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Electronics Gets Y’s: Nanotubes branch out as novel transistors
Y-shaped nanotubes might become a common component in ultrasmall electronic circuitry.
By Peter Weiss - Materials Science
Sun and Sand: Dirty silicon could supply solar power
Scientists have proposed a way to control the distribution of contaminants in silicon, potentially opening up the use of cheaper starting materials for making solar cells.
- Planetary Science
Top of the Martian hill
After a 14-month climb up a Martian hill, NASA's rover Spirit took a panoramic image of the view from the top.
By Ron Cowen -
Thinking the Hurt Away: Expectations hitch ride on pain’s brain pathway
Positive thinking exerts a calming effect on pain-related brain areas, yielding a substantial reduction in the actual perception of pain, a brain-scan investigation suggests.
By Bruce Bower - Humans
Hurricane provisions
We at Science News express our strong concern and extend our deepest sympathy to those who are suffering through the ongoing ordeal caused by Hurricane Katrina.
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Dead Tired: Weary doctors function as if intoxicated
After a month of long hours of challenging work, fatigued physicians show impairments in driving and other tasks requiring constant attention and quick reactions.
By Ben Harder - Health & Medicine
Critical for Coating: Protein directs nerve-sheath construction
A protein produced by nerve cells is essential for the manufacture of myelin, the fatty sheath surrounding nerve fibers.
By Nathan Seppa - Humans
Letters from the September 10, 2005, issue of Science News
Pennies in heaven? Why slam a copper impactor into Comet Tempel 1 (“A Grand Slam: In a winning move, NASA probe burrows into a comet,” SN: 7/9/05, p. 22)? Wouldn’t copper vapor contaminate the spray? Why not a high-temperature ceramic? P.M. deLaubenfelsCorvallis, Ore. According to Casey Lisse of the Deep Impact team, copper was chosen […]
By Science News -
***Notice to Subscribers in Areas Affected by Hurricane Katrina***
The U.S. Postal Service has asked magazine publishers to suspend subscription mailings to areas that were damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Science News subscribers in those areas won't be charged for issues that are withheld, and their subscriptions will be extended. Mailings will resume upon notification by the USPS that delivery is reinstated.
By Science News - Earth
Cancer-fighting e-mails
A new federal service, offered jointly by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the National Weather Service, will notify individuals, via e-mail, when the sun's cancer-causing ultraviolet radiation is forecast to be unusually high.
By Janet Raloff - Health & Medicine
Rooting out hidden HIV
A drug called valproic acid, used in combination with other medications, can ferret out HIV that is lying dormant in cells.
By Nathan Seppa - Planetary Science
Satellites could detect quakes on Venus
Strong seismic activity on Venus could cause brief but detectable temperature increases high in that planet's atmosphere.
By Sid Perkins