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All Stories by Science News
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19305
This article is somewhat misleading. We physicians long ago learned that blocking the enzymatic process (with Antibuse) helps alcoholics. The news is that increases in acetaldehyde in saliva have “possible local carcinogenic action.” Malcolm A. Sowers Castro Valley, Calif
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19304
I was dismayed to see you publish an unsubstantiated and highly misleading claim that welfare “reform” is not harming children. The study dealt with the atypical welfare mothers able to find sustainable employment. For them, I don’t doubt that having enough money rather than too little would be an improvement. Unmentioned are the many unskilled […]
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19303
You state in this article that in the last century, the average global temperature has risen about 0.6C. I suspect that most of the sensors in use today are not in the precise locations of thermometers 100 years ago. Also back then, there were wide areas of the globe that were probably not being monitored […]
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19227
The July 22 cover, “Sticker shock,” and the related article say that the powerful forces that arise at the surface of micromachines weren’t expected. Any skilled machinist who has used Johannsen gauge blocks in measuring and checking his work would not be surprised at all. These blocks are stacks of hardened steel rectangles with highly […]
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19302
I beg to differ with the quote, attributed to Ethan Temeles in this article: “This is the first really unambiguous example of ecology playing a role in the morphological differences between the sexes.” The statement exhibits the annoyingly common practice among zoologists to think and generalize as if only animals (and, even worse, only vertebrates) […]
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HumansFrom the March 4, 1933, issue
FISH OF DIFFERENT “FEATHER” OFTEN FLOCK TOGETHER Game herds of the African veldt have long been a marvel to travelers because of the extraordinary variety of animals seen together: zebras, gnus, antelope of many species, even elephants and ostriches, mingling in a wonderful patchwork quilt of moving life. Only lions and other predators are outsiders […]
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HumansFrom the July 19, 1930, issue
TWISTER POSES Perhaps the finest photograph ever taken of a tornado–certainly at any rate a most unusual one–was obtained by Ira B. Blackstock, a Western railroad executive, at Hardtner, Kansas, on Sunday, June 2, 1929, at about 4:30 p.m. Mr. Blackstock let the windy monster approach as closely as he dared, standing with one foot […]
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PhysicsA Curie-ous Tale
Marie Curie discovered two elements and won two Nobel Prizes for her pioneering studies on radioactivity. A new online exhibit at the American Institute of Physics’ history site depicts how she displayed her ardor and brilliance in many other facets of life as well, such as organizing and equipping a radiological medicine unit for French […]
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Bioscience Challenges
Why preserve life’s variety? How fragile is our planet? What does the genome reveal? How is biotech changing the world? The Action Bioscience Web site offers original material and links to articles and classroom resources that help shed light on these and other issues affecting everyday life in a variety of ways. Go to: http://www.actionbioscience.org/
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HumansJonathan Eberhart (1942–2003)
After chronicling space science and exploration for 3 decades on behalf of Science News, Jonathan Eberhart died last week from complications of multiple sclerosis.
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19226
This article on waterproof coats was interesting, but the process used by the Turkish scientists would require evaporating the solvent. Should not possible harmful environmental side effects be considered before a new industrial process is created? Kenneth CrookSan Jose, Calif. I believe this same phenomenon occurs on the leaves of the common perennial lady’s mantle […]
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19225
Your article on home-water disinfection in Africa reminds me of a water treatment method proposed a long time ago. It consisted of a long (200-foot), U-shape tube sunk in the ground as part of the water-delivery system. No organism could survive the pressure at the bottom of it. Lawrence EldenDearborn, Mich.