TOP 100 CAMPING SITES
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| NOAA predicts tamer hurricane season but cites some forecast uncertainty The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today forecast a hurricane season (June to November) in the Atlantic tamer than the one in 2008, which featured 16 storms severe enough to be named. But NOAA's hedging its bets, noting in a statement that "global weather patterns are imposing a greater uncertainty in the 2009 hurricane season outlook than in recent years." [More] rss.sciam.com |
Senate Republicans take aim at climate bill Last month, the climate bill came out of the House of Representatives as a bloated 1,400-page document that experts say has little chance of slowing global warming. [More] rss.sciam.com |
News Scan Briefs: Killer Smile Killer Smile A toxin that forces a condemned victim to smile really seems to exist. The Greek bard Homer coined the term "sardonic grin" after ceremonial killings that supposedly took place in Sardinia, where Phoenician colonists gave to elderly people who could no longer take care of themselves and to criminals an intoxicating potion that put a smile on their face. (They were then dropped from a high rock or beaten to death.) Scientists at the University of Eastern Piedmont in Italy and their colleagues think they now have identified the herb responsible: hemlock water dropwort ( Oenanthe crocata ), which is common on Sardinia, where it is popularly known as "water celery." Their analysis revealed the presence of highly toxic chemicals in the plant that could make facial muscles contract into a grimace, or rictus. The finding appears in the May 22 Journal of Natural Products . --Charles Q. Choi [More] rss.sciam.com |
Pirate Economics?: Captain Hook Meets Adam Smith Will Turner : “If we can outrun her, we can take her. We should turn and fight.” Captain Jack Sparrow : “Why fight when you can negotiate?” [More] rss.sciam.com |
Trying to keep Rudolph, and his fellow reindeer, from going down in history Yes, Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. But if we're not careful, his reindeer could soon be nothing more than a myth. [More] rss.sciam.com |