Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the September 17, 2005, issue of Science News
Just Feynman A lot of people ask how someone like Richard Feynman, who played the bongo drums, loved practical jokes, and was an amateur safecracker and a bon vivant, could also win a Nobel Prize in Physics (“Dr. Feynman’s Doodles: How one scientist’s simple sketches transformed physics,” SN: 7/16/05, p. 40). Actually, all of Feynman’s […]
- Chemistry
How hot was it?
Scientists have created heat-sensing polymers that indicate exposure to high temperatures by changing color under ultraviolet light.
- Chemistry
Novel reaction produces hydrogen
Chemists have found a new way to produce hydrogen using only water, an organic liquid, and a metal catalyst.
- Chemistry
Cactus goo purifies water
Scientists are working on an environmentally benign water-filtering process that uses the nopal cactus.
- Archaeology
French site sparks Neandertal debate
Radiocarbon analyses of material from a French cave indicate that Neandertal and modern human occupations of the site overlapped around 36,000 years ago, possibly explaining why Neandertals began to employ some new toolmaking techniques around that time.
-
19591
Just curious about the wording in the first paragraph of this article: “Around 36,000 years ago, Neandertals and people lived side by side ….” Were not the Neandertals “people,” and isn’t it true that Neandertals and Cro-Magnons were both Homo sapiens? John Hanson MitchellLincoln, Mass. This is one of the biggest debates in paleoanthropology. Many […]
- Health & Medicine
Lead in spice mixes caused poisonings
Contaminated spices, purchased from poorly regulated sources, can explain some cases of lead poisoning that involve several members of a family.
- Earth
The river’s rising: A depressing effect
When the Amazon River swells in flood each rainy season, the immense weight of the water causes Earth's surface in the region to sink dozens of centimeters.
- Physics
Champion of strength is forged in mighty anvil
A new form of carbon created in an anvil and composed of microscopic needles of diamond has emerged as the strongest known material.
- Health & Medicine
Oral Exams
Scientists are taking advantage of the components in spit to develop new, saliva-based diagnostic tests.
-
19590
Biologist Paul Denny indicates in this article that if the test of the saliva shows that the young patient is at high risk for developing cavities, then extra precautions could be taken such as sealants and fluoride treatments. As a practicing dentist, I wish to point out that both of those procedures are routine with […]
- Earth
The Wind and the Fury
New research suggests that, as global warming proceeds, hurricane winds will gain speed and the storms will dump more rain, but controversy lingers as to how much more violent the storms will become and when they will occur.
