“Migraines in men linked to heart attack risks” (SN: 5/26/07, p. 333) states that although men who suffer from migraines are more likely to experience heart attacks, scientists have failed to find a biological mechanism linking them. Such a link seems to be suggested in this earlier Science News article, which states that a patent […]
- Tech
Pictures Posing Questions
Radical new forms of photography use computation to transcend the limits of traditional cameras.
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19812
Reading this article, I was struck by the similarity between the image that used a cone-shaped mirror and the images you get from gravitational lensing. As the same data are available in both types of images, it ought to be possible to process gravitationally imaged objects in a way to reconstruct their 3-D shapes under […]
- Humans
Letters from the April 7, 2007, issue of Science News
Winter wonders The theory of “nuclear winter” was originally put forward by an Eastern European mathematician in the 1980s (“Sudden Chill,” SN: 2/3/07, p. 72). Some months later, it was shown that an error in his original calculations so vastly exaggerated “nuclear winter” as to make it meaningless. Still, the dramatic concept of a “nuclear […]
- Math
Math Circles Inspire Students
Programs outside of school are helping students discover math on their own.
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The Billion Tree Campaign
The United Nations Environment Programme has launched a major global tree-planting campaign to encourage people, businesses, and governments to enter tree-planting pledges online. The effort’s objective is to plant at least one billion trees worldwide during 2007. Go to: http://www.unep.org/billiontreecampaign
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- Earth
Pollution Fallout: Are unattractive males Great-gram’s fault?
Pollutant exposures in rodents can have behavioral repercussions that persist generation after generation.
- Tech
Is Your Phone Out of Juice? Biological fuel cell turns drinks into power
A new type of fuel cell uses natural enzymes to produce small amounts of electricity from sugar.
