Uncategorized

  1. Humans

    Letters from the July 30, 2005, issue of Science News

    Led astray The illustration of the solar system in “Roaming Giants: Did migrating planets shape the solar system?” (SN: 5/28/05, p. 340) does not represent the current orbit of the planets. Rather, it must be a frame from the computer simulation referred to in the article. William MeadowsDripping Springs, Texas Indeed, the image reflects the […]

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  2. Astronomy

    Planet potential

    Observations with the Submillimeter Array on Hawaii's Mauna Kea reveal that, despite their bombardment by a stellar bully, the disks in Orion have enough material to form planets.

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  3. Physics

    Why isn’t the sky violet, Daddy?

    A new analysis of why the sky looks blue reveals that the reason may be the combined effects of the atmosphere and of our eyes' color-sensing apparatus.

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  4. Bipolar kids harbor unique brain trait

    Children and teenagers with bipolar disorder, a severe mental ailment that involves sharp mood swings, display unusually low tissue volume in a brain area involved in learning to regulate emotions.

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  5. Physics

    In search of the imperfect nanocrystal

    Semiconductor nanocrystals can incorporate property-enhancing impurities into their growing structures as long as the crystals have facets onto which such atoms can strongly adhere.

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  6. Earth

    Weighty evidence on testicular cancer

    New evidence supports a theory that men who were exposed to excess estrogenic hormones at an early stage of fetal development may face an elevated risk of testicular cancer.

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  7. Astronomy

    A new X-ray eye on the cosmos

    To study some of the hottest regions in the universe, the Japanese Aerospace Exploration Agency has launched the coldest instrument ever flown.

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  8. Archaeology

    Judeo-Christian ties buried in Rome

    New radiocarbon dates from one of ancient Rome's underground cemeteries, or catacombs, indicates that these structures were built in the Jewish community more than a century before early Christians started to do the same.

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  9. Cell death may spur aging

    Genetic mutations in cells' internal powerhouses could contribute to aging by stifling tissue maintenance.

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  10. Humans

    Pushing Drugs

    Pharmaceutical marketing toward both patients and physicians appears to influence which medicines get prescribed.

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  11. 19577

    I’m currently writing a biography of RAF Squadron Leader Roger Bushell, the instigator of the plan to construct the three tunnels in Stalag Luft III. Last fall, I visited the site. Amazingly, it was difficult to see where the excavation team had been. I have also spoken to dozens of men who either helped build […]

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  12. Archaeology

    Seeing Past the Dirt

    Increasingly, researchers are using geophysical techniques such as ground-penetrating radar and magnetometers to target their excavations.

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