In Briefs

Researchers have found that patients with sleep apnea have less brain cells in certain areas than other individuals. Sufferers were also more likely to have had a speech impediment as a child, suggesting there is a link between the two conditions. Scientist have theorized that sleep apnea and stuttering can both be attributed to brain damage.

Sleep apnea is a condition where individuals snore very loudly and can stop breathing several times a night. Approximately 4 percent of men suffer from this. Doctors used to believe that the ailment was caused by enlarged tonsils which blocked the airway, but scientists are now considering other factors as well.



A Norwegian fashion group recently introduced a basketball-style cap to filter out radio waves-emissions feared to cause cancer-from cell phones. The "Mobile Cap," which will sell for $53, features a light metal tissue which blocks nearly 100 percent of radio waves, yet allows sound to pass through.

The blue- or black-peaked caps have flaps that can cover the ears when folded down. "The cap has a layer of woven silver," said Walter Kraus, head of the Handy-Fashions Group. "It's no heavier than a normal cap."

Some people worry that radio emissions from cell phones cause brain tumors or other cancers. International studies have cast doubts on that theory, and the evidence is sometimes conflicting.



IBM has landed a contract to build the first computers to approach, and even surpass, the processing power of the human brain. ASCI Purple, the first to be built, will simulate nuclear tests. It will be able to conduct 100 thousand billion calculations per second, also known as 100 teraflops, a speed which some scientists say compares to the human brain's capacity.

Blue Gene/L, the second computer, will be used by the U.S. Department of Energy's three main laboratories to map stars in three dimensions, analyze earthquakes, survey oil fields and perform many other tasks.

Though capable of equaling the brain's computing power, the computers will lack the capacity for conscious thought. That advance is not yet within the realm of scientific capability.



Scientists recently discovered a never-before-seen duo of black holes existing together at the center of the same galaxy. The black holes are currently orbiting each other and, at some point in the future, will merge to create one massive black hole. The collision will release an incredible amount of radiation and gravitational waves. According to scientists, the collision will not occur for another several hundred million years.

The orbiting Chandra X-ray Observatory was used to reveal the black holes' existence. The breakthrough came with Chandra's ability to accurately measure the details of the X-radiation from the center of the galaxy, known as NGC 6240.

"This is the first time we see a binary black hole in action," said Guenther Hasinger of the Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics.

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