Uncategorized
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- Earth
California acts on plastic additive
Korean engineers have developed a replacement for a plasticizer used in polyvinyl chloride that California has just ruled is a known reproductive toxicant.
- Physics
New type of material that heat can’t bloat
A newfound material exhibits the desirable property of not expanding when heated over a wide temperature range, but from an apparent cause never seen before—electrons changing positions inside the new compound's crystal structure.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer drug might fight Alzheimer’s
Tests in animals show that the cancer drug imatinib mesylate, also called Gleevec, slows formation of the kinds of plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
- Chemistry
Clays catalyze life?
Clay minerals at the bottom of the ocean may have played a crucial role in assembling the very first cells on Earth billions of years ago.
- Physics
Shedding Light on the Infrared
For students and teachers, this NASA-sponsored Web site offers illuminating insights into infrared light. It explains the fundamentals of infrared astronomy, using animations, images, classroom lessons and activities, games, and more. Take a look at infrared views of familiar objects, from Yellowstone’s “Old Faithful” geyser to a pot-bellied pig. Go to: http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/
- Paleontology
Ancient atmosphere was productive
New laboratory experiments suggest that extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the era just before the dinosaurs went extinct may have boosted plant productivity to at least three times that found in today’s ecosystems.
- Paleontology
Healed scars tag T. rex as predator
Healed wounds on the fossil skull of a Triceratops—wounds that match the size and shape of those that would be made by Tyrannosaurus rex—are a strong sign that the tooth scrapes are a result of attempted predation, not scavenging.
- Paleontology
Role of gastroliths in digestion questioned
New analyses of the gastroliths in ostriches are casting doubt on the theory that large, plant-eating dinosaurs swallowed stones to grind up tough vegetation and thereby aid their digestion.
- Paleontology
Tracks suggest chase, capture, and after-meal respite
A 1.3-meter-long, S-shaped trail of fossil footprints discovered in southwestern Indiana includes one set of disappearing tracks—suggesting an ancient chase—and an impression where the predator rested after its meal.
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Beast Buddies
As researchers muse about the evolutionary origins of friendship, even the social interactions of giraffes are getting a second look.
- Physics
A Spin through Space-Time
After 40 years of preparation, satellite Gravity Probe B is scheduled to launch next month and test the prediction that massive bodies, such as Earth, twist space itself as they rotate.
