Uncategorized

  1. Math

    Math Trails in Ottawa

    Housed in a spectacular building redolent of crystals and light, the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa was recently the setting for a highly unusual school event–a mathematics field trip! National Gallery of Canada For several years, math teacher Ron Lancaster of Hamilton, Ontario, has been creating “math trails” for both students and teachers as […]

    By
  2. Tech

    Nanotech Switch: Strategy controls minuscule motor

    Researchers have modified a rotating protein fragment so that it starts and stops spinning with the addition and removal of zinc.

    By
  3. Earth

    Wildfire Below: Smoldering peat disgorges huge volumes of carbon

    Set alight by wildfires, thick beds of decaying tropical plant matter can pump massive amounts of carbon into the atmosphere, rivaling those produced globally each year from the combustion of fossil fuels.

    By
  4. Physics

    Laser links segue to chemical bonds

    Light can knit matter together until other bonds take over, providing a potentially useful approach to building nanometer-scale structures and materials.

    By
  5. Physics

    Electron cycling in quantum confines

    A lone electron zips around in the tightest circle allowed by quantum mechanics in an extraordinarily small, frigid cyclotron, potentially allowing scientists to nail down some fundamental constants of physics more precisely than ever before.

    By
  6. Health & Medicine

    Nervous tics in the heart

    The irregular heartbeats sometimes triggered after a heart attack may be caused by abnormal nerve growth in heart tissue damaged by the attack.

    By
  7. Health & Medicine

    Waiting to exhale

    A breath test that measures the activity of an enzyme involved in breaking down drugs in a person's body may help doctors minimize side effects from potent drugs such as docetaxel.

    By
  8. Astronomy

    New views of Jovian moons

    The Galileo spacecraft has taken the highest-resolution images ever recorded of three of Jupiter's small, innermost moons.

    By
  9. Astronomy

    Galaxies shine light on dark matter

    Using a cosmic mirage known as gravitational lensing, astronomers have developed detailed maps of the distribution of dark matter, the invisible material believed to make up 90 percent of the mass of the universe.

    By
  10. 19150

    Your article reports that only two category 5 storms have hit our coastlines. We here in southern New England know that the “Hurricane of 1938” should be counted, too. The indirect evidence of the storm’s power is compelling. The only wind instrument, over 50 miles from landfall, recorded a gust of 189 miles per hour […]

    By
  11. Earth

    Hunting Prehistoric Hurricanes

    Storm-tossed sand offers a record of ancient cyclones.

    By
  12. Humans

    From the November 5, 1932, issue

    FIELD MUSEUM VISITORS SEE BIT OF ABYSSINIA Visitors to Chicago can make an effortless side trip to the wilds of Abyssinia by walking down the Carl Akeley Memorial Hall of African Animals in the Museum of Natural History. At the end, a remarkable new group of African mammals has been arranged so as to give […]

    By