More Stories from the February 26, 2005 issue
- Anthropology
Human fossils are oldest yet
Homo sapiens fossils found along Ethiopia's Omo River in 1967 date to 195,000 years ago, making them the oldest-known remains of our species.
- Earth
PCBs damage fish immune systems
A common Arctic fish can suffer subtle immunological impairments from exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls at concentrations recorded in some remote polar waters.
- Health & Medicine
Ketone diet could help in Parkinson’s
A strict low-carb diet long used to treat some people with epilepsy has been tailored so that it might fight Parkinson's disease.
- Earth
Adding mussel to environmental assessments
Researchers have developed a new technique, using mussel shells, that could aid in autopsies of aquatic ecosystems that perished for unknown reasons.
- Physics
A quantum fluid pipes up
After 40 years of trying, physicists have heard a quantum-mechanical whistle emanating from two reservoirs of oscillating liquid helium separated by a perforated membrane.
- Earth
Lava fountain driven by reservoir of gas
The gases driving a lava fountain that spewed from Italy's Mount Etna in June 2000 had accumulated in a reservoir 1.5 kilometers below the mountain's peak, chemical analyses suggest.
- Health & Medicine
Study can’t tie EMFs to cancer
A massive, long-term Swedish study has found no sign that occupational exposures to electromagnetic fields might trigger breast cancer in women.
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- Astronomy
Ghostly Galaxy: Massive, dark cloud intrigues scientists
Astronomers say they have found the only known galaxy devoid of stars.
- Animals
The Old Crowd: Minke whales have long thrived in Antarctic seas
Genetic studies of whale meat from Tokyo grocery stores appear to strengthen the case for protecting Antarctica's minke whales against renewed hunting.
- Astronomy
Big Flash: Record-breaking explosion in outer space
The brightest flash of light ever recorded from beyond the solar system could help account for a puzzling group of extremely short-lived gamma-ray bursts from distant galaxies.
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Shrinking at Sea: Harvesting drives evolution toward smaller fishes
In response to fishing, numerous fish species have evolved to be smaller and to grow more slowly, creating populations of fish that are poor at reproducing and inefficient at bulking up.
- Physics
Electronic Soup: Molecules in acid broth act as circuit parts
An electronically promising molecule functions well in acid as a tiny amplifier, underscoring the importance of controlling molecules' electrochemical environments to achieve predictable performance.
- Health & Medicine
To Stanch the Flow: Hemophilia drug curbs brain hemorrhage
A blood-clotting drug helps some people recover from a bleeding stroke.
- Ecosystems
Return of the Wetlands? Restoration possible for some Iraqi marshes
Field studies conducted in Iraq last year suggest that some of the region's ecologically devastated marshes could be returned to health.
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Poisonous Partnership
Tools from molecular biology are providing new insights into the viruses employed by parasitoid wasps to manipulate their caterpillar hosts.
- Humans
Bushmeat on the Menu
Studies of the bushmeat trade reveal that such meat appeals to people who can't afford anything else and to prestige seekers who certainly can.
- Humans
Letters from the February 26, 2005, issue of Science News
Let’s move it, people When I read of the Hubble Space Telescope–repair controversy (“People, Not Robots: Panel favors shuttle mission to Hubble,” SN: 12/18&25/04, p. 388; “Lean Times: Proposed budget keeps science spending slim,” SN: 2/12/05, p. 102), this question comes to mind: Why can’t an unmanned, powered vehicle latch on to Hubble and fly […]
