More Stories from the March 10, 2012 issue
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HumansSeaweed study fuels bioenergy enthusiasm
Munched by a manipulated microbe, ocean algae readily yield ethanol.
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Earth
‘Nonstick’ pollutants may cut efficiency of vaccines in kids
Antibodies from immunizations are halved among children with the highest exposure levels to common chemicals.
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Chemistry
Measuring what makes a medicine
A new way to evaluate molecules offers a finer-grained picture of which ones could become drugs.
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Life
Long-lived people distinguished by DNA
A controversial study finds genetic signatures that may be able to identify people with the best chance of living to 100 or beyond.
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Earth
Big volcanoes wake up fast
Crystal chemistry suggests magma changes quickly before a huge eruption.
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Chemistry
Muscle massage may speed healing
Rubbing sore, overworked areas trips anti-inflammatory switches in the tissue that might speed healing and ease pain.
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Earth
Some corals like it hot
Western Australian reefs are faring better than their eastern counterparts, at least for now.
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Health & Medicine
Addicts and siblings share brain features
The finding suggests that diminished self-control and other behaviors may have a genetic component.
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Space
Super-Earth spotted in life-friendly zone
The latest exoplanet entry creeps closer to long-sought goal of finding habitable worlds elsewhere.
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Earth
Little Ice Age began with a bang
Frozen moss suggests climate cooling kicked off fast, possibly with help from volcanic eruptions.
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Space
Proposed type of solar neutrino spotted
The existence of these long-sought particles confirms theories about the fusion reactions that power the sun.
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Life
Cancer drug may have Alzheimer’s benefits
Medication helps the brain clear a plaque-forming protein associated with dementia.
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Humans
Despite lean times, Obama wants R&D hikes
The proposed federal budget would stall nonmandated spending overall, but science and tech would climb.
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Health & Medicine
Osteoporosis drugs delivered wirelessly
Implanted microchip that releases medications on command has been tested in people for the first time.
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2012 AAAS Meeting
Highlights from the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Vancouver, February 16-20.
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Humans
Harsh conditions in childhood have long-term effects
Kids from Romanian orphanage also had lower volumes of gray matter.
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Humans
Oceans set stage for human evolution
Temperature changes off the coast dried out East Africa and allowed grasslands to spread starting around 2 million years ago.
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Humans
Scientists probe terrorist talk on ‘Dark Web’
Mathematical tools can pry secretive terrorist communications in hidden sector of the Internet.
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Climate
Carbon dioxide breaking down marine ecosystems
Scientists capitalize on 'natural’ experiment to chronicle how ecosystems will change as oceans continue to acidify.
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Health & Medicine
2012 AAAS Meeting
Highlights from the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting in Vancouver, February 16-20.
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Life
Bird flu less deadly, but more widespread, than official numbers suggest
The H5N1 virus appears to have infected far more than the 573 officially confirmed victims.
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SN Online
ON THE SCENE BLOG Science can’t hear back in time. Read more in “Archaeoacoustics: Tantalizing, but fantastical.” Courtesy of Hagen Wende and Carmen Birchmeier GENES & CELLS An eye protein helps mice and people sense vibrations. See “Seeing, feeling have something in common.” LIFE Early fliers may have had dark feathers. Read “Archaeopteryx wore black.” […]
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Science Future for March 10, 2012
March 30–31 Meet astronaut Richard Linnehan and Nobel winners at the Texas A&M Physics and Engineering Festival in College Station. See bit.ly/SNtamu March 31 See glowing creatures at a bioluminescence exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City. Learn more at bit.ly/SNbiolum
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Science Past from the issue of March 10, 1962
KENNEDY URGES BETTER PAY — President John F. Kennedy’s proposal to raise the pay scale for top Government employees should help stem the flow of scientists and engineers now leaving public service for much higher pay in industry…. The top Government salary under most scales is $18,500 a year. Many top positions are not filled […]
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Riddle of the Feathered Dragons: Hidden Birds of China by Alan Feduccia
An evolutionary biologist reviews fossil evidence for bird and dinosaur evolution and contests the view that birds are the last living dinosaurs. Yale Univ., 2012, 358 p., $55
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African American Women Chemists by Jeannette Brown
A chemist sketches the lives of women who broke racial boundaries, including Marie Maynard Daly, the first black woman to receive a Ph.D. in chemistry in 1947. Oxford Univ., 2012, 272 p., $35
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DDT and the American Century: Global Health, Environmental Politics, and the Pesticide That Changed the World by David Kinkela
Science and politics collide in this history of one of the world’s most controversial pesticides. Univ. of North Carolina, 2011, 272 p., $39.95
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The Best Writing on Mathematics 2011 by Mircea Pitici, ed.
This anthology offers an overview of stories written for a popular audience about the mysteries and everyday uses of math. Princeton Univ., 2012, 414 p., $19.95
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BOOK REVIEW: The Science of Sin: The Psychology of the Seven Deadlies (and Why They Are So Good For You) by Simon M. Laham
Contrary to popular belief, experiencing anger may make a person more optimistic and more likely to change long-held opinions. Swelling with pride can increase agreeability, while growing lusty could make a person more attentive, more creative and even more charitable, suggests Laham in this promising debut. With a provocative wit (in the first chapter he […]
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BOOK REVIEW: Consciousness: Confessions of a Romantic Reductionist by Christof Koch
There’s a famous quip circulated among writers: The craft is easy. You just sit down at your desk and open a vein. In his latest book, Koch does one better. He pries off his skull, splits open his brain and invites the reader in. What’s inside is fascinating. Through scenes from his life as a […]
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Health & Medicine
Enriched with Information
Demystifying the MindThis feature is the final installment in a three-part series on the scientific struggle to explain consciousness. To read the entire series, click here. Michael Morgenstern TWO RULES A newly proposed theory defines consciousness as a system’s information content and capacity to connect that information. Michael Morgenstern, Adapted by E. Feliciano ARTIFICIALLY AWARE […]
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Mix and Match Qubits
Anybody can find out how to crack the codes protecting your bank transfers and online credit card purchases. The step-by-step instructions for stripping away the secrecy were published years ago. By blending superconducting and diamond components, researchers may create a quantum computer that beats out any relying on a single approach. circuit: Erik Lucero; diamond: […]
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Letters
Sinking heavy ice The picture in “From the Archive” (“Self-experimenter didn’t suffer,” SN: 1/28/12, p. 32) shows heavy water ice sinking in a glass of water while alongside, light water ice floats. What is not clear is what kind of water is in the glasses. If heavy water ice were in a glass of heavy […]
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EPA moves to phase out asbestos goods
Read the full article (PDF) | Vote on future topic | Search archives February 1, 1986 | Vol. 129 | No. 5 EPA moves to phase out asbestos goods The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) last week proposed banning five widely used asbestos products, then phasing out over 10 years all mining, importation and remaining uses for the […]
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Eradication: Ridding the World of Diseases Forever? by Nancy Leys Stepan
Attempts to wipe out diseases such as malaria come with a cost, this history of eradication campaigns shows. Cornell Univ., 2011, 309 p., $39.95