More Stories from the February 18, 2006 issue
- Earth
Global warming may already be a killer
Earth's rising temperatures may be a precipitating factor in the extinctions of dozens of tropical frog species.
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Soil microbes are reservoir for antibiotic resistance
Bacteria that live in dirt are surprisingly resistant to antibiotics, even those they presumably have never before encountered.
- Humans
SUVs no safer for kids than passenger cars
Children in sport utility vehicles are just as likely as children in passenger cars to be injured in an accident, despite the SUVs' greater weight.
- Health & Medicine
Of taters and tots
For each serving of french fries that a preschool girl typically consumed per week, her adult risk of developing breast cancer climbed.
- Earth
How to rate a snowstorm
Scientists have developed a rating scale to assess the impact of major snowstorms that strike the northeastern United States.
- Planetary Science
Stellar passage yields Charon’s girth
By observing Pluto's moon Charon passing in front of a star, astronomers have obtained precise measurements of the moon's radius and density.
- Earth
Krakatoa stifled sea level rise for decades
Ocean cooling caused by the volcanic eruption of Krakatoa in 1883 kept sea level worldwide in check well into the 20th century.
- Health & Medicine
Alzheimer’s drug shows staying power
The drug memantine slowed mental decline in people with moderate-to-advanced Alzheimer's disease in a 12-month trial, the longest test of the drug to date.
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In Sickness and in Death: Spouses’ ills imperil partners’ survival
Among elderly people, a spouse's hospitalization for certain ailments substantially raises his or her partner's likelihood of dying.
- Astronomy
Radio Daze: Staccato pulses suggest a new stellar class
Astronomers have discovered what may be a new class of star that emits bursts of radio waves for 2 to 30 milliseconds before falling silent for minutes to hours.
- Health & Medicine
Not So Sweet: Cancers in rats that consumed aspartame
A large, new study in rats suggests that the artificial sweetener aspartame may be a carcinogen, but critics question the finding's validity.
- Animals
Killer Flatworm: New species hunts with puffer fish toxin
A newly described marine flatworm from Guam hunts with the same toxin that a puffer fish uses. With video.
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Model for Madness: Engineered mice have schizophrenia-like symptoms
Scientists have genetically altered mice so that they mimic the deficits in short-term memory and attention of schizophrenic patients.
- Health & Medicine
Looking Ahead: Tests might predict Alzheimer’s risk
Two tests show promise in detecting Alzheimer's disease or other cognitive impairment years before symptoms arise.
- Tech
New View: Speedy microscope takes fuller look at the nanoworld
Action movies of molecules and a better feel for microscopic surfaces could flow from a radically revised version of the atomic-force microscope.
- Health & Medicine
Flora Horror
A diarrhea-causing bacterium has developed new resistance to a widely used class of antibiotics and has recently become more transmissible and more deadly.
- Tech
Artificial Animalcules
Advances that include the first swimming micromachine and novel designs for similar devices are deepening scientists' understanding of the bizarre world of microscale liquids.
- Humans
Letters from the February 18, 2006, issue of Science News
Pain, pain, go away I’m pleased that images are now available to prove that self-control over pain works (“Brain Training Puts Big Hurt on Intense Pain: Volunteers learn to translate imaging data into neural-control tool,” SN: 12/17/05, p. 390). Actually, I and many other moms could have helped the researchers. During childbirth, we simply focused […]
