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Global Burp Gassed Ancient Earth
Scientists are tracking down the source of a carbon-rich gas attack 55
million years ago.
Brisk steps can reduce diabetes risk
Even less-strenuous exercise such as walking may help prevent diabetes.
Snouts: A star is born in a very
odd way
The 22 rays on the snout of the star-nosed mole develop in a manner unlike
any other known animal appendage.
Social factors may make gay men suicidal
Homosexual men exhibit a higher-than-average rate of suicide attempts
regardless of whether they suffer from depression or substance abuse.
Malagasy rift teems with prize fossil fauna
Paleontologists have discovered a potential mother lode of Triassic
fossils in western Madagascar, promising a window on a pivotal and little
understood period of evolution that includes the rise of the dinosaurs.
Parathyroid surgery proves its
worth
Surgical removal of an overactive parathyroid gland can boost bone mass,
even in patients who don’t have any overt symptoms of kidney disease.
Checkpoints keep a growing nerve cell alive
As a nerve fiber grows toward its destination, its survival depends on
substances secreted by targets along the way.
Laser’s radiation pressure quiets a mirror
Physicists reported the first experimental evidence that they can use the
pressure of laser light to reduce thermal-noise effects that slightly
deform a mirror’s surface.
Wanted: Medical Isotopes
Overcoming a critical scarcity of radioactive materials for research
Several new programs are aimed at bridging the gap between the demand for
unusual radioisotopes in medical research and the supply.
Should We Junk Linnaeus?
A bold band of taxonomists proposes to change the way every living
thing gets named
Dropping the kingdoms, phyla, orders, and so on of the Linnaean system
could be part of a new biological naming scheme.
Earth Science
Weather service’s supercomputer burns
A fire last month destroyed the main supercomputer used to forecast the
nation’s weather.
Ozone hole is smaller than last year
The ozone hole over Antarctica is apparently on the road to recovery.
Materials Science
Carbon sieves for small molecules
Thin sheets of jumbled carbon molecules show promise as tough and
efficient molecular sieves for separating nitrogen from oxygen.
From swirl to defect in wood grain
Observations of wood-grain patterns, which resemble those caused by
defects in liquid-crystal structures, can provide important clues to tree
growth at the cellular level.
Physics
Twice-magic metal makes its debut
Long-sought isotope nickel-48, which was produced for the first time last
month in a French accelerator, may prove a rigorous testbed for models of
nuclear structure because it has a special number of neutrons and protons.
New view solves semiconductor puzzle
Scientists have pinned down the arrangement of atoms on the surface of
gallium arsenide, a semiconductor material used for tiny lasers and
high-speed electronics.
Collider can’t cause cosmic calamity
Doomsday scenarios involving the new Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider can’t
happen, a panel of physicists has concluded.
