September 20, 1997
News of the Week:
Ancient Mound Builders Get Cultured
Hunter-gatherers built and seasonally inhabited a cluster of 11 earthen mounds in Louisiana more than 5,000 years ago, undermining the view that complex cultures arose only in farming societies. Saunders, J.W., et al. 1997. A mound complex in Louisiana at 5400-5000 years before the present. Science 277(Sept. 19):1796.
An industry group is funding three Department of Energy national laboratories to develop extreme ultraviolet lithography for commercial manufacture of computer chips. A news release announcing the formation of the Extreme Ultraviolet Limited Liability Company is available at http://www.intel.com/pressroom/archive/releases/CN091197.htm. Geppert, L. 1996. Semiconductor lithography for the next millennium. IEEE Spectrum April:33. Spencer, W.J, and C.L. Seitz. 1997. Engines of progress: Semiconductor technology trends and issues. In Defining a Decade: Envisioning CSTB's Second 10 Years, Computer Science and Telecommunications Board. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press (available at http://www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/decade/). A description of extreme ultraviolet lithography can be found at http://www.ca.sandia.gov/news/euvl/. Researchers report the first documented instance of a transplanted organ that imparted an allergy to its recipient. Legendre, C., et al. 1997. Transfer of symptomatic peanut allergy to the recipient of a combined liver-and-kidney transplant. New England Journal of Medicine 337(Sept. 18):822. Ezzell, C. 1992. Antibody combo nixes graft rejection. Science News 141(Feb. 29):132. Lipkin, R. 1995. Tissue engineering. Science News 148(July 8):24. Travis, J. 1995. The xeno-solution. Science News 148(Nov. 4):298. Signs of ancient life in deep, dark rock
Scandinavian scientists have found fossilized microbes far below Earth's surface. Pedersen, K., et al. 1997. Evidence of ancient life at 207 m depth in a granitic aquifer. Geology 25(September):827. Monastersky, R. 1997. Deep dwellers. Science News 151(March 29):192. Global Surveyor arrives at Mars
Mars Global Surveyor successfully entered orbit around the Red Planet, becoming the first U.S. craft to do so in 21 years. Information on the Mars Global Surveyor can be found at http://mpfwww.jpl.nasa.gov/mgs.html. Cowen, R. 1997. Meteorite still holds inklings of life. Science News 151(March 29):190. Bright fish + dim light = diversity lost
The cichlid fish of Lake Victoria may be threatened by turbid waters, which interfere with the ability of some females to recognize their brightly colored mates. Seehausen, O., J.J.M. van Alphen, and F. Witte. 1997. Cichlid fish diversity threatened by eutrophication that curbs sexual selection. Science 277(Sept. 19):1808. Kaufman, L. 1992. Catastrophic change in species-rich freshwater ecosystems. BioScience 42(December):846. Kaufman, L.S., L.J. Chapman, and C.A. Chapman. 1997. Evolution in fast forward: Haplochromine fishes of the Lake Victoria region. Endeavor 21. A surprising role for Alzheimer proteins?
Proteins implicated in Alzheimer's disease may play a part in organizing chromosomes during cell division. Li, J. . . . H. Potter. 1997. Alzheimer presenilins in the nuclear membrane, interphase kinetochores, and centrosomes suggest a role in chromosome segregation. Cell 90(Sept. 5):917. Lamb, B.T. 1997. Presenilins, amyloid-B and Alzheimer's disease. Nature Medicine 3(January):28. Sternberg, S. 1996. Gene variants link Alzheimer's forms. Science News 149(March 2):134. Travis, J. 1995. One Alzheimer gene leads to another. Science News 108(Aug. 19):118. Three-day-old sprouts prove a potent--and potentially more palatable--source of the major anticancer compound in broccoli. Fahey, J.W., Y. Zhang, and P. Talalay. 1997. Broccoli sprouts: An exceptionally rich source of inducers of enzymes that protect against chemical carcinogens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94(Sept. 16):10367. Fackelmann, K. 1997. The bitter truth. Science News 152(July 12):24. Gerhauser, C., et al. 1997. Cancer chemopreventive potential of sulforamate, a novel analogue of sulforaphane that induces phase 2 drug-metabolizing enzymes. Cancer Research 57(Jan. 15):272. Monastersky, R. 1994. Broccoli inhibits cancer--mostly. Science News 146(Dec. 24&31):442. Prochaska, H.J., A.B. Santamaria, and P. Talalay. 1992. Rapid detection of inducers of enzymes that protect against carcinogens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 89:2394. Raloff, J. 1990. Another reason to eat your broccoli raw. Science News 137(June 9):367. ______. 1989. To stymie cancer, eat broccoli raw. Science News 136(Nov. 25):351. Stroh, M. 1992. Inside broccoli: A weapon against cancer. Science News 141(March 21):183. Zhang, Y., et al. 1992. A major inducer of anticarcinogenic protective enzymes from broccoli: Isolation and elucidation of structure. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 89:2399. Zhang, Y., et al. 1994. Anticarcinogenic activities of sulforaphane and structurally related synthetic norbornyl isothiocyanates. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 91:3147. Glass film yields to a light touch
A material made of arsenic and selenium shrinks and expands when exposed to polarized light, making it potentially useful for nanotechnology. Krecmer, P. . . . S.R. Elliott. 1997. Reversible nanocontraction and dilatation in a solid induced by polarized light. Science 277(Sept. 19):1799. 1990. Polymers that shrink from light. Science News 138(Sept. 1):143.
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Tinier transistors for tomorrow's chips
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Liver transplant transfers peanut allergy
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Anticancer agent sprouts up unexpectedly
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Research Notes:
Astronomy
A galaxy that goes the distance
For the first time since the discovery of quasars in 1963, a galaxy holds the title of most distant object known in the universe. Franx, M., et al. 1997. A pair of lensed galaxies at z = 4.92 in the field of CL1358+62. Astrophysical Journal Letters 486(Sept. 10):L75. Big asteroid has big dent
The large asteroid called 4 Vesta has a huge crater near its south pole. Thomas, P.C., et al. 1997. Impact excavation on asteroid 4 Vesta: Hubble Space Telescope results. Science 277(Sept. 5):1492. Cowen, R. 1992. Asteroids and meteorites: A new link. Science News 142(Oct. 24):286. Biology Cellular structure linked to aging
A yeast gene similar to the human gene responsible for Werner's syndrome provides clues to the aging process. Sinclair, D.A., K. Mills, and L. Guarente. 1997. Accelerated aging and nucleolar fragmentation in yeast sgs1 mutants. Science 277(Aug. 29):1313. Trash to one is treasure to another
To gain entry to cells, harmful mycobacteria recycle a protein the mammalian host has discarded. Schorey, J.S., M.C. Carroll, and E.J. Brown. 1997. A macrophage invasion mechanism of pathogenic mycobacteria. Science 277(Aug. 22):1091. Biomedicine Fever-causing gene located
Two research groups have identified the gene that causes Mediterranean fever. Aksentijevich, I. . . . E. Mansfield, et al. 1997. Ancient missense mutations in a new member of the RoRet gene family are likely to cause familial Mediterranean fever. Cell 90(Aug. 22):797. Weissenbach, J., and D. Kastner. 1997. Mediterranean fever gene identified. Nature Genetics September. Gas therapy for sickle-cell anemia
Nitric oxide gas shows promise in the treatment of sickle-cell disease. Head, C.A., et al. 1997. Concentrations of nitric oxide increase oxygen affinity of sickle erythrocytes in vitro and in vivo. Journal of Clinical Investigation 100(September). Chemistry Nonsmokers inhale carcinogen
People who spend time in smoke-filled rooms absorb a potent carcinogen called NNK. Hecht, S.S., et al. A metabolite of the lung carcinogen 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in the urine of people exposed occupationally to environmental tobacco smoke. 214th American Chemical Society National Meeting. Las Vegas. Shedding tears for scientific study
The chemical composition of tears and other eye fluids may help researchers understand the biochemistry of diseases. Tomlinson, A.J., et al. 1997. Characterization of the protein composition of tears and aqueous humor by membrane preconcentration-capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry. 214th American Chemical Society National Meeting. Las Vegas.
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Dry Sand, Wet Sand
Digging into the physics of sandpiles and sand castles Understanding sand and other granular materials presents a host of scientific challenges. Albert, R., et al. Preprint. The maximum angle of stability in wet and dry spherical granular media. Caglioti, E., et al. 1997. A "Tetris-like" model for the compaction of dry granular media. Physical Review Letters 79(Aug. 25):1575. Hornbaker, D.J., et al. 1997. What keeps sandcastles standing? Nature 387(June 19):765. Jaeger, H.M., S.R. Nagel, and R.P. Behringer. 1996. Granular solids, liquids, and gases. Reviews of Modern Physics 68(October):1259. ______. 1996. The physics of granular materials. Physics Today April:32. Jaeger, H.M., and S.R. Nagel. 1992. Physics of the granular state. Science 255(March 20):1523. Liu, C.-H., et al. 1995. Force fluctuations in bead packs. Science 269(July 28):513. Peterson, I. 1989. Digging into sand. Science News 136(July 15):40. Watson, A. 1996. Searching for the sand-pile pressure dip. Science 273(Aug. 2):579. Wittmer, J.P., et al. 1996. An explanation for the central stress minimum in sand piles. Nature 382(July 25):336. Additional information about granular physics is available at http://arnold.uchicago.edu/~jaeger/granular2/. Sand sculptor Lucinda "sandy feet" Wierenga has a website at http://www.unlitter.com/feet/index.html. Losing oneself to science? Researchers ponder appropriate guidelines for research uses of tissue removed from a person's body. Weir, R.F., and J.R. Horton. 1995. DNA banking and informed consent--Part 2. Irb 17(September-December):1. ______. 1995. DNA banking and informed consent--Part 1. Irb 17(July-August):1. 1961. Lung cancer study shows cigarettes major cause. Science News 80(Aug. 19):120. Fackelmann, K.A. 1994. DNA dilemmas. Science News 146(Dec. 17):408. Fackelmann, K.A. 1994. Beyond the genome. Science News 146(Nov. 5):298.
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Table of Contents - 9/20/97