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  1. Life

    Egg wars

    Birds engage in evolutionary arms race.

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  2. Humans

    From cancer to quantum, teens’ scientific feats celebrated

    Winners of the 2012 Intel ISEF show the promise of science for improving the world.

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  3. Life

    Good cholesterol may not be what keeps the heart healthy

    Genetic study suggests that higher levels of HDL aren’t directly responsible for the lower risk of cardiovascular disease seen in population studies.

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  4. The neutrino messengers

    In 1844 Samuel Morse sent a telegram from Washington, D.C., to Baltimore using pulses of electrons to encode “What hath God wrought.” Now that message has gotten a reply, courtesy of physicist Kevin McFarland and a team of his colleagues. Kevin McFarland, a physicist who sent a message using neutrinos, left his mark on the […]

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  5. Letters

    Information as substrate In a recent article (“Enriched with information,” SN: 3/10/12, p. 22), you point out that some researchers consider consciousness to be a form of information. In another (“Bits of reality,” SN: 4/7/12, p. 26), you mention that increasing numbers of physicists are coming to regard information as the basic “stuff” from which […]

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  6. SN Online

    HUMANS Learn what confidence means for group decision-making strategies in “Two heads sometimes better than one.” S. Osaki/Phys. Rev. Lett. 2012 MATTER & ENERGY A structural change in spider silk (below) makes it strong enough to string a violin. Read “Scientist fiddles with spider silk.” BODY & BRAIN A physician describes controversial anatomical evidence for […]

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  7. Science Future for June 2, 2012

    June 9 Researchers hold car washes and bake sales nationwide to raise money and bring attention to budget cuts for planetary science programs. Find out more at bit.ly/SFcarwash June 26 Learn about the science of local food at the New York Academy of Sciences in New York City. A panel discusses whether eating locally is […]

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  8. Science Past from the issue of June 2, 1962

    SECOND U.S. ASTRONAUT — Lt. Comdr. M. Scott Carpenter was rocketed into space at 8:45 a.m., EST, on May 24 to become the second U. S. astronaut.… As one of his experiments, Astronaut Carpenter released a small, 30-inch balloon…. The idea of the experiment was to determine whether a man undergoing the rigors of weightlessness […]

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  9. The Practical Einstein: Experiments, Patents, Inventions by József Illy

    Einstein’s papers reveal a down-to-earth side. Learn about his inventions and ideas, including waterproof breathable clothes and an explanation for rivers’ meanderings. Johns Hopkins Univ., 2012, 202 p., $60

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  10. A World of Insects by Ring T. Cardé and Vincent H. Resh, eds.

    Two entomologists present insect essays that explore everything from insect sex to crime scene investigation. Harvard Univ., 2012, 404 p., $19.95

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  11. EarthFlight: Breathtaking Photographs from a Bird’s-Eye View of the World by John Downer

    30Cameras carried by hand, by gliders and by the creatures themselves give readers a literal bird’s-eye view of the world. Firefly Books, 2012, 240 p., $49.95

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  12. In Pursuit of the Unknown: 17 Equations That Changed the World by Ian Stewart

    The author tells the stories of 17 equations, from Maxwell’s equations that led to modern TV and radio to algorithms that rattled the stock market. Basic Books, 2012, 342 p., $26.99

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