Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the September 24, 2005, issue of Science News
Monkey see, monkey smell That monkeys get “weirded out” by seeing themselves in mirrors doesn’t seem unexpected (“Reflections of Primate Minds: Mirror images strike monkeys as special,” SN: 7/23/05, p. 53). Were a familiar or an unfamiliar same-sex capuchin seen, the test subject would be bombarded not just by visual images but also by smells […]
- Humans
Docs shy away from telling kids they’re heavy
A major study has found that doctors don't routinely discuss a child's weight problems with the family, and that the younger the child the less likely the topic will come up.
- Earth
Liquid-detergent packets threaten children’s eyes
Sealed bags containing liquid detergent for single loads of laundry may be convenient, but if squeezed, they're liable to burst and spray their caustic contents into people's eyes.
- Anthropology
Genes tied to recent brain evolution
Two genes already known to influence brain size have undergone relatively recent, survival-enhancing modifications in people and appear to be still evolving.
- Planetary Science
Icy world found inside asteroid
New observations of Ceres, the largest known asteroid, hint that frozen water may account for as much as 25 percent of its interior.
- Health & Medicine
Deaths in early 1918 heralded flu pandemic
An examination of New York City death records from early last century suggests that the world's deadliest flu virus was on the loose in New York several months before it exploded into the 1918-1919 global pandemic.
- Earth
Sow what? Climate reviews help farmers choose
African subsistence farmers are far likelier to leverage rainfall forecasts into better crop yields after attending workshops explaining the basis for the rain predictions.
- Ecosystems
West Nile virus fells endangered condor
A 3-month-old California condor chick, one of only four of this highly endangered species born in the wild this year, succumbed to a West Nile virus infection.
- Astronomy
Keeping Hubble from being hobbled
NASA late last month shut down one of the aging Hubble Space Telescope's three gyros in an effort to extend its life.
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19594
There was a line or two in this article about carnations with an aroma of Earl Grey tea or fruit loops. Well, here in the Sonoran Desert, we have wildflowers that smell like sweaty gym socks, grape Kool-Aid, or even rotting meat. When I was helping edit a desert-wildflower book years ago, I found the […]
- Plants
Save the Flowers
Now that breeders have created thousands of new ornamental-flower varieties, scientists are turning their attention to restoring the fragrances that fell victim to the process.
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19593
I am dismayed and offended that you overlooked or avoided the circumstances of the under-12-year-old victims in this article. As much as half of Thailand’s sex tourism exploits preteen and preschool children. Valerie NielsenTemecula, Calif. Your article inaccurately states, “Thai Buddhists hold that each person’s soul inhabits many physical bodies over time….” Buddha has categorically […]
