May 19th, 2001
issue

  • Anticancer Protein Locks onto DNA
    The protein encoded by the normal form of BRCA1 attaches to DNA directly, seeks out unusual DNA structures, and joins multiple DNA strands together—all activities suggesting a direct role in DNA repair. (p. 308)
  • To save gardens, ants rush to whack weeds
    Ants can grow gardens, too, and the first detailed study of their weeding techniques shows that whether a gardener has two legs or six, the chore looks much the same. (p. 308)
  • They're not briquettes, but they'll do
    Chunks of fossil charcoal found in ancient sediments in north central Pennsylvania suggest that cycles of wildfire plagued Earth more than 360 million years ago. (p. 309)
  • Light shines in quantum-computing arena
    A new computing scheme using available technology and only classical physics appears to handle many tasks that researchers thought would be unsuited to any computers except the still-hypothetical ones that would exploit quantum physics. (p. 309)
  • Snacking in space: Star dines on planet
    Astronomers have found evidence that a star has swallowed one or more of its own planets. (p. 310)
  • Many refugees can't flee mental ailments
    Refugees interviewed in camps in Nepal exhibit post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental ailments, especially if they have survived torture in their native country. (p. 310)
  • San Jose hosts 2001 science competition
    More than 1,200 students from almost 40 countries competed last week in San Jose for more than $3 million in prizes and scholarships at the 2001 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair. (p. 311)
  • Virus in transplanted hearts bodes ill
    Pediatric heart-transplant recipients who acquire a viral infection in the heart fare poorly over the long term. (p. 311)
  • Free-floaters: Images of planets?
    Several recent studies have escalated the debate about what exactly constitutes a planet. (p. 312)
  • Brains show evolutionary designs
    Mammal species exhibit basic types of brain design from which they have evolved a wide array of brain sizes, according to a new analysis. (p. 312)
  • Here come mom and dad
    Children in two-parent families spend more time with their mothers and fathers now than they did 20 years ago. (p. 312)
  • A More Perfect Union
    Forsaking life in the outside world, endosymbiotic bacteria of some insects traded freedom and nutrients for life inside a cell. (p. 314)
  • Cosmic Chemistry Gets Creative
    By simulating extraterrestrial impacts on Earth, researchers are firing away at the question of how life started. (p. 317)
  • How spiny lobsters make scary noises
    Spiny lobsters make alarm and protest sounds by drawing their leathery plectra—protrusions at the base of each anntenna—across scaley ridges below their eyes, much like a violin bow pulling across a string. (p. 319)
  • Lyme ticks lurk on golf course edges
    At least half the ticks collected along woodsy edges of five golf courses in Rhode Island carry the baterium that causes Lyme disease. (p. 319)
Advertisement
seperator
Janet Raloff
Science & the Public Big Increase Coming for NIH — Maybe
 By Janet Raloff Dec 19th 2008
seperator
Herman Winick
Comment SESAME opens doors to international collaboration
 By Herman Winick Jan 2nd 2009
Julie Rehmeyer
Math Trek The Sudoku solution
 By Julie Rehmeyer Dec 23rd 2008
seperator
2008: Science News of the Year
Thwarting tree poachers
Pulsars in a new light
Guest column from Steven Chu
seperator
generic
Book Review: Food Bites: The Science of the Foods We Eat by Richard W. Hartel and AnnaKate Hartel
Review by Dina Fine Maron
Buy now | More Books
generic
Planet Earth: An Illustrated History
A photographic tribute to the glories of nature, including picturesque landscapes, stunning aer...
Buy now | More Books