Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the January 21, 2006, issue of Science News
D. Durda, FIAAA/B612 Foundation Push, pull, zap, drench I’m surprised that NASA envisions an absurdly massive, nuclear-powered “gravitational tug” to avoid “the biggest problem” of a contact-tug’s need to “fir[e] its rocket engine only at specific times” to compensate for an asteroid’s rotation (“Protecting Earth: Gravitational tractor could lure asteroids off course,” SN: 11/12/05, p. […]
- Archaeology
Getting a read on early Maya writing
Excavators of a pyramid in northeastern Guatemala announced the discovery of the earliest known Maya writing.
- Tech
Is Anybody out There?
To speed the search for extraterrestrial life, researchers are using extreme conditions on Earth to develop a flotilla of detection devices to tease out signs of life in unlikely places.
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Just because living organisms were found in extreme conditions does not necessarily mean they were created in these localities. Another possibility is that the creation of life took place under more amenable conditions and that these organisms, through evolution, gradually adapted as the conditions changed. We shouldn’t assume that just because bacteria were found on […]
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This article illustrates one of the fascinating ways in which cellular automata have evolved into a truly useful analytical tool. However, would it not be more linguistically consistent, not to mention more accurate, to refer to the methodology as “in virtuo” rather than “in silico”? In another 50 years, the use of silicon as a […]
- Health & Medicine
In Pixels and in Health
By simulating individual cells and their behavior inside the human body using a computer technique called agent-based modeling, scientists are gaining new insight into disease progression.
- Humans
From the January 11, 1936 issue
A new president for A.A.A.S., evidence of neutrinos, and plants that act like batteries.
- Humans
Benjamin Franklin at 300
For the 300th anniversary of Benjamin Franklin’s birth, a new Web portal offers a comprehensive, searchable resource of the statesman and scientist’s writings and quotations, along with a targeted search engine and tools for teachers. Go to: http://ben.clusty.com/
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Robo Receptor: Researchers engineer a brain ion channel to take its cues from light
Scientists have engineered an ion channel in nerve cells to open or close in response to light.
- 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.
