Brief Points, May 2006

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▪ Sleep on it: subjects pondering a complex decision and then distracted by puzzles made more satisfying choices than those who deliberated continuously. Evidently, the unconscious mind is better at plowing through information without bias.

Science, February 17

▪ One concern about carbon nanotubes has been their toxicity—they can build up inside the body and damage organs. Special chemical modifications of the tube surface, however, enabled the nanotubes to be excreted intact in urine.

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Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA, February 28

▪ First, the good news: treating mildly elevated blood pressure with drugs moderately cut the risk of hypertension later, perhaps by interfering with vascular processes that ultimately boost pressure.

New England Journal of Medicine online, March 14

▪ Now, the bad: reducing blood levels of homocysteine, an amino acid thought to increase the likelihood of cardio vascular disease, by taking B vitamins failed to prevent heart attacks and stroke in high-risk patients.

New England Journal of Medicine online, March 12

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