Uncategorized
- Planetary Science
Happy landing: Craft descends onto Eros
On Feb. 12, NEAR Shoemaker became the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid, the space rock 433 Eros.
- Archaeology
Maize domestication grows older in Mexico
Maize cultivation existed in southern Mexico at least 6,300 years ago, according to a recent radiocarbon analysis of two maize cobs unearthed in a cave nearly 40 years ago.
- Health & Medicine
Common additive thwarts malaria parasite
Triclosan--a drug used as an antimicrobial agent in toothpaste, deodorant, and other products--kills rodent malaria parasites in mice and human malaria parasites in test-tube studies.
- Physics
Muon orbits may defy main physics theory
A tiny discrepancy from theory in a newly remeasured magnetic trait of a subatomic particle, the muon, may represent a first crack in the 30-year-old prevailing standard model of particle physics.
- Materials Science
Scientists develop self-healing composites
Researchers have developed a composite material that has the ability to repair small cracks within itself, a characteristic that could be used to extend the reliability and service life of electronic and aerospace components.
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- Math
Immersed in Klein Bottles
“Need a zero-volume bottle? Searching for a one-sided surface? Want the ultimate in nonorientability?” One way to depict a Klein bottle. Computer-generated image by John Sullivan, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign Joining the top and bottom of this rectangle produces a cylinder. Matching the arrows of the remaining two sides produces a Klein bottle. One […]
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From the February 14, 1931, issue
SMALL CHANGES OF SUN’S HEAT CONTROL WEATHER ON EARTH The sun when it radiates heat and light to Earth also broadcasts information that can be used to foretell the weather here on Earth. Dr. C.G. Abbot, secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, after more than two decades of solar observation, announced today through the medium of […]
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Skeleton Search
Visit the e-Skeletons Project to take a close-up tour of the bones of a human, gorilla, and baboon. Visitors can compare selected bones of one species to those of another and can download plug-ins to view skeletons in 3D movies and images. Go to: http://www.eSkeletons.org/
- Earth
Siberian snow has long-range effects
The strength of the winter weather feature called the Siberian high is linked to the amount of early-season snow cover in its namesake region.
- Earth
Lack of oxygen locks up peat’s carbon
The inactivity of a single enzyme in peat due to the lack of oxygen may be the only thing preventing massive releases of carbon dioxide from the peatlands.
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Inbred cattle don’t look bad at all
A herd of feral cattle that hasn't had new blood for at least 300 years seems to have avoided the genetic risks of inbreeding.
