Vol. 158 No. #9
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More Stories from the August 26, 2000 issue

  1. Computing

    Computation Takes a Quantum Leap

    A quantum computation involving a custom-built molecule furnishes experimental evidence that a quantum computer can solve certain mathematical problems more efficiently than can a conventional computer.

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  2. Chemistry

    HArF! Argon’s not so noble after all

    Researchers have for the first time coerced argon into forming a stable and neutral compound with other elements.

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  3. Animals

    Toothy valves control crocodile hearts

    The odd cog teeth of the crocodile heart may be the first cardiac valve known to control blood flow actively.

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  4. Earth

    Cars’ ammonia may sabotage tailpipe gains

    Though cars' catalytic converters clean up some of the acidic contributors to urban haze and particulates pollution, a subset of these pollution-control devices seems to foster the production of ammonia, another pivotal ingredient in haze and particulates.

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  5. Nausea drug may aid alcoholism treatment

    A drug that lowers the activity of serotonin and other chemical messengers in the brain may boost the effectiveness of psychological treatments for a severe form of alcoholism.

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  6. Promiscuity in guppies has its virtues

    Mating with multiple partners benefits the female Trinidadian guppy and her offspring by reducing gestation time and producing youngsters more adept at forming protective schools and at evading capture.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Do more infections mean less asthma?

    Young infants kept out of day care and having no more than one older sibling are significantly more likely to develop asthma than are babies who have greater exposure to other children.

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  8. Tales from the crypts: Cells battle germs

    Inhabiting tiny pits in the small intestine, so-called Paneth cells defend other cells in these crypts by discharging bacteria-killing bursts of enzymes and other molecules.

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  9. Materials Science

    Apollo attire needs care

    Advanced spacesuits protected astronauts far from Earth just 30 years ago, but the materials have already deteriorated.

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  10. She salamanders punish fickle mates

    Female salamanders get aggressive if the male they share a rock with wanders back after an interlude with another female.

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  11. Social tuco-tucos develop more variety

    In mustachioed rodents called tuco-tucos, group life seems to have fostered more diverse immune systems than has solitary living.

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  12. Looking for a mate? Oh, whatever

    Two cricket species don't seem to care whether they get mixed up at mating time, an oddity that may have something to do with the female's need to dine on leftover sperm.

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  13. Puppy tests flunk long-term checkups

    A follow-up study of dog-personality tests suggests that they don't have the predictive power many puppy purchasers expect.

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  14. Beaks change songs in Darwin’s finches

    A new look—and listen—at Darwin's finches finds that the famous relationship between beak size and food supply affects their courtship songs as well.

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  15. Do people flirt like guppies?

    Researchers who have studied how female guppies copy other females' choice of mate are tackling the same question in Homo sapiens.

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  16. Physics

    Seeking the Mother of All Matter

    World's mightiest particle collider may transform less-than-nothing into a primordial something.

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  17. Yikes! The Lichens Went Flying

    Tales from the dark (and frequently crunchy) side of biodiversity.

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