Better Diagnosis
How can you tell if a child has attention deficit disorder? The diagnosis traditionally has been a bit of a guessing game. But a new study by Stanford neuroscientists may lead to an objective diagnosis of this common developmental disorder. Psychologist John Gabrieli and his colleagues used a new technique called functional magnetic resonance imaging to "see" brain activity. They discovered that the areas of the brain called basal ganglia are less active in children with the disorder.
From Mars, with Love
Tiny microbes blasted off from Mars and eventually made their way to Earth, seeding our planet with life. That's the theory advanced in November in a paper by Norman H. Sleep, professor of geophysics. The microbes, which survived below the surface of the red planet, could have piggy-backed on rocks and debris shot into space when meteors pummeled Mars about 4 billion years ago.
Something's Fishy
Fish farms add to the world's food supply and conserve ocean resources, right? Wrong, according to a report by Harold Mooney, professor of environmental biology, and economist Rosamond Naylor, a fellow and senior researcher at the Institute for International Studies. They found that it takes almost three pounds of wild-caught fish (used as feed) to grow one pound of commercially farmed salmon. Moreover, the discharge from shrimp and salmon farming pollutes coastal waters around the world.
Wanted
Researchers at the Stanford Sleep Disorders Clinic were looking for insomniacs between 50 and 60 to try out special pillows designed to improve sleep. Doctors at Stanford and the Palo Alto VA Hospital were seeking men and women who fear getting behind the wheel for a study on driving phobias.
