Новости науки и техники в "Scientific American"

FUSION CLAIM SPARKS DEBATE

Donald Kennedy, editor of the prestigious journal Science, knew he was in for a row if he published the paper. What the authors were claiming was just so extraordinary: that nuclear fusion reactions, of the sort that power stars and hydrogen bombs, had been created on a lab bench using little more than a vibrating ring, a neutron gun and a beaker of specially prepared acetone.

IMPLANT ENABLES THOUGHT TO CONTROL COMPUTER CURSOR

Giving a new twist to the phrase wishful thinking, scientist have demonstrated that thoughts alone can enable action. According to new research conducted on monkeys, a tiny array of electrodes that records, interprets and reconstructs the activity involved in hand motion can harness brain power to control an onscreen cursor.

SURVEY OF U.S. STREAMS FINDS NUMEROUS CONTAMINANTS

Many chemicals commonly used in medications such as over-the-counter painkillers or birth control pills end up far from their intended destination - in American streams. New research reveals that a number of the waterways contain complex cocktails of compounds that, although present in very low concentrations, could negatively affect aquatic life.

AIR POLLUTION CAN CONSTRICT HEALTHY BLOOD VESSELS

Plenty of epidemiological studies support a link between pollution and compromised lung function. Now scientists have detected a physical response to common air pollutants. Exposure to contaminated air similar to that found in urban areas during peak smog periods, it appears, causes constriction of the blood vessels in healthy individuals.

CELESTIAL SUNSCREEN DIMS STARS

Scientists have discovered why some stars dim and seem to temporarily disappear, a new study suggests. Light-absorbing chemicals form in the atmosphere of these so-called Mira variable stars, causing them to dim to one thousandth of their maximum brightness - and temporarily vanish from view.