More Stories from the April 13, 2002 issue
- Agriculture
Journal disowns transgene report
The journal Nature now says it shouldn't have published a report that genetically engineered corn is leaking exotic genes into the traditional maize crops of Mexico.
- Humans
Web site debuts on junior high science
A new Web site reviews the accuracy of commonly used middle school physical science books and offers tips and assistance for teachers working from those texts.
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Immune cells carry concealed weapons
Scientists propose that protein-cleaving enzymes called proteases are the real microbe destroyers in bacteria-killing cells called neutrophils.
- Health & Medicine
Pulse pressure linked to dialysis death rate
People on kidney dialysis who have high pulse pressure—the difference between the top and bottom numbers on a blood pressure reading—seem to be at a greater risk of dying than those with low pulse pressure.
- Plants
Trees dim the light on spring flowers
Early spring flowers and the sugar maples they grow under use different alarm clocks to get going in the spring, which can make life hard for the flowers in northern forests.
- Health & Medicine
Diluted smallpox vaccine is potent
About 15 million doses of smallpox vaccine held by the U.S. government can be diluted to one-tenth their original concentration and still be effective for immunizing people.
- Earth
Do your bit to fight toxic pool pollution
New data suggest that showering before a swim in the community pool could help limit the formation of toxic chemicals in the water.
- Health & Medicine
Vanquishing a Virus: New drugs attack herpes infections
Scientists have identified a new class of compounds that stop herpes simplex virus from replicating.
- Anthropology
The DNA Divide: Chimps, people differ in brain’s gene activity
The distinctive looks and thinking styles of people and chimpanzees derive from the contrasting productivities of their similar DNA sequences.
- Astronomy
Gamma-Ray Burst: A black hole is born
New evidence supports the notion that gamma-ray bursts, the most violent explosions in the universe, are the primal calling cards of newborn black holes.
- Materials Science
Steely Glaze: Layered electrolytes control corrosion
Experiments with ultrathin organic coatings applied to steel suggest a new technique for slowing corrosion.
- Physics
Molding Atoms: Using a tiny template to make tinier structures
With the help of a molecular mold composed of exactly 188 atoms, researchers have been able to impose textures at an even smaller atomic scale on a metal surface.
- Animals
Toxic Tools: Frogs down under pack their own poison
An Australian frog can synthesize its own protective poison, rather than obtain it from the insects it eats.
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Globin Family Grows: Blood-protein relative is in all tissues
Researchers discovered a relative of the blood protein hemoglobin in all the body's tissues.
- Ecosystems
Climate Upsets: Big model predicts many new neighbors
The biggest effects of climate change during the next 50 years may not be extinctions but major reshuffling of the species in local communities.
- Chemistry
The True Sweet Science
New techniques and tools are helping scientists elucidate the roles that complex sugars play in the human body and in drug manufacturing.
- Earth
Stemming the Tide
New approaches to stopping the introduction by ships of invasive species to North American waters are beginning to show promise but have a long way to go.
