Vol. 164 No. #8
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More Stories from the August 23, 2003 issue

  1. Astronomy

    Stellar speed limit

    Ripples in the fabric of space-time may put the brakes on the fastest-spinning stars in the universe and prevent them from flying apart.

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  2. Health & Medicine

    Drug reduces risks for dialysis patients

    Kidney-dialysis patients getting the vitamin D drug paricalcitol survive longer than those getting a similar medication called calcitriol.

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  3. Tech

    High-flying wing destroyed in crash

    The unmanned NASA aircraft that holds the world record for high-altitude flight without rocket propulsion recently broke up over the Pacific Ocean.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Viruses, but not bacteria, tied to mental decline

    Past infection by multiple common viruses may contribute to cognitive decline in some elderly people.

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  5. Planetary Science

    A warmer, fluffier Pluto

    Although Pluto has been receding from the sun for more than a decade, planetary scientists have now found that between 1988 and 2002, Pluto’s atmosphere has nearly doubled in size and its temperature has increased by about 1 degree C.

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  6. Health & Medicine

    Guggul extract fails its cholesterol test

    Guggul extract, long used in parts of Asia and gaining popularity in Western countries as a weapon against high cholesterol, does not appear to work.

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  7. Livers: Better late than never

    Drawing on an ancient Greek myth, researchers have given the name prometheus to a mutant strain of zebrafish that appear to have no liver early in their lives.

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  8. Did cavefish trade eyes for good taste?

    Certain blind cave-dwelling fish in Mexico may have developed more taste buds and bigger jaws as they lost their eyes.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Prenatal Cares: Popular painkillers linked to miscarriage

    A new study finds that pregnant women taking nonprescription painkillers such as ibuprofen and aspirin have a higher risk of miscarriage.

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  10. Astronomy

    It’s Raining Stardust: Spacecraft measures record amount of stellar debris

    Stardust is sneaking into our solar system at three times the rate that it had just 4 years ago, and the influx of dust could triple through 2010.

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  11. Tech

    Bomb Sniffer: Cantilevers detect trace amounts of explosives

    An ultra-sensitive chemical sensor uses microcantilevers to detect airborne plastic explosives within seconds.

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  12. Animals

    Musical Pairs: Egg-deploying bird species divide for a song

    A new genetic analysis bolsters the idea that musical taste, rather than geography, split Africa's indigobirds into multiple species.

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  13. Uneasy Breathing: Lung ills linked to suicidal thoughts

    Patients who suffer from asthma and other lung disorders report thoughts of suicide and self-harm far more often than do people treated for other physical illnesses.

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  14. Earth

    Clearing the Air: Ozone-killing bromine is on the decline

    Chemical analyses of Earth's lower atmosphere show that the overall concentration of bromine, a component of some potent ozone-destroying chemicals, has dropped by 5 percent since peaking in 1998.

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  15. The Naked Truth? Lice hint at a recent origin of clothing

    A study of genetic differences among human lice hints at the origin of clothing.

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  16. Earth

    On Shifting Ground

    In earthquake-prone areas of the United States and elsewhere in the world, debates go on over whether—and how much—to reinforce buildings.

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  17. Health & Medicine

    Predicting Prostate Cancer’s Moves

    To guide treatment decisions in individual cases of prostate cancer, medical researchers are using gene-expression profiling and other novel techniques to develop better predictive markers of how a given tumor will behave.

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