References:

Ice's Watery Surface Comes Into View

Images of the surface of ice may help explain its slipperiness as well as its role in atmospheric ozone depletion.

Materer, N., . . . M. Van Hove, . . . In press. Molecular surface structure of ice(0001): dynamical low-energy electron diffraction, total-energy calculations and molecular dynamics simulations. Surface Science.

1995. Skating on thin water. Science News 148(Oct. 21):268.

Monastersky, R. 1987. Antarctic ozone reaches lowest levels. Science News 132(Oct. 9):230.

Peterson, I. 1995. Viewing frost heave on a microscopic scale. Science News 148(July 1):4.

Spacecraft spies hills and valleys of sun

A fixed landscape of gassy hills and valleys rotates with the surface of the sun.

Kuhn, J., et al. 1996. SOHO and the solar oscillations imager experiment measure tiny changes in the shape of the sun. Meeting of the American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, Cal.

Cowen, R. 1996. How to light a fire. Science News 150(Aug. 31):136.

_____. 1996. SOHO views the sun in a new dimension. Science News 149(May 5):277.

Harvey, J. 1995. Helioseismography. Physics Today 1995(October):32.

Hathaway, D. 1996. GONG observations of solar surface flows. Science 272(May 31):1306.

Thompson, M., et al. 1996. Differential rotation and dynamics of the solar interior. Science 272(May 31):1300.

Galileo probes structure of Jovian moons

Images and gravitational and magnetic field maps from the Galileo spacecraft are describing four Jovian large moons from the inside out.

Anderson, J.D., et al. 1996. Gravitational constraints on the internal structure of Ganymede. Nature 384(Dec. 12):541).

Gurnett, D.A., et al. 1996. NASA press briefing.

Gurnett, D.A., et al. 1996. Evidence for a magnetosphere at Ganymede from plasma-wave observations by the Galileo spacecraft. Nature 384(Dec. 12):535.

Kivelson, M.G., et al. 1996. Fall meeting of the American Geophysical Union. San Francisco, Cal.

Schubert, G., et al. 1996. The magnetic field and internal structure of Ganymede. Nature 384(Dec. 12):544. Further Readings:

Cowen, R. 1996. 1996. New perspectives on Ganymede. Science News 150(Nov. 2):277.

_____. Picturing a new world: Views of Ganymede. Science News 150(July 20):37.

Tumor offers unsafe home for cell's genes

The oxygen-poor conditions inside a tumor cause further mutations in cancer cells, perhaps making the tumor more deadly.

Reynold, T., et al. 1996. Genetic instability induced by tumor microenvironment. Cancer Research 56(Dec. 15):5754.

Seachrist, L. 1994. Only the strong survive. Science News 149(April 6):216.

Earthquakes: the deadly side of geometry

A seismologist uses foam rubber models and computers to explain why some earthquakes cause much more damage than others.

Brune, J. 1996. Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, Cal.

Heaton, T. 1996. Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, Cal.

Can selenium ward off deadly cancers?

A group of volunteers who took daily supplements of selenium for more than 4 years did not reduce their rates of skin cancer as predicted, but they did develop fewer lung, colon, rectum, and prostate cancers than a group that took a placebo.

Clark, L., et al. 1996. Effects of selenium supplementation for cancer prevention in patients with carcinoma of the skin. Journal of the American Medical Association 276(Dec. 25):1957.

Colditz, G. 1996. Selenium and cancer prevention: Promising results indicate further trials required. Journal of the American Medical Association 276(Dec. 25):1984.

Reaching 1 trillion calculations per second

An ultracomputer assembled by Intel for the Department of Energy's nuclear weapons stockpile stewardship program achieved a record calculation rate of 1 trillion operations per second.

Information about the Department of Energy's Accelerated Strategic Computing Initiative is available at http://www.llnl.gov/asci/.

Information about the Academic Strategic Alliances Program can be found at http://www.llnl.gov/asci-alliances/.

Monastersky, R. 1996. Nations consent to ban all nuclear tests. Science News 150(Sept. 21):183.

Peterson, I. 1996. Sparking fusion. Science News 150(Oct. 19):254.

Missing DNA offers manic depression hints

A deleted DNA segment responsible for a condition known as velo-cardio-facial syndrome may hold a gene whose absence predisposes people to manic depression.

Papolos, D. . . .R. Shprintzen. 1996. Bipolar spectrum disorders in patients diagnosed with velo-cardio-facial syndrome. American Journal of Psychiatry 153(December):1541.

Research Notes:

Agriculture:

Making genes disappear . . .

A new technique rids plants of foreign genes, added by genetic engineering, after they have served their purpose.

Lyznik, L. A., K.V. Rao, and T. K. Hodges. 1996. FLP-mediated recombination of FRT sites in the maize genome. Nucleic Acids Research 24(October):3784.

Bayley, C. C., et al. 1992. Exchange of gene activity in transgenic plants catalyzed by the Cre-lox site-specific recombination system. Plant Molecular Biology 18:353.

Dale, E. C., and D. Ow. 1991. Gene transfer with subsequent removal of the selection gene from the host genome. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 88:10558.

. . . and virus-resistance genes appear

Researchers are engineering plants to resist multiple viruses.

Beachy, R. N. 1996. The 2',5'A antiviral system in plants: A dose of mammalian medicine. Nature Biotechnology 14(November):1538.

Ogawa, T., T. Hori, and I. Ishida. 1996. Virus-induced cell death in plants expressing the mammalian 2',5' oligoadenylate system. Nature Biotechnology 14(November):1566.

Astronomy:

More evidence of ice on the moon

Radar signals bounced off the lunar surface indicate that the moon contains a substantial supply of water ice in a heavily shadowed basin.

Nozette, S., et al. 1996. The Clementine bistatic radar experiment. Science 274(Nov. 29):1495.

Cowen, R. 1994. Ice on Earth's moon? Science News 145(June 11):383.

Huge pulsars boosted by tiny neutrinos?

Pulsars travel so far and so fast because they were blasted out of their original location by neutrinos created at the birth of the star.

Kanipe, J. 1996. Do pulsars get their kicks from neutrinos? New Scientist 1996(Dec. 7):23.

Kusenko, A., and G. Segre. 1996. Pulsar velocities and neutrino oscillations. Physical Review Letters 77(Dec. 9):4872.

Burrows, A., and J. Hayes. 1996. Pulsar recoil and gravitational radiation due to asymmetrical stellar collapse and explosion. Physical Review Letters 76 (Jan. 15):352.

Cowen R. 1996. Hubble telescope reveals dancing crab. Science News 149(June 8):358.

Peterson, I. 1996. Fresh evidence of neutrino mass. Science News 149(May 18):319.

Behavior:

Depression puffs up lung cancer. . .

Men who experience moderate to severe depression face an increased risk of developing lung cancer, either because of the mood disorder's direct biological effects or its tendency to promote heavy cigarette smoking.

Friedman, G. 1996. Depression, smoking, and lung cancer. American Journal of Epidemiology 144(Dec. 15):1104.

Knekt, P., et al. 1996. Elevated lung cancer risk among persons with depressed mood. American Journal of Epidemiology 144(Dec. 15):1096.

. . .and may lay heavy on the heart

Major depression, as well as a milder mood disorder, substantially boosts the likelihood of suffering a heart attack.

Pratt, L. . . .W. Eaton. 1996. Depression, psychotropic medication and risk of myocardial infarction. Circulation 94(December).

Earth Science:

Spying on a deep-sea eruption

When an undersea volcanic ridge erupted off the Pacific Northwest coast, oceanographers got a glimpse of the process of seafloor spreading.

Baker, E.T. 1996. Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, Cal.

A nuclear waste experiment at sea?

A sunken submarine in the Atlantic may be the ideal place to test whether seafloor sediments make a suitable resting place for nuclear waste.

Hollister, C. D. 1996. Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, Cal.

Molnia, B. F. 1996. Meeting of the American Geophysical Union, San Francisco, Cal.

Articles:

Animals' Fancies

Why members of some species prefer their own sex

Members of many animal species engage in homosexual activities. Researchers have argued that such relations, either directly or indirectly, ensure that the participants' genes get passed along. But research into the behavior of rams and macaques suggest otherwise. Studies are also demonstrating biological and environmental differences that may account for animals' sexual preferences.

Mansukhani, V., E. Adkins-Regan, and S. Yang. 1996. Sexual partner preference in female zebra finches: The role of early hormones and social environment. Hormones and Behavior 30(December).

Perkins, A., and J. A. Fitzgerald. In press. Sexual orientation in the domestic ram: Some biological and social correlates. In Sexual Orientation, L. Ellis and L. Ebertz, eds. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger.

Perkins, A., J. A. Fitzgerald, and G. E. Moss. 1995. A comparison of LH secretion and brain estradiol receptors in heterosexual and homosexual rams and female sheep. Hormones and Behavior 29:31.

Resko, J. A., et al. 1996. Endocrine correlates of partner preference behavior in rams. Biology of Reproduction. 55(July):120.

Vasey, P.L. 1996. Meeting of the Canadian Association for Physical Anthropologists. Kingston, Ontario.

_____. 1996. Interventions and alliance formation between female Japanese macaques, Macaca fuscata, during homosexual consortships. Animal Behaviour 52(September):539.

Bower, B. 1996. From exotic to erotic. Science News 150(August 10):88.

Robbins, M. M. In press. Male-male interactions in heterosexual and all-male wild mountain gorilla groups. Ethology.

Vasey, P.L. In press. Animal Studies. In Encyclopedia of Lesbianism, B. Zimmerman, ed. New York:Garland Press.

______. 1995. Homosexual behavior in primates: A review of evidence and theory. International Journal of Primatology. 16:173.

Wolfe, L. D. 1986. Sexual strategies of female Japanese macaques (Macaca fuscata). Human Evolution 1:267.

Ancient Roads to Europe

African ancestors may have entered Europe surprisingly early

Archaeological discoveries in Spain and elsewhere have raised the possibility that human ancestors entered Europe at least 1 million years ago, and perhaps much earlier.

Dennell, R., and W. Roebroeks. 1996. The earliest colonization of Europe. Antiquity 70(September):535.

Zihlman, A., and J. Lowenstein. 1996. A Spanish Olduvai? Current Anthropology 37(Aug.-Oct.):695.

Bower, B. 1995. Humans made early European entry. Science News 148(Aug. 12):100.

_____. 1995. Fossil hints at hominids' European stall. Science News 147(Feb. 11):85.

_____. 1994. Asian hominids make a much earlier entrance. Science News 145(March 5):150.