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Drilling for Hot Rocks: Google Sinks Cash into Advanced Geothermal Technology
Aug 21 2008 - Scientific American
For $1 billion over the next 40 years, the U.S. could develop 100 gigawatts of electricity generation that emits no air pollution and pumps out power to the grid even more reliably than coal-fired power plants, according to scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Now Google.org—the charitable wing of the search engine giant—has chipped in nearly $11 million for this renewable resource: so-called geothermal power, or tapping the Earth's heat to make electricity.
Tongue's Sixth "Taste" Discovered—Calcium
Aug 21 2008 - MSNBC
The capability to taste calcium has now been discovered in mice. With these rodents and humans sharing many of the same genes, the new finding suggests that people might also have such a taste.
Black Holes Dodge Middle Ground
Aug 21 2008 - BBC News
For black holes, there appears to be very little room for mediocrity, astronomers have found. A study suggests they come in either small or large sizes, but medium-sized ones are very rare or non-existent.
Researchers Question Wide Use of HPV Vaccines
Aug 21 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Two vaccines against cervical cancer are being widely used without sufficient evidence about whether they are worth their high cost or even whether they will effectively stop women from getting the disease, two articles in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine conclude.
Arsenic Linked to Diabetes
Aug 20 2008 - WebMD
Exposure to arsenic, typically through drinking water, is linked to diabetes, according a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Researchers studied 788 adults who had their urine tested for arsenic exposure; participants with type 2 diabetes had a 26% higher level of total arsenic in their urine than those without the disease.
Stem Cells Could Boost Blood Transfusion Supplies
Aug 20 2008 - Discovery.com News
Scientists say they've found an efficient way to make red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells. The results suggest that embryonic stem cells could someday supply type O-negative "universal donor" red cells for transfusion, they wrote. Experts called the new work an advance, but cautioned that major questions had yet to be answered.
Greenland Ice Core Reveals History of Pollution in the Arctic
Aug 20 2008 - National Science Foundation
A Greenland ice core reveals pollution in the Arctic region was higher 100 years ago. In fact, the research showed pollutants were two to five times higher at the beginning of the previous century than today. Continuous, monthly and annually averaged pollution records taken from the Greenland ice core dating from 1772-2003 produced the results. And although data showed heavy-metal pollution in the North Atlantic sector of the Arctic is substantially lower today than a century ago, researchers say there is still cause for concern.
Wild Dolphins Tail-Walk on Water
Aug 20 2008 - BBC News
A wild dolphin is apparently teaching other members of her group to walk on their tails, a behavior usually seen only after training in captivity. The tail-walking group lives along the south Australian coast. One of them spent a short time after illness in a dolphinarium 20 years ago and may have picked up the trick there.
Chew Gum for Colon Surgery Recovery
Aug 19 2008 - WebMD
Simply chewing gum after colon surgery can reduce recovery time and shorten hospital stays, a review of research shows. It could also save more than $100 million in health care spending annually, according to findings from one study.
Wrinkle Removers, Backed by Science
Aug 19 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Nostrums that promise to smooth wrinkled skin are a staple of snake-oil salesmen everywhere, but now there is strong evidence that certain kinds of treatment are effective. Over the past decade, researchers have been learning which treatments work, and why.
Aboriginal Kids Can Count Without Numbers
Aug 19 2008 - ScienceDaily
Knowing the words for numbers is not necessary to be able to count, according to a new study of aboriginal children by University College London and the University of Melbourne. The study of the aboriginal children—from two communities that do not have words or gestures for numbers—found that they were able to copy and perform number-related tasks.
Ancient Pagan Temple Found in Israel
Aug 19 2008 - National Geographic News
Ruins of a pagan temple from the second century A.D. have been unearthed in the heart of a Jewish capital that existed during Israel's Roman period.
Newly Detected Air Pollutant Mimics Damaging Effects Of Cigarette Smoke
Aug 18 2008 - ScienceDaily
A previously unrecognized group of air pollutants could have effects remarkably similar to harmful substances found in tobacco smoke, scientists report. Inhaling those pollutants exposes the average person up to 300 times more free radicals daily than from smoking one cigarette. The discovery could help explain the long-standing medical mystery of why non-smokers develop tobacco-related diseases like lung cancer.
New Minor Planet Helps Explain Comets
Aug 18 2008 - Yahoo! News
A newly discovered "minor planet" with an elongated orbit around the Sun may help explain the origin of comets, according to researchers. The object, known as 2006 SQ372, is starting the outward portion of a 22,500-year orbit that will take it 150 billion miles away from the Sun.
Antibodies Still Protect 1918 Flu Survivors
Aug 18 2008 - Reuters
Antibodies from survivors of the 1918 flu pandemic, the worst in human memory, still protect against the highly deadly virus, according to researchers. The findings by a team of influenza and immune system experts suggest new and better ways to fight viruses—especially new pandemic strains that emerge and spread before a vaccine can be formulated.
Stone Age Graveyard Shows Sahara Was Once Green
Aug 15 2008 - Reuters
A Stone Age graveyard on the shores of an ancient, dried-up lake in the Sahara is brimming with the skeletons of people, fish, and crocodiles who thrived when the African desert was briefly green, according to researchers.
Coastal Dead Zones Are Growing
Aug 15 2008 - Time Magazine
Over the past two or three decades, scientists have noticed with growing alarm that vast stretches of coastal waters are turning into dead zones—patches of seabed so depleted of oxygen that few creatures, if any, can survive there. Overall, researchers found that the number of new dead zones has grown exponentially over the past four decades.
Arsenic-Munching Bacteria Found
Aug 15 2008 - BBC News
In the warm, bubbling pools of Mono Lake in California, scientists have isolated a bacterium that fuels itself on arsenic.
Russian Invasion of Georgia Imperils U.S. Access to Space Station
Aug 14 2008 - Discover Magazine
In a strange side effect of Russia’s invasion of Georgia this weekend, the U.S. may lose access to Russia’s Soyuz spacecrafts that were expected to ferry NASA astronauts to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle fleet in 2010. Florida Senator Bill Nelson says that because of Russia’s new aggression, the U.S. Congress may refuse to pass an exemption required to let NASA buy services from Russia.
Robot with a Biological Brain
Aug 14 2008 - ScienceDaily
Researchers have developed a robot that is controlled by a biological brain formed from cultured neurons. This cutting-edge research is the first step to examine how memories manifest themselves in the brain, and how a brain stores specific pieces of data.
Octopuses Don't Have Eight Legs
Aug 14 2008 - Discovery.com
How many legs does an octopus have? The answer should be easy. But not any more. New research suggests they are not really eight-legged denizens of the deep, as popularly assumed; instead they use their front limbs more like arms—and can even tackle a Rubik's Cube.
Study: Runners Live Longer, Stay Healthier
Aug 13 2008 - MSNBC
A new study shows middle-aged members of a runner's club were half as likely to die over a 20-year period as people who did not run. Running reduced the risk not only of heart disease but also of cancer and neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, researchers found. The study also showed that people cannot use the risk of injury as an excuse not to run—the runners had fewer injuries of all kinds, including to their knees.
Experts Find "Scaredy-Cat" Gene
Aug 13 2008 - BBC News
Variations in a gene may help explain why horror movies shock some people and entertain others, say German scientists. People with one version of the COMT gene startled more dramatically to unpleasant images than others. The work suggests inborn differences make some prone to extreme anxiety and stress. Anxiety treatments could be tailored to fit these genes, the authors suggest.
Half of U.S. Adults Lack 20/20 Vision
Aug 13 2008 - ABC News
About half of all American adults don't have the 20/20 vision physicians consider optimal because they are nearsighted, farsighted, or have an irregular corneal curve known as astigmatism, a large, new study reports.
Invisibility Cloak One Step Closer, Scientists Say
Aug 11 2008 - Reuters
Scientists have created two new types of materials that can bend light the wrong way, creating the first step toward an invisibility cloaking device. One approach uses a type of fishnet of metal layers to reverse the direction of light, while another uses tiny silver wires, both at the nanoscale level.
First Greek Mummy Once Led Privileged Life
Aug 11 2008 - Discovery.com
The first evidence of artificial mummification in ancient Greece lies in a lead coffin at the Archaeological Museum of Thessaloniki, according to a Swiss-Greek research team. Dating to 300 A.D., when the Romans ruled Greece, the partially mummified remains belong to a middle-aged woman.
Neanderthal DNA Shows They Rarely Interbred with Us Very Different Humans
Aug 11 2008 - Discover Magazine
Scientists analyzed the DNA of 13 genes from the Neanderthal mitochondria and found they were distinctly different to modern humans, suggesting Neanderthals never, or rarely, interbred with early humans. The genetic material shows that a Neanderthal “Eve” lived around 660,000 years ago, when the species last shared a common ancestor with humans.
Cell Change Keeps Organs Young
Aug 11 2008 - BBC News
Researchers may have found a way to halt the biological clock that slows down our bodies over the decades. A US team thinks it may have found the genetic levers to help boost a system vital to cleaning up faulty proteins within our cells.
Scientists Create Stem Cells for Diseases
Aug 8 2008 - CBS News
Harvard scientists say they have created stems cells for 10 genetic disorders, which will allow researchers to watch the diseases develop in a lab dish. This early step, using a new technique, could help speed up efforts to find treatments for some of the most confounding ailments, the scientists said.
Date Set for Operation of Large Hadron Collider
Aug 8 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Officials at CERN, the European Center for Nuclear Research, announced that their new particle accelerator, the world’s largest, would begin operation on Sept. 10. On that date, the physicists and engineers will make the first attempt to circulate a beam of protons around a 17-mile-long super-cooled underground racetrack known as the Large Hadron Collider.
Should Clinical Trials Be Outsourced?
Aug 8 2008 - Time Magazine
India's vast skilled workforce gets western companies' jobs done cheaper and faster. Much has been written about the outsourced back-office services—in IT, finance, telecom—that have helped propel the country's growth to more than 8% a year. Now a lesser-known western industry has begun tapping India's outsourcing pool, prompting concerns not about jobs, but about the health and safety of the Indian population: Big Pharma.
They Smell Like Twins
Aug 8 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
How much you smell depends on how often you bathe, but precisely how you smell depends on your genes, a new study suggests. The body odors of identical twins are significantly more similar than the scents of unrelated people, researchers in Switzerland have found. The results could pave the way for new tools to diagnose disease or identify people based on scent.
Climate-Change Program to Aid Poor Nations Is Shut
Aug 7 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
The National Center for Atmospheric Research, an important hub for work on the causes and consequences of climate change, has shut down a program focused on strengthening poor countries’ ability to forecast and withstand droughts, floods, and other climate-related hazards.
Eye Spy: U.S. Scientists Develop Eye-Shaped Camera
Aug 7 2008 - ABC News
Borrowing one of nature's best designs, U.S. scientists have built an eye-shaped camera using standard sensor materials and say it could improve the performance of digital cameras and enhance imaging of the human body. The device might even lead to the development of prosthetic devices including a bionic eye, they said.
Lizard Love: 110-Year-Old Dinosaur Descendant to Become Daddy
Aug 7 2008 - CNN
At well over 100 years old and showing no interest in sex for over four decades, Henry is on his way to becoming a dad. Henry is a tuatara, a rare lizard-like creature that descended from dinosaurs. The tuatara has been endangered since the 1890s, and it's only found on a handful of New Zealand's offshore islands.
Booger Is Back: Woman Receives 5 Cloned Puppies
Aug 6 2008 - The Washington Post (requires free registration)
An American woman received five puppies that were cloned from her beloved late pitbull, becoming the inaugural customer of a South Korean company that says it is the world's first successful commercial canine cloning service.
A Natural Log: Our Innate Sense of Numbers Is Logarithmic, Not Linear
Aug 6 2008 - Scientific American
We humans seem to be born with a number line in our head. But a recent study suggests it may look less like an evenly segmented ruler and more like a logarithmic slide rule on which the distance between two numbers represents their ratio (when divided) rather than their difference (when subtracted).
Antarctic Fossils Paint Picture of Much Warmer Continent
Aug 6 2008 - ScienceDaily
National Science Foundation–funded scientists working in an ice-free region of Antarctica have discovered the last traces of tundra, in the form of fossilized plants and insects, on the interior of the southernmost continent before temperatures began a relentless drop millions of years ago.
Hostile-to-Life Substance Found in Martian Soil
Aug 5 2008 - Discovery.com News
NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has detected the presence of a chemically reactive salt in the Martian soil, a finding that if confirmed could make it less friendly to potential life than once believed.
MDs Urged to Stop Senior Prostate Cancer Test
Aug 5 2008 - Time Magazine
Doctors should stop routine prostate cancer screening of men over 75 because there is more evidence of harm than benefit, a federal task force advised Monday in a new blow to a much scrutinized medical test.
Thousands of Gorillas Found in Congo
Aug 5 2008 - CBS News
Wildlife researchers say that they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal's estimated population.
Deadly San Andreas Fault Longer Than Thought
Aug 5 2008 - National Geographic
If the tremor that struck California recently was not enough of a reminder of the region's dangerous side, a new study says the powerful San Andreas Fault extends further south than previously believed.
Ancestor of T-Rex Dinosaur Unearthed in Poland
Aug 4 2008 - Reuters
Palaeontologists digging in a brickyard in southern Poland have discovered the fossilized remains of a dinosaur that they say is a previously unknown ancestor of the Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Water Refineries?
Aug 4 2008 - National Science Foundation
New method extracts oxygen from water with minimal energy, potentially boosting efforts to develop solar as a 24-hour energy source.
The First Stars Started Small, Grew Fast, and Died Young
Aug 4 2008 - Discover Magazine
Researchers have run a sophisticated computer program that simulated early cosmic conditions and replicated the production of the first primordial star, which cast the first rays of starlight out into the blackness. The new model shows that the first star was tiny, but rapidly grew to enormous proportions before either flaming out or collapsing.
World's Smallest Snake Discovered on Barbados
Aug 4 2008 - Yahoo! News
As slim as a spaghetti noodle and able to fit snugly on a U.S. quarter, a new species of snake has been found hiding out in a forest on Barbados. The reptilian runt is now the world's smallest snake.
A Journey to the Center of the Earth, or How Low Can You Go?
Aug 1 2008 - Jacob Clark Blickenstaff—NSTA WebNews
We all know that a trip to the center of the Earth has to be science fiction, but one of the goals of this column is to help teachers use current films (sci-fi, fantasy, or action) to motivate students to think about science when they are outside the classroom. A Journey to the Center of the Earth can certainly be used to stimulate discussion of Earth science, physics, and even physiology.
Ancient Greeks Used "Computer" to Set Olympics Date
Jul 31 2008 - Reuters
A mechanical brass calculator used by the ancient Greeks to predict solar and lunar eclipses was probably also used to set the dates for the first Olympic games, according to researchers.
Nano-Food Fears: Scientists Say "Size Matters"
Jul 31 2008 - MSNBC
Those consumers already worried about genetically engineered or cloned food reaching their tables may soon find something else in their grocery carts to furrow their brows over—nano-foods. Recent studies have shown that nano-sized particles in some cases can invade cells and breach the blood-brain barrier, and some forms of nano-sized carbon could be as harmful as asbestos if inhaled in quantity.
Missing Chunks of DNA Tied to Schizophrenia Risk
Jul 31 2008 - The Wall Street Journal
Two huge international studies show that people who lack certain chunks of DNA run a dramatically higher risk of getting schizophrenia, a finding that could help open new doors to understanding and diagnosing the disease. These deletions are rare, each found in less than 1% of schizophrenia patients. But each one boosts the risk of disease by as much as 15-fold, by one estimate.
Men Become Happier Than Women by Midlife
Jul 31 2008 - ABC News
Women start out as happy young adults but by midlife wind up the sadder sex, says a new study on satisfaction related to financial circumstances and family life, which past research has shown play a significant role in well-being and happiness.
Is There a Laziness Gene?
Jul 30 2008 - Time Magazine
Based on preliminary studies in animals, researchers suggest that genetics may indeed predispose some of us for sloth. Using mice specially bred and selected according to their activity levels, they identified 20 different genomic locations that work in tandem to influence activity levels in mice—specifically, how far the animals will run.
It's Always Happy Hour for Several Species in Malaysian Rain Forest
Jul 30 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
German scientists have discovered that seven species of small mammals in the rain forests of western Malaysia drink fermented palm nectar on a regular basis. For several of the species, including the pen-tailed tree shrew, the nectar, which can have an alcohol content approaching that of beer, is the major food source—meaning they are chronic drinkers.
There's Life in Space, Says Someone Who's Been There
Jul 29 2008 - Reuters
The U.S. commander of space shuttle Discovery believes life probably exists somewhere in outer space, but there is a simple reason why aliens have not visited earth—the journey is too tough.
Dolly May Have Shrunk Gulf "Dead Zone"
Jul 29 2008 - USA Today
The oxygen-starved "dead zone" that forms every summer in the Gulf of Mexico is a bit smaller than predicted this year because Hurricane Dolly stirred up the water, a scientist reported Monday.
Study: "Pre-Dementia" Is Rising, Especially in Men
Jul 29 2008 - Yahoo! News
A milder type of mental decline that often precedes Alzheimer's disease is alarmingly more common than has been believed, and in men more than women, doctors report. Nearly a million older Americans slide from normal memory into mild impairment each year, researchers estimate, based on a Mayo Clinic study of Minnesota residents.
Is Smokey the Bear Worsening Global Warming?
Jul 29 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
Scientists have long believed that preventing or dousing forest fires helps combat global warming by saving trees and thus allowing forests to take up more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. But surprising new data on hundreds of California forest sites suggest the opposite. The work could help quantify the role of forests in the global carbon cycle and shape U.S. federal fire policy.
Wild Orangutans Treat Pain with Natural Anti-Inflammatory
Jul 28 2008 - NewScientist.com
Wild orangutans have been spotted using naturally occurring anti-inflammatory drugs. Four individuals have been seen rubbing a soothing balm onto their limbs, the first known examples of orangutans self medicating.
Fit Alzheimer's Patients Better Off
Jul 28 2008 - Time Magazine
Patients in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease who performed better on a treadmill test had less atrophy in the areas of the brain that control memory, according to a new study.
Tiny Fossils Reveal Warm Antarctic Past
Jul 28 2008 - National Geographic
Hundreds of fossils of crustacean-like animals no bigger than a pinhead have been found in Antarctica, scientists say. The 14-million-year-old called ostracods were found recently in an ancient lake bed in the Dry Valleys region in the continent's interior. The well-preserved fossils are likely the last remnants of a warmer Antarctica, before a massive and intense climate cooling millions of years ago set in, new research suggests.
Scientists Find Trigger for Northern Lights
Jul 25 2008 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Researchers working on a NASA mission to understand the interplay of magnetic fields and charged particles blown outward from the Sun have identified the trigger for the colorful electrical storms in the polar regions. They hope this is a step in developing reliable forecasts of geomagnetic storms that can disrupt satellites in orbit and power grids on the ground.
Aging May Be Controlled by Brake and Accelerator Genes
Jul 25 2008 - Scientific American
Scientists have discovered genetic switches in roundworms (Caenorhabditis elegans)--whose genetic makeup is remarkably similar to that of humans--that apparently cause the spineless critters to grow old when flicked on but, when off, may extend their lives. The new finding challenges the prevailing theory of aging, which is that our bodies wear out, or "rust," in much the same way as cars and other machines due to damage inflicted on our cellular DNA.
CDC: ADHD Increasing in Older Kids
Jul 25 2008 - Time Magazine
More older children are being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder while the rate is holding steady for children under 12, according to a government report released Wednesday.
Planet and Star in Puzzling Waltz
Jul 25 2008 - NewScientist.com
A newly discovered planet seems to have a surprisingly powerful influence on its parent star, forcing the star to rotate at exactly the same rate as the planet orbits. The planet's day is also the same length, so the pair are fixed in a face-to-face whirl. Gravity cannot explain the newly discovered exoplanet is so well synchronized with its star, says a UK astronomer.
"Greenhouse" Bees Spread Disease to Wild Bees
Jul 24 2008 - Reuters
Disease spread to wild bees from commercially bred bees used for pollination in agriculture greenhouses may be playing a role in the mysterious decline in North American bee populations, according to researchers.
Gates, Bloomberg Pledge $500 Million for Antismoking Programs
Jul 24 2008 - The Wall Street Journal
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg pledged to invest $500 million in antismoking programs in developing countries, building on a continuing effort by Mr. Bloomberg to end what he calls "the global tobacco epidemic."
A Load of Parasites
Jul 24 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
Long overlooked by ecologists, parasitic Trematodes and other moochers constitute more than 1% of the total biomass in some environments, a new study shows. That dwarfs the contribution of many birds and other top predators. The findings could dramatically change our view of how food webs work.
Scientists Recover Complete Dinosaur Skeleton
Jul 24 2008 - Yahoo! News
Japanese and Mongolian scientists have successfully recovered the complete skeleton of a 70-million-year-old young Tarbosaurus dinosaur, according to a spokesman for the Hayashibara Museum of Natural Sciences.
Singapore Will Study Kidney Trading
Jul 22 2008 - ABC News
Singapore is considering legalizing kidney trading to help meet demand for kidney transplants, the city-state's health minister said. The Health Ministry will examine the feasibility of providing payments to unrelated donors to augment the supply of kidneys, acknowledging that the suggestion has stirred controversy.
The Thinking Bladder
Jul 22 2008 - ScienceNow Daily News
Frequent trips to the bathroom are a regular annoyance for one of every six people in the United States. Now, new research in rats suggests that the bladder may actually influence various brain areas, including those responsible for memory and concentration.
Amazon River Powers Tropical Ocean's Carbon Sink
Jul 22 2008 - ScienceDaily
Nutrients from the Amazon River spread well beyond the continental shelf and drive carbon capture in the deep ocean, according to the authors of a multi-year study. The finding does not change estimates of the oceans' total carbon uptake, but it reveals the surprisingly large role of tropical oceans and major rivers.
Scholars Will Piece Together Oldest Copy of New Testament Online
Jul 22 2008 - USA Today
The oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, a 4th century version that had its gospels and epistles spread across the world, is being made whole again--online. The British Library says the full text of the Codex Sinaiticus will be available to Web users by next July, digitally reconnecting parts that are held in Britain, Russia, Germany, and a monastery in Egypt's Sinai Desert.
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