Fighting off the viruses.A couple decades ago, if someone had asked whether you'd heard about "that new virus," you'd have known that they were concerned about a health threat. This year, you'd have needed to ask, "Medical or computer?" On both viral fronts, 2003 was eventful. A new viral disease emerged in China, and travelers spread it around the globe. A series of novel viruses and other cyberpathogens swept the Internet and invaded computers worldwide, doing more damage than anything like them had done before. Science News reported more progress against the biological viruses than against the computer versions, as scientists identified and characterized the virus for severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Definition Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the first emergent and highly transmissible viral disease to appear during the twenty-first century. (SARS), made progress on vaccines for Ebola virus Ebola virus (ēbō`lə), a member of a family (Filovirus) of viruses that cause hemorrhagic fevers. The virus, named for the region in Congo (Kinshasa) where it was first identified in 1976, emerged from the rain forest, where it survives in and rotavirus rotavirus /ro·ta·vi·rus/ (ro´tah-vi?rus) any member of the genus Rotavirus. ro´taviral Rotavirus /Ro·ta·vi·rus/ (ro´tah-vi?rus , and developed more drugs against HIV HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), either of two closely related retroviruses that invade T-helper lymphocytes and are responsible for AIDS. There are two types of HIV: HIV-1 and HIV-2. HIV-1 is responsible for the vast majority of AIDS in the United States. . In fact, some computer scientists looked to biology for strategies to vanquish their foes. Here at Science News, we've experienced both kinds of virus this year. One writer was recently bedridden bed·rid·den or bed·rid adj. Confined to bed because of illness or infirmity. for a week by the nasty flu that's spreading throughout the country. And our Web site has suffered from a variety of invaders. We're pleased to report that both the writer and the site have returned to health. Over the past 8 years, the Years, The the seven decades of Eleanor Pargiter’s life. [Br. Lit.: Benét, 1109] See : Time online version of Science News (www.seiencenews.org) has grown in popularity. Besides making available articles from our printed magazine, it offers two unique weekly series. Janet Raloff writes about food and nutrition Food and Nutrition See also cheese; dining; milk. accubation Rare. the act or habit of reclining at meals. alimentology Medicine. thescience of nutrition. allotriophagy Pathology. in "Food for Thought," and Ivars Peterson contributes items of general mathematical interest in his "MathTrek" forays. And now there's even more. This year saw the launch of Science News for Kids (www.seieneenewsforkids.org), which is devoted to making science news accessible to young people. The site provides a weekly helping of timely articles of interest to middle school students, along with puzzles, games, science fiction ideas, hands-on activities, links to Web resources, and material for teachers and parents. Because our Web content has become so valuable, we are for the first time including highlights of it in "Science News of the Year." Take a peek on pages 409 and 410, then fire up your Web browsers for a firsthand look! --Julie Ann Miller, Editor and Ivars Peterson, Online Editor |
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