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Human Artificial Chromosome Created

Researchers have finally created an artificial human chromosome, a success that should answer many basic research questions and may even aid gene therapy efforts.

Sources:

Huntington F. Willard
Department of Genetics and Center for Human Genetics
Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Cleveland, OH 44106

NSF funds new computing partnerships

The National Science Foundation announced the two winners in its restructured supercomputer centers program.

Sources:

Bob Borchers
National Science Foundation
4201 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, VA 22230
E-mail: rborcher@nsf.gov

Sid Karin
Center for Advanced Computational Science and Engineering
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093-0534

Larry Smarr
National Center for Supercomputing Applications
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Champaign, IL 61820

CAG spells out course of prostate cancers

Scientists have found what they believe is a genetic throttle that determines the severity of prostate cancer.

Sources:

Philip W. Kantoff
Division of Medical Oncology
Dana Farber Cancer Institute
Harvard Medical School
Boston, MA 02115

Howard I. Scher
1257 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Ink jets not just for the printed page

Pills built with three-dimensional printing technology have the potential to deliver tiny amounts of a drug.

Sources:

Michael J. Cima
MIT
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Room 12-011
Cambridge, MA 02139
E-mail: mjcima@mit.edu

Harris L. Marcus
Institute of Materials Science
97 N. Eagleville Road, U-136
Storrs, CT 06269-3136
E-mail: hmarcus@uconnvm.uconn.edu

Mark Scher
Therics, Inc.
115 Campus Drive
Princeton, NJ 08540
E-mail: therics@therics.com

The oldest sponges: A scratchy way of life

Paleontologists have discovered the oldest known remains of sponges, regarded as the most primitive multicellular animal.

Sources:

Martin Brasier
Department of Earth Sciences
Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3PR
United Kingdom

Andy Knoll
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
Harvard University
20 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138-2902

Grains sort themselves into layers

Because of different surface properties, sand and glass grains arrange themselves into separate layers when poured into a container.

Sources:

Hernan A. Makse
Boston University
Department of Physics
590 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA 02215

Jay Fineberg
Racah Institute of Physics
Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Givat Ram 91904
Jerusalem
Israel

Enriched mice show adult neuron boost

Mice living in cages allowing a variety of activities have more cells in a brain structure involved in learning and memory than mice housed in cages providing only food and water.

Sources:

Fred H. Gage
Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Laboratory of Genetics
10010 N. Torrey Pines Road
La Jolla, CA 92037

William T. Greenough
University of Illinois
Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology
405 N. Mathews Avenue
Urbana, IL 61801

Health benefits of another vitamin E

A constituent of this natural vitamin may play a vital role in protecting the body from compounds that can damage DNA or cause inflammation.

Sources:

Stephan Christen
Division of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
401 Barker Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720

Robert V. Cooney
Cancer Research Center of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
1236 Lauhala Street
Honolulu, HI 96813

Anders G. Olsson
Clinical Research Center
University Hospital
Faculty of Health Sciences
S-58185 Linkoping
Sweden

Historical cache of medicinal plants

A 17th century medical kit has turned up in two woven baskets from the U.S. Southwest.

Sources:

Mollie S. Toll
Office of Archeological Studies
Museum of New Mexico
P.O. Box 2087
Sante Fe, NM 87504-2087

Research Notes:

Astronomy

Biology on Europa

Several lines of evidence suggest Europa once possessed --and might still contain -- an ocean beneath its icy crust, through which sunlight could penetrate to generate complex organic compounds.

Sources:

Jonathan I. Lunine
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721

Recent water on Mars?

Analyzing fragments of a Martian meteorite that contains a material that can form only in the presence of water, researchers report that water may have flowed on or near the Martian surface as recently as 700,000 years ago.

Sources:

Timothy D. Swindle
Lunar and Planetary Laboratory
University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721

Biology

Algal origins of a protozoan part

Protozoan parasites have an unusual organelle, seemingly acquired from algae long ago in an evolutionary gulp.

Sources:

David S. Roos
Department of Biology
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA 19104

Away from the wolf, into the falcon

Aplomado falcons in Brazil pick up after wolves on the hunt.

Sources:

Stan Temple
University of Wisconsin
Madison, WI 53706

The early born bird catches the hormone

Cattle egret mothers deposit extra aggression-enhancing hormones in eggs that are laid first.

Sources:

Douglas W. Mock
Department of Zoology
University of Oklahoma
Norman, OK 73019

Behavior

I gotta love me

Narcissists typically think unduly well of themselves, and their bloated evaluations expand even further when they watch themselves on videotape, reflecting an urgent need to stamp out external threats to their grandiose personal opinions.

Sources:

Richard W. Robins
Department of Psychology
University of California
Davis, CA 95616-8686

Oliver P. John
Department of Psychology
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720

Bent on intent in the brain

Tests on monkeys indicate that a portion of the brain known as the posterior parietal cortex signals the intention to pursue particular types of action.

Sources:

Richard A. Andersen
Division of Biology
California Institute of Technology
Pasadena, CA 91125

Biomedicine

Roller-coaster sperm counts -- and births

Sperm counts can vary dramatically between regions within the United States and from year to year.

Tamoxifen's other anticancer hat

Antiestrogens use the estrogen receptor to turn on different genes than those triggered by estrogen.

Articles:

From Here to Eternity

Tracking the future of the cosmos

The laws of physics provide clues about the long-term evolution and ultimate demise of the universe.

Fred C. Adams
Physics Department
University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, MI 48109

A Fantastical Experiment

The science behind the controversial cloning of Dolly

A rich research history lies behind the recent cloning of a sheep from the DNA in adult cells, although many questions remain about how the cloning strategy of nuclear transplantation works.

Sources:

Ian Wilmut
Roslin Institute (Edinburgh)
Roslin, Midlothian EH25 9PS
United Kingdom

Alan Wolffe
Laboratory of Molecular Embryology
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Building 18T, Room 106
Bethesda, MD 20892