More Stories from the May 8, 2004 issue
- Physics
Fundamental constant didn’t vary after all
In disagreement with prior findings, an analysis of new quasar observations indicates that alpha, the universal constant that defines the strength of the electromagnetic force, has not varied since the early days of the cosmos.
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Uganda shows strong gains in war on AIDS
Uganda has shown remarkable progress against HIV, the AIDS virus.
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Chronic vibrations constrict vessels
Chronic vibrations of the hands can distort and twist some arterial cells to the breaking point, animal research indicates.
- Earth
Tracks of dust devils spotted from space
Scientists scanning satellite images of the southern Sahara have detected trails left on the landscape by the whirlwinds commonly known as dust devils.
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Brain roots of music depreciation
The brains of tone-deaf people may be unable to detect subtle shifts in pitch, which keeps them from learning the basic structure of musical passages.
- Health & Medicine
Humidity may affect LASIK surgery
High humidity can boost the chances of needing follow-up surgery after LASIK surgery for nearsightedness.
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Words in the Brain: Reading program spurs neural rewrite in kids
Children who are deficient readers show improvement in both reading skills and brain function when given intensive instruction in how written letters correspond to speech sounds, a brain-imaging study finds.
- Animals
Toxin Takeout: Frogs borrow poison for skin from ants
Scientists have identified formicine ants as a food source from which poison frogs acquire their chemical weapons.
- Paleontology
Ancient Buzzing: German site yields early hummingbird fossils
Excavations in Germany have yielded the only known fossils of hummingbirds from the Old World and by far the oldest such fossils unearthed anywhere.
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Waste Not: Proteins suggest ways to thwart muscle loss
Researchers have now revealed details of the biochemical signals that drive muscle atrophy.
- Materials Science
Next High-Tech Polishing Fluid: Tea—A new brew for the computer industry
A concoction based on green tea may speed up manufacturing of precision components for computer hard-disk drives while reducing toxic wastes.
- Health & Medicine
Cord Blood to the Rescue: Infusions help babies with Hurler’s syndrome
Umbilical cord blood transplants boost overall health and survival in patients with the rare hereditary condition called Hurler's syndrome.
- Astronomy
Closing In on a Monster: A black hole’s dusty environs show themselves
The first clear picture of the immediate surroundings of a supermassive black hole confirms that these gravitational monsters hide behind thick belts of dust.
- Health & Medicine
Delaying Dementia
The limited success of attempts to treat Alzheimer's disease with several compounds that appear able to prevent the disorder suggests that the window for derailing the development of the illness may close years before cognitive decline becomes evident.
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Teen Brains on Trial
Scientific opinions differ about whether evidence on delayed maturation of the adolescent brain should be used to argue that teenagers have reduced culpability for crimes and thus should be exempt from the death penalty.
- Humans
Letters from the May 8, 2004, issue of Science News
Listen carefully Perhaps Stefan Koelsch’s study should have been limited to trained musicians, rather than exclude them (“Song Sung Blue: In brain, music and language overlap,” SN: 2/28/04, p. 133: Song Sung Blue: In brain, music and language overlap). Word and visual associations in music are vigorously reinforced in movie soundtracks, cartoons, and elsewhere. But […]
