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Harnessing HibernationDecember 6, 1997 | Volume 152 | Number 23 Cover: This ground squirrel (Citellus tridecemlineatus) is just starting to rouse from hibernation. Scientists are studying such animals to determine how they tolerate reduced blood flow to the brain during hibernation. The information may suggest new treatments for people with stroke. (Photo: Kai U. Frerichs) |
Features:
TimeLine
Food for Thought
Estrogen's Emerging Manly Alter Ego
Studies with mutant mice show how a male's fertility depends on estrogen, thereby suggesting ways that some pollutants might trigger reproductive problems.
Herpesvirus linked to multiple sclerosis
The virus that causes roseola, a typically mild childhood disease, shows up in some adults with multiple sclerosis.
Tracking a black-hole eruption
An array of radio telescopes in England has tracked the latest explosion of a compact source, suspected to be a black hole.
A paint that changes color in response to corrosion can signal potential problems.
Generating sound waves inside specially shaped cavities can produce energy densities and peak pressures much higher than any previously achieved.
Brain chemical may aid mouse mothering
Mice lacking the neurotransmitter norepinephrine fail to care for their young.
Excess crimes by mentally retarded on own
Mentally retarded men and women living in the community commit proportionally more crimes of all types than do people with no mental disorder.
Seedless wonders for winter markets
Plants can be genetically engineered to provide more marketable off-season vegetables.
Research Notes:
Astronomy
Mars mapping postponed
A damaged solar panel will delay until March 1999 the start of a mission to map the surface composition and atmosphere of the Red Planet.
Two more moons for Uranus
Using a large telescope usually reserved for viewing more distant reaches of the universe, astronomers have discovered two additional moons of Uranus. Biomedicine
HIV not eradicated by drug cocktail
Even the most potent triple drug course doesn't completely eliminate the AIDS virus.
Some needle sticks worse than others
The risk of getting HIV by a needle stick contaminated with infected blood rises with depth of wound, amount of blood, and other factors. Biology
Biological clocks fly into view
The fruit fly has timekeeping mechanisms distributed throughout its body.
Resolving the magnetoreception puzzle
Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which trout sense Earth's magnetic field. Science and Society
Redressing an environmental injustice
The federal government is buying out a residential Superfund site in Pensacola, Fla., which had been subjected to a disproportionate share of the region's industrial pollution.
Resolving the magnetoreception puzzle
Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which trout sense Earth's magnetic field.
Industry's R&D funding up, feds' down
Overall research funding in the United States has been climbing faster than inflation for the past 3 years, despite a drop in government expenditure. Technology
Protons as memory aids
Mobile protons trapped in a silicon dioxide layer serve as the basis of a memory device that retains data even after the power is turned off.
Against the wall
Researchers have detected the layering of atoms of a liquid metal in contact with a solid wall.
Record fusion power
The Joint European Torus set a world record of 13 megawatts for peak power generated in a nuclear fusion reactor.
Articles:
Floating Frogs
Magnets help living organisms defy gravity Research with frogs and their embryos suggests that magnetic levitation could serve as a substitute for low gravity in experiments on development.
Hibernating animals may hold clues to novel stroke treatments Scientists examine how squirrel brains endure the rigors of hibernation to gain clues for salvaging brain tissue after a stroke.
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