Uncategorized
- Ecosystems
Life Underfoot: Microbial biodiversity takes surprising twist
When it comes to numbers of bacterial species, rainforest dirt is virtually a desert, but desert dirt bursts with biodiversity.
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The Fat Track: Signals between cells keep creatures lean
An ancient cellular pathway that determines cells' fates also inhibits fat formation in insects and mammals.
- Health & Medicine
Put Down That Fork: Studies document hazards of obesity
Being overweight or obese in middle age increases a person's risk of heart or kidney problems later in life.
- Animals
Little Professor: Ants rank as first true animal teachers
The best evidence so far of true teaching in a nonhuman animal comes from ants. With video.
- Humans
Faked Finds: Human stem cell work is discredited
South Korean scientist Woo Suk Hwang faked embryonic stem cell findings, say investigators from Seoul National University.
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Masters of Disaster: Survey taps resilience of post-9/11 New York
Telephone interviews with more than 2,700 people living in and around New York City yielded evidence of widespread psychological resilience during the 6 months after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.
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I experienced something very interesting after Sept. 11, 2001. Rather than post-traumatic stress disorder, there seemed to be a togetherness exhibited. I found people to be more courteous, thoughtful, compassionate, and polite in general. I’m sure that people can say they experienced this same type of oneness in past experiences. J. DawsonFolsom, Calif.
- Earth
Greenhouse Plants? Vegetation may produce methane
Lab tests suggest that a wide variety of plants may routinely do something that scientists previously thought impossible; produce methane in significant quantities in an oxygenated environment.
- Health & Medicine
Musical therapy for sounder sleeping
Regularly playing a droning wind instrument native to Australia significantly reduced snoring and sleep problems, Swiss researchers found.
- Tech
Transistors sprout inner forests
By combining nanowires and conventional transistor structures, researchers are creating novel transistors with improved performance and the potential to be easily manufactured.
- Humans
Letters from the January 14, 2006, issue of Science News
Alcohol calculus “A toast to thin blood” (SN: 11/12/05, p. 317) says, “the blood of people who consume 3 to 6 drinks weekly was less likely to clot in a test tube than was the blood from nondrinkers.” I wonder if there is a rebound effect that could make the blood of new abstainers even […]
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