September 27th, 2008

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In This Issue

You Are Who You Are by Default: It may be off when you’re on, but the brain network behind daydreams and a sense of self is no slacker
The Star That Ate a Mars: Astronomers study white dwarf pollution for clues to extrasolar planet ingredients
Bad Breath: Studies are homing in on which particles polluting the air are most sickening — and why
This week's table of contents

Last Call

The final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope could radically transform the observatory, but the crew faces some special challenges. (p. 24)
Breaking the Barrier

A technique combining ultrasound pulses with microbubbles may help scientists move therapeutic drugs across the brain’s protective divide (p. 20)
Sting Operation

Scientists use bees and wasps to sniff out the illicit and the dangerous (p. 16)
New insights on new neurons

Neurogenesis works differently in two parts of the brain. New neurons are necessary for making memories and keep the olfactory bulb’s structure but aren’t needed for smelling, study in mice shows.
PAMELA may have spotted the dark stuff

An orbiting observatory may have discovered particles of dark matter -- the proposed, invisible material that researchers believe holds the universe together. (p. 8)
Milky Way's black hole seen in new detail

New radio wave observations are giving astronomers their closest look yet at the supermassive black hole believed to be lurking at the center of our galaxy.
Cosmic heavyweight

Astronomers discover the heftiest, most distant galaxy cluster, suggesting evidence for dark energy’s existence.
The proton's strange new cousin

Physicists have discovered a new particle made of three quarks, including two strange quarks. Its existence further validates the standard model of particle physics.
Inborn path to math

A new study links math achievement with individual differences in the ability to rapidly estimate quantities.
Infants have social sightlines

One-year olds can translate personal experience into knowledge about others
World of hurt

Treatments shown to diminish psychological problems in traumatized youngsters often don’t get used, an exhaustive research review concludes.
Honey of a discovery

Investigators have discovered the remains of 3,000-year-old beehives in Israel, offering a glimpse of the oldest known beekeeping operation.
Gene linked to commitment-phobia

A common gene variation in men is linked to marital crises and less bonding in a study of more than 500 long-term couples.
Eye protection

A variant form of a gene called TLR3 offers some protection against the eye disease known as dry macular degeneration.
Amniotic sac not so sacrosanct

Infections found in amniotic fluid may be more common than thought and may cause premature birth.
Calcium clue

Excess calcium in the blood might signal an increased risk of fatal prostate cancer, a new study finds.
Gene regulation makes the human

The regulation of genes, rather than genes alone, may have been crucial to primate evolution.
Electrons as math whizzes

A new paper suggests the possibility that the behavior of electrons in quantum systems could verify Riemann’s famous conjecture about prime numbers.