All Stories by Science News
- Math
Celebrating Artful Math
This year’s “Mathematics Awareness Month” focuses on interactions between mathematics and art. The associated Web pages feature essays, images, and more, all devoted to striking examples of highly creative activities in math and art. Go to: http://mathforum.org/mam/03/
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Why has so much focus been placed on protecting us against the threat of a smallpox outbreak when a terrorist could choose to release a different infectious disease? Wouldn’t it be wiser to discuss ways to respond to and contain any unknown disease? More public awareness of this possibility would prevent the false sense of […]
- Earth
Undersea Mountain Descent
Join an international expedition in exploring an underwater mountain in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. Twice-weekly dispatches highlight the scientific team’s findings for the duration of the expedition from Nov. 14 to Dec. 14. Hosted by the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, the expedition’s Web site also includes colorful diagrams illustrating various geological concepts and […]
- Chemistry
Artistic Elements
Providing an unusual perspective on the chemical elements, the Chemistry Societies’ Network presents a stunning visual tour of the elements (109 in all) as seen through the eyes of artists. Pick an element, from hydrogen to meitnerium, to see the image it suggested to an artist and, as a bonus, learn a little about the […]
- Earth
Energy-Saving Stars
This Web site documents progress in a program set up by the U.S. Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency to encourage companies to reduce the energy consumed by their products. More than 3,000 companies have participated in efforts to cut emissions of carbon dioxide and lower energy costs for consumers. Site visitors can find […]
- Planetary Science
Red Planet
The imaging team of NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor spacecraft has doubled the number of Mars pictures available to the public with the release of a new archive of photos. The archive contains all the pictures that were taken by Mars Global Surveyor from September 1999 through February 2000 and includes the images that were taken […]
- Physics
Origins at CERN
Starting on Nov. 11, the Exploratorium in San Francisco begins a series of Webcasts taking viewers to research laboratories around the world where scientists are investigating the origins of matter, the universe, Earth, and life itself. The first programs come from the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) in Geneva, Switzerland, location of the world’s […]
- Humans
From the October 18, 1930, issue
alt=”Click to view larger image”> ARCHAEOLOGISTS FIND PATIENT PERUVIAN SURGEONS LOST One of the most interesting of the many ancient skulls that have been brought out of Peru bears what is probably the earliest known gauze compress–certainly the earliest surgical dressing of the kind that has been discovered on this continent. The bold cranial surgery […]
- Math
Math on Stamps
Jeff Miller, a mathematics teacher in Florida, has assembled an amazing collection of images featuring mathematicians and mathematical ideas or events on postage stamps. Check out your favorites, from Niels Henrik Abel to Stanislaw Zaremba. Go to: http://jeff560.tripod.com/.
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The understanding that traditional wisdom calls for detoxifying these legumes coupled with the fact that they are eaten nonetheless is indeed sad. The work of the agricultural scientists in making this staple safe to eat is vital. There is evident need for help from social science to get safe food practices accepted in the population. […]
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This article contains a common misconception about the greenhouse effect. It states, “The newly detected gas is chemically similar to sulfur hexafluoride–another strong absorber of solar radiation . . .” (emphasis mine). While this statement may be true, it is irrelevant to the greenhouse efficiency of a gas. The mechanism of the greenhouse effect involves […]
- Humans
From the March 25, 1933, issue
BLOND SIBERIANS WITH PAINTED MASKS UNEARTHED Graves of mysterious blond and chestnut-haired people, who had a strange custom of making painted plaster masks for the dead, have been found by Russian scientists in Siberia, in the Minusinsk region. Word of the discovery was brought to the University of Pennsylvania Museum by Eugene Golomshtok. Burial pits […]
