Someone's Headed For Trouble September 5, 1998 | Volume 154 | Number 10 Cover: Scientists who aim to understand why some kids become perpetual troublemakers and eventually violent criminals increasingly express frustration with standard investigative methods, and some believe that the future of their field depends on research innovations.

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News of the Week:

Huge Testing Planned for Hormone Mimics

An EPA committee unveils a plan to test 87,000 environmental pollutants for their ability to mimic or block the action of hormones, potentially causing harm to humans and wildlife.

 

 

New strain of HIV appears in Cameroon

A new, rare strain of human immunodeficiency virus has been identified in Cameroon, but current screening tests may not pick it up.

 

 

Wave or particle? Heisenberg, take a hike!

Atoms streaming through an obstacle course of light and microwaves switch identity as particles or waves because of quantum entanglements, rather than from Heinsenberg’s famous uncertainty principle.

 

 

Following gravity's loops and knots

A new set of approximate solutions of Newton's equations for gravitational attraction corresponds to strings of equally spaced masses chasing each other around closed loops.

 

 

Common pesticide clobbers amphibians

A commonly used pesticide may be playing a role in the decline of frogs and toads

 

 

Images reveal a stormy collision on Jupiter

Two giant storms on Jupiter have merged.

 

 

Is the Pacific plate tearing itself apart?

A new crack may be developing in the Pacific plate.

 

DNA links reported for schizophrenia

A family study uncovers evidence that still-unknown genes on parts of chromosomes 13 and 8 contribute to some cases of schizophrenia, a severe mental disorder.

Biology

Don’t reject me, fetus tells Mom

A fetus may suppress its mother’s immune system to prevent its rejection.

 

 

Cloning comes to the rescue of a Lady

Researchers have used cloning in an attempt to save a breed of cattle that had only one surviving female.

 

 

Walking lobsters have odd heart rates

When lobsters take an underwater treadmill test, their heart rates puzzle scientists.

 

 

What a black blob tells other birds

The size of a black patch on the chest feathers of siskins tips off other birds as to who will be a greedy dining companion.

 

 

Healthy fish build better sand castles

One of the classic examples of showmanship among courting male fish — building bowers of sand — turns out to give a reliable indication of an aspect of health.

 

Earth Science

Great earthquake shakes off theories

An earthquake that struck near Antarctica last March, the world's largest in 4 years, has stymied seismologists.

 

Cars crossing the Pacific

Oceanographers use computers to forecast the path of thousands of toy cars and balloons that are floating across the Pacific Ocean toward North America.

 

Chemistry

Fake fat promises to lower cholesterol

A new fat substitute made from crushed oats and barley may help lower cholesterol.

 

Assembling an antidote to anthrax

Researchers are trying many variations of antibodies to improve their binding to the deadly anthrax toxin.

 

Reheating can’t make stale bread fresh

Chemists have analyzed the aromas of French bread — fresh, stale, and reheated.

 

Physics

Coarse treatment makes heat flow surge

A remarkable surge in heat transfer when turbulent water passes over a rough surface may hold clues for climatology and aerodynamics.

 

Electrons hang ten on laser-made waves

Electrons surfed the wake of a laser torpedo in the first experimental demonstration of a scheme for making tabletop particle accelerators.

Incriminating Developments

Scientists want to reform the study of how kids go wrong

A growing number of scientists wants to remodel the study of highly aggressive and criminal youngsters, placing more emphasis on the analysis of social contact and individual development.

 

 

HIV’S Quiet Accomplice?

Imbalances in vaginal flora may link to the AIDS epidemic

Bacterial vaginosis, a common vaginal infection, may increase the risk of HIV transmission, but peroxide-secreting bacteria naturally found in the vagina appears to offer protection.