December 1st, 2001
issue

  • Craft Probes Alien Planet's Atmosphere
    Astronomers have for the first time detected the atmosphere of a planet that lies well beyond the solar system. (p. 340)
  • Human-cloning claim creates controversy
    A biotech company has begun cloning human embryos. (p. 341)
  • Protein fragment halts type I diabetes
    A new protein-based drug injected into people just starting to show signs of diabetes halts the disease. (p. 341)
  • Dried-up California lake gets muddy facial
    A new dust-abatement program is transforming the nation's biggest source of respirable dust into a sea of nonpolluting mud. (p. 342)
  • Transgenes migrate into old races of maize
    Genes from bioengineered corn have somehow strayed into the traditional varieties of southern Mexico. (p. 342)
  • Move over, Leo. Give me more elbow room
    The average size of the largest land animals on each of 25 oceanic islands and five continents strongly depends on the land area there. (p. 343)
  • Fishy data hid decline in global catch
    Many coastal fisheries are in trouble, yet according to figures reported to the United Nations, the annual global yield has appeared to be stable or even growing. (p. 343)
  • Tough Choices
    Federal programs to preserve water in streams during droughts have prompted lawsuits and new pressures on endangered species and the law that protects them. (p. 344)
  • Babies babble in just the right way
    Infants babble out of the right side of their mouths, suggesting that the infantile sounds are more than noise. (p. 347)
  • It smells yellow to me
    The colors associated with a smell can influence the brain's perception of the odor. (p. 347)
  • The Tropical Majority
    The abundant studies of temperate-zone birds may have biased ornithology when it comes to understanding the tropics. (p. 348)
  • Cuff therapy boosts growth factor
    Cuffs that squeeze the legs of heart patients may relieve angina by boosting growth factors, which help build new blood vessels needed to nourish oxygen-starved heart muscle. (p. 351)
  • Statins, yes; antioxidants, no
    Taking cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins improves the health outlook for patients at risk of heart attack even when these patients aren't considered obvious candidates to receive the treatment. (p. 351)
  • Light blow to chest can be fatal
    A light blow to the heart can cause cardiac arrest, even when the blow isn't hard enough to cause injury. (p. 351)
  • Kawasaki patients show coronary calcium
    The heart attack risk associated with Kawasaki disease, a childhood inflammatory disease that can cause aneurysms, may stem from calcium build-up in coronary arteries. (p. 351)
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