Girls Equal Boys at Math [60-Second Science]

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

How Anecdotal Evidence Can Undermine Scientific Results [Scientific American ...

The recent medical controversy over whether vaccinations cause autism reveals a habit of human cognition--thinking anecdotally comes naturally, whereas thinking scientifically does not.

On the one side are scientists who have been unable to find any causal link between the symptoms of autism and the vaccine preservative thimerosal, which in the body breaks down into ethylmercury, the culprit du jour for autism’s cause. On the other side are parents who noticed that shortly after having their children vaccinated autistic symptoms began to appear. These anecdotal associations are so powerful that they cause people to ignore contrary evidence: ethylmercury is expelled from the body quickly (unlike its chemical cousin methylmercury) and therefore cannot accumulate in the brain long enough to cause damage. And in any case, autism continues to be diagnosed in children born after thimerosal was removed from most vaccines in 1999; today trace amounts exist in only a few.

Looking for a Sign?: Scientifically (In)accurate Horoscopes [Scientific Ameri...

We Scientific Americans are emphatic empiricists. And although astronomy and astrology have common historical roots, the modern practice of astrology is total hooey. (And we say that only because we choose not to use stronger words than hooey in a family magazine.)

Nevertheless, some staffers were recently musing about what a horoscope would look like in our august pages. (Or September, even.) So here’s a proof-of-concept. It’s not based on science, because it’s impossible to have a horoscope based on science. But it’s science heavy. Specific predictions accompany individual zodiacal signs as per the form of the typical newspaper or magazine horoscope page (and shame on all you allegedly legitimate news outlets for running such garbage). Some of the predictions may seem intimately related to the sign in question. Even so, consider them all totally interchangeable, as the truly important aspect of the coordinates of your birth is the GDP at that time and place. And away we go.

Mystery of Why Northern Lights "Dance" May Be Solved [News]

People have long marveled at the majestic and mysterious northern lights that light up the skies over the polar regions of countries like Canada and in Scandinavia. Scientists have known for years that these undulating auroras are caused by a storm of charged particles high above Earth. And although a sight to behold, the forces triggering these lights can endanger satellites and air travelers near the poles. But researchers were in the dark about just what forces acted on these so-called magnetic substorms to produce the shimmering lightshows that dazzle us--until now.

Scientists have debated for decades whether local electrical disruptions in Earth's magnetic field or far-flung happenings in the so-called magnetotail (the tapering region of the magnetic field that points away from the sun) lead to the flare-ups of these substorms and their associated auroras.

Shrimp fossil tells of once (and future?) temperate Antarctic [60-Second Scie...

Was the Antarctic once a balmier place? Researchers report in the British journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B that a fossil of a tiny crustacean offers proof that it had a relatively toasty clime as recently as 14 million years ago. The rocks in eastern Antarctica's Dry Valleys region yielded the fossil of an ostracod (seen at left)--a shrimp-like crustacean that lived in an ancient Antarctic lake seen at left. The tiny crustaceans need liquid water to survive--unavailable in today's Antarctic where temps average -13 degrees Fahrnenheit (-25 degrees Celsius), but possible eons ago when the climate there was more like Alaska's. The living relatives of the ancient critter don't get any closer to Antarctica than the surrounding seas, but the fossil indicates that the bone dry landscape, often compared to that of Mars, once was warm enough to have water. What it doesn't reveal is what caused the climate shift, a process that may be reversing itself at present.

Aging May Be Controlled by Brake and Accelerator Genes [News]

Can we tweak certain genes to stave off the aging process--or, conversely, to speed it up? New research indicates that it may one day be possible. [More]

A Shark Tale: Are These Mighty Ocean Predators in Trouble? [News]

Forget Jaws. The scariest thing about sharks is their tenuous future.

Though often misperceived as villainous denizens of the deep, these top predators play an important role in preserving the balance of the ocean's ecosystems by keeping their prey's populations in check.

Supernova Caught Red-Handed Seen as Missing Link [News]

Researchers have offered a new explanation for an unprecedented stellar explosion caught in the act earlier this year. [More]

Gas-Free Horizon--An Update on Plug-In Cars [EarthTalk]

Dear EarthTalk: Should we expect to see “plug-in” hybrid cars anytime soon? I’ve been hearing they are on the horizon but I wonder if that means in one year or 10.-- Bill A., Stratford, CT

A Tale of Two "Spam Kings" [News]

Law enforcement has for years struggled to keep up with cyber crooks who use computers and networks to commit their crimes--whether it's theft, extortion or fraud. Cyber criminals are a slippery bunch, adept at covering their digital fingerprints to stay one step ahead of the law. One of the most effective ways of fighting any crime is to discourage would-be criminals by making an example of lawbreakers. [More]