Uncategorized
- Math
Math Plus Crime, TV Style
Math tidbits from the TV show "Numb3rs" inspire commentary and classroom activities.
- Humans
From the January 25, 1936, issue
A giant scoop shovel, a new atom smasher, and making wheat grow better.
- Earth
Seamount Expedition
Join scientists as they explore the cold waters of the Davidson Seamount off the central California coastline. This huge undersea mountain harbors a variety of spectacular marine life, including large, ancient, and fragile coral gardens. Students and the general public can share the expedition’s discoveries through NOAA’s Ocean Explorer Web site, which features daily logs, […]
- Humans
Young Scientists Get Results: Science, math, and engineering competition selects 40 talented finalists
Forty high school students have each earned a spot as a finalist in the 65th annual Intel Science Talent Search.
- Health & Medicine
Double Dose: Two ways to boost kidney-transplant viability
By evaluating kidneys obtained for transplant from older people—then culling the worn-out organs—scientists can identify kidneys likely to last longer in their new hosts, especially when implanted in pairs.
- Animals
Eggs Scramble: Fungi trick termites into babysitting
A fungus may be taking advantage of hardworking termite nursemaids by tricking them into tending egg-shaped fungal reproductive bodies along with real termite eggs.
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Hunter Beware: Infectious proteins found in deer muscle
Infectious agents that cause a mad cow–like infection in deer and elk are present in infected animals' muscles.
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19637
I must quibble about the headline of this piece about chronic wasting disease in deer. “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 use genetically engineered mice carrying deer protein. While hunters would be unlikely to take and […]
- Earth
Charting the Past: Surveys map two lost harbors of Phoenicia
By analyzing long tubes of sediment drilled from locations in and around the Mediterranean ports of Tyre and Sidon, scientists have rediscovered the harbors from which legions of ancient Phoenician mariners set sail.
- Materials Science
Mother-of-Pearl on Ice: New ceramics might serve in bones and machines
Ceramics made by freezing water in an unusual way mimic not only the complicated microstructure of mother-of-pearl but also its extraordinary strength and toughness.
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19636
This article details logging and poaching practices that have decimated the orangutan population on Borneo. These practices are not only sad, they’re criminal. It’s time for scientists to become as politically active as the religious right and start fighting for actions known to be needed. In this case, it’s protecting orangutans from extinction. Scientists must […]
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Red Alert for Red Apes: DNA shows big losses for Borneo orangutans
A new genetic study charts a steep population decline among orangutans in northeastern Borneo, raising new concerns about possible extinction of the animals within the next few decades.
