Uncategorized
- Health & Medicine
Nerve Link: Alzheimer’s suspect shows up in glaucoma
Amyloid-beta, the protein fragment implicated in Alzheimer's disease, may also play a role in glaucoma.
- Earth
Bad for Baby: New risks found for plastic constituent
Early exposure to bisphenol A, a building block of polycarbonate plastics, can trigger a variety of later health problems.
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Recent reports of plastics such as dioxin and now bisphenol A make me wonder if there are any Alzheimer’s-linked aluminum ions or atoms or whatever floating around in our soda cans. Those glass bottles from yesteryear are starting to look very wholesome. Linda ZimmermanTorrance, Calif.
- Animals
Ferrets Gone Wild: Reintroduced animals coming back in Wyoming
A Wyoming population of endangered black-footed ferrets, started from captive-bred animals, has survived difficulties and is doing well.
- Health & Medicine
Skeletal Discovery: Bone cells affect metabolism
A protein made by bone cells has a surprising influence on energy metabolism, and could have a role in treating diabetes.
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Osteocalcin may well be the answer to the startling, nearly three-times-stronger glucose control observed in downhill walkers, compared with people walking uphill (SN: 12/11/04, p. 380). The eccentric exertion of downhill walking could be stimulating more osteocalcin release from osteoblasts. Members of our burgeoning prediabetic civilization may be inspired to generate their own osteocalcin by […]
- Health & Medicine
Serotonin lower in shift workers
Workers who rotate between day and night shifts have less of the brain chemical serotonin than day shift workers do.
- Earth
Beware summer radon-test results
Measuring household radon levels in summer may give misleadingly low results.
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19867
Based on the Environmental Protection Agency’s Web resources on radon, I find that the decreases in radon levels in the summer are unlikely to be caused by a lack of air currents from less temperature differential in houses. The EPA states that an open window can be effective in reducing radon levels. And when are […]
- Astronomy
Veiled black holes
Many X ray sources in the sky could be active galactic nuclei smothered by gas and dust that blocks their emission of visible and ultraviolet light.
- Materials Science
Pliable carbon
The layers of carbon atoms that form graphite can be assembled into strong but flexible "graphene paper."
- Health & Medicine
CT heart scans: Risk climbs as age at screening falls
CT scans are increasingly used to investigate heart blockages, but their X rays can increase cancer risk.
