September 13, 1997
News of the Week:
The West Coast's Roving Real Estate
References:Much of British Columbia and southeast Alaska may once have been attached to Mexico.
Ward, P.D. . . . J.L. Kirschvink, K.L. Verosub. 1997. Measurements of the Cretaceous paleolatitude of Vancouver Island: Consistent with the Baja-British Columbia hypothesis. Science 277(Sept. 12):1642.
A participant in the Great Internet Mersenne Prime Search discovered the largest known prime number, an 895,932-digit behemoth. The official announcement of the discovery is available at http://www.mersenne.org/2976221.htm. Diminished repertoire cripples fungus
The disease-causing fungus C. albicans must switch back and forth between two different characteristic shapes in order to cause illness. Braun, B.R., and A.D. Johnson. 1997. Control of filament formation in Candida albicans by the transcriptional repressor TUP1. Science 277(July 4):105. Lo, H., et al. 1997. Nonfilamentous C. albicans mutants are avirulent. Cell 90(Sept. 5). People of different ethnic backgrounds respond differently to the pain-relief drug codeine, with some experiencing no effect at all. Wood, A.J.J. 1997. Pharmacogenetic and ethnic differences in opiate response. Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Las Vegas. Spacewalkers restore some power to Mir
During a 6-hour spacewalk, crew members aboard the Mir space station reoriented two solar arrays, restoring some power to the troubled craft. Information on the spacewalk can be found at http://shuttle-mir.nasa.gov/. Toxic landfill may cause babies to be tiny
Exposures to toxic chemicals emanating from a hazardous waste site appear to reduce birth weights. Berry, M., and F. Bove. 1997. Birth weight reduction associated with residence near a hazardous waste landfill. Environmental Health Perspectives 105(August):856. Croen, L.A., et al. 1997. Maternal residential proximity to hazardous waste sites and risk for selected congenital malformations. Epidemiology 8(July):347. Lipkin, R. 1994. Test landfills percolate as bioreactors. Science News 146(Sept. 3):151. Loupe, D.E. 1990. To rot or not. Science News 138(Oct. 6):218. Raloff, J. 1993. Hazardous incinerators? Science News 143(May 22):334. ______. 1993. Cleaning up compost. Science News 143(Jan. 23):56. ______. 1991. EPA targets 17 toxics. Science News 139(Feb. 16):101. ______. 1989. Unexpected leakage through landfill liners. Science News 135(March 18):164. Gene defect for muscle disorder identified
Researchers located the genetic mutation that causes early-onset torsion dystonia. Ozelius, L., et al. 1997. The early-onset torsion dystonia gene (DYT1) encodes an ATP-binding protein. Nature Genetics 17(September):40. Ozelius, L.J., et al. 1992. Strong allelic association between the torsion-dystonia gene (DYT1) and loci on chromosome 9q34 in Ashkenazi Jews. American Journal of Human Genetics 50:619. Ozelius, L., et al. 1989. Human gene for torsion dystonia located on chromosome 9q32-q34. Neuron 2:1427. Risch, N., et al. 1995. Genetic analysis of idiopathic torsion dystonia in Ashkenazi Jews and their recent descent from a small founder population. Nature Genetics 9:152.
Well-groomed rodents stay cool, calm
A rat's biological and behavioral responses to stress are set by the amount of grooming it received from its mother in the first weeks after birth. Liu, D. . . . M.J. Meaney. 1997. Maternal care, hippocampal glucocorticoid receptors, and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal responses to stress. Science 277(Sept. 12):1659. Sapolsky, R.M. 1997. The importance of a well-groomed child. Science 277(Sept. 12):1620. 
Lucky choice turns up world-record prime
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Drug sensitivity varies with ethnicity
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Biology
When a tongue goes ballistic
References:A lungless salamander catches insects using an impressive set of muscles that fires the tongue ballistically.
Deban, S.M., and D.B. Wake. 1997. Salamander with a ballistic tongue. Nature 389(Sept. 4):27.
Cockroach scent as status symbol
References:When the ingredients in a sex pheromone are altered, a cockroach's social standing changes.
Moore, P.J. . . . A.J. Moore. 1997. Odour conveys status on cockroaches. Nature 389(Sept. 4):25.
Chemistry
Liquid-to-gel polymer delivers drugs
References:Injecting a gel capsule under the skin may serve as an alternative to intravenous delivery or surgical implantation.
Further Readings:Jeong, B. . . . S.W. Kim. 1997. Biodegradable block copolymers as injectable drug-delivery systems. Nature 388(Aug. 28):860.
1995. A swell gel. Science News 147(March 25):191.
Smaglik, P. 1997. Swapping insulin syringes for tiny beads. Science News 151(March 29):189.
Weiss, R. 1988. Delivering the goods. Science News 133(June 4):360.
Wu, C. 1996. Gels can give drugs a timely release. Science News 150(Sept. 7):159.
A test for tainted blood
References:A technique that detects the anticoagulant EDTA in minute blood samples could prove useful to forensic scientists.
Sheppard, R.L., and J. Henion. 1997. Quantitative capillary electrophoresis/ion spray tandem mass spectrometry determination of EDTA in human plasma and urine. Analytical Chemistry 69(Aug. 1):2901.
Earth Science
Bonanza of Arctic Ocean data
References:The U.S. Navy released 25 years' worth of formerly secret information about the Arctic seafloor.
U.S. Navy press conference. 1997. Washington, D.C.
Hot springs provide hints of eruption
Thermal springs just off the coast of Montserrat showed signs of the mounting danger prior to the 1995 volcanic eruption. Cronan, D.S., A.G. Johnson, and R.A. Hodkinson. 1997. Hydrothermal fluids may offer clues about impending volcanic eruptions. Eos 78(Aug. 19):343. Monastersky, R. 1997. Eruption on Montserrat gaining strength. Science News 152(Aug. 16):101. Science & Society DOD's year 2000 vulnerabilities
Two new reports highlight the Defense Department's challenges in getting its computers to recognize dates after 1999. Urie, C.M., et al. 1997. Improvements to DOD systems inventory needed for year 2000 effort. General Accounting Office report #AIMD-97-112(Aug. 13). Urie, C.M., et al. 1997. Issues confronting DLA in addressing year 2000 problems. General Accounting Office report #AIMD-97-106(Aug. 12). 1997. Year 2000 computing crisis: An assessment guide. General Accounting Office report #AIMD-10-1-14(February). de Jager, P., and R. Bergeon. 1997. Managing 00. New York: John Wiley & Sons. Murray, J.T., and M.J. Murray. 1996. The Year 2000 Computing Crisis. New York: McGraw Hill. Peterson, I. 1996. Fatal Defect. New York: Vintage Books. ______. 1991. Software failure: Counting up the risks. Science News 140(Dec. 14):388. Want a job? Become a PhD
U.S. residents with doctorates have higher rates of employment than other segments of society. 1997. Characteristics of recipients of doctorates, 1995. Chronicle of Higher Education 44(Aug. 29):22. Shettle, C.F. 1997. S&E Ph.D. underemployment trends: Cause for alarm? National Science Foundation Issue Brief #97-318(Aug. 14). Available at http://www.nsf.gov/sbe/srs/issuebrf/sib97318.htm.
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Automated cars take their drivers for a ride
References:Cars that drive themselves down the highway hold the potential to reduce accidents, ease traffic congestion, and save fuel.
The National Automated Highway System Consortium's Demo '97 website can be found at http://monolith-mis.com/ahs/.
The National Automated Highway System Consortium's website can be found at http://nahsc.volpe.dot.gov/.
Partners in Recall
Elderly spouses build better memories through collaboration Elderly people can compensate for declining individual memories by intensifying their efforts at collaborative recall, particularly with their spouses. Dixon, R.A. 1996. Collaborative memory and aging. In Basic and Applied Memory, D.J. Hermann et al., eds. Mahwah, N.J.: Erlbaum. Dixon, R.A., and O.N. Gould. 1996. Adults telling and retelling stories collaboratively. In Interactive Minds, P.B. Baltes and U.M. Staudinger, eds. New York: Cambridge University Press. Staudinger, U.M., and P.B. Baltes. 1996. Interactive minds: A facilitative setting for wisdom-related performance? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 71:746. Sternberg, S. 1996. Master pianists mature well with practice. Science News 150(Dec. 21&28):388.
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Table of Contents - 9/13/97