November 29, 1997
News of the Week:
Gene Creates Malaria Drug Resistance
Alterations in a gene called cg2 underlie malaria-causing parasites' resistance to the drug chloroquine. Su, X. . . . T.E. Wellems. 1997. Complex polymorphisms in an ~330 kDa protein are linked to chloroquine-resistant P. falciparum in Southeast Asia and Africa. Cell 91(Nov. 28). Shell, E.R. 1997. Resurgence of a deadly disease. Atlantic Monthly August. Available at http://www.theatlantic.com/atlantic/issues/97aug/malaria.htm.
Sulfur: Cool, compact, and conductive
Sulfur, compressed at 1.6 million times atmospheric pressure, becomes a superconductor when cooled to 17 kelvins. Struzhkin, V.V., R.J. Hemley, et al. 1997. Superconductivity at 10-17 K in compressed sulphur. Nature 390(Nov. 27):382. Lipkin, R. 1996. The lightest metal in the universe. Science News 149(April 20):250. Vergano, D. 1996. Crystalline hydrogen gets its first X ray. Science News 150(Oct. 26):261. Wu, C. 1997. Stresses and strains on diamonds. Science News 151(May 31):340.
A single high-fat meal depresses healthy dilation of blood vessels and boosts clotting proteins in the blood. Larsen, L.F., et al. 1997. Effects of dietary fat quality and quantity on postprandial activation of blood coagulation factor VII. Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology 17(November). Plotnick, G.D., M.C. Corretti, and R.A. Vogel. 1997. Effect of antioxidant vitamins on the transient impairment of endothelium-dependent brachial artery vasoactivity following a single high-fat meal. Journal of the American Medical Association 278(Nov. 26):1682. Hu, F.B., et al. 1997. Dietary fat intake and the risk of coronary heart disease in women. New England Journal of Medicine 337:1491. Raloff, J. 1996. Antioxidants: Confirming a heart-y role. Science News 150(July 6):6. Steinberg, H.O., et al. 1997. Endothelial dysfunction is associated with cholesterol levels in the high normal range in humans. Circulation 96. Wu, C. 1997. How antioxidants defend cells. Science News 151(Feb. 15):111.
Continents growing wetter as globe warms
Meteorological records since 1900 show precipitation increasing globally but decreasing in the tropics. Dai, A., I.Y. Fung, and A.D. Del Genio. 1997. Surface observed global land precipitation variations during 1900-1988. Journal of Climate November.
Electromagnetic fields of an intensity that can be found in some homes blocked the ability of a breast cancer drug to halt cell proliferation. Blackman, C.F., et al. 1996. Independent replication of the 12-mG magnetic field effect on melatonin and mcf-7 cells in vitro. Eighteenth annual meeting of the Bioelectromagnetics Society. Victoria, British Columbia. Harland, J.D. and R.P. Liburdy. 1997. Environmental magnetic fields inhibit the antiproliferative action of tamoxifen and melatonin in a human breast cancer cell line. Bioelectromagnetics 18. Liburdy, R.P., et al. 1997. A 12mG (1.2 uTesla) magnetic field inhibits tamoxifen's oncostatic action in a second human breast cancer cell line: T47D. Second World Congress for Electricity and Magnetism in Biology and Medicine. Bologna, Italy. 1995. EMFs on the brain? Science News 147(Jan. 21):44. Adler, T. 1994. Study reaffirms tamoxifen's dark side. Science News 145(June 4):356. Edwards, D. 1988. Cells haywire in electromagnetic field? Science News 133(April 2):216. Ezzell, C. 1991. Power-line static. Science News 140(Sept. 28):202. Fackelmann, K. 1994. Do EMFs pose breast cancer risk? Science News 145(June 18):388. Raloff, J. 1995. Drug of darkness. Science News 147(May 13):300. ______. 1994. Tamoxifen puts cancer on starvation diet. Science News 146(Nov. 5):292. ______. 1994. Tamoxifen turmoil. Science News 146(Oct. 22):268. ______. 1994. Another way EMFs might harm tissues. Science News 145(Feb. 19):127. ______. 1993. EMFs run aground. Science News 144(Aug. 21):124. ______. 1993. . . . but quenched by ubiquitous hormone. Science News 144(Aug. 14):109. ______. 1992. Tamoxifen quandary. Science News 141(April 25):266. ______. 1990. EPA suspects ELF fields can cause cancer. Science News 137(June 30):404. Schmidt, K. 1991. Fickle fields: EMFs and epidemiology. Science News 140(Nov. 30):357.
Cave finds make point about early humans
A new report describes South African bone tools that may reflect complex technological advances more than 40,000 years ago. Henshilwood, C., and J. Sealy. 1997. Bone artefacts from the Middle Stone Age at Blombos Cave, Southern Cape, South Africa. Current Anthropology 38(December):890. Bower, B. 1995. African finds revise cultural roots. Science News 147(April 29):260.
Pests find new ways around natural toxins
Diamondback moth caterpillars deploy a variety of strategies to defuse the natural pesticide Bt, which is used in integrated pest management. Tabashnik, B.E., et al. 1997. Global variation in the genetic and biochemical basis of diamondback moth resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis. Gould, F., et al. 1997. Initial frequency of alleles for resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis toxins in field populations of Heliothis virescens. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94(April):3519. Mlot, C. 1997. A soil story. Science News 152(July 26):58. Oppert, B., et al. 1997. Proteinase-mediated insect resistance to Bacillus thuringiensis toxins. Journal of Biological Chemistry 272(Sept. 19):23473. Perkins, S. 1997. Transgenic plants provoke petition. Science News 152(Sept. 27):199.
Hubble eyes springtime on Uranus
Using the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have for the first time viewed the northern hemisphere of Uranus with modern detectors. Further information and additional photographs are available at http://oposite.stsci.edu/pubinfo.
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Wretched excess yields double trouble
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Magnetic fields can diminish drug action
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Biomedicine
Breast milk: A leading source of PCBs
Breast milk provides large amounts of potentially neurotoxic chemicals to infants. Patandin, S., et al. 1997. Plasma polychlorinated biphenyl levels in Dutch preschool children either breast-fed or formula-fed during infancy. American Journal of Public Health 87(October):1711. Jacobson, J.L., and S.W. Jacobson. 1996. Intellectual impairment in children exposed to polychlorinated biphenyls in utero. New England Journal of Medicine 335(Sept. 12):783. Raloff, J. 1997. Jury is still out on PCBs' aging effects. Science News Online June 21. ______. 1996. Banned pollutant's legacy: Lower IQs. Science News 150(Sept. 14):165. ______. 1995. PCBs' legacy can affect next generation. Science News 148(Nov. 11):310.
Penile birth defect on the rise
The incidence of a common male birth defect is climbing throughout the United States, and hormone exposures are suspected of playing some role. Paulozzi, L.J., J.D. Erickson, and R.J. Jackson. 1997. Hypospadias trends in two US surveillance systems. Pediatrics 100(November):831. Raloff, J. 1994. That feminine touch. Science News 145(Jan. 22):56.
NIH panel gives acupuncture the nod
A panel convened by the National Institutes of Health has endorsed acupuncture as a treatment for certain conditions.
Two HIV tests prove better than one
A combination of blood and urine tests detects more HIV infections than either test alone. Mazzoli, S., et al. 1997. HIV-specific mucosal and cellular immunity in HIV-seronegative partners of HIV-seropositive individuals. Nature Medicine 3(November). Urnovitz, H.B., J.C. Sturge, and T.D. Gottfried. 1997. Increased sensitivity of HIV-1 antibody detection. Nature Medicine 3(November):1258.
Teen chlamydia infections widespread
A survey of teenagers shows 8.6 percent of girls and 5.4 percent of boys in Seattle have chlamydia. Marrazzo, J.M., et al. 1997. Community-based urine screening for Chlamydia trachomatis with ligase chain reaction assay. Annals of Internal Medicine 127(Nov. 1):796. Ecology
Patchy forests and greenhouse gases
Loss of biomass in small remnants of forest left behind after logging may contribute to increases of atmospheric greenhouse gases. Laurance, W.F., et al. 1997. Biomass collapse in Amazonian forest fragments. Science 278(Nov. 7):1117.
Island plants let down their defenses
Plants on Santa Cruz Island off California have significantly fewer defenses against animal grazers than do their mainland counterparts. Bowen, L., and D.V. Vuren. 1997. Insular endemic plants lack defenses against herbivores. Conservation Biology 11(October):1. Earth Science
Tree rings date Pacific Northwest quake
A large earthquake struck the northwestern coastline during the winter of 1700. Jacoby, G.C., D.E. Bunker, and B.E. Benson. 1997. Tree-ring evidence for an A.D. 1700 Cascadia earthquake in Washington and northern Oregon. Geology 25(November):999. Yamaguchi, D.K., et al. 1997. Tree-ring dating the 1700 Cascadia earthquake. Nature 389(Oct. 30):923. 1995. Waves in the night: Clues to a quake. Science News 147(April 8):223.
Delaying cuts in greenhouse emissions
Countries can stabilize atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases even if they don't set emissions limits until 2010. Ramakrishna, K. 1997. The great debate on CO2 emissions. Nature 390(Nov. 20):227. Wigley, T.M.L. 1997. Implications of recent CO2 emission-limitation proposals for stabilization of atmospheric concentrations. Nature 390(Nov. 20):267. Food Science
Teasing out tea's heart benefits
An explanation for tea drinkers' protection from heart attacks turns out to be complicated. Van het Hof, K.H., et al. 1997. Consumption of green or black tea does not increase resistance of low-density lipoprotein to oxidation in humans. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66(November):1125. Lipkin, R. 1993. Cosmic dust can ferry in organic molecules. Science News 144(Oct. 30):278. Pennisi, E. 1991. Tea-totaling mice gain cancer protection. Science News 140(Aug. 31):133. Raloff, J. 1997. Green tea: A drink to your health. Science News Online Sept. 13. ______. 1997. An apple a day keeps the oncologist away. Science News Online Aug. 2. ______. 1996. More on those "really bad" LDLs . . . Science News Online Sept. 21. ______. 1996. Of tea and heart disease. Science News 150(Sept. 7):150. ______. 1996. A couple of heart-friendly dark brews. Science News 149(May 4):286. _____. 1995. New support for tea's heart-y benefits. Science News 148(Dec. 9):399. ______. 1993. Add tea to that old 'apple a day' adage. Science News 144(Oct. 30):278. ______. 1992. Another reason to drink green tea. Science News 141(Apr. 18):253.
The heart-healthy side of lycopene
The pigment that makes tomatoes red also appears to help tomato-rich diets protect against heart attacks. Gartner, C., W. Stahl, and H. Sies. Lycopene is more bioavailable from tomato paste than from fresh tomatoes. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 66(July):116. Kohlmeier, L., et al. 1997. Lycopene and myocardial infarction risk in the EURAMIC study. American Journal of Epidemiology 146(Oct. 15):618. Gerster, H. 1997. The potential role of lycopene for human health. Journal of the American College of Nutrition 16:109. Kardinaal, A.F.M., et al. 1993. Antioxidants in adipose tissue and risk of myocardial infarction: The EURAMIC study. Lancet 342(Dec. 4):1379. Raloff, J. 1997. Looking for lycopene? Tomatoes are okay, but . . . Science News Online July 19.
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A New Look at Black Holes
Dim monsters in the spotlight Even puny, quiescent galaxies may hide a gravitational monster, according to a new theory of black hole dynamics. Di Matteo, T., and A.C. Fabian. 1997. Ion-supported tori: A thermal bremsstrahlung model for the X-ray background. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 286(April 1):393. Esin, A.A., J.E. McClintock, and R. Narayan. In press. Advection-dominated accretion and the spectral states of black hole X-ray binaries: Application to Nova Muscae 1991. Astrophysical Journal. Narayan, R., et al. In press. Advection-dominated accretion model of Sagittarius A*: Evidence for a black hole at the galactic center. Astrophysical Journal. Reynolds, C.S., et al. 1996. The 'quiescent' black hole in M87. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society 283(Dec. 15):L111. Monastersky, R. 1997. 1996: Year of warmth and weather reversals. Science News 151(Jan. 18):38. Yi, I. 1996. Cosmological evolution of quasars. Astrophysical Journal 473(Dec. 20):645.
Does a stress hormone play a role in AIDS? Controversial theories trace immune system debilitation to excess cortisol and an HIV protein's mimicry of similar hormones. Ayyavoo, V. 1997. HIV 1 Vpr suppress immune activation and control apoptosis in T cells. Second International Conference on Cortisol and Anti-Cortisols. Las Vegas. Ayyavoo, V. . . . D.B. Weiner. 1997. HIV-1 Vpr suppresses immune activation and apoptosis through regulation of nuclear factor kB. Nature Medicine 3(October):1117. Kino, T., J.B. Kopp, and G.P. Chrousos. 1997. The HIV-1 VPR gene product enhances the transactivating effects of glucocorticoids in human lympitoid and muscle-derived cell lines. Meeting of the Endocrine Society. Minneapolis. Sapse, A.T. 1997. Cortisol, high cortisol diseases and anticortisol therapy. Psychoneuroendocrinology 22(September):S3.
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Table of Contents - 11/29/97