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The truth about the polygraph
 I’ll quote George Washington: I cannot tell a lie.
Two hollow tubes wrapped around my chest and abdomen are measuring my breathing, a blood-pressure cuff is tightly encircling my left arm, and moisture-detecting electrodes are secured ...more.
Mystery of oak leaves keeps hanging on
 Check out your window, or drive around Vancouver, and you may notice a curious sight for the middle of February:
Oak trees boast some seriously tenacious leaves.
They’ve withstood windstorms, frigid temperatures, snow, even a tornado. ...more.
Time, season, location of tornado uncommon
How frequent are tornadoes here?
According to the National Climatic Data Center, Clark County has been hit by eight tornadoes since 1972, the year a twister killed six. They were in 1972, 1984, 1989, 1997 (twice), 2000, 2004 and again in 2004. Ove ...more.
That extra weight's neither easy come nor easy go
If it seems like you woke up five pounds heavier the day after Thanksgiving and repeated that feat Dec. 26, take a closer look. Unless you ate the entire buffet, there's probably more to your weight gain than a couple of feasts."You have to eat an ex ...more.
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| US/World Science News |
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Scientists expose mystery behind northern lights
 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Scientists have exposed some of the mystery behind the northern lights. On Thursday, NASA released findings that indicate magnetic explosions about one-third of the way to the moon cause the northern lights, or aurora borealis, to burst... |
Scientists recover complete dinosaur skeleton
 TOKYO (AP) -- Japanese and Mongolian scientists have successfully recovered the complete skeleton of a 70-million-year-old young dinosaur, a nature museum announced Thursday. The scientists uncovered a Tarbosaurus - related to the giant carnivorous Tyrannosaurus - f... |
EPA: Few volunteering to cut greenhouse gases
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Voluntary pollution-reduction programs touted by the Bush administration as part of the solution to global warming have "limited potential" to reduce greenhouse gases, according to an internal government watchdog. The Environmental Protection Agen... |
N.M. researchers hope to cultivate 'calming herb'
 ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- The plant has been described by local residents as magical, its qualities almost mythical. The native herb yerba mansa, translated from Spanish as the "calming herb," has been used for centuries throughout the Southwest by American Indians... |
Math study finds girls are just as good as boys
 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sixteen years after Barbie dolls declared, "Math class is tough!" girls are proving that when it comes to math they are just as tough as boys. In the largest study of its kind, girls measured up to boys in every grade, from second through 11th. Th... |
Zoo will reopen exhibit where 16 stingrays died
BROOKFIELD, Ill. (AP) -- A zoo in suburban Chicago plans to reopen an exhibit where 16 stingrays died last week when a malfunction let the tank's water get too warm. Brookfield Zoo officials say the Sharks! at Stingray Bay exhibit will reopen Saturday. More than hal... |
N.M. cavers chart unique `snowy' river of crystals
 FORT STANTON CAVE, N.M. (AP) -- Hundreds of feet beneath Earth's surface, a few seasoned cave explorers venture where no human has set foot. Their headlamps illuminate mud-covered walls, gypsum crystals and mineral deposits. The real attraction, though, is under the... |
Western governors offer greenhouse emissions plan
 SALEM, Ore. (AP) -- Seven Western states are joining four Canadian provinces to propose a plan to limit greenhouse gas emissions through use of a "cap and trade" system. The draft plan, made public Wednesday by Oregon Gov. Ted Kulongoski's office, is aimed at gradua... |
Unknown disease killing off Florida's state tree
 MIAMI (AP) -- The sabal palm, Florida's state tree, is under attack by a microscopic killer that has scientists stumped. An unknown but growing number of sabal palms in the Tampa Bay area have died from a mysterious disease that researchers are struggling to identif... |
Researcher says Gulf dead zone bigger than ever
HOUSTON (AP) -- A "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas-Louisiana coast this year is likely to be the biggest ever and last longer than ever before, with marine life affected for hundreds of miles, a scientist warned. "It's definitely the worst we've seen... |
McKusick, pioneer in medical genetics, dies at 86
 TOWSON, Md. (AP) -- Dr. Victor A. McKusick, a key architect of the Human Genome Project and a winner of the National Medal of Science, has died. He was 86. Officials at Johns Hopkins University, where McKusick was a professor of genetics, said he died Tuesday in Tow... |
Judge: EPA must regulate ship water discharge
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- An appeals court Wednesday upheld a ruling ordering the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate the water discharged from ships as a way to protect local ecosystems from invasive species. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it agreed... |
Expert warns wheat residue too valuable to lose
SPOKANE, Wash. (AP) -- Times are good for wheat farmers, but they should resist the urge to harvest their crop residue and sell it for ethanol production, a federal researcher says. Leaving wheat residue on the ground helps preserve soil while harvesting the residue... |
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