More Stories from the June 4, 2011 issue
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HumansNo nuts for you, Nutcracker Man
Tooth analysis shows huge-jawed hominid grazed on grasses and sedges.
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Life
Sickle-cell may blunt, not stop, malaria
Once thought to keep parasite out of cells, the trait appears to diminish the severity of infection.
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Health & Medicine
Coronary bypass rates drop
Heart patients have been less likely to undergo the surgery since 2001, with many getting a less invasive procedure.
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Space
Signs of dark matter from Minnesota mine
An underground experiment in the U.S. bolsters the case that Earth plows through a halo of dark matter particles.
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Life
Giant ants once roamed Wyoming
The first complete fossil found in North America suggests warm spells in the far north allowed big insects to spread.
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Earth
Warming dents corn and wheat yields
Rising temperatures have decreased global grain production and may be partly responsible for food price increases.
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Chemistry
Spray of zinc marks fertilization
Embryonic development begins with an outpouring of the metal, illustrating chemistry's importance in orchestrating biological processes.
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Psychology
Autism rates head up
Disorders may affect more kids than previously thought, a study in South Korea suggests.
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Life
Animals quickly colonized freshwater
Fossilized worm burrows show that life had moved beyond the oceans by 530 million years ago.
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Space
Crab Nebula activity keeps confounding
Unusually rapid fluctuations in the output of a supernova remnant send theorists scuttling for a reasonable explanation.
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Humans
Networks dominated by rule of the few
Certain systems, including social hubs like Facebook, can be directed from relatively few control points.
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Humans
Stone Age cold case baffles scientists
Stone-tool makers who hunkered down near Arctic Circle left uncertain clues to their identity.
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Life
Body attacks lab-made stem cells
In mice, the immune system targets and destroys reprogrammed adult skin cells, raising questions about their medical potential.
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Earth
Ozone hole on the mend
Researchers claim to see atmospheric healing more than a decade earlier than a detectable uptick was expected.
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Science & Society
Youthful ingenuity honored at Intel ISEF
Young scientists receive awards for insights applicable to cancer treatment, homeland security, water supplies and more.
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Science Future for June 4, 2011
June 27 Go behind the scenes of Houston’s Cockrell Butterfly Center. Go to https://store.hmns.org July 15–17 Swim with the world’s largest fish at the fourth annual Whale Shark Festival in Isla Mujeres, Mexico. More information at www.whalesharkfest.com
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SN Online
BODY & BRAINBroken neural loops distinguish vegetative states. Read “Gravely damaged brains have ‘bottleneck.’ ” MATTER & ENERGYBird plumage inspires a new laser design. See “New laser is from the birds.” HUMANSDepression may boost individuals’ analytical skills. Read “Thinking better with depression.” LIFE Ancient fungi finally found. See “New fungi the dark matter of mushrooms.”
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From the Archive
Read the full article (PDF) | Vote on future topic July 11, 1959 | Vol. 76 | No. 2 Discuss Origin of Universe THE WORLD’S top astronomers do not agree on the origin of the universe. Of 33 participating in a SCIENCE SERVICE Grand Jury on this subject, there was a virtually equal division on […]
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Lab Coats in Hollywood: Science, Scientists, and Cinema by David A. Kirby
A behind-the-scenes peek at how science consultants have helped movies such as 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Beautiful Mind try to present science realistically. MIT Press, 2011, 265 p., $27.95.
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The Darwin Archipelago: The Naturalist’s Career Beyond Origin of Species by Steve Jones
A surprising look at Darwin’s lesser-known works uncovers the foundations of entire fields of biology, from soil science to early inklings of hormones. Yale Univ. Press, 2011, 248 p., $27.50.
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The Theory That Would Not Die: How Bayes’ Rule Cracked the Enigma Code, Hunted Down Russian Submarines, and Emerged Triumphant from Two Centuries of Controversy by Sharon Bertsch McGrayne
The history of Bayes’ theorem and its controversial role in science’s use of statistics. Yale Univ. Press, 2011, 336 p., $27.50.
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Dream Life: An Experimental Memoir by J. Allan Hobson
A candid memoir of the author’s career studying the neurobiology of sleep and dreams. MIT Press, 2011, 296 p., $29.95.
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Book Review: Is the Internet Changing the Way You Think?: The Net’s Impact on Our Minds and Future by John Brockman, ed.
The Internet has grown into a social network, political forum, marketplace and entertainment source. In a series of essays, some noted thinkers opine on the Web’s effect from the neck up. “The Internet has become an extension of my memory,” writes Daniel Everett, a college dean. “It combats the occasional senior moment, helping me to […]
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Astronomy
Stellar oddballs
After mind-bendingly precise data and artists’ renditions of mysterious stars played across the screen, Martin Still leaned into his lectern at an American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting early this year to deliver a plea to fellow astronomers. In one word: Help! The Kepler team wants outside astronomers to further study strange stars […]
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Health & Medicine
Healthy Aging in a Pill
Animals live long and prosper when eating from a menu that puts them just this side of starvation. So far, experiments with yeast, worms, flies, spiders, fish and rodents all have shown the antiaging power of severely restricting calories. And research in rhesus monkeys suggests similar benefits in primates: One study found that monkeys eating […]
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Humans
Simple Heresy
Harry Markowitz won a 1990 Nobel Prize in economics for efficiently passing the buck — make that bucks. He was honored for developing a mathematical formula that helps investors maximize profit and minimize loss in their portfolios. After an exhaustive analysis of financial information, Markowitz’s procedure allocates a person’s stash of cash to an array […]
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Letters
Nuclear recycling In all I’ve read in the popular press about spent nuclear fuel, including “Natural catastrophe begets nuclear crisis” (SN: 4/9/11, p. 6), all that is written about is on-site storage or burial. Why is reprocessing of the fuel never seriously considered? I understand that the French have done it successfully for years. Are […]
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Science Past from the issue of June 3, 1961
ATOMIC ENERGY SEEN BEST FOR ROCKET POWER — Atomic energy is the most feasible source for powering rockets into the far reaches of outer space. A refined model of a nuclear power system now being developed could be used to propel space probes to Mars and Venus, [said] Dr. Glenn T. Seaborg, chairman of the […]
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Atlas of Oceans: An Ecological Survey of Underwater Life by John Farndon
This richly illustrated survey of marine life introduces basic principles of oceanography and highlights the hazards of environmental degradation. Yale Univ. Press, 2011, 256 p., $50.