Back to newsletter listWeekly e-Letter from Science News
January 12, 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:
Sweeeet! The Skinny on Sugar Substitutes
Millions of people use artificial sweeteners, but are they safe?
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20080109/Feature1.asp
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This Week's Featured Articles:
[Biomedicine]
Risky DNA: Autism studies yield fresh genetic leads
Two new studies point to the diverse genetic roots of autism and related developmental disorders, while other evidence questions the claim that mercury-based childhood vaccines have contributed to rising autism rates.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob1.asp
[Earth Science]
Hued Afterglow: Fingerprinting diamonds via phosphorescence
The eerie phosphorescence displayed by a rare form of blue diamond can be used as an easy, cheap, and nondestructive way to identify individual gemstones and to distinguish natural blue diamonds from synthetic ones.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob2.asp
[Biology]
Life from Scratch: Learning to make synthetic cells
Conjuring life in the lab from nothing but nonliving molecules may sound far-fetched, but the first synthetic life forms may soon be a reality.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/bob9.asp
THIS WEEK'S ONLINE FEATURES:
[MATHTREK]
Small Infinity, Big Infinity
A mathematician develops a new proof showing that infinity comes in different sizes.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/mathtrek.asp
[FOOD FOR THOUGHT]
A Sweeter Hops
Federal scientists have bred a new, antimicrobial-rich hops variety for tea.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/food.asp
[TIMELINE]
From the January 8, 1938, issue
Social scientist named AAAS president, rarest of the rare found high in the air, and an unusual joint for a skull.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/timeline.asp
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To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
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Week of January 12, 2008; Vol. 173, No. 2
THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/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:
[Behavior]
Mind Control: Hypnosis offers amnesia clues
Results of a new study using hypnosis may shed light on the process of memory retrieval and the potential for one part of the brain to block it.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob3.asp
[Astronomy]
Heavy Find: Weighty neutron stars may rule out exotic core
Neutron stars may be the weirdest stars in the universe, but they don't seem to be very strange, a weighty new report finds.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob4.asp
[Biology]
Seeing Again: Blind fish parents have fry that see
Cross two strains of blind cavefish that have lived in the dark for a million years, and some of their offspring will be able to see.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob5.asp
[Biology]
Positive Signal: Lone protons carry messages between cells
In roundworms, protons carry signals from cells in the intestine to muscle cells, raising the possibility that protons might act as neurotransmitters in mammal brains.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob6.asp
[Physics]
Bathtub Optics: Bending light also shifts it sideways
When light bends at an interface, it also shifts depending on its polarization. With animation.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/fob7.asp
[Archaeology]
La Brea del Sur: The fossil-rich tar pits of Venezuela may rival those of Southern California
Excavations at tar pits in Venezuela suggest that the fossils found there may rival those of the famed Rancho La Brea tar pits in Southern California.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/bob8.asp
[Biomedicine]
Smoking ups risk for type 2 diabetes
Smoking increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 61 percent.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/note10.asp
[Zoology]
Purring birds teach their chicks to beg
African birds called pied babblers teach their chicks that certain parental noises mean food is on the way.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/note11.asp
[Paleontology]
The warm jungles of ancient France
Chemical analyses of amber excavated near Paris suggest that France was covered with a dense tropical forest about 55 million years ago.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/note12.asp
[Behavior]
Foster care benefits abandoned kids
Orphan infants living in Romanian institutions who were randomly assigned to receive foster care showed marked improvements in thinking and reasoning skills by age 4-1/2, compared with their peers who remained institutionalized.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/note13.asp
[Biomedicine]
Down syndrome's anti-tumor effect
The chromosomal abnormality that causes Down syndrome might protect against some solid tumors.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/note14.asp
[Technology]
Energy forest
Silicon nanowires can at least double the storage capacity of lithium-ion batteries.
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/note15.asp
[Science & Society]
Letters from the January 12, 2008, issue of Science News
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20080112/letter16.asp
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Science News for Kids
Go to http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org
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