nation
In shipwrecks, it's usually 'every man for himself'
By New York Times August 04, 2012, 04:27 PMKeen to test humanity's capacity for selflessness in times of duress, the students of the "dismal science" reviewed survival data for some of history's worst shipwrecks. What they found was that women and children were only half as likely as crew members and captains to survive maritime disasters. Instead of "women and children first" and "the captain must go down with the ship," the rallying cry seemed to be "every man for himself," the authors wrote.
Mummy's lung infection is diagnosed 500 years later
By New York Times August 04, 2012, 04:25 PMAn Inca girl who lived 500 years ago suffered from a bacterial lung infection just before she died, report scientists who examined her mummy. The girl, about 15, was sacrificed at the summit of Llullaillaco volcano in Argentina, said Angelique Corthals, a forensic anthropologist at the City University of New York. The study, published in the journal PLoS One, used a technique that compared the proteins found in the mummy against genome databases. The mummy was one of three sacrificed children found in 1999. "The girl actually had gray hair, so I think they knew their fate," Corthals said. "And the little girl and boy also had their teeth ground down." NEW YORK TIMES
Curiosity: This geologist eats plutonium, on Mars
By AMINA KHAN, New York Times July 28, 2012, 06:45 PMCuriosity, the most advanced machine ever sent to another planet, is set to touch down on Mars next Sunday
Orphans in institutions show brain deficits
By JON BARDIN, New York Times July 28, 2012, 04:58 PMThe Romanian study, which tracked children for 12 years, shows reach of social isolation.
Russian spaceship fails docking test
By New York Times July 24, 2012, 06:48 PMA Russian cargo ship experimenting with a new type of autopilot failed to dock with the International Space Station on Tuesday.
CAPTCHA: The story behind those squiggly computer letters
By STACEY BURLING, New York Times July 24, 2012, 05:45 PMThose little puzzles that help distinguish humans from 'bots' indeed are getting harder.
NASA: Strange and sudden massive melt in Greenland
By SETH BORENSTEIN , New York Times July 24, 2012, 05:03 PMNearly all of Greenland's massive ice sheet suddenly started melting a bit this month, a freak event that surprised scientists.
AIDS conference opens at key turning point
By LAURAN NEERGAARD , New York Times July 23, 2012, 02:38 AMResearchers, doctors and patients attending the world's largest AIDS conference are urging the world's governments not to cut back on the fight against the epidemic when it is at a turning point.
Lobstermen finding more odd colors in the catch
By CLARKE CANFIELD , New York Times July 22, 2012, 07:49 PMWhen a 100-pound shipment of lobsters arrived at Bill Sarro's seafood shop and restaurant last month, it contained a surprise — six orange crustaceans that have been said to be a 1-in-10-million oddity.
Experts: Some fracking critics use bad science
By KEVIN BEGOS , New York Times July 22, 2012, 07:49 PMIn the debate over natural gas drilling, the companies are often the ones accused of twisting the facts. But scientists say opponents sometimes mislead the public, too.
Big, furry bandits saving palm tree
By KRYSTNELL A. STORR, New York Times July 21, 2012, 04:52 PMRodents have taken over role of an elephant-sized animal with pure thievery.
Science notes: Effectiveness of MS drug questioned
By New York Times July 21, 2012, 04:51 PMThe most widely prescribed drug for treating multiple sclerosis has little or no effect on a patient's progression to disability, a study found. The medicine, interferon beta, does help reduce the development of brain lesions and limit the frequency of relapses, but until now there have been few well-controlled long-term studies demonstrating its effectiveness at preventing the onset of irreversible disability.
Giant ice chunk breaks off
By New York Times July 21, 2012, 04:50 PMA chunk of ice twice the size of Manhattan has parted from Greenland's Petermann glacier, a break researchers at the University of Delaware and Canadian Ice Service attributed to higher ocean temperatures. The separation along Greenland's northwest coast represents the second major calving event for the glacier in the past three years. In August 2010, the Petermann glacier lost an area of roughly 97 square miles, compared with the 46 square miles that split off last week. Andreas Muenchow, an associate professor of physical ocean science and engineering at the University of Delaware, said the glacier's end point is now at "a location where it has not been for at least 150 years." "The Greenland ice sheet is changing rapidly before our eyes," said Muenchow, adding that recent warming has transformed the overall ice sheet. "The Greenland ice sheet is being reduced not just in size, but in volume. The big and broader climate change story is what's happening all around Greenland."
A daring landing on Mars
By ALEX KANE RUDANSKY, New York Times July 16, 2012, 08:51 PMScientists working for NASA previewed the next big step in the latest mission to the Red Planet: The precision setdown of the rover Curiosity in a crater that contains the towering Mount Sharp. "I see it as an extraordinary opportunity to get a bearing on our own existence on Earth," said one scientist, anticipating the Aug. 6 arrival date. Summary.
Whales show ability to cope with harmful man-made noises
By WILLIAM J. BROAD, New York Times July 16, 2012, 08:50 PMThe mammals can be taught to react like humans plugging their ears when jets fly over, researchers found in limited trials.
Those lying eyes? Research disputes claim they reveal deception
By New York Times July 14, 2012, 04:39 PMIf you think you can tell if someone is lying from their eyes, think again.
Science briefs: Cat parasite linked to human suicide risk
By New York Times July 14, 2012, 04:37 PMA wily parasite well known for influencing the behavior of its animal hosts appears to play a troubling role in humans, increasing the risk of suicide among women who are infected, new research shows.
Discoveries suggest the Clovis people were not alone
By JOHN NOBLE WILFORD, New York Times July 14, 2012, 04:36 PMDiscoveries suggest the Clovis people were not alone
Early humans arrived in three waves, DNA study says
By ERYN BROWN, New York Times July 14, 2012, 04:34 PMSupporting a controversial view of how humans might have populated the Western Hemisphere, geneticists have found that groups from Asia traveled over the Bering Strait into North America in at least three separate migrations beginning more than 15,000 years ago -- not in a single wave, as has been widely thought.
Mutation found that prevents Alzheimer's
By GINA KOLATA, New York Times July 12, 2012, 05:45 AMThe discovery's implication for drug development "is hugely important."
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