Life Cancer drug prevents premature birth A CANCER drug might help prevent premature birth, for which there is no safe and effective treatment at present. It is the main cause of death in babies. During pregnancy, the hormone hCG keeps the uterus relaxed. Towards the end, the number of receptors that respond to hCG falls, allowing contractions to begin. But sometimes … 51¶¯Âþ
Earth Get off the fence over global warming CLIMATE change is not a scientific issue. No, really, I'm serious. It is far more important than that. It forces us to make fundamental choices about our most basic belief systems. If policy-makers and the public could forget about the science, we'd have a much better chance of averting this looming catastrophe before it's too … Opinion
Histories: The big scribble In the 1950s, the pace of change was astonishing. Pundits agreed that "immense progress" was being made: atomic energy, skyscrapers, electronic machines, potentially even space travel. Yet technological advance had its downside, and it looked as if penmanship was one of its early victims. Critics blamed the typewriter and the telephone, and forecast worse to … Features
Life Evolution of the Insects by David Grimaldi and Michael S Engel Their 400-million-year history of diversification has produced well over 900,000 living and named insect species, plus countless unnamed ones. Their evolution is a huge success story out of which Grimaldi and Engel, two entomologists, have produced a really excellent, beautifully illustrated account that will enthral both student and general reader. They have gone to town … Books & Arts
Feedback Promiscuous patenting SWEEPING liberalisation of the US patent laws is having some unexpected effects. Anyone with several hundred dollars spare to pay in official filing fees to the US Patent Office in Alexandria, Virginia, can now file for patent on more or less anything, it seems. Thus Colleen Giles and La'Mont Carmen of Columbus, Ohio, … Regulars