More Stories from the September 14, 2002 issue
- Animals
Singing frog in China evokes whales, primates
A frog in China warbles and flutes with such versatility that its high-pitched calls sound like those of birds or whales.
- Health & Medicine
Protein flags colon, prostate cancers
A compound first identified as a possible culprit in Huntington's disease may be an indicator of cancers of the prostate gland and colon.
- Animals
Many fish run on empty
Many fish eat all the time, while some others spend their days going from brief feast to lengthy famine.
- Earth
Cave formations yield seismic clues
Analyses of toppled stalagmites and other fallen rock formations in two Israeli caves may provide hints about the rate of ancient earthquakes in the area.
- Earth
Chinese records show typhoon cycles
Historical records compiled by local governments along China's southeastern coast during the past 1,000 years suggest that there's a 50-year cycle in the annual number of typhoons that strike the area.
- Archaeology
Could the Anasazi have stayed?
New computer simulations of the changing environmental conditions around one of the Anasazi cultural centers in the first part of the last millennium suggest that drought wasn't the only factor behind a sudden collapse of the civilization.
- Chemistry
Money Allergies: Two-toned euro coins shed metallic allergen
The two-alloy composition of some euro coins makes them release large amounts of nickel, a common skin allergen.
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Distressing Dispatches: Some journalists feel stress wounds of war
A substantial and largely unnoticed minority of war reporters and photographers develops symptoms of a severe stress reaction as a result of the job.
- Astronomy
Birth of a Tiny Galaxy: In the universe, dwarfs may pop up last
Using the Hubble Space Telescope to observe a tiny galaxy still in the process of being born, astronomers are getting a rare glimpse of how larger galaxies formed early in the history of the universe.
- Humans
Small Steps: World Summit delegates wrangle over eco-friendly future
Twenty thousand delegates from around the world met in Johannesburg last week for a contentious World Summit on Sustainable Development.
- Materials Science
Better-Built Diamonds: Fast growth, purity may multiply uses
A research group has fabricated the purest diamonds ever made or found, and another has devised a way to grow high-quality diamonds up to 100 times faster than typical growth rates.
- Health & Medicine
Smoking Gun? Mouse tests link nicotine to crib death
Nicotine may impair a molecule that's necessary for arousing people and other animals from sleep, an effect that could account for the heightened risk of sudden infant death syndrome in babies born to women who smoked during pregnancy.
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Corn Defenses: Bitten plants deploy gut-rotting enzyme
Some corn varieties that arose on the Caribbean island of Antigua defend themselves with chemical attacks that leave insect gut linings in tatters.
- Health & Medicine
Targeted Therapies
Tailoring prescriptions based on a person's genes may help reduce side effects and allow the development of more personalized medicine.
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Save Our Sounds
Some 14 libraries around the world have built up substantial collections of natural sounds, from bird songs to fish hums.
