Bold Aim in Stroke: Spare the Brain

A newly available drug that dissolves blood clots causing 80 percent of strokes has prompted health authorities to draft a new national plan to speed patients to hospitals and treat them quickly to limit brain damage.

Master pianists mature well with practice

Despite suffering typical age-related cognitive declines, older professional pianists play with the same level of expertise as their younger counterparts.

Gamma rays become a repeating puzzle

Astronomers have obtained evidence that gamma-ray bursts, the mysterious flashes of high-energy radiation that occur randomly throughout the sky, sometimes repeat.

Laser beam triggers a membrane breach

A low-power laser beam focused on a closed lipid membrane can initiate the ejection of material from inside the sac.

Bee-friended mistletoe gets needed help

An insect steps in for birds to open the buds, and allow pollination, of an imperiled New Zealand plant.

Robotic moth reveals key to insect flight

By precisely timing their wing strokes, moths can avoid stalling in flight.

Elusive beasts dance high in the night sky

Researchers have obtained the most detailed pictures yet of novel forms of lightning in the middle atmosphere.

Scattered light reveals polymer wave motion

With a new technique, scientists can measure the tiny undulations of polymer molecules tethered to a glass surface.

Research Notes:

Biomedicine:

Homing in on the prostate cancer gene

Researchers home in on the DNA region containing a prostate cancer gene.

Antibiotic-eating germ alarms doctors

Researchers have isolated a bacterium that is not only resistant to an antibiotic but also dependent upon it.

Astronomy:

Cosmic carbon chemistry

Collisions between carbon atoms and acetylene molecules can generate the types of complex carbon-containing molecules found in interstellar space.

Galaxies with magnetic personalities

The out-of-phase magnetic fields in spiral galaxy NGC 6946 may be due to the build-up of slow-moving waves of matter.

Biomedicine:

Estrogen eases Alzheimer's symptoms

An estrogen patch can improve the memory and attention span of postmenopausal women with Alzheimer's disease.

Fetal cells tried for Huntington's

Implanting fetal brain tissue into adult brains, a promising experimental strategy to treat Parkinson's disease, is now under investigation for treating Huntington's disease, another neurodegenerative disorder.

Science & Society:

Gulf War chemical weapons confirmed

Congress learns that U.S. servicemen detected chemical agents in the air during the war and its aftermath.

EPA to tighten air pollution limits

More stringent regulations have been proposed for smog ozone and dustlike pollutants.

DOE compensates experiment victims

Persons unwittingly injected with radiation are to receive money and an apology.

Articles:

Coloring the Cosmos

The sky's the limit

With the aid of a sophisticated scanner and digitizer, a British astronomer is turning photographic plates of the night sky into color images that can be manipulated on the computer and may eventually be available on CD-ROM.

Materials in the Magic Kingdom

When it comes to science, Disney doesn't use a Mickey Mouse approach

Formulating polymers to mimic human skin and making a a biodegradable fireworks casing are all part of creating a fantasy world.

Sounds of the Seasons

Learning to pay attention to the sounds around us

A growing interest in acoustic ecology calls attention to the myriad ways in which sounds influence human behavior.

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Letters:

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