NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.
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An 'adopt-a-star' programme aims to raise money for an international research consortium to analyse data from NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission
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Militiamen are torturing and killing gay Iraqi men with impunity in a systematic campaign that has spread from Baghdad to several other cities, a prominent human rights group said in a report.
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Tao Weitao, a researcher in the College of Sciences' Department of Biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio is making great strides in a project that was funded one year ago by the San Antonio Area Foundation. The professor in the South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases is researching Acinetobacter baumannii, a soil-dwelling bacterium that threatens the health of military personnel in the Middle East and can also infect their family members once the soldiers have returned home following battle.
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In an advance toward the first portable device for detecting human bodies buried in disasters and at crime scenes, two Penn State forensic scientists report early results from a project to establish the chemical fingerprint of death. According to Dan Sykes, senior lecturer and director of analytical instructional laboratories at Penn State and the project's leader, "Acertaining a profile of the chemicals released from decomposing bodies could lead to a valuable new addition to the forensic toolkit: an electronic device that could determine the time elapsed since death quickly, accurately, and onsite." The team is presenting its research in a poster at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society at 7:00 p.m. on 16 August 2009.
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The iridescent beauty of pearl and nacre, the material found inside the shells of some molluscs, appears to be due to two recently discovered proteins, say Japanese researchers.
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Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett was in the hospital on Sunday after he was attacked by a person using a metal pipe as the mayor and his family left the Wisconsin State Fair.
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Tokyo University Hospital will begin a clinical test in late August of a viral therapy in which viruses are injected directly into brain tumor patients, according to hospital officials.
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A study in the Aug. 15 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine shows that the use of cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is an effective treatment for older patients with osteoarthritis and comorbid insomnia.
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Cleaning oily smears from kitchen countertops, mirrors, garage floors, and other surfaces with plain water â€" rather than strong detergents or smelly solvents â€" may seem like pure fantasy. But scientists in Indiana today describe what they believe to be a simple and effective state-of-the-art oil stain remover. They have developed a new coating for glass, plastics, and a range of other materials that would enable consumers to wipe away those pesky oils with plain water.
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The planned Microsoft-Yahoo! online search tie-up has promise but must overcome people's fierce loyalty to market king Google, industry tracker comScore said Friday.
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AP - Scientists have discovered a gene that helps a mother and daughter stay alert on about six hours sleep a night, two hours less than the rest of their family needs.
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The Atlantic Ocean's second Tropical Depression has been on shaky ground since it formed early in the week of August 11. It meandered westward from the African coast and maintained its tropical depression status until weakening to a remnant low. Now it has the potential to come back. In addition to Tropical Depression 2, there are three other areas forecasters are watching in the Atlantic Basin. Residents of Florida should particularly be watchful as there's a potential for tropical development on both the east and west coasts this weekend.
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(PhysOrg.com) -- The cost for chemotherapy medications to treat colorectal cancer for six months has jumped 2,600 percent from 1993 to 2005. But such rising costs are worth the price, asserts a new report from Cornell, when improved longevity and quality of life are taken into account.
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Physicists at the University of Rochester have combed through data from satellites and ocean buoys and found evidence that in the last 50 years, the net flow of heat into and out of the oceans has changed direction three times.
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Brown fat, a curious kind of body tissue that burns up calories, could be the key to easy weight control
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(PhysOrg.com) -- As organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) are poised to go mainstream in the near future, scientists continue to explore new twists on the technology. Recently, researchers have fabricated a "liquid-OLED" - an OLED that uses a liquid organic semiconducting layer to transport charge.
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Scientists from the Department of Biological Sciences and the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute (VBI) at Virginia Tech have developed a quantitative, mathematical model of DNA replication and cell division for the bacterium Caulobacter crescentus. C. crescentus, an alpha-proteobacterium that inhabits freshwater, seawater and soils, is an ideal organism for genetic and computational biology studies due to the wealth of molecular information that has been accumulated by researchers. It also plays a key role in global carbon cycling in its natural environment.
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What do flocks of birds have in common with trust, monogamy, and even breast milk? According to a new report in the journal Science, they are regulated by virtually identical neurochemicals ...
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A 17-year-old girl who ran away from her Ohio home to Florida says she fears her parents will harm her for converting from Islam to Christianity, but her parents dismiss her claim and say she was brainwashed.
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Debate is raging in Germany over whether a campaign poster using a now infamous photograph of Chancellor Angela Merkel in a deep-cut evening gown is cleverly ironic or downright tacky.
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Your toilet is probably cleaner than your computer keyboard. Sad (and disgusting) but true. One researcher at the University of Arizona found that the average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen and 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet.
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The committee tasked with reviewing NASA's plans thinks the agency should go to other destinations first – but it may not get very far without a major budget boost
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One way the United States could slash its electricity use, dependence on fossil fuels and emissions of heat-trapping gases is really quite simple: better light bulbs.
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It hit in April but continues to wreak havoc locally and globally. H1N1 -- also known as swine flu -- has sickened over 43,000 people nationwide and it`s not disappearing anytime soon, says University of Cincinnati infectious diseases expert Judith Feinberg, MD.
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Grassed waterways are placed in agricultural fields where runoff water tends to concentrate because they can substantially reduce soil erosion. Mapping techniques that help identify where erosion channels will likely form could help farmers and conservation professionals do a better job of designing and locating grassed waterways in agricultural fields.
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AP - The Hong Kong-based company that operates the cargo ship that caused a 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal charges.
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The number of cancer deaths has declined steadily in the last three decades. Although younger people have experienced the steepest declines, all age groups have shown some improvement, according to a recent report in Cancer Research, a journal of the American Association for Cancer Research.
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Walking outdoors in the fall, the splendidly colorful leaves adorning the trees are a delight to the eye. In Europe these autumn leaves are mostly yellow, while the United States and East Asia boast lustrous red foliage. But why is it that there are such differences in autumnal hues around the world? A new theory provided by Prof. Simcha Lev-Yadun of the Department of Science Education- Biology at the University of Haifa-Oranim and Prof. Jarmo Holopainen of the University of Kuopio in Finland and published in the Journal New Phytologist proposes taking a step 35 million years back to solve the color mystery.
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By Sunday morning, the Silicon Valley Google Technology User Group's "campout" made part of the Googleplex in Mountain View look a bit like a college dorm after a couple of all-nighters.
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New research indicates that decreased cravings for pleasure may be at the root of a core symptom of major depressive disorder. The research is in contrast to the long-held notion that those suffering from depression lack the ability to enjoy rewards, rather than the desire to seek them.
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Existing surveys are designed to gradually build up a catalogue of potential impactors, not to watch out for asteroids that are days or weeks from a collision
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A U.S. soldier arrested in connection with the killing of a Mexican drug cartel member in El Paso, Texas, allegedly worked as a hit man, court records say. Pfc. Michael Jackson Apodaca, 18, was one of three men arrested Monday in connection with the shooting death of the mid-level drug cartel member who also worked as an informant for the United States, according to a complaint affidavit.
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Scientists have discovered that even in adults born with extremely impaired sight, the brain can rewire itself to recognize sections of the retina that have been restored by gene therapy.
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For many Americans who live on the Atlantic coast, Andrew, Ivan and Katrina are more than just names--they are reminders of the devastating impact of cyclonic activity in the region during hurricane season. If it seems like hurricane seasons have been more active in recent years, you're on to something. According to a paper published in the August 13 issue of Nature, the frequency and strength of these powerful storms has grown in recent decades.
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SPACE.com - A tropical storm was not what astronomers expected to see when they pointed their telescopes toward the equator of Saturn's moon Titan last summer.
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CANBERRA, Aug. 12, 2009 (Reuters) -- An Australian website is giving texting an intergalactic touch and allowing users to send short mobile phone-type messages into space. ... > read full story
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A long-simmering feud between a 13-year-old girl and her step-grandfather erupted after the man allegedly poured her milk down the drain, prompting the girl to fatally stab him in the neck, court documents said.
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The discovery of genes for magnetism in some bacteria could lead to synthetic nanomagnets and better MRI scanners
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AP - The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a dazzling sky show.Oahu and Maui County remain under a tropical storm watch even though Felicia, which is heading toward the islands, is downgraded to a tropical depression. Meanwhile, a newly formed tropical storm in the Pacific and tropical depression in the Atlantic gain steam.
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Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology have developed a new calibration technique that will improve the reliability and stability of one of NIST's most versatile technologies, the microhotplate. The novel NIST device is being developed as the foundation for miniature yet highly accurate gas sensors that can detect chemical and biological agents, industrial leaks and even signs of extraterrestrial life from aboard a planetary probe.
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An experimental atomic clock based on ytterbium atoms is about four times more accurate than it was several years ago, giving it a precision comparable to that of the NIST-F1 cesium fountain clock, the nation's civilian time standard, scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) report in Physical Review Letters.*
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Biologists have long known how adaptive evolution works. New mutations arise within a population and those that confer some benefits to the organism increase in frequency and eventually become fixed in the population.
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Even if you can't beat the system, there are some cunning ways to tilt the odds in your favour
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helicopter with three crew members aboard has crashed into a mountain while on a mission to rescue villagers whose homes were destroyed by a powerful typhoon, an official said.
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Research team responds to concerns about international insulin drug trial ((send by free-web-host.me user))
Accumulating safety data from the large, international ORIGIN trial have been reviewed by its independent data monitoring committee, who have concluded that there is no cause for concern.
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People diagnosed with type 2 diabetes often resist taking insulin because they fear gaining weight, developing low blood sugar and seeing their quality of life decline.
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AP - Cars and light trucks sold in July got more miles per gallon than those sold in previous months, say researchers, who credit the Cash for Clunkers program.
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Hudson River divers on Monday found the wreckage of a small plane and one of two victims missing following a midair collision with a sightseeing helicopter that killed nine people.
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Research Team Designing Holographic Imaging System for Ovarian Cancer ((send by free-web-host.me user))
Two University of Arizona researchers have formed a research team to design, build and evaluate two versions of an ovarian cancer medical imaging and screening instrument that will use holographic components in a new type of optical microscope.
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Hitachi today announced that it is now shipping the world's first, two terabyte (2TB), 7200 RPM hard disk drive (HDD). The new 2TB Deskstar 7K2000 blends high performance and high capacity with low power and other eco-friendly features designed to enable Energy-Star rated computers and other high performance desktop systems.
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The deadliest part of the cancer process, metastasis, appears to rely on help from macrophages, potent immune system cells that usually defend vigorously against disease, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University report.
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Men's masculinity beliefs are a barrier to preventative health care ((send by free-web-host.me user))
Middle-aged men who strongly idealize masculinity are almost 50 percent less likely than other men to seek preventative healthcare services, according to a study -the first population-based analysis of men's masculinity beliefs and preventative healthcare compliance -to be presented at the 104th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
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People who think they are vulnerable to temptation are least likely to give into it, because they are more vigilant about keeping it at bay
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The man who killed three people before taking his own life at a Pennsylvania gym was stopped by authorities a week before the attack. Police questioned George Sodini because he had fit the description of someone who appeared to be handling a grenade on a bus. He was let go because officials couldn't verify it was him at the time.
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A genetically modified maize plant is genetically engineered to produce a chemical rallying cry that summons help against a damaging pests
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A research team from Hungary investigated the probability of disease behavior changes in a well-characterized Crohn's disease cohort with strict clinical follow-up. They found that perianal disease, small bowel disease, smoking, prior steroid use, early AZA or AZA/biological therapy are all predictors of disease behavior change in CD patients.
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A new study of persistent asthma in inner-city adolescents and young adults finds that an extensive set of clinical tests cannot successfully predict the future risk of asthma attacks in participants who both receive care based on current guidelines and adhere to treatment recommendations. This finding differs from previous reports suggesting that certain clinical findings and laboratory tests could help predict future asthma attacks. These earlier conclusions, however, were based on observations of patients with poorly controlled asthma who had not received care based on current guidelines.
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Like clockwork, brain regions in many songbird species expand and shrink seasonally in response to hormones. Now, for the first time, University of Washington neurobiologists have interrupted this natural "annual remodeling" of the brain and have shown that there is a direct link between the death of old neurons and their replacement by newly born ones in a living vertebrate.
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SLAC to receive additional $21.8M in recovery act funding for new research instruments ((send by free-web-host.me user))
The Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory will receive $21.8 million in new funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The funding will catalyze instrumentation construction and improvements at the laboratory's two light source research facilities, the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) and the Stanford Synchrotron Radiation Lightsource (SSRL).
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U of Minnesota researchers discover high levels of estrogens in some industrial wastewater ((send by free-web-host.me user))
In a groundbreaking study, civil engineering researchers in the University of Minnesota's Institute of Technology have discovered that certain industries may be a significant source of plant-based estrogens, called phytoestrogens, in surface water. They also revealed that some of these phytoestrogens can be removed through standard wastewater treatment, but in some cases, the compounds remain at levels that may be damaging to fish.
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Put that comb back in your handbag -- a study by an Israeli dermatologist has found that too much combing of the coiffure leads to hair loss, the daily Haaretz reported on Monday.
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One of Britain's biggest comestic surgery clinics claimed Sunday to have carried out the nation's first-ever eyelash transplant on a 19-year-old with a hair-pulling disorder.
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A collaborative study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies uncovered that the tumor suppressor p53, which made its name as "guardian of the genome", not only stops cells that could become cancerous in their tracks but also controls somatic cell reprogramming.
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U.S. scientists monitoring shrinking glaciers in Washington and Alaska reported this week that a major meltdown is under way. A 50-year government study found that the world's glaciers are melting at a rapid and alarming rate. The ongoing study is the latest in a series of reports that found glaciers worldwide are melting faster than anyone had predicted they would just a few years ago. It offers a clear indication of an accelerating climate change and warming earth, according to the authors.
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The Mayan pyramid Xunantunich and the struggling Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva have something in common: overreach.
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(AP) -- The country's biggest phone and cable companies have agreed to hand over information about their broadband networks to help the federal government produce a national map showing where high-speed Internet connections are available across the U.S.
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Several ways have been proposed to examine dark energy, in hopes of finding out just what it is. One of them, "supernovae" for short, certainly works: it's how dark energy was discovered in the first place. Other independent techniques, such as weak gravitational lensing and baryon acoustic oscillation, also promise great power but are as yet unproven.
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NASA satellite imagery has helped forecasters see that Hurricane Felicia is running into cooler waters and increasing wind shear, two things have taken her strength "down a peg or two." Felicia will continue to weaken further over the weekend as she heads to Hawaii where landfall isn't expected until late Monday or early Tuesday.
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Flood threat along river in southwest China diminishing: ministry (AFP) ((send by free-web-host.me user))
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CyberKnife radiosurgery -- which uses narrow beams of radiation to kill several types of cancer -- is marketed as a less invasive, more convenient way to treat prostate cancer, a pitch that has proved convincing for about 3,000 men over the last six years.
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The historical link between economic cycles and attitudes to recreational drugs might mean that decriminalisation is near
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Psychologists say longer lives can still lead to happier golden years ((send by free-web-host.me user))
As more people live well into their 80s and 90s, it's reassuring to know that most people get happier as they age and exert more emotional control than younger adults, according to researchers who spoke at the 117th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association.
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Dr. Glen Weiss of the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen) and Scottsdale Healthcare this week announced two significant advances in treating lung cancer at an international cancer research conference.
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Sometimes satellite imagery will leave a person in awe of nature's power and that's what the latest satellite image from NASA's Aqua satellite will do as it shows the giant Typhoon Morakot's center about to cross Taiwan. Morakot has already caused problems in Taiwan on its approach and has proven deadly in the Philippines.
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Researchers develop innovative method to detect genetic causes of complex diseases ((send by free-web-host.me user))
Computational biologists at Carnegie Mellon University have developed an analytical technique to detect the multiple genetic variations that contribute to complex disease syndromes such as diabetes, asthma and cancer, which are characterized by multiple clinical and molecular traits.
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No need to tighten your belt -- credit crunch will worsen obesity epidemic ((send by free-web-host.me user))
Levels of debt have been associated with an increased risk of being fat. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health blame the trend on the high price of healthy food, and a tendency for people worried by debt to comfort eat.
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(PhysOrg.com) -- If you`ve ever wished you had an assistant to attend meetings with you, take notes and produce a concise summary, then you`ll be pleased to know that UT Dallas computer scientist Yang Liu hopes to one-up you: She`s working on software that would automatically do the job of that assistant.
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AP - Got an itch to scratch? Scientists have pinpointed a key group of cells that sends itch-alerts to the brain. When researchers at Washington University in St. Louis knocked out those cells in mice, it alleviated their itchiness without affecting their ability to sense pain — work that opens a possible new target for creating better itch relievers.
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NASA's recently launched probe has detected three known planets, confirming it is sensitive enough to find other Earths – unfortunately, it's sensitive to cosmic rays, too
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Researchers have found a way in mice to convert another type of pancreas cell into the critical insulin-producing beta cells that are lost in those with type I diabetes. The secret ingredient is a single transcription factor, according to the report in the August 7th issue of Cell, a Cell Press journal.
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Researchers show how organic carbon compounds emitted by trees affect air quality ((send by free-web-host.me user))
A previously unrecognized player in the process by which gases produced by trees and other plants become aerosols -microscopically small particles in the atmosphere -has been discovered by a research team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology.
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In view of the shortage of petrochemical resources and climate change, development of CO2-neutral sustainable fuels is one of the most urgent challenges of our times. Energy plants like rape or oil palm are being discussed fervently, as they may also be used for food production. Hence, cultivation of microalgae may contribute decisively to tomorrow's energy supply. For energy production from microalgae, KIT scientists are developing closed photo-bioreactors and novel cell disruption methods.
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The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Felicia, which currently has sustained winds near 140 mph, will probably weaken over the next few days as it moves over colder waters in the Pacific. Felicia is centered about 1,480 miles west-southwest of the southern tip of Mexico's Baja California peninsula.
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The Senate reached a deal on saving the dwindling "cash for clunkers" program late Wednesday, agreeing to vote on a plan that would add $2 billion to the popular rebate program and give car shoppers until Labor Day to trade in their gas-guzzlers for a new ride.
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Decoding leukemia patient genome leads scientists to mutations in other patients ((send by free-web-host.me user))
Decoding the complete DNA of cancer patients is giving scientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis a clearer picture of the complexity of the disease and allowing them to see intriguing and unexpected genetic relationships among patients.
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Stories of ships mysteriously sent to watery graves by sudden, giant waves have long puzzled scientists and sailors. New research by San Francisco State professor Tim Janssen suggests that changes in water depth and currents, which are common in coastal areas, may significantly increase the likelihood of these extreme waves.
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(AP) -- The Iraqi government has decided to crack down on Internet service providers and ban sites that incite violence or carry pornography, officials said Tuesday, a move that has been strongly ...
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Engravings on a 14,000-year-old chunk of rock may be the oldest map in western Europe
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WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2009 (Reuters) -- A new technique has given researchers a "big picture" look at the genome of the AIDS virus, the first time its entire gene map has been decoded. ... > read full story
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His mission accomplished, former President Bill Clinton left Pyongyang early Wednesday accompanied by American journalists Euna Lee and Laura Ling after North Korean leader Kim Jong Il pardoned the women from their 12-year prison sentences.
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President Barack Obama Wednesday unveiled a 2.4-billion-dollar funding boost for the development of new generation electric vehicles and slammed critics of his economic rescue plans.
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Predicting the infection patterns of influenzas requires tracking both the ecology and the evolution of the fast-morphing viruses that cause them, said a Duke University researcher who enlists computers to model such changes.
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Robots are whirring away in factories all over the world, building cars, phones and cookers. Yet they can do so much more. Robotics for healthcare has been tipped as the next big wave, and Europe should be poised to ride it, according to a European road-mapping study.
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A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. What's more, the researchers show that rats fed a high-fat diet for a few days become resistant to the glucose-lowering hormone known as cholecystokinin (CCK).
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Methods for gene transfer in stem cells featured in Cold Spring Harbor Protocols ((send by free-web-host.me user))
COLD SPRING HARBOR, N.Y. (Wed., Aug. 5, 2009) â€" Vectors derived from retroviruses are useful tools for long-term gene transfer because they allow stable integration of transgenes and propagation into daughter cells. Lentiviral vectors are preferred because they can transduce non-proliferating cellular targets. These vectors can be engineered to target specific tissues. In the August issue of Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (www.cshprotocols.org/TOCs/toc8_09.dtl), François-Loïc Cosset and colleagues from Ecole Normale Supérieure de Lyon (http://hvd.ens-lyon.fr/human_virology_dpt) present a method for targeting hematopoietic stem cells using engineered viral vectors. The article, "Hematopoietic Stem Cell Targeting with Surface-Engineered Lentiviral Vectors," is freely available on the website for Cold Spring Harbor Protocols (http://cshprotocols.cshlp.org/cgi/content/full/2009/8/pdb.prot5276).
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The tight links among software developers on the internet is stifling the development of new ideas, a social scientist argues
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