“When we mention women in science and engineering,
it is often about the diminishing numbers, the lower
pay, the many difficulties for women, and the personal
sacrifices that women necessarily make. Perhaps, by
focusing on the negatives, we are unwittingly persuading
young women that science and engineering may not be
the right careers for them. Why bother to join this
profession? There are many rewards … [such as] the freedom to be curious….
For women who can juggle the demands of a profession and a family, there
are special rewards of motherhood. As a young investigator … told me, ‘many
female colleagues ... chose not to have children to be competitive. Having
children is the best thing that I have done. I am more effective at work and
integrate my skill and knowledge into the society through my involvement in
the school.’ … There is nothing to lose and everything to gain.” —CALTECH
MICROBIOLOGIST AND AAAS PRESIDENT ALICE HUANG, IN HER FEB. 18 EDITORIAL IN SCIENCE
SN Online
www.sciencenews.org
HUMANS
Intoxicated witnesses
remember the same number of details as sober ones.
Find this story and more in
“News in Brief: Humans.”
LIFE
Weather radar may help
researchers watch creatures’ aerial behaviors (bats
below). Read “Biologists go
bats for storm-watch data.”
Science Past | FROM THE ISSUE OF MARCH 25, 1961
CU T-OFF LIVER KEP T ALIVE — Three surgeons have com-
pletely isolated the liver from dogs, and with heart-lung
machines have kept the animals and their livers alive for
as long as eight hours. They were able
to replant the livers in place, rejoin the
numerous blood vessel connections and
restore the animals to health.… The pur-
pose of the experiments was to determine
whether it might be feasible to perform
a much simpler operation — perfusion of
the liver without removing it — on human beings. Without
physically removing the liver, the organ might be cut off
from the rest of the body and blood loaded with anticancer
drugs could be pumped through the isolated liver without
exposing the rest of the system to the toxic effects.
Science Future
March 28
Discuss nanotechnology at a
Seattle Science on Tap event.
See http://scienceontap.org
April 2–24
In Orange County, Calif., see
bouncing bubbles, smoking
bubbles and more at Discovery
Science Center’s Bubblefest.
Go to www.discoverycube.org
A mosquito-infecting
fungus could kill malaria
parasites without pesticides. See “Lab-engineered
organism fights malaria.”
April 7
Chemists make molecular magic
at the Museum of Life and Science in Durham, N.C. See www.
ncmls.org/visit/events
GENES & CELLS
Geneticists find that real
estate matters: Location,
location, location may
encourage DNA variants
that are helpful in certain climates. Read “Some
genes like it hot.”
Science Stats | WHAT’S MINE IS MINE
The number of U.S. patents granted to both domestic and foreign inventors rose from
1990 to 2008, with a 74 percent rise in U.S. inventor patents and a 1,270 percent
rise in those from select Asian nations, including China and India. Foreign inventors
seek U.S. patent protection because of the large, open nature of the U.S. market.
U.S. patents granted, by country/region of inventor, 1990–2008
90
82.29
80
70
Thousands
60
50
47.39
40
30
20
15.07
10
1. 10
0
SOURCE: KEY SCIENCE
AND ENGINEERING INDICATORS: 2010 DIGES T
*“Other Asia” is China,
India, Indonesia, South
Korea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand
and Vietnam.
2008
United States
Japan
EU- 27
Other Asia*
Rest of world
The (-est)
Researchers have drilled the deepest ice core
yet obtained by U. S. teams, reaching a depth of
3,331 meters (about 10,925 feet) on January 28
in West Antarctica. The scientists think that
depth is just above the bed material below,
but chose not to aim deeper in case the drill
hit a water layer. By boring into the region’s
ice sheet, the researchers hope to tap into a
climate record of the planet’s last 100,000
years. The project is part of an effort to dig
up detailed atmospheric carbon dioxide
measurements for the last glacial period,
for comparison with cores from Greenland.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: COURTESY OF ALICE HUANG; NMQ
www.sciencenews.org
