Science News / March 17th, 2007

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In This Issue

Sequencing the dead to save the living: Reviving ancient genomes of long-extinct creatures offers a window into past extinctions—and may help prevent future die outs
No gene is an island: Even as biologists catalog the discrete parts of life forms, an emerging picture reveals that life’s functions arise from interconnectedness
The decider: Informing the debate over the reality of ‘free will’ requires learning something about the lateral habenula
This week's table of contents

March 17th, 2007

Brain Fix: Stem cells supply missing enzyme

Brain stem cells implanted into sick mice restored a missing enzyme and extended life span by 70 percent. (p. 163)
Ancient Slow Growth: Fossil teeth show roots of human development

An extended period of childhood evolved in people at least 160,000 years ago. (p. 163)
Warming Up to Criticality: Quantum change, one bubble at a time

Physicists can now observe matter as it gradually turns into a Bose-Einstein condensate—the exotic state of matter that displays quantum behavior at macroscopic scales. (p. 164)
First Family: Pluto-size body has siblings

Astronomers have found the first family of objects in the Kuiper belt, a remote outpost of the solar system beyond the orbit of Neptune. (p. 164)
It's a Girl: Atlantic mystery squid undergoes scrutiny

To scientists' surprise, a huge, deep-sea, gelatinous squid formerly reported only in the Pacific Ocean has turned up half a world away. (p. 165)
New Memory Manager: DNA silencer also controls memory formation

A surprising finding links memory formation to a process of shutting down genes in growing embryos. (p. 165)
The Next Generation: Intel Science Talent Search honors high school achievers

A 17-year-old from Oklahoma City who built a homemade Raman spectra system took first place at this year's Intel Science Talent Search. (p. 166)
Herbal Herbicides

Scientists are tapping plants, and the self-defense chemicals they make, for new weed killers, many of which may find use in organic farming. (p. 167)
Games Theory

Online games can not only entertain but also provide valuable data for researchers tackling computer-vision and other tough computational problems. (p. 170)
Dance of the dead

Astronomers have found what appears to be the fastest-spinning stellar corpse known. (p. 173)
Hibernation concentrates chemicals

Some pollutants accumulate in grizzlies during the bears' hibernation. (p. 173)
Scrubbing troubles

Triclosan, an antibacterial agent found in many soaps, may increase a person's exposure to a potentially toxic chemical. (p. 173)
Emerging bug pilfers DNA

A virulent bacterium invading U.S. hospitals and the battlefields of the Middle East pilfers its genes from other bacteria. (p. 173)
EPA council sets priorities

The Environmental Protection Agency's Science Policy Council has outlined the agency's nanotechnology-research needs. (p. 174)
Hey, it's cooler near the sprinklers

Extensive agricultural irrigation can significantly affect local climate and may be masking the effects of global warming in some areas. (p. 174)
Letters from the March 17, 2007, issue of Science News

(p. 175)

Blogs:

Science & the Public Is Your Fish Oil Polluted?
By Janet Raloff Nov 20th 2008

Columns:

Comment Debates over definition of planet continue and inspire
By Alan Stern Nov 21st 2008

Math Trek How to (really) trust a mathematical proof
By Julie Rehmeyer
Mathematicians develop computer proof-checking systems in order to realize century-old dreams of fully precise, accurate mathematics. Nov 14th 2008

Bulletin Board: