News
- Animals
Din among the Orcas: Are whale watchers making too much noise?
Whale-watching boats may be making so much noise that killer whales off the coast of Washington have to change their calls to communicate over the racket.
- Tech
Injectable Medibots: Programmable DNA could diagnose and treat cancer
Researchers have created a miniature DNA computer that can detect cancer genes in a test tube and respond by releasing a drug.
- Health & Medicine
Exercise boosts sugar’s taste
Studies in runners and in animals indicate that exercise increases an individual's sensitivity to sweetness.
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SIDS trigger? It’s too darn hot
Overheating, as might occur if a baby were swaddled in a warm room, might predispose some babies to prolonged breathing lapses and sudden infant death syndrome, animal experiments indicate.
- Health & Medicine
Proteins mark ALS
Scientists reported finding what appears to be the first diagnostic test for Lou Gehrig's disease, potentially shaving a year off of when targeted treatment for the disease can begin.
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Body’s sweet move can protect heart
Animal studies suggest that the body attempts to protect itself from heart attacks during brief periods of oxygen deprivation by temporarily modifying heart-muscle proteins.
- Health & Medicine
Experimental drug boosts HDL counts
An experimental drug can dramatically increase blood concentrations of high-density lipoprotein, the beneficial cholesterol.
- Earth
Hurricanes churn up life-nurturing brews
Images of the North Atlantic taken from orbit suggest that hurricanes churn the ocean's surface enough to bring cool, nutrient-rich waters to the surface, thereby stimulating algal blooms that can last for weeks.
- Health & Medicine
CT scan no match for colonoscopy
Colonoscopy is better at detecting potentially dangerous colon polyps than computed tomography scanning is.
- Planetary Science
Rovers in overtime
NASA has extended the missions of the twin Mars rovers by 5 months, through September 2004.
- Earth
Prenatal exposures affect sperm later
Boys exposed in the womb to hormone-mimicking pollutants may mature into men who produce impaired sperm.
- Earth
Toxic color TVs and computer monitors
High concentrations of lead can leach from the X-ray-filtering glass used in picture tubes, suggesting that this glass should be treated as hazardous waste.
