More Stories from the August 10, 2002 issue
- Materials Science
New gel could lead to cartilage repair
A new scaffold material that contains cartilage cells and encourages their growth could help scientists create living tissue replacements suitable for treating osteoarthritis and sports injuries.
- Health & Medicine
Breast-feeding has protective bonus
Breast-feeding appears to help ward off breast cancer.
- Health & Medicine
Lab tool may spawn new antiviral drugs
Short strands of RNA can be used to stop viruses such as HIV.
- Health & Medicine
Ulcer bug linked to stroke
Potent strains of an ulcer-causing bacterium may also trigger strokes.
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Speech loses beat in dyslexia
The severe reading disorder known as dyslexia may involve an inability to perceive a critical rhythmic beat that separates parts of spoken words.
- Plants
Disease outpacing control in largest chestnut patch left
An unusual test of a biological control for the blight that's killing American chestnuts doesn't look good in the largest remaining patch.
- Plants
Recent tree scourge poses garden threat
Lab tests suggest that a lethal disease of oak trees in California and Oregon could strike some popular garden shrubs in the rhododendron family.
- Astronomy
Visible Matter: Once lost but now found
New observations confirm that most of the visible matter in the universe lies hidden in vast, hard-to-detect gas clouds between galaxies.
- Health & Medicine
Fullness Factor: Gut hormone tells brain the stomach is well fed
A hormone produced by the intestines could be the primary satiety signal sent to the brain.
- Ecosystems
Pfiesteria’s Bite: Microbe may kill fish by skinning, not poisoning
At least one kind of Pfiesteria—accused of killing fish and threatening human health—does not produce a toxin but kills by eating holes in fish's skin, some researchers say.
- Physics
Sunlight Sponge? Energy trackers gauge water vapor’s wild dance
Atmospheric water vapor takes in more solar radiation than has been indicated by measurements and models, but laser probes of highly agitated water molecules suggest that the vapor doesn't absorb enough radiation to explain the discrepancy fully.
- Animals
Strong Medicine: Over-the-counter remedy snags snakes
Acetaminophen—the active ingredient in Tylenol—vanquishes brown tree snakes, the bane of Guam.
- Earth
Long, Dry Spells: Lengthy droughts tied to long-lived La Niñas
A new study of persistent droughts that occurred in the United States during the past 3 centuries suggests that those dry spells may be associated with prolonged periods when sea-surface temperatures in the central Pacific were cooler than average.
- Health & Medicine
New Antidote to Botulism: Drug neutralizes toxin in mouse tests
An experimental drug disables deadly botulism toxin much better than current treatment does.
- Animals
Slithering on Air: Flying snakes glide through the treetops
The paradise tree snake flies by flattening its body and slithering through the air.
- Tech
Shrinking toward the Ultimate Transistor
Scientists demonstrate transistor action in an atom—or two.
- Materials Science
Gems of War
While international bodies grapple with regulatory schemes to stem the diamond trade that funds ongoing civil conflicts in African countries, scientists are attempting to develop methods for identifying gems from conflict zones.
