More Stories from the July 16, 2011 issue
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Health & MedicineBody & Brain
No link between viral suspect and chronic fatigue, plus reading minds, colored glasses for migraines and more in this week’s news.
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Life
Heart has cellular regeneration ability
In mice, injecting a protein spurs the organ’s own stem cells to regrow small amounts of tissue after damage.
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Tech
New technique spins superlong nanowires
Made from any number of materials, fibers are millionths of a millimeter across and kilometers long.
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Life
Ketamine’s antidepressant effect explained
A potential fast-acting treatment boosts the brain chemical BDNF, which may be lacking in depression.
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Life
Female infidelity may violate goose-gander parity principle
Female birds stray from their mates in part because of cheating genes from their philandering fathers, a zebra finch study suggests.
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Space
Next solar cycle could be a no-show
Three lines of evidence suggest that the sun’s next activity cycle will be delayed for years and may not happen at all, an outcome that could have major implications for Earth’s climate.
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Chemistry
Dino proteins could have been sheltered
An analysis of collagen structure finds protective pockets, backing up claims of preserved tissue finds.
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Life
Loophole found in genetic traffic laws
In a violation of textbook biology, a modified RNA component can cause the cell's protein-making machinery to run genetic stop signs.
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Health & Medicine
Body & Brain
The health benefits of wheat and olive oil, plus Down syndrome dementia, a heartbreaking gene and more in this week’s news.
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Planetary Science
Messages from Mercury
The latest data from a NASA spacecraft give compositional clues and reveal craters that could hold frozen water
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Earth
Earth & Environment
Earth’s bulging waistline, plus ancient mangrove swamps and new threats from wildfires in this week’s news.
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Physics
Science of friction is a bit rough
In lab experiments, physicists trying to understand earthquakes are bumping up against the limitations of existing theory.
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Earth
Modern-day sea level rise skyrocketing
A spike that began during the 19th century appears to be linked to rising temperatures and increasing greenhouse gases.
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Physics
Better putting in a few simple steps
A physicist develops a rule of thumb for getting the ball in the hole.
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Life
Multicellular life arises in a test tube
A yeast experiment recapitulates a major early milestone in the history of life.
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Paleontology
Big dinosaurs kept their cool
Body temperature of long-gone beasts resembled that of mammals, study of fossil teeth suggests.
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Space
Spacecraft goes from crash landing to mission accomplished
The wreckage of the Genesis probe yields a bonanza of discoveries about conditions in the early solar system.
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Life
Blue light used to treat diabetes
Illumination triggers control of blood sugar in mice implanted with engineered human cells.
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Science Future for July 16, 2011
July 23 – 24 Learn the secrets of bubbles at the 6th Annual Bubble Days at Baltimore’s Maryland Science Center. Go to www.mdsci.org July 27 Explore the science behind athletics from basketball and cycling to ballet’s toe balancing, in Portland, Ore. Ages 21+. See www.omsi.edu/afterdark July 30 Stargaze with Smithsonian and amateur astronomers near Paris, […]
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Science Past from the issue of July 15, 1961
CERAMICS PROVED BEST FOR POWER GENERATORS — Ceramics have proved to be the best material for checking the white-hot stream of gases in a new kind of electric power generators. Westinghouse Electric Corporation scientists, Pittsburgh, Pa., believe ceramics will be superior to iron and steel for magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) electric power generators. They found that ceramics, […]
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Paleontology
Dinosaurs died of rickets
After more than 80 years, a theory that too little vitamin D led to the demise of the dinos still awaits a shred of evidence.
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Antarctic Wildlife: A Visitor’s Guide by James Lowen
Buy this book This photographic field guide could come in handy on a cruise of the Antarctic Peninsula, or just be a fun way to learn about life way down under. Princeton Univ. Press, 2011, 240 p., $22.95
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Sex, Drugs, and Sea Slime: The Oceans’ Oddest Creatures and Why They Matter by Ellen Prager
Buy this book A tastefully scandalous tour of defensive secretions and extreme sexual flexibility backs up a plea for ocean conservation. Univ. of Chicago Press, 2011, 200 p., $26
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Epigenetics by Richard C. Francis
Buy this book A rollicking narrative goes beyond the gene to show how external influences shape genetic legacy. W. W. Norton & Co., 2011, 224 p., $25.95
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The Ragged Edge of the World by Eugene Linden
Buy this book A journalist follows cargo cults in New Guinea, Pygmies in Africa and other groups to trace industrialization’s effects. Viking, 2011, 256 p., $26.95
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Book Review: Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain by David Eagleman
Buy this book People only think they know what they’re doing. In reality, great ideas, decisions and opinions are all generated well before the conscious brain is in on the task, argues Eagleman, a neuroscientist. In fresh, clear prose unencumbered by neuro-jargon, Eagleman weaves descriptions of simple, relatable experiments and compelling case studies throughout the […]
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Book Review: A Planet of Viruses by Carl Zimmer
Buy this book Reading a book about microbes leaves no doubt about who is in charge: They are. Some of Zimmer’s previous books have placed parasites and bacteria at the top of biology’s pecking order. In his latest book, they are viruses. The tiny microorganisms that challenge our notions about what is alive are found […]
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Humans
Collapsing Coastlines
Gray waves surged over miles and miles of open water, breaking against the bluffs underlying Kaktovik. The tiny village sits precariously on the Beaufort Sea, a frigid body of water bordering Alaska’s northeastern Arctic coast. As the choppy waters inundated vulnerable stretches of shoreline, the surf carved deep chasms into the tall bluffs. GOING… Storms […]
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Health & Medicine
The Power of D
A nutritional supplement that is free of charge, offers a wide range of health benefits and poses little risk sounds like fodder for a late-night TV commercial. But proponents of vitamin D are increasingly convinced that the sunshine vitamin delivers the goods, no strings attached. A host of studies suggest vitamin D has value that […]
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Letters
Yawn and open your ears I read with interest your article on yawning (“Yawn,” SN: 5/7/11, p. 28). Over the years I have formulated a private theory on at least one of the reasons why we yawn and would like to share my speculations with your readership. My insight essentially began when I noticed that […]
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SN Online
ATOM & COSMOS Researchers finally detect muon neutrinos switching to electron neutrinos, plus more updates in “News in Brief: Atom & Cosmos.” GENES & CELLS Triggering sleep in fruit fly brains turns the bugs’ short-term memories into long-lived ones. Read “From Z’s to A’s.” LIFE Male cleaner fish punish females when they scare big clients […]
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Out of Character: Surprising Truths About the Liar, Cheat, Sinner (and Saint) Lurking in All of Us by David DeSteno and Piercarlo Valdesolo
Subtle changes in environment and context can lead anyone to act as either a saint or a sinner, two psychologists argue, highlighting the flexibility of character. OUT OF CHARACTER Crown Archetype, 2011, 259 p., $25