Opinion After the First Few, Why No Flood of Vaccines? January 30, 2005 • Commentator Ruth Levy Guyer reflects on the discovery of the first vaccine by Edward Jenner in 1803 and the surprisingly small number that have been developed since then.
Diversions New Tricks for Old Dogs January 29, 2005 • A new study shows that older beagles, when given proper diet and stimulation, can actually delay the affects of aging.
Women in Science January 28, 2005 • The president of Harvard said this month that biology might explain why fewer women succeed in math and science careers. What's the situation like for women seeking careers in science, and what obstacles are they up against? Can the "leaky pipeline" for women in science be fixed? Plus, are there differences in the male and female brain?
A Look at Research on Gender and the Sciences January 28, 2005 • Harvard President Lawrence Summers caused an uproar with his intimation that innate differences account for a lower number of women in the fields of math and the sciences. David Kestenbaum, himself a particle physicist, examines what the scientific evidence shows about this subject.
Education Science Dictionary January 28, 2005 • A new science dictionary aims to put science into words: A look at how the language of science is changing.
Officials Simulate Smallpox Outbreak January 28, 2005 • Current and former officials from the U.S. and Europe participate in a mock smallpox disaster. The sponsors of the exercise plan to share their findings with those in power, both in the United States and abroad.
Secrets of the Venus Flytrap Revealed January 27, 2005 • A Harvard mathematician makes some startling new findings on just how the famous plant that has no nerves or muscles, snaps its jaws shut in less than 1/10 of a second.
Environment Good Grazing: Preserving Cattle Country January 27, 2005 • In the West, new ways are emerging to make ranching compatible with preservation. For financial incentives, ranchers keep their lands away from developers and try to preserve fragile desert landscapes.
Environment EPA Plan Exempts Factory Farms from Pollution Rules January 26, 2005 • The Environmental Protection Agency has offered the nation's factory farms a four-year immunity from air pollution laws if they agree to participate in the agency's study of the farms' airborne emissions. Activist groups are calling the plan a delaying tactic.
Research News Evidence of Sex in Single-Celled Organism January 26, 2005 • Scientists find that the single-celled organism giardia possesses the genes necessary to reproduce sexually -- which suggests this key biological process arose in the early stages of evolution.
Research News Study Plumbs Brain Responses to Anger January 25, 2005 • Robert Siegel talks with David Sander, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Geneva and one of the lead authors of an article in Nature Neuroscience about the brain's anger response mechanism. Sander explains how his team conducted the experiment and possible benefits this study may hold for understanding autistic and schizophrenic patients.
Environment Brazil's Agriculture Boom Exacts High Cost January 25, 2005 • Brazil is on course to become the world's next agricultural superpower. The South American nation may soon surpass the United States in the production of soybeans, and some say the ecological changes are contributing to a longer rainy season in Brazil, and are contributing to the greenhouse effect.
Business Monsanto to Buy Seed Producer in $1.4 Billion Deal January 25, 2005 • The agricultural products manufacturer Monsanto says it will buy commercial fruit and vegetable seed company Seminis. The deal is said to be worth $1.4 billion. Monsanto hopes the purchase will expand its market in health foods.
National Calif. Town Fights for Clean Tap Water January 24, 2005 • Alpaugh, a small rural community in California's Central Valley, went without clean running water for over two years. A run-down water system left hundreds of residents with poisoned and unusable water.
Law Supreme Court Declines to Intervene in Schiavo Case January 24, 2005 • The Supreme Court refuses to reinstate a Florida law that was passed in order to keep a severely brain damaged woman, Terri Schiavo, connected to a feeding tube. The law was unanimously overturned by the state's high court last year.