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Arresting TidesSeptember 27, 1997 | Volume 152 | Number 12 Cover: A large bloom of marine plankton (Noctiluca scintillans) dwarfs a boat and tints the water off the coast of Southern California. Although the organism is harmless, related microscopic protists and bacteria produce powerful toxins that have poisoned fish, animals, and people. Problems stemming from harmful blooms have been increasing in the last two decades. (Photo: Peter J.S. Franks/SIO) |
Features:
TimeLine
Food for Thought
Computer Chips Take a Leap Forward
IBM is starting to manufacture computer chips that use copper instead of aluminum circuitry, making them faster, smaller, and cheaper.
New chemistry from tropical corals
A compound isolated from a rare marine coral has the same effect on cancer cells as the drug Taxol.
Satellites hint sun is growing stronger
Researchers debate whether the sun has brightened in the last decade.
A gamma-ray burst's enduring fireball
Six months after its discovery, the visible-light counterpart to a gamma-ray burst endures, providing new clues that these flashes originate outside our galaxy.
New treatments for macular degeneration
Researchers are testing three new approaches to treating wet macular degeneration, the leading cause of blindness in the elderly.
Brain region takes a hack at navigation
Images of the brains of London taxi drivers indicate that a person's ability to figure out the route to a destination depends on a brain region called the right hippocampus.
Mice smoke out key emphysema enzyme
Mice lacking an enzyme normally made by immune cells ward off emphysema induced by cigarette smoke.
Transgenic plants provoke petition
A coalition of organic farmers and environmental organizations petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to rescind approvals of plants genetically engineered to manufacture a natural pesticide.
Research Notes:
Astronomy
A moon for Dionysus
Astronomers have found evidence that the near-Earth asteroid 3671 Dionysus has a moon of its own.
Water among the outer planets
The Infrared Space Observatory has measured the concentration of water vapor in the atmosphere of Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune.
Biology
Spiders spurn firefly femmes fatales
Female fireflies of one species lure, then eat the males of another to acquire a biochemical defense against spiders.
The burden of bee-ing an undertaker
The small percentage of bees that serve as undertakers -- removing deed bees from the hive -- appears to be a distinct cadre of workers that are developmentally ahead of their peers.
Behavior
Meds may give attention a lasting boost
Benefits of amphetamine treatment for children diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder extend beyond the medication period.
Articles:
What's behind the ocean blooms? Researchers are trying to determine the factors responsible for an increase in the frequency and extent of harmful algal growths in coastal waters.
Power Failure
What happens when muscle cells run out of fuel Muscle disease results when a cell's mitochondria malfunction.
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