Simple washing doesn't eliminate all bacteria that may contaminate raw produce.

  Sources:

American Society for Microbiology
1325 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20005-4171
Web site: http://www.asmusa.org

Ecolab, Inc.
370 Wabasha Street
Saint Paul, MN 55102
Web site: http://www.ecolab.com

Elizabeth Ehrenfeld
IDEXX Labs
One IDEXX Drive
Westbrook, ME 04092

John Lopes
Microcide, Inc.
2209 Niagara Drive
Troy, MI 48083-5933
Web site: http://www.microsideinc.com

Susan S. Sumner
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
College of Agriculture and Life Sciences
Department of Food Science and Technology
Blacksburg, VA 24061-0418
E-mail: sumners@vt.edu

 The radiocarbon content of coral may provide insights into water movements associated with El Niño behavior.

 Sources:

Nicholas E. Graham
University of California, San Diego
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla, CA 92093

Thomas P. Guilderson
Harvard University
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
20 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Daniel P. Schrag
Harvard University
Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences
20 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

 Bacteria that thrive on aluminum live in Yellowstone National Park.

  Sources:

Judy E. Brown
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Center of Marine Biotechnology
701 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

Carlos Cervantes
University of Michoacana
Instituto de Investigaciones Quimico-Biologicas
Edificio B-1 Ciudad Universitaria
58030 Morelia, Michoacan
Mexico

Simon D. Silver
University of Illinois
Department of Microbiology and Immunology
E623 MSB
Chicago, IL 60607

Frank T. Robb
University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute
Center of Marine Biotechnology
701 E. Pratt Street
Baltimore, MD 21202

 A new study debunks the notion that glass flows slowly downward, making antique windows thicker at the bottom.

 Sources:

William C. LaCourse
New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University
NSF Industry-University Center for Glass Research
2 Pine Street
Alfred, NY 14802

Robert C. Plumb
Worcester Polytechnic Institute
Worcester, MA 01609

Edgar D. Zanotto
Federal University of São Carlos
Department of Materials Engineering
13565-905 São Carlos-SP
Brazil

 Solar flares can generate seismic waves beneath the solar surface that are akin to giant earthquakes.

  Sources:

George H. Fisher
University of California, Berkeley
Space Sciences Laboratory
Grizzly Peak Boulevard
Berkeley, CA 94720

Alexander G. Kosovichev
Stanford University
W.W. Hansen Experimental Physics Laboratory
Stanford, CA 94305-4085

Valentina V. Zharkova
Glasgow University
Department of Physics and Astronomy
Glasgow G12 8QQ
United Kingdom

 Two physics teams have made promising advances toward capturing molecules cooled to near absolute zero.

  Sources:

John M. Doyle
Harvard University
Department of Physics
17 Oxford Street
Cambridge, MA 02138

Paul D. Lett
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Atomic Physics Division
Physics Building 221, Room B166
Gaithersburg, MD 20899

Pierre Pillet
Laboratoire Aimé Cotton
CNRS II, Bat. 505
Campus d’Orsay Cedex
91405 Orsay Cedex
France

 Cholesterol-fighting drugs such as lovastatin and pravastatin reduce the risk of heart problems in people who don't have high concentrations of cholesterol in their blood.

 Sources:

John R. Downs
Lackland Air Force Base
Wilford Hall Medical Center
2200 Bergquist Drive
San Antonio, TX 78236

Frank M. Sacks
Harvard Medical School
Department of Nutrition
Boston, MA 02115

 Indicating that humans occupied a rock shelter in northern Australia no more than 22,000 years ago, a new analysis challenges a previous report that the site was inhabited much earlier.

 Sources:

Richard Roberts
La Trobe University
Department of Earth Sciences
Melbourne, Victoria 3083
Australia

Paul S.C. Taçon
Australian Museum
Department of Anthropology
6 College Street
Sidney NSW 2000
Australia

 The conspicuous perches picked by bellbirds for their loud, wiggly mating displays may aid trees' seed dispersal to prime locations.

  Sources:

Douglas J. Levey
University of Florida
Department of Zoology
P.O. Box 118525
Gainesville, FL 32611-8525

Daniel G. Wenny
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Illinois Natural History Survey
Dearborn Hall
205 E. Seminary Street
Mt. Carroll, IL 61053

Nat Wheelwright
Bowdoin College
Department of Biology
Brunswick, ME 04011

Research Notes

Astronomy

 Data from recent observations of distant supernovas and measurements of the cosmic microwave background strengthen evidence for the existence that an antigravity force pervades the universe.

  Sources:

Max Tegmark
Institute for Advanced Study
Olden Lane
Princeton, NJ 08540-0631

Biology

 The steady traffic of nectar-sipping ants reduces damage caused to one fern species by leaf-eating ants.

  Sources:

Suzanne Koptur
Florida International University
Department of Biological Sciences
Miami, FL 33199

 Last year's die-off of Mediterranean monk seals may have been caused by algal toxins in contaminated fish rather than a virus.

  Sources:

John Harwood
University of St. Andrews
School of Environmental & Evolutionary Biology
NERC Sea Mammal Research Unit
St. Andrews, Fife KY16 9TS
United Kingdom

Mauro Hernández
Laboratorio Forense de Vida Silvestre
P. Cande de los Gaitanes 145
La Moraleja, Madrid 28109
Spain

Material Science

 The protein coat of a virus is used as a mold for inorganic crystals.

  Sources:

Trevor Douglas
Temple University
Department of Chemistry
Philadelphia, PA 19122-2585.

 A new gel application technique creates an image that is revealed only at raised temperatures.

  Sources:

Zhibing Hu
University of North Texas
Department of Physics
Denton, TX 76203

Paleontology

 One family of dinosaurs had an advanced physiology approaching that of warm-blooded animals.

  Sources

Anusuya Chinsamy
University of Cape Town
Private Bag
Rondeboach 7700
South Africa

 A 110-million-year-old fossil reveals details about the early evolution of marine turtles.

 Sources:

Ren Hirayama
Teikyo Heisei University
Uruido 2289
Ichihara, Chiba 290-01
Japan

 Research on cowbirds reveals a surprisingly ordinary love life, impressive commuting range, and little evidence of protection rackets.

 Sources:

Ethan D. Clotfelter
University of Wisconsin
Department of Zoology

Birge Hall
430 Lincoln Drive
Madison, WI 53706

H. Lisle Gibbs
McMaster University
Biology Department
1280 Main Street W.
Hamilton, Ontario L8S 4K1
Canada

Christopher B. Goguen
University of Wisconsin
Department of Wildlife Ecology
226 Russell Laboratories
Madison, WI 53706

Michael L. Morrison
California State University, Sacramento
Department of Biological Sciences
6000 J. Street
Sacramento, CA 95819

Sievert Rohwer
University of Washington
Burke Memorial Washington State Museum
Ornithology Department
Seattle, WA 98195

Spencer G. Sealy
University of Manitoba
Department of Zoology
Winnipeg, Manitoba R3T 2N2
Canada

Stephen I. Rothstein
University of California, Santa Barbara
Department of Ecology, Evolution and Marine Biology
Santa Barbara, CA 93106

Jim Zelenak
Nature Conservancy
P.O. Box 5190
Fort Hood, Texas 76544-0190

 Several natural constituents of soy not only lower blood cholesterol but also improve vascular health.

  Sources:

Herman Adlercreutz
University of Helsinki
Department of Clinical Chemistry
PL 60, (Mannerheimintie 97)
FIN-00014 Helsinki
Finland

Mary S. Anthony
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Comparative Medicine Clinical Research Center
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1040

Jan L. Breslow
Rockefeller University Hospital
1230 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021

John R. Crouse
Wake Forest University School of Medicine
Medical Center Boulevard
Winston-Salem, NC 27157

Antonio M. Gotto Jr.
Cornell University Medical College
1300 York Avenue
New York, NY 10021

Scott M. Grundy
University of Texas
Southwestern Medical Center
Center for Human Nutrition
5323 Harry Hines Boulevard
Dallas, TX 75235-9052

Mark Messina
1543 Lincoln Street
Port Townsend, WA 98368

Tatu A. Miettinen
University of Helsinki
Helsinki University Central Hospital
Haartmaninkatu 4
FIN-00290 Helsinki
Finland
E-mail: tatu.a.miettinen@helsinki.fi

Paul J. Nestel
Baker Medical Research Institute
Cardiovascular Nutrition
P.O. Box 348
Commercial Road Prahan
Victoria 3181
Australia

Protein Technologies International
Nutritious Foods, Inc.
P.O. Box 88940
St. Louis, MO 63188
Web site: http://www.protein.com

Elaine W. Raines
University of Washington
School of Medicine
Department of Pathology
Seattle, WA 98195

Ron Schmid
McNeil Consumer Products Company
7050 Camp Hill Road
Fort Washington, PA 19034

Cesare R. Sirtori
University of Milan
Institute of Pharmacological Sciences
Via Balzaretti 9
20133 Milano
Italy