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News of the Week:
Deformed Nuclei Spit Out Protons
A rare type of radioactive decay reveals that certain atomic nuclei are shaped more like flattened globes than true spheres.
References:
Davids, C.N., et al. 1998. Proton radioactivity from highly deformed nuclei. Physical Review Letters 80(March 2):1849.
Further Readings:
Austin, S.M., and G.F. Bertsch. 1995. Halo nuclei. Scientific American June:90.
Greiner, W., and A. Sandulescu. 1990. New radioactivities. Scientific American March:58.
Poenaru, D. 1996. Beyond the proton drip line. Physics World April:20.
Woods, P. 1996. Proton decay at the drip-line. Nature 381(May 2):25.
Exploring a genetic link to smoking
Differences in the genes that encode dopamine receptors may account for the range of people's attraction to cigarette smoking.
References:
Noble, E.P. 1998. The DRD2 gene, smoking, and lung cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 90(March 4):343.
Spitz, M.R., et al. 1998. Case-control study of the D2 dopamine receptor gene and smoking status in lung cancer patients. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 90(March 4):358.
Further Readings:
Barr, D.L., and K.K. Kidd. 1993. Population frequencies of the A1 athlete at the dopamine D2 receptor locus. Biological Psychiatry 34:204.
Bonn, D. 1996. Monoamine oxidase may explain smoking behaviours. Lancet 347(Feb. 24):527.
Carrnelli, D., et al. 1992. Genetic influence on smoking—a study of male twins. New England Journal of Medicine 327:829.
Noble, E.P., et al. 1994. D2 dopamine receptor gene and cigarette smoking: A reward gene? Medical Hypothesis 42:257.
Nutt, D.J. 1996. Addiction: Brain mechanisms and their treatment implications. Lancet 347(Jan. 6):31.
Raloff, J. 1996. New signs of nicotine’s addictiveness. Science News 150(July 20):38.
______. 1994. The great nicotine debate. Science News 145(May 14):314.
Taters for tots provide an edible vaccine
A genetically engineered potato raises expectations that people may someday get vaccinated by eating appropriate foods.
References:
Arakawa, T., D.K.X. Chong, and W.H.R. Langridge. 1998. Efficacy of a food plant-based oral cholera toxin B subunit vaccine. Nature Biotechnology(March):292.
Further Readings:
Arntzen, C.J. 1997. Edible vaccines. Public Health Reports 112(May–June):190.
Featherstone, C. 1997. A green revolution for the clinic? Lancet 349(May 24):1526.
Moffat, A.S. 1995. Exploring transgenic plants as a new vaccine source. Science 268(May 5):658.
Raloff, J. 1995. Cholera toxin fights autoimmune disease. Science News 147(April 22):247.
Seachrist, L. 1995. Food for healing. Science News 148(Sept. 2):158.
Craft eyes new evidence of a slushy Europa
The sharpest images ever taken of Europa, an icy satellite of Jupiter, offer fresh evidence that it possesses either a vast ocean or a partially frozen sea.
References:
1998. Scientists will present Galileo images suggesting water on Jupiter moon. NASA press briefing. March 2.
Additional information is available at http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/galileo/ and at http://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/1997-98/97-090c.html.
Further Readings:
Cowen, R. 1997. Galileo explores the Galilean moons. Science News 152(Aug. 9):90.
Bone marrow cells can
build new muscle
The soft tissue inside bone may harbor a population of cells capable of forming new muscle.
References:
Ferrari, G. . . . F. Mavilio. 1998. Muscle regeneration by bone marrow-derived myogenic progenitors. Science 279(March 6):1998.
Further Readings:
Prockop, D.J. 1997. Marrow stromal cells as stem cells for nonhematopoietic tissue. Science 276(April 4):71.
Dyslexia tied to disrupted brain network
A new brain-imaging study indicates that a widespread network of neural regions malfunctions in people who have difficulty in applying sounds to the letters that make up written words.
References:
Shaywitz, S.E., et al. 1998. Functional disruption in the organization of the brain for reading in dyslexia. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(March 2):2636.
Further Readings:
Travis, J. 1996. Let the games begin. Science News 149(Feb. 17):104.
Fossil soil has the dirt on early microbes
Fossil deposits from South Africa suggest that life had colonized the land surface at least 2 billion years ago.
References:
Gutzmer, J., and N.J. Beukes. 1998. Earliest laterites and possible evidence for terrestrial vegetation in the Early Proterozoic. Geology 26(March):263.
Further Readings:
Horodyski, R.J., and L.P. Knauth. 1994. Life on land in the Precambrian. Science 263(Jan. 28):494.
Heterosexual women have noisy ears
Differences in the auditory systems of heterosexual and homosexual women may reflect prenatal brain changes that may also presage sexual orientation.
References:
LeVay, S. 1993. The Sexual Brain. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press.
McFadden, D., and E.G. Pasanen. 1998. Comparison of the auditory systems of heterosexuals and homosexuals: Click-evoked otoacoustic emissions. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(March):2709.
Further Readings:
Bloom, F.E., and A. Lazerson. 1988. Brain, Mind, and Behavior. New York: W.H. Freeman & Co.
Blum, D. 1997. Sex on the Brain: The Biological Differences Between Men and Women. New York: Viking.
Bower, B. 1996. From exotic to erotic. Science News 150(Aug. 10):88.
Byne, W., and B. Parsons. 1993. Human sexual orientation. Archives of General Psychiatry 50(March):228.
LeVay, S. 1991. A difference in hypothalamic structure between heterosexual and homosexual men. Science 253:1034-1037.
Research Notes
Astronomy
A Voyager goes the distance
On Feb. 17, the Voyager 1 spacecraft became the most distant explorer in the solar system.
References:
1998. Voyager 1 now most distant human-made object in space. NASA press release. February.
Solar eclipses—on Jupiter
In a rare event recorded last November, three of Jupiter’s moons cast their shadows within the same small region on the giant planet.
References:
1998. View of a lifetime: Team observes rare triple shadows on Jupiter. University of Arizona press release. January.
Behavior
Rethinking mental disorder rates
Rising rates for mental disorders may reflect changes in diagnostic conventions rather than a widespread need for increased treatment.
References:
Regier, D.A. . . . R.C. Kessler, et al. 1998. Limitations of diagnostic criteria and assessment instruments for mental disorders. Archives of General Psychiatry 55(February):109.
Further Readings:
Bower, B. 1998. Depression gets doleful diagnosis. Science News 153(Feb. 14):100.
______. 1994. Mental disorders strike about half of U.S. Science News 145(Jan. 22):55.
Family shroud for the mentally ill
Many families try to conceal the condition of a mentally ill member from friends and neighbors.
References:
Phelan, J.C., E.J. Bromet, and B.G. Link. 1998. Psychiatric illness and family stigma. Schizophrenia Bulletin 24:115.
Biology
Proteins that produce hunger
Two newly discovered brain proteins stimulate feeding behavior in mice.
References:
Flier, J.S., and E.M. 1998. Obesity and the hypothalamus: Novel peptides for new pathways. Cell 92(Feb. 20).
Sakurai, T. . . . M. Yanagisawa. 1998. Orexins and orexin receptors: A family of hypothalamic neuropeptides and G protein-coupled receptors that regulate feeding behavior. Cell 92(Feb. 20).
A gene that causes hair loss
Scientists have discovered the first gene associated with human hair loss.
References:
Ahmad, W. . . . A.M. Christiano. 1998. Alopecia universalis associated with a mutation in the human hairless gene. Science 279(Jan. 30):720.
Environment
Radon–lung cancer risk high for smokers
Cigarette smoking greatly magnifies the lung cancer risk associated with exposure to radon.
References:
1998. Health effects of exposure to radon. Report of the National Research Council. Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
Fine-tuning federal water policies
On Feb. 19, President Clinton unveiled his Clean Water Action Plan, a strategy for protecting the nation's waters and cleaning up polluted aquatic areas.
References:
Information is available at http://www.epa.gov/cleanwater.
Articles:
When Birds Divorce
Who splits, who benefits, and who gets the nest
Ornithologists, who belong to a species that divorces at about the same rate as the masked booby, are now studying what snaps the pair bonds among birds.
References:
Black, J.M. 1996. Partnerships in Birds. Oxford, England: Oxford University Press.
Catry, P., N. Ratcliffe, and R.W. Furness. 1997. Partnerships and mechanisms of divorce in the great skua. Animal Behaviour 54(December):1475.
Further Readings:
Coulson, J.C., and C.S. Thomas. 1985. Differences in the breeding performance of individual Kittiwake Gulls Risa tridactyla (L). In Behavioural Ecology: Ecological consequences of adaptive behavior, R.M. Sibly and R.H. Smith, eds. London: Blackwell.
Davies, N.B. 1992. Dunnock behavior and social evolution. Oxford University Press. Oxford.
Dhondt, A.A., and F. Adriaensen. 1994. Causes and effects of divorce in the blue tit Parus caeruleus (L). Journal of Animal Ecology 63:979.
Ens, B.J., et al. 1993. Divorce in the long-lived and monogamous oystercatcher, Haematopus ostralegus: Incompatibility or choosing the better option? Animal Behaviour 45:1199.
Orell, M., et al. 1994. Causes of divorce in the monogamous willow tit, Parus montanus, and consequences for reproductive success. Animal Behaviour 48:1143.
Otter, K., and L. Ratcliffe. 1996. Female-initiated divorce in a monogamous songbird: Abandoning mates for males of higher quality. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London (B) 263:351.
Not-So-Deadly Force
Development of less-than-lethal weapons has proliferated, promising alternative means of bridging the gap between verbal warnings and the use of deadly force.
copyright 1998 Science Service
