Vol. 170 No. #23
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More Stories from the December 2, 2006 issue

  1. Tech

    Safety practices surveyed

    Nanotechnology companies and laboratories largely rely on the same safety practices that they use when working with conventional chemicals, an international survey reports.

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  2. Oceans reveal secrets of viruses

    Scientists have completed the first survey of virus DNA in oceans around the world.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Belated angioplasty saves no lives

    A common heart procedure called angioplasty doesn't save lives if it is performed more than a couple of days after a heart attack.

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  4. Health & Medicine

    Test identifies people at cardiac risk

    Measurement of an electrical abnormality in the heart aids doctors in determining who is most at risk for cardiac arrest.

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  5. Earth

    Could Prozac muscle out mussels?

    Antidepressant drugs may be depressing wild-mussel populations.

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  6. Earth

    Sharks, dolphins store pollutants

    Florida's top aquatic predators are rapidly accumulating high concentrations of brominated flame retardants and other persistent toxic chemicals.

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  7. Earth

    No-stick chemicals can mimic estrogen

    Some of the perfluorinated compounds used to impart nonstick properties to fabrics and cookware can not only activate a receptor for sex hormones but also inappropriately feminize fish.

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  8. Earth

    Leaden swan song

    Large numbers of trumpeter swans are succumbing to lead poisoning as a result of ingesting old shotgun pellets in areas where use of lead shot has been banned for more than a decade.

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  9. Health & Medicine

    Cancer Link: Gene regulates progesterone effect on breast cells

    The BRCA1 protein regulates the effect of pro-growth progesterone, which could explain why having a mutated BRCA1 gene predisposes a woman to breast cancer.

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  10. Animals

    New Butterfly: High-alpine species from low-life parents

    Little bluish butterflies high in the Sierra Nevada could be one of the few animal species to have arisen from crossbreeding of two other species.

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  11. Planetary Science

    Howdy, Neighbors: Long-term study finds a batch of red dwarfs

    Astronomers have found 20 previously unknown star systems that lie within 33 light-years of Earth.

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  12. Health & Medicine

    A Toast to Healthy Hearts: Wine compounds benefit blood vessels

    Researchers have identified a class of compounds in red wine that might be responsible for much of the beverage's cardiovascular benefit.

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  13. Earth

    Lead in the Water: Mapping gets a handle on disinfectant’s danger

    Researchers are investigating the link between lead-contaminated water and chloramine, a chemical disinfectant that is increasingly used in municipal water supplies.

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  14. Tech

    Crusty Old Computer: New imaging techniques reveal construction of ancient marvel

    Scientists have figured out the arrangement and functions of nearly all the parts of a mysterious astronomical computer that was recovered from a 2,000-year-old shipwreck.

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  15. Anthropology

    Stone Age Role Revolution: Modern humans may have divided labor to conquer

    A new analysis of Stone Age sites indicates that a division of labor first emerged in modern-human groups living in the African tropics around 40,000 years ago, providing our ancestors with a social advantage over Neandertals.

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  16. Astronomy

    What’s a Planet?

    Recent observations have blurred distinctions among stars, brown dwarfs, and planets.

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  17. Inherit the Warmer Wind

    The genetic makeup of organisms ranging from fruit flies to birds appears to be changing in response to global warming.

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  18. Humans

    Letters from the December 2, 2006, issue of Science News

    Concerns vented “Venting Concerns: Exploring and protecting deep-sea communities” (SN: 10/7/06, p. 232) barely scratches the surface of the problem. What is stopping someone from gene splicing the disease of choice onto heat-loving bacterium? Something that can live near the 600°F of melting lead will certainly survive the standard hospital-sterilization process. D.J. KavaBeaumont, Texas The […]

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