Patient bleeds dark green blood
A team of Canadian surgeons got a shock when the patient they were operating on began shedding dark greenish-black blood, the Lancet reports.
82,000 year old jewellery found
Archaeologists from Oxford have discovered what are thought to be the oldest examples of human decorations in the world.
Russian nuclear store 'a powder keg'
Scientists have identified a risk of an "uncontrolled chain reaction" at one of the world's largest radioactive waste stores
17:44 04 June 2007
Polynesians beat Columbus to the Americas
Chicken bones found in Chile have been carbon-dated to 100 years before Europeans landed in the Americas - DNA analysis indicates an origin in Polynesia
22:00 04 June 2007
The Curious Cook
Extra Virgin Anti-Inflammatories
By HAROLD McGEE
There's a natural analogue of ibuprofen in olive oil, and it could have anti-inflammatory properties, too.  Oleocanthal is even more effective than ibuprofen at inhibiting enzymes in the body that create inflammation.
Iceman 'bled to death on glacier'
Experts are certain Oetzi died from an arrow that pierced his shoulder
Massive blood loss from a ruptured artery killed the 5,300-year-old Alpine "Iceman" known as Oetzi, tests confirm.
Brain injuries unleash Alzheimer's threat
Head trauma and stroke may dramatically increase a person's risk of developing Alzheimer's disease by releasing a damaging protein
17:00 06 June 2007
Battlefield 'Bear' robot to rescue fallen soldiers
06 June 2007
A remote-controlled robot that will rescue injured or abducted soldiers, without putting the lives of their comrades at risk, is being developed for the US army.
Public Release: 5-Jun-2007
Molecular Ecology
Bigger horns equal better genes
According to a team of international researchers, mature, male alpine ibex demonstrate a correlation between horn growth and genetic diversity. The researchers believe their study offers evidence to support the mutation accumulation theory of ageing, which is the idea that, because natural selection weakens with age, genetic mutations have effects that accumulate over time.
Contact: Ryan Smith
ryan.smith@ualberta.ca
780-492-0436
University of Alberta
Public Release: 6-Jun-2007
Nature
Largest ever study of genetics of common diseases published today
The Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium, the largest ever study of the genetics behind common diseases such as diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis and coronary heart disease, today publishes its results in the journals Nature and Nature Genetics. The study examined DNA samples from 17,000 people across the UK, bringing together 50 leading research groups and 200 scientists in the field of human genetics. Over two years, they analysed almost 10 billion pieces of genetic information.
Wellcome Trust
Contact: Craig Brierley
c.brierley@wellcome.ac.uk
44-207-611-7329
Wellcome Trust
Public Release: 7-Jun-2007
New interview technique could help police spot deception
Shifting uncomfortably in your seat? Stumbling over your words? Can't hold your questioner's gaze? Police interviewing strategies place great emphasis on such visual and speech-related cues, although new research funded by the Economic and Social Research Council and undertaken by academics at the University of Portsmouth casts doubt on their effectiveness. However, the discovery that placing additional mental stress on interviewees could help police identify deception has attracted interest from investigators in the UK and abroad.
Economic and Social Research Council
Contact: Annika Howard
PressOffice@esrc.ac.uk
44-017-934-13119
Economic & Social Research Council
Public Release: 7-Jun-2007
Psychological Science
High self-esteem may be culturally universal, international study shows
The notion that East Asians, Japanese in particular, are self-effacing and have low self-esteem compared to Americans, may describe a surface view of personality, but a new study indicates that Chinese, Japanese and Americans have high implicit self-esteem and this trait may be culturally universal.
Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science, NIH/National Institute of Mental Health
Contact: Joel Schwarz
joels@u.washington.edu
206-543-2580
University of Washington
SCIENCE ILLUSTRATED
Robots With Moves More Delicate Than a Surgeon’s
By FRANK O'CONNELL
Robots may one day be routinely used for surgery.
Essay
The Universe, Expanding Beyond All Understanding
By DENNIS OVERBYE
Our successors, whoever and wherever they are, may have no way of finding out about the Big Bang and the expanding universe.
Elephants only heed warning calls from local herds
Seismic alerts sent to herds miles apart can warn of threats like lions, but elephants react less the further they are from the source of the warning
10:00 07 June 2007
Chimp culture is passed between groups
Individual chimpanzees that have a unique skill can pass it on, not just to fellow troop members, but to other groups as well
17:00 07 June 2007
Wireless power could have cellphone users beaming
A new device can send power across a room using magnetic induction - it could soon be used to recharge electronic equipment remotely
19:00 07 June 2007
Public Release: 8-Jun-2007
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Scientists propose the kind of chemistry that led to life
Before life emerged on earth, either a primitive kind of metabolism or an RNA-like duplicating machinery must have set the stage -- so experts believe. But what preceded these pre-life steps?
National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health
Contact: Wallace Ravven
wravven@pubaff.ucsf.edu
415-476-2557
University of California - San Francisco
Far side could be ideal for radio observatory
The US National Research Council thinks a receiver on the dark -- and radio quiet -- side of the Moon could reveal the early universe, and probe planets light years away
12:06 08 June 2007
Tycoon seeks patent for 'minimal genome'
Craig Venter, who led the private-sector effort to sequence the human genome, is seeking exclusive commercial rights to the bare essentials for life -- and not everyone likes it
13:20 08 June 2007
Mars rover finds "puddles" on the planet's surface
A new analysis of pictures taken by the exploration rover Opportunity reveals what appear to be small ponds of water -- but some experts doubt the claim
15:33 08 June 2007
Public Release: 8-Jun-2007
Caribbean frog populations started with single, ancient voyage on South American raft
Nearly all of the 162 land-breeding frog species on Caribbean islands, including the coqui frogs of Puerto Rico, originated from a single frog species that arrived on a sea voyage from South America. They came 30 to 50 million years ago, according to DNA-sequence analyses by scientists at Penn State.
Contact: Cheryl Dybas
cdybas@nsf.gov
703-292-7734
National Science Foundation
Public Release: 8-Jun-2007
American Journal of Roentgenology
Study proves alcohol injections for common cause of foot pain highly successful
Sonographically-guided alcohol injections has a high success rate and is well-tolerated by patients with Morton's neuroma, a common cause of foot pain, according to a recent study conducted by researchers at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital and Kingston Hospital NHS Trust in Middlesex, United Kingdom.
Contact: Necoya Lightsey
necoya@arrs.org
703-858-4304
American Roentgen Ray Society
Public Release: 8-Jun-2007
Paleobiology
Agonized death throes probable cause of open-mouthed, head-back pose of many dino fossils
Like investigators out of CSI or Cold Case, UC Berkeley and Montana paleontologists are finding clues to a dinosaur's demise in its peculiar death pose. They argue that the open-mouthed, head-back posture of many dinosaur fossils tells of an agonized death from brain damage. The pose, known to neurologists as opisthotonus, denotes damage to the cerebellum, which can result from such causes as poisoning, suffocation, meningitis or bleeding. They dispute other presumed abiotic causes.
Contact: Robert Sanders
rsanders@berkeley.edu
510-643-6998
University of California - Berkeley
Public Release: 10-Jun-2007
2nd Alzheimer's Association International Conference on Prevention of Dementia
Alzheimer's & Dementia
Alzheimer's disease to quadruple worldwide by 2050
More than 26 million people worldwide were estimated to be living with Alzheimer's disease in 2006, according to a study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. The researchers also concluded the global prevalence of Alzheimer's disease will grow to more than 106 million by 2050.
Elan Pharmaceuticals, Wyeth Pharmaceuticals
Contact: Tim Parsons
paffairs@jhsph.edu
410-955-6878
Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

Public Release: 10-Jun-2007
Nature
Drug slows and may halt Parkinson's disease
Northwestern University researchers have discovered a drug that slows -- and may even halt -- the progression of Parkinson's disease. The drug rejuvenates aging dopamine cells, whose death in the brain causes the symptoms of this devastating and widespread disease.
NIH/National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, Picower Foundation
Contact: Marla Paul
marla-paul@northwestern.edu
312-503-8928
Northwestern University
Public Release: 10-Jun-2007
2007 International Conference on Prevention of Dementia
Simple test predicts 6-year risk of dementia
A simple test that can be given by any physician predicts a person's risk for developing dementia within six years with 87 percent accuracy, according to a study led by researchers at San Francisco VA Medical Center.
NIH/National Institute on Aging
Contact: Steve Tokar
steve.tokar@ncire.org
415-221-4810 x5202
University of California - San Francisco