NSTA - Science News

Tweak Gravity: What If There Is No Dark Matter?
Nov 6 2009 - Scientific American
Modifications to the theory of gravity could account for observational discrepancies, but not without introducing other complications.

Sick of Swine Flu? Here Comes H3N2
Nov 6 2009 - ScienceInsider
Although the world's attention is focused on the novel H1N1 virus causing the swine flu pandemic, H3N2, a seasonal strain of influenza, has popped up in many East Asian countries—and some variants in circulation may outfox the seasonal vaccine in use.

Tiny Tech Sparks Cell Signal Find
Nov 6 2009 - BBC News
Tiny metal particles have been shown to cause changes to DNA across a cellular barrier—without having to cross it.

Swine Flu Confirmed in Iowa Cat
Nov 5 2009 - Time
A 13-year-old Iowa cat has been infected with swine flu, veterinary and federal officials said Wednesday in what is believed to be the first case of the H1N1 virus in a feline in the United States.

Midwest Quakes Are Aftershocks from 1800s
Nov 5 2009 - MSNBC
The small earthquakes that sporadically rattle the central United States may actually be aftershocks from a few extremely large quakes that occurred in the region almost 200 years ago, according to a new study.

A Powerful Identity, a Vanishing Diagnosis
Nov 5 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Experts want to remove an autism label from a diagnostic manual, but people with the disorder are divided.

A Wish List of 10,000 Genomes
Nov 5 2009 - ScienceInsider
Heartened by a continuing rapid decline in the cost of genome sequencing, a group of genome and museum experts has launched an ambitious plan to decipher 10,000 vertebrate genomes.

The Mountains That Froze the World
Nov 4 2009 - ScienceNow Daily News
The rise of the Appalachians plunged Earth into an ice age so severe that it drove nearly two-thirds of all living species extinct. That's the conclusion of a new study, which finds that the mountains' rocks absorbed enough greenhouse gas to freeze the planet.

Messenger Spies Iron on Mercury
Nov 4 2009 - BBC News
Mercury is even more of an "iron planet" than scientists had previously supposed. Richer concentrations of iron and titanium have been seen on Mercury's surface by Nasa's Messenger probe.

Claude Lévi-Strauss, French Anthropologist, Dies at 100
Nov 4 2009 - The Washington Post (requires free registration)
Claude Lévi-Strauss, 100, one of the preeminent social anthropologists of the 20th century, died over the weekend in Paris. He was best-known for popularizing a social science theory known as "structuralism."

Aspirin Only for Heart Patients
Nov 3 2009 - BBC News
The use of aspirin to ward off heart attacks and strokes in those who do not have obvious cardiovascular disease should be abandoned, researchers say.

Home Flu Cures: Bad Medicine?
Nov 3 2009 - The Wall Street Journal
Heard the one about the raw onion? With concerns over the H1N1 flu rising and supplies of vaccine running scarce, it's no surprise that alternative remedies are circulating on the web.

European Water Mission Lifts Off
Nov 2 2009 - BBC News
A European satellite is set to provide major new insights into how water is cycled around the Earth.

Snows of Kilimanjaro Could Vanish in 20 Years: Study
Nov 2 2009 - Yahoo! News
The snows capping Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, are shrinking rapidly and could vanish altogether in 20 years, most likely due to global warming, according to a new study.

Want a Solution? Try Offering a Prize
Nov 2 2009 - The Boston Globe
Prize fever has breached the walls of government bureaucracy, and more federal agencies are using competitions as a strategy to spur innovation. The competitions leverage modest amounts of taxpayer money to attract inventors and investors to certain scientific and technological problems.

World's Most Environmentally Sound Building Opens
Nov 2 2009 - Voice of America News
A French engineering firm has built what is being hailed as the world's most environmentally sound building, a structure that produces more energy than it consumes.

7.3 Billion Years Later, Einstein’s Theory Prevails
Oct 30 2009 - The New York Times (requires free registration)
Astronomers said a contest between gamma rays of differing energies and wavelengths tested a proclamation by Einstein on the speed of light.

7 Ghoulish Archaeological Discoveries
Oct 30 2009 - MSNBC
From brains to preserved bodies, scientists have dug up some scary stuff.

Frog Embryos 'Smell' Predators
Oct 30 2009 - BBC News
Frogs learn to recognize the smell of their enemies while they are still developing as embryos, say scientists.

Russia Hopes Nuclear Ship Will Fly Humans to Mars
Oct 29 2009 - Yahoo! News
Russia should build a new nuclear-powered spaceship for prospective manned missions to Mars and other planets, the nation's space chief said Thursday.

Scientists See Blast from Past—13 Billion Years Ago
Oct 29 2009 - Reuters
Astronomers have seen the furthest back in time ever, measuring light from a star that exploded 13 billion years ago, just after the dawn of the universe.

Big Weight Gain For Kids on Psych Drugs
Oct 28 2009 - Time
Children on widely used psychiatric drugs can quickly gain an alarming amount of weight; many pack on nearly 20 pounds and become obese within just 11 weeks, a study found.

Radiation from Medical Scans Soaring
Oct 27 2009 - Healthday.com
Americans' exposure to radiation from medical procedures has exploded over the past few decades, to six times the level of 1980, a new report shows.

Mars May Have Caves, Scientists Say
Oct 27 2009 - Los Angeles Times
Images of ancient lava flows from the Arsia Mons volcano suggest an extensive system near the Red Planet's equator. Caves could one day aid space explorers.

'Coral Bank' Created to Preserve Threatened Reefs
Oct 27 2009 - Discovery News
An international meeting on climate change in Copenhagen has heard the prospects of saving the world's coral reefs now appear so bleak there are plans to freeze samples to preserve them for the future.

Colossal 'Sea Monster' Unearthed
Oct 27 2009 - BBC News
The fossilized skull of a colossal "sea monster" has been unearthed along the UK's Jurassic Coast. The ferocious predator, which is called a pliosaur, terrorized the oceans 150 million years ago.

Vitamin D Levels Lacking in Millions of U.S. Children
Oct 26 2009 - Time
Millions of American children may not be getting enough vitamin D, according to a new report out today. The sunshine vitamin is essential for helping kids build healthy bones and ward off rickets.

'Secret Life of Scientists': What Do They Do When Not in the Lab?
Oct 26 2009 - USA Today
A juggling climate scientist, a back-flipping engineer, "leech man," and a physics student who plays in the cult band Harry and the Potters star in a new web-only series that delves into the quirky secret lives of scientists and engineers.

'Sidewalk Astronomy' to Sweep the U.S. This Weekend
Oct 23 2009 - Yahoo! News
To celebrate "Galilean Nights," a project supported by the International Year of Astronomy 2009, public observing events will be held this upcoming weekend in over 50 countries. More than 75 events in the United States are planned.

Gates Foundation Grants Support Unusual Research
Oct 22 2009 - The Boston Globe
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced new grants of $100,000 each for 76 unconventional approaches to world problems. The five-year health research grants are designed to encourage scientists to pursue bold ideas that focus on ways to prevent and treat infectious diseases.

NASA Rolls Out New Moon Rocket for Test Flight
Oct 21 2009 - Reuters
NASA on Tuesday carted a sleek, towering rocket out to the launch pad to test the vehicle planned to replace the retiring space shuttles and return U.S. astronauts to the Moon.

"Bionic Eye" May Help Blind See
Oct 21 2009 - ScienceDaily
A new artificial retina, an array of electrodes implanted on the back of the eye, has been found to restore partial vision to totally blind people.

Researchers Create an Electromagnetic "Black Hole" the Size of a Salad Plate
Oct 21 2009 - Scientific American
A collection of metamaterial rings efficiently absorbs microwave radiation the way black holes gobble up matter and light, and an optical-light analogue may not be far behind.

Congress to Explore Geoengineering Next Month
Oct 20 2009 - ScienceInsider
The U.S. Congress will explore deliberate tinkering with the climate in its first-ever hearing on geoengineering early next month, ScienceInsider has learned. Congressional committees have shied away from focusing hearings on the controversial topic until now.

Household Insecticides May Be Linked to Autoimmune Diseases
Oct 19 2009 - Healthday.com
New research suggests a link between women's exposure to household insecticides—including roach and mosquito killers—and the autoimmune disorders rheumatoid arthritis and lupus.

Scientists Find Trawl of 32 New Planets
Oct 19 2009 - Reuters
European astronomers announced they had found 32 new planets orbiting stars outside our solar system and believe their find means that 40% or more of Sun-like stars have such planets.

Libertarian Gives Smithsonian Millions for Evolution
Oct 15 2009 - ScienceInsider
The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History has announced a $30 million privately funded initiative on human evolution that will sponsor a permanent museum exhibit, educational programs, and research. The bulk of the money—$20.7 million—is going to the David H. Koch Hall of Human Origins, scheduled to open in March 2010.

Bill Gates Calls for New Green Revolution in Agriculture
Oct 15 2009 - The Seattle Times
More than 50 years ago, U.S. philanthropy funded the first "Green Revolution" to grow more food for the world. Now Bill Gates, the world's richest philanthropist, is backing a new green revolution, and telling the world it should be "greener than the first."

'Magnetricity' Observed and Measured for First Time
Oct 15 2009 - ScienceDaily
A magnetic charge can behave and interact just like an electric charge in some materials, according to new research led by the London Centre for Nanotechnology.

Green Spaces Boost the Body and the Mind
Oct 15 2009 - Healthday.com
The closer you live to nature, the healthier you're likely to be. For instance, people who live within 1 kilometer of a park or wooded area experience less anxiety and depression, Dutch researchers report.

Bizarre Galaxy Is Result of Pair of Spiral Galaxies Smashing Together
Oct 14 2009 - ScienceDaily
A recent NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image captures what appears to be one very bright and bizarre galaxy, but is actually the result of a pair of spiral galaxies that resemble our own Milky Way smashing together at breakneck speeds.

Aging Heart Can Be Prevented, Say Scientists
Oct 14 2009 - Reuters
Scientists in Japan said they have uncovered evidence that shows it may be possible to delay or prevent heart failure in humans.

Obama Honors Science Medalists, Present and Future
Oct 8 2009 - ScienceInsider
In a formal ceremony in the East Room of the White House, the president honored this year's winners of the National Medal of Science and National Medal of Technology. A few hours later he stepped outside into the clean, crisp evening and, dressed more casually, invited some 200 middle school students to join him to look through a sea of telescopes assembled on the White House lawn.

NASA Blasting Moon in Search of Water
Oct 8 2009 - Discovery Channel
NASA plans a surgical strike on the Moon on Friday, hoping to hit water. The operation, scheduled for 7:31 a.m. EDT, will unfold live on the Internet, as well as under the watchful eyes of dozens of amateur and professional astronomers and orbiting observatories.