Vol. 183 No. #6
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More Stories from the March 23, 2013 issue

  1. Health & Medicine

    Nothing to fear but suffocation

    People with a rare brain disorder don’t get scared — except when they breathe carbon dioxide.

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  2. Humans

    Earlier Neandertal demise suggested by redating

    Using an improved radiocarbon method, researchers challenge the notion that the species hung on in Iberia for millennia after modern humans arrived in Europe.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    A pox upon cancer

    Retooling a virus extends survival in terminal patients.

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  4. Humans

    In research, it matters whether you’re a man or a mouse

    A study that compares trauma responses of mice with those in people questions the relevance of mouse research to human disease.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    To develop male behavior, rats need immune cells

    Research reveals unexpected role for cells called microglia in shaping the brain.

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  6. Animals

    Sea slug carries disposable penis, plus spares

    A hermaphroditic gastropod sheds its penis after one use, then uncoils another.

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  7. Chemistry

    Bitter and sour taste detectors also say, ‘too salty’

    Mice that can’t sense the two tastes find high sodium attractive.

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  8. Life

    Diversity breeds disease resistance in frogs

    Species-rich amphibian communities prove better at fending off limb-deforming parasitic infections.

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  9. Life

    Antianxiety drugs affect fish, too

    Perch swim more and eat faster when exposed to concentrations of an antianxiety medication found in rivers.

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  10. Life

    Melting Arctic may make algae flourish

    More sunlight penetrates thinning Arctic sea ice, enabling algal growth.

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  11. Space

    Uncertainty at a grand scale

    A test of Heisenberg’s principle, on a scale visible to the naked eye, may aid the search for gravitational waves.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    A surprise makes memories wobbly

    Drug that interferes with recollection works only when people face the unexpected.

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  13. Space

    Supernovas are cosmic ray factories

    Supernova remnants provide evidence that these intense stellar explosions send cosmic rays hurtling through the galaxy.

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  14. Health & Medicine

    Smoking damages mouse brains

    Signs of Alzheimer’s disease appear after the rodents breathe cigarette smoke.

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  15. Humans

    Radial routes ran outside Mesopotamia

    Cold War–era imagery reveals transportation networks extended throughout Middle East.

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  16. Life

    Chill turns monarchs north

    Temperature manipulation appears to solve mystery of what triggers migratory butterflies’ homeward trip.

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  17. Life

    Bees learn the electric buzz of flowers

    Floral electric fields could join color and fragrance as cues to pollinators.

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  18. Health & Medicine

    Tracing pollution links to asthma, allergy

    Excessive exposure to air high in diesel exhaust and wood smoke is tied to disabled immune-regulating cells in children.

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  19. Life

    Sleep loss affects gene activity

    Losing zzz’s shifts workings of more than 700 genes.

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  20. Humans

    News In Brief: Lipstick smudges reveal their identity

    Raman spectroscopy allows forensics researchers to distinguish among dozens of lipsticks.

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  21. Health & Medicine

    Allergy, Asthma and Immunology Meeting

    Highlights from the annual meeting of the American Academy of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology, San Antonio, February 22-26, 2013.

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  22. Life

    Scientists race to understand deadly new virus

    Emerging virus causes severe illness, but doesn’t spread as quickly as SARS.

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  23. Health & Medicine

    Smoking ban cuts preterm births

    Belgium sees drop in preterm births after initiating no-smoking policies.

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  24. Humans

    Baseball’s resident physicist

    Baseball’s resident physicist.

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  25. Upcoming events

    From the issue of March 23, 2013.

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  26. SN Online

    EARTH IN ACTION Alexandra Witze ponders Earth’s odds in “When an asteroid heads for Earth, it’s time to reconsider those doomsday plans.” Alessandro Cumbo and Martin Oeggerli MOLECULES Nanoparticles (below, blue) detect viruses (pink) in “Synthetic nanomaterial can recognize viruses.” HEALTH & ILLNESSAllergic people became able to tolerate up to a full glass of milk. […]

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  27. The White Planet: The Evolution and Future of Our Frozen World by Jean Jouzel, Claude Lorius and Dominique Raynaud

    A team of scientists tells the story of ice on Earth, from ice ages to the latest discoveries from ice cores. Princeton Univ., 2013, 306 p., $29.95

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  28. Underwater Eden: Saving the Last Coral Wilderness on Earth by Gregory S. Stone and David Obura

    Amazing photos make visible the reasons behind efforts to save a biological wonder: the coral reefs of the South Pacific’s Phoenix Islands. Univ. of Chicago, 2013, 170 p., $40

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  29. The Physics of Wall Street: A Brief History of Predicting the Unpredictable by James Owen Weatherall

    A physicist explores the growing role of scientists in Wall Street decision making and recent financial abuses. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2013, 286 p., $27

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  30. Mankind Beyond Earth: The History, Science, and Future of Human Space Exploration by Claude A. Piantadosi

    This history of the American space program illuminates the obstacles facing future space expeditions. Columbia Univ., 2013, 279 p., $35

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  31. Life

    The Lady and Her Monsters

    A Tale of Dissections, Real-Life Dr. Frankensteins, and the Creation of Mary Shelley's Masterpiece by Roseanne Montillo.

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  32. BOOK REVIEW: Visions of Infinity: The Great Mathematical Problems by Ian Stewart

    Review by Tom Siegfried.

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  33. Humans

    Of Mice and Man

    The lab mouse is being remodeled to better mimic how humans respond to disease.

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  34. Earth

    Quakes in Slo-Mo

    Barely detectable tremors may portend major destruction.

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  35. Letters to the editor

    From the issue of March 23, 2013.

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  36. Vehicle on moon may sink into fluffy stuff

    From the issue of March 23, 1963.

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  37. Science on American Television: A History by Marcel Chotkowski LaFollette

    This history of science programs  illustrates the shifting line be­tween education and entertainment. Univ. of  Chicago, 2013, 306 p., $45

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