Humans
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Health & Medicine
Cancer clue: RNA-destroying enzyme may thwart prostate-tumor growth
Scientists have found a mutated gene that predisposes men of some families to prostate cancer.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
Painful Thoughts
It may not surprise people terrified by a visit to the dentist that one of the top pain research groups at the National Institutes of Health is located within the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Check out the group’s history in NIDCR’s fascinating primer on the science of pain. Go to: http://history.nih.gov/exhibits/pain/
By Science News -
Humans
Official chooses Nevada for nuclear waste
On Jan. 10, Energy Secretary Spencer Abraham notified Nevada's Governor Kenny Guinn by telephone that he intends to recommend that southwestern Nevada's Yucca Mountain site serve as the nation's long-term geological depository for high-level nuclear waste.
By Sid Perkins -
Health & Medicine
Nicotine metabolism shows ethnic bias
A comparison of Latino, white, and Chinese-American smokers suggests that people of East Asian descent are apt to clear nicotine from their blood more gradually than the other smokers do, thereby staving off a craving for the next cigarette.
By Nathan Seppa -
Health & Medicine
Gene Variant Tied to Human Aging
Variants of a gene linked to mouse aging are more prevalent in elderly people than in newborns, suggesting that the gene influences human aging or specific age-related illnesses.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
Cloning’s ups and downs
Dolly, the world's first cloned mammal, has developed arthritis, and two biotech firms have turned to cloning in their attempt to create pigs with organs that human bodies won't reject when transplanted.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
Cancer fighter reveals a dark side
Overactivity of a tumor-suppressing gene shortens the lifespan of mice.
By John Travis -
Humans
From the January 16, 1932, issue
A PHARAOH’S RIGHTHAND MAN Add the name of Ken-Amun, ambitious Egyptian politician, a Pharaoh’s righthand man, to the list of unusual personalities from ancient Egypt. Ken-Amun’s tomb, cut into a rocky hillside in the Valley of the Kings, has been known for almost a century, but has been strangely neglected. Now, it has been thoroughly […]
By Science News -
Anthropology
Stone Age signs of complexity
Ancient engravings found in South Africa support the theory that humans began to think and behave in symbolic ways a surprisingly long time ago.
By Bruce Bower -
Anthropology
The gene that came to stay
A gene thought by some scientists to foster a bold, novelty-seeking personality, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity (ADHD), apparently spread substantially in human populations over roughly the past 40,000 years.
By Bruce Bower -
Health & Medicine
Viruses stop antibiotic-resistant bacteria
Bacteriophages, viruses that destroy bacteria, can protect mice from bacteria that are impervious to antibiotics.
By John Travis -
Health & Medicine
Genes make potential target in lymph cancer
Scientists looking for DNA variations in a cancer called diffuse large B-cell lymphoma have found that excess activity in certain genes may indicate whether the disease will be fatal.
By Nathan Seppa