Hormone Therapy: Issues of the Heart

The synthetic form of progesterone most commonly prescribed for postmenopausal hormone replacement therapy in the United States may erase the therapy's intended heart benefits.

Bacteria give new meaning to 'computer bug'

A light-sensitive molecule made by a saltwater bacterium could form the basis of an optical computer.

Brain hues disclose depression clues

The level of neural activity in a specific part of the cortex seems to signal whether medication will lift a depressed person's mood.

Dust sheds new light on planetary birth

Discovery of a dust disk orbiting two stars could double the estimate of planets in the galaxy.

Crashing debut of an exotic heavy particle?

Observation of an excess of high-energy positron-proton collisions in which a positron rebounds with an enormous amount of momentum suggests the existence of particles or forces outside of conventional theory.

Two monkeys 'cloned' from embryo cells

A week after the announcement that a sheep had been cloned from adult cells, Oregon scientists performed a similar feat in monkeys using cells from embryos.

Gene heats up obesity research

A newly discovered gene encodes a protein used by some cells to convert food calories to heat, an energy-consuming mechanism that some researchers speculate may be sluggish in obese people.

Breathing freely threatens seeing clearly

Inhaled steroids effectively relieve asthma, but prolonged, high-dose use markedly increases an elderly person's risk of glaucoma.

Winging it: An unusual approach to flight

The earliest flying vertebrate broke new biological ground when it constructed wings.

Research Notes:

Biochemistry:

Hardy synthetic patterned after nature

Chemists have built a tough synthetic protein based on clues provided by microorganisms thriving in near-boiling water on the ocean floor.

Toying with a modular enzyme

Like Frankenstein's monster, a working enzyme can be constructed by stitching together parts.

Biology:

Cells can stop HIV once it gets inside

After they become infected, immune cells of some people may be able to prevent certain strains of the HIV virus from reproducing.

Aging gene linked to heart attacks

A version of a gene recently associated with the aging process may increase a person's heart attack risk.

Astronomy:

Heralding Hale-Bopp

By March 20, Comet Hale-Bopp should become a naked-eye spectacle in the northwestern sky just after twilight.

Earth Science:

Earth's pole is a pushover for quakes

Earthquakes are nudging the North Pole toward Tokyo.

Pacific puts the brake on warming

Cooling of the eastern tropical Pacific has delayed global warming.

Articles:

Vaulting the Language Barrier

Computers are helping to search texts and data now shrouded in linguistic differences

With a little help, computers can retrieve foreign texts or data and display it in another's mother tongue.

Chips Ahoy!

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