| August 29, 2003 |
| White
shark attack shows they're not man-eaters: Shark expert
Peter Klimley, a UC Davis researcher, says the recent attack on a swimmer
off Avila Pier in Central California supports his belief that adult
great white sharks are selective hunters that would rather eat fat
seals than bony human beings. |
| New
fish species discovered in Venezuela: Conservation International
(CI) announced today the discovery of a tiny fish with a blood red
tail in Venezuela's Upper Caura River. Previously unknown to science,
the bloodfin tetra (Aphyocharax yekwanae), is described in the March
2003 edition of the journal, 'Ichthyological Exploration of Freshwaters'. |
| How
to drop in on Titan: You need to have thought of almost
every eventuality when landing on a distant moon in a remote corner
of the Solar System. You must have tested your spacecraft to its limits
to be sure it will withstand the extreme conditions expected on Titan,
a moon of Saturn. |
| Geophysicist
says triggered deep earthquakes provide insight into how such earthquakes
get started: In a commentary in the Aug. 21 issue of
Nature, Harry Green, Distinguished Professor of Geology and Geophysics
in the Institute of Geophysics and Planetary Physics and the department
of earth sciences at UC Riverside, explains that two large, deep earthquakes
(depth greater than 300 km below the surface of the earth) that occurred
in Aug. 2002 in the Tonga subduction zone were causally related. |
| Astronomers
hunt Martian water from Earth: As Mars makes its closest
approach in almost 60,000 years, two Australian astronomers have used
the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT) in Hawaii to look for
signs that the planet once had liquid water – and so may have
hosted life. |
| Key
brain link in associative learning directly observed: Scientists
have directly demonstrated in rats that one area of the brain can support
the creation of memories by changing nerve cell firing patterns in
another part of the brain, aiding the animal's efforts to predict the
outcome of an action based on past experience and act on that prediction. |
| Lasers
spark new paths in radio-isotope transmutation - Scientific breakthrough
in the transmutation of isotopes: A collaboration has
led to the transmutation of long-lived radioactive iodine-129 into
short-lived iodine-128 using very high intensity laser radiation. Until
recently, transmutation could only be achieved in nuclear reactors
or particle accelerators. |
| Unexpected
discovery about earthęs core: The core of the earth doesn't
look the way it was expected to. Scientists can now show that iron,
under extremely high pressure, such as that found in the inner earth,
takes on unexpected properties, and this can be of importance in understanding
the movements of the earth, such as, earthquakes. |
August 28, 2003 |
| Chemists
develop self-assembling silicon particles, a first step toward robots
the size of a grain of sand: Chemists at the University
of California, San Diego have developed minute grains of silicon that
spontaneously assemble, orient and sense their local environment, a
first step toward the development of robots the size of sand grains
that could be used in medicine, bioterrorism surveillance and pollution
monitoring. |
| Methane
thought to be responsible for mass extinction: What caused
the worst mass extinction in Earth's history 251 million years ago?
A Northwestern University chemical engineer believes the culprit may
be an enormous explosion of methane (natural gas) erupting from the
ocean depths. |
| Nanometer-sized
particles change crystal structure when they get wet: As
scientists shrink materials down to the nanometer scale, creating nanodots,
nanoparticles, nanorods and nanotubes a few tens of atoms across, they've
found weird and puzzling behaviors that have fired their imaginations
and promised many unforeseen applications. |
| Research
on relative species abundance provides new theoretical foundation: A
paper in this week's journal Nature, building on radically new ecological
theory by University of Georgia professor Stephen Hubbell, challenges
half-century-old ideas about how natural plant and animal communities
are put together. |
| Arsenic-eating
bacteria may save lives and clean mines: Melbourne scientists
plan to harness the strange appetite of newly discovered Australian
bacteria to help purify arsenic-contaminated water. |
| Mega-Capable
microchips: Efficient and low-cost biochip technology
developed at the Moscow Institute for Molecular Biology allows rapid
identification of mutant tuberculosis strains. |
| Airborne
sensor technology assists emergency responders: Scientists
at Los Alamos National Laboratory and emergency first-responders from
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have developed airborne infrared
sensor technology that can aid emergency crews by detecting and mapping
hazardous and toxic chemical plumes unleashed by disaster or terrorist
acts. |
| Immunosuppressant
everolimus significantly reduces life-threatening heart transplant
complications: Treatment with the new immunosuppressant
drug everolimus is significantly more effective in reducing the severity
and incidence of serious complications in heart transplant patients
than the current therapy, according to a study in the Aug. 28 The New
England Journal of Medicine. |
August 27, 2003 |
| PNNL
supercomputer fastest open system in U.S.: The Department
of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is now home to the
United States fastest operational unclassified supercomputer. The laboratory's
11.8 teraflops industry-standard HP Integrity system came to full operating
power this week, marking the next advance in high-performance computing
designed to enable new insights in the environmental and molecular
sciences, including chemistry, biology, climate and subsurface chemistry. |
| Scientists
find key to ocean bacterium that helps control greenhouse gas: Scientists
are a step closer to understanding how the world's oceans influence
global warming - as well supply us with the oxygen we breathe. |
| Research
finds better drug therapy for children predisposed to bipolar disorder: Children
with psychiatric problems who also have a high risk of developing bipolar
disorder respond well to a mood-stabilizing drug, according to a study
that is the first to examine the drug's effect on children predisposed
to bipolar disorder. |
| First
relapsing fever outbreak in Montana identified: A 2002
outbreak of tick-borne relapsing fever in Montana--the first confirmation
of relapsing fever in the state--has led to the discovery of a bacterium
and species of tick not known previously to exist in Montana. |
| Cloak
of human proteins gets HIV into cells: Three Johns Hopkins
researchers propose, for the first time, that HIV and other retroviruses
can use a Trojan horse style of infection, taking advantage of a cloak
of human proteins to sneak into cells. |
| New
tool for weather forecasters: A new processing system
now operational in ESA ground stations will help weather forecasters
to benefit once more from unique all-weather data from the ERS-2 scatterometer. |
| Children
with sickle cell anemia often don't receive antibiotics to prevent
deadly infections: Children with sickle cell disease
often do not get the daily dose of antibiotics that they need to protect
them from deadly infections, according to a study led by researchers
at the University of Washington. |
| Amphetamine
or cocaine exposure may limit brain cell changes that normally occur
with life changes: Researchers know that certain kinds
of experiences, such as those involved in learning, can physically
change brain structure and affect behavior. |
August 26, 2003 |
| Planetary
tilt not a spoiler for habitation: In B science fiction
movies, a terrible force often pushes the Earth off its axis and spells
disaster for all life on Earth. In reality, life would still be possible
on Earth and any Earth-like planets if the axis tilt were greater than
it is now, according to Penn State researchers. |
| Major
flares are predictable on far-away stars, analysis of radio observations
reveals: For the first time, astronomers are able to
predict when major flares--enormous explosions that shoot hot gases
into space--will erupt on stars outside our solar system. |
| Close
encounters with Mars: On 27 August 2003, Mars is less
than 56 million kilometres away - approaching closer to our planet
than it has done in over 60 000 years. |
| Researchers
identify genes that may be associated with prognosis in pediatric leukemia: A
panel of 35 genes have been identified whose expression may be associated
with prognosis and response to treatment in pediatric patients with
acute myeloid leukemia (AML), according to a study published in the
September 1st issue of Blood. |
| Mayo
Clinic researchers discover that donor kidney protects itself in new
body: A long-standing medical discussion about how transplanted
organs survive in a new body has received provocative new evidence
from Mayo Clinic research. |
| Scientists
shed new light on speed of infant learning: The question
of how and when we develop our knowledge of object behavior - such
as knowing that when a ball rolls behind a sofa, that it is likely
to roll out the other side - is an ongoing puzzle in cognitive science. |
| Taking
a load off the national power grid: A team of researchers
at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has developed the first of its
kind solar-powered, integrated window system that could significantly
reduce dependency on the same energy grid that caused the biggest power
outage in U.S. history. |
| Energy
companies, conservation groups issue biodiversity recommendations for
oil & gas development: The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative
(EBI), a partnership of four energy companies and five conservation
organizations, release collaborative report, Energy and Biodiversity:
Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas Development |
August 25, 2003 |
| Space
Infrared Telescope Facility lifts off aboard Delta II rocket: NASA's
Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF) successfully launched from
Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1:35:39 a.m. Eastern
Daylight Time (10:35:39 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time, August 24) aboard
a Delta II launch vehicle. |
| Granular
materials not so puzzling after all, physicists find: Understanding
the physics of granular materials is important in industries that handle
and process large amounts of the materials, such as pills and powders
in the pharmaceutical and food industries and sand in the construction
business. |
| Ground-breaking
research to develop •consciousę robot: Researchers at
the Universities of Essex and Bristol will soon be launching a ground-breaking
project to develop a 'conscious' robot. |
| Unraveling
the genetics of fusiform rust: USDA Forest Service researchers
at the Southern Institute of Forest Genetics (SIFG) in Saucier, MS
are mapping genes in the pathogen that causes fusiform rust to provide
future forest managers with more insurance against the damaging disease. |
| Molecules
discovered that extend life in yeast, human cells: Mice,
rats, worms, flies, and yeast all live longer on a low-calorie diet,
which also seems to protect mammals against cancer and other aging-related
diseases. Now, in yeast cells, researchers have for the first time
found a way to duplicate the benefits of restricted calories in yeast
with a group of compounds found in red wine and vegetables. |
| Research
team reveals molecular key to cell division: Anyone who
made it to high school biology has learned about mitosis, or cell division.
One cell divides into two, two into four and so forth in a process
designed to pass on exact copies of the DNA in chromosomes to daughter
cells. |
| Scientists
explore complex nature of superconductivity: Researchers
from the National High Magnetic Field Laboratory (NHMFL) at Los Alamos
National Laboratory believe they have discovered evidence to support
leading theories about the underlying mechanism of high-temperature
superconductivity. |
| Earth
has a new look: A brand new look and understanding of
the place we call home. That's what you'll get in a complete global
topographic data set generated by NASA and the National Imagery and
Mapping Agency (NIMA). |
August 22, 2003 |
| New
findings could dash hopes for past oceans on Mars: After
a decades-long scientific quest, scientists analyzing data from the
Thermal Emission Spectrometer (TES) on NASA's Mars Global Surveyor
spacecraft have at last found critical evidence the instrument was
built to search for - the presence of water-related carbonate minerals
on the surface of Mars. |
| Tides
control flow of Antarctic ice streams: The moon is often
accused of causing lunacy, bringing on labor and transforming werewolves.
Now it seems that in reality, the moon, through the tides, is responsible
for the pattern of motion exhibited by ice streams in the Antarctic,
according to a team of geologists. |
| Los
Alamos researchers measure atmospheric isotope buildup: Researchers
at Los Alamos National Laboratory have shown that deuterium, a naturally
occurring stable isotope of hydrogen, concentrates itself in molecular
hydrogen (H2) in a key layer of the atmosphere. |
| New
principle guides memory dynamics: Is it possible to intentionally
forget specific memories, without affecting other memories? Many would
undoubtedly be happy to learn that unpleasant memories might be erased. |
| Distant
galaxies shed light on the reionisation of the Universe, but raise
further questions: Astronomers from the UK and Germany
have discovered some of the most distant galaxies ever seen, about
12,600 million light years from Earth. The discovery was made using
the Very Large Telescope (VLT), the European Southern Observatory''s
(ESO) facility in Chile. |
| New
brain cancer treatment extends survival for more patients: A
doctor at the James P. Wilmot Cancer Center has developed a new brain
cancer treatment that, in a pilot study, shows promise at keeping more
patients alive longer than the best current standard treatments for
the disease. |
| Textbook
case of tectonic movement is wrong, ways new study: Results
from an expedition to the sea floor near the Hawaiian Islands show
evidence that the deep Earth is more unsettled than geologists have
long believed. |
| Livermore
scientists achieve first full mapping of phonons in plutonium: Making
a landmark event in the history of the experimental investigation of
plutonium, scientists from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
for the first time have fully mapped the phonons in gallium-stabilized
delta plutonium. |
August 21, 2003 |
| El
Niżo's surprising steady pacific rains can affect world weather: Scientists
using data from a NASA satellite have found another piece in the global
climate puzzle created by El Niżo. El Niżo events produce more of a
steady rain in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This is important because
whenever there is a change in the amount and duration of rainfall over
an area, such as the central Pacific, it affects weather regionally
and even worldwide. |
| PNNL
advances power grid reliability, envisions Grid of the Future: The
Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory is a leader
in power grid reliability, from impacts of aging infrastructure, deregulation
and vulnerabilities to terrorism to envisioning a power grid of the
future using technological advancements. |
| How
AIDS destroys immunity: A human gene named ATR normally
protects people by preventing the replication of cells damaged by radiation
or toxic chemicals. |
| New
generation of smallpox vaccines to be tested at Saint Louis University: Two
new investigational smallpox vaccines will be studied as part of a
clinical trial starting soon at Saint Louis University's Center for
Vaccine Development. Saint Louis University is the only location in
the United States participating in the trial. |
| Researchers
present new findings on the natural hydrogen cycle: New
evidence is emerging on the probable effects of an anticipated reliance
on hydrogen as a fuel: surprisingly, we may need to look down in the
ground rather up in the air, for answers. |
| Flip
a Sun's pole for more dust: Astronomers once thought
they understood how the Sun worked. A large ball of gas, generating
energy by nuclear fusion, it also created a magnetic field enclosing
Earth and the other planets in a gigantic magnetic bubble. |
| Patent
application for first ever coloured-light laser: Physicists
at the University of Bonn have applied to patent a laser capable of
producing almost every colour, from infrared through the entire visible
spectrum to the UV range - and this is done not with high-cost optical
crystals, but with the aid of a simple glass fibre. |
August 20, 2003 |
| Toxic
protein could explain Alzheimer's and lead to breakthroughs: Researchers
at Northwestern University have discovered for the first time in humans
the presence of a toxic protein that they believe to be responsible
for the devastating memory loss found in individuals suffering from
Alzheimer's disease. |
| New
solid-state power switch safeguards electric service: Electricity
moves across miles in seconds to power manufacturing and utilities
nationwide. But, for all its speed, the loss of just fractions of seconds
of electric power is costing the U.S. economy $100 billion a year. |
| ESA
sees stardust storms heading for Solar System: Until
ten years ago, most astronomers did not believe stardust could enter
our Solar System. Then ESA's Ulysses spaceprobe discovered minute stardust
particles leaking through the Sun's magnetic shield, into the realm
of Earth and the other planets. Now, the same spaceprobe has shown
that a flood of dusty particles is heading our way. |
| Ecologist
finds devastation, hope in Iraqi marshes: An expedition
by Duke University wetlands expert Curtis Richardson to evaluate damage
to Iraq's storied Mesopotamian Marshlands revealed an environmental
disaster of vast proportions. However, he also found the potential
for restoring a significant portion of the marshes and with them the
Marsh Arab culture. |
| Purdue
instrument to fashion custom-made proteomics chips: Purdue
University scientists are developing an instrument that can fabricate
custom-made biochips for protein analysis, offering a potentially powerful
new tool for drug development and basic medical research. |
| Scientists
develop novel way to screen molecules using conventional CDs and compact
disk players: Chemists at the University of California,
San Diego have developed a novel method of detecting molecules with
a conventional compact disk player that provides scientists with an
inexpensive way to screen for molecular interactions and a potentially
cheaper alternative to medical diagnostic tests. |
| Borneo
elephants - A high priority for conservation: With scant
fossil evidence supporting a prehistoric presence, scientists could
not say for sure where Borneo's elephants came from. Did they descend
from ancient prototypes of the Pleistocene era or from modern relatives
introduced just 300-500 years ago? |
| Estrogen
found as link between obesity and breast cancer in postmenopausal women: Researchers
have known that obesity is associated with an increased risk of breast
cancer in postmenopausal women, but a new study now explains why. |
August 19, 2003 |
| Element
110 is named darmstadtium: At the 42nd General Assembly
in Ottawa, Canada, the IUPAC Council officially approved the name for
element of atomic number 110, to be known as darmstadtium, with symbol
Ds. |
| Sandia
researchers create nanocrystals nature's way: Sandia
National Laboratories researchers are developing complex nanomaterials
that look strikingly similar to the microstructures of diatoms and
seashells. The materials may have potential for a wide range of applications. |
| Field
Museum archaeologists discover tomb under Zapotec residential complex
in Oaxaca, Mexico: On a high hilltop terrace in Oaxaca,
Mexico, a team of Field Museum archaeologists discovered a 1,500-year-old
underground tomb while excavating a palace-like residence. |
| Promising
West Nile virus vaccine protects monkeys: Scientists
at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
have created a promising vaccine against West Nile virus by replacing
parts of a distantly related virus with proteins from the West Nile
virus. |
| Smart-1
- All set to fly to the moon: Europe is going to the
Moon for the first time! In just over two weeks the European Space
Agency's (ESA) lunar probe, SMART-1, begins its journey to the Moon. |
| With
supercooling and the right geometry, 'warm' glaciers can trap and transport
silt: It may take them a century to advance a few meters,
but the bottoms of some glaciers churn with supercooled activity, according
to an article by a Lehigh University geologist in the Aug. 14 issue
of Nature magazine. |
| Global
analysis finds a large portion of the earth is still wilderness: According
to the most comprehensive global analysis of its kind ever conducted,
wilderness still covers a large portion of the Earth's land surface
and contains only a tiny percentage of the world's population but,
surprisingly, only five wilderness areas hold globally significant
levels of biodiversity. |
August 18, 2003 |
| Small
subset of cells has big role in controlling immunity: A
small subset of cells that tells the immune system whether to attack
may be a future target for therapies to help patients fight tumors
and keep transplanted organs. |
| Sandia
team develops cognitive machines: A new type of 'smart'
machine that could fundamentally change how people interact with computers
is on the not-too-distant horizon at the Department of Energy's Sandia
National Laboratories. |
| Nitrous
oxide record sheds light on glacial carbon dioxide: A
106,000 year long record of nitrous oxide concentrations and a shorter
record of nitrogen and oxygen isotopes show that both marine and terrestrial
nitrous oxide production increased in unison and effectively by the
same proportional amount during the end of the last glacial period. |
| Researchers
publish final results of groundbreaking smallpox vaccination study: Study
results show smallpox death toll may be lower than expected in the
event of an outbreak and one vaccination may be as effective as many. |
| Microbe
from depths takes life to hottest known limit: It may
be small, its habitat harsh, but a newly discovered single-celled microbe
leads the hottest existence known to science. |
| Drug
that mimics vitamin D hormone may boost effectiveness of prostate cancer
treatment: A drug designed to mimic the effects of Vitamin
D hormone may be able to boost the effectiveness of radiation treatment
for prostate cancer, report researchers from Wake Forest University
Baptist Medical Center in the current on-line edition of the British
Journal of Cancer. |
| Stem-Cell
defect underlies common genetic disorder: Howard Hughes
Medical Institute researchers have found that Hirschsprung disease,
one of the most common genetic disorders, is caused by a defect that
blocks neural stem cells from forming nerves that control the lower
intestine. |
| Researchers
identify second gene responsible for rare syndrome associated with
skeletal defects: UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas
researchers have discovered a second gene responsible for a rare syndrome
that causes the loss of bone from the lower jaw, fingers, toes and
collarbone. |
| Long-term
decline of coral reef ecosystems reported: An article
in the August 15 issue of the journal Science warns against the human
exploitation of coral reef ecosystems around the world, noting that
these 'ecosystems will not survive for more than a few decades, unless
they are promptly and massively protected from human exploitation.' |
| International
Space Station Status Report: The Expedition 7 crew, Commander
Yuri Malenchenko and NASA International Space Station Science Officer
Ed Lu, this week conducted science experiments, maintenance activities
and prepared for the upcoming departure and arrival of Progress cargo
and Soyuz vehicles. |
August 14, 2003 |
| Carnegie
Mellon develops new process for growing bone: Carnegie
Mellon University's Jeffrey Hollinger and his research team will receive
$1.12 million over the next four years from the National Institutes
of Health (NIH) to develop a new therapy for regenerating bone. |
| Biggest
cosmic explosions also may propel fastest objects in universe: The
most powerful explosions in the universe, gamma-ray bursts, may generate
the most energetic particles in the universe, known as ultrahigh-energy
cosmic rays (UHECRs). |
| Atmospheric
bromine, which attacks ozone layer, is decreasing: Researchers
have discovered that total bromine in the lower atmosphere has been
decreasing since 1998 and is now more than five percent below the peak
reached that year. |
| Microbes'
'blueprints' promise insights into oceans, more: The
world's smallest photosynthetic organisms, microbes that can turn sunlight
and carbon dioxide into living biomass like plants do, will be in the
limelight next week. |
| Glaciers
strive for steady-state in bed erosion: Glaciers erode
the mountain landscape, creating piles of boulders, rocks and gravel,
and leaving scooped out tarns and cirques, but until recently, geologists
were unsure how to model this erosion because the feedback mechanisms
controlling it were unknown. |
| Biostatisticians
demonstrate method to bolster accuracy of vaccine studies: Is
my illness serious enough to warrant a doctor visit? Do I have the
flu or the common cold? These mundane questions posed by millions every
year during flu season bedevil scientists who study influenza vaccines
and can obscure the effectiveness of a trial vaccine. |
| Lake
ecosystem critical to East African food supply is threatened by climate
change: In an important new study directly linking climatic
warming with the survival of lake organisms, researchers have found
multiple lines of evidence showing that increasing air and water temperatures
and related factors are shrinking fish and algae populations in a major
lake. |
| Childhood
leukemia survivors not receiving radiation have same life expectancy
as general population: A new study from St. Jude Children's
Research Hospital indicates that survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic
leukemia (ALL) who have not received radiation treatment as part of
their therapy have virtually the same long-term life experiences as
the general population. |
August 13, 2003 |
| Boost
your brain power: Research undertaken by scientists at
the University of Sydney and Macquarie University in Australia has
shown that taking creatine, a compound found in muscle tissue, as a
dietary supplement can give a significant boost to both working memory
and general intelligence. |
| Extraordinary
number of unique species discovered in Caribbean: The
Caribbean Sea has the greatest concentration of marine life in the
entire Atlantic and is home to hundreds of species that live only in
precariously small areas, making life there far richer and more delicate
than previously thought, according to a new study. |
| Herb
product used to lower cholesterol works no better than placebo: A
natural extract often favored by health-conscious Americans as an alternative
to manufactured drugs in lowering cholesterol has turned out to be
no more effective than a placebo in clinical trials. |
| Schizophrenia
could cause patients to forget their medication: Patients
with schizophrenia must take medication regularly to reduce their risk
of relapse. But the disease impairs memory, according to an article
published in BMC Psychiatry, meaning these patients may have difficulty
in remembering to take their tablets. |
| Study
reveals genetic activity of key step in malaria parasite's cycle: In
a finding that could significantly enhance scientists' ability to develop
and test drugs and vaccines to treat the most common and lethal form
of malaria, a UCSF team has identified the full breadth of genetic
activity at a key stage of development in the parasite Plasmodium falciparum. |
| New
weapon for fighting antibiotic drug resistance: The most
important antibiotics in general use today are the b-lactam family
of products, but the medical community faces a serious problem with
these antibiotics: the increasing development of drug resistance. |
| Global
warming not man-made phenomenon: Global warming will
not be helped much by efforts to reduce carbon dioxide emission into
the atmosphere, say two scientists who have studied the matter. |
August 12, 2003 |
| Researchers
find Antarctic lake water will fizz like a soda: Water
released from Lake Vostok, deep beneath the south polar ice sheet,
could gush like a popped can of soda if not contained, opening the
lake to possible contamination and posing a potential health hazard
to NASA and university researchers. |
| Scienists
find that stem cells in the bone marrow become liver cells: They
still don't have a personality, and they're waiting for the maturity
call. Stem cells in our bone marrow usually develop into blood cells,
replenishing our blood system. |
| New
compound that acts on peripheral receptors may be treatment for some
nerve pain: Results of a new study in mice and rats show
that a compound which acts on a specific type of cell receptor found
only outside the central nervous system decreases the animals' pain
responses. |
| NASA
funds U. of Colorado study of changes in earth's glacier systems: Researchers
at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado
at Boulder will receive $1.8 million from NASA to compile an online
database of the world's glaciers that combines historical records with
measurements from the latest technologies in satellite remote sensing. |
| Purdue
physicists hone rules for nanotech game: Nanotechnologists
could have a firmer handle on the forces at play in their microscopic
world thanks to recent physics research at Purdue University. |
| Diagnosing
chronic fatigue? Check for sinusitis: A new study published
in the August 11 issue of the Archives of Internal Medicine demonstrates
a possible link between unexplained chronic fatigue and sinusitis,
two conditions previously not associated with each other. |
| Threatened
juvenile salmon get scientific assistance: Research has
found that thousands of miles of essential juvenile salmon habitat
are blocked by tens of thousands of culverts that lay beneath Pacific
Northwest roadways. |
| Vitamins
C and E improve cardiovascular health in children with high cholesterol: An
estimated 50 million children have high levels of the bad cholesterol--known
as LDL--that puts them at high risk for suffering heart attacks as
adults. |
August 11, 2003 |
| Europeęs
first Moon probe prepares for launch: Europe's
first probe to the Moon, SMART-1, is about to begin a unique journey
that will take it into orbit around our closest neighbour, powered
only by an ion engine which Europe will be testing for the first time
as main spacecraft propulsion. |
| Research
shows targeted DNA vaccine may reverse autoimmune disease: Researchers
have developed a way to tailor therapies to combat the specific inappropriate
responses of autoimmune diseases in mice. The researchers also have
shown that their technique can provide information needed to predict
a disease's progression. |
| 'Spintronics'
could enable a new generation of electronic devices: Moore's
Law - a dictum of the electronics industry that says the number of
transistors that fit on a computer chip will double every 18 months
- may soon face some fundamental roadblocks. |
| Columbia
research examines mega earthquake threats: Researchers
have found an important new application for seismic reflection data,
commonly used to image geological structures and explore for oil and
gas. |
| Biologists
discover key step for 'designer plants' that could clean up heavy metals
at hazardous waste sites: Researchers have demonstrated
that a chemical that permits plants to detoxify heavy metals can be
transported from the roots to stems and leaves, a finding that brings
the possibility of using plants to clean up soil contaminated with
toxic metals such as lead, arsenic and cadmium one step closer to reality. |
| Dispersing
seeds is newly discovered role for deer -- except the plants often
are noxious weeds: About the hoofed mammal gardeners
love to hate, there's good news and the other kind from Cornell University
researchers who study plant-eating habits of the white-tailed deer. |
| Separating
uranium from plutonium: Moscow researchers have made
the supercritical carbon dioxide work. Saturated with special reagents,
carbon dioxide first extracts uranium from the spent nuclear fuel waste,
then extracts plutonium and then flies away into the atmosphere. |
| International
Space Station Status Report: The Expedition 7 crew, Commander
Yuri Malenchenko and NASA International Space Station Science Officer
Ed Lu, continued work this week with unique microgravity science experiments
and maintained the operating systems of the orbiting lab. |
August 8, 2003 |
| NASA
ozone satellite improves snowstorm forecasts: Scientists
in sunny, hot Florida are thinking cold thoughts since they added ozone
measurements from a NASA satellite into computer weather forecast models
and improved several factors in a forecast of a major winter snowstorm
that hit the United States in 2000. |
| Dual
discoveries in genetic processing improve accuracy of genome information: University
of Connecticut Health Center geneticists have made a two-fold discovery
in gene recoding that will significantly increase understanding of
the information in genome sequences and could prove to be a knowledge
expressway scientists need for unraveling nervous system disorders
such as Parkinson Disease and epilepsy. |
| Summit
agrees to improve coordination of global Earth observation: High-level
delegates from 30 countries and 22 international organisations agreed
at the Earth Observation Summit, held last Thursday in Washington,
to improve cooperation on Earth observation and to remove barriers
to the exchange of information between countries and organisations. |
| Geological
tool helps scientists map the interior of the ocean: A
new application of a decades-old technique to study Earth's interior
is allowing scientists 'see' the layers in the ocean, providing new
insight on the structure of ocean currents, eddies and mixing processes. |
| Scientists
demonstrate new method for discovering cancer gene function: Using
a new approach for dissecting the complicated interactions among many
genes, scientists at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute have discovered how
a common cancer gene works in tandem with another gene to spur the
unchecked growth of cells. |
| Researchers
identify new cause of genomic instability: Researchers
sifting through the indispensable machinery that senses and fixes broken
DNA have discovered a new culprit that can induce instability in the
genome and thereby set the stage for cancer to develop. |
| The
key in the catalyst: A USC chemist has found what eventually
could be a cheaper and more efficient way to create acetic acid, a
petrochemical used in products ranging from aspirin to cosmetics. |
August 7, 2003 |
| Early
hominids may have behaved more 'human' than we had thought: Our
earliest ancestors probably behaved in a much more 'human' way than
most scientists have previously thought, according to a recent study
that looked at early hominid fossils from Ethiopia. |
| Controlling
body size by regulating the number of cells: Why are
elephants bigger than mice? The main reason is that mice have fewer
cells. Research published in Journal of Biology this week uncovers
a key pathway that controls the number of cells in an animal, thereby
controlling its size. |
| Museum
scientists to repeat landmark 80-year-old Yosemite wildlife survey: A
party of biologists from the University of California, Berkeley, is
camping out around Yosemite National Park this summer, reprising a
survey of park wildlife first conducted more than 80 years ago by an
earlier generation of UC Berkeley scientists. |
| Taking
the guesswork out of long-term drought prediction: It's
tricky, this weather business - predicting drought, floods, rain or
snow, especially months in advance. But NASA scientists at the National
Space Science and Technology Center in Huntsville, Ala., are working
to take the guesswork out of long-term prediction. |
| Fast-acting
Ebola vaccine protects monkeys: A single shot of a fast-acting,
experimental Ebola vaccine successfully protects monkeys from the deadly
virus after only one month. |
| Envisat
focuses on carbon-rich peat swamp forest fires: Multiple
sensors on ESA's Envisat environmental satellite have been used to
peer beneath a vast pall of smoke above tropical Borneo and detect
fire hotspots - known to add millions of tons of harmful greenhouse
gases to the atmosphere. |
| Dim
future for universe as stellar lights go out: The universe
is gently fading into darkness according to three astronomers who have
looked at 40,000 galaxies in the neighbourhood of the Milky Way. |
August 6, 2003 |
| Supernovae shape up
for cosmology: Scientists have established that the extraordinarily
bright and remarkably similar astronomical 'standard candles' known
as Type Ia supernovae do not explode in a perfectly spherical manner. |
| New treatment slows
Bone Metastasis - Patients survive incurable disease longer: Together
with US colleagues researchers from the University of Bonn have developed
a new treatment which enables certain types of cancer to be treated
more effectively than was previously the case. |
| Is erosion helping
Himalayas to grow?: Does erosion, which occurs over years
or decades, influence mountain-building, which requires eons? Do surface
forces like wind and rivers contribute to tectonic shifts miles below
the earth's surface? |
| Jaws of clamworm are
hardened by zinc: A new study of the clamworm, an intertidal
creature, shows that it has jaws made partly of zinc, making them strong,
stiff and tough - fundamental properties by which all materials are
evaluated. |
| Optical control technique
could enable microfluidic devices powered by surface tension: Physicists
at the Georgia Institute of Technology have demonstrated a new optical
technique for controlling the flow of very small volumes of fluids
over solid surfaces. |
| Inside the Glacier
Fire - Mobile radar tracks swirling winds in Montana blazes: A
mobile Doppler radar tracking the twists and turns of air billowing
around a wildland fire in Montana has gathered data that will shed
light on fire dynamics and could help improve forecasting of these
intense blazes and their weather impacts. |
| Pigeonholing quantum
phase transitions: A team of physicists led by researchers
at Rice University has developed the first thermodynamic method for
systematically classifying quantum phase transitions, mysterious electromagnetic
transformations that are widely believed to play a critical role in
high-temperature superconductivity. |
August 5, 2003 |
| Phoenix will land
at Mars' icy north pole, study water, search for habitable zone: In
May 2008, the progeny of two promising U.S. missions to Mars will deploy
a lander to the water-ice-rich northern polar region, dig with a robotic
arm into arctic terrain for clues on the history of water, and search
for environments suitable for microbes. |
| SMART-1 - the lunar
adventure begins: This is clearly Europe's time for interplanetary
exploration. Having sent the first European mission to Mars, ESA is
about to launch its first probe to the Moon. |
| Gene mutation found
for eye disease that mimics macular degeneration: Scientists
have been studying a family whose members have an eye disease that
looks like age-related macular degeneration (AMD), but that has a rarer
pattern of inheritance that results in an exceptionally high incidence
of the disease among family members in the study. |
| CryoSat takes significant
step towards final completion: CryoSat, the first Earth
Explorer mission within ESA's Living Planet Programme, is now entering
the final phase of assembly prior to its scheduled launch next year. |
| Green teaęs cancer-fighting
allure becomes more potent: Green tea's ability to fight
cancer is even more potent and varied than scientists suspected, say
researchers who have discovered that chemicals in green tea shut down
one of the key molecules that tobacco relies upon to cause cancer. |
| How a little bit of
cold can kill a big manatee: While Florida may be warm
enough even in the coldest winter months to attract sun-seeking tourists,
when the thermometer does dip, it can prove deadly for endangered Florida
manatees. |
| Discoveries made about
cellular reaction processes from ancient life: How did
life begin? What chemical combination launched the first organism with
self-contained metabolism? And then what happened? |
| Another global warming
surprise - Grasslands may become wetter as temperatures rise: Grassland
ecosystems could become wetter as a result of global warming, according
to a new study by researchers from Stanford University and the Carnegie
Institution of Washington. |
August 4, 2003 |
| Search for life could
include planets, stars unlike ours: The search for life
on other planets could soon extend to solar systems that are very different
from our own, according to a new study by an Ohio State University
astronomer and his colleagues. |
| Whither comes weather?
Scientists suggest stratosphere's role: What happens
in the stratosphere, the atmospheric layer just above where commercial
airplanes fly, may have a larger influence on our climate and weather
than previously thought. |
| Chinaęs Three Gorges
Dam: Water churns through diversion holes in the world's
largest dam - China's Three Gorges project on the Yangtze River. The
waters behind the dam have risen to a level of 135 metres since the
sluice gates were first closed in early June, and in August Three Gorges
is due to generate its first commercial hydroelectricity. |
| Vitamin C may protect
against ulcer-causing bacteria, study finds: A study
led by researchers at the San Francisco VA Medical Center (SFVAMC)
has found that the lower the level of vitamin C in the blood the more
likely a person will become infected by Helicobacter pylori, the bacteria
that can cause peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. |
| Dengue infection more
serious for elderly persons: Older people who become
infected with the dengue virus are more likely to need hospitalization,
are more likely to suffer more severe forms of the infection, and are
more likely to die compared to any other age group except infants. |
| From studies of a
rare human mutation to new approaches to herbicides or antibiotics: The
promise of the genomics revolution--the ability to compare important
genes and proteins from many different organisms--is that such detailed
knowledge will produce new scientific insights that will improve human
quality of life. |
| Stem cell death gives
clue to brain cell survival: A signal that triggers half
the stem cells in the developing brain to commit suicide at a stage
where their survival will likely do more harm than good has been identified
by researchers at the Medical College of Georgia and the University
of Georgia. |
| International Space
Station Status Report: The Expedition 7 crew, Commander
Yuri Malenchenko and NASA International Space Station Science Officer
Ed Lu, spent their 14th week in space performing various science experiments,
practicing with the Station's robotic arm and maintaining Station systems. |
August 1, 2003 |
| Climate kick from the
Southern Ocean: This much was already known: in the closing
phase of the last ice age the Southern Hemisphere began warming first.
As a result, the Antarctic sea ice melted. It was at least a thousand
years later - as evidenced by investigations of Greenland ice cores
- that the high northern latitudes began to get warmer. |
| Folic acid may have
no immediate impact on Down Syndrome: University of Toronto
researchers have found that fortifying foods with folic acid may not
reduce the incidence of Down Syndrome. |
| Narrow wind causes
huge ocean impact: A narrow but intense wind may be the
mechanism responsible for the existence of a newly discovered ocean
convection site east of Greenland, says a University of Toronto scientist. |
| First structure of
transporter enzyme family is solved: Scientists are a
step closer to understanding how essential nutrients, vitamins and
minerals are ferried into cells. |
| New mechanism for gene
silencing identified: Humans are estimated to have some
30,000-70,000 genes, but in any one of the body's many cell types,
most of these genes are turned off, or silenced, appropriately prevented
from doing their work of protein production. |
| Eating peanuts helps
keep heart healthy without weight gain: Adding peanuts
to that apple a day that keeps the doctor away is a good way to stay
heart-healthy and trim, says a Purdue University professor. |
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