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You Asked: Are foam puzzle mats toxic for children?
There was a question about the possible toxicity of the popular foam puzzle mats that children play with and on. The concern is about exposure to formamide being released. This chemical is used in the...
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Making it up
Several people have sent me this video of a Harvard student "inventing" a 3-D printer that cranks out cosmetics at home. She starts out by telling us that the cosmetics industry, a $55 billion annual...
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Electronic Waste
Some people are concerned about radiation from cell phones possibly causing brain tumours. Others worry about exposure to wi-fi causing cancer. And now I’m getting questions about whether cell phones...
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Exoplanets
I’ve long been fascinated by space travel. I think I was first turned onto the idea back around 1957 with one of the first television shows I remember watching. “Rocky Jones, Space Ranger” was a kind...
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Thomas Donaldson and cryonics
Most people would like to keep their heads. But don't count Thomas Donaldson among them. This mathematician and computer consultant wanted his cut off. And he wanted it to be done while he was still...
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Space molecules are branching out
In a paper published in this week’s issue of Science, astronomers from the Max Planck institute, the University of Cologne (Germany) and Cornell University (USA), announced to have for the first time...
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The oPhone
Your cell phone wakes you up in the morning. No big deal. You reach over to turn off the alarm, touch another button, and suddenly the smell of freshly brewed coffee wafts into your nose. But no point...
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Seeds of Hope
Why would anyone oppose a technology that dramatically increases crop yields and protects farmers from excessive exposure to pesticides? Because of irrational fears about the technology involved, which...
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A Tale of Two Bracelets
This is a tale of two bracelets. One brandishes flagrant nonsense, the other flirts with some clever science. We begin with a perplexing question I was asked while wandering through a mall in Phoenix....
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Plastics
"I hate plastics. We should get rid of them.” So began an email I received. The correspondent went on to talk about how plastics are a plague on the environment, how they contain chemicals that...
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