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Science News for November 27, 1998


A New Look At Margerine And Health

A CSIRO study found that margarines high in polyunsaturated fats and low in trans fatty acids reduce LDL cholesterol by 11-15%, corresponding to a 20-30% fall in heart disease risk. The study also showed that these margarines can produce a greater fall in blood LDL-cholesterol than other types of margarine.

SourceCSIRO Australia·JournalAmerican Journal of Clinical Nutrition·DateNov 27, 1998

Greater Prairie Chicken Appears On Comeback Trail In Illinois

Conservation efforts have led to a resurgence of the Greater Prairie Chicken population in Illinois, with numbers increasing from just six resident males to over 500 birds. The success is attributed to an experimental program that imported birds from healthy populations elsewhere, addressing genetic diversity and habitat loss issues.

SourceUniversity of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, News Bureau·JournalScience·DateNov 27, 1998

How HIV Evades AZT

Researchers used x-ray crystallography to reveal the structure of HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) enzyme. The active form shows how genetic mutations confer resistance to antiviral drugs like AZT by preventing nucleotide analogs from binding, allowing RT to continue making DNA for the virus.

SourceHoward Hughes Medical Institute·JournalScience·DateNov 27, 1998