Science News back issues from November 1987:
Diabetes aurtoimmunity seen, stopped.
Nov 07, 1987; ... Diabetes Autoimmunity Seen, Stopped Early use of a potent immune-system suppressor could stop the destruction of insulin-producing cells in diabetics, some of whom may then be able to discontinue insulin injections, according to reports this week on two recent clinical trials. ...
THA trials suspended, research probed. (tetrahydroaminoacridine)
Nov 07, 1987; ... THA trials suspended, research probed Food and Drug Administration (FDA) investigators are looking into the quality of early research on a highly publicized experimental drug for Alzheimer's disease. Clinical trials of the drug, called tetrahydroaminoacridine or THA, were ...
Amber yields samples of ancient air.
Nov 07, 1987; ... Amber yields samples of ancient air Air bubbles trapped in 80-million-year-old amber are giving scientists an unprecedented opportunity to sample and analyze the atmosphere from the earth's Cretaceous period, when dinosaurs roamed the planet. And the preliminary results are ...
Type A and coronary artery disease.
Nov 07, 1987; ... Type A and coronary artery disease Researchers may have added another piece to the puzzle concerning type A behavior's relationship with coronary artery disease. Type A behavior is characterized by impatience and anger. During stressful situations, it increases blood ...
The road to magnetic fusion? (International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor)
Nov 07, 1987; ... The road to magnetic fusion? Controlled thermonuclear fusion promises to supply a significant portion of the world's electricity by the middle of the 21st century, according to Starpower, a report issued last week by the Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), which advises ...
Saving Mt. Wilson. (Mt. Wilson Observatory)
Nov 07, 1987 ... Saving Mt. Wilson The Mt. Wilson Observatory, one of the oldest in the southwestern United States, has been mothballed since 1985. The Carnegie Institution of Washington, which owns Mt. Wilson Observatory, had decided to concentrate its resources on its observatory at Las ...
Enzyme blockers slay AIDS 'giant.'
Nov 07, 1987; ... Enzyme blockers slay AIDS "giants' Drugs that block a "sugar-trimming' enzyme important in the progression of AIDS can reduce the virus's ability to infect human blood cells and may provide a nontoxic therapy for the disease, scientists said this week. By inhibiting an enzyme ...
Pharoah's boat found in ancient pit.
Nov 07, 1987; ... Pharaoh's boat found in ancient pit American and Egyptian investigators last month drilled into a large pit at the base of the Great Pyramid of Cheops and found the disassembled planks of a wooden boat that has been sealed inside for 4,600 years. The team also took samples of the ...
Will sea animals help treat cancer? (didemnin B in sea squirt)
Nov 07, 1987; ... Will sea animals help treat cancer? Last week, two groups of researchers announced advances that may lead to anticancer medications from the sea. Researchers at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have reproduced the first such marine product to be tested on ...
Female fish fond of male's fiefdom.
Nov 07, 1987; ... Female fish fond of male's fiefdom To the female bluehead wrasse, it's not the brilliant coloration or amorous displays that make a male most desirable, but rather his real estate holdings. Females of this coral-reef species appear more concerned with where they mate ...
The spark: personal testimonies of creativity.
Nov 07, 1987; ... The Spark Personal testimonies of creativity Why some people are wellsprings of fresh ideas, while for others the creative juices flow at a mere trickle, has been the subject of decades of research: What are the psychological and cultural forces that mold creative ...
Typhoid vaccine declared a success.
Nov 07, 1987 ... Typhoid vaccine declared a success Taking a different approach to making vaccines against typhoid fever has produced a winner, scientists announced last week. Researchers at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHHD) in Bethesda, Md., reported that a ...
Inherited membranes predict Alzheimer's?
Nov 07, 1987 ... Inherited membranes predict Alzheimer's? Isolating the diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease from other forms of dementia can be difficult; a definitive identification still depends on autopsy reports. But a new study suggests that an abnormality of blood-cell membranes found among ...
An answer to the sphinx's problem. (research helps select replacement stones for restoration)
Nov 07, 1987; ... An answer to the sphinx's problem Researchers from the University of Louisville are attempting to save an endangered creature that has sat for almost 5,000 years as a guard to the great Egyptian pyramids. Carved out of a limestone knoll, the sphinx has spent most of the millennia ...
Managing moon math. (mathematical model of earth-moon system)
Nov 07, 1987; ... Managing moon math The moon has undoubtedly accompanied the earth throughout much of our planet's 4.5-billion-year history. But earth scientists have few clues to help detail when this relationship started and how the two bodies have affected each other. To learn more about the ...
You just can't wear them down. (craters larger than 20 kilometers in diameter are theoretically impervious to erosion)
Nov 07, 1987; ... You just can't wear them down Erosion has leveled the tallest mountains, gouged deep ravines into the hardest rock and even obliterated most meteor craters on earth. But George Boyajian and David Rowley of the University of Chicago believe they have found a match for this ...
Shroud dating isn't ironed out. (Shroud of Turin)
Nov 07, 1987 ... Shroud dating isn't ironed out A stubborn wrinkle has developed in plans to date one of Christendom's best-known relics, the Shroud of Turin, a linen cloth that some believe is imprinted with the bloody form of Jesus. When carbon-14 dating experts met in Turin with church ...
Ozone hole updates.
Nov 07, 1987 ... Ozone hole updates The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced last week that the second ground-based National Ozone Expedition (NOZE II) has corroborated NASA's earlier airborne and satellite results (SN: 10/10/87, p.230). This, says NSF, strengthens the conclusions of last ...
Preparing to pedal into history. (human-powered aircraft Daedalus to set distance record)
Nov 07, 1987 ... Preparing to pedal into history Next spring, an experienced, trained cyclist will step into a spindly, diaphanous aircraft in preparation for a historic flight. Starting from the rocky shores of the island of Crete in the Mediterranean, the pilot will pedal the aircraft about 70 ...
Eye, skin disorders may mean HIV infection. (human immunodeficiency virus)
Nov 14, 1987; ... Eye, Skin Disorders May Mean HIV Infection Certain eye lesions or skin conditions may be early physical signs that people are infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), according to reports released this week. Although these indicators have been associated ...
New assay identifies southpaw DNA. (oddly twisted, 'left-handed' segments of DNA)
Nov 14, 1987; ... New assay identifies southpaw DNA Researchers have developed the first test capable of spotting oddly twisted, "left-handed' segments of DNA inside living cells. The technique may help settle some long-standing questions about the prevalence of such DNA inliving cells and the ...
Legality of new NRC rule is challenged. (Nuclear Regulatory Commission rule on nuclear power plant emergency planning)
Nov 14, 1987; ... Legality of new NRC rule is challenged As expected, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) voted late last month to enact a rule change that will allow the licensing of nuclear power plants without state or local participation in emergency planning (SN: 10/31/87, p.279). The ...
Metabolism studies predict obesity.
Nov 14, 1987; ... Metabolism studies predict obesity Common sense might say that a "slow' metabolism makes a person more likely to become overweight. While scientists have found this a difficult notion to confirm, one group has shown that a low metabolic rate is indeed a risk factor for ...
Fossil skeleton gets seabird size record.
Nov 14, 1987; ... Fossil skeleton sets seabird size record Extensive fossil remains of the largest known seabird, weighing close to 90 pounds with a wingspan of between 18 and 19 feet, have been chipped out of a 30-million-year-old block of hardened sand and mud and identified by scientists at the ...
Pieces of a polyomino puzzle.
Nov 14, 1987; ... Pieces of a polyomino puzzle Polyominoes, which are the basis for thousands of mathematical puzzles, are shapes that cover connected squares on a checkerboard. One of the most intriguing of such puzzles involves proving that polyominoes of a certain shape can be laid down to form ...
Huge ice cube in Antarctic waters. (iceberg twice the size of Rhode Island)
Nov 14, 1987 ... Huge ice cube in Antarctic waters An iceberg twice the size of Rhode Island has broken off the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica, the National Science Foundation reported last week. In this infrared satellite image, taken Oct. 13, the arrow show the iceberg in the process of ...
Lipoprotein findings may solve one riddle ... and pose another.
Nov 14, 1987; ... Lipoprotein findings may solve one riddle . . . and pose another A surprising similarity in structure between two blood proteins could help explain how some people develop atherosclerosis, or hardening of the arteries, scientists announced this week. But in giving some answers, ...
Experimenting with 40 trillion electron-volts: it takes hundred of physicists several years to design experimental detectors for the Superconducting Super Collider. (includes related article on gravity and the SSC)
Nov 14, 1987; ... Experimenting With 40 Trillion Electron-Volts With much of the emphasis recently on the competition among 25 states to be the site of the proposed Superconducting Super Collider (SN: 9/12/87, p. 167), the ambitious physics of the project tends to get lost. But to anyone ...
Calculus reform: catching the wave?
Nov 14, 1987; ... Calculus Reform: Catching the Wave? Calculus is big, important--and in trouble. This was one of the messages that came out of a recent conference at the National Academy of Sciences in Washington, D.C., on the future of calculus education. The meeting attracted more than 600 ...
By consensus, MRI receives high marks. (magnetic resonance imaging)
Nov 14, 1987 ... By consensus, MRI receives high marks One of the more stunning recent developments in medical technology is magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), which can see tumors and other abnormalities inside the living body. Since scientists first used it in the early 1970s to examine animal ...
Smallpox-free for 10 years.
Nov 14, 1987 ... Smallpox-free for 10 years Health officials in the United States and abroad celebrated a landmark in medical history last month: It has been 10 years since the world's last naturally occurring case of smallpox was reported. Scientists are discussing the fate ...
Caveat-laden, the copper IUD returns. (intrauterine device)
Nov 14, 1987 ... Caveat-laden, the copper IUD returns In early 1988--two years after the last copper intrauterine device (IUD) was sold in the United States--the birth control method will make a commercial comeback. But physicians recommending the new IUD must provide manufacturers with written ...
They didn't carry out the trash. (archaeologists explore Valley Forge National Historic Park for site of Washington's camp)
Nov 14, 1987; ... They didn't carry out the trash Late in the fall of 1777, George Washington led a band of 11,000 ragged and recently defeated American soldiers to Valley Forge, Pa., where they weathered an unusually harsh winter and prepared for the springtime continuation of the U.S. War for ...
Periodic mass extinctions at random.
Nov 14, 1987; ... Periodic mass extinctions at random Gazing into the rock and fossil record, some geologists and paleontologists have found various periodicities to the mass extinctions that punctuate the earth's history. These extinctions wiped out 50 percent to 95 percent of the species living ...
Last stages of Love Canal cleanup.
Nov 14, 1987 ... Last stage of Love Canal cleanup Ten years ago, groundwater contaminated with dioxin and other toxins from the Love Canal chemical-disposal site seeped into the basements of Niagara Falls, N.Y., homes and brought the hazards of poorly managed industrial wastes to the national ...
Searching for the condors' next home. (habitat database used in planning where California condors will be released to the wild)
Nov 14, 1987 ... Searching for the condors' next home Now that scientists have captured all of the wild California condors, in hopes that the endangered birds will prosper and multiply in captivity (SN: 4/25/87, p.263), some researchers are turning their attention toward the habitat to which the ...
Neurons regenerate into spinal cord.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Neurons Regenerate Into Spinal Cord Neuroscientists this week reported that they have coaxed damaged sensory nerves to grow directly into the spinal cord, and that the regenerated nerves made functional connections inside the spine. The research, performed on rats, shows for the ...
Reactions to alcohol: cortisol clues. (cortisol level in blood used as measurement of predisposition to alcoholism)
Nov 21, 1987; ... Reactions to alcohol: Cortisol clues The natural sons of alcoholic fathers are thought to be a group at great risk for developing alcoholism later in life. Recent studies indicate that a substantial portion of this group shares a brain wave deficiency with chronic alcoholics and ...
Solar cells that work in the dark.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Solar cells that work in the dark Immerse a sliver of semiconducting material in an electrically conducting chemical soup and the result is a photoelectrochemical cell capable of converting sunlight directly into electrical or chemical energy. Recently, a group of researchers in ...
Rising sea levels: predictions and plans.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Rising sea levels: Predictions and plans Global warming as a result of the "greenhouse' effect will cause the water in the world's oceans to expand, raising the average sea level by 4 to 8 centimeters in the next 40 years, according to British researchers working with computer ...
Ring around a gravitational lens. (discovery of new astronomical object found to be optical illusion formed by gravitational lens)
Nov 21, 1987; ... Ring around a gravitational lens Early this year, two astronomers announced the discovery of what appeared to be huge arcs of luminous matter associated with two small clusters of distant galaxies (SN: 1/17/87, p.36). If real, these sausage-shaped arcs, which are hundreds of ...
Quakes hit Pacific coast.
Nov 21, 1987 ... Quakes hit Pacific coast Only five hours apart, two significant but unrelated earthquakes shook the Pacific coast of North and Central America on Nov. 16. The larger one, measuring between 6.8 and 6.9 on the Richter scale, struck in the Gulf of Alaska, shaking Anchorage, which ...
Signs of a 'something' circling star. (substellar object circling Giclas 29-38)
Nov 21, 1987; ... Signs of a "something' circling a star It is apparently too low in mass to be a star, yet too warm to be what we think of as a planet--if, that is, it is there at all. But observations made less than three months ago of a star known as Giclas 29-38 have provided perhaps the most ...
Better animal models for genetic defects.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Better animal models for genetic defects If researchers want animal models with one of 2,000 known genetic diseases affecting humans, they can expose laboratory animals to chemicals or radiation and have a million-to-one chance of getting the desired mutation in any given animal. ...
Spacebound again: the mixing of the fleet; NASA's launch plans for 1988 and beyond represent more than just the shuttles' return.
Nov 21, 1987; ... SPACEBOUND AGAIN: THE MIXING OF THE FLEET The unquestioned highlight of NASA's launch plans for 1988 is the expected return to service of the space shuttle, grounded ever since the Challenger explosion on Jan. 28, 1986. Almost as important, however, will be the agency's ...
Astronomy in West Germany goes supernational: the science of astronomy virtually demands international cooperation.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Astronomy in West Germany Goes Supernational Most nations, particularly those of Europe, can no longer afford the luxury of strictly national programs of research in the physical sciences. West Germany provides a stark reminder of this in a new review of its astronomy program. ...
Mild and woolly monkeys. (research on cooperative behavior of woolly spider monkeys)
Nov 21, 1987 ... Mild and Woolly monkeys The woolly spider monkey, or muriqui, is the largest primate in the Western Hemisphere and ranks among the most endangered primates in the World. Muriquis were once the omnipresent occupants of a forest that stretched along the southeastern coast of ...
Rising above a prehistoric handicap. (discovery of earliest known case of dwarfism)
Nov 21, 1987 ... Rising above a prehistoric handicap Bones recovered from a grave in southern Italy more than 20 years ago have provided scientists with evidence of the earliest known case of dwarfism in the human record. The partial skeleton is that of an adolescent male who lived about 11,150 ...
Partners for a noble element. (research on possible chemical bonding of helium)
Nov 21, 1987 ... Partners for a noble element The noble gases--helium, neon, argon and xenon--stand apart from other elements. As their title implies, these atoms resist forming chemical bonds. Carrying a full complement of electrons, they are generally content to lead solitary lives. Since ...
Staying on top in supercomputing.
Nov 21, 1987 ... Staying on top in supercomputing To stay ahead of the rest of the world in supercomputing capability, the United States should add to current levels of support at least $1.5 billion over the next five years, says a recent report summarizing the recommendations of a panel of ...
Speeding to a chess championship. (North American Computer Chess Championship)
Nov 21, 1987 ... Speeding to a chess championship A relative newcomer has captured the North American Computer Chess Championship held last month in Dallas. Chiptest, developed by graduate student Feng-hsiung Hsu of Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, in its second year of competition, won ...
Radon roundup results.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Radon roundup results The federal government has estimated that 20 percent of the homes in the United States have excessive amounts of radon--a radioactive gas that can seep into homes from certain types of rock and soil and, in high concentrations, can cause lung cancer. In an ...
Prehistoric Cameroon-style lake events.
Nov 21, 1987; ... Prehistoric Cameroon-style lake events In 1986, a large cloud of carbon dioxide burst out of Lake Nyos in Cameroon and swept down a hillside into a populated valley, killing 1,746 people (SN: 6/20/87, p.388). Two years earlier, a similar but less damaging event had occurred at ...
Searching for a breath of clean air. (American Forestry Association report on air pollution)
Nov 28, 1987; ... Searching for a Breath of Clean Air Air pollution poses a significant threat to the health and productivity of U.S. forests, says a report released last week by the American Forestry Association (AFA), based in Washington, D.C. The report recommends that Congress move as quickly ...
Cell grafts proceed, value uncertain. (fetal cell transplants)
Nov 28, 1987; ... Cell grafts proceed, value uncertain While scientists and public officials continue to debate the ethics of experimenting with human fetal cells, the first transplants of such cells into adults with Parkinson's disease are being performed. Earlier this month, with very little ...
Smoking raises female heart attack risk.
Nov 28, 1987; ... Smoking raises female heart attack risk Smoking cigarettes causes about half of all coronary artery disease cases among young and middle-aged women in the United States, according to a Harvard University study released last week. The study also showed that women who ...
Atherosclerosis KOs anti-spasm fighter. (endothelium-derived relaxing factor)
Nov 28, 1987; ... Atherosclerosis KOs anti-spasm fighter Scientists last week reported the discovery of a machanism by which atherosclerosis may trigger high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. The key appears to be atherosclerosis's disruption of the production of "endothelium-derived ...
Fish oil takes a dive? (conflicting on fish oil's effectiveness in reducing risk of heart disease)
Nov 28, 1987 ... Fish oil takes a dive? Changes in blood lipid, or fat, levels have been the driving force behind the current enthusiasm over fish oils as a convenient method to lower the risk of heart disease. Certain fatty acids in the oils called triglycerides apparently prevent blood clotting ...
New connections may be memorable. (research on learning-related anatomical changes in neural systems)
Nov 28, 1987; ... New connections may be memorable It seems logical that the learning process would involve the construction of new circuitry inside the brain. Scientists have been hard pressed, however, to pinpoint learning-related anatomical changes in neural systems. New research by ...
More than just a spot: facing an asteroid at last. (first images of an asteroid that show details on its surface)
Nov 28, 1987; ... More than just a spot: Facing an asteroid at last Nearly 4,000 asteroids have been catalogued since the discovery of Ceres began the list in 1801. Many of them have been studied by spectroscopy or polarimetry, and a very few by radar. But they are so small and distant that none ...
Huntington's marker. (marker for Huntington's disease gene)
Nov 28, 1987 ... Huntington's marker Scientists have located what they say is the best marker yet for the Huntington's disease gene. The new marker, called C4H, is a DNA sequence positioned about 4 million base pairs closer to the gene--which is located on chromosome 4--than the ...
Organic origami: scientists study the art of protein folding.
Nov 28, 1987; ... Organic Origami Scientists study the art of protein folding Imagine a string of large, colored beads. Keep in mind that yellow ones are attracted to each other like magnets, green ones are repelled by yellow ones, and pink ones are drawn weakly to blue ones, unless ...
New bone-loss risk factors in young women.
Nov 28, 1987; ... New bone-loss risk factors in young women Osteoporosis, or bone loss, afflicts about 20 million people in the United States, most of whom are postmenopausal women. But younger women can be affected as well. A new study suggests that osteoporosis may be linked to the occurrence ...
Radiation exposure: safe, eye on radon.
Nov 28, 1987; ... Radiation exposure: Safe, eye on radon Current annual levels of exposure to radiation from all sources in the United States are, on average, not dangerously high, according to a review of available data released last week by the National Council on Radiation Protection and ...
Alzheimer's: a cancer-like mechanism?
Nov 28, 1987; ... Alzheimer's: A cancer-like mechanism? For several years, Alzheimer's disease has been a much-discussed and somewhat controversial topic among neuroscientists. The progressively debilitating disease is now the fourth--and may soon be the third--leading cause of death in the United ...