More Stories from the May 22, 2004 issue
- Astronomy
Windy endeavor
In early April, an Earth-orbiting satellite closed its doors after more than 2 years of collecting ions from the solar wind.
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Two egg cells make fatherless mouse
By fusing two egg cells, researchers have created a mouse with no father.
- Earth
Filtered air cuts down mutations
Microscopic particles in the air may mutate the DNA of sperm.
- Health & Medicine
Herbal erection pills may be spiked
Some pills marketed as herbal remedies for erectile dysfunction contain drugs that should be available only by prescription.
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Neurons slow down for placebo effect
A placebo treatment temporarily quelled symptoms of Parkinson's disease in six people by decreasing the electrical activity of brain cells crucial to the condition.
- Astronomy
Before the big one hits
The next time you hear about an asteroid or comet about to hit Earth, you can go to a new Internet site to find out where the collision will be and how much damage will occur.
- Archaeology
Guatemalan sites yield Maya insights
Excavations at three archaeological sites in Guatemala have provided new insights into both the early and late stages of ancient Maya civilization.
- Paleontology
Rare English bits are oldest known charcoal
Analyses of small black chunks of material extracted from 420-million-year-old rocks found along the England-Wales border suggest that they're remnants of the earliest known wildfire.
- Astronomy
Old Stars Even Older: Determining a new age for the universe
Using particles accelerators to mimic the conditions inside stars, two independent research groups have found evidence that the most-ancient known stars are about a billion years older than astronomers had estimated.
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Pot on the Spot: Marijuana’s risks become blurrier
A research review challenges the assumption that scientists have demonstrated a causal link between teenage marijuana use and later psychological and behavioral problems.
- Plants
Wind Highways: Mosses, lichens travel along aerial paths
Invisible freeways of wind may account for the similarity of plant species on islands that lie thousands of kilometers apart.
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Breeds Apart: Purebred dogs defined by DNA differences
The most thorough DNA analysis yet of purebred dogs suggests that canine breeds can also be discerned genetically with great accuracy.
- Materials Science
Branching Out: Semiconducting nanotrees could boost electronics
Forests of semiconducting nanotrees could form the basis of future solar cells, low-energy lighting, and other optical or microelectronic devices.
- Earth
A Portrait of Pollution: Nation’s fresh water gets a checkup
Virtually all of America's fresh water is tainted with low concentrations of chemical contaminants, according to a new nationwide study.
- Humans
Young Talent on Display: Tomorrow’s scientists and engineers win recognition, rewards
The three top winners of the 2004 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair hail from high schools on different continents.
- Anthropology
Humanity’s Strange Face
New fossil finds in a Romanian cave fuel controversy over whether different, closely related species interbred on the evolutionary path that led to people.
- Astronomy
Dark Doings
A slew of new and proposed experiments, ranging from the cosmic to the subatomic scale, may shed light on why the expansion of the universe is speeding up.
- Humans
Letters from the May 22, 2004, issue of Science News
Further options “Surgical Option: Hysterectomy may top drugs for women with heavy bleeding” (SN: 3/27/04, p. 196: Surgical Option: Hysterectomy may top drugs for women with heavy bleeding) doesn’t mention that 13 to 20 percent of women with heavy menstrual periods have a common but often undiagnosed bleeding disorder called von Willebrand disease. Because this […]
