Uncategorized
- Humans
Jonathan Eberhart (1942–2003)
After chronicling space science and exploration for 3 decades on behalf of Science News, Jonathan Eberhart died last week from complications of multiple sclerosis.
- Ecosystems
After Invasions: Can an ant takeover change the rules?
A rare before-and-after study of a takeover by an invasive ant species shows the interloper quickly disassembling the basic rules of the invaded community.
- Health & Medicine
Mixed Results: AIDS vaccine falters in whites, may help blacks
In its first large test, an AIDS vaccine has failed to shield an at-risk population from acquiring AIDS.
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19226
This article on waterproof coats was interesting, but the process used by the Turkish scientists would require evaporating the solvent. Should not possible harmful environmental side effects be considered before a new industrial process is created? Kenneth CrookSan Jose, Calif. I believe this same phenomenon occurs on the leaves of the common perennial lady’s mantle […]
- Materials Science
Waterproof Coats: Materials repel water with simplicity, style
Researchers have produced new types of water-repelling surfaces, including one that's colorful and another made of inexpensive plastic.
- Earth
Sexual Hang-Up: Fish hormones change when oxygen is scarce
Oxygen deprivation—an escalating problem in freshwater ecosystems worldwide—tampers with sex hormones in carp and might underlie the decline in some fish and amphibian species.
- Anthropology
Pieces of a Disputed Past: Fossil finds enter row over humanity’s roots
Two new fossil discoveries have fueled scientific debates about the evolutionary status of a pair of species traditionally considered to have been our direct ancestors, Homo habilis and Homo erectus.
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Stem Cell Surprise: Blood cells form liver, nerve cells
Human blood contains stem cells that can be transformed outside the body into a variety of cell types, suggesting that a person's blood could someday provide replacement cells for that individual's damaged brain or kidney.
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19225
Your article on home-water disinfection in Africa reminds me of a water treatment method proposed a long time ago. It consisted of a long (200-foot), U-shape tube sunk in the ground as part of the water-delivery system. No organism could survive the pressure at the bottom of it. Lawrence EldenDearborn, Mich.
- Earth
A Safe Solution
A home-based technique for treating microbe-contaminated water with chlorine solution could save millions of lives in countries that are currently unable to provide residents with safe drinking water.
- Materials Science
Technique may yield vocal cord stand-in
A plastic material used in some biological implants could someday form a foundation for tissue that can repair or replace human vocal cords.
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Good taste in men linked to colon risks
Men with exceptionally sensitive powers of taste may face extra health risks, such as colon cancer.
