All Stories by Science News
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Dazzling Shooting Stars
The impending encounter between Earth and a cloud of particles ejected from comet Tempel-Tuttle is likely to produce a dazzling meteor shower, visible over North America in the early morning hours of Nov. 18. Bill Cooke of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center provides forecasts and viewing conditions for this year’s Leonid storm. Go to: http://see.msfc.nasa.gov/see/Leonid_Forecast_2001.html […]
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From the November 7, 1931, issue
HUDSON RIVER BRIDGE RIVALED FOR FAME BY NEW ARCHES While the completion of the great George Washington suspension bridge, which has hurled itself in one bold leap across 3,500 feet of the Hudson River from Manhattan to the New Jersey shore, is being celebrated, two other bridges, likewise the largest in the world of their […]
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19040
I enjoyed your timely article. Conspicuously absent, however, was any mention of the possibility that the disease is a vascular disorder with neurodegenerative consequences, rather than the other way around. The involvement of several dozen risk factors for Alzheimer’s disease that all reduce or impair cerebral perfusion in the Alzheimer’s brain adds ammunition to this […]
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19039
For a few unfortunate people, choline has a dark side. An inborn error of metabolism, trimethylaminurea, causes them to smell like rotting fish when they eat high-choline foods. Sara D. Brown Clinton, N.J. Good point. New labeling that identifies foods rich in choline should help people with trimethylaminurea avoid those foods. –J. Raloff As a […]
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Photo Treasures
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration offers an amazing library of more than 16,000 spectacular images, organized into a variety of topical sets. You can browse image collections devoted to coastlines, fisheries, ships, polar regions, severe storms, undersea research, nature reserves, flight, geodesy, coral reefs, and many other subjects. Go to: http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/ .
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From the October 31, 1931, issue
CATS WERE WILD IN ANCIENT SOUTHWEST In ancient America, it was bad luck to meet a cat on a dark night. All the cats that the Indians knew were wildcats. Dogs were tamed and learned to follow Indian hunters and Indian children around, but cats walked by themselves, very wild and alone. The Indian pottery […]
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19033
The article states that a generic beta-blocker, when administered to patients who have suffered severe injury, was shown to reduce the common muscle-wasting condition known as hypermetabolism. Has this technique ever been considered for or shown effective in reducing inactive muscle wasting, as would occur in a long-term space voyage? Dwain L. Beaver Dayton, Ohio […]
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19032
A Canadian nurse I know is working in Mt. Selinda, Zimbabwe. She is currently designing her dissertation, in which she will interview local women in an attempt to understand their perspectives on health and how to prevent HIV infection and AIDS. When I read your article on stigmas’ harm to public health , I e-mailed […]
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19031
I found the article on Welwitschia enthralling–it made me want to set off for the Namibian desert straightaway! The author mentions that a local name for the plant is “long-haired thing,” but an even more evocative and picturesque one is the Afrikaans tweeblarkanniedood (two-leaf-cannot-die). Darwin was fascinated when he learned of Welwitschia and its extraordinary […]
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From the October 24, 1931, issue
GLACIERS CAUSED GEOLOGICAL MOVING DAYS Evolution, not revolution is a nice-sounding catchword used on all sorts of occasions by all sorts of people, especially by conservative politicians posing as liberals. But a broad view of the evolutionary stage, recorded by a leading scientist who has just left it, indicates that evolution has often proceeded by […]
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Anthrax and Other Bioterrors
There are reasons that terrorists have been sending anthrax–and threatening anthrax exposure–to people around the United States: Its scary (and deadly). Understanding that, the Medical Library Association has put together a Web page to help physicians, parents, teachers, and others learn more about anthrax, smallpox, botulinum toxin, plague, and other bioterrors–and the extent to which […]
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19025
Researcher Mark Goodwin’s conclusion that a hollow base to an animal’s horn greatly diminishes its strength, and hence its utility in defense or dueling, begs for an engineering analysis. In tension, compression, and torsion about the axis of symmetry, most of the strength of a cylindrical structure comes from the walls, not the interior. If […]
