Vol. 168 No. #14
Archive Issues Modal Example |

More Stories from the October 1, 2005 issue

  1. Tech

    Getting a charge out of backpacking

    A backpack enhanced with springs, gears, and a generator converts the up-and-down motions of the wearer into enough electricity to power portable electronic gadgets.

    By
  2. Health & Medicine

    Silenced gene may foretell colon cancer

    A cancer-suppressing gene, which is often shut down in colorectal cancer, is sometimes silenced in healthy colorectal tissues as well.

    By
  3. Paleontology

    DNA pegs Irish elk’s nearest relatives

    Analyses of DNA of the Irish elk, which died out after the last ice age, may settle a long-running debate about the creature's place on the deer family tree.

    By
  4. Health & Medicine

    Acne medicines can be a pain in the throat

    Treatment with antibiotics for acne might predispose an individual to getting severe upper respiratory infections.

    By
  5. Humans

    Anti-TB spending abroad could save money overall

    Investing $44 million in tuberculosis-control programs in Mexico, Haiti, and the Dominican Republic might save the United States nearly triple that amount over the next 20 years.

    By
  6. Earth

    Save the frogs

    Researchers have drafted a proposed $400 million research-and-rescue plan for the world's amphibians, at least half of which are in decline or even facing serious risk of extinction.

    By
  7. Tech

    Light sensor may improve battlefield tools

    A new microscale ultraviolet-light sensor could help shrink the size of some military field systems used for detecting biowarfare agents and clandestine communications to the dimensions of a cell phone.

    By
  8. Planetary Science

    Sun grazers: A thousand comets and counting

    An amateur astronomer analyzing images from the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory has found the 999th and 1,000th comets detected by the craft.

    By
  9. Health & Medicine

    Falling Influence: Influenza fighters have limited effects

    The most readily available drugs against influenza have abruptly declined in effectiveness in the past decade.

    By
  10. Animals

    Looks Matter: If swallows aren’t spiffy, mates’ fidelity is iffy

    If a male barn swallow's plumage is more attractive than that of other males, his mate is less likely to have furtive flings with other wooers.

    By
  11. Chemistry

    Into the Void: Porous crystals could do more chemistry

    Chemists have devised a new approach that creates crystalline material with some of the largest pores yet.

    By
  12. Health & Medicine

    Better Beta: Cells grown in lab may treat diabetes

    Scientists have developed a technique to mass-produce a type of pancreas cell needed for transplants into people with type 1 diabetes.

    By
  13. Health & Medicine

    Give It Up: Cutting back helps, but even a cigarette or two a day carries risks

    Reducing tobacco use curbs the risk of lung cancer, but smoking even a few cigarettes a day puts a person at three to five times the risk faced by a nonsmoker.

    By
  14. Astronomy

    Cosmic Ray Font: Supernova remnants rev up ions

    High-resolution X-ray images of the Tycho supernova remnant offer new evidence that supernova shock waves generate most cosmic rays that bombard Earth.

    By
  15. Milky seas clarified

    With the help of satellites, scientists have obtained the first-ever photos of an expanse of seawater filled with bioluminescent bacteria.

    By
  16. Concentrated Guidance: Attention training gives kids a cognitive push

    A brief course on how to pay attention boosts children's scores on either intelligence or attention tests, depending on their age.

    By
  17. Living History

    Bacteria and fungi living on artworks and artifacts often cause extensive damage.

    By
  18. Tech

    Growing Expectations

    Biofuels made from waste agricultural plant matter are gaining prominence as new technologies make them increasingly competitive with petroleum fuels.

    By
  19. Humans

    Letters from the October 1, 2005, issue of Science News

    Name game Does the name of Honda’s robot, Asimo, have a meaning in Japanese, or is it just a tip of the hat to Isaac Asimov (“Easy Striders: New humanoids with efficient gaits change the robotics landscape,” SN: 8/6/05, p. 88)? Dennis LynchGlenshaw, Pa. Asimo’s name stands for Advanced Step in Innovative MObility.—N. Moreira Under […]

    By