Science News - January 3, 2009

Scientific Observations
“All of us have a tendency
to overgeneralize about the
significance of results obtained
from just a few species, such
as Drosophila, Caenorhabditis
elegans or rats. Model systems
are essential, of course, but
we have to remember that they
don’t always represent all other
species. If we spend too much
time with studies that only use
certain species, it’s easy to assume that the model systems are,
in a sense, role models, so that we expect every other species to
behave the same way.” MARLENE ZUK, PROFESSOR OF BIOLOGY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF
CALIFORNIA, RIVERSIDE, IN THE NOV. 25 CURRENT BIOLOG Y

The rise of land triggered by earthquakes lifts corals from water, killing them. Cycles of coral death reflect quake cycles, and southern Sumatra has just begun a new round of large quakes. See “Reef record suggests impending Sumatra quakes.”

Science Past | JANUARY 3, 1959

“FLYING BICYCLE” IN WORKS — Despite jibes and ridi-
cule, some leading British aviation scientists are plan-
ning to take a holiday from supersonic bombers and
jet airliners to produce the basic flying

machine that man has been striving to make through the centuries. They are working on a “flying bicycle,” a plane powered by a propeller driven by the muscles of the men inside it. They want to prove that Icarus was on the right

path when, according to Greek mythology, he cemented wings to his body and attempted to fly toward the sun.… The big problem has been to determine just how much manpower will be needed for take-off and to maintain the “flying bicycle” in flight.

Science Future

January 3 Quadrantid meteor shower at its peak. Visit www.imo.net/ calendar/2009

January 24 Learn about the science behind rock climbing at the Rochester Museum & Science Center in New York. Visit www.rmsc.org

BODY & BRAIN The judging brain is active in a different way when someone decides a person is guilty versus when someone decides a person’s punishment. See “In the brain, justice is served from many parts.”