More Stories from the February 24, 2007 issue
- Planetary Science
Solar craft reaches a new low
The Ulysses spacecraft passed directly below the sun on Feb. 7, looking up at its south pole, a feat the craft has done only twice before.
- Humans
USDA proposes an office of science
The Bush administration's proposed 2007 farm bill would merge two existing U.S. Department of Agriculture research agencies into a single office of science.
- Health & Medicine
Want that fiber regular or decaf?
Coffee is a significant, and previously unrecognized, source of dietary fiber.
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Bacteria go for a spin
Researchers may have found the mechanism powering a mysterious gliding motion in bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
Brains carry odd load after strokes
People who die from a stroke have accumulations of a protein called amyloid beta in the thalamus, a part of the brain involved in motor control and sensory processing.
- Health & Medicine
Aneurysm risk may get passed down
A heightened risk of having a brain aneurysm seems to be passed down in some families, and the life-threatening rupture of an aneurysm appears to strike earlier in a succeeding generation.
- Health & Medicine
Aspirin resistance carries real risks
Some people are resistant to the blood-thinning effects of aspirin, making them more vulnerable to stroke or heart problems.
- Health & Medicine
Inside job dissolves blood clot pronto
An experimental procedure that delivers a clot-busting drug directly to the brain can bring on a remarkable turnaround in some stroke patients.
- Astronomy
Alien Light: Taking the spectra of extrasolar planets
Astronomers have for the first time recorded the spectra of light emitted by two extrasolar planets.
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Weight Matters: Big and little mouse pups become obese adults
Being either overnourished or undernourished before birth can alter gene activity, leading to obesity during adulthood.
- Health & Medicine
Hurt-Knees Rx: Surgical method promotes ligament regeneration
A new artificial knee ligament that sparks regeneration of natural tissue could eventually make recovering from knee-repair surgery less painful and debilitating.
- Health & Medicine
Virus Stopper: Herpes drug dampens HIV infection
An antiviral drug commonly taken for genital herpes seems to suppress HIV in people harboring both pathogens.
- Animals
Bird Plans: Jays show foresight in breakfast menus
The strongest evidence yet that animals plan ahead may come from western scrub jays preparing for their morning meals.
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Decoding Autism: Study finds DNA clues to developmental disorders
New results direct the search for autism-influencing genes to a previously overlooked DNA segment and highlight the role of a crucial chemical-messenger system in creating brains susceptible to autism.
- Ecosystems
Warming Sign? Larger dead zones form off Oregon coast
Unprecedented recent changes in the yearly pattern of ocean currents off North America's West Coast have wreaked havoc on aquatic ecosystems there, another possible symptom of Earth's warming climate.
- Astronomy
Studies of Light and Shadow
Two new surveys of the night sky examine the two facets of galaxy formation: the glitter and the gloom.
- Humans
Fractal or Fake?
A physicist who uses fractals to investigate the authenticity of some paintings attributed to Jackson Pollock finds that the works may be fake. But is the flaw in the paintings or in the fractal analysis?
- Humans
Letters from the February 24, 2007, issue of Science News
No piece of cake The new mathematical method for equitable cake sharing (“A Fair Slice: New method makes for equitable eating,” SN: 12/16/06, p. 390) actually leads to a version of Zeno’s paradox. The problem is that the cake remnant left after the referee gives the two eaters their respective, equally valued pieces is no […]
