Natural flyers like birds, bats and insects outperform man-made aircraft in aerobatics and efficiency. Engineers are studying these animals as a step toward designing flapping-wing planes with wingspans smaller than a deck of playing cards.
Breast cancer survivors who participated in dragon boat racing reported significantly improved physical and mental health and coped better with post-recovery trauma, according to a new study.
Teenage fathers are at increased risk of having babies born with birth problems ranging from pre-term delivery or low birth weight, through to death in or near to the time of delivery, according to new research in Human Reproduction journal. In contrast, the study also found that fathers aged 40 and over were not at increased risk of having babies affected by these problems. Previous studies have shown that younger men can have lower sperm counts, semen volume, total numbers of spermatozoa and percentage of motile sperm. Immature sperm may be associated with adverse birth outcomes, possibly as a result of the abnormal formation of the placenta in the uterus.
People taking a widely used group of drugs known as calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure also appear to be cutting their risk of Parkinson's disease, according to a new study. The study found people who were currently long-term users of calcium channel blockers to treat high blood pressure lowered their risk of Parkinson's disease by 23 percent compared to people who didn't take the drugs. There was no such effect among people taking ACE inhibitors, AT II antagonists and beta blockers.
An international clinical trial has found that acyclovir, a common medication for treating herpes simplex virus-2 (HSV-2), the most common cause of genital herpes, does not reduce the risk of HIV infection when taken by people infected with HSV-2. Multiple studies have shown that people with HSV-2 have a higher risk of acquiring HIV. Researchers had hoped that acyclovir's ability to suppress the herpes virus, and its associated genital sores and breaks in the skin, could cut down on the likelihood of HIV being transmitted to a person with HSV-2 during sexual intercourse.
Use of a metal detector is the most common technique when searching for landmines, which litter the soil in approximately 90 countries around the world. Many of these countries are located in the tropics where intensively weathered soils are prevalent. These tropical soils have certain properties that can limit the performance of metal detectors due to soil magnetic susceptibility. This problem is enhanced by the spread of minimum-metal mines.
Women who smoke and have a specific genetic makeup are at significant risk for the development of breast cancer, according to a recent study. Researchers analyzed data from 10 of the 13 studies published in the last 10 years in which they evaluated genetic information, smoking habits and breast cancer risk in 4,889 premenopausal and 7,033 postmenopausal women.
An unexpected finding turned out to be a clue leading researchers to propose a new treatment approach for Niemann-Pick disease, a rare, deadly neurodegenerative disorder. They believe the approach also could be useful for more common diseases -- such as cystic fibrosis -- that stem from a similar type of defect.
The consequences of quitting exercise may be greater than previously thought, according to a new study that determined that the weight gained during an exercise hiatus can be tough to shed when exercise is resumed at a later date.
Scientists have discovered that two widely available prescription drugs restore partial cellular folding, trafficking, and function to a variety of mutant enzymes responsible for three distinct lysosomal storage diseases, maladies involving multiple organ system failure. This discovery may increase treatment options for inherited metabolic disease patients.
Leader: Europe is threatened by invasion. A new database, launched this winter, records the alien species that are challenging natives of the continent Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:25 am
Everyone has heard of Charles Darwin. Yet a good part of what most people think and believe about the man is wrong. John van Wyhe clears up some of the myths Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
The first of our six abridged extracts from the first edition of Darwin's "On the Origin of Species". In the introduction the great naturalist lays out his "mystery of mysteries" - where do new species come from? Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
You'll find fluoride in tea, beer and fish, which might sound like a balanced diet to you. But this week Alan Johnson announced a new push for putting it in our drinking water - and in the face of serious opposition Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
Darwin wonders how varieties can become full species. Crucial to this is what he calls "the struggle for existence" Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
As devoted to his family as to his work, Darwin lived a comfortable life in Kent - until success changed his world Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
The first sentence of the section on the eye is often cited by Darwin's enemies as the naturalist throwing in the towel. But read on and Darwin cajoles his reader to embrace the full power of natural selection. Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
On the Origin of Species, an instant bestseller, drew both applause and fury, writes Tim Radford Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
You are the current owner of one of the great wonders of the natural world: a large genome, copied almost perfectly from your parents to you, without which you would not be here Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Feb 2008 | 12:06 am
Albert Einstein was famous for many things, but his greatest brainchild is the theory of relativity. It forever changed our understanding of space and time. Source: LiveScience.com | 8 Feb 2008 | 11:08 pm
HOUSTON (Reuters) - NASA said it was smooth sailing on Friday for U.S. space shuttle Atlantis as it headed toward the International Space Station for the long-delayed delivery of a European laboratory.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Jazz legend John Coltrane routinely pushed his tenor saxophone into the altissimo range, notes far above the instrument's normal range, and now Australian scientists know how he did it.
A new bluetongue protection zone is set up after a fresh case is found in the Greater London area. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 8 Feb 2008 | 6:44 pm
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Scientists plan to launch 60 tiny fish on a zero gravity rocket ride from above the Arctic Circle on Monday to try to plumb the secrets of motion sickness.
The boss of the European Space Agency asks his officials to find a new name for the flagship ExoMars rover mission. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 8 Feb 2008 | 5:21 pm
Some coral reefs could be protected from the impacts of climate change by an "ocean thermostat", a study says. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 8 Feb 2008 | 5:21 pm
A sea-going robotic glider that harvests heat energy from the oceans is tested by US scientists. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 8 Feb 2008 | 1:04 pm
