Excellence And Citation Awards

Most Delicious Poison Noah Whiteman Little, Brown Spark, $30 After his father’s unexpected death from alcohol use disorder in 2017, evolutionary biologist Noah Whiteman undertook a journey to understand how nature’s toxins affect the world. The result is his debut book, Most Delicious Poison: The Story of Nature’s Toxins — From Spices to Vices . The book weeds through chemistry, evolution and world history to explore the origins of toxins and how humans have co-opted them for everything from medicines to spices to pesticides. “The chemicals in these products of nature are not a sideshow — they are the main event,” Whiteman writes, “and we’ve unwittingly stolen them from a war raging all around us.” That tussle, part of what Charles Darwin called the “war of nature,” is the innovative ways plants and animals continuously evolve traits that one-up their predators or competitors. Many of the chemicals that we stock in our cabinets and pharmacies, for instance, originated in plants...

Putting smell back in the whiffer – Science News , November 17, 1973 P.P.C. Graziadei and J.F. Metcalf of Florida State University have been producing … ever more detailed, evidence for olfactory nerve regeneration in mammals…. Might olfactory nerves be regenerated in people who have trouble smelling, thereby restoring or improving their sense of smell? “The phenomena of regeneration are applicable to all vertebrates and most likely to humans,” says Graziadei. Update The scientists’ hunch was right on the nose: The human cells that detect scent information and send it to the brain can replenish themselves, though exactly how is unclear. Experimental therapies to help people who have lost their sense of smell due to COVID-19 could help researchers figure it out ( SN: 9/24/22, p. 14 ). Smell training, which involves regularly and deeply smelling various scents, might rewire cells’ connections to the brain or stimulate new cell growth. Treating damaged cells with steroids and bloo...

WASHINGTON — A genetic variant commonly found in some Africans may stymie the effects of a popular breast cancer drug. The variant produces a sluggish version of the enzyme known to activate tamoxifen. People who inherit two copies of the variant show five times less active drug in their bloodstreams compared with people who don’t have that variant, researchers reported November 2 at the American Society of Human Genetics’ annual meeting. As a result, many of these patients may receive a dose that’s insufficient to treat their cancer. The gene, called CYP2D6 , that produces the crucial enzyme differs dramatically among people. On average, a fifth of Africans carry at least one copy of the variant that the researchers studied. Across the continent, however, that figure ranges from a slim 5 percent to over 34 percent. Preemptive genetic screening that identifies patients with the genetic variant would probably cost too much for local clinics and hospitals, says molecular geneticist C...

Humans regularly cooperate and share resources with other, unrelated humans in different social groups, often without any immediate, reciprocated benefits. The phenomenon has been considered unique to our species. But some bonobos appear to share this social trait, a study finds. This type of cooperation is thought to underpin human civilization. So bonobos’ ability to bond and cooperate with groups of nonrelatives across group boundaries, even when there’s no immediate payoff, may provide some insight into the kinds of evolutionary conditions that led to the development of humankind’s large-scale societies, researchers report November 16 in Science .   Both chimpanzees ( Pan troglodytes ) and bonobos ( P. paniscus ) live in social groups with individuals that may not be very closely related. But compared with territorial and aggressive chimpanzees, bonobos have a more easygoing, tolerant attitude toward other groups. Bonobos occasionally groom and share food with unrelated...

On a Saturday in May in Flint, Mich., residents took seats in one of three rings of chairs at a local food bank. The 50 or so participants, spanning three generations, would spend time that morning sharing stories and practicing deep listening as part of a healing circle. It’s one component of a wider community-based movement to build relationships and challenge racist beliefs and systems . In one circle, healing practitioner Todd Womack asked participants to introduce themselves and describe their favorite desserts. Fingers snapped softly to signal mutual enjoyment. Next, participants paired off, with instructions to take turns asking about something that recently made them smile or laugh — and to listen without interruption. From there, new pairs moved to other topics, such as an accomplishment they were proud of. Healing circles are a space to foster community, says Lynn Williams, the director of equity and community engagement at the Community Foundation of Greater Flint, who hel...

WASHINGTON — Brain scans could be used to predict how teenagers’ mental health will fare during a stressful time, an analysis that spanned the COVID-19 pandemic suggests. The findings, presented November 13 in a news briefing at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, may help explain why some people succumb to stress while others are more resilient. For a lot of research, “the study happens, and you report on the results, and that’s about it,” says Margot Wagner, a bioengineer at the University of California, San Diego who was not involved in the new work. But this research followed hundreds of teenagers over time, a study design that “means you can intervene and help way sooner than otherwise,” Wagner says. The pandemic was particularly tough for many teenagers, as isolation, worry and upheaval of daily routines affected them in ways that scientists are just now starting to see ( SN: 1/3/23 ). A record number of young people are struggling with depression and anxie...

WASHINGTON — Scientists have uncovered a clue about why it takes so long for Huntington’s disease to develop. And they may have a lead on how to stop the fatal brain disease. Huntington’s is caused by a mistakenly repeated bit of a gene called HTT. Until recently, researchers thought the number of repeats a person is born with doesn’t change, though repeats may expand when passed to future generations. But in some brain cells, the repeats can grow over time to hundreds of copies , geneticist Bob Handsaker reported November 2 at the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics. Once the number of repeats passes a certain point, the activity of thousands of other genes in the brain cells changes drastically, leading the cells to die. These findings suggest that adding repeats to the HTT gene in vulnerable brain cells is what is driving Huntington’s disease, says Handsaker, of the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard in Cambridge, Mass. The research also suggests that pre...