13-Jun-2010
New CU-Boulder study indicates an ancient ocean may have covered one-third of Mars
A vast ocean likely covered one-third of the surface of Mars some 3.5 billion years ago, according to a new study conducted by University of Colorado at Boulder scientists.
14-Jun-2010
Use of unproven mammography tool soars with Medicare coverage
In a study illustrating the potentially powerful influence of political pressure on medical practice, a UC Davis physician-researcher has found that use of a largely unproven mammography screening device has surged since Medicare began covering its cost.
14-Jun-2010
What do we really know about the crucifixion of Jesus?
The many different accounts of the crucifixion of Jesus find little support in historical sources. The reason is that antique sources generally lack descriptions of crucifixions, says Gunnar Samuelsson, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, who recently finished his doctoral thesis on the topic.
14-Jun-2010
Podcasting language
English is increasingly the lingua franca (as it were) of commerce, the internet, science, indeed many areas of human endeavor. Learning English is critical to international success for countless individuals in non-English speaking countries. As mobile technologies have matured so have the possibilities for learning. Researchers in Australia and Taiwan suggest that podcasting could be used to foster a positive attitude in learning English as a foreign language.
Refashioned rat livers could boost transplants
14:23 14 June 2010
Livers stripped bare of their original tissue then recoated with new cells have been successfully transplanted into rats for the first time
14-Jun-2010
Specially trained nurse practitioner detected same breast abnormalities as surgeon
When UK researchers compared the number of breast cancer abnormalities detected by a surgeon and a specially trained nurse practitioner, they found that the findings were consistent in 92 percent of cases. They believe that nurses could play a key role in making sure that women with suspected breast cancer can access expert advice as quickly as possible.
Asteroid samples recovered
14-Jun-2010
Carnivorous mammals track fruit abundance
The scientific community already knew that many carnivores eat fruit, but had thought this was something purely anecdotal. Now researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela have shown that carnivorous animals such as foxes and martens play an important role in helping fruiting plants to reproduce and disperse their seeds.
Data hint at 'five God particles'
There may be more than one version of the elusive "God particle" - or Higgs boson - according to a new study.
14-Jun-2010
Study shows adding UV light helps form 'Missing G' of RNA building blocks
For scientists attempting to understand how the building blocks of RNA originated on Earth, guanine has proven to be a particular challenge. By adding UV light to a model prebiotic reaction, researchers have discovered a route by which guanine could have been formed.
14-Jun-2010
High-yield agriculture slows pace of global warming, say Stanford researchers
Advances in high-yield agriculture achieved during the so-called Green Revolution have not only helped feed the planet, but also have helped slow the pace of global warming by cutting the amount of biomass burned -- and the resulting greenhouse gas emissions -- when forests or grasslands are cleared for farming. Stanford researchers estimate those emissions have been trimmed by over half a trillion tons of carbon dioxide.
'Much more water' in Moon's rocks
The Moon might be much wetter than scientists had previously thought, according to a new study of lunar rocks.
15-Jun-2010
Mutations on 3 genes could predispose people to suicidal behaviour
Three genes that have barely been studied to date have now provided fresh knowledge about patients with suicidal backgrounds. This is the result of a study by a team of Spanish researchers at Mount Sinai Hospital and Columbia University in the City of New York, which found that several mutations are involved. This finding could help to develop future genetic tests to identify predisposition to suicide, without ignoring the importance of social and cultural factors.
15-Jun-2010
2009 H1N1 vaccine protects against 1918 influenza virus
Researchers at Mount Sinai School of Medicine have determined people who were vaccinated against the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus may also be protected against the lethal 1918 Spanish influenza virus, which killed more than 50 million people worldwide. The new findings are published in the current issue of Nature Communications.
Paternal Bonds, Special and Strange
By NATALIE ANGIER
Some fathers use infants as “battle symbols” or to raise social standing, and some are just suckers for babies.
Prehistoric mammal hair found preserved in amber
15-Jun-2010
Crayfish brain may offer rare insight into human decision making
Crayfish make surprisingly complex, cost-benefit calculations, finds a University of Maryland study, opening the door to a new line of research a new line of research that may help unravel the cellular brain activity involved in human decisions. The Maryland researchers conclude that crayfish make an excellent, practical model for identifying the specific neural circuitry and neurochemistry of decision making. Currently, there's no direct way to do this in humans or other primates.
Skulls show New World was settled twice: study
AFP\Yahoo News
Testing Evolutionary and Dispersion Scenarios for the Settlement of the New World
PLoS
16 June 2010 08:22 UK
Whales 'offset carbon emissions'
Southern Ocean sperm whales help the oceans absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere - through their faeces.
Mass Transits: Kepler Mission Releases Data on Hundreds of Possible Exoplanets
Extreme Tech
Vision Quest: Retinal Implants Deliver the Promise of Sight to Damaged Eyes
Emerging technologies successfully stimulate retinas ravaged by retinitis pigmentosa, age-related macular degeneration and other diseases to give sufferers a new lease on light
16-Jun-2010
Alcohol consumption lowers risk of developing several arthritic conditions
Alcohol consumption is associated with a significantly reduced risk of developing several arthritic conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, reactive arthritis, psoriatic arthritis and spondylarthropathy, according to results of a new study presented today at EULAR 2010, the Annual Congress of the European League Against Rheumatism in Rome, Italy.
16-Jun-2010
More than just the baby blues
Within the first week after giving birth, up to 70 percent of all women experience symptoms of the baby blues. While most women recover quickly, up to 13 percent of all new mothers suffer from symptoms of a clinical-level postpartum depression.
Anti-neutrino's odd behaviour points to new physics
13:33 16 June 2010
An experiment has detected a surprising discrepancy in the behaviour of neutrinos and their antimatter counterparts
16-Jun-2010
Male desire to be strong and protect family key to preventing suicides: UBC study
Masculine ideals of strength coupled with strong family ties can help men combat depression and overcome thoughts of suicide, according to University of British Columbia research.
17-Jun-2010
Why do certain diseases go into remission during pregnancy?
During pregnancy, many women experience remission of autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis and uveitis. Now, scientists at the University of Michigan and the NIH have undentified a biological mechanism responsible for changes in the immune system that helps to explain the phenomenon.
17-Jun-2010
Gut-residing bacteria trigger arthritis in genetically susceptible individuals
Using a mouse model, researchers demonstrated a link between normally occurring bacteria in the gut and arthritis. The bacteria spur immune cells to release arthritis-causing "autoantibodies" into the blood.
17-Jun-2010
New link identified for bipolar disorder
Scientists at Cardiff University have identified a mechanism which could explain how lithium helps stabilize bipolar disorder.
Illegal bushmeat 'rife in Europe'
Some 270 tonnes of illegal bushmeat could be going through one of Europe's busiest airports each year, a study shows.
17-Jun-2010
Orphaned elderly serious casualty of African AIDS epidemic, Stanford study finds
The rise in AIDS death rates in sub-Saharan Africa has led to a burgeoning new category of neglected individuals -- nearly a million orphaned elderly, or older adults living alone without the benefit of any caregivers, Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have found.
18-Jun-2010
Teenagers want to finish their studies and leave home
Two researchers from the University of Santiago de Compostela have studied the relationship between teenagers' goals and antisocial behavior. The results show that the principal goal of young people is to finish their studies and leave home. The most antisocial among them place greater importance on popularity with others.
Music and speech share a code for communicating sadness in the minor third
18-Jun-2010
Love ballad leaves women more open to a date
If you're having trouble getting a date, French researchers suggest that picking the right soundtrack could improve the odds. Women were more prepared to give their number to an 'average' young man after listening to romantic background music, according to research that appears today in the journal Psychology of Music, published by SAGE.
Panel Recommends Approval of After-Sex Pill
By GARDINER HARRIS
A federal advisory panel voted that regulators should approve a medicine that could help prevent pregnancy if taken as late as five days after unprotected sex.
18-Jun-2010
Like fireflies, earthquakes may fire in synchrony
Scientists have well established that big earthquakes can trigger other big quakes by transferring stress along a single fault, as successive earthquakes in Turkey and Indonesia have shown. But some powerful quakes can set off other big quakes on faults tens of kilometers away, with just a tiny nudge, says a new paper. Christopher Scholz, a seismologist at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, explains how: the faults are already synchronized, he says.
Science Daily
Probiotic Prophylactic: Bacteria May Protect Critically Ill Patients against Pneumonia