More Stories from the April 1, 2000 issue
- Earth
More Waters Test Positive for Drugs
Traces of drugs, excreted by people and livestock, pollute surface and ground waters in the United States, as had already been confirmed in Europe.
- Paleontology
Salvaged DNA adds to Neandertals’ mystique
Researchers who isolated a sample of Neandertal mitochondrial DNA say that it provides no evidence that Neandertals contributed to modern human evolution.
- Chemistry
Toxin in absinthe makes neurons run wild
The alpha-thujone in absinthe—Vincent Van Gogh's favorite drink—blocks brain receptors for a natural inhibitor of nerve impulses, causing brain cells to fire uncontrollably.
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Lady-killing genes offer pest control
Two new fruit fly lines—with females that die on cue—could lead to changes in pest control.
- Health & Medicine
Cell mixture attacks pancreas tumors
White blood cells injected into patients with pancreatic tumors incite an immune response that blunts the cancer in some patients and extends survival.
- Planetary Science
Reviewers see red over recent Mars programs
NASA's two most recent missions to Mars failed because they were underfunded, managed by inexperienced people, and insufficiently tested, according to a report released March 28.
- Earth
Titanic iceberg sets sail from Antarctica
An iceberg about the size of Connecticut recently split off from the Ross Ice Shelf in Antarctica.
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Hey, we’re richer than we thought!
The latest inventory of life in the United States has turned up an extra 100,000 species of plants, animals, and fungi.
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Fading to black doesn’t empower fish
Field studies of three-spined stickleback fish dash a textbook example of the theory of how one species can take on a competitor's characteristics.
- Math
Orbiting in a figure-eight loop
Three gravitationally interacting bodies of equal mass can, according to precise calculations, trace out a figure-eight-shape orbit in space.
- Math
Random packing of spheres
A new definition of random packing allows a more consistent and mathematically precise approach to characterizing disordered arrangements of identical spheres.
- Paleontology
Fossil gets a leg up on snake family tree
A 95-million-year-old fossil snake with legs may be an advanced big-mouthed snake, not a primitive ancestor.
- Paleontology
Dinosaurs, party of six, meat eating
The bones of six carnivorous dinosaurs discovered in a fossil bed in Patagonia may indicate that big, meat-eating dinosaurs were social creatures.
- Physics
Devilish polygons speak of past stress
A new theory and a simple test with cornstarch and water may help explain the polygonal geometry of rock columns in the Devil's Postpile in California and elsewhere.
- Physics
Nanotubes get into gear for new roll
Atoms on the surface of carbon nanotubes appear to mesh when tubes roll across a graphite surface, making the tubes possible atomic-scale gears, which have been long-sought in nanotechnology.
- Materials Science
The Buck Starts Here
The U.S. Mint performed some neat tricks to make a golden dollar.
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