A pig virus that exists worldwide has become more dangerous as the virus has mutated and then combined with other pathogens, according to researchers. It's not known why a virus that has been known to infect swine for almost 40 years in North America suddenly started causing disease in young pigs in 1991 and then began mutating into more deadly forms.
Several formations on Mars indicate incidents of rapid release of water from the planet's interior. Mars has many basins that contain formations that look like fans. A few of these fans, only about 10, have steps down into the basin. Since scientists first reported this feature three years ago, there has been no clear consensus on how they formed.
Patients who have an in-hospital cardiac arrest at night or on the weekend have a substantially lower rate of survival to discharge than hospitalized patients who experience a cardiac arrest during day/evening times on weekdays, according to a new study.
Children who eat less salt drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks and may significantly lower their risks for obesity, elevated blood pressure and later-in-life heart attack and stroke, researchers report.
Researchers at NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center are finding trace radiocarbon (C-14) from Cold War nuclear bombs in the ear bones of fish, and turning this artifact of nuclear testing into a timestamp for determining fish ages.
The evolution of human speech was far more complex than is implied by some recent attempts to link it to a specific gene a professor of computational linguistics. Some researchers in recent years have speculated that mutations in a gene called Foxp2 might have played a fundamental role in the evolution of human language.
Research vessels have returned overflowing with a vast array of ocean life including a number of previously unknown species collected from the cold waters near the East Antarctic land mass. French and Japanese ships examined the mid and upper ocean environment, while the Australian vessel had her eyes fixed on the ocean floor, using both traditional and innovative sampling equipment to capture the diversity of life. Scientists have collected huge worms, giant crustaceans and sea spiders the size of dinner plates.
NOAA Fisheries Service is looking at how marine mammals react to underwater sound. Increasing evidence suggests that exposure to intense underwater sound in some settings may cause certain marine mammals to strand and ultimately die. Some of these strandings are associated with mid-frequency active military sonar, and most have involved beaked whales; the dominant species is Cuvier's beaked whale, but the genus Mesoplodon has also been involved.
Scientists have linked a mutation in a gene known as TDP-43 to an inherited form of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, the neurodegenerative condition often called Lou Gehrig's disease.
The same chemical reaction that causes iron to rust plays a similarly corrosive role in our bodies. Oxidative stress chips away at healthy cells and is a process, scientists know, that contributes to a host of diseases and conditions in humans ranging from Alzheimer's, heart disease and stroke to cancer and the inexorable process of aging. Scientists report the discovery of a gene expression pathway that exerts a sweeping influence over the process of oxidative stress.
A US shooting down of a disabled spy satellite probably destroyed its potentially toxic fuel tank, an official says. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 21 Feb 2008 | 12:39 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - Thousands of hopeful astronomers around the world tried to catch a glimpse of the year's only total lunar eclipse -- but those watching from Britain saw little more than cloud.
OSLO (Reuters) - An earthquake of 6.2 magnitude -- the biggest in Norwegian history -- jolted the thinly populated Svalbard archipelago in the Arctic on Wednesday night, the Norsar seismic research institute said on Thursday.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Virgin Galactic, billionaire Richard Branson's space travel venture, plans to order five more spaceships and aims to turn a profit in five years from its commercial launch in 2010, an official told Reuters on Thursday.
US navy fires missile from Pacific Ocean warship to destroy failed satellite amid claims the Pentagon is militarising space Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 Feb 2008 | 7:29 am
Matt Wells presents our daily audio show - with details of an embarassing reference to Israel in an early draft of the "dodgy" Iraq dossier. Plus a report from northern Kosovo where tensions are rising among Serbs, and the science of the G-spot - it exists, but not all women have one Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 Feb 2008 | 7:21 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Two big genetic studies confirm theories that modern humans evolved in Africa and then migrated through Europe and Asia to reach the Pacific and Americas.
British fertility clinic halves rate of multiple births and increases pregnancy rates by using more mature eggs Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 Feb 2008 | 12:05 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sudden, tremendous gushes of water from underground most likely carved out unusual fan-shaped geological formations with steps like a staircase long ago on the surface of Mars, scientists said on Wednesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Human stem cells transformed into nearly normal insulin-producing cells when implanted into mice, possibly offering a way to treat diabetes long-term, researchers at a U.S. company reported on Wednesday.
Scientists compile a detailed map highlighting the world's hotspots of emerging infectious diseases. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Feb 2008 | 9:38 pm
A material that is able to self-repair even when sliced in two is invented by French researchers. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Feb 2008 | 7:16 pm
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Atlantis landed at its Florida home port on Wednesday after a mission that delivered Europe's first permanent space lab to orbit, clearing the way for the U.S. military to shoot down a dead spy satellite.
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Ancient Mayan astronomers aligned their soaring temples with the stars and now modern archeologists have found the ruins of hidden cities in the Guatemalan jungle by peering down from space.
LONDON (Reuters) - Health experts are mostly looking in the wrong places for the next AIDS, Ebola, or bird flu and should shift resources from rich countries to the developing world most likely to spawn the next big disease, researchers say.
The UK's former top diplomat says developing nations need much more money to adapt climate change. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Feb 2008 | 4:43 pm
Chinese energy company to open chemical plant to make synthetic diesel, dubbed 'Nazi fuel'; campaigners say process will worsen global warming Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 20 Feb 2008 | 2:31 pm
The Atlantis orbiter touches down on Earth after a 13-day mission to cement Europe's position on the space station. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Feb 2008 | 2:11 pm
Rwanda, Uganda and DR Congo are launching a project to improve security for the great apes. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Feb 2008 | 11:42 am
