Vol. 160 No. #12
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More Stories from the September 22, 2001 issue

  1. Archaeology

    Neandertals used tools with versatility

    Microscopic data from artifacts found at two Ukrainian sites indicate that Neandertals used stone tools in flexible ways that allowed them to maintain a broad diet for nearly 50,000 years.

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  2. Archaeology

    Ancestors who came in from the cold

    Researchers found the remains of a 36,000-year-old human occupation in the Russian Arctic, which represents the earliest evidence of a human presence that far north.

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  3. Earth

    Himalayas may be due for big temblors

    Scientists say that a narrow region that rims the southern edge of the Tibetan Plateau could be the spawning grounds for large earthquakes that could threaten millions in southern Asia in the decades to come.

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  4. Earth

    Quantum physics explains core anomaly

    Scientists have used the principles of quantum physics to answer the long-standing puzzle of why seismic waves travel at different speeds in different directions across Earth's inner core.

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  5. Tech

    Futuristic engine proves its mettle

    A miniature missile shot from a cannon has demonstrated for the first time in free flight that a futuristic jet engine called a scramjet can propel itself.

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  6. Tech

    Designing planet rovers that tumble

    Before the decade is out, towering wind-driven balloons may roam the Martian surface, traveling far more extensively than wheeled rovers do.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Obesity linked to pancreatic cancer

    People who are obese or who have led sedentary lives with little exercise are more likely than others to develop pancreatic cancer.

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  8. Health & Medicine

    Constipation might signal Parkinson’s

    Men who are constipated are more likely to develop Parkinson's disease than men who are not.

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  9. Paleontology

    New Fossils Resolve Whale’s Origin

    The first discovery of early whale fossils with key ankle bones intact provides compelling paleontological evidence that whales are closely related to many living ungulates, a relationship already supported by molecular data.

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  10. Health & Medicine

    Even a little coffee may up heart risk

    Drinking just 1 to 3 cups of coffee daily may adversely affect blood concentrations of cholesterol and homocysteine.

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  11. Physics

    Model may expose how friction lets loose

    Rather than just grinding past each other, sliding surfaces may tremble with minuscule ripples that overcome friction as they move along.

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  12. Materials Science

    Ceramics stretch for future applications

    Researchers have created a ceramic that stretches to 10 times its original length in record time.

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  13. Health & Medicine

    Drugs slow diabetes patients’ kidney damage

    Two drugs normally prescribed for high blood pressure help forestall kidney damage in people with type 2, or adult-onset, diabetes.

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  14. Animals

    Shhh! Is that scrape a caterpillar scrap?

    A series of staged conflicts reveals the first known acoustic duels in caterpillars.

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  15. Health & Medicine

    Alcohol on your breath need not be all bad

    Drugs such as insulin may be delivered by inhaling mists of medicine-containing alcohol.

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  16. Youthful nicotine addiction may be growing

    Although the rate of daily cigarette smoking has declined among teenagers and young adults over the past 20 years, the number of smokers in this age range who develop nicotine dependence has risen dramatically.

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  17. Animals

    Gimme, Gimme, Gimme!

    Hungry chicks cheeping in their nest have inspired a whole branch of scientific inquiry.

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  18. Astronomy

    When Branes Collide

    A controversial new theory proposes that our universe existed as a cold, featureless void for eons, until a parallel universe floating through a hidden fifth dimension crashed into it, igniting the Big Bang.

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