Science News back issues from August 2007:
Slick death: oil-spill treatment kills coral.(This Week)(chemical dispersants)
Aug 04, 2007; ... Chemicals used to disperse marine oil slicks may harm corals more than the off itself does, according to a new study. The finding suggests that chemical dispersants should be used near reefs only as a last resort, when oil approaches a shoreline where it might devastate wildlife and plants ...
Waking up: brain stimulator spurs dramatic improvement years after injury.(This Week)
Aug 04, 2007; ... A man who spent 6 years in a minimally conscious state regained the ability to talk, eat, and move after doctors implanted electrodes deep in his brain. "The improvements were significant, particularly the communication, because it allowed him to reengage his world, says ...
Asian Forecast: hazy, warmer: clouds of pollution heat lower atmosphere.(This Week)
Aug 04, 2007; ... The murky clouds of smoke and soot that blanket many regions of Asia have heated the lower atmosphere there in recent decades as much as increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases have, a new field study suggests. Scientists have long argued about the net climatic ...
G whiz! Craft identifies source of faint saturnian ring.(This Week)(G ring)
Aug 04, 2007; ... Among Saturn's shimmering ice belts, the planet's G ring has proved the most puzzling. The very location of this faint, narrow ring, well beyond the planet's main ring system, has been a riddle ever since the two Voyager spacecraft spied it in 1980. The G ring lies more than 15,000 ...
Fatherless stem cells: scientific fraud involved an accidental advance.(This Week)(Woo Suk Hwang's research on creating stem cells from unfertilized egg cell)
Aug 04, 2007; ... South Korean researcher Woo Suk Hwang caused a scandal in 2005 by falsifying data about his attempts to make the first embryonic stem cells from cloned human embryos. However, new research shows that Hwang's team accidentally made stem cells by another method that some scientists believe ...
Soot sense: test tallies exposure to diesel pollution.(This Week)
Aug 04, 2007; ... Diesel exhaust from sources such as buses, trucks, and farm equipment is a major component of air pollution around the world and has been linked with lung cancer and other illnesses. Both the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Toxicology Program, the interagency program ...
Crinkle wrinkle.(This Week)(thin film wrinkles depending on its properties)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007; ... A thin film wrinkles differently depending on its thickness and elasticity--just as a prune forms wider, deeper wrinkles the thicker or less flexible its skin is. In this image, a droplet of water rests on a polystyrene film a quarter of a micron thick, itself floating on water. Surface ...
New clues: gene variations may contribute to MS risk.(This Week)(Multiple sclerosis)
Aug 04, 2007; ... Certain versions of two genes show up in multiple sclerosis patients more often than in people without the disease, researchers report. Although these variations modify the usual roles of the genes only in subtle ways, scientists suspect that they are part of a network of dozens of gene ...
Red-ape stroll: orangutans step into the evolutionary fray over how we became upright.(Cover story)
Aug 04, 2007; ... Look, up in the trees. A barrel-chested, long-limbed creature covered with wispy, reddish hair sits on a branch far above the ground. The animal rises to a fully erect posture, reaches up to grab an overhead branch for balance, and promenades across the precarious platform. Upon reaching a ...
Signs of life? Organisms' effects on terrain aren't all that easy to perceive.(geomorphologists)
Aug 04, 2007; ... Imagine our planet unmarred by humans: no buildings, no highways, no farms, no dams, no open-pit mines. Now, imagine the world suddenly swept clean of all life whatsoever: no plants, no animals, not a single microbe. Would the newly vacant landscape retain unmistakable evidence that life ...
Statin reduces dementia risk.(BIOMEDICINE)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... A popular anticholesterol drug cuts older adults' chances of developing dementia by more than half, according to a new review of 4.5 million medical records. Earlier research offered a mixed picture of cholesterol-reducing statins and their ability to prevent Alzheimer's disease ...
Shedding light on the precursor to a supernova.(ASTRONOMY)(eruption of supernova)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... By examining gas lit up by an exploding star, astronomers have obtained new insight into how a common type of supernova erupts. According to a widely accepted model, the stage is set for a type la supernova when a dense, Earthsize star called a white dwarf steals gas from a ...
TB medication offers pain relief.(BIOMEDICINE)(tuberculosis' D-Cycloserine)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... A drug used nearly half a century ago to treat tuberculosis may help people who experience chronic pain. The drug, an antibiotic called D-Cycloserine, reduces chronic-pain-like symptoms in rats. A. Vania Apkarian of Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill., and his colleagues ...
Light reaches deep in southeastern Pacific.(EARTH SCIENCE)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... An oceanographic survey of the southeastern Pacific has discovered a region where ultraviolet radiation penetrates deeper than has been measured in any other ocean locale. Sunlight streaming onto the ocean's surface is either absorbed by water molecules or dissolved substances, ...
More math helps young scientists.(SCIENCE & SOCIETY)(taking advanced high school math )(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... Apparently, high school math is the key to good grades in college science classes. A survey of more than 8,000 students from 74 colleges found that each additional year of high school math correlated with a 1-to-2-point advantage, on a 100-point scale, in college chemistry, ...
Gecko adhesive gets added mussel.(MATERIALS SCIENCE)(combining knowledge in making adhesives based on characteritics of mussels and geckos)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... Geckos walk up and down walls with the greatest of ease, thanks to tiny, spatula-shaped "hairs" on their feet that adhere and release (SN: 7/15/00, p. 47). Although materials researchers have made surfaces that borrow from the nanoscale design of gecko feet, the imitators' adhesive power ...
Metal spews from tires and brake pads.(ENVIRONMENT)(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... As well as tailpipe emissions, cars and other vehicles throw off metal pollutants from wear on various parts. Despite European regulations requiring cleaner materials in vehicles, a study in Stockholm shows that tires are a significant source of cadmium, while brake pads emit a variety of ...
Dinosaurs' gradual rise to dominance.(PALEONTOLOGY)(dinosauromorphs )(Brief article)
Aug 04, 2007 ... Fossil finds in the southwestern United States suggest that dinosaurs didn't quickly supplant the creatures they evolved from, as many paleontologists have assumed. The first dinosaurs evolved from reptiles called dinosauromorphs about 235 million years ago. Until recently, ...
Survival of the Sickest: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 04, 2007 ... SURVIVAL OF THE SICKEST: A Medical Maverick Discovers Why We Need Disease. SHARON MOALEM Can sunbathing reduce cholesterol levels? Did diabetes help humans survive the ice age? Moalem investigates these questions and others surrounding common illnesses. He explains why many ...
Einstein: A Biography.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 04, 2007 ... EINSTEIN: A Biography JURGEN NEFFE In translator Shelley Frisch's newly published English version of a 2005 German best seller, readers gain insight into the personal and professional lives of Albert Einstein--a man of enormous intelligence who had a surprisingly childlike ...
The Social Atom: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 04, 2007 ... THE SOCIAL ATOM: Why the Rich Get Richer, Cheaters Get Caught, and Your Neighbor Usually Looks Like You MARK BUCHANAN Common wisdom dictates that the laws of physics aren't directly applicable to human behavior. Buchanan begs to disagree. He suggests that to understand people, ...
Poincare's Prize: The Hundred-Year Quest to Solve One of Math's Greatest Puzzles.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 04, 2007 ... POINCARE'S PRIZE: The Hundred-Year Quest to Solve One of Math's Greatest Puzzles GEORGE G. SZPIRO In 1904, French mathematician Henri Poincare proposed the following problem: Imagine an ant crawling on a large surface. How would it know whether that surface were flat, spherical, ...
Breathing Space: How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 04, 2007 ... BREATHING SPACE: How Allergies Shape Our Lives and Landscapes GREGG MITMAN Watery eyes, runny noses, and sneezing fits are just a few of the symptoms that the more than 50 million allergy sufferers in the United States deal with each year. Mitman examines the roots of the ...
Here comes the sun.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Aug 04, 2007; ... When "Reaching for Rays: Scientists work toward a solar-based energy system" (SN: 5/26/07, p. 328) says that "scientists don't expect traditional silicon-based solar cells to become competitive with fossil fuels," one has to ask, "Ever?" Can anyone accurately predict the future price of ...
Skeletal discovery: bone cells affect metabolism.(This Week)(osteocalcin in osteoblasts)
Aug 11, 2007; ... If your blood glucose is out of whack, the problem may be in your bones. New research in mice shows that bone cells exert a surprising influence on how the body regulates sugar, energy, and fat. The discovery could lead to new ways to treat type 2 diabetes, a disease involving ...
Ferrets gone wild: reintroduced animals coming back in Wyoming.(This Week)
Aug 11, 2007; ... The first wild population of endangered black-footed ferrets that started from captive-bred animals, once feared to have died out, has survived and is growing, researchers say. The latest survey, from 2006, reports nearly 200 ferrets in Wyoming's Shirley Basin, says Martin ...
Bad for baby: new risks found for plastic constituent.(This Week)(bisphenol A)
Aug 11, 2007; ... Two animal studies demonstrate that early exposure to a chemical known to leach from baby bottles, the linings of food cans, and other plastic items can trigger illness and even changes in genetic expression. A building block of polycarbonate plastics, bisphenol A (BPA) ends up in food, ...
Nerve link: Alzheimer's suspect shows up in glaucoma.(This Week)(amyloid beta-protein)
Aug 11, 2007; ... A protein fragment that litters the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease may also bear responsibility for some of the vision loss in glaucoma, a new study in rats shows. Glaucoma patients typically have abnormal fluid pressure within the eye, but it remains unknown how this ...
Drug overflow: pharmaceutical factories foul waters in India.(This Week)(contamination of Godavari river )
Aug 11, 2007; ... Pharmaceuticals ranging from painkillers to synthetic estrogens can harm aquatic life when they enter waterways through human excreta, hospital and household waste, and agricultural runoff. Now, researchers have shown that there's another way for such drugs to get into the environment: A ...
Bad news, good news: ADHD-risk gene has silver lining.(This Week)(attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, DRD4 gene variant)
Aug 11, 2007; ... A gene variant that increases the risk for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder also appears to help children grow out of the worst of their behavioral problems as certain brain structures normalize, new research suggests. "It looks like a double-edged sword," Philip Shaw ...
Newton's dusty mirror: old experiment inspires ultrafast imaging.(This Week)(Isaac Newton's optical experiment)
Aug 11, 2007; ... Occasionally, science museums can stimulate new science. Inspired by an exhibit on an optical experiment performed by Isaac Newton, physicists have taken the first X-ray snapshot of a microscopic explosion. Physicists Henry Chapman and Sasa Bajt took their daughter to the ...
Taking a jab at cancer: combined with drugs, vaccines against tumors may finally be working.
Aug 11, 2007; ... Imagine a patient getting a vaccine injection in the doctor's office--but not to ward off a virus or a bacterium that causes smallpox, measles, or any other infectious disease. This vaccine is for cancer, specifically for a tumor already growing within the patient's body. The treatment, ...
Hammered saws: shark relatives with threatening snouts win global protection.(sawfish)
Aug 11, 2007; ... The sawfish features one of Mother Nature's oddest designs. Its flat snout resembles a chain saw with dozens of toothlike minidaggers. When the predator encounters a school offish, it slashes its saw from side to side. As the injured quarry flutters in the water, the sawfish hoists its ...
Deep Impact and Stardust: still on assignment.(PLANETARY SCIENCE)(NASA spacecraft and space probe, Comet Boethin)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Two old NASA missions have new lives. The agency's Deep Impact mission, which 2 years ago fired a projectile into Comet Tempel 1 and imaged the debris from the explosion, will now journey to Comet Boethin. Deep Impact doesn't have another bullet in its arsenal but will fly ...
Cholesterol boosts diesel toxicity.(ENVIRONMENT)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Cholesterol poses a cardiovascular risk once it becomes transformed into an inflammatory building block of artery-clogging plaque. That process, which happens all the time, is triggered by oxidation. A new study finds that breathing nanoscale particles spewed by diesel-fuel ...
Gender bender.(ANIMAL SCIENCE)(female mice behaving like males)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Call the gender police. Girl mice act like frisky boys when a chemical-sniffing organ crucial for courting behavior is disabled. The altered females chased cage mates of both sexes, persistently sniffing their rear ends, mounting them, and emitting high-frequency cries typical ...
CT heart scans: risk climbs as age at screening falls.(HEALTH PHYSICS)(computed tomography)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Use of computed tomography (CT) scans to investigate heart blockages is becoming common, especially for people entering emergency rooms with severe chest pain. A new study quantifies a downside to these rapid and relatively noninvasive scans: Their X rays can substantially increase an ...
Pliable carbon.(MATERIALS SCIENCE)(graphene)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Researchers have made graphene paper. Graphene is the net of carbon atoms, reminiscent of chicken wire, that forms graphite and carbon nanotubes. In graphite, electrostatic forces make graphene layers cling together and form microscopic stacks, says Rodney Ruoff, a physical ...
Veiled black holes.(ASTRONOMY)(active galactic nuclei variant)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Lurking at the centers of many galaxies, supermassive black holes make their presence known by gobbling gas, which heats up to fuel quasars and other fireworks. These so-called active galactic nuclei (AGN) are among the most luminous objects in the universe. Now astronomers say that ...
Beware summer radon-test results.(ENVIRONMENT)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Measuring radon with testing kits that sit in a house for just a few days can yield misleadingly low values in summer, a new study finds. Alabama maintains a statewide database of 36,000 domestic measurements of radon, a radioactive gas emitted by rocks in soil. Although these ...
Serotonin lower in shift workers.(BIOMEDICINE)(Brief article)
Aug 11, 2007 ... Workers who rotate between day and night shifts are at high risk for sleep and mood disorders. New research highlights a possible biological explanation--lower amounts of the key brain chemical serotonin. Serotonin helps regulate the brain's circadian cycle and also plays a ...
The Zen of Fish: The Story of Sushi, from samurai to Supermarket.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 11, 2007 ... THE ZEN OF FISH: The Story of Sushi, from samurai to Supermarket TREVOR CORSON Sushi has overcome its modest origins. What began as a cheap Japanese street food has become a staple in supermarkets and restaurants across the United States. Corson, a journalist fluent in Japanese, ...
Endless Universe: Beyond the Big Bang.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 11, 2007 ... ENDLESS UNIVERSE: Beyond the Big Bang PAUL J. STEINHARDT AND NElL TUROK The Big Bang theory posits that the universe sprang into being in a violent explosion more than 14 billion years ago. In recent decades, the theory has been revised on the basis of information that ...
An Ocean of Air: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 11, 2007 ... AN OCEAN OF AIR: Why the Wind Blows and Other Mysteries of the Atmosphere GABRIELLE WALKER Air may be Earth's most underappreciated resource. Indeed, Earth's atmosphere makes life possible--it is essential to the food people eat, warms the surfaces they walk on, provides a ...
The Hazards of Space Travel: A Tourist's Guide.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 11, 2007 ... THE HAZARDS OF SPACE TRAVEL: A Tourist's Guide NEIL F. COMINS Space tourism is becoming an increasingly realistic possibility, at least for those able to afford the hefty ticket prices. Lest everyone jump on the space bandwagon prematurely, Comins offers this cautionary tale ...
The World Without Us.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 11, 2007 ... THE WORLD WITHOUT US ALAN WEISMAN What would happen to the world if humans were to suddenly disappear? This provocative question provides the impetus for this book, which looks at how humans have changed the planet and explores whether monuments, artworks, plastics, and other ...
Sum kids.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Aug 11, 2007; ... While testing was done on 5- or 6-year-old children ("Take a Number: Kids show math insights without instruction," SN: 6/2/07, p. 341), it would be interesting to see if this intuitive skill persists after these students are exposed to standard mathematical instruction in the higher ...
Blowback.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)
Aug 11, 2007; ... People get excited about the birds and bats killed by 400-foot windmills planted in their flyways ("Guidelines for wind farms," SN: 6/9/07, p. 365), but the average wind speed should also be considered. In our region, the wind speed averages 11 to 12 miles per hour, but the windmills are ...
Mood bugs: beetle changes color in fluid fashion.(This Week)
Aug 18, 2007; ... Color-changing animals, such as chameleons and squid, typically alter their hues when nerve signals or hormones spur pigment cells in their skin to expand or shrink. The Panamanian golden tortoise beetle, however, changes color dramatically from metallic gold to matte red by a very ...
Calming factor: DNA vaccine for MS passes initial test.(This Week)(multiple sclerosis)(Clinical report)
Aug 18, 2007; ... An experimental vaccine for people who have multiple sclerosis has proved safe, clearing a necessary first hurdle toward regulatory approval. The results of this initial trial also suggest that the vaccine can indeed quell the self-destructive immune reaction that many scientists believe ...
A moment in the life of a cell: microscopic scan images without intruding.(This Week)
Aug 18, 2007; ... A new imaging tool could enable researchers to get three-dimensional images of single living cells without resorting to the time-honored procedure of staining their inner structures with chemicals. "We can image the cell as it is; says Wonshik Choi of the Massachusetts ...
Shocking sheets: power paper packs a punch.(This Week)
Aug 18, 2007; ... A new, ultrathin material made from cellulose, the main ingredient in paper, could power future electronic gadgets, medical implants, and even hybrid vehicles. Developed by researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, N.Y., the material can be rolled into a tube, folded, and ...
Protein lineages: randomness was crucial to ancient genetic changes.(This Week)
Aug 18, 2007; ... After resurrecting a protein from an animal species that lived about 470 million years ago, a team of scientists has now partly reconstructed the protein's evolutionary history. The rare glimpse into a protein's past reveals how a sequence of mutations caused the ancestral ...
Depression defense: sick elderly get mood aid from home treatment.(This Week)
Aug 18, 2007; ... Brief instructional sessions delivered by a nurse or psychologist show promise as a way to prevent depression in elderly people with serious health problems, at least in the short run. As the U.S. population ages, such treatment--which focuses on finding ways for people to ...
Road bumps: why dirt roads develop a washboard surface.(This Week)
Aug 18, 2007; ... Driving on a dirt road can rattle the bones. Every foot or so, a ridge of dirt up to several inches high lies in wait to jolt passing ears and trucks and their hapless occupants. In many places, road crews battle this "washboard" effect by frequently scraping the roads with bulldozers. But ...
Idiosyncratic Iapetus: Saturnian moon puts a time stamp on the outer solar system.(Cover story)
Aug 18, 2007; ... Iapetus, the third-largest and second-farthest-out of Saturn's satellites, is the weirdest moon in the solar system. One half of it is as bright as snow, the other as black as charcoal. Neither spherical nor ellipsoidal, as most moons are, Iapetus looks like a walnut, with a bulging ...
Alien pizza, anyone? Biochemistry may have taken a different turn on other worlds.
Aug 18, 2007; ... Everything was ready for the celebratory feast. Weeks earlier, the alien fleet had entered Earth's orbit and made radio contact, and now the visitors would receive their official welcome. Dozens of heads of state would greet humanity's guests during an official dinner at the White House. ...
Badly matched birds make troubled parents.(PARTNERING)(Brief article)
Aug 18, 2007 ... The troubles of parents who don't communicate well take a toll on their offspring--even among cockatiels. That's the conclusion of work by Rebecca Fox, now of the University of Nevada in Reno. She let captive cockatiels choose mates and gauged how well matched each ...
What's so great about 'chuck'?(COMMUNICATION)(Brief article)
Aug 18, 2007 ... A little "chuck" sound that a kind of male frog can add to his call proves attractive to friends and foes alike. Now, researchers suggest an explanation for the sound's wide appeal. Small, dark tungara frogs, found in Mexico and northern South America, have become a classic ...
How reading may protect the brain.(ENVIRONMENT)(Brief article)
Aug 18, 2007 ... Workers at lead-smelting plants can suffer substantial neural damage from exposure to the toxic heavy metal. Workers who read well, however, experience comparatively less mental impairment, a new study finds. It's not that the better readers were smarter, but that they have ...
Uncharted atomic landscapes.(TECHNOLOGY)(Brief article)
Aug 18, 2007 ... Electron microscopes can now not only image single atoms but also map the locations of different chemical elements in a sample. A scanning-transmission electron micro scope (STEM) operates by sending an atom-thin beam of electrons through a sample. Those electrons lose energy as ...
Anti-inflammatory prevents pancreatic cancer in mice.(BIOMEDICINE)(Brief article)
Aug 18, 2007 ... An inflammation-fighting drug limits premalignant lesions in mice prone to getting pancreatie cancer. The new finding suggests that this drug or related ones might prevent pancreatic cancer in people who face an elevated risk of developing it. Risk factors include smoking or having a ...
Geyser gawker: Plans for a closer look at Enceladus.(PLANETARY SCIENCE)(Brief article)
Aug 18, 2007 ... Saturn's moon Enceladus has been in the spotlight ever since the Cassini spacecraft discovered geysers jetting plumes of water vapor from its south pole (SN: 6/2/07, p. 350). The presence of water, along with organic compounds found on the moon's surface, are two tantalizing indications ...
The 50 Best Sight in Astronomy and How To See Them: Observing Eclipses, Bright Comets, Meteor Showers, and Other Celestial Wonders.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 18, 2007 ... THE 50 BEST SIGHTS IN ASTRONOMY AND HOW TO SEE THEM: Observing Eclipses, Bright Comets, Meteor Showers, and Other Celestial Wonders FRED SCHAAF On the basis of a lifetime of space observations, Schaaf, an astronomer and a writer for Sky & Telescope magazine, selects 50 of the ...
The Blue Death: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink.(Books: A selection of new and notable books of scientific interest)(Brief article)(Book review)
Aug 18, 2007 ... THE BLUE DEATH: Disease, Disaster, and the Water We Drink ROBERT D. MORRIS Many people in the United States take clean drinking water for granted. Such complacency, Morris argues, could mean trouble down the road, as the water supply is threatened by ever-evolving microbes, ...