More Stories from the January 28, 2006 issue
- Anthropology
India cultivated homegrown farmers
A new analysis of Y chromosome structure supports the view that around 10,000 years ago, people living in what's now India took up farming rather than giving way to foreigners who brought agriculture into South Asia.
- Materials Science
Engineering membranes from cellular parts
Chemists have for the first time spun the molecules that make up cellular membranes into fibrous networks.
- Chemistry
Reactions on the spot
Researchers report that they have engineered a miniature pipette that can dispense solutions at volumes of a billionth of a billionth of a liter.
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Enzyme measures RNA using natural ruler
An enzyme that chops RNA into identically sized pieces uses itself to measure those lengths.
- Humans
New law to limit politicized science
A new law prohibits three federal agencies from knowingly disseminating bad data and bans application of any political litmus test to experts under consideration as advisers.
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Polar-opposite bacteria swim south in the north
Some aquatic bacteria that orient themselves using Earth's magnetic field swim in the opposite direction from what researchers typically expect.
- Health & Medicine
Old idea fights ovarian cancer
Delivering chemotherapy directly into the abdomen improves survival in women with advanced ovarian cancer.
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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.
- 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.
- 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.
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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.
- Animals
Eggs Scramble: Fungi trick termites into babysitting
A fungus may be taking advantage of hardworking termite nursemaids by tricking them into tending egg-shaped fungal reproductive bodies along with real termite eggs.
- Health & Medicine
Double Dose: Two ways to boost kidney-transplant viability
By evaluating kidneys obtained for transplant from older people—then culling the worn-out organs—scientists can identify kidneys likely to last longer in their new hosts, especially when implanted in pairs.
- Humans
Young Scientists Get Results: Science, math, and engineering competition selects 40 talented finalists
Forty high school students have each earned a spot as a finalist in the 65th annual Intel Science Talent Search.
- 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.
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- 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 […]
