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A recent study investigating causes of the common cold affirms that most colds are caused by viruses, but only half are a result of infection with the rhinovirus.

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The pheromone trail laid down by an Aphaenogaster rudis ant -- to help the ant and its recruited nest mates find their way back to prey they plan to kill -- contains a chemical now undergoing clinical trials as a possible Alzheimer's disease treatment, Cornell University chemists report in the January 1998 issue of the German journal Naturwissenschaften.

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Low asthma hospitalization rates for Northern New England children may offer lessons for managing asthma that can benefit others nationwide, Dartmouth Medical School study finds.

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Scientists have advanced standard PCR DNA analysis to enable them to identify different strains of pathogens from tiny, and in some cases many-years-old, tissue samples, providing a new tool for identifying sources of outbreaks.

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-- Individuals who take low-dose aspirin to stave off repeat heart attacks or strokes should substitute a higher booster dose twice a month to increase the drug's effectiveness, say researchers today reporting in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.

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Viper snakes can kill, but a protein in their venom prevents the spread of tumors in laboratory mice, and a molecular 'portrait' now under development may explain why, according to a University of Delaware scientist profiled in the new issue of Cardiology Today, mailed Feb. 4.

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"Throughout U.S. history, when ever such affairs have surfaced, Democrats have been the alleged malefactors," says Rebecca B. Edwards, Ph.D., associate professor of history at Vassar College. "This has less to do with the individuals involved than with the larger patterns of partisan beliefs."

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The mass media's depiction of female prisoners as family-centered and easily reformed is driving the national concern over the Karla Faye Tucker case, according to John Sloop, an expert in television critism and mass media theory at Vanderbilt University.

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Four tips: * An easy "green" path to methanol production * Nuclear rocket for a quick boost to Mars * ACE measures upstream solar flow * Ulysses provides unique look at sun

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A coalition representing 52,000 scientists released a comprehensive analysis of federally-funded biomedical research programs and their funding. The report finds that "the dramatic discoveries of the last two decades have given researchers new tools and insightsand have created exciting new opportunities for progress."

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WASHINGTON, D.C., January 30, 1998 At midnight tomorrow U.S. DOE will break its legal obligation to manage the used fuel from the nation's commercial nuclear power plants. The defauft will subject United States' taxpayers to as much as $56 billion in liabilities.

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If Paul Simon had been a social scientist instead of a song writer he might have stopped counting those "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover" and focused on finding ways to keep his lover around. The result might have been like "The Love Test," a new book filled with 32 romance and relationship-oriented quizzes that has been compiled by two University of Washington sociologists.

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Solvay Pharmaceuticals, Inc. announced today that the United States District Cournt rulled that Menogen and Menogen H.S. (Helf Strength) Tablets have not been shown to be bioequivalent to Solvay Pharmaceuticals' Estratest (R) (Esterified Estrogrens and Methyltestosterone) and Estratest (R) (Helf Strength) Tablets.

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NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Where have all the "flower children" gone and how have they fared?

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A Vanderbilt University education professor who has studied the impact of class size on students' learning says a comprehensive plan to improve skills would be a better investment of the nation's resources.

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New research relates executions to parental models of care and compassion, says a psychology professor at The University of Arizona in Tucson. Following the release earlier this week of a study on clemency issues surrounding capital murder cases, Professor Gary Schwartz says he has found evidence that correlates public willingness to execute certain condemned prisoners as a function of personal and parental justice and compassion.

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Few scientists are confident of the media's ability to cover science accurately, while most reporters are critical of scientists' ability to describe their work in plain English, according to a yearlong study by a noted journalist and senior space scientist.

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Small religious non-profit organizations face serious challenges in raising and managing money for their programs, two studies by DePaul University professors have found. Roadblocks include philanthropy officers who misunderstand the organizations' eligibility for grants and a lack of financial management expertise among religious non-profit managers, according to the studies.

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In the last 12 years, African-Americans have celebrated their heritage through focusing on their unique contributions to the history of our country. However, during the same time period, black Americans have continued to suffer from heart disease at rates significantly higher than other ethnic groups. Accordingly, WATTS Health Systems is announcing its plans to designate February African-American Healthy Heart Month, a time when all 22.7 million African-Americans should examine their heart health and their risk for cardiovascular disease.

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If you're a small business battling a giant national retailer, having an affiliation with a trade-name franchise may not give a competitive advantage, a new study suggests. The small retailers that survive and prosper in such a competitive environment tend to be independent stores and focus on providing knowledge-intensive service to their customers, according to researchers.

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Adults 65 years and older who report a high degree of loneliness, tend to be admitted to a nursing home sooner than people who are not so lonel, according to University of Iowa and Iowa State University study.

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When it comes to homework, quantity does not always equal quality. Dean of Purdue University's School of Education says for young children, 20 minutes to an hour three to four times a week is just about right for homework. Older students in middle school and high school can profit from meaningful assignments in the one- to two-hour range. But Haring stresses that all homework should be meaningful to the child.

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Small high-tech businesses and entrepreneurs are partnering with Purdue University and other schools across the country to leverage their skills and government seed money into business and educational opportunities and new high-tech jobs.

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Dogs and cats still dominate the patient list at University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine, but they're sharing more space with a new breed of companion critters, from ailing ferrets to sick lizards.

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The National Science Foundation (NSF) will host a briefing at NSF Headquarters in Arlington, Va., beginning at 3:00 p.m. to discuss how the President's budget proposal for FY99 impacts NSF, and to set the stage for NSF priorities in the coming year.

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While December was warmer than normal, 1997 was the 25th driest and 26th coolest in 103 years, according the the Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell University.

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Diagnosticians at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine are urging farm operators to implement management practices aimed at slowing the spread of Salmonella typhimurium, including the multiply antibiotic resistant bacterium, Typhimurium DT104.

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What child hasn't wondered how insects walk on water, easily climb walls, or hang from the undersides of smooth leaves, while humans clearly can not? Robert B. Suter, a Vassar College biology professor, is also fascinated by the world of "very, very small things." He set out to explain how fisher spiders and water striders walk on the water's surface.

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Why do Black and White Americans perceive police actions so differently? Is White fear of Black crime justified? Do African Americans really "protect their own?" Should they? These and other hard-hitting questions are explored in "The Color of Crime," a bold new book by University of Maryland criminology professor Katheryn Russell.

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Although romance is far from dead on campus, many students believe "it's not cool" or just plain "cheesy" to show your feelings too much these days, according to a recent informal survey of more than 250 Boston University students. And as Valentine's Day approaches, most students agree that it has become too commercialized, some even saying that it has become less romantic than any other day of the year.

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Butter can be more nutritious than low-fat yogurt. An egg is more nutritious than broccoli. At least that's true for many infants and toddlers, and even children as old as 5 years, all of whom may need more fat in their diets than adults, two nutritionists say.

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Russia, the Netherlands and the United States were among the countries represented Wednesday, Jan. 28 at the first meeting of the International Thermionic Society held at the New Mexico Engineering Research Institute (NMERI) at the University of New Mexico.

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Lam Research Corporation, a leading supplier of wafer fabrication equipment, has donated a plasma oxide etcher used in the manufacture of computer microchips and valued at more than $1.1 million to support the research of University of New Mexico Professor Joseph L. Cecchi of the Chemical and Nuclear Engineering Department.

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Highlights of New Scientist for January 31, 1998

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The Agency for Health Care Policy and Research released a new brochure to help women better understand and make decisions about the kinds of treatment they can choose for noncancerous uterine conditions, such as fibroids or endometriosis. The brochure, entitled Common Uterine Conditions: Options for Treatment, is designed to supplement a woman's discussion with her clinician about various treatment options including hysterectomy.

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Researchers working in a rodent model have succeeded in transplanting livers without the need for immunosuppressive drugs. In a scientific first, a gene therapy strategy was used to alter the donor liver prior to surgery so that the immune system of the recipient became permanently tolerant of the new organ. EMBARGOED: Jan. 28, 1998, 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

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A treasure-trove of formerly classified data on the thickness of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean, gathered by U.S. Navy submarines over several decades, is now being opened. Data from the first of approximately 20 cruise tracks -- an April, 1992 trans-Arctic Ocean track -- has just been released, and information from the rest of these tracks, or maps of a submarine's route, will be analyzed and released over the next year-and-a-half.

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People across the continent can help make bird-watching history on February 20, 21, and 22 by participating in the first-ever BirdSource Great '98 Backyard Bird Count, cosponsored by the Cornell University Laboratory of Ornithology (CLO) and the National Audubon Society.

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A dozen inmates at an Iowa correctional facility are learning about horticulture side-by-side with area citizens in a new "Master Gardener Behind Bars" program sponsored by Iowa State University Extension.

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Research by Dan A. Oren, M.D., associate professor of psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine and president-elect of the Society for Light Treatment and Biological Rhythms in Colorado, could help alleviate seasonal affective disorder (SAD)symptoms that include fatigue, sadness, weight gain and sleep problems.

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Some of Japan's leading indicators of science and technological strength have caught up with or surpassed those of the United States, a special report by the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Division of Science Resources Studies (SRS) concludes.

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Adults may have abandoned the pen for the keyboard, but until first-graders have laptops, it's crucial that children continue to be taught handwriting because of its link to composition. A University ofWashington study of children with writing problems shows that first-graders improved both their handwriting and their composition after being tutored.

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Young adults who legally buy small, inexpensive handguns are more likely to commit a crime after the purchase of the gun even if they had no criminal record, say investigators at UC Davis Violence Prevention Research Program.

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Researchers at Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons have discovered the first human gene associated with hair loss. The new gene, called hairless, is linked to a severe form of inherited baldness and may be the trigger that turns on the entire human hair cycle. The discovery could lead to a better understanding of the hair cycle and, eventually, more effective treatments for various forms of hair loss.

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February Online Tipsheet from the American Psychiatric Association; 1) Eating Disorders: Not Just a Western Phenomenon, 2) Violence Rises When Compliance Falters, 3) Newer Antipsychotics Improve on Infertility Side Effect, 4) REM Sleep Plays Part in Detecting Depression, 5) Would-be Doctors Experience Decrease in Discrimination

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When a patient makes a request for assistance with suicide, the physician's response should not be a simple yes or no. Instead, the caregiver should engage the patient in a dialogue exploring the meanings behind the request. Only then can the physician determine whether the request is "rational" or driven by other factors, writes a Columbia-Presbyterian psychiatrist in JAMA.

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Stage fright is a common and often disabling health problem among performing artists. Sharon Davis Gratto, assistant professor of music at Gettysburg College, researches stage fright and audition anxiety and recently authored a paper on the topic.

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The Asian financial crisis provides an opportunity to consider a new international currency system. The current model isnπt working. Countries in Asia which once thought to be financial powerhouses are now in need of huge financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

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A Cleveland Clinic study published today in the New England Journal of Medicine concludes that multiple sclerosis not only destroys the protective sheath around nerves, but also cuts nerve fibers. Such a finding suggests MS may be more similar to diseases that cause irreversible neurological impairment, such as Parkinson's disease or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). However, this knowledge also provides hope that new therapies can be developed to benefit patients in the early stages of MS.

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Researchers in Resources for the Future's (RFF) Center for Risk Management have initiated a new project that has as its goal increasing public attention to the issues raised by the contamination and environmental risks left behind from decades of nuclear weapons production in the United States.