More Stories from the January 19, 2002 issue
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AnthropologyThe gene that came to stay
A gene thought by some scientists to foster a bold, novelty-seeking personality, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), apparently spread substantially in human populations over roughly the past 40,000 years.
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Anthropology
Stone Age signs of complexity
Ancient engravings found in South Africa support the theory that humans began to think and behave in symbolic ways a surprisingly long time ago.
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Health & Medicine
Cancer fighter reveals a dark side
Overactivity of a tumor-suppressing gene shortens the lifespan of mice.
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Health & Medicine
Cloning’s ups and downs
Dolly, the world's first cloned mammal, has developed arthritis, and two biotech firms have turned to cloning in their attempt to create pigs with organs that human bodies won't reject when transplanted.
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Health & Medicine
Gene Variant Tied to Human Aging
Variants of a gene linked to mouse aging are more prevalent in elderly people than in newborns, suggesting that the gene influences human aging or specific age-related illnesses.
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Chemistry
Detonating silicon wafers can ID elements
Researchers have discovered a way to make certain silicon wafers explode on command.
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Astronomy
Some gamma-ray bursts may occur nearby
A sizable minority of gamma-ray bursts may originate relatively nearby, in galaxies within 325 million light-years of our own.
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Much psychosis in elderly may go unnoticed
Swedish researchers identified hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms in 10 percent of a sample of 85-year-olds, a much larger figure than previously reported for elderly people.
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Materials Science
Mammal cells make fake spider silk better
Using long and abundant water-soluble proteins secreted by bioengineered mammal cells, scientists have spun the first artificial spider silk demonstrated to have some of the remarkable mechanical properties of the real thing.
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Health & Medicine
Nicotine metabolism shows ethnic bias
A comparison of Latino, white, and Chinese-American smokers suggests that people of East Asian descent are apt to clear nicotine from their blood more gradually than the other smokers do, thereby staving off a craving for the next cigarette.
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Humans
Official chooses Nevada for nuclear waste
On Jan. 10, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham notified Nevada's Governor Kenny Guinn by telephone that he intends to recommend that southwestern Nevada's Yucca Mountain site serve as the nation's long-term geological depository for high-level nuclear waste.
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Earth
Toxic Pfiesteria inhabit foreign waters
The notorious Pfiesteria microbes, implicated in fish kills and human illness along the mid-Atlantic U.S. coast, have turned up in Norway.
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A New Look for Science News
Starting next week, the print edition of Science News will have a new appearance.
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Female pipefish face toughest odds
In the world of pipefish, which are cousins of sea horses, sexual selection may reverse, wherein females battle each other for male favor through sexual selection.
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Parrots will fluoresce for sex
A budgerigar's head literally glows for its mate, and both males and females of this parrot species prefer to court radiant partners.
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Planetary Science
Exploring the Red Planet
Searching for signs of subsurface water on the Red Planet and analyzing the elemental and mineral composition of surface rock, NASA's Mars Odyssey spacecraft begins its main mapping mission next month and may shed light on several enduring puzzles about the planet.
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Materials Science
Flattery for Faience
By replicating ancient materials with their own hands, researchers are gaining new insights into details of Egyptian faience manufacture that have been lost for thousands of years.