Aluminum shows strange behavior; research solves old mystery

Aluminum — one of nature’s best conductors of electricity conductors of electricity — may behave like a ceramic or a semiconductor in certain situations, according to an Ohio State University scientist and his colleagues. Among the findings that appear in the current issue of the journal Science: When it comes to forming tiny structures in computer chip circuits and nanotechnology, aluminum may endure mechanical stress more than 30 percent better than copper, which is normally considered to be the stiffer metal

Noisy inner life of cells

Within the smoothly operating factory that is the cell, tiny molecular machines carry out their tasks with order and certainty. Or at least that’s what many scientists once believed. In a recent issue of Science, researchers report the first demonstration that bacterial cells intrinsically possess a significant degree of randomness or “noise.” More precisely, they show that key “gene-reading” machines may operate unpredictably, resulting in randomly fluctuating amounts of individual proteins.

Women’s stroke symptoms differ from men’s

A new study documents for the first time a significant difference in the way women and men describe their symptoms while they’re having a stroke. And that difference may be affecting how women receive emergency stroke treatment. On the whole, the study found, women were 62 percent more likely than men to say they were feeling sensations that aren’t on the list of “traditional” stroke symptoms. Because emergency responders and emergency room doctors often go by patients’ descriptions and the traditional symptom list when trying to diagnose and treat a suspected stroke, women’s symptoms may be overlooked during the precious hours when stroke therapies work best.

Sex, drugs and animal parts: Will Viagra save threatened species?

Viagra may help to save many species of animals and plants that are now endangered due to the demand for animal sexual potency products, according to new research from the University of New South Wales and the University of Alaska. The research suggests that the availability of viagra is having an impact on trade in some of the products, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine to treat impotence, including body parts from seals, deer, green turtles, sea cucumbers, pipefishes, sea horses and geckos.

Non-invasive sensor can detect brainwaves remotely

Now I can see what you really think about meScientists have developed a sensor that can record brainwaves without the need for electrodes to be inserted into the brain or even for them to be placed on the scalp. Conventional electroencephalograms (EEGs) monitor electrical activity in the brain with electrodes placed either on the scalp (involving hair removal and skin abrasion) or inserted directly into the brain with needles. Now a non-invasive form of EEG has been devised by Professor Terry Clark and his colleagues in the Centre for Physical Electronics at the University of Sussex. Instead of measuring charge flow through an electrode (with attendant distortions, in the case of scalp electrodes) the new system measures electric fields remotely, an advance made possible by new developments in sensor technology.

Treatment preserves bone mass in mice; may help osteoporosis

A completely new type of therapy, using a unique class of synthetic compounds, may someday protect both men and women from the bone-weakening disease osteoporosis. Researchers reported in the October 25 issue of Science that early studies of one of these compounds called estren successfully preserved and even restored bone mass in an animal model without the side effects associated with sex hormone therapies.

Chandra casts cloud on alternative to dark matter

You can't see me, but I'm thereNew evidence from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory challenges an alternative theory of gravity that eliminates the need for dark matter. The observation also narrows the field for competing forms of dark matter, the elusive material thought to be the dominant form of matter in the universe. An observation of the galaxy NGC 720 shows it is enveloped in a slightly flattened, or ellipsoidal cloud of hot gas that has an orientation different from that of the optical image of the galaxy. The flattening is too large to be explained by theories in which stars and gas are assumed to contain most of the mass in the galaxy. “The shape and orientation of the hot gas cloud require it to be confined by an egg-shaped dark matter halo,” said a researcher involved in the stoudy. “This means that dark matter is not just an illusion due to a shortcoming of the standard theory of gravity ? it is real.”

‘Twin Sister’ mechanism prevents formation of genetic mutations

Twenty thousand hits per day — that’s the average dose of damage sustained by the genes within each cell of our body. How are innumerable mutations avoided? In a new study, researchers have proved the existence of a vital repair mechanism used by cells to correct this damage and showed that it’s responsible for about 85% of what are termed “last-resort” repairs. Genes can be damaged by a variety of factors, such as ultraviolet light, cigarette smoke, or certain types of viruses. Such damage, if left unrepaired, can cause mutations, which can lead to disease. The “first resort” for genetic repair is most often a mechanism that works on an “all or nothing” basis: when unable to precisely correct the damage, it stops in its tracks, leading to what can be an even more harmful effect ? the death of the cell. Fortunately, nature has provided cells with two alternative, last-resort repair systems that can take command when the first rescue mechanism fails.

Asian dust storm causes plankton to bloom in the North Pacific

The plankton, my friend, is blowin' in the wind...In the spring of 2001, two robotic Carbon Explorer floats recorded the rapid growth of phytoplankton in the upper layers of the North Pacific Ocean after a passing storm had deposited iron-rich dust from the Gobi Desert. The carbon measurements, reported in the October 25 issue of Science, are the first direct observation of wind-blown terrestrial dust fertilizing the growth of aquatic plant life.

NASA Music Out of this World

With scientific instruments on NASA’s Voyagers, Galileo, Cassini and more than two dozen other spacecraft, University of Iowa physicist Dr. Don Gurnett has been recording waves that course through the thin, electrically charged gas pervading the near-vacuum of outer space. Gurnett converted the recorded plasma waves into sounds, much as a receiver turns radio waves into sound waves. “I’ve got a cardboard box full of cassette tapes of sounds that I’ve collected over nearly 40 years,” he said. Gurnett’s tapes have inspired a 10-movement musical composition called “Sun Rings.” The Grammy-nominated Kronos Quartet will premiere “Rings” this month.