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Grade Meat Tender, Grade Meat
True...
Federal scientists have developed a new meat-grading system that offers
dramatically more reliable tenderness evaluations.
Algae need not be the fittest to survive
Upending popular ecological wisdom, two biologists working with a computer
have found that competition for resources need not winnow out species and
that species diversity does not necessarily depend on specialization.
New supernova goes the cosmic distance
Astronomers have discovered the most distant known supernova, an exploded
star some 9.5 billion light-years from Earth that could be one of the
shining lights in testing the idea that the expansion of the universe is
accelerating.
Hubble goes temporarily blind
Because of a gyroscope failure, the Hubble Space Telescope has shut down for
what astronomers hope will be just a short intermission.
The give and take of Parkinson’s treatment
Two very different forms of surgery show promise in treating Parkinson’s
disease.
Physics rule of thumb gets thumbs down
As it is taught in textbooks and classrooms, a rule-of-thumb of quantum
mechanics called the correspondence principle fails in the realm of
ultracold atoms.
Monarch butterflies use magnetic
compasses
Monarch butterflies have a built-in magnetic compass as a back-up
orientation system to their regular sun compass.
Genes reveal recent origin for the plague
The genes of the bacterium that causes bubonic plague reveal that the
microbe arose relatively recently from a less dangerous germ.
Schroedinger’s Cash Register
Physicists try to break economists’ monopoly on financial theory
Borrowing techniques from statistical mechanics, quantum theory, and
particle physics, researchers are trying to divine undiscovered laws of
finance.
Heading for Injury?
The danger of heading soccer balls remains up in the air
Although several small studies suggest that soccer-related concussions and
repeated heading of soccer balls may cause slight mental deficits, the issue
remains controversial.
Biomedicine
Aneurysms frequent in cocaine users
Cocaine users examined for chest pains appear unusually susceptible to
coronary aneurysms, a rare condition in which a weak spot balloons out from
the coronary arteries.
Arterial disease appears in young hearts
Hearts from young donors who died of causes other than heart disease often
show signs of nascent heart disease when examined in recipient patients
weeks after surgery.
Sterol margarine cuts bad cholesterol
Sterol esters, which interfere with cholesterol absorption in the body, can
lower concentrations of low-density lipoprotein, the bad cholesterol, when
eaten regularly in a margarine.
Gene variant linked to heart risk
Harboring a variant of the APOE gene seems to place a person at slightly
increased risk of heart problems.
Computers
Pondering the fate of copyright
A National Research Council report emphasizes that innovative technology and
business practices, applied in conjunction with existing copyright laws, are
likely to be far more effective in protecting electronic information than
sweeping legislative change would be.
Scenarios for a Y2K new year
In the face of uncertainty about the impact of the Y2K computer problem,
researchers have systematically detailed a wide range of scenarios of what
might happen.
Earth Science
Plumbing Antarctica for climate clues
Ice studies probe West Antarctica’s precarious glacial cover.
Storm damage soars in La Niña years
Tropical storms hit more frequently and cause more damage during La Niña.
