Science News back issues from September 1996:
New dye adds depth to data storage. (cubic centimeter of dyed polymer can store 1 trillion bits of data)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996; ... One cubic centimeter of a new material can potentially hold as much information as 1,000 CD-ROMs, researchers announced last week. The material, a transparent polymer impregnated with a specially synthesized fluorescent dye, achieves this capacity-1 trillion bits of data-by storing ...
Feel like hibernating? Blame the brain. (hypothalamic suprachiasmatic nucleus regulates hibernation)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996; ... For many people, a nap by the fire makes even the worst cold weather bearable.For animals, however, surviving a winter often requires spending days on end at unusually cool body temperatures in a torpid condition.What prompts animals to begin and end hibernation has long ...
Images hint at seeds of a giant galaxy.
Sep 07, 1996; ... This could be the start of something big.Peering far back in cosmic time, the Hubble Space Telescope has spied a group of 18 diminutive youngsters that may represent the building blocks of a giant galaxy like the Milky Way. Huddled together, these starry bodies appear poised to ...
Results from a solar cycle of neutrino data. (Japan's Kamiokande neutrino detector collected data throughout 11-year solar cycle)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996; ... Since it began watching the sun in 1987, Japan's Kamiokande neutrino detector has provided data important for understanding how nuclear fusion reactions power the sun and for testing theories of stellar evolution. Fusion reactions in the sun's core produce huge quantities of neutrinos, ...
Do old brain cells die?
Sep 07, 1996; ... Why do so many people become more forgetful as they age? For 2 decades, scientists have held to a simple, and therefore appealing, hypothesis: Age-related memory difficulties result from a gradual loss of cells in the hippocampus, a brain area long associated with memory formation and ...
Peanut allergy found common and increasing.(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... An allergic sensitivity to peanuts may afflict 1 in 100 preschoolers-and the number of people plagued by this allergy seems to be rising, new studies indicate.Researchers at St. Mary's Hospital in Newport, on the Isle of Wight, studied nearly all of the children born in 1989 or ...
Cow's milk not linked to early diabetes.
Sep 07, 1996; ... New parents from diabetes-prone families take note: A study has found that feeding cow's milk to your infant may not raise his or her risk of diabetes after all.The new study casts doubt on a flurry of recent reports indicating that cow's milk increases a child's chances of ...
Infants tune up to music's core qualities. (music preferences clear at young ages)
Sep 07, 1996; ... Babies may not know the difference between Beethoven and Boys II Men, but don't underestimate their musical judgment. Infants perceive pairs of musical tones just as adults do, finding certain acoustic duos pleasant and others jarring, a new study finds.People may possess innate ...
The big question: giant ears await alien broadcasts. (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence project; includes related article on Fermi's Paradox)(Cover Story)
Sep 07, 1996; ... The radio telescopes of Pocahontas County hum like giant refrigerators as they point their faces above the white pine, red maple, and oak forest of West Virginia. With a crop of eight big, dish-shaped antennae, the National Radio Astronomy Observatory at Green Bank seems misplaced in this ...
Growth hormone given to normal kids. (children other than those with growth deficiencies or chronic kidney failure receiving growth hormone)(Biomedicine)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... When scientists introduced synthetic human growth hormone in 1985, the triumph was tempered by concerns about whether the substance would be overprescribed.Would its use be restricted to the 14,000 children in the United States with growth hormone deficiency? Or would doctors ...
Estrogen cuts risk of Alzheimer's. (estrogen replacement therapy reduces risk of Alzheimer's disease by as much as 40%)(Biomedicine)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... Women who take estrogen supplements to relieve the discomforts of menopause reap many additional benefits, ranging from protection against heart disease and osteoporosis to heightened short-term memory and a greater capacity to learn new tasks (SN: 2/4/95, p. 74).Now researchers ...
Forgotten past, remembered self. (memory of personality characteristics remain intact during period of amnesia in two patients)(Behavior)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... An 18-year-old female, referred to as W.J. by researchers, hit her head in a fall and suffered a concussion. Brain scans showed no damage, but she complained of concentration and memory difficulties. In fact, W.J. had forgotten much of what had happened in her life during the previous 4 ...
Lives on the edge. (homeless and low-income mothers more likely than others to have been abused)(Behavior)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... A survey of homeless and low-income mothers in Worcester, Mass., highlights some harsh realities of their lives. Along with average incomes considerably below the federal poverty level, women in both groups report scant education and job training, poor physical health, large numbers of ...
The light at the bottom of the ocean; oceanographers struggle to explain a strange glow from seafloor vents.
Sep 07, 1996; ... Oceanographers struggle to explain a strange glow from seafloor ventsThousands of meters below the ocean waves, an exotic source of light shines softly in the stygian depths. Though imperceptible to human eyes, this pale illumination has nonetheless served as a beacon, drawing ...
Gels can give drugs a timely release. (biodegradable polymer coating releases drugs only when they reach large intestine)allows release of(Chemistry)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996; ... No one likes to get shots, but some drugs can't be swallowed. Stomach acid and enzymes break down proteins, including insulin and other hormones, which would also be poorly absorbed in the stomach because of their high molecular weight.Both doctors and patients would like to have ...
Contacts for aging baby boomers' eyes? (new technique makes contact lenses more practical for people who are far-sighted)(Chemistry)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... Some people say your eyesight is the first to go. You have to hold books and newspapers at arm's length to read them. When your arms get too short for that to work, there's no denying it: You've got presbyopia, more commonly known as far-sightedness. Contact lens makers recognize this fact ...
New laws rewrite rules on pesticides.... (new enrironmental laws supplement Delaney Clause of the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act)(Science and Society)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... On Aug. 3, President Clinton signed into law environmental legislation designed to get around some inflexible language in the nation's primary food safety law. The controversial measure had prohibited residues of cancer-causing pesticides in processed foods if the residues were more ...
...And safeguarding drinking water. (President Clinton signs bill to reauthorize Safe Drinking Water Act)(Science & Society)(Brief Article)
Sep 07, 1996 ... On Aug. 6, President Clinton signed the second major environmental bill to emerge from Congress-a reauthorization of the Safe Drinking Water Act. This new law increases consumer information by requiring municipal water suppliers to tell their customers what contaminants have been detected in ...
It takes two compasses to fly right. (research into how migratory birds use their internal compasses that use both magnetic and celestial data)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... Drivers who never admit they're lost or ask for directions may fancy themselves as skilled as migrating birds. These winged travelers can stay on course for thousands of miles, thanks to two internal compasses that track magnetic and celestial cues.Sometimes, however, these ...
Faulty circuit may trigger schizophrenia. (neural damage to a brain circuit that extends from the rear cerebellum to the prefrontal cortex may be the cause of schizophrenia)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... Scientists increasingly suspect that schizophrenia, a severe and often debilitating mental disorder that usually emerges in young adulthood, reflects disruptions of brain development that originate before or shortly after birth.The exact nature of this neural damage remains poorly ...
Banned pollutant's legacy: lower IQ's. (it is believed that exposure of pregnant women to polychlorinated biphenyls can cause lower intelligence levels in their children)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... One by-product of the United States' industrial culture is the ubiquitous contamination of the environment-and our bodies-with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). Exposure to these persistent, now-banned chemicals begins before birth, as a woman's blood delivers to the fetus some of the PCBs ...
New chemical filters block laser bursts. (a newly tested molecule may be used in goggles that can protect the eyes from reflected laser light)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... A laser can be both an invaluable tool and an occupational hazard. A stray flash of light reflected off a shiny surface can cause permanent damage to inadequately protected eyes.People who work with lasers may soon benefit from the light-blocking properties of a newly tested ...
The trouble with condoms. (women who have sex more than once a week with partners who use condoms with the spermicide nonoxynol-9 may be three times as likely to get a urinary tract infection)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... In the mid-1980s, physicians began noticing high numbers of urinary tract infections among women who had been using diaphragms. When repeated refittings didn't solve the problem, researchers eventually linked the trend to a popular spermicide applied to the contraceptive device. ...
Slew of distant galaxies tells a cosmic tale. (a spate of distant galaxies that may have taken up to 85% of the age of the universe for their light to reach Earth are discovered)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... On images packed with celestial objects, distant galaxies look no different from the faint smudge of common, nearby galaxies. Yet these bodies lie several billion light-years from Earth and reveal what the universe was like at a much earlier age.As recently as a year ago, ...
El Nino is bashful about revealing its age. (a study of ancient mollusk shells in Peru is helping scientists determine the origin of the Pacific Ocean weather pattern El Nino)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... Thoroughly sated and ready for sleep, a resident of coastal Peru hoisted himself from his campsite and dumped a pile of empty scallop shells onto a nearby trash heap. Six thousand years later, archaeologists digging through the leftovers of that meal report that they have discovered the ...
An illuminating partnership for squid. (glowing squid)
Sep 14, 1996; ... The squid Euprymna scolopes, a denizen of the shallow waters surrounding the Hawaiian archipelago, provides a shining example-literally-of symbiosis in action. The cephalopod's symbiotic partners are the bioluminescent bacteria Vibrio fischeri.These bacteria colonize a specialized ...
Registering visitors to metal surfaces. (a new process for determining molecular and atomic locations atop metal surfaces)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996; ... The place a foreign atom or molecule occupies on a surface can have an important effect on chemical processes. Now, researchers have a new tool for determining whether such a visitor sits on top of the substrate atoms or in the crevices between them.Gerhard Meyer and his colleagues ...
Tagged out: new markers for explosions may lay old safety questions to rest. (bomb taggants)(includes related article on taggants usage)
Sep 14, 1996; ... New markers for explosives may lay old safety questions to restBoth deliberate and indiscriminate in its destruction, a bomb is the terrorist's favorite weapon. Within the past 3 years, several high-profile bombings on U.S. soil have made that fact all too apparent: the World ...
Finding a partner for fusin at last. (research into the role the protein fusin, which sits atop immune cells, plays in HIV infection)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... Earlier this year, researchers identified a protein on the surface of immune cells that allows HIV, the AIDS virus, to infect the cells (SN: 5/11/96, p.293). The protein, called fusin, turned out to be the portal for only some strains of HIV, mainly those found in the late stages of AIDS ....
New twigs on the third branch of life. (gene sequence of a single-celled microorganism from the archaea group is uncovered)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... The single-celled microorganism Methanococcus jannaschii made headlines last month when scientists announced that they had fully sequenced its genes (SN: 8/24/96, p. 116). Interest in the microbe stems largely from its membership in a little-known group of microscopic organisms called the ...
Monkeying with fetal alcohol syndrome. (babies of women who drink alcohol during pregnancy are prone to brain damage even if they do not have the facial defects typical of the syndrome)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... As many as 1 woman in 500 who drink alcohol during pregnancy gives birth to a child afflicted with the physical facial abnormalities and mental retardation typical of fetal alcohol syndrome. To study how maternal alcohol consumption harms a fetus, researchers have generally turned to ...
Husband's liaisons put wife at risk. (women whose husbands have extramarital affairs are more at risk of cervical cancer due to the transmission of viral DNA and human papillomaviruses)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... A husband's extramarital affairs may put his wife at risk of cervical cancer, a new study finds.Researchers had previously shown that exposure to certain types of human papillomaviruses (HPVs) heightens a woman's risk of developing cervical cancer. They also knew that HPVs are ...
Hypertension drug linked to cancer? (elderly people taking calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure may be at greater risk for cancer)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... A drug commonly used to treat high blood pressure increases the risk of cancer in the elderly, according to the latest study on the controversial treatment.Beginning in 1988, Marco Pahor of the University of Tennessee in Memphis, researchers at the National Institutes of Health ...
Sponges and sinks and rags, oh my! Where microbes lurk and how to rout them.(includes related article on foodborne disease reporting)
Sep 14, 1996; ... Rags, Oh My! Where microbes lurk and how to rout themThink household germs, and chances are you'll think of the bathroom. . Yet when scientists from the University of Arizona in Tucson sample surfaces from kitchens and bathrooms in the same house, "consistently, kitchens come up ...
Solar system masquerade. (asteroid that orbits like a comet and an object with a comet's tail in the asteroid belt are discovered)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... Call them the great pretenders.Two solar system wayfarers that mask their true identity-one looks like an asteroid but orbits like a comet, while the other looks like a comet but orbits like an asteroid-were discovered last month.The first body, dubbed 1996 PW, has the ...
New gene sheds light on cell signaling. (a new gene cell that acts as a receptor is discovered in a maize plant)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... Researchers have thought that plant cells miss out on a useful form of communication because their walls block the entrance of large signal molecules. Now, a study on maize plants casts doubt on that theory, scientists report.Philip W. Becraft of Iowa State University in Ames and ...
Noses serve as windows to the brain. (the nose of a star-nosed mole is highly sensitive and has a large part of the brain area handling information from it)(Brief Article)
Sep 14, 1996 ... "Happy birthday to my nose," Jimmy Durante sang in honor of his prominent proboscis. An even more noteworthy nose is that of the star-nosed mole, researchers contend.The 22 pink, fleshy appendages fanning out around its diminutive nostrils make up what "may be one of the most ...
Better and cheaper porous carbon filters. (cross sections of activated carbon fibers identifies structure and enables researchers to tailor filters for specific uses)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996; ... Although activated carbon has been used for more than half a century to filter contaminants from air and water, scientists have only now imaged the twisting and turning pores that enable the adsorbent to do its job.Christian L. Mangun and James Economy of the University of Illinois ...
Battling evolution to regrow nerves. (lack of ability for immune cells to enter the central nervous system may be overcome)
Sep 21, 1996; ... Humans may have paid a stiff price for their complex brains: the well- known inability of the brain and spinal cord to generate new connections between nerve cells after an injury.To help explain how the mammalian central nervous system (CNS) evolved, researchers have theorized ...
Ganymede may have an aurora of its own. (moon of Jupiter shows evidence that it has a natural polar light display)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996; ... Auroras aren't just for planets anymore.Typically generated when a magnetic field sends charged particles crashing into a planet's atmosphere, the shimmering lights of an aurora grace the north and south polar skies of Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.It now ...
Gene pair may incite obesity, depression.
Sep 21, 1996; ... Genetic influences on human obesity remain poorly understood, but a provocative new study cites two genetic variations as contributing to that condition, as well as to depression and anxiety.Young adult women who have certain chemical alterations in regions that lie near and may ...
Entropy keeps small particles on edge. (research of the Second Law of Thermodynamics, which states that disorder increases, shows that particles can be lined up)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996; ... The second law of thermodynamics-which says that entropy, or disorder, always increases-is the bane of physics. Whether limiting an engine's efficiency or scrambling the socks in a drawer, entropy thwarts many a plan. Physicists have now turned the tables on entropy, however, using it to ...
The baddest of the bad cholesterols? (low-density lipids)
Sep 21, 1996; ... For some one-quarter to one-third of people in the United States with heart disease, most of the low-density lipoprotein (LDL)-the so-called bad lipoprotein-circulating in the blood takes the form of relatively small, unusually dense particles. Although test-tube studies had suggested that ...
Hepatitis falls to vaccine, malaria doesn't.
Sep 21, 1996; ... Two thousand years after Hippocrates first described the sickly yellow skin now recognized as a sign of hepatitis, doctors armed with a vaccine against hepatitis B-a common form of the serious liver infection-have succeeded in interrupting its transmission in a heavily infected population. ...
Nations consent to ban all nuclear tests. (the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty is approved by members of the United Nations General Assembly; provisions of the treaty are described)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996; ... Members of the United Nations' General Assembly voted last week to adopt a treaty barring nuclear detonations of any kind. A goal of negotiators for nearly 40 years, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) extends existing, less stringent agreements limiting the size and location of nuclear ...
Cloudy memories, sunny predictions. (research shows that people with Parkinson's disease have better memories than people with damaged hippocampuses)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... Many scientists hold that the brain houses a number of specialized memory systems. Now, evidence for the existence of two such systems emerges from a study that also illuminates the impact of Parkinson's disease on mental life.Parkinson's disease, which results in tremors and other ...
Wake up, sleepy brain. (dream research)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... Lying with one's head immobilized under a brain scanner and an intravenous tube in one's arm is not a pleasant way to doze off, but seven men did just that in the name of science. Their ability to snooze in the face of such indignities has yielded a view of what happens in the brain during ...
Breathing a life-sustaining liquid. (research shows that premature babies with lung problems may have a better chance of surviving if their lungs are treated with surfactant lubrication right after birth)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... The preemie's tiny chest rose and fell with the regularity of a metronome.Each breath was accompanied by a soft thump, the sound of the mechanical respirator force-feeding oxygen into the baby's underdeveloped lungs.Without such help, the infant would die. Even with ...
Is cholesterol a mood-altering lipid? (research shows that people with lower cholesterol levels may be more likely to attempt suicide)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... In a flurry of controversial studies over the past decade, researchers have found that people with low concentrations of cholesterol in their blood are more likely to attempt suicide than the rest of the population (SN: 3/11/95, p. 157). Now two teams of European researchers seem certain to ...
A sound way to spot tornadoes. (researchers accidentally find that sound sensors may detect tornadoes when they form when testing an avalanche-detection system)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... Atmospheric scientist Alfred J. Bedard Jr. and his colleagues were fine- tuning an avalanche-detecting system in June 1995 when their microphones picked up a strange rumble coming from the nearby Colorado plains. Only later, after checking measurements made by a Doppler weather radar, did ...
What the dinosaurs left behind. (paleontologist Karen Chin examines fossil dinosaur feces to better understand ecology of their times)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... When most paleontologists visit the Two Medicine Formation in Montana, they keep their eyes open for the bones of herbivorous dinosaurs, which populated this region 75 million years ago. Karen Chin, however, has something less glamorous on her mind. The graduate student from the University ...
The original Arkansas Traveler. (examination of geological formations and rocks shows that a formation from the southern United States drifted to central South America almost 500 million years ago)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... Anyone still disappointed about the outcome of the U.S. Civil War may welcome news of an earlier, more successful secession. A continental fragment of the southern United States apparently broke loose and roamed the seas nearly 500 million years ago. The rebellious strip eventually found a ...
Soil seen as missing sink. (theory that trees absorb carbon dioxide and put it in the ground accounts for missing atmospheric carbon dioxide)(Brief Article)
Sep 21, 1996 ... Over one-quarter of the gas emitted by fossil fuel combustion is missing from the atmosphere, confounding scientists' efforts to model climate change. New findings suggest that some of it may be under our feet."Soil is where it's at," says Jeffrey Andrews of Duke University in ...
Healing waters: flooding rivers to repent for the damage done by dams.(Cover Story)
Sep 21, 1996; ... Flooding rivers to repent for the damage done by damsIf Noah had been hanging around the Grand Canyon at the end of March, he'd probably have thought he was having one distorted flashback. He would have seen Department of the Interior Secretary Bruce Babbitt push a button ...
Microcosmic bang: mashing atomic nuclei to create a quark soup.
Sep 21, 1996; ... Mashing atomic nuclei to create a quark soupAccording to modern physics, the first micromoments of the Big Bang were a time of unimaginable extremes.No more than a cosmic spark, the universe was then so extraordinarily hot that the strong nuclear force was too weak to ...
Detecting a sound heartbeat.(technique developed for finding patterns in heartbeat intervals)(Brief Article)
Sep 28, 1996; ... At roughly one beat per second, the rhythm of the human heart can serve as a reasonably steady timekeeper. Subtle variations in that rhythm, however, may signal whether or not a heart is healthy.Reporting in the Sept. 26 Nature, Plamen C. Ivanov of Boston University and his ...
Human origins recede in Australia.(discovery of human occupation of Australia between 116,000 and 176,000 years ago)
Sep 28, 1996; ... People go way, way back Down Under. That, at least, is the contention of scientists who have uncovered preliminary evidence that humans lived in Australia far earlier than previously thought, sometime between about 116,000 and 176,000 years ago. What's more, the researchers report having ...
Ocean bacteria need iron with dinner.(iron plays role in regulating growth of ocean bacteria)(Brief Article)
Sep 28, 1996; ... Pumping iron to get big may be an activity most people associate with bodybuilders at the local gym, but the true champions of the art dwell in the world's oceans. There, phytoplankton bask in the sun's rays, absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and exhaling oxygen, while oceangoing ...
Life in the Jurassic: stability amid chaos.(some species were stable during Jurassic period)
Sep 28, 1996; ... The geological equivalent of the turbulent 1960s, the Jurassic proved a tumultuous time. During this period, from 205 million to 140 million years ago, Africa tore away from North America, leaving a yawning gap that would eventually grow into the Atlantic Ocean. Sea level and climate changed ...
How many genes does a bacterium need?(research on minimal gene set of single-celled organism)(Brief Article)
Sep 28, 1996; ... Take a look at today's bacteria. If push came to shove, how many of their genes could the microbes do without? Or to pose the query another way, what is the minimum number of genes sufficient for a modern bacterial cell?In years past, such questions would have elicited replies no ...
Rods enhance superconductor performance.
Sep 28, 1996; ... When it comes to synthesizing materials, not everyone strives for perfection.Superconductors are a case in point: The right kinds of defects, strategically incorporated into their crystal structure, can actually increase the electric current they can carry without resistance. ...
'Clean' water may infect swimmers.(fecal contamination of seawater under government limits can cause health problems to swimmers)(Brief Article)
Sep 28, 1996; ... People who go into water downstream from sewage treatment plants can develop gut-wrenching gastroenteritis from exposure to germs carried by feces. Now, a study also links sewage-derived wastes to flulike diseases and to ear problems in swimmers.A swimmer's risk of developing ...
New multiple sclerosis drug clears hurdle.(copolymer 1)
Sep 28, 1996; ... Multiple sclerosis (MS) begins as a tragic case of mistaken identity. In this autoimmune disease, white blood cells, the body's roving guardians against infection, view the fatty sheath surrounding nerve fibers as a threat.The cells promptly begin to digest bits of the nerves' ...
Live long and prosper.(tubeworms at ocean seeps found to grow more slowly that those at hydrothermal vents)(Brief Article)
Sep 28, 1996; ... Hydrothermal vents, those fissures where hot, mineral-laden water spews into the cold sea, aren't the only places on the ocean floor that host a surprising bounty of life. Many of the unusual life-forms spotted there- clams, tubeworms, mussels, and crabs, for example-also reside at ocean ...
Tackling sleeping sickness from within.(genetically engineered bacteria may rid tsetse fly of disease-causing bacteria)(Brief Article)
Sep 28, 1996; ... Throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the tsetse fly is the bearer of bad news. When it feeds, this blood-sucking insect can transmit parasites called trypanosomes into humans. The parasites cause sleeping sickness, a disease that attacks the nervous system and can lead to death. ...