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A Few of Our Favorite Things

By ScienceNOW Staff
ScienceNOW Daily News
1 January 2008

2007 was chock-full of fun and fascinating science stories. Here are some of our staff and reader favorites that appeared on ScienceNOW.

Alvin submersible

Houston, We Have a Phone Call

What did the oceanographer say to the astronaut? Scientists got a chance to find out last January when researchers orchestrated the first phone call from deep sea to space. Now as long as telemarketers don't get ahold of the number …

Dog

Fido Can Place Your Face

When your dog hears your voice, he forms a mental image of you. To make the find, researchers trained dogs to watch videos on a computer while being videotaped. (Who says canines aren't ready for the digital age?)

Man and woman talking

Talk About a Gender Stereotype

Guys, think your girlfriend talks too much? Gals, wish your guy would open up a bit more? It turns out there's not much difference in the average number of words men and women utter in a day.

Beam splitter

After a Short Delay, Quantum Mechanics Becomes Even Weirder

Just when you thought advanced physics couldn't get any stranger, researchers have shown that an observer can change the way light behaves—even after the light has been measured.

Baby in front of TV

Educational Videos Drain Baby Brains

Could videos designed to make your baby smarter actually be making her dumber? That's what one team found, much to the consternation of one high-profile company.

Lap dancer

Something in the Way She Moves?

In one of our more provocative stories this year, researchers found that lap dancers earn bigger tips when they're ovulating. Don't pretend you didn't read the article—it was one of our most popular items.

Rat and Thinker

The Rodent Who Knew Too Much

Give rats some credit: They're smart enough to know how dumb they are. When the tests researchers gave them got too hard, the rodents knew when to throw in the towel.

Brian Greene and Lawrence Krauss

String Theory, With No Holds Barred

If physicists took up boxing, the results might look something like this. Last March, two of the field's biggest heavyweights argued the merits of string theory in front of a rapt audience—and our intrepid reporter had a ringside seat.

Paris Hilton

Stress, Pain, and Paris Hilton

Had enough Paris Hilton? Then you've got something in common with male mice, who were so freaked out by a cardboard cutout of the reality-show star, they forgot all about their pain.

Black hole

No More Black Holes?

The universe's strangest and most captivating object doesn't exist. So argues a team of physicists whose calculations could revolutionize astrophysics and resolve a long-standing paradox. At the very least, the work has captured the imagination of our readers, making this story our most read of all time. It's one of our favorites as well.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Overview on Biofuels From a European Perspective.
L. Ponti and A. P. Gutierrez (2009)
Bulletin of Science Technology Society 29, 493-504
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