Vol. 177 No. #8
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More Stories from the April 10, 2010 issue

  1. Earth

    Country ants make it big in the city

    Odorous house ants act like invading aliens when they discover urban living.

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  2. Life

    Chameleon tongues snappy even when cold

    Collagen gives the creatures a bug-catching advantage in chilly conditions.

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  3. Life

    Chicken cells have strong sense of sexual identity

    In birds, hormones may not be the last word in determining males and females.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    First complete look at families’ genes

    Comparing the complete genetic material of family members pinpoints genes involved in three rare inherited diseases.

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  5. Space

    Magnetic flows cause sunspot lows, study shows

    Observations of gas flows on the solar surface may explain why the sun recently had such a prolonged case of the doldrums; could lead to more accurate predictions for the duration and severity of future solar cycles.

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  6. Psychology

    Researchers find early autism signs in some kids

    A long-term investigation raises the possibility of identifying 14-month-olds who will develop autism spectrum disorder almost two years later.

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  7. Physics

    Supertwisty light proposed

    Researchers suggest a never-before-imagined property of electromagnetic fields that could one day yield new types of sensors.

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  8. Plants

    Chemists pin down poppy’s tricks for making morphine

    Scientists have figured out two of the final key steps in the chain of chemical reactions that the opium poppy uses to synthesize morphine, suggesting possible signaling strategies for new ways of making the drug and its cousin painkillers.

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  9. Humans

    One key to teaching toddlers with TV: trickery

    Kids under 3 can learn from educational videos if they believe what they’re seeing is real.

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  10. Life

    To catch a thief, follow his filthy hands

    Bacteria from a person’s hands may provide a new type of fingerprint.

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  11. Space

    Spacecraft takes express tour of Martian moon

    New images and gravity data reveal details about the origin and composition of Phobos.

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  12. Chemistry

    Methane-making microbes thrive under the ice

    Antarctica’s ice sheets could hide vast quantities of the greenhouse gas, churned out by a buried ecosystem.

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  13. Science & Society

    Intel Science Talent Search spotlights America’s whiz kids

    Top winner of the enduring high school science competition takes 2010 prize for work on a space navigation system.

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  14. Math

    Big or small, financial bubbles burst alike

    New data from the Frankfurt stock exchange show that fleeting financial bubbles behave according to the same mathematical rules as history-making ones.

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  15. Materials Science

    Physicists observe quantum properties in the world of objects

    A demonstration marries the world of the very small with the everyday, opening new realms for quantum computing and other applications.

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  16. Life

    Who reined the dogs in

    New genetic data reveals that Fido likely originated in the Middle East.

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  17. Physics

    Body heat may draw particles into breathing range

    Computer simulations suggest thermal plumes may trap microbes, pollen and dust near a person’s head.

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  18. Physics

    Superchilly chemistry

    New theory and experiments help reveal how molecules interact in an ultracold system.

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  19. Life

    There are rules in fiddler crab fight club

    Territorial crustaceans will defend their own rivals, but only to keep stronger ones out.

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  20. Science Future for April 10, 2010

    April 18Final day to visit the New York Hall of Science’s hands-on mathematics exhibit. See www.nysci.org/explore/upcoming April 24 – 28The American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology meets in Anaheim, Calif. See www.asbmb.org June 2 – 6 Researchers, cultural critics and others meet in New York City to celebrate science. See www.worldsciencefestival.com

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  21. Where the Dragon Meets the Angry River: Nature and Power in the People’s Republic of China by R. Edward Grumbine

    A policy scholar analyzes the impact of China’s development on its natural resources. WHERE THE DRAGON MEETS THE ANGRY RIVER: NATURE AND POWER IN THE PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA BY R. EDWARD GRUMBINE Island Press, 2010, 240 p., $25.95.

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  22. The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems by Henry Petroski

    The approaches of scientists and engineers complement each other, an engineer and historian argues. The Essential Engineer: Why Science Alone Will Not Solve Our Global Problems by Henry Petroski Alfred A. Knopf, 2010, 274 p., $26.95.

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  23. Experimental Evolution by Theodore Garland Jr. and Michael Rose, eds.

    Scientists can take to the lab and field to explore the mechanisms of evolution. Experimental Evolution by Theodore Garland Jr. and Michael Rose, eds. Univ. of California Press, 2010, 730 p., $45.

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  24. Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders by James Coplan

    A pediatrician reviews treatments for children with these disorders. Making Sense of Autistic Spectrum Disorders by James Coplan Bantam Books, 2010, 448 p., $25.

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  25. Book Review: The Language of Life: DNA and the Revolution in Personalized Medicine by Francis S. Collins

    Review by Rachel Zelkowitz.

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  26. Book Review: The Edge of Physics: A Journey to Earth’s Extremes to Unlock the Secrets of the Universe by Anil Ananthaswamy

    Review by Lisa Grossman.

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  27. How the Internet will change the world — even more

    Recently, 895 Web experts and users were asked by the Pew Research Center and the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University in North Carolina to assess predictions about technology and its effects on society in the year 2020. Lee Rainie, director of the Pew Internet & American Life Project in Washington, D.C., discussed the […]

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  28. Happy 20th, Hubble

    Flying observatory’s cosmic portraits continue to capture hearts and minds.

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  29. Genetics

    Keeping Time

    New findings show how circadian clocks make the body tick.

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  30. Letters

    Hairy Ardi issue In the report on Ardi (“Evolution’s bad girl,” SN: 01/16/10, p. 22), the artist’s illustrations show her in fur. The fact that her purported descendants are relatively hairless has been popularized by Desmond Morris (The Naked Ape, 1967) and Elaine Morgan (The Descent of Woman, 1972). What is the paleoanthropologists’ evidence that […]

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  31. Science Past from the issue of April 9, 1960

    CALIFORNIA ZOO APES BECOME “MEDICAL FIRSTS” — Noell, Scoop and Tria, three apes that live in the San Diego zoo, have made medical history. They “came down” with chicken pox while in their zoo cages during a period last summer when there was a high incidence of that disease among children in San Diego County. […]

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  32. 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Math! by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder

    Math can help solve real-life dilemmas, this collection of puzzles for young adults illustrates. 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Math! by Eric Yoder and Natalie Yoder Science, Naturally! LLC, 2010, 169 p., $9.95.

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