Southern California: Dearth of Quakes?

A study of past earthquakes suggests that Los Angeles may be at a lower risk than normal of big quakes during the next 5 to 10 years.

A new breadth to estrogen's bisexuality

Estrogen, long considered as the quintessential female sex hormone, plays a critical role in normal male sexual behavior.

Unraveling the inner structure of a nucleus

Investigators are using fluorescent tags to illuminate the organization of chromosomes inside a cell's nucleus. Related links...

New drugs zap cancer cells with radiation

Antibodies can ferry radioactive atoms directly to cancerous cells, killing those cells with little damage to healthy tissue.

Left-handed excess in meteorite molecules

Amino acids formed in space 4.5 billion years ago and recovered from a meteorite have a small, but significant, excess of the left-handed over the right-handed molecular form, suggesting that a nonbiological process can produce asymmetry. Related Links...

Advances in heart care shrink death rate

The death rate for heart disease dropped 34 percent between 1980 and 1990, and half of that drop resulted from improved surgical and drug treatment and the rest from lifestyle changes.

Radio astronomy gets off the ground

With the launch last week of a radio telescope electronically linked to 40 telescopes on the ground, astronomers sharpen their view of the universe.

A new direction for microgravity fires

Flames in space behave in unexpected ways, including burning into a breeze and smoldering in strange patterns.

Research Notes:

Biomedicine:

Sex allergy: No laughing matter

An allergy to proteins in seminal fluid is more common than previously suspected.

The question of regular mammograms

An advisory panel declines to recommend regular mammograms for women in their forties.

Environment:

Overfishing imperils cod reproduction

Only a small percentage of North Sea cod survive to reproduce. Related links...

Erosion tails tropical trails

Paths can be a significant source of soil loss in tropical rainforests.

Articles:

A Supernova Turns 10

Birthday of an explosion

Ten years after witnessing the brightest supernova explosion in nearly 400 years, astronomers are still grappling with puzzles about the supernova 1987A.

Crab Crackers

Scientists take a harder look at stone crab shells

The light and dark parts of a stone crab's huge claws reflect differences in the microstructure and strength of the constituent materials.

Radical Prostates

Female hormones may play a pivotal role in a distinctly male epidemic

Growing evidence suggests that prostate cancer may be linked to damage to DNA, triggered, at least in part, by estrogen.

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