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Archives: 2006 | 2005 | 2004
What’s the use of being the best at math?
(28/12/2004)
Last week, Canada, and Québec in particular, was elated to learn that science and math placement tests have ranked its young people among the best in the world in those areas. On the other hand, in the United States, which came in a disastrous 28th place (out of 41), the reaction tended to be “So what?”
Cold fusion still on ice
(22/12/2004) -
After fifteen years, the myth of cold fusion remains just that—a myth. A scientific committee set up by the U.S. government has reviewed the research carried out in recent years and come to the conclusion that there is still no evidence to suggest it is possible.
Seizing the moment
(14/12/2004) -
The present moment and our awareness are not in tune with each other. In fact, we become aware of reality only after it has happened, and the delay is not a small one: a half-second.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder eased by electricity
(01/12/2004) -
Last week, Canada, and Québec in particular, was elated to learn that science and math placement tests have ranked its young people among the best in the world in those areas.
Running into humanity
(01/12/2004) -
Aside from our large brains and the ability to walk upright, another factor that apparently separates humans from apes is our ability to run—and especially to run long distances.
The Far North is melting fast: Arctic inhabitants cry for help!
(27/11/2004) -
Last week’s damning report on global warming and its consequences on the Far North has elicited a resounding cry for help.
The Far North is melting fast
(18/11/2004) -
Whether you live in the White House or you’re a polar bear, you’ve probably had your fill of studies saying that the Arctic is warming at an unprecedented rate—to the point where the ice might be completely gone by 2100.
Little people: a surprise for science—and humans
(09/11/2004) -
It is often said that every discovery of a new human ancestor revolutionizes anthropology. This has never been so true as with the small humans of Flores Island.
To Mars and back in three months
(28/10/2004) -
A carefully controlled plasma beam could send astronauts to Mars and back in three months instead of two years.
The Extinction of Frogs
(28/10/2004) -
It’s continuing. The future of amphibians in general and frogs in particular darkens with every new study.
Saving the elephant
(20/10/2004) -
Just as African elephants have narrowly escaped a lifting of the ban on the ivory trade, geneticists say they are able to trace the origins of an ivory sample from its DNA.
The 2004 Ig Nobel prizes
(13/10/2004) -
They're back! While the rest of the science world is absorbed in terribly serious work, a small group of researchers reminds us that not everything should be taken so literally, whether it be the science of jujubes or suicide provoked by country music!
The South Pole is melting
(06/10/2004) -
Collapsing ice shelves, ice caps cracking beneath the feet of penguins, icebergs drifting away... The Antarctic's glaciers are still melting - at an ever - increasing rate.
When want becomes need
(29/09/2004) -
A woman looks for cigarettes in her purse and realizes that she has no more. In a panic, she upends her bag onto a bench and searches through the contents with yellow fingers.
A Miraculous Catch
(22/09/2004) -
Astronomers of the European Southern Observatory (ESO) caught a big fish with their FORS1 spectograph: the spectrum of a meteor entering the Earth's atmosphere.
Voices from the heavens
(15/09/2004) -
Extraterrestrials have been a hot topic this week: first, there was the rumor that an alien radio signal had at last been detected, and a researcher discusses interstellar mail service.
Faith in nanotechnology
(08/01/2004) -
While most people have no idea what nanotechnology is, they are apparently convinced of its advantages. In the U.S., 80% of the 1500 people who answered...
Alcohol aircraft
(01/09/2004) -
Something that would make ecologists happy is a clean airplane. And the Ipanema, Brazil's first totally alcohol-powered aircraft, is almost off the ground.
The cheats' race
(25/08/2004) -
It bears strange resemblance to an arms race: scientists are trying to perfect new ways to detect athletes who dope...
Cosmic rhythm
(18/08/2004) -
Like the drummer in a band, pulsars keep time in the cosmos. A pulsar is a star that spins very quickly on its axis...
Water on Mars: for how long?
(11/08/2004) -
The latest on Martian water: interpretation of data sent back by the Opportunity rover has convinced some scientist...
Manipulative tumors
(04/08/2004) -
Tumors don't have as easy a time of it as we might think. For instance, they must escape detection by the immune system.
Stephen Hawking's bet falls into a black hole
(28/07/2004) -
On the Website of the journal Nature, this headline: Hawking changes his mind about black holes.
Excelling in everything
(21/07/2004) -
People have been fascinated by the connection between music and science for a long time, and the two may be closer than we had ever imagined.
Feeling no pain
(14/07/2004) -
Here's some news that might be hard on the male ego: thanks to hormones, men actually feel less pain.
Programmed microbes
(07/07/2004) -
Within ten years, engineers may have a new kind of tool to work with: programmed micro-organisms...
Opportunity in a hole
(28/06/2004) -
The Mars rover Opportunity has reached a crucial stage in its mission - perhaps the final task before its batteries run out...
Private space travel
(23/06/2004) -
Is this the end of the State's monopoly on manned space flight? Business people have dreamed about it for years, and this week-on June 21 if all goes well...
Not all scientists are math whizzes
(16/06/2004) -
Even advanced studies, published in high-quality journals, may contain run-of-the-mill errors in calculation.
The advantages of a large blackout
(07/06/2004) -
The blackout that left 50 million Americans and Canadians in the dark in August 2003 had a positive side effect.
Ready or not, Ma, here I come!
(02/06/2004) -
How does a pregnant woman know when it's time to give birth? Mothers may have trouble believing this, but for biologists, it's an enigma.
Global warming: birds are no longer eating
(26/05/2004) -
Yet another example of the complex effects of global warming: certain species of birds apparently avoid eating insects...
Underwater clear cutting
(19/05/2004) -
Loggers travel to remote regions to cut down trees, but few will work under water. So the British Columbia...
War - bad for your brain cells!
(10/05/2004) -
Forget about the mysterious Gulf War Syndrome. Anyone who has taken part in a war...
The end of fatherhood?
(03/05/2004) -
Men of the world, you may soon be out of the picture.
Truth or consequences
(28/04/2004) -
The lie detector, or polygraph, is about to have company as a policing tool.
Water on Mars, but how much?
(21/04/2004) -
It's official: there is water on Mars. All that's left is to estimate how much.
A fair tradeoff: chewing power for brain power
(14/04/2004) -
Humans have paid a price for their bigger brains - less chewing power! Smaller muscles below the skull mean more room for gray matter.
What's the source of your science?
(07/04/2004) -
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has recently been accused of misleading the public for producing video advertisements disguised as news reports.
Water on Mars, part 2
(31/03/2004) -
Three days after announcing that there was once salt water on Mars, NASA is still on cloud nine. But was the announcement really news?
Spirit runs the 300 metres
(24/03/2004) -
It took four weeks, but Spirit finally reached its goal, the edge of a crater located 300 metres from its starting point.
The Longevity Gene
(16/03/2004) -
A number of years ago, researchers discovered that severe caloric restriction-in other words, an extremely low-calorie diet...
Splashdown on Mars
(10/03/2004) -
Now we know. There was once water on Mars, as NASA recently announced amidst much fanfare. But didn't we know that already?
The GMO debate
(03/03/2004) -
Ten years into the GMO debate, their efficiency has yet to be proven. This, from both an ecological organization and from politicians who continue to squabble...
Coral reefs : from bad to worse
(03/03/2004) -
The studies on serious threats to coral reefs continue to pile up. The latest points to global warming and warns that if the trend continues...
Bacteria in medical ventilators
(16/02/2004) -
There has been much discussion in recent weeks of bacteria infecting hospital patients...
Thousands of years of pollution
(16/02/2004) -
Archaeologists have long suspected that about 2000 years ago, the Celts operated a mine near the modern city of Dijon.
Influenza in the 21st century
(16/02/2004) -
The deadly Spanish flu of 1918 was a type of avian influenza, or bird flu. But the bird flu of 2004 cannot...
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