The High Resolution Stereo Camera on board ESA's Mars Express has returned striking scenes of the Terby crater on Mars. The region is of great scientific interest as it holds information on the role of water in the history of the planet.
Apples, bananas, and oranges are the most common fruits in both Western and Asian diets, and are important sources of vitamins, minerals, and fiber. A new study explores the additional health benefits of these fruits and reveals they also protect against neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease.
A professor has "tweaked" a strain of E. coli so that it produces substantial amounts of hydrogen. Specifically, the new strain produces 140 times more hydrogen than is created in a naturally occurring process, according to an article in Microbial Biotechnology.
It's increasingly believed among scientists that nearly every cancer contains small populations of highly dangerous cells -- cancer stem cell -- that can initiate a cancer, drive its progression, and create endless copies of themselves. On the theory that targeting these cells might be an effective therapeutic strategy, researchers around the world have begun isolating stem cells from various kinds of cancers.
Human embryos that are discarded every day as medical waste from in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics could be an important source of stem cells for research. Some of the embryos created during IVF are deemed "clinically useless" because of imperfections, but it is possible to derive stem cell lines from these poor-quality embryos. Because poor-quality embryos are discarded everyday in the course of IVF, the scientists believe they represent an ethically acceptable source of stem cells for research.
ESA's Cluster mission has, for the first time, observed the extent of the region that triggers magnetic reconnection, and it is much larger than previously thought. This gives future space missions a much better chance of studying it. Space is filled with plasma (a gas composed of ions and electrons, globally neutral) and is threaded by magnetic fields. These magnetic fields store energy which can be released explosively, in a process called magnetic reconnection.
With many women still searching for the perfect birth control method, a systematic review analyzes a host of studies comparing the contraceptive skin patch or vaginal ring to the pill. Although perfection remains elusive and choices are equally effective, the review authors were able to pinpoint some preferences.
Sculpting a surface composed of tightly packed nanostructures that resemble tiny nails, engineers have created a material that can repel almost any liquid. Add a jolt of electricity, and the liquid on the surface slips past the heads of the nanonails and spreads out between their shanks, wetting the surface completely.
When TV viewers like a company's Super Bowl commercial, the company's stock price goes up, according to a new study. The study examined 529 commercials that aired during 17 Super Bowls from 1989-2005, and found that investors favored stocks of firms that aired likeable Super Bowl commercials.
Newly designed solar cells can be screen-printed in a wide array of colors and patterns to allow them to be attractively incorporated into building design. The solar cells can also be integrated into windows, providing shading from glare while generating electricity. The key component of the new modules is an organic dye which in combination with nanoparticles converts sunlight into electricity. Due to the small size of the nanoparticles, the modules are semi-transparent.
Remarkable new footage of Canada's Arctic wolves is caught on camera by a BBC film crew. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 31 Jan 2008 | 10:50 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA managers on Wednesday cleared the shuttle Atlantis for launch on February 7 to deliver Europe's first permanent space laboratory to the International Space Station.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Women who take folic acid supplements for at least a year before becoming pregnant can greatly reduce their risk of delivering a baby prematurely, researchers said on Thursday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A NASA probe that shot past Mercury this month detected a puzzling geological feature that scientists on Wednesday labeled "The Spider" and found evidence of past volcanic activity on the closest planet to the sun.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese researchers have implanted a small camera inside a mouse's brain to see how memory is formed, in an experiment they hope to some day apply to humans to treat illnesses such as Parkinson's disease.
Mothers who fear their babies suffer from food allergies are largely wrong, research has found. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 31 Jan 2008 | 8:07 am
The technology could prove a greener way to power cars - if only it could get research funding here Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Jan 2008 | 12:07 am
· Study: supplement could save thousands of lives · Research adds weight to calls to fortify flour Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Jan 2008 | 12:07 am
Letters: Jim Al-Khalili claims the post-medieval decline of science and academic inquiry in the Islamic countries was due to "the gradual fragmentation of the Abbasid empire and the indifference shown by weaker rulers toward science" (It's time to herald the Arabic science that prefigured Darwin and Newton, January 30) Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Jan 2008 | 12:05 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers dedicated to finding a gel or cream that could work invisibly to protect women from AIDS the way a condom does said on Wednesday they got permission from Pfizer Inc. to use its newest HIV drug.
Nasa mission managers give the go-ahead for the space shuttle Atlantis to launch on Thursday of next week. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 30 Jan 2008 | 10:07 pm
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Using DNA, the blueprint of life, U.S. researchers said they have made a three-dimensional structure from particles of gold in a development that could lead to a host of custom-designed materials.
A flyby by a Nasa unmanned space probe has revealed evidence of "widespread" volcanism on the planet Mercury. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 30 Jan 2008 | 7:36 pm
BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing has successfully managed to stop light rainfall in experiments aimed at guaranteeing a dry opening ceremony at August's Olympic Games, officials said on Wednesday.
Space officials set the launch and docking windows for the ATV, Europe's huge new space-station resupply ship. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 30 Jan 2008 | 1:58 pm
Experts from 16 of the largest economies are in Hawaii for the second in the series of President Bush's climate talks. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 30 Jan 2008 | 12:16 pm
Researchers using high-speed video say a species of hummingbird "chirps" by using its tail feathers, not its throat. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 30 Jan 2008 | 11:59 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Black Death that decimated populations in Europe and elsewhere during the middle of the 14th century may not have been a blindly indiscriminate killer, as some experts have believed.
