All Stories by Science News
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19192
Your article shows hazy pictures from Great Smoky Mountains National Park and says the cause of the haze is “volatile organic compounds released by trees.” I’m the air-quality specialist in the park, and I know that 60 percent of the particle mass in the air is sulfate from power plants, not trees, and 80 percent […]
- Health & Medicine
Food Forays
Ever wonder what the Vikings ate on their lengthy voyages to new lands? What pioneers cooked on their treks along the Oregon Trail? Who invented the potato chip? The fascinating answers to these and many other food-related questions can be found at the Food Timeline, a collection of links to related Web pages, compiled by […]
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19203
Many people who are exploring the possible connection between childhood vaccines and autism claim that the culprit is not the vaccines themselves, but the mercury-containing preservative thimerosal. Does the Danish MMR vaccine contain it? Anne SealsSumner, Wash. Thimerosal has never been used in the MMR vaccine, either in the United States or in Denmark .–B. […]
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19202
What is reported in this article is a new application of an old idea. In the 1950s and early 1960s, engineers would check a computer by setting a radio beside the central processing unit to pick up the electromagnetic signals put out by switching vacuum tubes and, later, transistors. By programming so that the switching […]
- Humans
From the November 26, 1932, issue
BOYS WORSE OFFENDERS To aid the harassed parents of temperish youngsters, Dr. Florence L. Goodenough of the Institute of Child Welfare, University of Minnesota, has made a scientific study of anger in young children–what are the immediate causes of outbursts, what are the underlying causes, what methods are commonly used to suppress it, and what […]
- Humans
Moon Trees
In 1971, astronaut Stuart Roosa brought hundreds of tree seeds with him on the Apollo 14 flight to the moon. Known as “moon trees,” the resulting seedlings were planted throughout the United States and elsewhere. This Web site chronicles that project and documents what happened to those seedlings. Go to: http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/moon_tree.html
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19191
I was shocked to read that now we need to be concerned not only with genetically modified organisms that we can see, but code-transgressing organisms that are invisible. Altering Escherichia coli in this way seems very dangerous. E. coli is found in every human intestine and has a proven ability to swap genetic material with […]
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19157
This report reminded me of similar studies demonstrating longer life in people who own pets. Has anyone compared these studies and looked for causes of the increased life span in common in these two populations? Such things as increased opportunities of emotional expression, getting out of the house on a regular basis, or adapting to […]
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19201
Eskimos are reported to occasionally tie female Malamutes in heat out in the wilderness to be impregnated by wolves. This is supposed to keep their dog lines vigorous. The converse, male Malamutes impregnating female wolves, is not reported. If this process has happened widely in history, then there may have been three dog Eves in […]
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19200
Bacillus cereus is not a “harmless” microorganism, as stated in your article. It has been described in the ophthalmologic literature as one of the most destructive organisms if it gains access to the inside of the eye, and it is a relatively common cause of posttraumatic endophthalmitis. There is a high incidence of B. cereus […]
- Humans
From the May 31, 1930, issue
A PHARAOH’S TOMB The picture on the cover of this week’s SCIENCE NEWS-LETTER shows how an archaeologist masters the “human fly” trick when he must measure the stones that form the sloping walls of a pharaoh’s tomb. The scene is the famous pyramid at Meydum, Egypt, supposedly built by King Snefru. The Museum of the […]
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Toxicology Game
The University of Washington’s evolving Project Greenskate Web site gives students the chance to investigate potential health concerns surrounding the hypothetical development of a city park on a former industrial site. They visit various fictitious places, such as the Department of Environmental Quality, City Hall, a Community Center, and the local high school, to obtain […]
