News
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Health & Medicine
Marijuana may boost heart attack risk
Marijuana seems to heighten the risk of heart attack in some people during the hour after which it is smoked.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Arthritis drug succeeds vs. psoriasis
People with the skin disorder psoriasis respond well to infliximab, a drug normally given to arthritis patients.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Insulin shots fail to prevent diabetes
Insulin injections failed to prevent type I, or juvenile-onset, diabetes from developing in children and young adults predisposed to the disease.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Does lack of sleep lead to diabetes?
Lack of sleep makes healthy adults somewhat resistant to the effects of the hormone insulin, suggesting it could predispose people toward type II, or adult-onset, diabetes.
By Nathan Seppa -
Earth
Atlanta leaves big chemical footprint
A new analysis of water quality downstream of Atlanta shows that some pollutants from the city are still detectable in the river more than 500 kilometers away.
By Sid Perkins -
Earth
Amazon forest could disappear, soon
A new model that includes a forest's effect on regional climate shows that the Amazon rainforest could disappear in the next three decades, much more rapidly than previously expected.
By Sid Perkins -
Chemistry
Wee dots yield rainbow of molecule markers
Chemists report a scheme for creating a versatile color-based tagging system out of tiny atomic clusters, called quantum dots, that may enable scientists to track biomolecules with more finesse than ever.
By Peter Weiss -
Archaeology
Stone Age folk in Asia adapted to extremes
Preliminary evidence indicates that people occupied the harsh, high-altitude environment of Asia's Tibetan Plateau in the late Stone Age, between 11,000 and 12,000 years ago.
By Bruce Bower -
Humans
Physicist steps up to be science adviser
President Bush has announced that he intends to nominate John Marburger, the head of Brookhaven National Laboratory, as his science advisor.
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Tree pollen exploits surrogate mothers
An Algerian cypress releases pollen that can develop without fertilization, using another tree species' female organs instead of a mate's.
By Susan Milius -
Health & Medicine
Nicotine spurs vessel growth, maybe cancer
Test-tube and mouse experiments show that nicotine induces angiogenesis, the formation of new blood vessels.
By Nathan Seppa -
Astronomy
Andromeda feasts on its satellite galaxies
A new study reveals that the Andromeda galaxy, the nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way, is a cannibal, devouring its tiny galactic neighbors.
By Ron Cowen