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5 Cases of Polio in Amish Group Raise New Fears
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. - Polio was pronounced dead in the Western Hemisphere years ago, after one of the most successful public health campaigns in history. But now it is stealing through a tiny Amish community here in central Minnesota, spreading from an 8-month-old girl to four children on two neighboring farms.
So far, no one has been crippled by the disease; only 1 in 200 cases of polio results in paralysis. But worried public health officials say it may be only a matter of time.
The story of how polio came to this dairy farming community of 24 families, with 19th-century ways that include a deep-rooted suspicion of vaccination, is both a medical whodunit and a cautionary tale, suggesting that eradicating polio may prove far harder than anyone thought, even in the developed world.
( Read More )
Hazard in Hunt for New Flu: Looking for Bugs in All the Wrong Places
By GINA KOLATA, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
Science moves in mysterious ways, and sometimes what seems like the end of the story is really just the beginning. Or, at least, that is what some researchers are thinking as they scratch their heads over the weird genetic sequence of the 1918 flu virus.
Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, a molecular pathologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Technology who led the research team that reconstructed the long-extinct virus, said that a few things seemed clear.
The 1918 virus appears to be a bird flu virus. But if it is from a bird, it is not a bird anyone has studied before. It is not like the A(H5N1) strain of bird flus in Asia, which has sickened at least 116 people, and killed 60. It is not like the influenza viruses that infect fowl in North America.
Yet many researchers believe that the 1918 virus, which caused the worst infectious disease epidemic in human history, is a bird flu virus. And if so, it is the only one that has ever been known to cause a human pandemic.
( Read More )
Findings: All Together Now: Synchrony Explains Swaying
By KENNETH CHANG, The New York Times November 8, 2005
What do pedestrians, some species of fireflies and pendulum clocks have in common? Given half a chance, they act in unison, exhibiting what scientists call synchrony. And that is what lay behind the unexpected swaying of the Millennium Bridge in London five years ago, according to a new study.
( Read More )
Essay: Science and Religion Share Fascination in Things Unseen
By LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
Most of the current controversies associated with science revolve around the vastly different reactions people both within the scientific community and outside it have, not to the strange features of the universe that we can observe for ourselves, but rather to those features we cannot observe.
In my own field of physics, theorists hotly debate the possible existence of an underlying mathematical beauty associated with a host of new dimensions that may or may not exist in nature.
School boards, legislatures and evangelists hotly debate the possible existence of an underlying purpose to nature that similarly may or may not exist.
It seems that humans are hard-wired to yearn for new realms well beyond the reach of our senses into which we can escape, if only with our minds. It is possible that we need to rely on such possibilities or the world of our experience would become intolerable.
( Read More )
Really? The Claim: Antibacterial Soap Works Better Than Regular Soap
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
THE FACTS What happened to plain old soap?
Studies show that more than 70 percent of liquid hand soaps sold are now labeled antibacterial, and Americans seem increasingly willing to pay a premium for them.
But the truth is that most consumers may not always be getting what they think they are. Over the years, studies have repeatedly shown that antibacterial soaps are no better than plain old soap and water.
( Read More )
Copernicus's Grave Is Reported Found
By REUTERS, The New York Times, November 6, 2005
WARSAW, Nov. 5 (Reuters) - Polish archaeologists say they are all but certain they have located the skeletal remains of Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer and cleric whose theory that the planets revolved around the Sun revolutionized astronomy.
( Read More )
When Cleaner Air Is a Biblical Obligation
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY, The New York Times, November 7, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 - In their long and frustrated efforts pushing Congress to pass legislation on global warming, environmentalists are gaining a new ally.
With increasing vigor, evangelical groups that are part of the base of conservative support for leading Republicans are campaigning for laws that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which scientists have linked with global warming.
In the latest effort, the National Association of Evangelicals, a nonprofit organization that includes 45,000 churches serving 30 million people across the country, is circulating among its leaders the draft of a policy statement that would encourage lawmakers to pass legislation creating mandatory controls for carbon emissions.
Environmentalists rely on empirical evidence as their rationale for Congressional action, and many evangelicals further believe that protecting the planet from human activities that cause global warming is a values issue that fulfills Biblical teachings asking humans to be good stewards of the earth.
"Genesis 2:15," said Richard Cizik, the association's vice president for governmental affairs, citing a passage that serves as the justification for the effort: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."
( Read More )
By GARDINER HARRIS, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
LONG PRAIRIE, Minn. - Polio was pronounced dead in the Western Hemisphere years ago, after one of the most successful public health campaigns in history. But now it is stealing through a tiny Amish community here in central Minnesota, spreading from an 8-month-old girl to four children on two neighboring farms.
So far, no one has been crippled by the disease; only 1 in 200 cases of polio results in paralysis. But worried public health officials say it may be only a matter of time.
The story of how polio came to this dairy farming community of 24 families, with 19th-century ways that include a deep-rooted suspicion of vaccination, is both a medical whodunit and a cautionary tale, suggesting that eradicating polio may prove far harder than anyone thought, even in the developed world.
( Read More )
Hazard in Hunt for New Flu: Looking for Bugs in All the Wrong Places
By GINA KOLATA, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
Science moves in mysterious ways, and sometimes what seems like the end of the story is really just the beginning. Or, at least, that is what some researchers are thinking as they scratch their heads over the weird genetic sequence of the 1918 flu virus.
Dr. Jeffery Taubenberger, a molecular pathologist at the Armed Forces Institute of Technology who led the research team that reconstructed the long-extinct virus, said that a few things seemed clear.
The 1918 virus appears to be a bird flu virus. But if it is from a bird, it is not a bird anyone has studied before. It is not like the A(H5N1) strain of bird flus in Asia, which has sickened at least 116 people, and killed 60. It is not like the influenza viruses that infect fowl in North America.
Yet many researchers believe that the 1918 virus, which caused the worst infectious disease epidemic in human history, is a bird flu virus. And if so, it is the only one that has ever been known to cause a human pandemic.
( Read More )
Findings: All Together Now: Synchrony Explains Swaying
By KENNETH CHANG, The New York Times November 8, 2005
What do pedestrians, some species of fireflies and pendulum clocks have in common? Given half a chance, they act in unison, exhibiting what scientists call synchrony. And that is what lay behind the unexpected swaying of the Millennium Bridge in London five years ago, according to a new study.
( Read More )
Essay: Science and Religion Share Fascination in Things Unseen
By LAWRENCE M. KRAUSS, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
Most of the current controversies associated with science revolve around the vastly different reactions people both within the scientific community and outside it have, not to the strange features of the universe that we can observe for ourselves, but rather to those features we cannot observe.
In my own field of physics, theorists hotly debate the possible existence of an underlying mathematical beauty associated with a host of new dimensions that may or may not exist in nature.
School boards, legislatures and evangelists hotly debate the possible existence of an underlying purpose to nature that similarly may or may not exist.
It seems that humans are hard-wired to yearn for new realms well beyond the reach of our senses into which we can escape, if only with our minds. It is possible that we need to rely on such possibilities or the world of our experience would become intolerable.
( Read More )
Really? The Claim: Antibacterial Soap Works Better Than Regular Soap
By ANAHAD O'CONNOR, The New York Times, November 8, 2005
THE FACTS What happened to plain old soap?
Studies show that more than 70 percent of liquid hand soaps sold are now labeled antibacterial, and Americans seem increasingly willing to pay a premium for them.
But the truth is that most consumers may not always be getting what they think they are. Over the years, studies have repeatedly shown that antibacterial soaps are no better than plain old soap and water.
( Read More )
Copernicus's Grave Is Reported Found
By REUTERS, The New York Times, November 6, 2005
WARSAW, Nov. 5 (Reuters) - Polish archaeologists say they are all but certain they have located the skeletal remains of Copernicus, the 16th-century astronomer and cleric whose theory that the planets revolved around the Sun revolutionized astronomy.
( Read More )
When Cleaner Air Is a Biblical Obligation
By MICHAEL JANOFSKY, The New York Times, November 7, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6 - In their long and frustrated efforts pushing Congress to pass legislation on global warming, environmentalists are gaining a new ally.
With increasing vigor, evangelical groups that are part of the base of conservative support for leading Republicans are campaigning for laws that would reduce carbon dioxide emissions, which scientists have linked with global warming.
In the latest effort, the National Association of Evangelicals, a nonprofit organization that includes 45,000 churches serving 30 million people across the country, is circulating among its leaders the draft of a policy statement that would encourage lawmakers to pass legislation creating mandatory controls for carbon emissions.
Environmentalists rely on empirical evidence as their rationale for Congressional action, and many evangelicals further believe that protecting the planet from human activities that cause global warming is a values issue that fulfills Biblical teachings asking humans to be good stewards of the earth.
"Genesis 2:15," said Richard Cizik, the association's vice president for governmental affairs, citing a passage that serves as the justification for the effort: "The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it."
( Read More )
