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Planetary ScienceLeapin’ Lava! Volcanic eruption on Io breaks the record
Pointing a ground-based telescope at Jupiter's moon Io, astronomers have recorded the most powerful volcano ever observed in the solar system.
By Ron Cowen -
Life or Death: Immune genes determine outcome of strep infection
Subtle variations among people's immune genes may largely account for radically different outcomes when people get a strep infection.
By John Travis -
PhysicsQuantum quirks quicken thorny searches
A researcher has come up with a quantum algorithm for identifying one or more items in a large, unsorted database when complete information about the search target is unavailable.
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EarthFuture Looks Cloudy for Arctic Ozone
Clouds that drive ozone loss in the Antarctic turned up in force during the most recent Arctic winter.
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Health & MedicineGene change linked to poor memory
A subtle change in a gene encoding a brain chemical may give some people better memory skills than others.
By John Travis -
Health & MedicineSlow brain repair seen in Huntington’s
In people with Huntington's disease, the brain tries to replace dying nerve cells.
By John Travis -
Scanning a brain that’s out of tune
Scientists have scanned the brain of a man who had great difficulty playing a tune and showed that his brain doesn't react normally to music.
By John Travis -
Mutant mice resist morphine’s appeal
A protein on nerve cells appears to be the key to developing morphine addiction.
By John Travis -
HumansFrom the May 31, 1930, issue
A PHARAOH’S TOMB The picture on the cover of this week’s SCIENCE NEWS-LETTER shows how an archaeologist masters the “human fly” trick when he must measure the stones that form the sloping walls of a pharaoh’s tomb. The scene is the famous pyramid at Meydum, Egypt, supposedly built by King Snefru. The Museum of the […]
By Science News -
Toxicology Game
The University of Washington’s evolving Project Greenskate Web site gives students the chance to investigate potential health concerns surrounding the hypothetical development of a city park on a former industrial site. They visit various fictitious places, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, City Hall, a Community Center, and the local high school, to obtain […]
By Science News -
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MathAncient Infinities
An ancient manuscript long hidden from public view has provided significant, new insights into the way Archimedes (287–212 B.C.) did his mathematical work more than 2,000 years ago. The manuscript, known as the Archimedes Palimpsest, is the only source of Archimedes’ treatise on the “Method of Mechanical Theorems.” As the oldest surviving Archimedes manuscript, it’s […]