Stuff
By: Wendy • Essay • 913 Words • November 21, 2009 • 964 Views
Essay title: Stuff
News: Last winter, two female Komodo dragons at separate zoos in England gave their keepers big surprises.
Not just hitchhikers: human pathogens make homes on plants
Science News | Oct 20, 2007 | vote | comment
Jeri Barak's tomato plants have a weird disease breaking out on them. Not the biggest surprise, perhaps, since she's a bona fide U.S.
Better than pap: blood test detects cervical cancer
Science News | Oct 20, 2007 | vote | comment
For more than 50 years, doctors have used Papanicolaou tests--better known as Pap smears--to screen women for cervical cancer.
Bad acid: ocean's pH drop threatens snail defense
Science News | Oct 20, 2007 | topic: Social Issues | vote | comment
A predicted worldwide fall in ocean alkalinity could have subtle effects on a small shoreline snail, shutting down one of its best defenses against crab predators, researchers say.
Match made in heaven: nearby galaxies resemble faraway type
Science News | Oct 06, 2007 | vote | comment
Astronomers can't send a telescope billions of light-years into space to take close-ups of the most remote galaxies, but they appear to have done the next best thing.
No slippery slope: Physician-aided deaths are rare among those presumed vulnerable
Science News | Oct 06, 2007 | topic: Social Issues | vote | comment
News: Over the past quarter-century, opponents of physician-assisted death have argued against the practice on the grounds that vulnerable groups--the very old, the poor, and the mentally ill, to name three--would turn to, or be pushed toward, such deaths in disproportionate numbers.
Fueling a flu debate: do vaccinations save lives among the elderly?
Science News | Oct 06, 2007 | vote | comment
It would seem to be a no-brainer: Vaccinating elderly people against influenza each fall should lead to fewer hospital stays and higher survival rates.
Smoot's Ear: The Measure of Humanity
Science News | Sep 29, 2007 | vote | comment
SMOOT'S EAR: The Measure of Humanity ROBERT TAVERNOR In 1958, Oliver Smoot was a freshman at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, when, in a fraternity-initiation prank, his body was used to measure the length of the Harvard Bridge.
Aiding and abetting: a longevity gene also promotes cancer
Science News | Sep 22, 2007 | vote | comment
A gene that helps organisms survive damage to their cells can also shorten their lives by fostering tumors, tests on mice and human-cell lines show.
Muddying the water? Orbiter drains confidence from fluid story of Mars
Science News | Sep 22, 2007 | vote | comment
Evidence for liquid water on some parts of Mars--now or in the past--looks leakier than researchers had supposed, according to an analysis of the sharpest images ever taken of the Red Planet from orbit.
Survivor: extrasolar planet escapes stellar attack
Science News | Sep 15, 2007 | vote | comment
From the sizzling outer atmosphere of a sunlike star to the chilly surroundings of a dark, stellar cinder, extrasolar planets keep turning up in the darndest places.
Spot on: printing flexible electronics one nanodot at a time
Science News | Sep 15, 2007 | topic: Advanced Technologies | vote | comment
Plastic displays, solar cells, and other kinds of gadgets are attractive for their flexibility and potential low cost.
Bipolar