All Stories by Science News
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From the April 9, 1932 issue
SPIDERS’ EGGS FORM PATTERN LIKE MOSAIC OF PEBBLES Like a rough mosaic of pebbles is the array of spider’s eggs photographed by Cornelia Clarke and reproduced on the cover of this week’s Science News Letter. Although smaller than small pinheads, the enlarging lens brought the eggs up to such apparent size that they were guessed […]
- Astronomy
Galaxy Hunter
At the interactive “Galaxy Hunter” Web site, students use data from the Hubble Space Telescope to investigate a bewildering assortment of deep-space galaxies in various stages of evolution–and learn statistical concepts such as sample variability and size along the way. Go to: http://amazing-space.stsci.edu/ghunter/
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19070
According to this article, osmium is the least compressible of materials. When I looked at an encyclopedia article about osmium, I was surprised to discover that its name comes from a Greek root that means “odor.” I’d always thought it was named after the generic Anglo-Saxon word for a god, which is “os.” Gerald BakerCedar […]
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19069
This article says that Rift Valley fever and the Ebola virus are linked to shifts from dry to above-average rainfall. It seems to me that Africa has a tremendous number of hibernating animals. They explode out of the ground when it rains. They and the animals that feed on them would be handled and eaten […]
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From the April 2, 1932 issue
TELETYPEWRITERS CAN NOW BE USED IN HOME On the cover of this issue of the Science News Letter is shown a portion of the mechanism of the teletypewriter, a hybrid medium of communication. The new teletypewriter service is a telegraph system with telephone methods and typewriting thrown in for luck. It is now possible to […]
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Genetic Code Cracking
Can’t tell a base pair from a Bosc pear? The National Library of Medicine offers an impressive, informative Web site devoted to the intricacies of genetics and molecular biology. Its science primer explains basic concepts, from bioinformatics to gene maps. The site also points users toward helpful resources on topics such as the human genome. […]
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From the March 26, 1932, issue
EASTER LILY UNFOLDS TALE TO X-RAY’S PIERCING EYE Ordinarily it is necessary to pull a flower to pieces to find what it is doing at any given moment in its development–and that, naturally, precludes one from following its development any further. One must turn to other flowers, at other stages of their unfolding, and ruin […]
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Seaweed Sights
Should dabberblocks, murlins, and sea whistles come up in conversation, here’s the page for figuring out what’s going on. The seaweed Web site, hosted at the National University of Ireland, Galway, offers a gallery of glamour photos of prominent seaweeds, as well as an introduction to the seaweeds we may not have realized we were […]
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19068
If an animal can boost its immune system in response to shortening days, why would it not keep its immune system operating at that higher level all the time? Is there some physiological cost to maintaining a higher level of immune response? Michael LehnerGreenfield, N.H. According to Staci D. Bilbo of Johns Hopkins University in […]
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19067
At certain points in this article, the word evolution is directly tied with a verb in ways that perpetuate (however unintentionally) the misconception that evolution proceeds with a purpose or goal, perhaps even with a guiding sentience. It is obvious that you are simply using such phrases to make the articles easy to read and […]
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19066
The article says of physicists’ thinking about black holes in Earth’s atmosphere, “Those newly created black holes would then quickly decay, harmlessly raining subatomic particles down onto our planet and ourselves.” Surely not every physicist thinks the possibility of creating a black hole is not dangerous. Could we not hear from the opponents of make-your-own-black-hole […]
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19065
I was surprised to see no mention of small comets hitting Earth’s atmosphere over the eons as a source of surface water. This explanation, based on atmospheric observations, has gained growing acceptance over the past several years. Kenneth Saum Cotuit, Mass. Jonathan I. Lunine says that if local bodies provided water to Earth, then “Mars […]
