National Academy Of Sciences
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This framegrab image from video, provided by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, shows soloist Yi-Jia Susanne Hou donning dark glasses so she can’t see the violin she’s blind testing in an experiment outside Paris in Sept. 2012. Ten world class soloists put old Italian violins, including multi-million dollar Stradivariuses, and newer cheaper ones to a blind scientific test. The results may seem off key to musicians and collectors, but the newer instruments won handily. Contrary to musical convention, a new scientific study found most of the violinists passed up older violins when the lights were dimmed and the musicians had to wear dark glasses. Most of them couldn’t even tell whether they were using old or violins just from the sound. The six old violins included five Stradivariuses. (AP Photo/Stefan Avalos, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)
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This framegrab image from video, provided by Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, shows soloist Ilya Kaler wearing welder glasses so he can’t see the violin during a test of old and new instruments outside Paris in Sept. 2012. Ten world class soloists put old Italian violins, including multi-million dollar Stradivariuses, and newer cheaper ones to a blind scientific test. The results may seem off key to musicians and collectors, but the newer instruments won handily. Contrary to musical convention, a new scientific study found most of the violinists passed up older violins when the lights were dimmed and the musicians had to wear dark glasses. Most of them couldn’t even tell whether they were using old or violins just from the sound. The six old violins included five Stradivariuses. (AP Photo/Stefan Avalos, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America)
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President Obama speaks at the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) 150th Anniversary, during their annual meeting in Washington on April 29, 2013. NAS was established in 1863 through a congressional charter signed by President Lincoln. It is a private, nonprofit organization charged with providing independent, objective advice to the U.S. government on matters related to science and technology. (Associated Press)
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Paul Locke, chairman of the committee that wrote a National Academy of Sciences report on the safety of mining uranium in Virginia, says "there are still many unknowns" about the safety of lifting a ban on mining the radioactive material. (Associated Press)
