More Stories from the October 20, 2012 issue
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Planetary ScienceVoyager chasing solar system’s edge
On the 35th anniversary of the spacecraft’s launch, scientists ponder when it will move beyond the sun’s reach.
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Chemistry
Too-young caterpillars like scent of sex
Larvae respond to mate-attracting pheromones, raising evolutionary questions about what a very grown-up chemical signal could mean to them.
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Planetary Science
Mars clays may have volcanic source
Deposits didn’t need flowing water to form, new research suggests.
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Life
New swine flu virus could infect people
Strains found in Korean pigs contain gene mutations that make them potentially transmissible to humans.
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Health & Medicine
Anti-inflammatories tied to cardiac risk
Heart attack survivors who take ibuprofen or diclofenac appear more likely to die or suffer another attack, a large Danish study finds.
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Health & Medicine
First dengue vaccine trial disappoints
The shots protect against three of the four viral subtypes, failing to deliver full protection, a study in Thailand shows.
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Life
Stem cells may help in treating deafness
A new method triggers the development of sound-sensitive neurons in the inner ear.
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Tech
Facebook peer pressure gets out the vote
People were more likely to take part in the November 2010 election when they were told that their online friends already had.
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Health & Medicine
Brain’s white matter diminished in isolated mice
Experiments may offer a biological explanation for the social and emotional problems of neglected children.
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Life
Killer whale mama’s boys live longer
Survival benefits may explain females’ extended life span following menopause.
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Physics
Uncertainty not so certain after all
Lab experiments undermine the first formulation of Heisenberg’s famous physics principle, but leave its broader implications intact.
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Life
Flash leads to flex in lab-grown muscle
Light-activated artificial tissue inspires dream of squirming wormbots.
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Life
DNA tags may dictate bee behavior
Chemical alterations affect genetic activity but not the genes themselves.
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Health & Medicine
Gamblers go all-in on Ritalin
Risk-taking may rise when healthy people use the stimulant to boost concentration.
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Humans
A moving lift for poor families
Federal housing subsidies didn’t fight poverty as hoped, but trading public housing for new neighborhoods brought psychological benefits.
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Health & Medicine
Oral MS drug passes tests
A drug called BG-12, similar to a psoriasis medicine used in Germany, supresses multiple sclerosis relapses well, two studies find.
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Life
E. coli caught in the act of evolving
Researchers track thousands of bacterial generations to document the development of a trait nearly 25 years in the making.
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Math
Bumblebees navigate new turf without a map
The insects can quickly calculate the best route between flowers.
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Humans
Africans’ genes mute on human birthplace
Latest DNA studies confirm previous research on the prehistory of African groups, but still can’t locate the root of the species.
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Life
Breast cancer gets genetic profile
Insights from new data may help improve treatment for some types of disease.
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Earth
Intraplate quakes signal tectonic breakup
The unusual April temblors are the latest in a massive energy release that is cleaving the Indo-Australian crustal plate in two.
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Humans
Car-crazy kid wins middle school science competition
First place at Broadcom MASTERS goes to 14-year-old who studied automotive aerodynamics.
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Spider man fell for jumpers
View the videos The recently named Lapsias lorax spider got its name from the Dr.Seuss character with a yellow mustache. Courtesy W. Maddison/Beaty Museum Wayne Maddison examines a tiny but venomous snake caught along with spiders shaken from tree branches. Snakes are one hazard Maddison faces in the tropics, along with leeches, wasps and more. […]
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Science Future for October 20, 2012
November 3 The dress code is caveman chic at the Orlando Science Center’s Neanderthal Ball. Enjoy wine, music, fine dining and a “diamond dig” at this upscale event. Details at bit.ly/SFball November 7 Cocktails accompany a discussion by biological anthropologist Fatimah Jackson, who studies medicinal African plants, as part of the American Museum of Natural […]
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SN Online
MATTER & ENERGY Chemists find more evidence of the existence of ununtrium in “News in Brief: Japanese lab lays claim to element 113.” Guenter Wieschendahl/Wikimedia CommonS ON THE SCENE BLOGMiddle-schoolers tackle scientific challenges at the Broadcom MASTERS competition. Read “Building a funner mousetrap.” HUMANS Pastoralists may have constructed England’s ancient stone monuments. See “Herders, not […]
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Overpotential: Fuel Cells, Futurism, and the Making of a Power Panacea (Studies in Modern Science, Technology, and the Environment) by Matthew N. Eisler
This history of fuel cell research considers why engineers keep trying, and failing, to produce a commercially viable technology. Rutgers Univ., 2012, 260 p., $49.95
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Dreamland: Adventures in the Strange Science of Sleep by David K. Randall
A journalist with unusual sleep habits seeks to learn why we slumber and how sleeping — or not — affects thoughts, behavior and health. W.W. Norton & Co., 2012, 290 p., $25.95
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The Secrets of Triangles: A Mathematical Journey by Alfred Posamentier and Ingmar Lehmann
This guide to the surprising properties of a fundamental shape sheds light on geometric principles. Prometheus Books, 2012, 387 p., $26
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Ordering Life: Karl Jordan and the Naturalist Tradition by Kristin Johnson
Karl Jordan’s innovative methods of classifying insect species are highlighted in this biography of the early 20th century entomologist. Johns Hopkins Univ., 2012, 376 p., $39.95
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BOOK REVIEW: Are We Getting Smarter? Rising IQ in the Twenty-First Century by James R. Flynn
IQ scores have risen dramatically over the last few generations. Flynn, a psychologist who discovered this trend 25 years ago, takes a provocative look at what escalating scores mean for the death penalty, racial differences in IQ and other controversial social issues. Flynn begins by reviewing IQ rises in developed countries. An average Dutch person […]
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Humans
Social Media Sway
Worries over political misinformation on Twitter attract scientists’ attention.
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Life
Scent Into Action
Rodent responses to a whiff of predator may offer clues to instinct in the brain.
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Letters
Consider numbers I have been a faithful subscriber to Science News for a long time, since I subscribed for my kids in the 1960s. I don’t have a degree but was a naval aviator for 32 years. I just cannot get used to converting kilometers per hour to miles per hour each time I encounter […]
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Science Past from the issue of October 20, 1962
U.S. NOW HAS CAPABILITY FOR TWIN SPACE SHOT — The United States now can equal the Soviet manned twin space shot, SCIENCE SERVICE learned at Cape Canaveral. The systems and power to do this are now available, J. Merritt, operations director of Project Mercury at Cape Canaveral, said. Although we do not have the vehicle […]
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This is Improbable: Cheese String Theory, Magnetic Chickens and Other WTF Research by Marc Abrahams
The founder of the Ig Nobel Prizes rounds up strange studies, such as one on the best way to slice a ham sandwich. Oneworld Publications, 2012, 320 p., $15.95