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19202
What is reported in this article is a new application of an old idea. In the 1950s and early 1960s, engineers would check a computer by setting a radio beside the central processing unit to pick up the electromagnetic signals put out by switching vacuum tubes and, later, transistors. By programming so that the switching […]
- Computing
Loony Tunes: Bugs blare in software set to music
A novel way of converting computer programs into familiar-sounding music helps programmers locate errors in their code.
- Astronomy
Cosmic Couple: One galaxy, two gravitational beasts
Astronomers welcomed the discovery of two black holes in one galaxy, which confirms some ideas about how galaxies and black holes merge and evolve.
- Humans
From the November 26, 1932, issue
BOYS WORSE OFFENDERS To aid the harassed parents of temperish youngsters, Dr. Florence L. Goodenough of the Institute of Child Welfare, University of Minnesota, has made a scientific study of anger in young children–what are the immediate causes of outbursts, what are the underlying causes, what methods are commonly used to suppress it, and what […]
- Humans
Moon Trees
In 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa brought hundreds of tree seeds with him on the Apollo 14 flight to the moon. Known as “moon trees,” the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States and elsewhere. This Web site chronicles that project and documents what happened to those seedlings. Go to: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
- Math
Puzzling Lines
Sol LeWitt’s “Four-Sided Pyramid” at the National Gallery of Art’s Sculpture Garden in Washington, D.C. I. Peterson LeWitt’s “Wall Drawing No. 623” at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa, Ontario. I. Peterson Born in Hartford, Conn., in 1928, artist Sol LeWitt has often featured geometric and combinatorial themes in his numerous creations. His frequent […]
- Chemistry
Clearing the air on dirty art
Air-pollution damage to artworks may accumulate more stealthily than conservationists thought, suggesting that art exhibitors need to step up protection against such damage.
- Chemistry
Protein’s structure lights the way
Forty years after the discovery of aequorin in a jellyfish, the structure of this calcium-tracking, glowing protein is resolved.
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Bacteria give carpet a nasty smell
A compound produced by bacteria may be responsible for the "cat urine" smell of some new carpeting.
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Pen-shaped device purifies water
A battery-powered instrument the size and shape of a pen can quickly disinfect contaminated drinking water.
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Molecule sparks origin-of-life debate
The first genetic material may have been a molecule called peptide nucleic acid, or PNA.
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RNA and DNA help cells switch class
Immune cells may tailor their genetic blueprint for antibodies through unusual RNA-DNA structures.
