Science News – Newsletter for February 16, 2010
NKorea’s Kim turns 68 amid claims chronically ill leader depends on rare, expensive remedies SEOUL, South Korea – North Koreans celebrated “peerlessly brilliant” leader Kim Jong Il’s 68th birthday Tuesday as questions persist abroad about his health and the future of the impoverished, nuclear-armed nation. Solar collectors in Sahara may soon supply the whole world with electric power There is more than three-and-a-half-million square miles of space available in the Sahara Desert … Read more : Solar collectors in Sahara may soon supply the whole world with electric power. Untied cows produce less milk than tied cattle The researchers compared performance and health within … Read more »»». Meteorite contains ‘organic molecular feast’, reveals analysis The Murchison meteorite landed in a town of that name in Australia in 1969. Fossilized coral reefs may reveal changes in sea levels over past 20,000 years According to a report in BBC News, the team will spend 45 days at sea, gathering core samples from …. Source : Gaea News Network. Climate expert admits loss of crucial weather data was ‘not acceptable’ According …. Original article on Gaea Times at : Climate expert admits loss of crucial weather data was ‘not acceptable’. Sweepers pollute pilgrim city demanding salary hike Heaps of garbage, comprising house waste and filth, littered the streets of the temple town, some 56 km from here. Experts say this may trigger … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Sweepers pollute pilgrim city demanding salary hike. A gene for Alzheimer’s sharpens young minds “From an evolutionary perspective it makes sense,” says Duke Han at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. Rubbish to provide green fuel for planes by 2014 According to a report in The Independent, British Airways would establish the plant, in collaboration with the US bioenergy company Solena. How male great bustards use Sun to woo the ladies The Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology research found that the large birds lift and point their bottoms towards the Sun to display their white body feathers, thereby becoming more conspicuous and visible … Read : How male great bustards use Sun to woo the ladies. New Trapster phone app alerts drivers against booze buses! The application, called Trapster, was said to be compatible with any GPS-capable phone and allowed registered users to share the locations with others. Simple, 30-min DNA test for life threatening diseases developed The new technique developed at Edinburgh University will only require a drop of saliva to allow medics to identify variations in a patient’s genetic code. Sweepers pollute pilgrim city demanding wage hike Heaps of garbage, comprising house waste and filth, littered the streets of the temple town, some 56 km from here. Experts … Read more : Sweepers pollute pilgrim city demanding wage hike. Earliest signs of autism in babies after 6 months of birth Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder of deficits in social skills and communication, as well as in repetitive and restricted behaviours, with onset occurring prior to age … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Earliest signs of autism in babies after 6 months of birth. Musharraf grateful to Facebook for collecting support Speaking in CNN’s “Connect the World” programme, Musharraf said: “Let me say that analysing the outcome of the Facebook, I knew I had a lot of support, but this support was all … Read more >>. Stem cell capsules may help mend broken bones “It is growth factor and stem cells in an injectable format. This would be used wherever you would like to regenerate bone,” … Original article on : Stem cell capsules may help mend broken bones. Discovery of stone tools at Crete pushes back seafaring by 130,000 years Crete has been an island for more than five million years, meaning that the toolmakers must have arrived … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : Discovery of stone tools at Crete pushes back seafaring by 130,000 years. Mobile subscriptions to reach 5bn this year, says UN agency The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) also said the number of mobile broadband subscriptions would exceed one billion this year after …. Source article : Mobile subscriptions to reach 5bn this year, says UN agency. ‘Party drug’ ecstasy hurts users’ complex memories Led by Australian National University psychologists Dr John Brown, Dr Elinor McKone and Dr Jeff Ward, the study appears in the online ahead of print issue of Psychopharmacology. Cellular mechanism that protects against disease discovered The work, which was directed by P. Michael Conn, Ph.D., a researcher at the OHSU Oregon National Primate Research Center, has been reported in the Feb. 15 issue of the … Read more >>. Subatomic soup may explain why matter won over antimatter after Big Bang According to a report in Nature News, this soup of subatomic particles was created in collisions of gold nuclei at the Relativistic [..] Read the original article: here. Religious iPhone apps answer prayers of devout gadget fans! The programs on the handset can read out Bible verses, point the way to Jerusalem and list festivals for all the major faiths. Heroic altruistic ants die alone to save colony They discovered that when ants of the species Temnothorax unifasciatus get sick, they abandon their nest, walking far away from their relatives to die alone. CryoSat to investigate Earth’s ice cover ESA’s ice mission satellite CryoSat will be placed into orbit 700 km above Earth by a … Read the original article on Gaea Times at : CryoSat to investigate Earth’s ice cover. Poverty linked to breast cancer gene damage In the British Journal of Cancer, the boffins reported finding that a woman’s postcode could be connected to the “health” of the P53 gene …. Source article on Gaea Times at : Poverty linked to breast cancer gene damage. Protein that helps heart muscle contract identified The finding, published in the Feb. 16 issue of the open access journal PLoS Biology, shed light not only on what makes a heart beat but also on heart failure, a disease where cardiac cells are no …. Read the original article : Protein that helps heart muscle contract identified. New weapon to fight malaria, disease-causing bacteria developed The research team even knows how to exploit the chemical reaction mechanism, and have developed the first potent inhibitor of this chemical reaction. Botox may help reduce ‘eye-popping’ migraine headaches The study has been published in the February issue of Archives of Dermatology, one of the JAMA/Archives journals. Dusty mirrors on Moon obstruct tests of Einstein’s theory of relativity Many of the best tests of relativity come from lunar ranging experiments. Molecular pathway for organ tissue regeneration, repair discovered The study, led by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical …. Original article on Gaea Times at : Molecular pathway for organ tissue regeneration, repair discovered. New system will recognise a voice among many Roberto Togneri, professor at the University of Western Australia (UWA), said current systems turned a speaker’s words into text on a computer or mobile phone screen. It … Read more »»». Found: Molecular route to regenerate organ tissue The breakthrough may lead to new therapies for repairing injury in a number of organs systems. Winds cause rescuers to suspend effort to save climber who fell into Mount St. Helens crater MOUNT ST. HELENS, Wash. – The rescue effort for a climber who fell into the crater at Mount St. Helens when a snow cornice collapsed was suspended Monday evening when high winds made footing unstable for search personnel, a sheriff’s spokesman said. Bone-anchored hearing aids help reduce deafness Single-sided deafness affects between 0.1 percent and 3 percent children, says the report. Mercury rises in Delhi, showers expected The minimum temperature settled at 10.7 degrees Celsius, a notch above average for this time of the year. Astronauts move old space station docking port on eve of 3rd and final spacewalk of mission CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Astronauts did some rearranging at the International Space Station for the second night in a row Monday, moving an old docking adapter into a new position. Whaling protester in custody on Japanese hunting vessel after secret boarding ADELAIDE, Australia – An anti-whaling activist from New Zealand was in custody on a Japanese vessel and will likely be taken to Japan to face charges after secretly boarding the ship as part of a protest, officials said Tuesday. CA utility spends $6.5M on ballot initiative critics say would hamper public power movement SAN FRANCISCO – Pacific Gas & Electric Co. is funding a June ballot initiative that would amend California’s constitution to make it much harder for cities and counties to offer residents another choice for buying their power. Saudi oil adviser says kingdom preparing for peak in oil demand by diversifying economic base JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia – A top Saudi energy official expressed serious concern Monday that world oil demand could peak in the next decade and said his country was preparing for that eventuality by diversifying its economic base. Ocean research organisation to get research vessel soon “After obtaining the clearances, the ship will undertake trial research cruises during the next few months,” NIO director S.R. Shetye …. Original source : Ocean research organisation to get research vessel soon.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Questions about health as NKorean leader turns 68
Depressed and chronically ill, Kim relies on rare, costly and sometimes outlawed remedies such as rhino’s horn and …. Original article on Gaea Times at : NKorea’s Kim turns 68 amid claims chronically ill leader depends on rare, expensive remedies.
WASHINGTON – Engineers from Germany are planning to erect solar collectors in the Sahara Desert, in what may be the biggest solar energy project ever that would be able to supply the whole world with electric power.
WASHINGTON – In a new research, scientists have found out that untied cattle in small herds produce less milk than cows tied to their stalls, but have a higher reproductive performance and suffer less teat injuries and metabolic diseases.
LONDON – In a new research, scientists have confirmed that a meteorite that crashed into earth 40 years ago contains millions of different organic compounds.
According to …. Original article : Meteorite contains ‘organic molecular feast’, reveals analysis.
LONDON – An international team of scientists is going to study fossilized coral reefs in the Great Barrier Reef, in order to understand how sea levels have changed over the past 20,000 years.
LONDON – The climate expert at the centre of a media storm over the release of emails onto the Internet has admitted that he did not follow correct procedures over a key scientific paper, and as a result lost crucial weather data.
BHUBANESWAR – Cleaning workers have deposited garbage on the main street of Orissa’s pilgrim city of Puri, protesting against the local civic authorities turning down their demand for a salary hike.
LONDON – A genetic variant that raises risk of Alzheimer’s disease can improve the brain function of carriers when they are younger, researchers have found.
Professor Han’s work examined epsilon 4, a variant of a particular gene known as apolipoprotein … Original source on Gaea Times at : A gene for Alzheimer’s sharpens young minds.
LONDON – British Airways (BA) is planning to establish Europe’s first green jet fuel plant that would turn rubbish into carbon-neutral aviation fuel by the year 2014.
When it is up and running in 2014, the … Read more >>>.
LONDON – Male great bustards point their white tail feathers to the position of the Sun as part of their courtship displays, suggests a study.
MELBOURNE – A new mobile phone technology is growing in popularity with its ability to alert drivers to the location of police radar traps, speed cameras and booze buses in Australia.
A Victoria Police …. Read the original article : New Trapster phone app alerts drivers against booze buses!.
LONDON – Scottish scientists have devised a novel 30 minute DNA test to diagnose the development of certain inherited diseases in a person.
Small changes in DNA can decide whether …. Source : Simple, 30-min DNA test for life threatening diseases developed.
BHUBANESWAR – Cleaning workers have deposited garbage on the main street of Orissa’s pilgrim city of Puri, protesting against the local civic authorities having turned down their demand for a salary hike, official said Tuesday.
WASHINGTON – Nascent symptoms of autism such as a lack of shared eye contact, smiling and communicative babbling appear in babies after the first six months of their birth.
LONDON – Former Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf says he is grateful to the social networking site Facebook for “collectivising all the support” for him.
MELBOURNE – French and Australian scientists have come up with a new way of delivering stem cells that could one day lead to a single injection to mend broken or diseased bones and joints.
WASHINGTON – Discoveries made during the last two summers on the Greek island of Crete have revealed stone tools dating back to 130,000 years, which is being considered strong evidence for the earliest known seafaring in the Mediterranean.
LONDON – A UN agency has revealed that the number of cell phone subscribers will go up to five billion this year with the growth of smartphones in developed nations and mobile services in poor nations.
MELBOURNE – Ecstasy takers face difficulties when it comes to performing difficult memory tasks, a new Australian research has found.
To reach the conclusion, researchers studied three groups of …. Source article : ‘Party drug’ ecstasy hurts users’ complex memories.
WASHINGTON – A new mechanism within human cells that constantly protects us against disease has been discovered by researchers at Oregon Health and Science University.
LONDON – Physicists have measured the temperature inside the hottest fireball on Earth, a four-trillion-degree soup of melted protons and neutrons, which could help explain why matter won over antimatter after the Big Bang.
LONDON – Apple Inc has come up with a number of iPhone applications designed to answer prayers and other religious requirements.
Ship of Fools, the light-hearted religion website best known for its round up …. Read the original article : Religious iPhone apps answer prayers of devout gadget fans!.
LONDON – It’s not just action movie heroes who face death alone to save their people. Scientists have found that ants act in a similarly altruistic fashion when stricken with disease.
They …. Source article : Heroic altruistic ants die alone to save colony.
PARIS – Reports indicate that the European Space Agency (ESA) is about to launch CryoSat on February 25, which would be the most sophisticated satellite ever to investigate the Earth’s ice fields and map ice thickness over water and land.
LONDON – Dundee University researchers have established a link between poverty and mutation of a gene, which may help explain why women from poor backgrounds are less likely to fight breast cancer.
WASHINGTON – A protein called B1N1 that is necessary for the heart to contract has been discovered by researchers.
WASHINGTON – University of Illinois researchers have discovered an unusual chemical reaction mechanism that allows malaria parasites and many disease-causing bacteria to survive.
The findings appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of …. Read the original article : New weapon to fight malaria, disease-causing bacteria developed.
WASHINGTON – Botulinum toxin type A (Botox), the drug that can temporarily erase wrinkles, may also help reduce frequency of migraine headaches that are described as crushing, vicelike or eye-popping, a preliminary study suggests.
Researchers conducting clinical trials on … Read more >>>.
LONDON – Scientists have said that as a result of moon dust covering a network of mirrors placed on the lunar surface, tests of Albert Einstein’s general theory of relativity are being obstructed.
Several times a month, teams of astronomers from three observatories blast the … Original source on Gaea Times at : Dusty mirrors on Moon obstruct tests of Einstein’s theory of relativity.
WASHINGTON – A molecular pathway that works through the immune system to regenerate damaged kidney tissues and may lead to new therapies for repairing injury in a number of organs systems has been discovered by scientists.
SYDNEY – An advanced system that will allow speech recognition in spaces filled with other voices, noise and echoes is being developed by an international team of researchers.
WASHINGTON – Scientists have discovered a molecular pathway that works through the immune system to regenerate damaged kidney tissues.
The findings come from collaborative research led by Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Centre and the Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard …. Original article on Gaea Times at : Found: Molecular route to regenerate organ tissue.
Rescuers suspend search effort on Mount St. Helens
One rescuer reached the floor of the …. Source : Winds cause rescuers to suspend effort to save climber who fell into Mount St. Helens crater.
WASHINGTON – Surgically implanted hearing aids, anchored to the skull bone, noticeably improves hearing among children with deafness in one ear, says a new report.
The condition is often associated with poor performance in school, learning difficulties and behavioural problems, often attributed …. Source article on Gaea Times at : Bone-anchored hearing aids help reduce deafness.
NEW DELHI – With the sun shining over the national capital, the mercury recorded a rise Tuesday. But the weatherman has forecast light rain in the evening.
“There is a possibility of thunder and light …. Original source : Mercury rises in Delhi, showers expected.
Astronauts move old space station docking port
A pair of spacemen used the station’s hefty robot arm to remove the 10-year-old adapter from the space station and … Original source on Gaea Times at : Astronauts move old space station docking port on eve of 3rd and final spacewalk of mission.
Whaling protester in custody on Japanese boat
Diplomats in New Zealand and Tokyo have been meeting to discuss …. Original source : Whaling protester in custody on Japanese hunting vessel after secret boarding.
Public power backers cry foul over utility effort
The investor-owned utility, which has about 15 million customers in northern and [..] Read the original article: here.
Saudi Arabia preparing for oil demand to peak
Mohammed al-Sabban, lead climate talks negotiator, said the country with the world’s … Read more >>>.
PANAJI – The Sindhu Sankalp, a research vessel acquired by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) will be handed over to the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) within a few weeks, its chief said.
Thursday, February 18, 2010
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