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On this article, real cats do this too. I have observed many adult cats teaching kittens (not necessarily theirs) to hunt. People who receive “presents” from their cats are not being gifted. The cats are trying to teach them how to hunt, but the cats probably think we are pretty dumb. Emily JohnstonWestminster, Md.
By Science News -
AnimalsLive Prey for Dummies: Meerkats coach pups on hunting
Meerkats easing their pups into the job of handling live prey are among the few animal species shown so far to be natural teachers. With audio.
By Susan Milius -
AstronomyExplosive Aftermath: Sluggish neutron star puzzles astronomers
An X-ray–emitting object at the heart of a young supernova remnant doesn't fit the textbook view of what a stellar explosion is supposed to leave behind.
By Ron Cowen -
HumansClose Your Books: Cuts, shutdowns loom for EPA libraries
Some regional libraries maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency will permanently shut their doors because of a proposed cut to their funding.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineIn utero factors shape responses to stress, sugar
Abnormal conditions during pregnancy can lead in unexpected ways to physiological problems in children once they reach adulthood.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineThyroid-hormone mimic lowers LDL
A compound in a new class of potential anti-cholesterol drugs has passed an early test in people.
By Ben Harder -
AnthropologyDid small hominids have a genetic defect?
Miniature humans whose prehistoric remains were recently unearthed on an Indonesian island may have had a genetic disease known as Laron syndrome.
By Ben Harder -
Health & MedicineGrowth hormone’s risks outweigh its benefits
Human growth hormone has substantial risks and no functional benefits for healthy, elderly people.
By Ben Harder -
HumansLetters from the July 15, 2006, issue of Science News
People want to know “Sharing the Health: Cells from unusual mice make others cancerfree” (SN: 5/13/06, p. 292) reported that years ago it was discovered that certain male mice eradicate cancer cells and that white blood cells from these mice make normal mice cancer resistant. It also reported that it is superpremature to look forward […]
By Science News -
EarthAsbestos fibers: Barking up a tree
Sixteen years after a mine with asbestos-contaminated ore shut down, trees in the area still hold hazardous concentrations of wind-deposited asbestos.
By Janet Raloff -
Health & MedicineMad cow disease might linger longer
A rare but deadly human illness spread by cannibalism has an incubation period in some individuals of about 4 decades.
By Nathan Seppa -
EarthWarning: Slow down for whales
To protect a major population of right whales, the U.S. government is proposing periodic go-slow rules for big ships passing through the animals' migration routes.
By Janet Raloff