More Stories from the May 5, 2012 issue
- Health & Medicine
Fatty diet leads to fat-loving brain cells
A study in mice links a high-fat diet to changes in the brain that might encourage weight gain.
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- Humans
New ancestor grasped at walking
By 3.4 million years ago, two human relatives built differently for upright movement inhabited East Africa.
- Physics
Cloaks for hiding heat
A proposed invisibility cloak for heat could shield computers or satellites from high temperatures.
- Life
Pesticide-dosed bees lose future royalty, way home
Unusual field tests reveal how common insecticides, even at nonfatal doses, can erode colonies and threaten the future of bumblebees and honeybees.
- Chemistry
For truffle aroma, it’s not all about location
Genes, not environment, play a key role in the prized fungus’s scent.
- Health & Medicine
Brain scan foretells who will fold under pressure
Tests on high-stakes math problems reveal key regions of brain activity linked to choking under pressure.
- Astronomy
New data support Einstein on accelerating universe
New measurements of distant galaxies support Einstein’s cosmological constant as the explanation for the universe’s accelerating expansion.
- Humans
From the ashes, the oldest controlled fire
A South Africa cave yields the oldest secure evidence for a blaze controlled by human ancestors.
- Health & Medicine
Jolt to brain aids language recovery
Stroke patients treated with brain stimulation show improvement in language skills.
- Life
Virus proves protective against lupus in mice
A mouse version of Epstein-Barr seems to prevent, not trigger, symptoms of the autoimmune disease.
- Life
Genes are no crystal ball for disease risk
For most conditions, knowing a person’s entire genetic makeup won’t help predict his or her medical history.
- Physics
Highlights from the American Physical Society April Meeting, Atlanta
String theory’s take on the Higgs, newborn pulsars may have iron by-products, and coupled neutrons in beryllium nuclei revealed.
- Psychology
Autism rates rise again
Related developmental disorders affect 1.1 percent of U.S. 8-year-olds.
- Life
Stem cell treatment spurs cartilage growth
A small molecule called kartogenin prompts the manufacture of lost connective tissue in mice.
- Paleontology
T. rex has another fine, feathered cousin
A trio of fossils from China may tip the scales on dinosaurs’ public image.
- Health & Medicine
Extreme eaters show abnormal brain activity
Seeing images of food revs up reward areas in the obese and slows them down in severely underweight people, a brain scan study shows.
- Humans
Chemists distinguish between gunshot residue from various firearms
Analytical technique could lead to better crime scene investigation.
- Life
Baboons show their word skills
Monkeys learn to distinguish words from nonwords, suggesting ancient evolutionary roots for reading.
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Science Future for May 5, 2012
May 16 Test your mettle at science trivia night at Washington, D.C.’s Koshland Science Museum. Prizes go to the winning team. See bit.ly/SFtrivia May 19 The Orlando Science Center holds a Science of Wine event, with educational events and wines from around the world. More information at bit.ly/SFoscwine
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SN Online
EARTH Horizontal motion makes a magnitude 8.6 quake less dangerous. Learn more in “Indonesian quake passes without major tsunami.” DELETED SCENES BLOG A video game puts birds into orbit. Read “The Newtonian physics (or not) of Angry Birds Space.” GENES & CELLS Altering gene activity may make chemotherapy more effective. See “Old cancer drugs offer […]
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Language: The Cultural Tool by Daniel L. Everett
A linguist who spent three decades among the Pirahã people of Amazonia presents language as a human tool that can be reinvented or lost over time. Pantheon, 2012, 351 p., $27.95
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A Tour of the Senses: How Your Brain Interprets the World by John M. Henshaw
A blend of research findings and real-world anecdotes about people’s sensory experiences enlivens this historical view of the science behind perception. Johns Hopkins Univ., 2012, 272 p., $29.95
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Charles R. Knight: The Artist Who Saw Through Time by Richard Milner
The wildlife artist and his classic illustrations of the ancient past come to life in this illustrated volume. Abrams, 2012, 180 p., $40
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Taking Sudoku Seriously: The Math Behind the World’s Most Popular Pencil Puzzle by Jason Rosenhouse and Laura Taalman
A look at the popular puzzles reveals the fundamental mathematical concepts at play. Oxford Univ., 2011, 226 p., $21.95
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Aliens in Antarctica
Visitors carry unwelcome species into a once pristine environment.
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Another Side to Statins
Heart-healthy drugs show promise against inflammation, cancer and the flu.
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Rock, Rattle and Roll
Planetary scientists seek to fill in gaps in outer solar system’s formative years.
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Letters
Happy 90th, Science News My father has generously given a subscription of Science News to me since I was small. In the ’60s I received a package in the mail each month containing science experiment materials and directions. So cool! We celebrated Dad’s 90th birthday in April. He was an aeronautic engineer; I’m an architect. […]
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Science Past from the issue of May 5, 1962
CANCER CAUSE IN TOBACCO — “You might as well ask a person if he believes the earth is round as to ask him if he is one of those who believes cigarettes cause cancer,” Dr. Charles B. Huggins, director of the Ben May Laboratory for Cancer Research, University of Chicago, told SCIENCE SERVICE…. Sixty known […]
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The Epigenetics Revolution by Nessa Carey
A look at the emerging field of epigenetics shows how chemical changes to DNA affect everything from cat color patterns to human health. Columbia Univ., 2012, 352 p., $26.95
