Full Text Available for Selected Articles

News of the Week:

A Shot to the Heart Shows Promise

A new drug promotes blood vessel growth in humans, a possible boon to patients with heart disease.

References: 

Schumacher, B. . . . T. Stegmann. 1998. Induction of neoangiogenesis in ischemic myocardium by human growth factors. Circulation 97(Feb. 24).

Further Readings:

Blau, H.M., and M.L. Springer. 1995. Gene therapy—a novel form of drug delivery. New England Journal of Medicine 333(Nov. 2):1204.

Folkman, J. 1998. Angiogenic therapy of the human heart. Circulation 97(Feb. 24).

Folkman, J., and M. Klagsbrun. 1987. Angiogenetic factors. Science 235:442.

 New findings from the Hipparcos satellite lend further support to the idea that the halo of our galaxy acquired its stars by stealing them from small, nearby galaxies.

References: 

Chen, B. 1998. Kinematic substructure of halo from Hipparcos observations. Astrophysical Journal Letters 495(March 1):L1.

Further Readings:

Cowen, R. 1997. Younger stars and an older, bigger cosmos. Science News 151(Feb. 15):101.

_____. 1994. Ill-fated Milky Way neighbor found. Science News 145(April 9):228.

Scientists find evidence of fresh lava at a submerged Pacific volcano.

References: 

Information on Axial Volcano is available at http://newport.pmel.noaa.gov/axial98.html.

Further Readings:

Monastersky, R. 1997. Spying on a deep-sea eruption. Science News 151(Jan. 4):15.

______. 1993. Underwater eruption detected in Pacific. Science News 144(Aug. 28):132.

 Brain images indicate that separate regions of the prefrontal cortex regulate working memory for objects and for spatial relationships.

References: 

Courtney, S.M., et al. 1998. An area specialized for spatial working memory in human frontal cortex. Science 279(Feb. 27):1347.

Further Readings:

Smaglik, P. 1997. Where in the brain is working memory? Science News 151(April 26):258.

Ungerleider, L.G., S.M. Courtney, and J.V. Haxby. 1998. A neural system for human visual working memory. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(February):883.

 

Mathematicians describe tendril perversion

 A mathematical model of elastic rods can be used to describe coiled vine tendrils and kinky phone cords.

References: 

Goriely, A., and M. Tabor. 1998. Spontaneous helix hand reversal and tendril perversion in climbing plants. Physical Review Letters 80(Feb. 16):1564.

Further Readings:

Peterson, I. 1997. Computers and proof. Science News 151(March 22):176.

 A technique that allows polymers to arrange themselves into intricate patterns could make computer chip manufacturing faster and cheaper.

References: 

Böltau, M. . . . U. Steiner. 1998. Surface-induced structure formation of polymer blends on patterned substrates. Nature 391(Feb. 26):877.

Further Readings:

Peterson, I. 1997. Fine lines for chips. Science News 152(Nov. 8):302.

 Mice missing a protein involved in insulin signaling develop type II diabetes.

References:

Withers, D.J. . . . M.F. White. 1998. Disruption of IRS-2 causes type 2 diabetes in mice. Nature 391(Feb. 26):900.

Further Readings:

Avruch, J. 1998. A signal for b -cell failure. Nature 391(Feb. 26).

 Several stratagems enable the cowbird to win or tie the race to be the first egg to hatch.

References: 

McMaster, D.G., and S.G. Sealy. 1998. Short incubation periods of brown-headed cowbirds: How do cowbird eggs hatch before yellow warbler eggs? Condor 100(February):102.

Kattan, G. 1997. Shiny cowbirds follow the ‘shotgun’ strategy of brood parasitism. Animal Behaviour 53(March):647.

Peer, B.D., and E.K. Bollinger. 1997. Explanations for the infrequent cowbird parasitism on common grackles. Condor 99(February):151.

Research Notes
AAAS

 The ways in which juries perceive DNA evidence can vary greatly depending on how that evidence is presented.

References:

Koehler, J.J. 1998. When are jurors impressed by DNA match probabilities? Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Philadelphia.

Further Readings:

Bower, B. 1996. Rational mind designs. Science News 150(July 13):24.

A drug called texaphyrin enhances the effectiveness of radiation treatments for metastatic brain cancer.

References:

Sessler, J.L. 1998. Texaphyrin: A new approach to anticancer drug treatment. Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Philadelphia.

Further Readings:

Wickelgren, I. 1989. Shedding light on cancer. Science News 135(Jan. 14):26.

Science pokes loopholes in cloning bans

 Twenty states have considered legislation to ban human cloning, but the proposed wording may leave loopholes.

References:

Andrews, L.B. 1998. Cloning: The policy issues. Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Philadelphia.

Bacteria may hide in hunks of gunk

 Traditional microbiological tests may not reveal all of the pathogens hiding in the processed sludge used as fertilizer.

References:

Lewis, D.L. 1998. Microbes in the environment: Challenges to exposure assessment. Meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Philadelphia.

Further Readings:

Peterson, I. 1995. Lightning treatment of waste. Science News 147(May 6):282.

Raloff, J., and R. Lipkin. 1995. Cleansing water with natural slimes . . . Science News 147(March 4):138.

______. 1995. . . . and with heat, pressure, and oxygen. Science News 147(March 4):138.

 President Clinton nominated two scientists for directorships at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the National Science Foundation.

References:

1998. Remarks by the President to the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Philadelphia.

Biomedicine
The good news: Protease inhibitors

 Deaths due to AIDS have dropped sharply in the 3 years since new drugs called protease inhibitors came on the market.

References: 

Chiasson, M.A. 1998. Accelerating decline in New York City AIDS mortality. 5th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Chicago.

De Cock, K. 1998. Monitoring the epidemic of HIV/AIDS in the United States: Current status and future prospects. 5th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Chicago.

 Some people taking protease inhibitors to fight AIDS are experiencing a strange buildup of fat on the belly and on the back of the neck.

References: 

Hengel, R.L. 1998. Multiple symmetrical lipomatosis associated with protease inhibitor therapy. 5th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Chicago.

 An intravaginal gel that kills HIV has proved safe in a small-scale test in women.

References:

Profy, A.T. 1998. 5th Conference on Retroviruses and Opportunistic Infections. Chicago.

Physics
Flooding light through tiny holes

A regular array of microscopic holes in a thin metal layer lets through a surprisingly large amount of light.

References:  

Ebbesen, T.W., et al. 1998. Extraordinary optical transmission through sub-wavelength hole arrays. Nature 391(Feb. 12):667.

Further Readings: 

Sambles, R. 1998. More than transparent. Nature 391(Feb. 12):641.

The development of an improved quantum tunneling transistor potentially opens up the way for mass production of such devices.

References:  

Simmons, J.A., et al. In press. Bistable memories at 77 K using a planar double electron layer tunneling transistor (DELTT). Applied Physics Letters.

Further Readings: 

Additional information about Sandia's "double electron layer tunneling transistor" can be found at http://www.sandia.gov/media/quantran.htm.

Articles:

Cosmologists in Flatland
Searching for the missing energy

 Many cosmologists aren’t about to give up the idea that the universe has a flat geometry.

References:

 Spergel, D., and U. Pen. 1997. Cosmology in a string-dominated universe. Astrophysical Journal Letters 491(Dec. 20):L67.

Further Readings:

Cowen, R. 1997. From soup to us. Science News 151(June 7):354.

Peterson, I. 1998. Circles in the sky. Science News 153(Feb. 21):123.

______. 1992. Timely questions. Science News 141(March 28):202.

Valuable Vices
Researchers uncover the healthful side of hedonism

New research suggests that alcohol, sex, and high-fat food may provide health benefits.

References: 

Doll, R. 1997. One for the heart. British Medical Journal 315(Dec. 20&27).

Gillman, M.W., et al. 1997. Inverse association of dietary fat with development of ischemic stroke in men. Journal of the American Medical Association 278(Dec. 24&31):2145.

Obisesan, T.O., et al. 1998. Moderate wine consumption is associated with decreased odds of developing age-related macular degeneration in NHANES-1. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society 46(January):1.

Sherwin, R., and T.R. Price. 1997. Fat chance: Diet and ischemic stroke. Journal of the American Medical Association 278(Dec. 24&31):2185.

Smith, G.D., S. Frankel, and J. Yarnell. 1997. Sex and death: Are they related? Findings from the Caerphilly cohort study. British Medical Journal 315(Dec. 20&27).

Thun, M.J., et al. 1997. Alcohol consumption and mortality among middle-aged and elderly U.S. adults. New England Journal of Medicine 337(Dec. 11):1705.

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Table of Contents - 2/28/98

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