More Stories from the November 29, 2003 issue
- Ecosystems
UK halts badger kill after study of TB
Partial results from a new study have pushed the United Kingdom to stop its controversial, decades-old policy of killing local badgers if cattle catch TB.
- Earth
Fill ‘er up . . . with a few tons of wheat
A new analysis suggests that the amount of ancient plant matter that was needed to make just 1 gallon of gasoline is the same amount that can be grown each year in a 40-acre wheat field—roots, stalks, and all.
- Health & Medicine
Drug cuts recurrence of breast cancer
Letrozole, which blocks estrogen production, reduces recurrence of breast cancer in women who have exhausted the usefulness of tamoxifen, the frontline cancer drug for this disease.
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Protein triggers nerve connections
Nonnerve cells called astrocytes secrete a protein that enables nerve cells to connect.
- Health & Medicine
Cleaning up glutamate slows deadly brain tumors
Eliminating the glutamate released by brain tumors may slow the cancer's growth.
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HIV protein breaks biological clock
The AIDS virus secretes a protein that interferes with an animal's biological clock.
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There’s no faking it
The brain activity in men and women having an orgasm is very similar.
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ADHD’s Brain Trail: Cerebral clues emerge for attention disorder
A new brain-imaging investigation suggests that disturbances in a network of regions involved in regulating actions and attention underlie the childhood psychiatric ailment known as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Health & Medicine
Fetal Risk: Inflammation in womb tied to cerebral palsy
For a pregnant woman carrying a baby to term, inflammation in the womb nearly quadruples the chance her baby will be born with cerebral palsy.
- Chemistry
The March of History: Terra-cotta warriors show their true colors
As archaeologists continue to excavate the famous Chinese terra-cotta warriors, a new restoration technique could preserve the figures' paint coats, which normally peel off when exposed to the elements.
- Earth
Lake Retreat: African river valley once hosted big lake
The valley of the White Nile in Africa may long ago have held a shallow lake that sprawled 70 kilometers across and stretched more than 500 km along the river.
- Materials Science
This Won’t Hurt . . . Tiny needles deliver drugs painlessly
Microscopic needles may provide a painless alternative to syringes and patches.
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Protein Portal: Enzyme acts as door for the SARS virus
A protein that regulates blood pressure also serves as the cellular portal for the SARS virus.
- Tech
Electronic Thread: Fiber transistor may lead to woven circuits
By coating flexible metal fibers with semiconductors, researchers have developed individual threads that act as transistors and that should be linkable into circuits by means of wires included among a fabric's threads.
- Earth
The Next MTBE: Contamination from fuel additives could spread
Several alternatives to the common gasoline additives methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) and ethanol could create environmental problems similar to those that MTBE has already caused.
- Humans
Munching Along
New Orleans' French Quarter has become a central proving ground for new technologies to find and attack the North American invasion of especially aggressive and resourceful alien termites.
- Health & Medicine
Testing Times
Relying in part on a new rapid HIV test, health officials are working to identify and treat more HIV infections earlier in the course of the disease.
