More Stories from the March 17, 2001 issue
- Health & Medicine
Gene links eyelids and early menopause
A gene that orchestrates ovary and eyelid development may be the key to early-onset menopause.
- Health & Medicine
Cancer cells have a ticket to ride
Cancer cells may spread using the same system that immune system cells use to move through the body.
- Materials Science
SQUID can catch concealed corrosion
A new technology that can detect corrosion deep within aluminum aircraft parts has revealed that high concentrations of salt don't corrode hidden joints any more than low levels of salt.
- Materials Science
Crystals step up to a new surface
Researchers have made crystals that reversibly change their surface shape when hit by light.
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Consumer survey: Caged mink value water
Even after 70 generations in captivity, caged American mink still seem to miss the swimming they would do in the wild.
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Phew! Orchid perfume turns revolting
Orchids that can smell so alluring that bees try to mate with them can also smell repulsive to the insects.
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Arsenic Pollution Disrupts Hormones
Researchers have found that arsenic thwarts the action of glucocorticoid hormones, suggesting a possible explanation of how long-term exposure to the metal in drinking water could cause cancer, diabetes, and other chronic diseases.
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Repression tries for experimental comeback
A laboratory experiment finds that people have difficulty remembering words that they have intentionally tried to forget, providing support for Sigmund Freud's controversial concept of repression.
- Humans
Science Talent Search winners shine bright
Science Service and Intel announced the winners of the 2001 Science Talent Search.
- Earth
Satellites verify greenhouse-gas effects
Comparisons of data obtained from instruments that orbited Earth more than 25 years apart provide direct evidence that the planet's greenhouse effect increased significantly between 1970 and 1997.
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Chemical SOS not just for farm, lab plants
The chemical screams for help that scientists have detected from agricultural plants under attack by pests in lab settings have now been heard in the wild.
- Health & Medicine
Narcoleptic dogs still have their day
Evidence from studies with dachshunds and poodles is suggesting that these small breeds may serve as better models than larger dogs, such as Labrador retrievers, for the more genetically complex narcolepsy in people.
- Physics
Some swell materials give up their secret
The discovery of a previously overlooked crystal structure in the best so-called piezoelectric materials may explain their remarkable amount of swelling when zapped by an electric field.
- Health & Medicine
Drug helps against certain breast cancers
In some patients, the drug trastuzumab, also called Herceptin, slows breast cancer that has spread to other organs.
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Learning in Waves
Learning plays a largely unappreciated role in mental development, according to researchers who examine the variety of tactics children adopt as they attempt to solve problems in mathematics and other areas.
- Humans
Errant Texts
New studies lambaste popular middle-school science texts for being uninspiring, superficial, and error-ridden.
