More Stories from the August 16, 2008 issue
- Health & Medicine
Asthma oddity
Helicobacter pylori, a common microbe that colonizes the stomach, might protect against asthma.
-
- Health & Medicine
Against the grains
People on either a low-carbohydrate or Mediterranean diet fared better over two years than those on a low-fat diet.
- Life
Magnetic sense linked to molecule
Fruit fly experiments shed light on animals’ use of Earth’s magnetic field for orientation and navigation.
- Health & Medicine
Viagra and women
Viagra eases some sexual problems for women taking antidepressants
- Chemistry
Quantum physics makes water different
The length of bonds connecting water molecules could demonstrate quantum effects and help explain some of water’s weirdness.
- Plants
Parasitic plant gets more than a meal
The parasitic vine known as dodder really sucks. It pierces the tissue of other plants — some of which are important crops — extracting water and nutrients needed for its own growth. But it also consumes molecules that scientists could manipulate to bring on the parasite’s demise.
- Health & Medicine
Statin snag
A gene variant explains why some people get muscle pains from cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins.
- Plants
Fugitives spread bumblebee diseases
Pathogens hitchhike on commercial bees that escape from greenhouses. These escapees bring disease to wild bumblebees.
- Health & Medicine
Protein links metabolism and circadian rhythms
Scientists have known for ages that metabolism is tied to the body’s daily rhythms. Two new studies suggest how.
- Humans
Toddlers triumphant
In new studies, toddlers display dramatic advances in object recognition that may underlie verbal and symbolic achievements.
- Psychology
Core calculations
Number words may serve as mental tools for expanding on basic, nonverbal numerical knowledge rather than as determinants of such knowledge.
- Life
How the snake got its fangs
A study of snake embryos suggests that fangs evolved once, then moved around in the head to give today’s snakes a variety of bites.
- Health & Medicine
Nanomagnets tackle cancer
Under the influence of an external magnetic field, tiny magnets act as highly localized space heaters, warming to temperatures that kill adjacent cancer cells.
- Animals
Built for Speed
Animals would prove fierce competitors at the Olympics — if only they would stay in their lanes.
- Health & Medicine
Neuron Killers
Misfolded, clumping proteins evade conviction, but they remain prime suspects in neurodegenerative diseases.
- Math
Welcome to the Quantum Internet
Quantum encryption is here, but the laws of physics can do much more than protect privacy.
