American Scientist Online

Smoke-Free Laws Linked to Drop in Heart-Attack Hospitalizations

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:56:00 EST

Medical researchers say that a smoking ban in Pueblo, Colo., led to a 41 percent drop in heart-attack hospitalizations three years after the ban. The new study is considered the best and longest-term research to show such a link. ...

Tennessee Ash Spill Raises Arsenic Fears

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:22:00 EST

In environmental news, state and federal officials warned people living near a massive spill of coal ash in eastern Tennessee, which took place three days before Christmas, that water samples in the area contain high levels of arsenic. And residents are concerned about the long-term health effects of the spill, one of the worst in U.S. history. ...

Prehistoric Cooking, Stone Age Tools, Chinese Dinosaurs

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:22:00 EST

Long before the early inhabitants of North America cultivated such crops as corn and beans, they gathered and roasted the bulbs of wild onions and other plants, according to a Texas archaeologist. ...

How Did the Soviets Get the Bomb?

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:20:00 EST

A new book claims the former Soviet Union didn't develop the hydrogen bomb on its own at the height of the Cold War, but had help from a spy at the Los Alamos weapons lab in New Mexico. Some historians say the book adds to the speculation about how the Soviet H-bomb was developed, but called the espionage angle "sketchy." ...

Columbia Report, NASA's Future, An Ancient Meteorite

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:19:00 EST

A NASA report cited a number of design flaws involved in the Columbia space shuttle disaster that happened nearly six years ago. Due to the poor design of their pressure suits, all seven astronauts blacked out almost immediately once the spacecraft started breaking up during re-entry, officials said. All perished in the crash. ...

Year-End Science Roundups

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 13:18:00 EST

The end of 2008 brought a review of the top science and technology stories of the year by a number of media outlets. The Boston Globe's selections ranged from new stem cells to far-off planets, while USA Today presented its pick of the top health stories of the year. ...

New Bird Flu Cases Revive Fears of Human Pandemic

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:43:00 EST

Just when you thought you could scratch bird flu off your list of things to worry about in 2009, the deadly H5N1 virus has resurfaced in poultry in Hong Kong for the first time in six years, reinforcing warnings that the threat of a human pandemic isn't over. ...

from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)

A Cleaner Way to Keep the City Running

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:39:00 EST

For centuries, grist-grinders and sailors have exploited the wind. Now, New York developers, homeowners and city leaders might be coming around. ...

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

A Moment Of Tooth

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:35:00 EST

As long as there are hockey players, there will be niche markets for false teeth. But the real news about the future of dentures is that there isn't much of one. Toothlessness has declined 60 percent in the United States since 1960. Baby boomers will be the first generation in human history typically to go to their graves with most of their teeth. ...

from the Washington Post (Registration Required)

Did a Comet Hit Earth 12,000 Years Ago?

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:31:00 EST

Roughly 12,900 years ago, massive global cooling kicked in abruptly, along with the end of the line for some 35 different mammal species, including the mammoth, as well as the so-called Clovis culture of prehistoric North Americans. Various theories have been proposed for the die-off, ranging from abrupt climate change to overhunting once humans were let loose on the wilds of North America. ...

from the Scientific American

Desktop Atom Smashers Could Replace LHC

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:26:00 EST

When the Large Hadron Collider was switched on last September—and ignominiously switched off a few days later—it was the subject of the kind of media frenzy usually reserved for rock stars and celebrity models. ...

from New Scientist

China Finds Major Dinosaur Site

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:22:00 EST

Scientists in China say they believe a group of dinosaur fossils discovered in the east of the country could be the largest collection ever found. ...

from the BBC News Online

Bacteria Could Help Control Dengue Fever

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:19:00 EST

Controlling the spread of mosquitoes using bacteria that halve the insects' lifespan could virtually eliminate the transmission of dengue fever, which kills around 12,500 people a year. ...

from Nature News

On the Origin of Speciation

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:14:00 EST

No one knows how many species of animal, plant, fungus and microbe live on Earth. Almost 2 million have been described, but millions more exist. Thousands of new species are identified each year, mostly small or microbial, but also birds, fish and mammals. ...

from the San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required)

Democrats Debate Methods to End Stem Cell Ban

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:10:00 EST

WASHINGTON—Thwarted by President Bush in their efforts to expand federal spending on embryonic stem cell research, Democrats are now debating whether to overturn federal restrictions through executive order or by legislation when they assume full control of the government this month. ...

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

NASA Reports Details of Columbia Deaths

Mon, 05 Jan 2009 10:05:00 EST

WASHINGTON (Associated Press)—Seat restraints, pressure suits, and helmets of the doomed crew of the space shuttle Columbia didn't work well, leading to "lethal trauma" as the out-of-control ship lost pressure and broke apart, killing all seven astronauts, a new NASA report says. ...

from the Boston Globe (Registration Required)

In Reversal, Court Allows a Bush Plan on Pollution

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:06:00 EST

A federal appeals court in Washington reversed itself on Tuesday and temporarily reinstated a Bush administration plan to reduce pollution from coal-fired power plants. ...

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

'Proto-Spiders' Made Silk, But Not Webs

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 11:00:00 EST

The earliest known spider silk was apparently made by ancient arachnids that were not really spiders and lacked the equipment to weave webs, scientists have found. These proto-spiders may have used sheets of silk to line burrows, wrap eggs or even to have sex. ...

from Nature News

4,300-Year-Old Pharaonic Tombs Unveiled Near Cairo

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:45:00 EST

SAQQARA, Egypt (Associated Press)—A pair of 4,300-year-old pharaonic tombs discovered at Saqqara indicate that the sprawling necropolis south of Cairo is even larger than previously thought, Egypt's top archaeologist said Monday. ...

from the Washington Post (Registration Required)

Distorted Body Images: A Quick and Easy Way to Reduce Pain

Wed, 24 Dec 2008 10:39:00 EST

The body image is a mental representation of one's physical appearance, constructed by the brain from past experiences and present sensations. It is an essential component of self-identity, which, when altered, can have dramatic effects on how one perceives oneself. ...

from the Scientific American