A recent pattern of waning male births and increasing reproductive defects suggests that environmental pollutants may be selectively affecting male fetal development.

References:  

Allan, B.B., et al. 1997. Declining sex ratios in Canada. Canadian Medical Association Journal 156(Jan. 1):37.

Davis, D.L., et al. 1998. Reduced ratio of male to female births in several industrial countries. Journal of the American Medical Association 279(April 1):1018.

Further Readings: 

Møller, H. 1998. Trends in sec-ratio, testicular cancer and male reproductive hazards: Are they connected? APMIS 106:232.

Needham, L.L. 1996. Change in sex ratio with exposure to dioxin. Lancet 348(Aug. 10):409.

Raloff, J. 1997. Penile birth defect on the rise. Science News 152(Nov. 29):344.

______. 1995. Beyond estrogens. Science News 148(July 15):44.

______. 1994. That feminine touch. Science News 145(Jan. 22):56.

______. 1994. The gender benders. Science News 145(Jan. 8):24.

______. 1993. EcoCancers. Science News 144(July 3):10.

Examination of defective heart valves removed from patients during surgery shows a significant number had bone growing inside the valve.

References:  

Mohler, E.R., et al. 1997. Bone formation and osteoclast remodeling in calcified cardiac valves: A clinical and pathologic analysis. Meeting of the American College of Cardiology. Atlanta. March.

Further Readings: 

Abraham, S.A., and K.K. Hansen. 1995. Case records of the Massachusetts General Hospital. New England Journal of Medicine 332(April 13):1015.

Gibbons, G.H., and V.J. Dzau. 1994. The emerging concept of vascular remodeling. New England Journal of Medicine 330(May 19):1431.

Sanderson, J.E. 1996. Mitral valve disease. Lancet 348(July 6):45.

Colorful gene marks mosquito manipulation 

Scientists have finally been able to genetically engineer mosquitoes so that the insects pass on selected traits to their offspring.

References:  

Kidwell, M.G., and A.R. Wattam. 1998. An important step forward in the genetic manipulation of mosquito vectors of human disease. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(March 31):3349.

Further Readings: 

Adler, T. 1996. Keeping mosquitoes healthy for humans’ sake. Science News 149(May 11):295.

Coates, C.J., et al. 1998. Mariner transposition and transformation of the yellow fever in mosquito, Aedes aegypti. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(March 31):3748.

Jasinskiene, N., et al. 1998. Stable transformation of the yellow fever mosquito, Aedes aegypti, with the Hermes element from the housefly. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(March 31):3743.

Half of every dose of the drug Ritalin may contribute nothing to its therapeutic effect while possibly adding to its side effects.

References:  

Ding, Y., J.S. Fowler, and N. Volkow. 1998. Positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of optically active drugs. Meeting of the American Chemical Society. Dallas. March.

Further Readings: 

Ding, Y.-S, et al. 1996. Chiral drugs: Comparison of the pharmacokinetics of [¹¹C]d-threo and I-threo-methylphenidate in the human and baboon brain. Psychopharmacology 131:71.

An image of a newly discovered Einstein ring shows for the first time both the ring and the intervening body in a single photograph.

References:  

Images and a description of the Einstein ring are available at: http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/merlin/press/PR9801.

King, L.J. . . . P.N. Wilkinson. 1998. A complete infrared Einstein ring in the gravitational lens system B1938+666. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society(Nov. 26).

Further Readings: 

Additional information can be found at: http://www.jb.man.ac.uk/merlin.

Cowen, R. 1998. Cosmologists in Flatland. Science News 153(March 21):139.

Butterflies in the scattered meadows of Finnish islands may provide the first evidence of inbreeding contributing to extinction in the natural world.

References:  

Saccheri, I., et al. 1998. Inbreeding and extinction in a butterfly metapopulation. Nature 392(April 2):491.

Further Readings: 

Caro, T.M., and K. Laurenson. 1994. Ecological and genetic factors in conservation: A cautionary tale. Science 263(Jan. 28):485.

Keller, L.F., et al. 1994. Selection against inbred song sparrows during a natural population bottleneck. Nature 372(Nov. 24):356.

An ancient bone initially reported to have been fashioned into a flute by Neandertals more likely was chewed up by carnivores interested in food, not music.

References:  

Nowell, A., and P.G. Chase. 1998. Taphonomy of a purported Mousterian bone flute from Divje Babe I, Slovenia. Meeting of the Paleoanthropology Society. Seattle. March.

Further Readings: 

B. Bower. 1996. Neandertal noisemaker. Science News 150(Nov. 23):328.

A satellite sensor captured images of ring-shaped waves arising from thunderstorms.

References:  

Dewan, E.M., et al. 1998. MSX satellite observations of thunderstorm-generated gravity waves in mid-wave infrared images of the upper stratosphere. Geophysical Research Letters 25(April 1):939.

 

Research Notes

Astronomy

Did an ocean flatten Mars’ northern half? 

Parts of Mars’ northern hemisphere may have been sculpted by an ancient ocean.

References:  

Smith, D.E., et al. 1998. Topography of the northern hemisphere of Mars from the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter. Science 279(March 13):1686.

Sifting through thousands of images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope, astronomers have discovered nearly 100 small, main-belt asteroids.

References:  

Evans, R.W., K.R. Stapelfeldt, D.L. Padgett, et al. 1998. Asteroid trails in Hubble Space Telescope WFPC2 images: First results. Icarus 131(February):261.

Further Readings: 

Monastersky, R. 1997. Small comet theory faces barrage from foes. Science News 152(Dec. 20&27):389.

Biology

Rare, long view on frog ups and downs 

Researchers publish what may be the longest series yet of frog census data, allowing them to distinguish between temporary dips and long-term declines in population.

References:  

Meyer, A.H., B.R. Schmidt, and K. Grossenbacher. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B 265(March 22):523.

The asymmetry of hermit crabs, thought to be genetically determined, is actually a result of living inside spiral-shaped shells.

References:  

Harvey, A.W. 1998. Genes for asymmetry easily overruled. Nature 392(March 26):345.

Further Readings: 

Edwards, D.D. 1988. Taking a crab’s-eye view of the world. Science News 133(March 12):167.

Jensen, M. 1998. Land hermit crabs spurn leftovers. Science News 153(Feb. 21):126.

Chemistry

DNA scissors cleave their comrades 

DNA can act as an enzyme, clipping itself and other DNA molecules in two.

References:  

Carmi, N., S.R. Balkhi, and R.R. Breaker. 1998. Cleaving DNA with DNA. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 95(March):2233.

Further Readings: 

1996. RNA world begins to add up. Science News 150(Aug. 10):93.

DNA can serve as a template for the formation of silver wires only one-thousandth the thickness of a human hair.

References:  

Braun, E., et al. 1998. DNA-templated assembly and electrode attachment of a conducting silver wire. Nature 391(Feb. 19):775.

Further Readings: 

Lipkin, R. 1994. New metal fillings for carbon tubules. Science News 146(Dec. 24&31):421.

Wu, C. 1996. DNA links gold into new materials. Science News 150(Aug. 17):100.

Food & Nutrition

Chia for your pet—if it clucks 

Hens who eat chia seeds lay eggs with fats friendlier to the heart.

Further Readings: 

1988. Low-cholesterol eggs? This smells fishy. Science News 133(May 7):300.

Ezzell, C. 1992. Eat eggs and cut your cholesterol, too. Science News 141(May 9):319.

Raloff, J. 1989. Eggs naturally rich in ‘fish oils’. Science News 136(Nov. 25):351.

Another way alcohol may help the heart 

A Swiss research team identified a mechanism that appears to help explain why drinking a little alcohol regularly may benefit the heart.

References: 

Locher, R., P.M. Suter, and W. Vetter. 1998. Ethanol suppresses smooth muscle cell proliferation in the postprandial state: A new antiatherosclerotic mechanism of ethanol? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 67(February):338.

Further Readings: 

1992. Grape juice vs. wine: A healthy debate. Science News 142(July 18):47.

Fackelmann, K. 1991. A heartening finding for women on aspirin. Science News 140(July 27):55.

Raloff, J. 1997. Versatile cancer weapon in grapes. Science News Online (Feb. 8).

______. 1997. Grape juice: Better than aspirin? Science News Online (March 22).

______. 1996. A couple of heart-friendly dark brews. Science News 149(May 4):287.

______. 1996. Juicy anticancer prospects. Science News 149(May 4):287.

______. 1996. Have Danes solved the French paradox? Science News 149(March 30):197.

Seachrist, L. 1995. Wine, beer, liquor benefit the heart. Science News 148(Dec. 2):380.

Eye-scanning technology and other approaches involving face recognition, hand geometry, voice printing and signature verification for security purposes are entering the marketplace.

Further Readings: 

Peterson, I. 1997. Chinks in digital armor. Science News 151(Feb. 1):78.

 

A new science may emerge as ecologists and social scientists collaborate to investigate urban environments.

References:  

Information available at: http://caplter.asu.edu/.

Information available at: http://salab1.umbc.edu:80/lter/

Information available at: http://lternet.edu/.

Further Readings: 

1991. How and why to curb urban sprawl. Science News 140(Nov. 16):316.

Peterson, I. 1996. The shapes of cities. Science News 149(Jan. 6):8.

Pickett, S.T.A., et al. 1997. Baltimore-Washington integrated regional framework and research: A test case for implementation of urban ecosystem concepts. Urban Ecosystems 1(October):183.

Weiss, R. 1990. Eco-tutelage. Science News 138(Sept. 22):187.