Новости науки и техники в "Scientific American" 14 мая 2002 г.

THE TRUTH ABOUT HUMAN AGING

Antiaging products are big business - a multibillion-dollar industry. But the marketing of these products often misrepresents the science. Rather than let their silence imply their support, 51 of the top researchers in the field of aging research have collaborated to create a position paper that sets out the current state of the science and separates fact from fiction.

LONG-SOUGHT STELLAR SULFUR FOUND

You may not have known it was absent, but astronomers say they have found the missing stellar sulfur. The cosmically abundant element is present in meteorites and dust particles from comets in the form of solid grains of iron sulfide (FeS). Direct evidence of such sulfide grains from objects similar to the early solar nebula was lacking, however - until now. According to new research, FeS does indeed exist in the spectrum of young stellar objects. Problem was, it had been mistaken for something else.

FLAME RETARDANTS CONTAMINATING THE CANADIAN ARCTIC

Although they are not being used to fight fires in the region, flame retardants are nevertheless quickly contaminating the Canadian Arctic, a new study indicates. Researchers have discovered that Arctic concentrations of chemicals known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which are commonly used as fire retardants, have increased exponentially in the past two decades.

BOOK OF THE MONTH: THE FEVER TRAIL: IN SEARCH OF THE CURE FOR MALARIA By Mark Honigsbaum

Guadalcanal, November 1942. Another night of war. Aboveground, the air buzzed with mosquitoes and enemy ordnance. In foxholes, weary men in boots, fatigues and steel helmets shifted restlessly, counting the hours until dawn. If a soldier on Guadalcanal wanted to stay in one piece, a hole in the ground was the safest place to spend the night. But nocturnal refuge had its price: disease-bearing Anopheles mosquitoes. For proof, one need only to have visited the hospital field tent. There, by flickering electric lanterns, medics tended delirious patients whose blood swarmed with the delicate rings, crescents and clusters we know as malaria.

TEA MAY TEMPER HEART DISEASE

The beverage of choice in many cultures, tea has long been touted as having various healing properties. Now new research suggests that in the case of heart disease, that may well be true. According to the study results, heart attack patients who drank tea regularly had significantly elevated survival rates as compared with those who didn't.

STRONGER POLAR WINDS MAY BE CAUSE OF ANTARCTICA'S MIXED CLIMATE MESSAGE

Antarctica is proving to be somewhat of a climate conundrum for scientists. Studies have shown that whereas some areas of the continent are cooling, others are warming much faster than the rest of the world. New findings suggest that a change in the pattern of the westerly winds that encircle Antarctica may be behind this mixed message.

ASK THE EXPERTS :  WHAT EXACTLY IS DEJА VU?

James M. Lampinen of the University of Arkansas explains.