USA TODAY articles from June 2005

USA TODAY archives from June 2005

Contaminated air jeopardizes public health.(Pollution)
June 1, 2005... New evidence shows that a number of groups are at risk from air pollution and that the dangers are even more serious than experts previously believed, according to the annual "American Lung Association State of the Air: 2005" report. It warns...

Baby bottles found harmful.(Plastic Products)
June 1, 2005... The bottles used to feed babies or the containers holding leftovers in the refrigerator could cause serious harm. Scientific evidence is mounting and the fight against a widely used chemical is being brought into the political arena. The...

Pre- and postnatal asthma triggers cited.(Lung Disease)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Children prenatally exposed to pollutants such as motor vehicle exhaust and postnatally to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) may be more likely to suffer from asthma and related symptoms early in life, claims a study by Columbia University, New...

Soil can trap radioactive toxins.(Nuclear Waste)
June 1, 2005... Soil particles lock up contaminants hundreds to thousands of times faster under the caustic conditions found beneath leaking toxic waste tanks at the Hanford Nuclear Reservation than under normal soil conditions, researchers report....

Where bacteria get their genes.(Antibiotic Resistance)
June 1, 2005... Bacteria acquire up to 90% of their genetic material from distantly related bacteria species, according to research from the University of Arizona, Tucson. The finding has important biomedical implications because such gene-swapping, or lateral...

A novel technology that can test cells in minutes for responses to any stimulus, including antibiotics, pathogens, toxins, radiation, and chemotherapy, has been developed by scientists at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.).(SCIENCE SCENE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A novel technology that can test cells in minutes for responses to any stimulus, including antibiotics, pathogens, toxins, radiation, and chemotherapy, has been developed by scientists at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.). "Now, in a matter of...

The Army Chemical Materials Agency.(SCIENCE SCENE)(Pine Bluff Chemical Disposal Facility, Arkansas)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Army Chemical Materials Agency announced that the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Arkansas began operations earlier this spring. It is slated to destroy 12% of the original U.S. stockpile, which includes 3,850 tons of nerve...

The biochemical mechanism that enables animals--likely including humans--to recognize when their diet is deficient in an essential amino acid has been identified for the first time by School of Veterinary Medicine researchers at the University of California, Davis.(SCIENCE SCENE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The biochemical mechanism that enables animals--likely including humans--to recognize when their diet is deficient in an essential amino acid has been identified for the first time by School of Veterinary Medicine researchers at the University...

Harnessing the strength of a natural process that repairs damage to the human genome, doctors at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, have helped establish a method of therapy that can correct mutations in the IL-2R gene that is associated with the immunodeficiency disease SCID.(SCIENCE SCENE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Harnessing the strength of a natural process that repairs damage to the human genome, doctors at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas, have helped establish a method of therapy that can correct mutations in the IL-2R gene...

Unique follow-up observations carried out with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are providing important supporting evidence for the existence of a candidate planetary companion (five times the mass of Jupiter) to a relatively bright young dwarf star located 225 light-years away in the southern constellation Hydra.(SCIENCE SCENE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Unique follow-up observations carried out with NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are providing important supporting evidence for the existence of a candidate planetary companion (five times the mass of Jupiter) to a relatively bright young dwarf...

Environmental factors, such as attending religious ceremonies with family, affect individuals' religiousness as children, but genes most likely keep them attending and believing as they become adults, according to a study of twins by Laura Koenig of the Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.(SCIENCE SCENE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Environmental factors, such as attending religious ceremonies with family, affect individuals' religiousness as children, but genes most likely keep them attending and believing as they become adults, according to a study of twins by Laura...

The Tibetan plateau is being compressed between the Indian subcontinent to the south and the solid wall of the North China block, new research indicates.(SCIENCE SCENE)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Tibetan plateau is being compressed between the Indian subcontinent to the south and the solid wall of the North China block, new research indicates. As a result, Tibet is splitting much like an orange squeezed by a vise. 'We're in a place...

Can DNA breaks be repaired?(Chromosomes)
June 1, 2005... A new microscopic assay has been developed by scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill that, for the first time, allows them to see DNA breaks in chromosomes in living cells following damage to those complex, gene-filled...

Aerosol clouds cool earth.(Meteorology)
June 1, 2005... Atmospheric scientists have developed simple, physics-based equations that address some of the limitations of current methods for representing cloud formation in global climate models--important because of increased aerosol pollution that gives...

Ending reliance on toxic viruses.(Gene Therapy)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A gene therapy method that does not rely on potentially toxic viruses as vectors may be growing closer as the result of in vitro research results reported by University at Buffalo (N.Y.) scientists. The study, which describes the successful...

One-step destruction of cancer cells.(Nanoshells)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A new approach to fighting cancer, based on nanoscale particles that can detect and destroy cancerous cells, has been developed by researchers at Rice University, Houston, Tex. Current molecular imaging approaches only detect the cancer but do...

Missing star looks "heavy".(Astronomy)(measuring star mass)
June 1, 2005... Although mass is the most important property of stars, it has proved very hard to measure for the lowest-mass objects in the universe. Thanks to a powerful new camera, however, a very rare low-mass companion star finally has been...

Astronauts susceptible to kidney stones.(Outer Space)(nanobacteria)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Nanobacteria (NB), a novel self-replicating, mineralizing agent, has been identified by NASA scientists as a potential culprit in kidney stone formation among astronauts. With the possibility of future exploratory space missions to the moon and...

Crater mystery of melted rocks.(Meteorites)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The iron meteorite that blasted out Meteor Crater almost 50,000 years ago was traveling much slower than has been assumed, hypothesizes Gareth Collins of the Imperial College of London. The meteorite smashed into the Colorado Plateau in Arizona...

Astronomers find gravity's signature.(The Universe)(observations from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey)
June 1, 2005... The Sloan Digital Sky Survey--the largest ever--confirmed the role of gravity in growing structures in the universe, using the result to measure the geometry of the universe precisely. Researchers from New York University, University of...

"Transparency" could spawn new industries.(Electronics)(transparent transistors have great potential)
June 1, 2005... The first example of an entirely new class of materials which could be used to make transparent transistors that are inexpensive, stable, and environmentally benign has been reported by researchers at Oregon State University, Corvallis, and...

Nanotubes provide power boost.(Electricity)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Supercapacitors that can deliver a strong surge of electrical power could be manufactured from carbon nanotubes using a technique developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis. Supercapacitors are electrical storage devices...

Turbulence in the fast lane.(Hypersonic Aircraft)
June 1, 2005... Although NASA's X-43A and other hypersonic airplanes uses air-breathing engines and fly much like 747s, there is a big difference between ripping air at Mach 10 (around 7,000 mph) and cruising through it at 350 mph. These differences are even...

Aerodynamics allow trucks to "fly".(Transportation)
June 1, 2005... Flow control techniques and aerodynamic improvements developed at the Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, could save the trucking industry hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel per year. Recent tests using a full-size tractor-trailer...

Mass producing tiny structures.(Nanotechnology)
June 1, 2005... They look like an elegant row of columns, tiny enough for atomic-scale hide-and-seek, but these colonnades represent a new way to bring nanotechnology into mass production. Nanotechnology, the ability to create and work with structures and...

Calcium good for more than strong bones.(Brain Cells)
June 1, 2005... When memories are made and learning occurs, the connections between brain cells change. Scientists know that an influx of calcium is critical to this process. A theoretical model developed by a research team from Brown University, Providence,...

Pathway identification imperils disease.(Human Genome)
June 1, 2005... The development of a technique for identifying control elements that drive the expression of genes in brain cells could unleash the disease-fighting potential of the much-hailed human genome, maintains a study by Oregon Health & Science...

Synaptic vesicles help relay messages.(Brain Function)(University of Texas southwestern medical center, Dallas )
June 1, 2005... Every time we move, feel emotions, think, or remember, the nerve cells, or neurons, in our body transmit messages to one another via chemical signals called neurotransmitters. Within neurons are tiny organelles called synaptic vesicles that...

Fooling brain into feeling full.(Obesity)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Sprinkling flavor enhancing crystals on food before it is eaten can help individuals lose weight, according to a study conducted by Alan Hirsch, a neurologist and psychiatrist who is director of the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research...

Fear factor function in brain.(Neurology)(amygdala in the brain distinguishes fear in our faces)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... A look of fear on another person's face is recognizable instantly. The split-second ability of the amygdala, a small, almond-shaped structure deep in the brain, distinguishes fear in facial expressions. In particular, it relies heavily on...

Robots that act like rats.(Engineering)
June 1, 2005... Robots that act like rat pups can tell scientists something about the behavior of both, according to researchers at the University of California, Davis. Sanjay Joshi, assistant professor of mechanical and aeronautical engineering, and Jeffrey...

Hijacking bacterium for energy use.(Respiratory System)
June 1, 2005... For anyone suffering from cystic fibrosis or AIDS, the bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa is bad news. While the organism is found everywhere--including in sediment on the ocean floor--it can cause lung infections in those with weak immune...

Can Shamanism really heal patients?(Anti-Science)
June 1, 2005... Shamanism, humankind's oldest spiritual and healing tradition, is dominated by men in many cultures, and Western skeptics often debunk its effectiveness. However, Barbara Tedlock, professor of anthropology at the University at Buffalo (N.Y.),...

"Smoke" detector promises safety.(Bioterrorism)(detection technology can provide early warning)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... High-traffic facilities like airports, office buildings, rail stations, and sporting arenas serve hundreds of thousands of people each day, making them particularly susceptible to silent and invisible biological attacks. However, a "biological...

Global warming threat growing.(Wildlife)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... The Wildlife Society, Bethesda, Md., has adopted a policy calling for the reduction of greenhouse gas pollution among the measures needed to confront global climate change. The group's action follows on its recently released scientific review...

Disaster planning still lacking.(Terrorist Attacks)(response to industrial explosion at West Pharmaceutical Services Inc. manufacturing plant, Kinston, North Carolina)
June 1, 2005... North Carolina and the U.S. as a whole still have a long way to go before they can claim to be prepared for a disaster in the post-9/11 world, concludes a study by University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers. The study examined the...

Airguns gauge undersea volcanoes.(Geology)
June 1, 2005... A mechanism that counters established thinking on how the rate at which tectonic plates separate along midocean ridges controls processes such as heat transfer in geologic materials, energy circulation, and even biological production has been...

Sniffing out insect control.(Entomology)(how insects smell)
June 1, 2005... How do insects smell? Badly, according to a study, if they lack a certain kind of protein critical to their unique ability to detect and interpret pheromones--the insect equivalent of "smelling." Researchers at the University of Texas...

Grapefruit aroma enhances youthfulness.(Aging)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2005... Expensive creams and cosmetic surgery may not be the answer to recapturing youth, as a study by the Smell & Taste Treatment and Research Foundation, Chicago, indicates that pink grapefruit may do more than traditional cosmetics to help...

Damming evidence calls for planning.(Hydropower)(social and environmental impacts of dams)
June 1, 2005... Despite the adverse impacts of large dam construction on ecosystems and human settlements, more dams are likely to be built in the 21st century wherever there is a need to store water for irrigated agriculture, urban water supplies, and power...

Is American dream a Chinese nightmare?(Natural Resources)(Chinese consumers functioning on an American model)
June 1, 2005... "For China's 1,300,000,000 people, the American dream is fast becoming the Chinese dream," says Lester R. Brown, president of Earth Policy Institute, Washington, D.C. "Millions of Chinese are living like Americans--eating more meat, driving...

Disappearing lakes, shrinking seas.(Ecology)
June 1, 2005... Mono Lake, North America's oldest, dating back some 760,000 years, is an important feeding stop for a variety of migrating birds, especially as Southern California has lost over 90% of its wetlands. Since the first diversions of its tributaries...