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The volcano watcher
Matt Patrick’s office is perched not far from the summit of Hawaii’s busiest volcano: Kilauea. When it erupts, he has a good view. Of course, it’s his job to see every possible vista of the peak, whether it’s flying over in a helicopter, hiking to fissures and along lava fields or checking webcams, seismometers and […]
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Letters
Cartilage risk I enjoyed Nathan Seppa’s article “Cartilage creation,” (SN: 8/11/12, p. 22) about attempts to generate new cartilage from somatic stem cells. He writes that cartilage evolved “in ancestors who lived shorter lives, carried less body weight and roamed an unpaved world.” Implications: The risk of osteoarthritis increases with age, body weight and impact […]
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SN Online
ON THE SCENE BLOG Spinning neutron stars called pulsars keep turning up in new and exotic flavors. Read “Weird pulsars debut at Beijing astronomy meeting.” NASA SCIENCE & SOCIETY The world’s first moonwalker left a legacy of exploration. See “Neil Armstrong, first man on moon, dies at 82.” NUMBERS The busiest air-traffic hubs aren’t always […]
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Science Future for September 22, 2012
September 29 The “Make it Science Day” at the Columbus, Ohio, Center of Science and Industry explores the science of manufacturing. You can even try your hand at basic soldering. See bit.ly/SFmakeit October 17 For National Fossil Day, a part of Earth Science Week, paleontologists and U.S. National Park rangers will explain fossil discoveries at […]
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Science Past from the issue of September 22, 1962
PIGMENT MAY HELP VISION — The same chemical that gives you that golden tan from the summer sun may also help you to see. The brown pigment, melanin, may take part in controlling the messages sent from the eye to the brain, Lieut. Raymond J. Sever, U.S. Navy, told the American Chemical Society in Atlantic […]
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BOOK REVIEW: DNA USA: A Genetic Portrait of America by Bryan Sykes
Review by Tina Hesman Saey.
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Mathletics: A Scientist Explains 100 Amazing Things About the World of Sports by John D. Barrow
See what math reveals about sports, from the possibility of speeding up Usain Bolt to the physics of high jumping’s backward flop. W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, 298 p., $26.95
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Finding the Arctic: History and Culture Along a 2,500-Mile Snowmobile Journey from Alaska to Hudson’s Bay by Matthew Sturm
A climate researcher intertwines the story of his own snow-mobile expedition with the history of life and exploration in the Arctic. Univ. of Alaska, 2012, 258 p., $24.95
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The Case of the Green Turtle: An Uncensored History of a Conservation Icon by Alison Rieser
The story of efforts to save green sea turtles, including by farming them, illustrates conflicts common to conservation work. Johns Hopkins, 2012, 338 p., $45
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From Here to Infinity: A Vision for the Future of Science by Martin Rees
An astrophysicist proposes ways for scientists and the public to tackle problems together, from climate change and energy to health care and population growth. W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, 144 p., $23.95
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A Field Guide to Radiation by Wayne Biddle
From “absorbed dose” to zirconium-95, this alphabetical collection of essays makes an interesting guide to the nuclear age. Penguin, 2012, 258 p., $16
