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Animal Genes Illuminate Human Sleep
Mutated genes that cause narcolepsy in dogs and mice provide new leads for
treating that disorder and for medications to induce sleep.
Seabed slide blamed for deadly
tsunami
A submarine landslide or slump may have caused the tsunami that killed 2,200
people in Papua New Guinea last year.
Hormone mimics: New assessments air
Nonylphenol pollution can move from water to air, reinforcing what a new
National Research Council panel concluded: There is still much to be learned
about such hormone-mimicking pollutants.
A new look at recognizing what people see
The job of recognizing an object visually may be distributed across multiple
regions of the brain rather than relying on one specialized area.
The secret to a solar cell’s stability?
Researchers think that a solar-cell material just entering the market heals
itself when areas are damaged by sunlight.
The mustard war wasn’t so racy after all
The widely used image of a coevolutionary arms race does not fit the
9-million-year battle between a mustard species and a disease that rots the
plants.
Deep encounter reveals asteroid’s ancestry
Infrared spectra taken by the Deep Space 1 spacecraft has identified the
large asteroid Vesta as the likely parent of a tiny asteroid that in a few
thousand years will cross Earth’s orbit.
An Electrifying DNA Debate
New evidence explains how DNA conducts charge
DNA’s ability to conduct electrons might play a role in radiation damage
and mutation repair.
Modern Hygiene’s Dirty Tricks
The clean life may throw off a delicate balance in the immune system
As developed countries have banished disease-causing and innocuous microbes
and parasites, they may have opened the door for asthma, allergies, and
other immune disorders.
Astronomy
New moons make Uranus the champ
Astronomers have found what are almost certainly two new moons of Uranus,
bringing its retinue to 20, the most of any planet in the solar system.
Extrasolar planet with an Earthlike orbit
A newly found planet orbiting a nearby, sunlike star has the most Earthlike
orbit of any extrasolar planet yet found.
Biology
Oops. That mangrove tree’s no lady
The supposedly female trees of the white mangrove have turned out to be
hermaphrodites, but mating with a male may still be advantageous.
Folk remedy zaps Ebola in lab test
A compound from the fruit of the bitter kola, a West African tree, stopped
the Ebola virus from replicating in the lab.
How a bee finds its first buttercup
In its first attempts at flower identification, a bee that specializes in
visiting buttercups relies on pollen scent.
Biomedicine
Generic drug effectively treats heart failure
A rarely used generic drug can reduce deaths and hospitalization in cardiac
patients when added to the patients’ drug regimens.
Chemical dearth hints at preeclampsia
Women who suffer from a pregnancy complication called preeclampsia have low
concentrations of the chemical prostacyclin in their blood weeks before
symptoms appear.
Implants cleared of grave risks
A panel of experts reviewing numerous studies concludes that breast implants
don’t seem to pose life-threatening health risks.
Earth Science
Hawaiian volcanoes recycle rocks
Ocean rocks take a circuitous trip deep into Earth and back to the surface.
Northwest mountain claims snow record
Mt. Baker, Wash., received 95 feet of snow in the latest snow season,
setting a U.S. record for annual snowfall.
