More Stories from the May 10, 2003 issue
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Second cold-sensing protein found
Researchers have found a second mammalian cell-surface protein that enables nerve cells to recognize cold temperatures.
- Astronomy
Fast-track planet
Astronomers have found a planet that's the closest yet known to its parent star, whipping around the star every 28.5 hours.
- Paleontology
First Family’s last stand
New evidence indicates that about 3.2 million years ago, at least 17 Australopithecus afarensis individuals were killed at the same time by large predators at an eastern African site.
- Anthropology
Jaw-dropping find emerges from Stone Age cave
A nearly complete lower jaw discovered in a Romanian cave last year and dating to around 35,000 years ago may represent the oldest known example of anatomically modern Homo sapiens in Europe.
- Anthropology
Wari skulls create trophy-head mystery
A 1,000-year-old Peruvian site has yielded the remains of decapitated human heads that were used as ritual trophies but, to the researchers surprise, did not come from enemy warriors.
- Anthropology
Ancestral split in Africa, China
Environmental conditions may have encouraged Homo erectus to develop a level of social and tool-making complexity in Africa that the same species did not achieve in China.
- Astronomy
Starry View: Image reveals galaxy’s violent past
The most detailed visible-light picture ever taken of the heavens reveals that the nearby Andromeda galaxy has had a much more violent history than our own Milky Way has.
- Earth
Farm Harm: Ag chemicals may cause prostate cancer
On-the-job exposure to certain agricultural chemicals may be responsible for farmers' high rates of prostate cancer.
- Paleontology
Winging South: Finally, a fly fossil from Antarctica
A tiny fossil collected about 500 kilometers from the South Pole indicates that Antarctica was once home to a type of fly that scientists long thought had never inhabited the now-icy, almost insectfree continent.
- Materials Science
Nanofluid Flow: Detergents may benefit from new insight
Fluids containing nanoscale particles spread and readily lift oil droplets off a surface.
- Health & Medicine
Preeclampsia Progress: Blood test for predicting pregnancy problems
A natural compound called asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) may play a role in preeclampsia, a pregnancy complication.
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Harvesting Intelligence: IQ gains may reach rural Kenya’s kids
Researchers say they've uncovered a dramatic IQ increase among Kenyan children over a recent 14-year period that may be due to environmental factors such as better nutrition and a greater parental emphasis on schooling.
- Tech
A Breath of Fresh Air: Bacteria rid sewage of its stink
Wastewater-treatment plants can use hydrogen sulfide-degrading bacteria instead of chemicals to reduce odors.
- Health & Medicine
Unproven Elixir
For aging men with low testosterone, hormone replacement may stall or counteract some common declines that come with age, but it'll take years to determine whether the treatment is doing most men more good than harm.
- Earth
The Fires Below
Underground coal fires help shape the landscape on many scales and in many ways, some transient and some long-lasting.
