Uncategorized
- Math
The Mandelbrot Monk
In the 13th century, Udo of Aachen wasn’t merely a minor poet, copyist, and theological essayist. A new study of his work reveals that this medieval Benedictine monk was an outstandingly original and talented mathematician. He not only devised the rules for complex arithmetic but also pioneered the iterative process for displaying the famous fractal […]
- Humans
From the March 28, 1936, issue
A flooded Washington, D.C., a giant stellar explosion, and three new nebulae.
- Planetary Science
Propelling Evidence: Cassini finds clues to source of Saturn’s rings
Four propeller-shaped gaps in one of Saturn's main rings are the latest evidence that a shattered moon produced the planet's dazzling hoops.
- Earth
Coral Clues: Rise and fall of reefs record quakes’ effects
Shallow coral reefs around islands west of Sumatra chronicled the uplift and subsidence that resulted from the massive quakes that struck that region in 2004 and 2005.
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Awake and Learning: Memory storage begins before bedtime
Although a good night's sleep aids memory storage, learning isn't a task that just happens overnight.
- Tech
Cool Wire: Nanostructure boosts superconductor
The extraordinary performance of a prototype superconductive wire is encouraging superconductivity specialists, even though the prototype is unlikely to be mass-produced.
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19663
Changing the diet of pigs, cows, chickens, etc., to include more omega-3 fatty acids would be a healthy alternative to genetic engineering and wouldn’t require government approval. In particular, the weed purslane is higher in omega-3s than any other vegetable and is also edible by humans, although it is not generally available in markets. In […]
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Pigging Out Healthfully: Engineered pork has more omega-3s
Scientists have created pigs that sport much higher concentrations of omega-3 fatty acids in their tissues than normal pigs do.
- Health & Medicine
XXL from Too Few Zs? Skimping on sleep might cause obesity, diabetes
Widespread sleep deprivation could partly explain the current epidemics of both obesity and diabetes.
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Smarty Brains: High-IQ kids navigate notable neural shifts
Children with extremely high IQ scores display a distinctive pattern of brain development, characterized by dramatic thickening and then by marked thinning of brain tissue.
- Humans
Letters from the April 1, 2006, issue of Science News
The prion game I must quibble about the headline of the piece about chronic wasting disease in deer (“Hunter Beware: Infectious proteins found in deer muscle,” SN: 1/28/06, p. 52). “Hunter Beware” sounds ominous, but in order to get the mice to exhibit symptoms after getting muscle tissue from infected deer, it was necessary to […]
- Tech
Corralling Brownian motion
A new microscope system uses electrically controlled fluid motions to counteract Brownian motion, preventing those random jitters from driving proteins, viruses, and other tiny objects out of the field of view.
