More Stories from the September 9, 2006 issue
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Stem cells sense stiffness
Stem cells can sense the texture of whatever medium they're growing on and use this quality to guide their fate.
- Physics
Radiant plasma may combat cavities
Dentists may someday disinfect teeth with a newly demonstrated, handheld stylus that exudes glowing plasma deadly to cavity-causing bacteria.
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High-protein diets boost hunger-taming hormone
Eating protein appears to boost blood concentrations of a hormone recently found to restrict appetite.
- Earth
Are pollutants shrinking polar bear gonads?
New research links persistent pollutants with reproductive impairment in polar bears.
- Health & Medicine
Old drug can stop clots as well as newer drug does
A decades-old form of the anticlotting drug heparin is as safe, as effective, and potentially as convenient to use as recent derivatives that are many times more expensive.
- Health & Medicine
Herpes simplex viruses dip in prevalence
Two viruses that cause genital herpes decreased in prevalence in the United States during the past 2 decades.
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Sleep disorder tied to brain ills in kids
Researchers have linked a severe form of sleep apnea in children to brain irregularities that may contribute to learning problems.
- Earth
Plastics agent worsens skin allergies
Low doses of one of the most commonly used softeners in plastics can aggravate dust-mite allergy.
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Copycat Monkeys: Macaque babies ape adults’ facial feats
Scientists for the first time have established that baby monkeys, shortly after birth, imitate facial movements made by people and adult monkeys.
- Earth
Genes as Pollutants: Tracking drug-resistant DNA in the environment
A study that traces antibiotic-resistance genes in the environment indicates that they are present even in treated drinking water.
- Health & Medicine
Problem Paternity: Older men seem more apt to have autistic kids
Children born to fathers who are age 40 or older have an increased risk of developing autism.
- Tech
Size Matters: Biosensors behave oddly when very small
There might be a limit to how small physicists should build tiny sensors that detect viruses and molecules.
- Ecosystems
On the Rise: Siberian lakes—Major sources of methane
Field studies suggest that Siberian lakes are a much larger source of atmospheric methane than had been previously recognized.
- Animals
Hey, Roach Babe: Male cockroaches give fancy courting whistles
Some male cockroaches whistle at females with surprisingly complex, almost birdlike whistles.
- Earth
Plowing Down the Amazon: Satellites reveal conversion of forest to farmland
The clearing of jungle to create cropland is a major and previously underappreciated force behind deforestation in the Amazon region of Brazil, according to an analysis of satellite images.
- Planetary Science
Rare Uranian eclipse
The Hubble Space Telescope has for the first time recorded an eclipse on Uranus.
- Ecosystems
Bad-News Beauties
Discarded aquarium fish are the likely source of an alien species that's breeding in the Atlantic and could threaten economically important U.S. fisheries.
- Astronomy
Too Much Deuterium?
A new study appears to solve a 35-year-old puzzle about the distribution of deuterium in the Milky Way, but poses new questions about how stars and galaxies are formed.
- Humans
Letters from the September 9, 2006, issue of Science News
Brother bother If having biological older brothers correlates to homosexuality (“Gay Males’ Sibling Link: Men’s homosexuality tied to having older brothers,” SN: 7/1/06, p. 3), then we would expect that in the past, when families were larger, there would be a greater proportion of homosexuals. Is there any evidence for this? Rick NorwoodMountain Home, Tenn. […]
