Uncategorized
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Hunter Beware: Infectious proteins found in deer muscle
Infectious agents that cause a mad cow–like infection in deer and elk are present in infected animals' muscles.
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19637
I must quibble about the headline of this piece about chronic wasting disease in deer. “Hunter Beware” sounds ominous, but in order to get the mice to exhibit symptoms after getting muscle tissue from infected deer, it was necessary to use genetically engineered mice carrying deer protein. While hunters would be unlikely to take and […]
- Earth
Charting the Past: Surveys map two lost harbors of Phoenicia
By analyzing long tubes of sediment drilled from locations in and around the Mediterranean ports of Tyre and Sidon, scientists have rediscovered the harbors from which legions of ancient Phoenician mariners set sail.
- Materials Science
Mother-of-Pearl on Ice: New ceramics might serve in bones and machines
Ceramics made by freezing water in an unusual way mimic not only the complicated microstructure of mother-of-pearl but also its extraordinary strength and toughness.
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Red Alert for Red Apes: DNA shows big losses for Borneo orangutans
A new genetic study charts a steep population decline among orangutans in northeastern Borneo, raising new concerns about possible extinction of the animals within the next few decades.
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19636
This article details logging and poaching practices that have decimated the orangutan population on Borneo. These practices are not only sad, they’re criminal. It’s time for scientists to become as politically active as the religious right and start fighting for actions known to be needed. In this case, it’s protecting orangutans from extinction. Scientists must […]
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19635
I was surprised to read nothing about the timing of the songs when the birds are separated by distance. The ABCD duet would become A—BC—D (where the dashes represent the time delay due to distance) to the male and AB—CD to the female. The duet could be a distance-measurement tool for pairs wanting to keep […]
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19634
This article made no mention of the Clarno fossil beds and others nearby in north-central Oregon. Everything from pollen to midsize extinct mammals has been perfectly preserved and looks exactly like freshly exposed matter, not fossil rock. The living matter was entrapped by an enormous mudslide. Herman GelbachNormandy Park, Wash.
- Paleontology
First Steps
Using materials as diverse as lobster eggs, dead birds, and the headless carcass of a rhinoceros, scientists are conducting experiments that scrutinize the first steps of the fossilization process.
- Humans
Letters from the January 28, 2006, issue of Science News
Oil-for-food exchange Several decades ago, I heard of the anecdotal correlation between the rise of hydrogenated oils in our foods and the rise of colon cancer. The Swedish study that correlated high dairy-fat intake with lower risk of colon cancer (“Dairy fats cut colon cancer risk,” SN: 11/19/05, p. 333) might be reexamined to see […]
- Health & Medicine
Old idea fights ovarian cancer
Delivering chemotherapy directly into the abdomen improves survival in women with advanced ovarian cancer.
