Science News 2002
Here's a list of all the news articles that appeared on Science a GoGo in 2002.
30 December 2002
Flowers In Orbit
Roses in space, would they smell as sweet as they do on Earth? Apparently not...
23 December 2002
Mice Create Human Kidneys
Instead of searching for a suitable kidney donor, a new study suggests, one might be able to grow a new kidney...
19 December 2002
Ebola Virus Transformed From Killer To Healer
By redesigning the shell of Ebola, researchers have transformed the feared virus into a benevolent workhorse for gene therapy...
16 December 2002
Songs On The Brain
Researchers are getting closer to understanding how some melodies have a tendency to stick in your head...
12 December 2002
Atmospheric "Waves" Reduced Ozone Hole
The ozone hole isn't recovering. Large, planetary sized waves in the atmosphere were responsible for the smaller Antarctic ozone hole...
9 December 2002
Fossil Fuels A Viable Option For World's Poor
Contrary to conventional wisdom, the use of fossil fuels for household cooking and heating may make environmental sense for the world's 2 billion rural poor...
5 December 2002
Chilling Out To Cool Sounds
An icebox that runs on sound waves? Researchers have developed a small "thermoacoustic refrigerator" that could be in ice cream cabinets soon...
2 December 2002
Planets Formed In Hundreds - Not Millions - Of Years
New research suggests that planets can form in dramatically short periods, as little as a few hundred years...
28 November 2002
Infants Build Knowledge Using Statistics
Noting how often objects appear together, infants can efficiently take in more knowledge than if they were to simply see the same shapes individually...
25 November 2002
Worrying Good For Health
Popular culture warns that worrying interferes with happiness and health but a new study shows that worrying actually may have healthful benefits...
21 November 2002
Ultra Efficient Solar Cells On The Way
An unexpected discovery could yield full spectrum solar cells leading to cheap solar power...
18 November 2002
New HIV Vaccine Trial Begins
Clinical tests began last week of a DNA vaccine directed at the three most globally important HIV subtypes that make up about 90 percent of all infections...
14 November 2002
Puzzle Over 'Little' Big Bang
Scientists have recreated a temperature not seen since the first microsecond of the birth of the universe and found that the event did not unfold quite the way they expected...
11 November 2002
Penguins Struggling With Icebergs
The movements of two gigantic Antarctic icebergs appear to have dramatically reduced the number of Emperor penguins breeding...
7 November 2002
Microwave Beam To Boost Satellite Into Orbit
Plans are being made to push a spacecraft into orbit with energy beamed up from the ground...
4 November 2002
Overfishing Threatens Genetic Diversity
Populations of marine fish may lose genetic diversity even if fishing stops while there are still several million individuals - a number previously assumed to be enough to preserve a diverse gene pool...
31 October 2002
Scientists Hope To Reveal "Extra Dimensions," Exotic Forces
Physicists have devised a new experiment that will be used in the quest for exotic forces in nature and "additional spatial dimensions"...
28 October 2002
Global Warming May Trigger Ice Sheet Growth
Researchers say the increasingly salty Mediterranean is a definite warning that Atlantic circulation patterns will change in ways that favor ice sheet growth...
24 October 2002
Fainting May Render Brain Cells Vulnerable to Immune Attack
A blow to the head or a fainting spell could sensitize the brain to attack by immune system proteins that are otherwise protective...
21 October 2002
Tiny Atomic Battery Developed
Researchers have built a microscopic device that could supply power for decades to remote sensors or implantable medical devices by drawing energy from a radioactive isotope...
17 October 2002
Black Hole Surfing
An team of astronomers has directly observed an otherwise normal star orbiting the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way Galaxy...
14 October 2002
New Evidence For Solar Systems Like Ours
Astronomers report strong evidence for the existence of massive planets on wide orbits - like those of Saturn, Uranus and Neptune - around many stars...
10 October 2002
Radioastronomers Measure Sizes Of Distant Planets
Quaoar, the newest member of the solar system, has a diameter of 1250 km, making it the largest object discovered in the solar system since the discovery of Pluto in 1930...
7 October 2002
Greenhouse Gases Good For Agriculture
A new study suggests that rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere could be a boon for agricultural crops...
3 October 2002
Antarctic Ice Stream Reverses Flow
It is impossible for a river or stream to first stop and then reverse course. But an ice stream in Antarctica has done precisely that...
30 September 2002
U.S. Cities Getting Hotter
If you think that summers are getting hotter, you could be right. Summers are heating up if you live in or near any major U.S. city...
26 September 2002
Repressing Anxiety May Protect Against Stress
People who cope with a life-threatening situation by ignoring their anxiety or diverting their attention away from it may be doing themselves a favor...
23 September 2002
Global Warming To Chill Crops
Winter temperatures are on the rise and scientists note this change will actually increase a plant's exposure to freezing temperatures...
19 September 2002
Runaway Universe May Collapse
Rather than expanding exponentially, our cosmos may be in danger of collapsing in a "mere" 10 to 20 billion years...
16 September 2002
Proteins Behave Differently Inside Cells
In findings that are fundamentally important to both biology and medicine, chemists have shown that proteins can behave differently inside cells than when they are studied in test tubes...
12 September 2002
Biologic Pacemaker Created Using Gene Therapy
Working with guinea pigs, scientists have created the first biologic pacemaker for the heart, paving the way for a genetically engineered alternative to electronic pacemakers...
9 September 2002
NASA To Explore Amazon Crater
NASA scientists will venture into an isolated part of the Bolivian Amazon to try and uncover the origin of a 5 mile diameter crater...
5 September 2002
Atomic-Scale Memory Created
Scientists have created an atomic-scale memory using atoms of silicon in place of the 1s and 0s that computers use to store data...
2 September 2002
Spouses Mirror Each Others' Health
The health of your spouse is as strong a predictor for your own health as your level of education and your economic status...
29 August 2002
Dogs, Cats Reduce Risk Of Allergies In Kids
Surprisingly, children who grow up with dogs and cats in the home have a significantly reduced risk of developing common allergies...
26 August 2002
New Evidence Of Massive Meteor Strike
A huge meteor, between 12 and 30 miles in diameter, smashed into the Earth 3.5 billion years ago with the energy of 1 billion atomic bombs, vaporizing the surface where it struck and creating a tsunami more than half a mile high...
22 August 2002
Honey - New Cholesterol Fighter
Can't stand spinach? Then try honey. It contains around the same level of plaque-fighting antioxidants as the leafy green stuff...
19 August 2002
Damage From Acid Rain Worse Than Believed
A study has revealed that acid rain's damage may be more widespread than previously believed, creating conditions in trees similar to compromised immune systems in humans...
15 August 2002
Household Products Disrupt Sex Genes in Fish
Traces of ordinary products - flushed and tossed away from millions of homes - are more harmful to the sexual development and reproduction of fish than previously thought...
12 August 2002
Recommended Water Intake A Myth
"Drink at least eight glasses of water a day!" The universal advice that has made guzzling water a national pastime is more urban myth than medical dogma and appears to lack scientific proof...
8 August 2002
Jet Contrails Alter Temperature
For three days after September 11, all commercial aircraft in the U.S. were grounded, providing scientists with a rare glimpse of the climate effects of jet contrails...
5 August 2002
Morphine Stimulates Breast Tumor Growth
Morphine, used to manage severe pain, actually stimulates signals in endothelial cells that prompt tumors to grow in mice...
1 August 2002
Cosmic Rays Linked To Global Warming
Interstellar cosmic rays could be the missing link between the discordant temperatures observed during the last two decades...
29 July 2002
Strong Correlation Between Diabetes and Air Pollution
A dramatic statistical correlation between the prevalence of diabetes and air pollution levels has been demonstrated...
25 July 2002
Artificial Antibodies Created
Chemists have developed a way of creating artificial antibodies. The process is a general approach wherein one molecule imprints its structure within a larger host molecule...
22 July 2002
Gene For Scaredy Cats Identified
The brain responds differently to pictures of scary faces depending on which version of a gene one has inherited...
18 July 2002
Warmer World Will Be Sickly
Global warming and changing climatic conditions are triggering disease epidemics in wildlife around the world and the outbreaks are occurring in habitats ranging from coral reefs to rainforests...
15 July 2002
Fat Storage Enzyme Identified
Researchers have identified a metabolic switch that appears to tell the body to store or burn fat...
11 July 2002
Infant Virus May Cause Asthma
New research suggests that a viral infection in the first years of life may leave a lasting mark on the immune system, causing asthma in later years...
8 July 2002
Large Brains Not Required
The skull of a small individual, discovered at an archeological site in Georgia, may call into question the idea that larger brain size was behind the migration of human ancestors out of Africa...
4 July 2002
Naps Vital For Efficient Brain Function
Stop feeling guilty about taking that nap at work, evidence is mounting that a nap appears to enhance information processing and learning...
1 July 2002
Bacterial Communication Identified
The discovery of how bacteria communicate - by releasing and detecting chemical pheromones - could be the first step toward manipulation of these signaling pathways, either by thwarting activities of harmful bacteria or facilitating activities of helpful ones...
27 June 2002
Trees May Contribute To Ozone Problem
Certain species of tree produce pollutants that hamper their own growth while contributing to global climate changes and causing harm to other life forms...
24 June 2002
Adult Stem Cell Breakthrough
Researchers have found the first evidence that adult bone marrow derived cells can behave in the same manner as embryonic stem cells...
20 June 2002
Human Noise Wrecks Whales' Sex Lives
The artificial racket created by ships and other human sources could be interfering with whale reproduction and population recovery...
17 June 2002
Newfound Planetary System Looks Like Home
After 15 years of observation and a lot of patience, a group of planet-hunters has found a planetary system that reminds them of our home solar system...
13 June 2002
Single-Atom Transistor Created
Researchers have reached the smallest possible limit, creating a single-atom transistor by implanting a "designer" molecule between two wires to create a circuit...
10 June 2002
Greenhouse Effect Is "Green"
Tiny pollutant particles thrust into the atmosphere may slow plant growth but they also enhance the ability of the earth to act as a sink for carbon...
6 June 2002
Climate Change To Be Major Cause Of Ozone Loss
While chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) are largely responsible for current ozone depletion, a new study finds that by the 2030s climate change may surpass CFCs as the main cause of ozone loss...
3 June 2002
Rogue Brain Signal Behind Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder
Researchers have discovered a brain signal that, like an encouraging bystander at a marathon, urges us keep working at a task in order to receive a reward. But what if these signals are overly active...
30 May 2002
Chips Themselves Go Wireless
The silicon chip may soon go wireless, a development that could speed data transfer inside computers and enable exotic new products...
27 May 2002
New Amino Acid Discovered
Researchers reported today that they had identified the 22nd genetically encoded amino acid, a discovery that is the biological equivalent of physicists finding a new fundamental particle...
23 May 2002
Link Between Creative Genius And Mental Illness Established
Using personality tests, researchers found healthy artists to be more similar in personality to individuals with manic depression than to healthy people...
20 May 2002
Age Of Dinosaurs Began With Comet Impact
Comets colliding with the earth not only helped wipe out the dinosaurs, but may have originally helped bring them to prominence 200 million years ago...
16 May 2002
Fresh Doubts On Human Cloning
The activity of a single gene can predict whether cloned embryos will survive, but the gene's sporadic expression casts fresh doubt on prospects for human cloning...
13 May 2002
No Limit To Life Expectancy
The lifespans of people in developed nations are increasing at a remarkably constant rate, suggesting that there is no natural limit on life expectancy, say researchers...
9 May 2002
Measles Supresses HIV Replication
A study of HIV-infected children living in Zambia has found that replication of HIV is suppressed during acute measles...
6 May 2002
Global Extinction Crisis Poorly Understood
Ecologists are calling for a broader approach to wildlife preservation...
2 May 2002
Placebo As Effective As Prozac
Depressed patients who got better after taking a placebo for six weeks showed brain changes that were similar to patients who responded to an anti-depressant drug...
29 April 2002
Earth Has Fewer Species Than Expected
An eight-year study of New Guinean rainforest plants and the insects that feed on them has yielded a new and dramatically lower estimate of the number of species on the planet...
24 April 2002
Icebergs' Impact On Antarctic Marine Life Devastating
For the first time, satellite imagery has allowed scientists to observe how icebergs in a remote corner of Antarctica can disrupt an entire marine ecosystem...
21 April 2002
New Insight Into Basic Mechanism Of Evolution
The basic cellular machinery that generates the genetic diversity central to evolution does not operate quite the way scientists have thought...
18 April 2002
Weed Killer Disrupts Frogs' Sexual Development
The nation's top-selling weed killer, atrazine, disrupts the sexual development of frogs at concentrations 30 times lower than levels allowed by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)...
15 April 2002
Tropical Rivers Produce More CO2 Than Previously Thought
Researchers say the amount of carbon dioxide coming off streams, rivers and flooded areas of the world's tropical forests is triple that of some currently accepted estimates, meaning such forests aren't the carbon sponges some scientists believe...
11 April 2002
Prescription Drug Pollution May Harm Environment
The millions of doses of prescription drugs that Americans swallow annually do not disappear harmlessly, but instead make their way back into the environment where they may contaminate drinking water...
8 April 2002
Alcohol And Nicotine A Pleasurable Combination
It's no secret that smokers often drink, and drinkers often smoke. Now, a rodent study has found that low doses of alcohol and nicotine can have an additive effect on the release of the neurotransmitter dopamine...
4 April 2002
Asymmetrical Birds At Risk Of Extinction
Conservationists would like to know which animal populations are about to decline. New research shows that monitoring for subtle asymmetries - such as differences in bone length in the right and left feet - may be the answer...
31 March 2002
Antarctica Key To Sudden Sea Level Rise
A massive and unusually abrupt rise in sea level about 14,200 years ago was caused by the partial collapse of ice sheets in Antarctica...
28 March 2002
Antarctica On The Move
For the first time, radar satellites have mapped Antarctica, revealing a continent whose frozen cloak is in constant (and surprising) motion...
25 March 2002
Breast Feeding Best For A Higher IQ
Full-term infants score an average of 11 points higher on IQ tests if they are exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life compared to those who are given formula...
21 March 2002
Allergies May Rise Significantly Over Next 50 Years
Rising carbon dioxide levels associated with global warming could lead to an increase in the incidence of allergies to ragweed and other plants by mid-century...
18 March 2002
Gene For Drug Abuse Busted
A new study provides evidence for one of the few known genetic causes of dependence on drugs such as alcohol, cocaine, and nicotine...
14 March 2002
Lack Of Inhibition Strengthens Nicotine Addiction
Brief exposure to low levels of nicotine not only boosts the brain's reward system but also blocks a rival system that limits the duration of such rewards...
11 March 2002
Butterfly Wings Key To Morphological Evolution
The beautiful patterns on butterfly wings are emerging as exceptional model systems that may reveal much about how the shapes, sizes and colors of specific organisms have evolved...
7 March 2002
Cold Fusion - The Sequel
Researchers have reported results that suggest the possibility of nuclear reactions during the explosive collapse of bubbles in liquid, a process known as cavitation...
4 March 2002
Aerosol Pollution May Defeat Greenhouse Effect
Higher cloud reflectivity from aerosol pollution may result in global cooling, partially offsetting the greenhouse effect ...
27 February 2002
Natural Selection Pivotal In Molecular Evolution
Researchers have demonstrated that natural selection plays a much larger role in molecular evolution than thought, showing that about 25 percent of genes are evolving rapidly in response to competitive pressures...
24 February 2002
Microbes Survive 50 Kilometers Inside The Earth
Finding opens new doors for looking for life much deeper inside planetary bodies than previously considered...
22 February 2002
In Search Of Extra Dimensions
Our understanding of reality - that is, a world where events happen over time within a three-dimensional space - may be turned on its head by the year 2005...
14 February 2002
Arctic Ice Cap Could Disappear
The Arctic ice cap is shrinking… that much is known with certainty. And some say the formerly ice-locked Arctic will have open sea lanes as soon as 2015. By 2050, the summertime ice cap could disappear entirely...
11 February 2002
How Mature Adult Cells Are Cloned
Do clones, like Dolly, derived from adult cells develop from a fully mature adult cell or do they develop from rare stem cells found in adult tissues...
7 February 2002
Breakthrough In Propellant-Free Space Propulsion
Propellant-free propulsion technology has taken a critical step toward reality, completing a series of systems tests at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center...
4 February 2002
First Light-Tunable 'Plastic' Magnet Developed
Researchers have developed a plastic material that becomes 1.5 times more magnetic when blue light shines on it. Green light partially reverses that effect...
1 February 2002
Fewer Clouds Indicate Climate Change
NASA researchers have found that more sunlight entered the tropics and more heat escaped to space in the 1990s than in the 1980s. Their findings indicate less cloud cover blocked incoming radiation and trapped outgoing heat...
29 January 2002
Researchers Turn Viruses Into Nano Building Blocks
Using a combination of chemistry and molecular genetics, researchers have found a way to attach a wide range of molecules to the surface of a virus...
24 January 2002
Neuroscientists Find Brain Regions Involved In Imitation
Neuroscientists have identified a network of brain regions that are involved in human imitation and specific brain areas that enable a person to distinguish the self from others...
22 January 2002
Perception Stored In Single Neurones
Researchers discover that our perception of diagnostic features is controlled by single neurones...
17 January 2002
Is Intelligence Fixed?
A new model suggests that intelligence is created when neural connections in the brain are changed in response to environmental cues...
15 January 2002
Global Cooling In Antarctica
Antarctica overall has cooled measurably during the last 35 years - despite a global average increase in air temperature of 0.06 degrees Celsius during the 20th century...
11 January 2002
Scientific Bias Causing Mass Extinctions
Scientific bias towards the cute or spectacular may be helping condemn a substantial proportion of the world's plants and animals to extinction...
9 January 2002
Army Researching Stink Bombs
The Army could have a new "offensive" weapon in their arsenal before long. One that really stinks...
6 January 2002
A Genetic Basis for Obsessive Grooming
A gene involved in setting up the mammalian body plan also appears to control grooming behavior...
1 January 2002
Fat Gene Discovered
Scientific research groups have discovered a critical gene responsible for fat cell development...