Say What?
sporozoite \spohr-uh-ZOH-ayt\ n. A mobile,
infective stage of development in certain protozoa,
especially the malarial parasite Plasmodium.
Plasmodium sporozoites make their way from a
mosquito’s gut (left, bursting from gut wall) to the
salivary glands, from there infecting people bitten
by the mosquito. Scientists at the Naval Medical
Research Center in Silver Spring, Md., and their
colleagues have found that irradiated sporozoites
could serve as a base for a malaria vaccine. Irradiated parasites kicked
off an immune response that killed infected cells in volunteers. Though
promising, the vaccine may need to be given intravenously to be effective,
the team reports in the Oct. 28 Science. — Camille M. Carlisle
SN Online
www.sciencenews.org
LIFE
Cycads, often called
“dinosaur plants,” aren’t
so ancient after all. Read
“Cycads not ‘living fossils.’ ”
Science Past | NOVEMBER 18, 1961
NEW EVIDENCE FOUND OF EXPANDING UNIVERSE — The
universe is expanding, then collapsing again after a long
time, evidence from photographs taken with the 200-inch
telescope atop Mt. Palomar indicate.
Dr. William A. Baum of Mt. Wilson and
Palomar Observatories, Pasadena, Calif.,
said that present-day observations are
not compatible with a steady-state uni-
verse in which matter is continuously
being created. The observations were
made on very distant galaxies belonging to clusters of gal-
axies, he told the Royal Astronomical Society meeting in
London. The observations are based on the red-shift of
the light from these galaxies.
Science Future
HUMANS
Ancient cooking pots show
diets shifted slowly from
fishing to agriculture. See
“Early farmers’ fishy menu.”
November 22
Learn cocktail chemistry at the
Houston Museum of Natural
Science. Go to www.hmns.org
December 1
Explore all things that glow at
San Francisco’s Exploratorium.
Ages 18 and up. See www.
exploratorium.edu/afterdark
December 5
Make folded structures in a
workshop at St. Paul’s Science
Museum of Minnesota. See
www.smm.org/librarylaboratory
BODY & BRAIN
Air pollution boosts blood
pressure in at-risk groups.
Read “A particulate threat
to diabetes.”
The (-est)
The largest virus known to science has been discovered
lurking in seawater off the coast of Chile. Dubbed
Megavirus chilensis, the beastie’s genetic blueprint is
6. 5 percent larger than that of Mimivirus, the previous
record holder, researchers led by Jean-Michel Claverie
of Aix-Marseille University in France report in the
Oct. 18 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Megavirus (shown) and Mimivirus look alike, both bear-
ing hairlike extensions and a five-
pronged gate through which the
viruses expel genetic material into
a host. The two big viruses appear
to have many proteins and genes
in common, similarities that sug-
gest a shared, much more complex
ancestor. — Rachel Ehrenberg
The Komodo dragon is known as a fearsome predator, but new
data reveal that its bite is less powerful than a human’s. Instead,
researchers say, the reptile relies on its muscular body to help it
rip ;esh apart. SOURCE: D. D’AMORE E T AL/PLOS ONE 2011
Science Stats | NAST Y BITE
105
Bite force of various animals
104
Force (Newtons)
103
102
Humans
Komodo dragons
Reptiles
Other vertebrates
10
0
0
10
ON THE SCENE BLOG
The Drake Equation for
tallying alien life turns 50.
See “The Drake Equation:
All in the family,” with a
link for SN subscribers to a
Q&A with Frank Drake.
105 106
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: LONDON SCHOOL OF HYGIENE & TROPICAL MEDICINE/PHOTO RESEARCHERS, INC.; ANDERS FISCHER; C. ABERGEL, IGS-CNRS
104 103 102
Mass (grams)
