Vol. 170 No. #3
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More Stories from the July 15, 2006 issue

  1. Earth

    Warning: Slow down for whales

    To protect a major population of right whales, the U.S. government is proposing periodic go-slow rules for big ships passing through the animals' migration routes.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Mad cow disease might linger longer

    A rare but deadly human illness spread by cannibalism has an incubation period in some individuals of about 4 decades.

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  3. Earth

    Asbestos fibers: Barking up a tree

    Sixteen years after a mine with asbestos-contaminated ore shut down, trees in the area still hold hazardous concentrations of wind-deposited asbestos.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Growth hormone’s risks outweigh its benefits

    Human growth hormone has substantial risks and no functional benefits for healthy, elderly people.

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  5. Anthropology

    Did small hominids have a genetic defect?

    Miniature humans whose prehistoric remains were recently unearthed on an Indonesian island may have had a genetic disease known as Laron syndrome.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Thyroid-hormone mimic lowers LDL

    A compound in a new class of potential anti-cholesterol drugs has passed an early test in people.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    In utero factors shape responses to stress, sugar

    Abnormal conditions during pregnancy can lead in unexpected ways to physiological problems in children once they reach adulthood.

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  8. Humans

    Close Your Books: Cuts, shutdowns loom for EPA libraries

    Some regional libraries maintained by the Environmental Protection Agency will permanently shut their doors because of a proposed cut to their funding.

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  9. Astronomy

    Explosive Aftermath: Sluggish neutron star puzzles astronomers

    An X-ray–emitting object at the heart of a young supernova remnant doesn't fit the textbook view of what a stellar explosion is supposed to leave behind.

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  10. Animals

    Live Prey for Dummies: Meerkats coach pups on hunting

    Meerkats easing their pups into the job of handling live prey are among the few animal species shown so far to be natural teachers. With audio.

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  11. Tech

    Farm-Fuel Feedback: Soybeans have advantages over corn

    A new analysis of two biofuels finds that while both provide more energy than they consume, soybean biodiesel gives more bang for the buck than ethanol made from corn.

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  12. Anthropology

    Little Ancestor, Big Debate: Tiny islanders’ identity sparks dispute

    New measurements bolster the 2-year-old claim that fossils of a half-size human ancestor found on an Indonesian island represent a new species.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    Keep on Going: Busy seniors live longer, more proof that it pays to stay active

    Healthy elderly people who burn a lot of calories each day may be gaining extra years of life.

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  14. Earth

    Radiation Redux: Forest fires remobilize fallout from bomb tests

    A sensor installed to monitor fallout from modern nuclear tests has detected small amounts of radioactive cesium produced by bomb tests decades ago and sent skyward by forest fires.

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  15. Health & Medicine

    Statins might lower risk of cataracts

    Cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins might slow the formation of certain types of cataracts in the eye.

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  16. Tech

    Smells Like the Real Thing

    Chemical sensors that take cues from the mammalian pattern-based approach to identifying odors and flavors create colorful readouts that even the eyes can distinguish.

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  17. Physics

    Out of Sight

    Shields that confer invisibility on objects and people may be on the horizon.

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  18. Humans

    Letters from the July 15, 2006, issue of Science News

    People want to know “Sharing the Health: Cells from unusual mice make others cancerfree” (SN: 5/13/06, p. 292) reported that years ago it was discovered that certain male mice eradicate cancer cells and that white blood cells from these mice make normal mice cancer resistant. It also reported that it is superpremature to look forward […]

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