News
- Earth
Algal bloom is smothering Florida coral
The anomalous growth of a native alga—now blanketing the seabed in a huge swath off the southern coast of Florida—points to overfertilization with upwelling sewage.
-
Cancer patients accentuate the positive
Group therapy that promotes positive types of personal growth in breast cancer patients may also result in beneficial physiological changes.
- Agriculture
Bt corn variety OK for black swallowtails
The first published field study of butterflies and genetically altered corn finds no harm to black swallowtail caterpillars from a common corn variety.
- Health & Medicine
Keeping the beat
Muscle cells taken from embryonic rats and put into an adult rat's heart can transmit the electric signals that govern the heartbeat.
- Tech
Robotic heart surgery
By using robotic rather than conventional open-heart techniques, doctors can perform heart surgery with smaller incisions, giving patients less pain and speeding recovery.
- Health & Medicine
Enzyme Shortage May Lead to Lupus
Without the enzyme DNase I, mice are vulnerable to symptoms of lupus, a debilitating autoimmune disease.
- Health & Medicine
Cycling and surgery have similar effect
Among people with chest pain because of clogged heart arteries, regular exercise on a stationary bike reduced symptoms better than surgery did.
- Health & Medicine
A hot new therapy?
Spending time in a sauna improves heart function in people with chronic heart failure.
- Planetary Science
Seeing Saturn
After 5 years of interplanetary travel, the Saturn-bound Cassini spacecraft has taken its first picture of the ringed planet.
- Health & Medicine
Protein may signal heart problems
A protein already linked to inflammation is also a strong predictor of heart problems.
- Health & Medicine
Natural fluoride isn’t quite enough
In the absence of a public water-fluoridation program in eastern Germany, natural background concentrations of fluoride in drinking water affect children’s dental health.
- Earth
Child-care sites, health threats
Federal agencies have completed the first national study of lead, pesticides, and allergens in U.S. child-care facilities.
