Uncategorized
- Animals
Walking on Water: Tree frog’s foot uses dual method to stick
The tree frog can cling to both wet and dry terrains, despite its permanently lubricated foot.
- Astronomy
Mini Solar Systems? Astronomers find disks around planet-size objects
Disks with the potential to form planets, or at least moons, have been found orbiting objects outside the solar system that themselves are no heftier than planets.
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19690
The article leads me to ask if this explains the efficacy of that standard home remedy for preventing urinary tract infections: cranberry juice. Does it contain a cathelicidin mimic or some irritant that (benignly) stimulates cathelicidin secretions? Gregory HonchulWest Liberty, Ky. There is evidence that the juice can thwart bladder infections, but the mechanism appears […]
- Health & Medicine
Homegrown Defender: Urinary infections face natural guard
Specialized peptides produced by cells lining the urinary tract stand guard as the first line of defense against bacterial infection.
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Cooked garlic still kills bacteria
Cooked garlic can kill bacteria, but less efficiently than raw garlic does.
- Health & Medicine
Can supplements nix kidney stones?
The majority of commercially available probiotic supplements don't degrade the compound that forms kidney stones.
- Health & Medicine
Dive suits could spread disease
Divers' wetsuits can harbor bacteria that cause diseases in coral and people.
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Hand gels falter
Alcohol-based gels may not effectively eliminate from people's hands a type of virus that causes millions of cases of diarrhea worldwide each year.
- Humans
Letters from the June 10, 2006, issue of Science News
Know the drill Could it be that the ancient teeth discovered with drill marks but no signs of fillings (“Mystery Drilling: Ancient teeth endured dental procedures,” SN: 4/8/06, p. 213) were drilled to relieve abscesses? On a long holiday weekend years ago, a dentist opened and drained an abscess for me until I could get […]
- Health & Medicine
For women, weight gain spells heartburn
A study of more than 10,000 women suggests that weight gain is associated with heartburn.
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Chimps lead way to HIV birthplace
A viral analysis confirms that the global AIDS epidemic originated in chimpanzees living in southeastern Cameroon.
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Zits in tubeworms: Part of growing up
Young tubeworms pick up the live-in bacteria they need for nutrition in a rite of passage that starts with a skin infection.
