December 6, 1997
News of the Week:
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. Eddy, E.M., et al. 1996. Targeted disruption of the estrogen receptor gene in male mice causes alteration of spermatogenesis and infertility. Endocrinology 137(November):4796. Hess, R.A., et al. 1997. A role for oestrogens in the male reproductive system. Nature 390(Dec. 4):509. Sharpe, R.M. 1997. Do males rely on female hormones? Nature 390(Dec. 4). Swan, S.H., E.P. Elkin, and L. Fenster. 1997. Have sperm densities declined? A reanalysis of global trend data. Environmental Health Perspectives 105(November):1228. Fackelmann, K. 1996. Study finds no decline in sperm counts. Science News 149(June 8):365. Raloff, J. 1997. Roller-coaster sperm counts—and births. Science News 151(April 5):212. ______. 1997. Radical prostates. Science News 151(Feb. 22):126. ______. 1997. A new breadth to estrogen's bisexuality. Science News 151(Feb. 22):116. ______. 1995. A two-decade drop in sperm counts. Science News 147(Feb. 25):127. ______. 1994. That feminine touch. Science News 145(Jan. 22):56. ______. 1993. EcoCancers. Science News 144(July 3):10.
Herpesvirus linked to multiple sclerosis
The virus that causes roseola, a typically mild childhood disease, shows up in some adults with multiple sclerosis. Soldan, S.S. . . . S. Jacobson. 1997. Association of human herpes virus 6 (HHV-6) with multiple sclerosis: Increased IgM response to HHV-6 early antigen and detection of serum HHV-6 DNA. Nature Medicine 3(December):1394. Challoner, P.B., et al. 1995. Plaque-associated expression of human herpesvirus 6 in multiple sclerosis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 92(August):7440. Ebers, G.C., et al. 1986. A population-based study of multiple sclerosis in twins. New England Journal of Medicine 315:151. Fackelmann, K.A. 1994. Traitorous lymphocytes. Science News 145(June 11):378. Steinman, L., and M.B.A. Oldstone. 1997. More mayhem from molecular mimics. Nature Medicine 3(December):1321. Travis, J. 1997. Microbial trigger for autoimmunity? Science News 151(June 21):380. _____. 1995. MS families: It's genes, not a virus. Science News 148(Sept. 16):180.
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 Multi Element Radio Linked Interferometer Network (MERLIN) press release on the images is available at http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/merlin/grs.html. Lipkin, R. 1994. Grand illusion: Moving faster than light. Science News 146(Sept. 3):150.
A paint that changes color in response to corrosion can signal potential problems. Mullins, W.M. 1997. Ultrasonic quantification of corroded surfaces. Materials Research Society meeting. Boston. Zhang, J., and G.S. Frankel. 1997. Paint as a corrosion sensor: A comparison of the sensitivity of different coating systems. Materials Research Society meeting. Boston.
Generating sound waves inside specially shaped cavities can produce energy densities and peak pressures much higher than any previously achieved. Lawrenson, C.C., et al. 1997. Measurements of macrosonic standing waves in oscillating cavities. Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. San Diego. ______. Preprint. Measurements of macrosonic standing waves in oscillating closed cavities. I'linksii, Y.A., et al. 1997. A theoretical model of nonlinear standing waves in an oscillating cavity. Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America. San Diego. ______. Preprint. Nonlinear standing waves in an acoustical resonator.
Brain chemical may aid mouse mothering
Mice lacking the neurotransmitter norepinephrine fail to care for their young. Thomas, S.A., and R.D. Palmiter. 1997. Impaired maternal behavior in mice lacking norepinephrine and epinephrine. Cell 91(Nov. 28):583.
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. Crocker, A.G., and S. Hodgins. 1997. The criminality of noninstitutionalized mentally retarded persons. Criminal Justice and Behavior 24(December):432. Bower, B. 1995. Criminal intellects. Science News 147(April 15):232.
Seedless wonders for winter markets
Plants can be genetically engineered to provide more marketable off-season vegetables. Rotino, G.L. . . . A. Spena. 1997. Genetic engineering of parthenocarpic plants. Nature Biotechnology 15(December):1. Adler, T. 1994. Tomato biotechnology heads for the market. Science News 145(May 28):342. Pendick, D. 1992. Better than the real thing. Science News 142(Nov. 28):376. Tomes, D.T. 1997. Seedless hopes bode well for winter vegetables. Nature Biotechnology 15(December).
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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. Surveyor resumes aerobraking, heads for new mapping orbit. NASA Press Release. 1997. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory press briefing. Pasadena, Calif. Cowen, R. 1997. Unlocking secrets of the Martian interior. Science News 152(Oct. 18):246.
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. 1997. Satellites of Uranus. International Astronomical Union Circular No. 6764. 1997. Satellites of Uranus. International Astronomical Union Circular No. 6765. Additional information is available at http://www.cita.utoronto.ca/~gladman/utpress.html. Biomedicine
HIV not eradicated by drug cocktail
Even the most potent triple drug course doesn't completely eliminate the AIDS virus. Chun, T. . . . A.S. Fauci. 1997. Presence of an inducible HIV-1 latent reservoir during highly active antiretroviral therapy. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 94(November):13193. Finzi, D., et al. 1997. Identification of a reservoir for HIV-1 in patients on highly active antiretroviral therapy. Science 278(Nov. 14):1295. Wong, J.K., et al. 1997. Recovery of replication-competent HIV despite prolonged suppression of plasma viremia. Science 278(Nov. 14):1291.
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. Cardo, D.M., et al. 1997. A case-control study of HIV seroconversion in health care workers after percutaneous exposure. New England Journal of Medicine 337(Nov. 20):1485. Biology
Biological clocks fly into view
The fruit fly has timekeeping mechanisms distributed throughout its body. Plautz, J.D. . . . S.A. Kay. 1997. Independent photoreceptive circadian clocks throughout Drosophila. Science 278(Nov. 28):1632. Giebultowicz, J.M., and D.M. Hege. 1997. Circadian clock in Malpighian tubules. Nature 386(April 17):664. Raloff, J. 1996. Eyes possess their own biological clocks. Science News 149(April 20):245.
Resolving the magnetoreception puzzle
Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which trout sense Earth's magnetic field. Walker, M.M., et al. 1997. Structure and function of the vertebrate magnetic sense. Nature 390(Nov. 27):371. Kirschvink, J.L. 1997. Homing in on vertebrates. Nature 390(Nov. 27):239. Travis, J. 1995. Fishing out magnetoreception's secrets. Science News 148(July 8):31. Wehner, R. 1992. Hunt for the magnetoreceptor. Nature 359(Sept. 10):105. 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. 1994. Environmental justice: Public favors stricter rules, states hesitate. A report by Cambridge Reports/Research International (Cambridge, Mass.) and Terra Group (Houston). Babcock, H.M. 1995. Seeking environmental justice. Chemical & Engineering News 73(Jan. 2):24. Daniels, G., and S. Friedman. 1995. Environmental justice: The social distribution of pollution from manufacturing. American Sociological Association meeting. Johnson, P.E. 1994. Two steps forward on environmental justice. Environmental Health Perspectives 102(October):836. Lambert, T., and C. Boerner. 1995. Environmental inequity: Economic causes, economic solutions. Policy Study No. 125 (June). Center for the Study of American Business: St. Louis. Perlin, S.A., et al. 1995. Distribution of industrial air emissions by income and race in the United States. Environmental Science & Technology 29(January):69.
Resolving the magnetoreception puzzle
Researchers have discovered the mechanism by which trout sense Earth's magnetic field. Walker, M.M., et al. 1997. Structure and function of the vertebrate magnetic sense. Nature 390(Nov. 27):371. Kirschvink, J.L. 1997. Homing in on vertebrates. Nature 390(Nov. 27):239. Travis, J. 1995. Fishing out magnetoreception's secrets. Science News 148(July 8):31. Wehner, R. 1992. Hunt for the magnetoreceptor. Nature 359(Sept. 10):105.
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. Division of Science Resources Studies, National Science Foundation. 1997. National patterns of R&D resources: 1997 data update. Available at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/natpat97/start.htm. Payson, S. 1997. R&D exceeds expectations again, growing faster than the U.S. economy during the last three years. National Science Foundation Data Brief #97-328(Nov. 5). Available at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/databrf/sdb97328.htm. Monastersky, R. 1997. Science funding slips in 1998 budget. Science News 151(Feb. 15):103. Raloff, J. 1992. Tackling R&D stagnation. Science News 142(Sept. 19):190. 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. Vanheusden, K., et al. 1997. Irradiation response of mobile protons in buried SiO2 films. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 44(December). Warren, W.L., et al. 1997. Protonic nonvolatile field effect transistor memories in Si/SiO2/Si structures. IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science 44(December). Vanheusden, K., et al. 1997. Non-volatile memory device based on mobile protons in SiO2 thin films. Nature 386(April 10):587.
Against the wall
Researchers have detected the layering of atoms of a liquid metal in contact with a solid wall. Huisman, W.J., et al. 1997. Layering of a liquid metal in contact with a hard wall. Nature 390(Nov. 27):379.
Record fusion power
The Joint European Torus set a world record of 13 megawatts for peak power generated in a nuclear fusion reactor. An announcement concerning the world record in fusion performance at the Joint European Torus is available at http://www.jet.uk/News/oct97news.html. Dickson, D. 1997. Fusion results 'confirm the scientific case for ITER.' Nature 390(Nov. 6):5. Peterson, I. 1994. New heights in fusion power. Science News 145(June 11):381. ______. 1991. Injecting tritium into magnetic fusion. Science News 140(Nov. 16):308.
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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. Valles, J.M., et al. 1997. Stable magnetic field gradient levitation of Xenopus Iaevis: Toward low-gravity simulation. Biophysical Journal 73(August):1130. Beaugnon, E., and R. Tournier. 1991. Levitation of organic materials. Nature 349(Feb. 7):470. Brandt, E.H. 1997. Theory catches up with flying frog. Physics World September:23. ______. 1989. Levitation in physics. Science(Jan 20):349. Donnelly, R. 1997. Uplifting sight at low temperature. Physics World March:26. Souza, K.A., S.D. Black, and R.J. Wassersug. 1995. Amphibian development in the virtual absence of gravity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 92(March):1975.
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. Drew, K.L., et al. 1997. Stroke therapies from hibernating squirrels. Society for Neuroscience meeting. New Orleans. Frerichs, K.U., C.B. Smith, and J.M. Hallenbeck. 1997. Inhibition of cerebral protein synthesis during hibernation is preserved in vitro. Society for Neuroscience meeting. New Orleans. Frerichs, K.U., et al. 1994. Local cerebral blood flow during hibernation, a model of natural tolerance to "cerebral ischemia." Journal of Cerebral Blood Flow Metabolism 14(Sept.):884.
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Table of Contents - 12/6/97