Science News / January 29th, 2005

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In This Issue

Ultramassive: as big as it gets: A black hole can consume anything in its path. These monsters can become huge — but perhaps only so huge.
Body In Mind: Long thought the province of the abstract, cognition may actually evolve as physical experiences and actions ignite mental life
This week's table of contents

January 29th, 2005

Giardia Bares All: Parasite genes reveal long sexual history

Sexual reproduction started billions of years ago, as soon as life forms that have nuclei and organelles within their cells branched off from their structurally simpler ancestors. (p. 67)
Lost Sight, Found Sound: Visual cortex sees way to acquiring new duties

Brain areas that are usually devoted solely to vision can take on new duties following severe or total sight loss. (p. 67)
Sizing Up Complex Webs: Close or far, many networks look the same

Complex networks, including the World Wide Web, have a common architecture with snowflakes and trees. (p. 68)
Good Exposure: Contact with babies might lessen MS risk

People who grow up with younger siblings close to them in age are less likely to develop multiple sclerosis later in life than are people without such siblings. (p. 68)
In a Snap: Leaf geometry drives Venus flytrap's bite

Behind a Venus flytrap's rapid snap lies an extraordinary shape-changing mechanism. (p. 69)
Hungry for Hydrogen: Microbes in hot springs feed on unlikely source

Microbes dwelling in Yellowstone National Park's hot springs draw their energy not from sulfur but from hydrogen. (p. 69)
The Heights of School Science: Select student research rises to the top

Forty high school students have each earned a slot in the final round of the 2005 Intel Science Talent Search. (p. 70)
Matrix Realized

Devices called brain-computer interfaces could give paralyzed patients the ability to flex mechanical limbs, steer a motorized wheelchair, or operate robots through sheer brainpower. (p. 72)
When Mountains Fizz

Scientists are finding that the driving force behind a volcanic explosion is the same thing that propels spewing soda pop: bubbles. (p. 74)
One in a Million

A 15-year-old girl in Wisconsin has survived a rabies infection without receiving the rabies vaccine, a first in medical history. (p. 77)
Thrifty trucks go with the flow

Forcing air through strategically placed slits on a tractor trailer results in a major boost in fuel economy. (p. 78)
Building artificial cells from scratch

Scientists have created artificial cells that can live and produce proteins as their natural counterparts do, but can't replicate. (p. 78)
Congealing useful oddballs

A device for manipulating liquid droplets turns out to have the unexpected ability to fabricate tiny, solid balls with unusual, and potentially useful, patterned structures inside. (p. 78)
Urine test signals pregnancy problem

A simple urine test can warn women that they have an increased risk of preeclampsia, a dangerous complication of pregnancy. (p. 78)
Letters from the January 29, 2005, issue of Science News

(p. 79)

Blogs:

Science & the Public By Janet Raloff Oct 12th 2008

Columns:

Comment By Guest Columnists Oct 10th 2008

Math Trek By Julie Rehmeyer
The U.S. News & World Report rankings of colleges and universities are largely arbitrary, according to a new mathematical analysis. Oct 3rd 2008

SN Bookshelf:

Book Review: The Black Hole War: My Battle with Stephen Hawking to Make the World Safe for Quantum Mechanics by Leonard Susskind
Review by Tom Siegfried
Buy now | More Books

Natural History of the Point Reyes Peninsula by Jules G. Evens
Univ. of California, 2008, 366 p., $24.95
Buy now | More Books