Bcells Gone Wrong
B lymphocytes normally respond only to foreign substances, or antigens, such as bacteria. But in people with lupus the cells react to the body's own molecules, generating antibodies that bind to those self-antigens and then accumulate in tissues. There the antibody-antigen complexes lead to tissue damage. Several therapies under study for lupus aim to delete B cells or to block one or another of the molecular interactions that lead to antibody production and tissue injury. Red arrows in the...
Simulated Smallpox Attacks
EpiSims animations depict simulated outbreaks and the effects of official interventions. In the still frames below, vertical lines indicate the number of infected people present at a location, and color shows the percentage of them who are contagious. In both scenarios shown, smallpox is released at a university in central Portland, but the attack is not detected until victims start experiencing symptoms 10 days later. The left-hand images show no public health response as a baseline. In the...
Dreams
the father of today's AC electrical system and other key inventions, often failed to bring his visionary ideas to real-world fruition When members of the Chicago Commercial Club arrived to hear a lecture by the famed electrical inventor Nikola Tesla on May 13, 1899, they were startled by the sight of an artificial lake sitting in the middle of the auditorium. Everyone knew that Tesla the man who had devised the alternating-current AC system that brought electricity into people's homes and...
Local Social Network
A social network emerges by drawing lines to represent connections within the household a and from the household members to their direct contacts b . Connecting those individuals to their own circle of contacts c and those to the next generation of contacts d enlarges the network. Long-distance connections show contacts who also know each other. Yet no one in this network has more than 15 direct contacts, meaning none is a highly connected hub of society. One insight from this work is that so...
By Patricia D Moehlman
After admiring equids for thousands of years, humans may be driving the last populations of wild zebra, asses and horses to extinction. SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN Volume 292 Number 3 Tsunami relief does not replace development. The tsunami's human and geophysical scars. Cold fusion is still lukewarm. Personalized nutrition. 34 A buoyant alternative to satellites. How do astronauts stay clean By the Numbers The gay population. 94 Data Points Terrorism and civil rights. He shoots, he scores...
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My Inventions The Autobiography of Nikola Tesla. Edited by Ben Johnston. Originally published in Electrical Experimenter in 1919. Reprinted by Hart Brothers, Williston, Vt., 1982. The Inventions, Researches, and Writings of Nikola Tesla. Thomas Commerford Martin. Originally published in 1893. Reprinted by Barnes amp Noble, 1995. Prodigal Genius The Life of Nikola Tesla. John J. O'Neill. Originally published by Ives Washburn, New York, 1944. Reprinted by Kessinger Publishing Company, 1996....
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neuraminidase. In our simulations, we will be able to use neuraminidase inhibitors as both treatment and prophylaxis. A vaccine against H5N1 has been developed and recently began clinical trials but because the vaccine is not yet proven or available, we will focus our simulations on seeing whether the antiviral drugs together with traditional public health measures might stop an epidemic. Preliminary results announced in late February are reported at www.sciam. com. In April, we will complete...
The Last Wild Equids
Equus ferus przewalskii Takhi EXTINCT IN THE WILD Reintroduction site Equus ferus przewalskii Takhi EXTINCT IN THE WILD Reintroduction site Equus burchellii Plains zebra LEAST CONCERN ONLY SIX SPECIES of equids remain in the wild three asses and three zebra. A seventh species Przewalski's horse, or takhi is extinct in the wild, but programs are well under way to reintroduce these animals, which have been preserved in zoos and parks, to their native habitat in Mongolia. Colored areas indicate...
A New Analysis Weighs In On Where Hippos Come From By Kate Wong
It might look docile lolling among the water lilies, but bad-tempered and surprisingly swift on terra firma, the hippopotamus has a deservedly fearsome public image in its African homeland. It also has a formidable reputation among evolutionary biologists the beast has defied attempts to pinpoint its origin for nearly two centuries. To that end, recent findings may finally put the hippo in its place. With its gaping maw, hairless body and A PLACE FOR HIPPOS Evolutionary biologists think they...
Analyzing Metabolism For Personalized Nutrition By Gunjan Sinha
No single diet works for everyone. Some people can slurp cabbage soup for a week and lose only a few ounces, while others on the same spartan regimen lose 10 pounds. But what if you could measure your metabolism and get a prescription for a customized diet Metabonomics may do just that. It is one of the latest offshoots of the -omics revolution after genomics genes and proteomics proteins . With the understanding that some diseases such as obesity COMFORT FOOD In a new field called...