More Stories from the March 11, 2006 issue
- Health & Medicine
Indigestion drug makes headway
An experimental drug relieves symptoms of a form of chronic indigestion called functional dyspepsia better than a placebo does.
- Planetary Science
Pluto’s posse
Images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope on Feb. 15 confirm that Pluto has two small, previously unknown moons.
- Health & Medicine
A link between emotional stress and heart attacks
In some people with heart disease, a stressful event precipitates changes in blood components and flow that may trigger a heart attack.
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Thymus twice as nice for mice
Mice have a second thymus, located in the neck.
- Chemistry
Fragment foils Alzheimer’s protein
Researchers have synthesized a protein fragment that, in test tubes, disrupts the formation of the fiber networks suspected to cause Alzheimer's disease.
- Health & Medicine
Low-protein diet boosts treatment
A diet low in protein can improve the effectiveness of drug therapy and reduce the periods of the most debilitating symptoms suffered by Parkinson's disease patients.
- Health & Medicine
Genes for macular degeneration
Variations in two genes could account for three-quarters of all cases of age-related macular degeneration.
- Astronomy
Magnetic Memory: New model forecasts solar storms
A new computer model predicts that the next solar-activity cycle won't begin until late 2008, a year later than the sun's standard cycle would forecast.
- Health & Medicine
Got Data? Consuming calcium, dairy doesn’t keep off weight
Dairy products and other calcium-containing foods don't prevent weight gain, according to a 12-year study of middle-aged men.
- Anthropology
Polynesian Latecomers: Easter Islanders took fast track to culture
New radiocarbon dates from Easter Island indicate that the isolated Polynesian island was first colonized around A.D. 1200, up to 800 years later than had previously been thought.
- Tech
Meddling with Metal: Novel nanocontrol yields chromium rival
A new, nontoxic alloy that might reduce use of toxic chromium springs from a novel way to manipulate crystalline metal structures via precise control of their atomic composition.
- Earth
Crater in the sand
Researchers analyzing satellite images of the Sahara Desert have discovered the region's largest impact crater.
- Health & Medicine
Ear Protection: Combo vaccine prevents some infections
A vaccine that triggers immunity against two common bacteria can prevent many ear infections in babies.
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Fit Moms, Brainier Babies: Exercising mothers provide neurological benefits
Offspring of mice that jogged each day during pregnancy may have a mental advantage over pups of sedentary moms.
- Earth
Vesuvius’ Shadow: A major volcanic blast could threaten Naples
When Italy's Mount Vesuvius begins to rumble again, nearby Naples may be in danger.
- Math
All Square
Mathematicians nail down when it's possible to express numbers as the sums of squares.
- Astronomy
Peeling Back Orion’s Layers
By studying the most detailed portrait ever assembled of the Orion nebula, astronomers hope to glean new insights about star birth throughout the galaxy.
- Humans
Letters from the March 11, 2006, issue of Science News
Seasonal effect? Might your article, “Bright Lights, Big Cancer” (SN: 1/7/06, p. 8), on breast cancer have missed something? If the daily light-dark cycle affects melatonin, is there a seasonal change in cancer rates in the Northern (and Southern) Hemispheres? If so or not, that might give a clue to any latency period. Alan MacGregorSalmon […]
