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Comic strip science

“I am so awesome.” [Smug grin.] Rosemary Mosco’s comic strips feature her favorite inspirations from nature and science. Courtesy of R. Mosco A classic method for remembering bird calls using similar-sounding words gets a new twist in Rosemary Mosco’s guide to the songs and calls of eastern North American birds. Courtesy of R. Mosco So […]

Letters

Galactic collisions explained Perhaps you can explain why Andromeda and the Milky Way are going to collide “Milky Way will be hit head-on,” (SN: 7/14/12, p. 10). Galaxies, as is always written, are rushing away from each other at ever-increasing speeds. How do things collide when there is never anything to collide with? Either galaxies are […]

SN Online

DELETED SCENES BLOG The Higgs boson deserves all the hype it has received — and then some. Read about the particle’s hidden talents in “Higgs hysteria.” Courtesy of Nigel Franks Two new studies support the idea that an odd microbe cannot swap arsenic for phosphorus. Read “Arsenic-based life gets even more toxic.” LIFE Scientists electronically […]

Science Future for August 11, 2012

August 23 Christof Koch discusses his book Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist at the Aspen Brain Forum in Colorado. See bit.ly/SFkoch August 31 Nominations due for induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame. See bit.ly/SFfame September 3 Last day of Summer of Irresponsible Science at the Maryland Science Center. See bit.ly/SFSIS

Science Past from the issue of August 11, 1962

ONE-WAY SPACE MISSION TO THE MOON POSSIBLE — The feasibility, from a technical standpoint, of sending a man on a one-way mission to the moon without the propulsion to bring him back to earth was explored by two Bell Aerosystems Company scientists. John M. Cord, project engineer in Aerospace Preliminary Design, and Leonard M. Seale, […]

The Ultimate Book of Saturday Science: The Very Best Backyard Science Experiments You Can Do Yourself by Neil A. Downie

A scientist updates the home-experiment genre with original projects chosen because they are both interesting and “spectacular,” including hovercraft and electric sundials. Princeton Univ., 2012, 546 p., $29.95, ages 8 and up

It’s Raining Fish and Spiders by Bill Evans

An Emmy-winning meteorologist explains weather mysteries through experiments, stories and real-world weather data. Forge, 2012, 240 p., $18.99, grades 2–5

Where Do Mountains Come From, Momma? by Catherine Weyerhaeuser Morley

Get a little help answering an age-old question of kids, plus read about volcanoes, erosion and more in this book for younger readers. Mountain Press, 2012, 32 p., $12, ages 4–8

The Mighty Mars Rovers: The Incredible Adventures of Spirit and Opportunity (Scientists in the Field Series) by Elizabeth Rusch

As part of a series called Scientists in the Field, this book about the rovers Spirit and Opportunity is told through the eyes of rover lead scientist Steven Squyres. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, 80 p., $18.99, ages 10–14

The Book of Blood: From Legends and Leeches to Vampires and Veins by H.P. Newquist

Stories about blood — from ancient bloodletting to modern medicine — take advantage of kids’ fascination for the gross and explain science at the same time. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2012, 152 p., $17.99, ages 10–14

A Black Hole is Not a Hole by Carolyn Cinami DeCristofano

There’s plenty for  both kids and adults to learn in this colorful look at the discovery of black  holes and what scientists know about them today. Charlesbridge, 2012, 74 p., $18.95, ages 9–12

What a Plant Knows: A Field Guide to the Senses by Daniel Chamovitz

Plants have senses too, a biologist shows. Though they can’t hear Chopin they do have ways to essentially touch, see and taste the world around them. Scientific American/Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2012, 173 p., $23