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New Flea Imperils Fish, Fouls Gear
A recently introduced water flea from Northern Europe has begun disturbing
the food chain and fishing gear in the Great Lakes.
Here come the Leonids
Skywatchers may be in for a spectacular light show when the annual Leonid
meteor shower returns this Nov. 17.
Star streams reveal galaxy’s dining habits
Precision measurements of elderly stars yield some of the first direct
evidence that the Milky Way grew more massive by devouring neighboring
galaxies.
Schizophrenia may involve bad timing
A glitch in the timing of cell responses across broad swaths of brain
tissue may help account for symptoms of schizophrenia.
Scientists eye whirlpool in Earth’s
core
Magnetic measurements reaching back a century indicate that Earth’s
liquid-iron outer core slowly swirls beneath the North Pole, a discovery
that makes geophysicists believe they are close to understanding the cause
of Earth’s magnetic field.
Speedy X-ray bursts reveal atomic action
Zapping a semiconductor with ultrashort X-ray pulses, researchers have
directly observed the breakdown of atomic order as a crystal melts.
Two approaches bolster heart-bypass outlook
Soaking a transplanted blood vessel in artificial DNA or increasing the
blood concentration of high-density lipoprotein can help keep heart-bypass
vessels from clogging up after surgery.
HIV-like gene lies buried in human DNA
Viral DNA long buried in the human genome contains a gene for a protein
also used by the AIDS virus.
Who’s Dying for Sex?
Scientists refine the calculation of when it’s really worth it
Sexual cannibalism offers a puzzling mixture of risks and benefits.
Medicinal EMFs
Harnessing electric and magnetic fields for healing and health
Properly applied, electric and magnetic fields appear to help people at
risk for osteoporosis or related bone ailments.
Astronomy
Gamma-ray bursts: Going the distance
Astronomers may have found a new, quick way to determine the distance to
those mysterious flashes of energetic radiation known as gamma-ray bursts.
FAME to gaze at the stars
A spacecraft set for launch in 2004 promises to measure with unprecedented
accuracy the distance, motion, position, and brightness of some 40 million
of the closest stars to Earth.
Biology
New insight into Alzheimer’s disease
Deposits of the protein fragment beta-amyloid may trigger a chemical
modification of the protein tau, which leads to fibrous clumps inside the
nerve cells of people with Alzheimer’s disease.
Antidepressant aids cancer therapy
Starting people on antidepressants before they begin receiving
alpha-interferon reduces the latter’s side effects, which include muscle
problems and depression.
Stem cells track down brain cancer
Immature nerve cells called neural stem cells can home in on brain-tumor
cells
Rats get hooked on testosterone
Rat studies indicate that testosterone is addictive.
