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Master Stem Cell for Human Heart Identified
Jul 2 2009 - HealthDay.com
For the first time, researchers have identified a single "master" stem cell in humans that is capable of differentiating into all three major cell types that make up the human heart.
Expert Panels Named in Common-Standards Push
Jul 2 2009 - Education Week
The two national organizations coordinating a push for common academic standards have named the 29 people who are deciding what math and language arts skills students will need to know and when, along with the 35 people who will formally critique the group's work.
Finally, an Average Black Hole
Jul 2 2009 - ScienceNOW Daily News
Heavyweight and lightweight black holes abound in the universe, but nobody has detected a middleweight—and some scientists argue they don't exist. Now, astronomers say they have found the first conclusive evidence for one of these elusive objects at the fringe of a distant galaxy.
Competitions Encourage Innovators to Tackle Tough Challenges
Jul 2 2009 - Voice of America News
Nearly 300 movers and shakers from the world's corporate, nonprofit, and government sectors packed a United Nations meeting hall recently for the Incentive2Innovate Conference, which had been convened to explore cutting-edge ways to spur inventiveness through competition for prize money and other rewards.
Amur Tigers on Genetic Brink
Jul 2 2009 - BBC News
The world's largest cat, the Amur tiger, is down to an effective wild population of fewer than 35 individuals, new research has found. Although up to 500 of the big cats actually survive in the wild, the effective population is a measure of their genetic diversity.
To Fix Health Care, Some Study Developing World
Jul 2 2009 - The Wall Street Journal
Cost-effective medical practices deployed in developing nations are delivering good results, prompting many in the U.S. to ask whether the same solutions can be done here.
Students Design, Build, Race Pedal-Powered Submarines
Jul 2 2009 - USA Today
The 10th International Submarine Races drew 21 college and even a few high school teams from around the world to see whose 10- to 16-foot-long crafts would impress the judges and win for innovation, speed, cost-effectiveness, and best use of composite materials.
WHO Says Tamiflu-Resistant H1N1 "Isolated Case"
Jul 1 2009 - Reuters
The first H1N1 infection found to be resistant to the antiviral drug Tamiflu represents an isolated case with no current implications for public health, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday.
Mississippi River Delta to "Drown" by 2100?
Jul 1 2009 - National Geographic News
The Mississippi River Delta is drowning, according to new research that predicts the surrounding coastline will be inevitably reshaped in coming decades.
Primate Ancestor May Be from Asia, not Africa
Jul 1 2009 - MSNBC
A new Myanmar fossil primate, Ganlea megacanina, suggests the common ancestor of humans, monkeys, and apes evolved from large-toothed primates in Asia and not Africa, according to new research.
Studies Probe "Value-Added" Measures
Jul 1 2009 - Education Week
A new study suggests that "value-added" methods for determining the effectiveness of classroom teachers may be misleading. Value-added assessments measure the effectiveness of schools and teachers by measuring the gains that their students make on standardized tests over the course of a school year.
Cancer Researcher at U. of Chicago Wins $500,000 Genetics Prize
Jul 1 2009 - Chronicle of Higher Education
Janet Davison Rowley has won this year's Gruber Prize in genetics for research that has "revolutionized how cancer is understood and treated," the Peter and Patricia Gruber Foundation, which presents the prize, announced today.
Intense Heat Killed the Universe's Would-Be Galaxies, Researchers Say
Jul 1 2009 - ScienceDaily
Millions of would-be galaxies failed to develop after being exposed to intense heat from the first stars and black holes formed in the early Universe, according to new research.
Assessing Accountability
Jul 1 2009 - Inside Higher Ed
Most states don't have systems in place to measure college students' learning outcomes, and rare is the state that actually uses accountability data to drive policy decisions, a new report says.
Most Complete Earth Map Published
Jun 30 2009 - BBC News
The most complete terrain map of the Earth's surface has been published. The data, comprising 1.3 million images, come from a collaboration between the US space agency Nasa and the Japanese trade ministry; it covers 99% of the Earth's surface and will be free to download and use.
Roberts: Supreme Court Not Setting School Rules
Jun 30 2009 - The Boston Globe
Don't look to the Supreme Court to set school rules, only to clarify them when officials have abdicated that responsibility, Chief Justice John Roberts said Saturday.
End of a Space Odyssey
Jun 30 2009 - ScienceNOW Daily News
After almost 17 years in orbit, the scientific mission of the Ulysses spacecraft will end today. The satellite, originally designed for a 5-year study of the solar wind and interstellar dust from a unique orbit over the Sun's poles, has suffered a fatal defect in its attitude-control system.
Peer Pressure Plays Major Role in Environmental Behavior
Jun 30 2009 - National Science Foundation
People are more likely to enroll in conservation programs if their neighbors do—a tendency that should be exploited when it comes to protecting the environment, according to results of a new study.
U.S. Push for Free Online Courses
Jun 29 2009 - Inside Higher Ed
Community colleges and high schools would receive federal funds to create free, online courses in a program that is in the final stages of being drafted by the Obama administration. The program is part of a series of efforts to help community colleges reach more students and to link basic skills education to job training.
NSTA Legislative Update: June 29, 2009
Jun 29 2009 - Yosef Getachew
SPEAK Act Legislation Introduced; Commerce, Justice, and Science Appropriations Bill Passed;
New STEM Legislation Introduced
Forgotten Evolutionist Rediscovered at Last
Jun 29 2009 - MSNBC
Two hundred years after Charles Darwin's birth, academics and amateur historians call attention to the contributions made by another evolutionist, Alfred Russel Wallace.
Pope Says Tests "Seem to Conclude" Bones Are the Apostle Paul's
Jun 29 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
The first scientific tests on what are believed to be the remains of the Apostle Paul, the Roman Catholic saint, "seem to conclude" that they belong to him, Pope Benedict XVI said Sunday. Benedict said scientists had conducted carbon dating tests on bone fragments found inside the sarcophagus and confirmed that they date from the first or second century.
National Education Accountability Requires Overhaul
Jun 29 2009 - EducationNews.org
Test scores in reading and math alone cannot describe a school's contributions to the full range of student outcomes. Instead, a new accountability system that combines testing with qualitative evaluation is needed to replace the discredited No Child Left Behind Act.
Project Seeks to Measure Ed Tech's Value
Jun 29 2009 - eSchool News
An ambitious new research project aims to revolutionize education by showing that well-implemented technology initiatives can save states money after an initial investment.
The "Rare" Disease That Isn't
Jun 29 2009 - The Wall Street Journal
Fibromuscular dysplasia is a disease largely unknown to the public and even a majority of doctors. Yet evidence suggests that the disease isn't rare at all it: It simply isn't looked for, so it's seldom diagnosed.
Beekeeping the New "Green" Thing to Do
Jun 29 2009 - Voice of America
As bee populations decline around the world, beekeeping is becoming the environmentally "in" thing to do, even in urban settings.
Throwing a Lifeline to Struggling Teachers
Jun 29 2009 - The Washington Post (requires free registration)
The program, adopted by more than 80 school systems nationwide including Montgomery County, Maryland, confronts one of public education's most vexing problems: What to do with under-performing teachers?
Simulated vs. Hands-On Lab Experiments
Jun 26 2009 - Education Week
In recent years, the College Board, which authorizes AP classes and offers college-level material to high school students, has been trying to determine whether simulated labs in some science courses can take the place of real-world experiments.
Cloud Clue in Space Blast Mystery
Jun 26 2009 - BBC News
There is new evidence in the debate regarding the 1908 Tunguska event that destroyed 80 million trees in Siberia.
New Data Show Jump in Science and Engineering Graduate Study
Jun 26 2009 - National Science Foundation
New data show that enrollment in U.S. science and engineering graduate programs in 2007 grew 3.3% over comparable data for 2006—the highest year-over-year increase since 2002 and nearly double the 1.7% increase seen in 2006.
Bacteria Plan Ahead, Anticipating Future Events
Jun 26 2009 - Discovery Channel
Just as humans have learned to connect dark clouds with rain, so too have bacteria and yeast learned to use one event to predict the arrival of another.
"Geyser" Moon Sprinkles Salt on Saturn's Rings
Jun 26 2009 - National Geographic News
The icy, geyser-like plumes spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus are sprinkling the planet's famous rings with sodium salts, a new study says. The finding may mean that the moon, which is completely encrusted with ice, hides a liquid ocean deep beneath its surface.
House Panel Cuts DOE Education Program
Jun 26 2009 - ScienceInsider
A House of Representatives spending panel rejected a comprehensive, $115 million education initiative that energy secretary Steven Chu has touted as essential for training a new cadre of scientists pursuing basic and applied research on clean energy.
Students Without Borders
Jun 26 2009 - The Washington Post (requires free registration)
Even as globalization has fed worries about whether U.S. students can keep up with the rest of the world, it also has spawned classroom connections across oceans.
Women Scientists Applauded on Title IX Anniversary
Jun 25 2009 - ScienceInsider
Women athletes and scientists marked the 37th anniversary of a U.S. law prohibiting discrimination against women in education at a White House event during which young women were urged to go for the gold.
New Cancer Drug Shows Promise
Jun 25 2009 - BBC News
Researchers say a new type of cancer treatment has produced highly promising results in preliminary drug trials. Olaparib—a member of a new class of drug called PARP inhibitors—targets cancer cells, but leaves healthy cells relatively unscathed.
Scientists Study Foes' Ways at Creation Museum
Jun 25 2009 - The Boston Globe
In Petersburg, Kentucky, more than six dozen paleontologists visited the Creation Museum on Wednesday to get a glimpse of the marketing tactics used by the other side of the evolution debate.
The Schoolhouse Flunks
Jun 25 2009 - The Washington Post (requires free registration)
In a symbolic step to reconstitute No Child Left Behind, workers are disassembling a schoolhouse at the Education Department, where No Child Left Behind is slated for changes.
Longer Life Linked to Specific Foods in Mediterranean Diet
Jun 25 2009 - ScienceDaily
Some food groups in the Mediterranean diet are more important than others in promoting health and longer life according to new research published on the British Medical Journal website.
Easing a College Financial Aid Headache
Jun 25 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
The Obama administration is moving to simplify the Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or Fafsa, a notoriously complicated form that asks students seeking financial aid for college as many as 153 questions.
Being More Infantile May Have Led to Bigger Brains
Jun 25 2009 - Scientific American
Genetic evidence helps explain why humans are so radically different from chimpanzees, even though both species share most of the same genes and split apart only about six million years ago, a short time in evolutionary terms.
Cheaper eBook Reader Challenges Kindle
Jun 25 2009 - eSchool News
With the popularity of electronic reading devices on the rise, and a handful of colleges set to pilot Amazon.com's Kindle DX this fall, a new eBook reading device from New York-based Interead, called the COOL-ER, offers a less expensive alternative that its creator, Neil Jones, says educators could find appealing.
Crews Begin Work on World's Deepest Underground Science Lab in Quest to Understand Dark Matter
Jun 24 2009 - Los Angeles Times
Far below the Black Hills of South Dakota, crews are building the world's deepest underground science lab at a depth equivalent to more than six Empire State buildings—a place uniquely suited to scientists' quest for mysterious particles known as dark matter.
Teacher Incentive Fund Addresses Three Key Issues
Jun 24 2009 - EducationNews.org
The Teacher Incentive Fund has the potential to attract and retain effective teachers in high-poverty schools, by offering incentives based on performance, and spur changes across the country in how teachers are compensated.
Evolution Faster When It's Warmer
Jun 24 2009 - BBC News
Climate could have a direct effect on the speed of "molecular evolution" in mammals, according to a new study. The results could help explain why the warm tropics are so species-rich.
Researchers Say Increased Biofuel Production Could Harm Water Resources
Jun 24 2009 - Voice of America News
A new study by researchers at Rice University in Houston, Texas warns that expanded production of crops to produce biofuels could damage water resources.
Science Takes to the Ice
Jun 24 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Science is aiming to help ice skaters meet the sport's physical challenges without sacrificing their health.
Carnegie Corporation: "Do School Differently"
Jun 24 2009 - eSchool News
Urging the nation to "do school differently," a new report recommends a set of concrete actions for federal, state, and local education leaders to take to transform math and science instruction and bring the United States back to the forefront of global competition.
What Do U.S. Research Universities Need?
Jun 23 2009 - ScienceInsider
Four members of Congress have asked the U.S. National Academies to tell it what the government needs to do to keep U.S. academic research strong. A similar 2005 letter spawned the influential Rising Above the Gathering Storm report on how to strengthen the U.S. economy by investing more in research and training of the scientific workforce.
Ruling Extends Special-Education Funding
Jun 23 2009 - The Boston Globe
In a decision that could help disabled students get needed services and cost school districts millions of dollars, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that parents of special-education students may seek government reimbursement for private school tuition, even if they have never received special-education services in public school.
Big US Study Will Test Vitamin D, Fish Oil
Jun 23 2009 - The Seattle Times
Two of the most popular and promising dietary supplements—vitamin D and fish oil—will be tested in a large, government-sponsored study to see whether either nutrient can lower a healthy person's risk of getting cancer, heart disease, or having a stroke.
Education Chief to Warn Advocates That Inferior Charter Schools Harm the Effort
Jun 23 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
The Obama administration has made opening more charter schools a big part of its plans for improving the nation's education system, but Education Secretary Arne Duncan will warn advocates of the schools on Monday that low-quality institutions are giving their movement a black eye.
Patients Often Not Told about Abnormal Test Results
Jun 23 2009 - HealthDay
People who visit their primary care physician for routine blood tests or screenings are often not informed of the results, a new study finds.
Carbon Counter Debuts in N.Y.C.
Jun 22 2009 - ScienceInsider
A new attraction debuted outside Madison Square Garden recently: a 20-meter-tall billboard that flashes the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The current number is 3.6 trillion metric tons, and is rising by about 2 billion a month.
21st-Century Skills Movement Grows
Jun 22 2009 - e-School News
Illinois, Louisiana, and Nevada have become the latest states to join the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), a national effort to integrate 21st-century skills into teaching and learning to prepare students for a global, information-based economy.
Can Health Co-Ops Do the Job of a Public Plan?
Jun 22 2009 - Time
Despite no public debate on the issue and scant knowledge about how health cooperatives could be set up, such self-sustaining, member-based organizations are suddenly emerging as the consensus alternative to a public plan.
Do Schools Need More PE Time to Fight Obesity?
Jun 22 2009 - USA Today
In the fight against childhood obesity, getting kids moving is one of the most effective ways to combat the problem. But only Illinois and Massachusetts require P.E. classes for all kids in kindergarten through 12th grade.
For Colleges, Small Cuts Add Up to Big Savings
Jun 22 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
While colleges and universities slashed their spending this year with wrenching layoffs, hiring freezes, and halts in construction projects, they whittled away at costs with smaller, quirkier economies, too.
World's First Controllable Molecular Gear at Nanoscale Created
Jun 22 2009 - ScienceDaily
Scientists have scored a breakthrough in nanotechnology by creating the world's first molecular gear of the size of 1.2 nanometers whose rotation can be deliberately controlled.
Giant Dinosaurs Get Downsized
Jun 22 2009 - Yahoo! News
Some dinosaurs were the largest creatures ever to walk on land, including the classic long-necked, whip-tailed Diplodicus, but a new study suggests it and its many extinct brethren weighed as little as half as much as previously thought.
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