Новости науки и техники в "Scientific American"

NEW DRUG COULD BOTH DETECT AND DEFEND AGAINST ANTHRAX

The anthrax attacks of last fall rattled an already shaken nation and presented public health officials with two weighty problems: detecting spores of the deadly bacterium, and treating exposed and infected individuals. Luckily, the strain that was disseminated yielded to standard drugs. Had it been resistant, the outcome might have been far worse. Scientists have thus been searching fervently for better ways to identify and tackle anthrax. A new antibiotic could help on both fronts.

SOARING CITY SLICKERS

The bald eagle, a bird that symbolizes North America's wide-open spaces and vanishing unspoiled wilderness, is now the newest avian resident of New York City. In June 2002, the city’s Parks Department teamed up with the Earth Conservation Corps to transplant four eaglets to a tree house on the northern tip of Manhattan in the hopes that, after the birds are released, they will one day return to nest in the city.

BOOKSTORE: BLACK HOLES AND TIME WARPS: EINSTEIN'S OUTRAGEOUS LEGACY by Kip S. Thorne

An entertaining look at the principles controlling the universe and why physicists believe what they believe. Thorne, currently the Professor of Theoretical Physics at Cal-Tech, is eager to discuss the concepts he helped develop as an active participant in the quest for answers in modern physics.

STILL NO SIGNAL FROM MISSING COMET-HUNTER CONTOUR

Scientists in NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) continue to monitor the skies for signs of the missing $159-million CONTOUR spacecraft. But with still no communication from the comet-hunting probe, it is looking less and less likely that the mission can be saved.

STUDY FINDS NO EVIDENCE OF GINKGO'S PURPORTED COGNITIVE BENEFITS

You can find it at almost any drugstore, supermarket or corner bodega, not mention on the Internet. But does ginkgo biloba actually sharpen the minds of healthy adults, as manufacturers suggest? Consumers seem to think so: sales of the dietary supplement in 1998 amounted to about $310 million in the U.S. alone. New findings indicate that such claims do not hold up under scientific scrutiny, however.

SALTY SEA SPRAY SCRUBS AIR CLEAN

The salty spray emanating from the ocean acts as an atmospheric cleaner, scientists say. The idea that large salt particles help clouds form over the ocean was proposed decades ago, but studies conducted in the early 1970s suggested that they did not have a major effect on precipitation levels. Now new research suggests that salt particles do indeed encourage rain that can rid the air above of dust and other pollutants.

ASK THE EXPERTS: HOW DO REWRITEABLE CDs WORK?

Chad R. Sandstrom of Imation Corporation and Gordon Rudd of Clover Systems explain.