Science News

March 15, 2010

New Research Aims to Prevent 'Sudden Cardiac Arrest' - Sudden Cardiac Arrest syndrome (SCA) is poorly understood, but it's a real danger for the otherwise young and healthy.

Mars Loses Part Of Its Atmosphere To Space Due To Solar Wind - Space physicists from the University of Leicester are part of an international team that has identified the impact of the Sun on Mars' atmosphere.

Scientists Discover 600 Million-Year-Old Origins Of Vision - By studying the hydra, a member of an ancient group of sea creatures that is still flourishing, scientists at UC Santa Barbara have made a discovery in understanding the origins of human vision.

Why Surprises Temporarily Blind Us - Reading this story requires you to willfully pay attention to the sentences and to tune out nearby conversations, the radio and other distractions.

March 9, 2010

Lava Likely Made River-Like Channel On Mars - Flowing lava can carve or build paths very much like the riverbeds and canyons etched by water, and this probably explains at least one of the meandering channels on the surface of Mars.

To Remember The Good Times, Reach For The Sky - Using advanced tools to see the human brain at work, a new generation of marketing experts may be able to test a product's appeal while it is still being designed.

New Insight On How Fast Nicotine Peaks In The Brain - Nicotine takes much longer than previously thought to reach peak levels in the brains of cigarette smokers, according to new research conducted at Duke University Medical Center.

New Evidence Hints At Global Glaciation 716.5 Million Years Ago - Geologists have found evidence that sea ice extended to the equator 716.5 million years ago, bringing new precision to a "snowball Earth" event long suspected to have taken place around that time.

March 8, 2010

Brain Scans Could Be Marketing Tool Of The Future - Using advanced tools to see the human brain at work, a new generation of marketing experts may be able to test a product's appeal while it is still being designed.

SIBLING Proteins May Predict Oral Cancer - The presence of certain proteins in premalignant oral lesions may predict oral cancer development, Medical College of Georgia researchers said.

Asteroid Killed Off The Dinosaurs - The Cretaceous-Tertiary mass extinction, which wiped out the dinosaurs and more than half of species on Earth, was caused by an asteroid colliding with Earth and not massive volcanic activity.

March 5, 2010

Predicting The Progression Of Alzheimer's - An assessment has been developed which reliably predicts future performance in cognition and activities of daily living for patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Oldest Known Dinosaur Relative Discovered - Until now, paleontologists have generally believed that the closest relatives of dinosaurs possibly looked a little smaller in size, walked on two legs and were carnivorous.

First Of Missing Primitive Stars Found - Astronomers have discovered a relic from the early universe - a star that may have been among the second generation of stars to form after the Big Bang.

March 4, 2010

Learning Keeps Brain Healthy - UC Irvine neurobiologists are providing the first visual evidence that learning promotes brain health - and, therefore, that mental stimulation could limit the debilitating effects of aging on memory and the mind.

Artificial Bee Silk A Big Step Closer To Reality - CSIRO scientist Dr Tara Sutherland and her team have achieved another important milestone in the international quest to artificially produce insect silk.

Aerial Surveillance Technology Could Keep Soldiers Safer - New technology that enables aerial vehicles to plan and verify missions could mean there is less need for military personnel to conduct dangerous surveillance operations in war zones.

March 3, 2010

Exotic Magnetar Has Extremely Strong Magnetic Fields - The Gran Telescopio CANARIAS (GTC) has observed an uncommon neutron star. Classified as magnetar, its nature is as peculiar as its official name: SGR 0418+5729.

Fossil Snake From India Fed On Hatchling Dinosaurs - The remains of an extraordinary fossil unearthed in 67-million-year-old sediments from Gujarat, western India provide a rare glimpse at an unusual feeding behavior in ancient snakes.

Software Sniffs Out Criminals By the Shape Of Their Nose - Forget iris and fingerprint scans - scanning noses could be a quicker and easier way to verify a person's identity, according to scientists at the University of Bath.

March 2, 2010

Analytical Eye: Viewing Through The Data Jungle - Scientists are developing analytical techniques that make use of our ability to identify complex data relationships by means of pictorial images.

DNA Sequence Of Extinct Ancient Cattle Uncovered - Researchers, based in Ireland and Britain, have found the complete mitochondrial DNA genome sequence of ancient wild cattle using a sample from a 6,700 year-old bone.

Violent Video Game Play Makes More Aggressive Kids - Iowa State University Distinguished Professor of Psychology Craig Anderson has made much of his life's work studying how violent video game play affects youth behavior.

March 1, 2010

Large Iceberg Breaks Off Antarctica's Mertz Glacier - A joint Australian-French study has discovered the calving of a large iceberg from the Mertz Glacier in the Australian Antarctic Territory.

New 'Alien Invader' Star Clusters Found In Milky Way - As many as one quarter of the star clusters in our Milky Way - many more than previously thought - are invaders from other galaxies, according to a new study.

Hastening Progress Of 3D Cinema And TV - This is the year in which 3D cinema and 3D TV will make the breakthrough. At CeBIT in Hannover, Fraunhofer researchers are presenting technologies and standards that are hastening the progress.

February 26, 2010

Genes Responsible For Ability To Recognize Faces - The ability to recognise faces is largely determined by your genes, according to new research at UCL (University College London).

Massive Planet Is On A 'Death March' - An international group of astrophysicists has determined that a massive planet outside our Solar System is being distorted and destroyed by its host star.

Software That Predicts Stem Cell Fate - A software program created by an engineer at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee can not only predict the types of specialized cells a stem cell will produce, but also foresee the outcome before the stem cell even divides.

February 25, 2010

Ultrasound Can Help Doctors Find Cancer - Knowing the stage of a patient's melanoma is important when choosing the best course of treatment.

Physicists Discover Odd Fluctuating Magnetic Waves - At the quantum level, the forces of magnetism and superconductivity exist in an uneasy relationship.

New Dinosaur Discovered Head First - A team of paleontologists has discovered a new dinosaur species they're calling Abydosaurus, which belongs to the group of gigantic, long-necked, long-tailed, four-legged, plant-eating dinosaurs such as Brachiosaurus.

February 24, 2010

New Model For Treatment Of Liver Disease - How do you study-and try to cure in the laboratory-an infection that only humans can get? A team led by Salk Institute researchers does it by generating a mouse with an almost completely human liver.

NASA's WISE Mission Releases Medley Of First Images - A diverse cast of cosmic characters is showcased in the first survey images NASA from its Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE.

New Study Establishes Relationships Among All Arthropods - Since the dawn of the biological sciences, humankind has struggled to comprehend the relationships among the major groups of "jointed-legged" animals - the arthropods.

February 23, 2010

Scorpion Venom Could Be An Alternative To Morphine - Scorpion venom is notoriously poisonous - but it might be used as an alternative to dangerous and addictive painkillers like morphine, a Tel Aviv University researcher claims.

More Alcohol Sales Sites Mean More Neighborhood Violence - More alcohol sales sites in a neighborhood equates to more violence, and the highest assault rates are associated with carry-out sites selling alcohol for off-premise consumption.

Heart Failure Worse When Right Ventricle Goes Bad - New research suggests that the ability of right side of the heart to pump blood may be an indication of the risk of death to heart-failure patients whose condition is caused by low function by the left side of their heart.

February 22, 2010

Youngest Extra-Solar Planet Discovered - Astronomers have discovered the youngest extra-solar planet around a solar-type star, named BD+20 1790b.

Computer Scientists Develop New Generation Of Neuro-Computer - Intelligent machines that not only think for themselves but also actively learn are the vision of researchers of the Institute for Theoretical Science (IGI) at Graz University of Technology.

Scientists Unlock Mystery In Important Photosynthesis Step - An international team of scientists, including two from Arizona State University, has taken a significant step closer to unlocking the secrets of photosynthesis, and possibly to cleaner fuels.

February 19, 2010

System Unveiled For Regulating Anaesthesia Via Computer - A team of researchers from the Canary Islands has developed a technique for automatically controlling anaesthesia during surgical operations.

Photosynthesis: A New Source Of Electrical Energy? - Scientists in France have transformed the chemical energy generated by photosynthesis into electrical energy by developing a novel biofuel cell.

NASA's Chandra Reveals Origin O Key Cosmic Explosions - New findings from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory have provided a major advance in understanding a type of supernova critical for studying the dark energy that astronomers think pervades the universe.

February 18, 2010

Get Set For A Possible Glimpse Of An Asteroid - The most prominent asteroid in the sky is currently yours for the perusing with binoculars - and perhaps even the naked eye.

Attacking Cancer Cells With Hydrogel Nanoparticles - One of the difficulties of fighting cancer is that drugs often hit other non-cancerous cells, causing patients to get sick.

Artificial Foot Recycles Energy For Easier Walking - An artificial foot that recycles energy otherwise wasted in between steps could make it easier for amputees to walk, its developers say.

February 17, 2010

Cooling Inflammation For Healthier Arteries - Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have reported new reasons for choosing "heart-healthy" oats at the grocery store.

Study Finds That Bonobos Share Like Humans - New research suggests that the act of voluntarily sharing something with another may not be entirely exclusive to the human experience.

Particle May Be Leading Candidate For Mysterious Dark Matter - Physicists may have glimpsed a particle that is a leading candidate for mysterious dark matter but say conclusive evidence remains elusive.

February 16, 2010

First Brain Recordings From Flying Fruit Flies - Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have obtained the first recordings of brain-cell activity in an actively flying fruit fly.

Listening To Other Stars - When scientists realised that observing and analysing oscillations in the Sun could provide information about its interior, it was only a matter of time before Helioseismology was put to work on other stars.

Virtual Museum Guide - Archaeological treasures are brought to life by Fraunhofer software. Real images are enriched with digital information on a virtual tour through ancient buildings, creating a more vivid experience for the museum visitor.

February 15, 2010

Are High Speed Elephants Running Or Walking? - Most animals don't think anything of breaking into a run: they switch effortlessly from walking to a high-speed bouncing run. But what about elephants?

Layers In A Mars Crater Record A History Of Changes - Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago.

Cameras Of The Future - Scientists at the University of Oxford have developed a revolutionary way of capturing a high-resolution still image alongside very high-speed video - a new technology that is attractive for science, industry and consumer sectors alike.

February 12, 2010

Selective Brain Damage Modulates Human Spirituality - New research provides fascinating insight into brain changes that might underlie alterations in spiritual and religious attitudes.

New Magnetic Tuning Method Enhances Data Storage - Researchers in Chicago and London have developed a method for controlling the properties of magnets that could be used to improve the storage capacity of next-generation computer hard drives.

Self-Cannibalizing Cancer Cells Targeted - A team of scientists from Princeton University and The Cancer Institute of New Jersey has embarked on a major new project to unravel the secret lives of cancer cells that go dormant and self-cannibalize to survive periods of stress.

February 11, 2010

Biological Risks Of Eating Reptiles - Reptiles are bred in captivity primarily for their skins, but some restaurants and population groups also want them for their meat.

Ingredients For Life Present On Saturn's Moon Enceladus - Some of 'the major ingredients for life' are present on one of Saturn's moons, according to University College London scientists.

Moss Helps Chart The Conquest Of Land By Plants - Recent work at Washington University in St. Louis sheds light on one of the most important events in earth-history, the conquest of land by plants 480 million years ago.

February 10, 2010

Beer Is A Rich Source Of Silicon And Prevent Osteoporosis - A new study suggests that beer is a significant source of dietary silicon, a key ingredient for increasing bone mineral density.

Astronomers Find Rare Beast By New Means - For the first time, astronomers have found a supernova explosion with properties similiar to a gamma-ray burst, but without seeing any gamma rays from it.

Brain Location For Fear Of Losing Money Pinpointed - Two patients with rare lesions to the brain have provided direct of evidence of how we make decisions - and what makes us dislike the thought of losing money.

February 9, 2010

New Hubble Maps Of Pluto Show Surface Changes - NASA has released the most detailed set of images ever taken of the distant dwarf planet Pluto.

Uncorrelated Activity In The Brain - Interconnected networks of neurons process information and give rise to perception by communicating with one another via small electrical impulses known as action potentials.

Winning The War On Weight - A Monash University-led nationwide study into the health beliefs and behaviours of obese people has found that the more severely obese a person is, the less likely they feel they can reduce their weight.

February 8, 2010

Where Did Today's Spiral Galaxies Come From? - Galaxy morphology, or the study of the shapes and formation of galaxies, is a critical and much-debated topic in astronomy.

Dinosaur Had Vibrant Colors - Deciphering microscopic clues hidden within fossils, scientists have uncovered the vibrant colors that adorned a feathered dinosaur extinct for 150 million years.

NASA, GM Take Giant Leap In Robotic Technology - NASA and General Motors are working together to accelerate development of the next generation of robots and related technologies for use in the automotive and aerospace industries.

February 5, 2010

Computers That Use Light Instead Of Electricity? - MIT researchers have demonstrated the first laser built from germanium that can produce wavelengths of light useful for optical communication.

Merging Galaxies Create A Binary Quasar - Astronomers have found the first clear evidence of a binary quasar within a pair of actively merging galaxies.

Learning from Climate's Sedimental Journey - By analyzing sediments up to 4,000 years old, Susan Zimmerman is hoping to provide a tool to help predict future climate change.

February 4, 2010

Fossils Show Earliest Animal Trails - Trails found in rocks dating back 565 million years are thought to be the earliest evidence of animal locomotion ever found.

Ability To Navigate May Be Linked To Genes - Imagine that you are emerging from the subway and heading for your destination when you realize that you are going in the wrong direction.

Acetaminophen Protects Kidneys After Muscle Injury - Severe muscle injuries - such as crush injuries suffered in earthquakes, car accidents and explosions, and muscle damage from excessive exercise or statin drug interactions - can cause life-threatening kidney damage.

February 3, 2010

Suspected Asteroid Collision Leaves Odd X-Pattern - NASA's Hubble Space Telescope has observed a mysterious X-shaped debris pattern and trailing streamers of dust that suggest a head-on collision between two asteroids.

New Adhesive Device Could Let Humans Walk On Walls - Could humans one day walk on walls, like Spider-Man? A palm-sized device invented at Cornell that uses water surface tension as an adhesive bond just might make it possible.

Right-Handed And Left-Handed People Do Not See The Same Bright Side Of Things - Despite the common association of "right" with life, correctness, positiveness and good things, and "left" with death, clumsiness, negativity and bad things, recent research shows that most left-handed people hold the opposite association.

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