Uncategorized
- Humans
Letters from the February 19, 2005, issue of Science News
Negative thinking The article “Sweet Glow: Nanotube sensor brightens path to glucose detection” (SN: 1/1/05, p. 3) mentions “ferricyanide, an electron-hungry molecule.” This puzzled me no end. Aren’t ferricyanide molecules, unlike their ions, electrically neutral? I’m trying to visualize ravenous molecules gobbling up innocent electrons. Ernest NussbaumBethesda, Md. Ferricyanide is indeed an ion, with a […]
- Chemistry
Molecular surgery traps hydrogen inside carbon cage
In a feat of precision chemistry, scientists have locked a pair of hydrogen atoms inside a soccer ball–shaped carbon molecule known as a buckyball.
- Health & Medicine
Against the Migraine
Migraines may be among the problems that stem from a common but rarely diagnosed heart defect, and researchers have discovered that repairing the defect cures some of the headaches.
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19518
This article mentions several possible triggers for migraines, with a patent foramen ovale being one. There is also the change-in-weather trigger, from which I suffer. All the symptoms mentioned in the article could cause a fairly sudden change in blood pressure. A weather-related change in barometric pressure might have the same effect. I wonder if […]
- Health & Medicine
Southern blacks face excess risk of stroke
Blacks living in southern U.S. states have a greater risk of dying of stroke than do blacks living in northern states.
- Health & Medicine
Stroke patients show dearth of vitamin D
People recovering from a stroke have less vitamin D in their systems than do healthy peers, which could explain why stroke patients often have low bone density and risk breaking bones.
- Health & Medicine
High salt intake hikes stroke risk
People who consume a lot of salt are nearly twice as likely to have a stroke as are people who consume less salt, even when their blood pressures are equivalent.
- Health & Medicine
Vampire spit gives strokes a licking
A drug derived from a component of vampire bat saliva can clear blood clots in the brains of people who have had strokes.
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Lefties, righties take neural sides in perceiving parts
A brain-imaging study indicates that right-handers and left-handers use different, corresponding neural regions to perceive parts of an object while ignoring the larger entity.
- Humans
High costs of CT screening
Whole-body computed tomography scans for asymptomatic disease do not appear cost-effective at this time.
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19517
This article overlooks an immeasurable long-term cost of whole-body computed tomography scans: the potential cancers induced by high-dose radiation. Aggressive marketing of CT scans without full disclosure of the risk is unethical and should be illegal. Nancy EvansSan Francisco, Calif.
- Earth
Subway air does extra damage
Airborne particles in subterranean transit stations may be more damaging to human cells than are particles from street-level air.
