Brief Points, May 2005

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▪ Low doses of aspirin help to prevent heart attacks in men but, for unknown reasons, not in women. The therapy lowers the risk of stroke for women, however.

New England Journal of Medicine, March 31

▪ In sonoluminescence, sound waves fired at a fluid can generate superhot flashes inside collapsing bubbles. New experiments with sulfuric acid bubbles find that the temperature hits about 20,000 degrees Celsius—four times hotter than the sun's surface.

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Nature, March 3

▪ Scientists sequencing the genomes of Drosophila fruit flies unwittingly also sequenced three unknown species of Wolbachia bacteria, which had dwelled inside the flies.

Genome Biology, February 22

▪ Mutations in the complement factor H gene may boost the risk of age-related macular degeneration threefold to sevenfold. The gene helps to regulate inflammation in the immune system, suggesting that the blinding disease could be the result of a misdirected immune attack.

Science Express, March 10

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