More Stories from the March 27, 2004 issue
- Tech
Golden waves make stretchy microcircuits
Microscale wires with stretchy, wiggly shapes may prove useful for sensors and other electronic gadgets embedded in pliable or elastic items such as clothing or living tissue.
- Plants
Sudden oak death jumps quarantine
The funguslike microbe that causes sudden oak death has turned up on nursery plants in southern California for the first time.
- Health & Medicine
Is ‘drink plenty of fluids’ good advice?
Definitive studies need to determine whether increasing fluid intake during respiratory infections is really a good idea, says a team of researchers.
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Fish guts reveal microbial alliance
Scientists are studying germfree zebra fish to better understand how microbes influence gut development.
- Astronomy
Andromeda’s building blocks
A radio telescope has made the first conclusive observations of gas clouds that could be the leftover building blocks of the Andromeda galaxy, the Milky Way’s closest large spiral neighbor.
- Health & Medicine
Bug bites suggest new stroke drug
Changing a human enzyme so that it resembles one from blood-sucking insects may lead to a new treatment for strokes.
- Physics
Quantum link connects light, ions
By proving experimentally for the first time that an atom and a photon can become entwined in a quantum embrace called entanglement, physicists took a step toward teleporting quantum characteristics from one atom to another.
- Archaeology
Reconstructing ancient drinking habits
A new technique involving the analysis of residue from pottery jars can discern the color of wine consumed by ancient Egyptians.
- Anthropology
Evolution’s Lost Bite: Gene change tied to ancestral brain gains
In a controversial new report, a research team proposes that an inactivating gene mutation unique to people emerged around 2.4 million years ago and, by decreasing the size of jaw muscles, set the stage for brain expansion in our direct ancestors.
- Planetary Science
Signs of Water Flow: Oceans of data point to ancient Martian sea
A robotic rover on Mars has found strong evidence that some rocks near the Martian equator were laid down by a shallow, ancient ocean, indicating one of the most likely places to look for remains of life on the Red Planet.
- Tech
Miniaturized 3-D Printing: New polymer ink writes tiny structures
A new 3-D printer can build up complex polymer microstructures with features small enough for creating photonic crystals or scaffolds for tissue engineering.
- Health & Medicine
Surgical Option: Hysterectomy may top drugs for women with heavy bleeding
Women who suffer from heavy menstrual bleeding and fail to improve on a hormone-based drug fare better if they choose hysterectomy rather than a regimen of other drugs.
- Ecosystems
Coastal Surge: Ecosystems likely to suffer as more people move to the shores
Rapid development and population growth on and near U.S. coastlines in the near future will probably spell trouble for ecosystems in these areas, scientists say.
- Animals
Wolf vs. Raven? Thieving birds may drive canines to form big packs
A previously underappreciated reason why wolf packs get so big could be the relentless food snitching of ravens.
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It’s Time! Fetal lungs tell mom when to deliver baby
The maturing lungs of a fetus may signal the mother when it's time for labor.
- Animals
The Social Lives of Snakes
A lot of pit vipers aren't the asocial loners that even snake fans had long assumed.
- Materials Science
Forensics on Trial
A decades-long practice of matching bullets on the basis of their chemical makeup is flawed, and the story behind this forensic technique reveals how science can get distorted in the courtroom.
- Humans
Letters from the March 27, 2004, issue of Science News
Nobody’s board The article “Danger on Deck?” (SN: 1/31/04, p. 74: Danger on Deck?), or at least part of it, could have been titled “Danger on Dock” or maybe “Danger under Dock.” After reading about how chromated-copper arsenate (CCA) is leached from the wood, I began wondering how it affects aquatic organisms. Many fish, especially […]
