Science News - December 6, 2008

“Tests have shown that, when a baby is lowered face down into warm water with a parental hand under his tummy, he shows no sign of panic but holds his breath automatically and floats happily in the water with his eyes fully open, gazing at the underwater scene. If, very gently, the supporting hand is removed, the baby starts making swimming movements with his limbs and sets off in the water. So, although a newborn baby cannot move himself from place to place in the air, once he is allowed to float under the water he suddenly becomes remarkably mobile.… He can even swim before he can crawl.” DESMOND MORRIS, WRITING IN HIS NEW BOOK AMAZING BABY, RELEASED IN SEPTEMBER

Using preserved hair samples (shown), researchers have sequenced about

70 percent of the woolly
mammoth’s nuclear
genome. The findings pro-
vide clues to when the last
common ancestor of the
ancient animal and today’s
elephants lived. Read more
in “Mammoth genome
approaching completion.”

Science Past | DECEMBER 6, 1958

FIND CELL “POWER PLAN TS” — Fragments of mitochondria, microscopic “islands” in the cell protoplasm surrounding the nucleus, are helping scientists find out how a cell gets its energy to carry on vital life processes. All energy comes from combustion of foodstuffs, but exactly how the living cell does absorb, store and release energy is unknown. Now, Dr. Albert L. Lehninger of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine has reported, the mitochondrion membrane has been taken apart and analyzed. It has been found to play an essential role in the exchange of electrons needed for energy storage and release. Of all the parts of the cell, Dr. Lehninger pointed out, only the mitochondrion [mem-brane] is known to play a part in combustion.

For Daily Use

Turning down the thermostat on hot-water heaters may be good for the environment and the electricity bill, but it may not be good for your health. The 140º Fahrenheit standard kills potentially lethal waterborne organisms, including the ones responsible for Legionnaires’ disease (shown) and nontuberculous mycobacterial infections. These organisms breed easily around 120ºF, the temperature recommended for prolonging a water heater’s life. Read “The case for very hot water” under Science & the Public at www.sciencenews.org.

January 3, 2009 The Year of Science kicks off with a launch event in Boston. Visit www.yearofscience2009.org

January 28, 2009 The STFC holds a workshop in London on commercial applications of satellite data. Visit www.scitech.ac.uk/KE/Events/ Wrks/ SatData.aspx

March 18, 2009 The National Science Education Leadership Forum will be held in New Orleans. Visit www. nsrconline.org

ATOM & COSMOS
NASA’s Phoenix Mars
Lander has tasted its last
morsel of the Red Planet’s
soil and viewed its last
Martian landscape.
With shorter days and
an inopportune dust
storm, the lander can’t
get the solar power it
needs to function. Read
more in “NASA’s Phoenix
Mars Lander stops
communicating.”