Science News

All Stories by Science News

  1. 19016

    I was intrigued by your article for a couple of reasons. Isn’t this what Steven J. Gould said, that evolution is punctuated by environmental stresses that can bring about adapt-or-die changes rapidly? Also, what are the implications for the geneticists who base their mitochondrial DNA dating techniques on what they consider a fairly constant rate […]

  2. 19075

    While applauding the work on infant recognition of numbers and arithmetic, it seems prudent that allowance be made for clues in the environment. For example, Arabic numbers themselves contain numbers of end points that can be used to count that many items. I personally used that method in kindergarten when we were made to stop […]

  3. 19015

    I read this article with interest. In view of your previous story noting no statistical difference in effects on bipolar disorder among lithium, valproate, and placebo (“Extended test for bipolar drug,” SN: 5/27/00, p. 351), the real mystery is why the psychiatric profession is still depending on lithium. T. Everett MobleyKennett, Mo.

  4. 19014

    In this article, you state that magnesium sulfate has been shown to be effective in treating eclampsia. It also has been studied and apparently is effective in stopping some brain damage from stroke. I am wondering why the cost and availability of this drug is such a problem for poor countries. The last I checked, […]

  5. From the January 11, 1930, issue

    THOMAS H. MORGAN GIVEN NEW HONOR The American Association for the Advancement of Science has chosen Dr. Thomas Hunt Morgan to succeed the eminent physicist Dr. Robert Andrews Millikan as president. To many the name of Thomas Hunt Morgan is synonymous with the modern theory of the gene as the determining factor in heredity. Upon […]

  6. Eclipse Patrol

    The first lunar eclipse of the year 2000 will be visible from North and South America on the evening of Jan. 20. Fred Espenak’s eclipse home page at the NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Web site provides a complete guide to upcoming eclipses of the sun and moon. Go to: http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/eclipse.html

  7. 19074

    As a resident of South Carolina, I was fascinated by this article, which refers to an investigation of an ancient crater buried beneath the Piedmont sediments of our state. However, there wouldn’t be deep sediments overlying basement rock in the Piedmont. There, “basement rock” is close to or at the surface. Julian R. HarrisonCharleston, S.C. […]

  8. From the June 11, 1932, issue

    BUTTERFLIES, “WINGED JEWELS,” ARE GEMS AT START OF LIFE Butterflies have been called “winged jewels” so often that the conceit can hardly be considered poetic any longer. Yet the appropriateness of the old metaphor receives new confirmation when we look at the egg of a butterfly, which represents the humblest beginning of its career of […]

  9. Mendel’s Genetics

    The Mendel Museum of Genetics in the Czech Republic offers a well-illustrated online exhibition devoted to Gregor Mendel’s life and work. Pages are devoted to such topics as the mathematics of inheritance and Mendel’s genetics garden. Genetics-inspired artworks are featured in the gallery of contemporary art. Go to: http://www.mendel-museum.org/eng/1online/

  10. 19073

    In reference to this article, I was curious as to whether there was any indication in the research that bipolar disorder in children was misdiagnosed as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder when those children were in the manic phase? Eric P. HuppCuster, S.D. The researchers recruited children whose mania was distinct from attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Among […]

  11. From the January 4, 1930, issue

    PILTDOWN MAN EARLIEST HUMAN BEING The ape-man of Darwin was read out of man’s family tree and the dawn-man of Sussex, older than 1,250,000 years, was elevated to the position of man’s progenitor by Dr. Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. A new picture was painted by Dr. […]

  12. Physics 101

    From atoms and magnetism to fractals and Murphys Law, the American Physical Societys “Century of Physics” timeline provides a sweeping, colorful review of important discoveries and inventions associated with physics and technology. Visitors can move along the timeline year by year, consult an alphabetical index to find a particular topic or event, or search by […]