Back to newsletter listWeekly e-Letter from Science News
December 22, 2007
Happy Holidays! Our next issue will appear on Jan. 5, 2008.
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Science News is an award-winning weekly newsmagazine covering the most important research in all fields of science. Published since 1922, its 16 pages are packed with short, accurate articles that appeal to both general readers and scientists.
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Currently in Science News for Kids:
A Whole Lot of Nothing
Scientists have discovered a huge expanse of nothingness in outer space.
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20071219/Feature1.asp
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This Week's Featured Articles:
[Science & Society]
Web Special: Science News Wins Award for Sci-Tech Coverage
Each week, Science News distills "the latest trends and findings in the ever-expanding world of science into must-know information," according to the editors of the Utne Reader, which named Science News magazine winner of its 2007 Independent Press Award in the science and technology category.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob1.asp
[Earth Science]
Portrait of a Meltdown: Many factors led to 2007's record low in Arctic sea ice
A variety of climatological factors converged in a perfect storm that melted the Arctic Ocean's ice cover to a record low in 2007. It could be a harbinger of ice-poor summers for decades to come.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob2.asp
[Biomedicine]
Not Yet: CDC panel questions antidepressant gene test
A genetic test designed to tailor drug treatment for depression offers little clinical value, says a CDC panel.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob7.asp
[Earth Science]
North by Northwest: The p***t's wandering magnetic poles help reveal history of Earth and humans
The Earth's magnetic poles wander around quite a bit, a phenomenon that occasionally confounded ancient explorers but is proving useful for today's archaeologists.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/bob9.asp
[Environment]
Dead Serious: Experts worry about lack of progress in efforts to reduce lifeless zone in the Gulf of Mexico
Little progress has been made this decade in reducing the size of the Gulf of Mexico's dead zone, a massive area of oxygen-depleted water caused by agricultural and urban runoff.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/bob10.asp
[Mathematics]
Tied Up in Knots: Anything that can tangle up, will, including DNA
Physicists have shown that tumbled strings will form surprisingly complex knots, helping explain how knots spontaneously form in nature.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/bob11.asp
[Science & Society]
Science News of the Year 2007
A review of important scientific achievements reported in Science News during the past year.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/bob22.asp
THIS WEEK'S ONLINE FEATURES:
[MATHTREK]
Questionable Numbers for a Questionable Remedy
Echinacea might be useful as a cold remedy or preventative, but science hasn't shown it yet.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/mathtrek.asp
[FOOD FOR THOUGHT]
It's Spud Time
The United Nations wants more people to appreciate the potato's potential to fight world hunger.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/food.asp
[TIMELINE]
From the December 18 & 25, 1937, issues
The infinite variety of snowflakes, making Java Man human, a dinosaur battlefield, Santa Claus in stone, filling empty space, and science progress in 1937.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/timeline.asp
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To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
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Weeks of December 22 & 29, 2007; Vol. 172, Nos. 25 & 26
THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/toc.asp
References and sources for all articles are available online at www.sciencenews.org
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REGISTERED SUBSCRIBERS to the print edition of Science News also have online access to the full text of the following articles:
[Biology]
Limiting Damage: Fragile X symptoms modulated in mice
Reducing activity of a gene in mice alleviates many of the symptoms of fragile X syndrome, a genetic defect that causes mental retardation in people.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob3.asp
[Astronomy]
Black Hole Bully: Galaxy blasts its smaller neighbor
A distant galaxy is shooting a deadly jet of radiation at a neighboring galaxy, astronomers have observed.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob4.asp
[Behavior]
Mean Streets: Kids' verbal skills drop in bad neighborhoods
A long-term study of Chicago children and their families finds that kids living in the most disadvantaged neighborhoods display substantial declines in verbal ability as they get older, even if they move to a nicer community.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob5.asp
[Biomedicine]
Unseen Risk: Lifestyle, physical problems may underlie psoriasis link to early mortality
Severe psoriasis knocks as many years off a person's expected life span as high blood pressure.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob6.asp
[Behavior]
Furry Math: Macaques can do sums like people in a hurry
Macaques and college students showed similarities in performance on a computer test of split-second arithmetic, suggesting a common inheritance of the ability to do approximate math without counting.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/fob8.asp
[Physics]
Airy theory, but true
Physicists have created a beam of light that bends in a curve.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note12.asp
[Behavior]
Macho pheromones rile fellows
Pheromones that induce aggression in other male mice are found in the major urinary protein complex in the animals' urine.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note13.asp
[Science & Society]
Fishing curbs can lead to profit
New economic models suggest that fishing crews that cut back long enough to let stocks rebound will find compensation in higher profits later.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note14.asp
[Nutrition]
Vitamin D: Blacks need much more
To achieve healthy concentrations of vitamin D, many African-Americans may need hefty daily supplementation.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note15.asp
[Biomedicine]
Novel fused protein quells inflammation
A new compound called GIFT-15, made from the fusion of two proteins, stops inflammation in mice.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note16.asp
[Biomedicine]
In search of safer marrow transplants
A synthetic antibody called ACK2 that targets certain bone marrow cells may make marrow transplants a possibility for people with severe autoimmune disease.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note17.asp
[Biomedicine]
Immune cells to fight leukemia
A cancer vaccine against leukemia helps some patients avoid a relapse for months or years, but only if given early in the course of the disease or when a patient is in remission.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note18.asp
[Biology]
New clue to Down syndrome, leukemia link
One-fifth of people with Down syndrome who also have acute lymphocytic leukemia harbor a mutation in their JAK2 gene.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/note19.asp
[Science & Society]
Letters from the December 22 & 29, 2007, issue of Science News
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20071222/letter20.asp
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NEW: Science News for Kids!
Go to http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org
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