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Words help deterimine what we see

The language we speak affects half of what we see, according to researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the University of Chicago. Scholars have long debated whether our native language affects how we perceive reality — and whether speakers of different languages might therefore see the world differently. The idea that language affects perception is controversial, and results have conflicted. A paper published this month in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences supports the idea — but with a twist.

Inside rocks, implications for finding life on Mars

UCLA paleobiologist J. William Schopf and colleagues have produced 3-D images of ancient fossils — 650 million to 850 million years old — preserved in rocks, an achievement that has never been done before. If a future space mission to Mars brings rocks back to Earth, Schopf said the techniques he has used, called confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman spectroscopy, could enable scientists to look at microscopic fossils inside the rocks to search for signs of life, such as organic cell walls. These techniques would not destroy the rocks.

I love the smell of Moondust in the morning

Moondust. “I wish I could send you some,” says Apollo 17 astronaut Gene Cernan. Just a thimbleful scooped fresh off the lunar surface. “It’s amazing stuff.” Feel it—it’s soft like snow, yet strangely abrasive.
Taste it—”not half bad,” according to Apollo 16 astronaut John Young. Sniff it—”it smells like spent gunpowder,” says Cernan. How do you sniff moondust? Every Apollo astronaut did it.

How suicide bombers work on periphery of terrorist networks

The use of suicide terrorism—a tactic employed so effectively in the attacks on the World Trade Center in 2001—has grown dramatically during the past five years. From 1999-2004, there were 3.5 times as many suicide terrorist attacks as had occurred from 1983 to 1998. In 2005, the number soared even higher, with a significant concentration of attacks occurring in Iraq. “From a cost-benefit perspective, suicide terrorism is quite effective,” said Dr. Ami Pedahzur, associate professor of government at The University of Texas at Austin and a terrorism expert. “A suicide bomber with an explosives belt kills on average four times as many people as an attack with a delayed detonation device or a shooting attack.”

Think your friends know you pretty well? Think again

We love to laugh at those hapless contestants on “The Newlywed Game.” She thought he loved her tuna casserole; he surreptitiously slipped it to the dog. He thought she loved massages; they actually caused her back pain. Turns out, though, that they’re not alone. Researchers from the University of Michigan and Columbia University recently compared how well people think their friends know them to their actual taste in movies and restaurants. They found that we tend to overestimate personal information more in close friends than in acquaintances.

Baboons in Mourning Seek Comfort Among Friends

When Sylvia the baboon lost Sierra, her closest grooming partner and daughter, to a lion, she responded in a way that would be considered very human-like: she looked to friends for support. According to researchers from the University of Pennsylvania, baboons physiologically respond to bereavement in ways similar to humans, with an increase in stress hormones called glucocorticoids. Baboons can lower their glucocorticoid levels through friendly social contact, expanding their social network after the loss of specific close companions.

Infant transplant patients resist infections that kill adult AIDS patients

Investigators have discovered that some type of protective system goes into action in some cases when a baby’s immune system is deficient. This discovery indicates a hidden safety net that might have far-reaching consequences for treating diseases of the immune system such as AIDS. The Mayo Clinic-led study was conducted with colleagues in Toronto and Baltimore, and is reported in the early online edition of the Feb. 1 Journal of Immunology.

Soy protein shows little effect on ‘bad’ cholesterol

Soy protein in the diet or from nutritional supplements has little or no effect on the risk factors for heart disease, according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. After analyzing 22 studies, an association committee found that large amounts of soy protein in the diet only reduced low-density lipoproteins (LDL) or “bad cholesterol” 3 percent and had no effect on high-density lipoproteins (HDL), or “good cholesterol”, nor on lipoprotein(a) or blood pressure.

Diet High in Omega-3 Fatty Acids Unlikely to Reduce Risk of Cancer

Taking dietary supplements containing omega-3 fatty acids or regularly consuming fish does not appear to reduce a person’s risk of developing cancer, according to the findings of an in-depth analysis of large-scale U.S. and foreign population studies. The results of the analysis, which was supported by HHS’ Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) and the National Institutes of Health’s Office of Dietary Supplements, are published in the January 25, 2006, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.