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.

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