Vol. 184 No. #4
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More Stories from the August 24, 2013 issue

  1. Life

    Lab-grown liver raises hopes but draws criticism

    Though human cells spontaneously group into rudimentary organs, some scientists say work is very preliminary.

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  2. Anthropology

    Agriculture’s roots spread east to Iran

    Dig supports prolonged development of domesticated crops at ancient sites across the Fertile Crescent.

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  3. Earth

    Every six years, Earth spins slightly faster and then slower

    Changes in day length linked to workings of Earth's core.

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  4. Astronomy

    The solar system has a tail

    Clover-shaped clumps of charged particles extend billions of kilometers in our wake.

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  5. Tech

    Sound waves put levitation on the move

    Technique transports nonmagnetic particles such as cells, water droplets and coffee grounds.

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  6. Life

    Flagellum failure lets bacteria turn

    Buckling of appendage drives tiny two-point turn.

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  7. Paleontology

    Dinosaur had impressive schnoz

    Fossils found in Utah reveal geographic segregation of horned species.

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  8. Astronomy

    Milky Way’s black hole pulling in gas cloud

    Galaxy's maw begins to tear apart and change the velocity of an approaching object.

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  9. Life

    Mouse retinas grown in lab

    Transplanted cells can function in rodents' eyes.

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  10. Cosmology

    Gold seen in neutron star collision debris

    Material ejected in gamma-ray bursts may be a main source of the heavy elements.

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  11. Animals

    Eye-tracking cameras show peahens’ wandering gaze

    Data show that female birds are not so riveted by their suitors’ magnificence

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  12. Life

    A flash of light implants false memories in mice

    Researchers alter rodents' recollections by exciting just a few neurons.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    Gastric bypass surgery causes sugar-burning gut growth in rats

    The rapid improvement in symptoms of diabetes, seen in patients before weight loss begins, may be due to changes in part of the intestine.

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  14. Health & Medicine

    Full moon may mean less sleep

    Slumber waxes and wanes along with lunar rhythm, researchers find with people sleeping in windowless lab.

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  15. Planetary Science

    Cassini photo puts Earth in perspective

    Probe captures planet from 1.4 billion kilometers away.

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  16. Anthropology

    Mummified Incan teen drank, did drugs

    Girl, who was sacrificed, may have been sedated by alcohol, coca leaves.

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  17. Physics

    Doppler effect takes a spin

    Light’s twistiness allows researchers to measure rotating object’s speed.

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  18. Life

    Evolution of mammalian monogamy remains mysterious

    Two large studies reach opposing conclusions about why males stay with females.

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  19. Neuroscience

    One sleepless night weakens resolve in the face of doughnuts

    Sleep loss changes brain activity and food preferences.

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  20. Science & Society

    Flu researchers plan to repeat controversial work

    The scientists who made the H5N1 strain transmissible between ferrets intend to do the same with H7N9.

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  21. Genetics

    A glowing green thumb

    Omri Amirav-Drory wants to engineer a glow-in-the-dark garden.

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  22. Climate

    The Attacking Ocean

    The Past, Present, and Future of Rising Sea Levels by Brian Fagan.

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  23. Tech

    On the Rebound

    Scientists revive search for new rubber sources.

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  24. Science & Society

    Impactful Distraction

    Talking while driving poses dangers that people seem unable to see.

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  25. Letters to the editor

    Bohr no boor As described in “When the atom went quantum,” (SN: 7/13/13, p. 20), Bohr’s willingness to travel both paths when different viewpoints seemed to clash, yet both seemed to fit the data, was crucial to the development of quantum mechanics. Yet that willingness cannot be equated with acceptance of all possible views. Having […]

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  26. Physics

    Key to Other Worlds

    Excerpt from the August 17, 1963, issue of Science News Letter.

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  27. Neuroscience

    The Autistic Brain

    Thinking Across the Spectrum by Temple Grandin and Richard Panek.

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