SETI bioastro: Fw: Science News e-LETTER

• Previous message: LARRY KLAES: "SETI bioastro: Fw: MEGASTAR-BIRTH CLUSTER IS BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST AND HOTTEST EVER SEEN (STScI-PR"

----- Original Message -----
From: e-LETTER_at_lists.sciencenews.org
Sent: Saturday, November 01, 2003 3:37 AM
Subject: Science News e-LETTER

WEEKLY e-LETTER from SCIENCE NEWS
November 1, 2003
Subject: Science News Weekly e-letter
An upcoming test of Einstein's relativity theory, health risks posed by flame retardants, an asteroid lost and found, a promising drug that disables an enzyme from the hepatitis C virus, and a precise map of galaxies that provides additional evidence of dark matter are among the topics of this week's articles. The cover story probes the question of whether animals have friends. Food for Thought ponders hormones in milk. MathTrek strolls through a Möbius museum.

==================================
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.
----------------------------------
To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
***********************
NEW: Science News for Kids
go to http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org
==================================

THIS WEEK'S FEATURED ARTICLES:

[Environment]
Flaming Out? Days may be numbered for two fire retardants
The maker of two controversial flame-retardant chemicals has voluntarily initiated negotiations with the federal government to end their production.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob1.asp

[Astronomy]
Out of Hiding: Lost asteroid reappears, bringing surprises
A long-lost asteroid that came close to Earth in 1937 has been spotted again, and its projected path steers clear of Earth.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob5.asp

[Physics]
A Spin through Space-Time: A long-planned test of Einstein's theory is poised for takeoff
After 40 years of preparation, satellite Gravity Probe B is scheduled to launch next month and test the prediction that massive bodies, such as Earth, twist space itself as they rotate.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/bob9.asp

THIS WEEK'S ONLINE FEATURES:

[MATHTREK]
Strolling Down Möbius Lane
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/mathtrek.asp

[FOOD FOR THOUGHT]
Hormones in Your Milk
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/food.asp

----------------------------------
To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org
----------------------------------

Week of November 1, 2003; Vol. 164 No. 18

THIS WEEK'S TABLE OF CONTENTS: http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/toc.asp

References and sources for all articles are available online at www.sciencenews.org

***********************************
REGISTERED SUBSCRIBERS to the print edition of Science News also have online access to the full text of the following articles:

[Astronomy]
Cosmic Survey: Galaxy map reveals dark business as usual
The most precise map of how galaxies cluster, pulled together by the tug of gravity, has confirmed that most of the cosmos is in the dark, consisting of 5 percent ordinary matter, 25 percent dark matter, and 70 percent dark energy.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob2.asp

[Biomedicine]
Antiviral Advance: Drug disables enzyme from hepatitis C virus
A new drug prevents the replication of the hepatitis C virus.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob3.asp

[Zoology]
First Impressions: Early view biases spider's mate choice
In a new wrinkle on how females develop their tastes in males, a test has found that young female wolf spiders that see a male's courtship display grow up with a preference for that look in mates.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob4.asp

[Anthropology]
Stone Age Code Red: Scarlet symbols emerge in Israeli cave
Lumps of red ocher excavated near human graves in an Israeli cave indicate that symbolic thinking occurred at least 90,000 years ago, much earlier than archaeologists have traditionally assumed.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob6.asp

[Earth Science]
Blame the Sea? Ocean may be melting ice shelf from below
Significant portions of a large Antarctic ice shelf just south of one that suddenly broke apart in February 2002 are rapidly thinning and may suffer a similar, catastrophic demise in less than a century.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob7.asp

[Materials Science]
Water Repellency Goes Nano: Carpet of carbon nanotubes cleans itself
Forests of carbon nanotubes coated with Teflon yield a superhydrophobic material--the ultimate self-cleaning surface.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/fob8.asp

[Behavior]
Beast Buddies: Do animals have friends?
As researchers muse about the evolutionary origins of friendship, even the social interactions of giraffes are getting a second look.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/bob10.asp

[Chemistry]
Clays catalyze life?
Clay minerals at the bottom of the ocean may have played a crucial role in assembling the very first cells on Earth billions of years ago.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note11.asp

[Biomedicine]
Cancer drug might fight Alzheimer's
Tests in animals show that the cancer drug imatinib mesylate, also called Gleevec, slows formation of the kinds of plaques found in the brains of Alzheimer's patients.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note12.asp

[Physics]
New type of material that heat can't bloat
A newfound material exhibits the desirable property of not expanding when heated over a wide temperature range, but from an apparent cause never seen before--electrons changing positions inside the new compound's crystal structure.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note13.asp

[Environment]
California acts on plastic additive
Korean engineers have developed a replacement for a plasticizer used in polyvinyl chloride that California has just ruled is a known reproductive toxicant.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note14.asp

[Paleontology]
Tracks suggest chase, capture, and after-meal respite
A 1.3-meter-long, S-shaped trail of fossil footprints discovered in southwestern Indiana includes one set of disappearing tracks--suggesting an ancient chase--and an impression where the predator rested after its meal.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note15.asp

[Paleontology]
Role of gastroliths in digestion questioned
New analyses of the gastroliths in ostriches are casting doubt on the theory that large, plant-eating dinosaurs swallowed stones to grind up tough vegetation and thereby aid their digestion.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note16.asp

[Paleontology]
Healed scars tag <em>T. rex</em> as predator
Healed wounds on the fossil skull of a Triceratops--wounds that match the size and shape of those that would be made by Tyrannosaurus rex--are a strong sign that the tooth scrapes are a result of attempted predation, not scavenging.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note17.asp

[Paleontology]
Ancient atmosphere was productive
New laboratory experiments suggest that extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the era just before the dinosaurs went extinct may have boosted plant productivity to at least three times that found in today’s ecosystems.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note18.asp

[Science & Society]
Letters
Letters from the November 1, 2003 issue of Science News.
http://www.sciencenews.org/20031101/note19.asp

----------------------------------
To subscribe to Science News magazine, go to www.sciencenews.org

Subscriptions to the audio edition of Science News can be obtained at www.audible.com/sciencenews

Letters to the editor of Science News should be addressed to scinews_at_sciserv.org

Comments about this newsletter can be sent to sciweb_at_sciencenews.org

----------------------------------
You can change your e-mail address or unsubscribe from the newsletter by going to http://www.sciencenews.org/eletter_subscribe.asp

==================================
Science News and Weekly e-Letter from Science News are published by and copyright (c)2003
Science Service, 1719 N Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20036. Phone: 202-785-2255
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To unsubscribe, e-mail: eletter-unsubscribe_at_lists.sciencenews.org
For additional commands, e-mail: eletter-help_at_lists.sciencenews.org

• Previous message: LARRY KLAES: "SETI bioastro: Fw: MEGASTAR-BIRTH CLUSTER IS BIGGEST, BRIGHTEST AND HOTTEST EVER SEEN (STScI-PR"

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.6 : Sat Nov 01 2003 - 06:43:48 PST