Microbial Trigger for Autoimmunity?

The body's initial immune response to an infection, an outpouring of the compound interleukin-12, may trigger autoimmune disease by activating immune cells that recognize the body's own molecules.

Ringing up a microscopic light switch

Researchers have fabricated a tiny optical device called a resonator, which can channel photons from one path to another.

Molecular ball bearings lube metal parts

Microscopic spheres of tungsten disulfide show promise as a solid lubricant for machine parts.

Lowly status proves infectious in monkeys

Macaque monkeys at the bottom of the social pecking order are especially susceptible to a coldlike viral infection.

On a roll: Robot attempts desert voyage

A semi-autonomous rover embarks on a 200-kilometer trip across Chile's Atacama Desert.

Hubble images capture colliding supernovas

Astronomers have for the first time detected supernova remnants that are colliding.

Skin cancer makes unexpected reappearance

Melanoma sometimes lies dormant in a person for decades before reemerging.

Weighing hormone therapy's benefits

Estrogen replacement therapy has been linked to a reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease, and a large study suggests that it reduces deaths from heart disease.

Research Notes:

Biology

Brewing up a double genome

Brewers yeast may once have had more than double the number of genes it has today.

Protein of cancer enzyme identified

Researchers have finally identified a protein component of the enzyme telomerase essential to its activity in tumors.

How much human DNA can mice hold?

Researchers have created mice whose genome contains functioning fragments of human chormosomes, some containing about 1,000 genes.

Biomedicine

Cow protein may help eye inflammation

A purified protein derived from cow eyes may enable those suffering from uveitis to reduce their dependence on steroids.

Corneal dystrophy genes mapped

Genetic mutations in either of two genes are responsible for an eye disease known as Meesmann's corneal dystrophy.

Environment

Need 'greener' solvents? Go to PARIS

A new software package could shave months to years off the time it takes to identify environmentally benign solvents.

Superfund sites and birth defects

The federal program is slow to evaluate and clean up hazardous waste sites, while new data links birth defects to living within a quarter mile of a site.

Physics

Diffusing to forget

In a demonstration of short-term memory, a mathematical model representing a type of diffusion shows an ability to remember, then forget a sequence of impulses.

Plasma sparks from a hot gas bubble

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