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Author Archives: Janet Raloff

What is a patent?

By Janet Raloff / March 20, 2013

Even ideas can be stolen, which is why they need patent protection. Credit: istockphoto

Patents protect intellectual property from theft

Posted in Science & Society, Teaching Science | Tagged creations, intellectual property, invent, inventions, licensing, novelty, paperclip, patent, patent law, plant breeding, plants, property theft

Deadly new virus emerges

By Janet Raloff / March 19, 2013

Microscopic photo of the new germ, shown in false color. Credit: NIAID/NIH

A mysterious infection has been spreading for almost a year

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged CDC, Centers for Disease Control, coronavirus, epidemic, Eric Snijder, genes, germs, getinvolved, Gwen Stephens, immune system, immunity, infections, inflammation, Leiden University Medical Center, lung disease, microbiology, Mohamed Zaki, mucus, mutate, mutations, pandemic, pneumonia, Saliva, SARS, Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health, Susan Gerber, Tina Saey

Predators as climate helpers

By Janet Raloff / February 18, 2013

This freshwater stickleback eats the tiny animals in stream water that graze on plants and algae. This predation allows those plants and algae to collect and store carbon, rather than letting it escape into the atmosphere. Credit: Nicole Bedford, UBC

In lakes and streams, fish and insects can help protect aquatic plants that gobble up greenhouse gas

Posted in Earth & Sky, Environment & Pollution, Weather & Climate | Tagged algae, bromeliad, carbon dioxide, climate, damselfly, ecology, ecosystem, food chain, food web, getinvolved, global warming, grazers, greenhouse gases, James Estes, John Richardson, phytoplankton, ponds, predators, primary production, Santa Cruz, stickleback, stonefly, streams, topstories, Trisha Atwood, trophic levels, University of British Columbia, University of California, zooplankton

Meteor explodes over Russia

By Janet Raloff / February 18, 2013

This streak of light shows the meteor’s entry into Earth’s atmosphere. The image was captured by a European weather satellite. Credit: EUMETSAT

Surprise: No one saw it coming

Posted in Earth & Sky, Space | Tagged asteroids, atomic bomb, celestial objects, Chelyabinsk, getinvolved, Hiroshima, infrasound, kilotons, Margaret Campbell-Brown, meteor, meteorite, NASA, National Atmospheric and Space Administration, orbital debris, Russia, Russian Academy of Sciences, shock wave, sonic boom, topstories, Western Ontario University

Piercing a buried polar lake

By Janet Raloff / January 29, 2013

This 1,000-meter hose — spooled onto an enormous and very heavy container — was used as a drill to pierce deeply through Antarctica’s ice. Credit: J. Raloff/Science News for Kids

Researchers in Antarctica drilled through a half-mile of ice to reach water that hasn’t had contact with the atmosphere for thousands of years.

Posted in Earth | Tagged Antarctic Sun, Antarctica, bacteria, Brent Christner, ecology, ecosystems, Frank Rack, germs, getinvolved, hot-water drill, ice sheet, Jill Mikucki, John Priscu, Lake Ellsworth, Lake Vostok, Lake Whillans, Louisiana State University, Martin Siegert, microbes, microbiology, polar science, South Pole, subglacial lakes, Tristy Vick-Majors, University of Bristol, University of Montana, University of Nebraska, University of Tennessee, viruses, WISSARD

Exhaled air: A problem in buildings?

By Janet Raloff / October 30, 2012

Classrooms are one environment where carbon dioxide levels can be high. They’re also one of the last places anyone would want to risk harming reasoning abilities and thought processes. Credit: iStockphoto

New studies suggest carbon dioxide that accumulates in classrooms could limit how well the brain processes information, lead to more student absences

Posted in Environment & Pollution | Tagged air pollutant, air pollution, air quality, Architectural Energy Corp., brain, Budapest University of Technology and Economics, carbon dioxide, CO2, cognition, concentration, decision making, Environmental Health Perspectives, exhale, getinvolved, indoor air, László Kajtár, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Mark Mendell, office buildings, Roger Hedrick, room air, school absences, schools, sickness, topstories, ventilation, William Fisk

The first moon walker

By Janet Raloff / August 29, 2012

Neil Armstrong made history in 1969 when he planted his feet — and a flag — on the moon

Posted in Space | Tagged Apollo 1, Apollo 11, Barack Obama, Buzz Aldrin, Charles Bolden, cosmonauts, Eagle lander, Edward White, feature, Michael Collins, moon walk, NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Neil Armstrong, Roger Chaffee, Sea of Tranquility, topstories, Virgil Grissom, Vladimir Komarov, X-15

New Jurassic flier

By Janet Raloff / August 23, 2012

An artist’s depiction of what the new pterosaur might have looked like.
Credit: M. Van Rooijen

Amazingly well-preserved fossil depicts a novel flying reptile from the age of dinosaurs

Posted in Dinosaurs & Fossils | Tagged 150 million, Bellubrunnus, Brunn, David Hone, dinosaur, flying, fossil, getinvolved, Jurassic, pterosaur, Rhamphorhynchus, Solnhofen, topstories, University of Bristol

Python-palooza!

By Janet Raloff / August 22, 2012

Monster-sized Burmese python bearing record-number of eggs retrieved in the Florida Everglades

Posted in Animals | Tagged accelerometer, adaptations, Burmese python, Davidson College, DNA, ecology, environmental science, Everglades, feature, Florida Keys, Florida Museum of Natural History, giant snakes, GPS, Kenneth Krysko, Kristen Hart, mercury, Michael Dorcas, national park, P-52, P51, radio tracking, salt water, Skip Snow, topstories, U.S. Geological Survey, USGS

Curiosity lands on Mars!

By Janet Raloff / August 8, 2012

NASA successfully delivered a $2.5 billion robotic vehicle to Mars, one that will explore for signs that the planet might once have hosted life

Posted in Space | Tagged Adam Steltzner, alien, Charles Bolden, Charles Elachi, Curiosity, feature, Gale Crater, John Grotzinger, Mars, Mount Sharp, Nadia Drake, NASA, plutonium, rover, Savannah McCoy, Tomas Martin-Mur, topstories

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