Uncategorized
- Humans
Forbidden tests: Panel seeks ban on human clones
A national advisory panel has asked Congress to forbid cloning aimed at creating a child but urged the lawmakers to permit other medical experiments with cloned human cells.
By Nathan Seppa - Chemistry
Making silicon naturally: Chemists glimpse organic substance in plankton
For the first time, researchers have found a compound composed of both carbon and silicon within a living organism.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer clue: RNA-destroying enzyme may thwart prostate-tumor growth
Scientists have found a mutated gene that predisposes men of some families to prostate cancer.
By John Travis -
From the January 23, 1932, issue
FLOODLIGHTS ILLUMINATE LONDON’S TOWER BRIDGE Light from a new age is cast upon the pointed heights of London’s Tower Bridge by floodlights turned on the structure during recent engineering and scientific celebrations in England. The Tower Bridge is just one of the many structures illuminated. This bridge across the Thames, one of the most famous […]
By Science News - Health & Medicine
Painful Thoughts
It may not surprise people terrified by a visit to the dentist that one of the top pain research groups at the National Institutes of Health is located within the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Check out the group’s history in NIDCR’s fascinating primer on the science of pain. Go to: http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/pain/
By Science News -
18990
The concluding comment in this article that both sexes preferred unsmeared birds doesn’t show any support for the researchers’ contention that non-UV-blocking smears didn’t impact the sexual behavior of birds. M.J. RaichykCincinnati, Ohio The researchers had noticed that birds preferred companions of the opposite sex with fluorescent feathers still glowing. But might this just be […]
By Science News -
Parrots will fluoresce for sex
A budgerigar's head literally glows for its mate, and both males and females of this parrot species prefer to court radiant partners.
By Susan Milius -
Female pipefish face toughest odds
In the world of pipefish, which are cousins of sea horses, sexual selection may reverse, wherein females battle each other for male favor through sexual selection.
By Susan Milius -
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I have to tell you that your new look will keep your base audience and attract new readers. Your new design leaped off the kitchen counter and said, “Read me, read me!” It is still serious, as it should be, but so much more inviting. Becky MoserKings Mountain, N.C. I hate the new look. The […]
By Science News -
A New Look for Science News
Starting next week, the print edition of Science News will have a new appearance.
- Earth
Toxic Pfiesteria inhabit foreign waters
The notorious Pfiesteria microbes, implicated in fish kills and human illness along the mid-Atlantic U.S. coast, have turned up in Norway.
By Susan Milius -
18988
I was disappointed to see Science News depart from its usual objective reporting to cite an antinuclear propagandist as sole authority on the “dangers” of nuclear waste. The Nuclear Information and Resource Service (NIRS) is a single-issue political action group. Such organizations have a right to exist, but they should be identified as such in […]
By Science News