Vol. 174 No. #1
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More Stories from the July 5, 2008 issue

  1. Archaeology

    Footprints in the ash

    Humans may have been walking around what is now central Mexico 40,000 years ago.

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  2. Chemistry

    Life before proteins

    Spheres of fat suggest a way that life on Earth could have gotten started.

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  3. Earth

    A rapid rise for the Andes

    New evidence suggests that the South American mountain chain shot up 2.5 kilometers in a geological blink of an eye.

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  4. Archaeology

    Acrobat’s last tumble

    Sacrificial offerings in an ancient Mesopotamian building included a beheaded acrobat, a new skeletal analysis suggests.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Sun up

    Men with lower concentrations of vitamin D have higher risk of heart attack.

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  6. Paleontology

    A mammoth divide

    Woolly mammoths roamed Siberia in two distinct clans, and the split between the groups, scientists say, is surprisingly deep, occurring more than 1 million years ago.

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  7. Humans

    Symbolic snacks

    Capuchin monkeys can reason with tokens as they do with different foods, demonstrating a basic capacity for thinking symbolically.

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  8. Climate

    Goldilocks tree leaves

    Leaves mostly keep their cool (or warmth) wherever they live, a finding that might affect reconstructions of past climates.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Seeing disease’s acidic side

    Small tumors can be detected using a new technique that safely, reliably and noninvasively measures tissue chemistry.

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  10. Astronomy

    From planet to plutoid

    Pluto and its dwarf planet neighbors are christened plutoids, the International Astronomical Union rules.

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  11. Health & Medicine

    No babies, no hormones

    A radically different form of contraception would prevent pregnancies with small molecules of RNA.

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  12. Earth

    Unintended consequences

    A full recovery of the ozone hole over Antarctica in the coming years could significantly boost warming of the atmosphere over and around the icy continent.

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  13. Archaeology

    Resurrection of a biblical tree

    Date palm pit found at Masada sprouts at age 2,000, becoming the oldest known seed to germinate.

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  14. Astronomy

    Otherworldly triple play

    Astronomers have discovered the first known system of three superEarths beyond the solar system.

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  15. Health & Medicine

    Good news for coffeeholics

    When lifestyle factors like smoking were taken into account, coffee drinkers had lower death rates than their non-drinking peers, according to a study of more than 120,000 people.

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  16. Planetary Science

    Surprise found in comet dust

    Scientists find an odd mineral that could offer clues to the solar system's origins.

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  17. Chemistry

    Catching your breath

    Scientists are investigating how to use the human breath to diagnose diseases and environmental ills.

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  18. Psychology

    Simpleminded Voters

    An innovative research technique has led researchers to conclude that well-informed voters often use simple rules of thumb to sift through mountains of campaign information and pick the candidate who best reflects their own political views.

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  19. Astronomy

    ExtraSolar

    Astronomers hope that new tools will enable them to capture the first image of one of the 300 known planets orbiting distant stars.

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  20. Plants

    Forest invades tundra

    The Arctic tundra is under assault from trees, with serious implications for global climate change.

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