Science News - April 24, 2010

Scientific Observations

“Discovery of this important correlation [of specific gene mutations with breast cancer risk] was a discovery of the handiwork of nature — the natural effect of certain mutations in a particular segment of the human genome…. The isolation of BRCA1 and BRCA2 DNA, while requiring technical skill and considerable labor, was simply the application of techniques well-known to those skilled in the art. The identification of the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene sequences is unquestionably a valuable scientific achievement for which [the biotech company] Myriad deserves recognition, but that is not the same as concluding that it is something for which they are entitled to a patent.”

— U. S. DISTRIC T COURT JUDGE ROBERT SWEE T IN A MARCH 29 RULING STRIKING DOWN CERTAIN PATENTS ON GENES RELATED TO BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCERS

SN Online www.sciencenews.org

DELETED SCENES BLOG Researchers follow up on a study showing how the brains of a drug addict and a junk food addict aren’t all that different. Read “Junk food junkies, round two.”

LIFE
A hyena’s laughter may
convey a serious message
about status among peers.
See “When two hyenas get
the giggles” for story and
audio clips.

Science Past | FROM THE ISSUE OF APRIL 23, 1960
MEAT FLAVOR ISOLATED; MAY MAKE ALGAE EDIBLE —
Two U.S. Department of Agriculture scientists have iso-
lated and freeze-dried substances that give beef and pork
their flavor and aroma. The substances
could add flavor to the unappetizing
algae that may be grown in interplan-
etary manned space ships as food for
astronauts…. The [researchers] used cold
water to extract the flavor substances and
then freeze-dried the extract into a pow-
der. When heated, the powder produced the rich aroma
of roast meat. The studies showed the main meaty flavor
of meats is in their lean parts. But the crucial flavor ele-
ments that give pork and beef their distinctiveness are
found in the fatty portions.

Science Future

May 9 – 14 The 2010 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair is held in San Jose, Calif. See www.societyforscience.org/isef

June 3 – 4 Researchers meet in Chicago to discuss social factors affecting mental health. See www. adler.edu/news/events

June 14 – 17 Mathematicians meet in Austin, Texas, to assess progress in discrete mathematics. See www.siam.org/meetings/dm10

MAT TER & ENERGY It’s not a party trick. Physicists have created conditions in which hot water freezes faster than cold. Read “You really can freeze hot water faster than cold.”

CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: U.S. FEDERAL COURTS, WIKIMEDIA COMMONS; ELI. M. SWANSON/MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY; BETTMANN/CORBIS

EARTH

Tyrannosaurs roamed Down Under, fossils show. See “Tyrannosaurs lived in the southern hemisphere, too.”

For Daily Use

Bottling up anger isn’t always a good thing, but physically putting away a symbol of it just might be. An international team of researchers tested this idea by asking study participants to write down a memory of a bad decision they had made. Half the participants handed their notes to an experimenter and the other half put the descriptions in an envelope before turning them in. Participants then noted how they felt about the decision at that moment. Those who had sealed their memory away felt less negatively than those who handed the paper directly to the experimenter, researchers report in an upcoming Psychological Science.

Science Stats | SIZING UP THE LAST SUPPER

Over centuries, dish size in Last Supper paintings grew relative to head size in the art. This may have re;ected growing meal portions in society, researchers argue.