Uncategorized
- Health & Medicine
Calming Factor: DNA vaccine for MS passes initial test
A DNA vaccine against multiple sclerosis passes a safety trial and shows signs of suppressing immune-directed nerve damage.
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Mood Bugs: Beetle changes color in fluid fashion
A Central American beetle changes color in a novel way, using its body fluid to control the reflectivity of its shell.
- Planetary Science
Geyser gawker: Plans for a closer look at Enceladus
The Cassini spacecraft will change course to take a close look next March at plumes of water vapor emanating from the south pole of Saturn's moon Enceladus.
- Health & Medicine
Anti-inflammatory prevents pancreatic cancer in mice
An anti-inflammatory drug of the COX-2 inhibitor family blocks precancerous lesions in mice prone to pancreatic cancer.
- Math
Calculating the Word Spurt
Mathematics, not brain development, explains why toddlers begin to pick up words quickly after a slow start.
- Tech
Uncharted atomic landscapes
A refinement to electron microscopes enables them not only to visualize atoms but also to identify different elements.
- Earth
How reading may protect the brain
People who read well show more resistance to the toxic brain effects of lead exposure.
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19871
Margit L. Bleecker appears to have discovered that those who score highly on reading tests also score highly on tests of memory, attention, and concentration. I don’t find that highly surprising. Ivan MannHoover, Ala.
- Animals
What’s so great about ‘chuck’?
A particular flourish in a male frog's call attracts extra interest from predators as well as female frogs, and researchers now have an idea why.
- Animals
Badly matched birds make troubled parents
Cockatiel pairs that don't cooperate well have trouble raising their chicks.
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19870
This article reviews efforts to explain why certain biological molecules tend to be all right-handed (e.g., sugars) or left-handed (e.g., amino acids). An explanation might lie in the evolution of enzymes involved in their synthesis. For example, the fact that some organisms produce predominantly d-alanine could be explained by random mutations for the opposite enzyme […]
- Chemistry
Alien Pizza, Anyone?
Although many biochemical molecules come in left-handed and right-handed versions, life on Earth uses one version exclusively, and some controversial experiments suggest this preference might not be due to chance.
