Uncategorized
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Science Past from the issue of October 20, 1962
U.S. NOW HAS CAPABILITY FOR TWIN SPACE SHOT — The United States now can equal the Soviet manned twin space shot, SCIENCE SERVICE learned at Cape Canaveral. The systems and power to do this are now available, J. Merritt, operations director of Project Mercury at Cape Canaveral, said. Although we do not have the vehicle […]
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BOOK REVIEW: Are We Getting Smarter? Rising IQ in the Twenty-First Century by James R. Flynn
Review by Bruce Bower.
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Ordering Life: Karl Jordan and the Naturalist Tradition by Kristin Johnson
Karl Jordan’s innovative methods of classifying insect species are highlighted in this biography of the early 20th century entomologist. Johns Hopkins Univ., 2012, 376 p., $39.95
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The Secrets of Triangles: A Mathematical Journey by Alfred Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann
This guide to the surprising properties of a fundamental shape sheds light on geometric principles. Prometheus Books, 2012, 387 p., $26
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Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by David K. Randall
A journalist with unusual sleep habits seeks to learn why we slumber and how sleeping — or not — affects thoughts, behavior and health. W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, 290 p., $25.95
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Overpotential: Fuel Cells, Futurism, and the Making of a Power Panacea (Studies in Modern Science, Technology, and the Environment) by Matthew N. Eisler
This history of fuel cell research considers why engineers keep trying, and failing, to produce a commercially viable technology. Rutgers Univ., 2012, 260 p., $49.95
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This is Improbable: Cheese String Theory, Magnetic Chickens and Other WTF Research by Marc Abrahams
The founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes rounds up strange studies, such as one on the best way to slice a ham sandwich. Oneworld Publications, 2012, 320 p., $15.95
- Life
Scent Into Action
Rodent responses to a whiff of predator may offer clues to instinct in the brain.
- Humans
Social Media Sway
Worries over political misinformation on Twitter attract scientists’ attention.
- Humans
Human-Neandertal mating gets a new date
Late Stone Age interbreeding between Neandertals and people may have left a mark on Europeans’ DNA.
- Space
Superfast star spotted orbiting Milky Way’s black hole
Upcoming gravitational close encounter will test relativity theories in the extreme.
