Issue for the week of July 14th, 2012

After 100 years, energetic space particles continue to pose a perplexing mystery (p. 16)

Scientists reinvent agents of illness to become allies in fight against disease (p. 22)

Injecting amyloid-beta into mice may induce misfolding of native amyloid-beta molecules, leading to the buildup associated with the neuron-killing disease. (p. 5)

Held back for months by a U.S. government biosafety board, the research pinpoints five mutations that render the potent H5N1 virus transmissible through air. (p. 8)

Lightweight insects can ride a water droplet, as long as they separate from it before hitting the ground. (p. 9)

After an existence plagued by predatory spiders, the insects pass into oblivion, leaving a legacy of impoverished soil. (p. 9)

A re-evaluation of the Kepler mission?s data suggests one in three hot giant orbs it discovered is actually another kind of object. (p. 10)

The Andromeda galaxy is destined to slam directly into ours, new observations from the Hubble Space Telescope show. (p. 10)

A star's oversized debris ring challenges theories of planet formation. (p. 11)

Highlights from the 220th AAS meeting held June 10-14 in Anchorage, Alaska. (p. 11)

Indonesian volcano may be the culprit in the biggest eruption of the last seven millennia. (p. 12)

Prehistoric eruptions gave off huge amounts of a gas that erodes the UV-blocking atmospheric layer. (p. 12)

Granular materials give off a zap just before slipping, a finding with potential implications for sensing the starts of silo disasters or earthquakes. (p. 13)

Among regular consumers of sugar-free soft drinks, networks that equate sweet flavors with energy intake may grow numb to the real stuff. (p. 14)

Patients are deficient in four key lipids that neutralize immune cells linked to inflammation and nerve damage. (p. 14)

Insight into how some schizophrenia drugs work may explain why compounds that build up in the brain can take weeks to provide relief. (p. 15)

(p. 15)

Review by Tina Hesman Saey (p. 28)

Review by Laura Sanders (p. 28)

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(p. 4)

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(p. 30)

Bringing science to Buddhist monks (p. 32)

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/issue/id/341878/title/Issue_for_the_week_of_July_14th,_2012

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