TARGETING TOBACCO: Anti-smoking advocates have long fought tobacco advertising. But a new study by researchers at Stanford and Santa Clara University suggests that public health advocates should pay more attention to promotion in mom-and-pop stores. The researchers found that 62.4 percent of small retailers surveyed in Santa Clara County received money from companies for giving premium shelf space to tobacco products. Only 16.5 percent received similar allowances from soft drink manufacturers.
THE ROOT OF RETT'S: Imagine seeing a baby girl develop normally at first and then watching her lose the ability to speak, walk and crawl. Researchers at Stanford and Baylor College of Medicine in Houston have isolated the gene for Rett's syndrome, a brain disorder that causes these symptoms in one in every 10,000 to 15,000 girls. One of the first payoffs from the discovery will be a genetic test to permit early diagnosis.
BETTER BLOOD FLOW: In the first test of the procedure in North America, Stanford physicians used a new technique to restore blood flow to a patient's leg. By mixing a special solution with the patient's blood and then slowly reinfusing it into oxygen-starved tissues, doctors prevented damage that results when blood flow is restored too suddenly. The procedure could benefit patients who develop clotting problems that often lead to amputation.
BORROWED MAGMA: Italy's Mount Etna, Europe's tallest active volcano, has long puzzled scientists. Unlike most volcanoes, it doesn't sit on top of one plate sliding under another, and its lava differs from other volcanoes. Now geophysics professor Amos Nur theorizes that Etna's flow comes from a "slab rollback" -- a chunk of one plate that broke off long ago. Instead of drawing its magma from directly below, it sucks the molten rock from under a nearby plate.
