Tagged: science

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Krulwich Wonders...
7:58 am
Thu July 12, 2012

Thinking Too Much About Chalk

Originally published on Wed August 1, 2012 11:31 am

One day, the great novelist and essayist G. K. Chesterton decided to go sketching. He brought his colored chalks, his reds, blues, yellows and greens to a hill in South England, but he forgot to bring white. Damn, he thought, what an idiot, to leave out the crucial one. "Without white," he wrote, "my absurd little pictures would be...pointless." What to do? "I sat on the hill in a sort of despair."

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The Salt
7:41 am
Thu July 12, 2012

Nightly Glass Of Wine May Protect Boomer Women's Bones

Credit / iStockphoto.com
Cheers! Moderate drinking might slow age-related bone loss in women.

Originally published on Fri July 13, 2012 9:00 am

It's well-known that exercise is good for our bones, even as we age, but how about that nightly glass of wine?

A new study of women in their 50s and early 60s finds that moderate alcohol consumption may help prevent bone loss. The women in the study consumed about 1 1/2 drinks per day.

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AIDS: A Turning Point
2:06 am
Thu July 12, 2012

'Treatment As Prevention' Rises As Cry In HIV Fight

Originally published on Thu July 12, 2012 11:21 am

AIDS researchers, policymakers and advocates are increasingly convinced that treating HIV is one of the best ways of preventing its spread.

The rallying cry is "treatment as prevention," and it's the overarching theme of this month's International AIDS Conference in Washington, D.C.

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Around the Nation
2:05 am
Thu July 12, 2012

Waste Not, Want Not: Town To Tap Sewers For Energy

Credit Conrad Wilson for NPR
Brainerd Public Utilities' Scott Sjolund at a sewer site. Sewers around the city were monitored to gauge the amount of potential energy flowing through the system.

Originally published on Thu July 12, 2012 11:21 am

Most Americans use electricity, gas or oil to heat and cool their homes. But the small city of Brainerd, Minn., is turning to something a bit less conventional: the sewer.

As it turns out, a sewer — the place where a city's hot showers, dishwashing water and organic matter end up — is a pretty warm place. That heat can generate energy — meaning a city's sewer system can hold tremendous potential for heating and cooling.

It's just that unexpected energy source that Brainerd hopes to exploit.

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The Salt
2:58 pm
Tue July 10, 2012

Cranberry Juice For Urinary Tract Infections? It Really Can Help

Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Cranberry Antioxidant Punch

Native Americans and Pilgrims were onto something when they turned to cranberries as an infection fighter. American settlers believed the bitter food could stave off scurvy. But there's more than just Vitamin C in this indigenous berry.

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