From the Boston Globe:
EUREKA MOMENTS
Watermelon and prostate cancer
By Stephen Reucroft and John Swain, 7/23/2002
Nothing could be better for a prostate on a hot summer day than a nice
piece of cold
watermelon. Beverly A. Celvidence and Alison J. Edwards of the US
Department of
Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service Laboratory in Beltsville,
Md., have found that
the red part of watermelon can have 40 percent more lycopene in it than
the equivalent
weight of cooked tomatoes. Lycopene is a red pigment related to carotene
that seems to
reduce the odds of men getting prostate cancer, so it looks like this is
just one more
reason to enjoy this summer treat!
ref.: Science News, July 13, 2002.
Artificial
retina update
The brain of a 74-year-old man with an implanted electronic retina is
starting to be able
to use the signals it generates in order to see. Mark Humayan of the
University of
Southern California's Doheny Retina Institute and his colleagues report
that the man, who
has 16 electrodes next to retinal cells in the back of his eye, is now
able to detect
whether or not objects are in his field of view, and determine the
location of a person in
the room. Signals to the electrodes are sent by radio from an external
camera, and, while
the system is far from perfect, it does represent a pretty dramatic
improvement over not
being able to see at all, and may herald much more amazing results in the
years to come.
ref.: Discover, August 2002.
Earthshine and other worlds
Earthshine - light reflected from the Earth in analogy with moonshine,
which is light
reflected from the moon - may help astronomers find distant earthlike
planets. Neville
Woolf of the University of Arizona and his colleagues have shown that
this reflected light
carries useful information about the atmosphere, terrain and life on
Earth. Though the
signals are difficult to study, modern telescopes may well be sensitive
enough to use
reflected light from distant planets not only to detect their presence,
but to learn about
what they're like. So far, more than 100 extrasolar planets have been
identified and the
hope now is that this technique may lead to the discovery and better
understanding of
many more.
ref.: Astrophysical Journal, July 20, 2002.
Happiness
and semen
Semen may have a cheering, antidepressant effect. Gordon Gallup of the
State University
of New York and his colleagues have shown that women whose sexual
partners never use
condoms were less likely to be depressed than those who did, with a
gradual diminishing
of the cheering effect with greater condom use. The researchers stated
that their
results cannot be explained by related factors like the use of oral
contraceptives, and
there is a possibility that the mechanism involved may be linked to the
presence of
mood-altering hormones in semen. The researchers add that they are not
advocating
unsafe sex practices, but they could be onto an interesting piece of
biochemistry.
ref.: New Scientist, June 29, 2002, and Archives of Sexual Behavior (to
appear).
Cellphone
worries again
New concerns about cellphone safety have been raised with the discovery
that just an
hour's dose of cellphone radiation can affect many proteins in cultured
human cells, and
can also make the cells shrink in size. Dariusz Leszczynski of the
Radiation and Nuclear
Safety Authority in Helsinki reported the work at a Bioelectromagnetic
Society meeting in
Quebec, and the research is supported in various ways by numerous other
studies that
also suggest that microwaves and radiowaves can have effects other than
those that
they cause by simple heating. While it's not clear how this translates
into possible health
risks, it's probably not a bad idea to keep an eye open for future
studies that are bound
to follow.
ref.: New Scientist, June 29, 2002.
Stephen Reucroft and John Swain are experimental particle physicists who
teach at
Northeastern University.
This story ran on page C2 of the Boston Globe on 7/23/2002.
� Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.
--Ronn! :)
I always knew that I would see the first man on the Moon.
I never dreamed that I would see the last.
--Dr. Jerry Pournelle
