More Stories from the December 2, 2006 issue
- Tech
Safety practices surveyed
Nanotechnology companies and laboratories largely rely on the same safety practices that they use when working with conventional chemicals, an international survey reports.
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Oceans reveal secrets of viruses
Scientists have completed the first survey of virus DNA in oceans around the world.
- Health & Medicine
Belated angioplasty saves no lives
A common heart procedure called angioplasty doesn't save lives if it is performed more than a couple of days after a heart attack.
- Health & Medicine
Test identifies people at cardiac risk
Measurement of an electrical abnormality in the heart aids doctors in determining who is most at risk for cardiac arrest.
- Earth
Could Prozac muscle out mussels?
Antidepressant drugs may be depressing wild-mussel populations.
- Earth
Sharks, dolphins store pollutants
Florida's top aquatic predators are rapidly accumulating high concentrations of brominated flame retardants and other persistent toxic chemicals.
- Earth
No-stick chemicals can mimic estrogen
Some of the perfluorinated compounds used to impart nonstick properties to fabrics and cookware can not only activate a receptor for sex hormones but also inappropriately feminize fish.
- Earth
Leaden swan song
Large numbers of trumpeter swans are succumbing to lead poisoning as a result of ingesting old shotgun pellets in areas where use of lead shot has been banned for more than a decade.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer Link: Gene regulates progesterone effect on breast cells
The BRCA1 protein regulates the effect of pro-growth progesterone, which could explain why having a mutated BRCA1 gene predisposes a woman to breast cancer.
- Animals
New Butterfly: High-alpine species from low-life parents
Little bluish butterflies high in the Sierra Nevada could be one of the few animal species to have arisen from crossbreeding of two other species.
- Planetary Science
Howdy, Neighbors: Long-term study finds a batch of red dwarfs
Astronomers have found 20 previously unknown star systems that lie within 33 light-years of Earth.
- Health & Medicine
A Toast to Healthy Hearts: Wine compounds benefit blood vessels
Researchers have identified a class of compounds in red wine that might be responsible for much of the beverage's cardiovascular benefit.
- Earth
Lead in the Water: Mapping gets a handle on disinfectant’s danger
Researchers are investigating the link between lead-contaminated water and chloramine, a chemical disinfectant that is increasingly used in municipal water supplies.
- Tech
Crusty Old Computer: New imaging techniques reveal construction of ancient marvel
Scientists have figured out the arrangement and functions of nearly all the parts of a mysterious astronomical computer that was recovered from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck.
- Anthropology
Stone Age Role Revolution: Modern humans may have divided labor to conquer
A new analysis of Stone Age sites indicates that a division of labor first emerged in modern-human groups living in the African tropics around 40,000 years ago, providing our ancestors with a social advantage over Neandertals.
- Astronomy
What’s a Planet?
Recent observations have blurred distinctions among stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.
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Inherit the Warmer Wind
The genetic makeup of organisms ranging from fruit flies to birds appears to be changing in response to global warming.
- Humans
Letters from the December 2, 2006, issue of Science News
Concerns vented “Venting Concerns: Exploring and protecting deep-sea communities” (SN: 10/7/06, p. 232) barely scratches the surface of the problem. What is stopping someone from gene splicing the disease of choice onto heat-loving bacterium? Something that can live near the 600°F of melting lead will certainly survive the standard hospital-sterilization process. D.J. KavaBeaumont, Texas The […]
