Detroit car show preview
Smaller, fuel-efficient cars are the trend at the automotive industry’s premiere event this year. Toyota is unveiling a hybrid version of the Camry-North America’s best selling car last year, with 431,703 sold. This reflects consumer demand for hybrid vehicles, in the wake of $70-a-barrel oil-sales of Toyota’s Prius hybrid doubled to 107,897 in 2005. American car giants General Motors and Ford, meanwhile, will introduce some muscular cars, including a Ford Mustang convertible.
Tracking the past
Archaeologists in Australia have found the largest group of Stone Age footprints around the dried-up remains of an Australian lake. The 124 prints, almost 20,000 years old, were made by a diverse group, including six adults, a teenager, and a child. One person seems to have been running at nearly 20 kilometres per hour, on par with our top athletes, and some grew to be over 1.8 metres tall.
Retinamide to the rescue
Researchers in Spain have found that retinamide, a derivative of vitamin A, is safe and effective in specifically targeting and killing the cancerous lymphoblast cells that cause leukemia. The mechanisms of this process are not yet well understood but could lead to effective and patient-specific treatments in the future.
Flower power
A chemical in sunflowers stunts the growth of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Some sunflowers secrete a chemical called dicaffeoyl quinic acid (DCQA) which prevents fungal diseases from infecting the plant. The same chemical prevents HIV from infecting cells grown in a Petri plate. The chemical promises to extend the life of persons infected with HIV.
- Jennifer Bates, Chris Damdar & Mike Ghenu
