Vol. 166 No. #20
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More Stories from the November 13, 2004 issue

  1. Physics

    Light step toward quantum networks

    During the transfer of a quantum data bit from matter to light, a cloud of extremely cold atoms emitted a photon carrying a version of the cloud's quantum state.

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  2. Planetary Science

    Riddles on Titan

    Two puzzles have emerged from the Cassini spacecraft's first close flyby of Saturn's largest moon, Titan.

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  3. Health & Medicine

    Heavy traffic may trigger heart attacks

    Exposure to traffic can dramatically increase a person's risk of having a heart attack soon afterward.

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  4. Earth

    Can phthalates subtly alter boys?

    Researchers have linked a mom's exposure to phthalates with a genital marker in boys suggesting a subtle feminization of their reproductive organs.

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  5. Health & Medicine

    Uranium, the newest ‘hormone’

    Animal experiments indicate that waterborne uranium can mimic the activity of estrogen, a female sex hormone.

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  6. Earth

    DDT linked to miscarriages

    A study of Chinese women finds that the pesticide DDT can not only affect menstrual cycles but also foster miscarriages very early in pregnancy.

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  7. Health & Medicine

    Vaccine Stretch: Smaller dose packs punch against flu

    A fraction of the standard dose of flu vaccine appears to grant people immunity to influenza if injected into the skin rather than in the muscle of the upper arm.

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  8. Plants

    Give and Take: Plant parasites dole out genes while stealing nutrients

    New evidence suggests that parasitic plants can transfer their own genes into host plants.

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  9. Physics

    Piddly Puddle Peril: Little water pools foil road friction

    Physicists have proposed an explanation for how even slight wetness can cut road-to-rubber friction.

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  10. Paleontology

    Dino Dwarf: Island living may have led to ancient downsizing

    Fossils unearthed at a German quarry hint that members of one species of dinosaur that lived in the region about 152 million years ago evolved to be abnormally small because of the constraints of its island ecosystem.

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  11. Astronomy

    First Light: Faint object may be youngest star detected

    Peeking into the dusty core of a dark cloud seemingly devoid of stars, astronomers have found a faintly glowing body that could be the earliest glimmerings ever recorded from a newborn star.

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  12. Synchronized Thinking: Brain activity linked to schizophrenia, skillful meditation

    In separate studies, scientists linked distinctive, collective electrical discharges of brain cells to certain schizophrenia symptoms as well to integrated mental states attained by Buddhist meditators.

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  13. Earth

    Choked Up: How dead zones affect fish reproduction

    Some Gulf coast fish exposed to low oxygen are experiencing reproductive problems, and lab studies suggest that a particular protein that silences or reduces sex hormones may be to blame.

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  14. Health & Medicine

    Assault on Autism

    A shift in scientific thinking about what causes autism is prompting a closer look at potential environmental factors.

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  15. Agriculture

    Frozen Assets

    A U.S. gene bank has begun deep-freezing semen and other livestock 'seed' for possible future use in research or breeding.

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  16. Humans

    Letters from the November 13, 2004, issue of Science News

    The direct approach “An Exploitable Mutation: Defect might make some lung cancers treatable” (SN: 9/11/04, p. 164: An Exploitable Mutation: Defect might make some lung cancers treatable) may have missed a “magic bullet” that would be effective against many forms of cancer. The researchers concentrate on a drug that blocks a mutated form of the […]

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