A study investigating the effects of class size on the achievement gap between high and low academic achievers suggests that high achievers benefit more from small classes than low achievers, especially at the kindergarten and first grade levels. "While decreasing class size may increase achievement on average for all types of students, it does not appear to reduce the achievement gap within a class."
Everyone has known for decades that that smoking can kill, but until now no one really understood how cigarette smoke causes healthy lung cells to become cancerous. Researchers now show that hydrogen peroxide (or similar oxidants) in cigarette smoke is the culprit. This finding may help the tobacco industry develop "safer" cigarettes, while helping medical researchers develop new lung cancer treatments.
Scientists have developed new sensitizers that should help an inexpensive type of solar cell to be more efficient. The sensitizers are based on the dye indoline.
The kilogram is losing weight and many scientists agree that it's time to redefine it. They are hoping to redefine the kilogram by basing it on standards of universal constants rather than on an artifact standard. "The idea is to replace the single master kilogram with something based on physical constants, rather than an artifact that could be damaged accidentally," says one mechanical engineer.
The chlorinated solvent trichloroethene (TCE) has been found to be an increasingly problematic contaminant in groundwater. The detection of TCE recently forced the shut down of the water supply for the Greater Phoenix area municipalities of Paradise Valley and Scottsdale. TCE has been widely used as a cleaning agent and solvent for many military, commercial, and industrial applications. Its widespread use, along with its improper handling, storage, and disposal, has resulted in frequent detection of TCE in the groundwater. TCE has the potential to cause liver damage, malfunctions in the central nervous system and it is considered a likely human carcinogen. Now researchers have found an effective way to remove TCE from groundwater.
Although rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is more predominant in women, the reasons for this are unclear. Many studies have examined the effects of estrogen on the risk and severity of RA, but the results are conflicting and controversial. A new study using data from the Women's Health Initiative clinical trials on hormone replacement therapy found that there were no significant differences in the risk of developing RA or the severity of RA between postmenopausal women who were on hormone replacement therapy and those who took placebos.
Screening breast cancers for three receptors could help doctors predict the likely survival of patients with brain metastases. A new study shows that patients with tumours that are negative for estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor and human epidermal growth receptor-2 or that are HER2+/ER- appear to be most at risk from developing brain metastases. Survival is also correlated to the triple receptor status.
A highly specialized computer modeling technique has been instrumental in the design of a revolutionary new swimsuit which is now being hailed as the fastest in the world. Within a week of its launch athletes wearing the new swimsuit had broken three world records.
Researchers have shown that they can effectively kill prostate cancer cells in both the laboratory and in experimental animal models by blocking a signaling protein that is key to the cancer's growth. The work proves that the protein, Stat5, is both vital to prostate cancer cell maintenance and that it is a viable target for drug therapy.
Taking the supplement ginkgo biloba had no clear-cut benefit on the risk of developing memory problems, according to a new study. The three-year study involved 118 people age 85 and older with no memory problems. Half of the participants took ginkgo biloba extract three times a day and half took a placebo. During the study, 21 people developed mild memory problems, or questionable dementia. Although there was a trend favoring ginkgo, the difference between those who took gingko versus the placebo was not statistically significant.
A BBC crew films 40 saltwater crocodiles gathering to feast on fish migrating up the Mary River in Australia. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 1 Mar 2008 | 8:31 am
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA managers on Friday cleared the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour for liftoff on March 11 on the first of three flights to deliver a huge Japanese research complex to the International Space Station.
Climate science maverick James Lovelock believes catastrophe is inevitable, carbon offsetting is a joke and ethical living a scam. So what would he do, asks Decca Aitkenhead Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:18 am
Bad Science: Do cultural factors, like our collective faith in a treatment, have a measurable effect on the benefits? Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Mar 2008 | 12:16 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It made a big splash when scientists announced in 2006 that images from a NASA spacecraft indicated water apparently had flowed on the surface of Mars in the past decade but new research casts doubt on that finding.
GENEVA (Reuters) - A 100-tonne wheel, the last piece of an ambitious experiment that scientists hope will help unlock the secrets of the universe, was successfully lowered into an underground cavern on Friday.
Scientists find the way genes controlling the response of the immune system work varies from race to race. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 1:23 pm
People who take daily supplements of vitamin E have a slightly higher risk of developing lung cancer, according to one of the largest studies of vitamins ever undertaken Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 29 Feb 2008 | 1:21 pm
Bats use the same aerodynamic trick as insects to hover in one place, scientists report. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 12:09 pm
Gordon Brown warns retailers he will force them to cut down on plastic bag use if they do not act voluntarily. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 29 Feb 2008 | 12:08 pm
Interstellar soot undermines the theory that a mysterious force is accelerating the expansion of the universe Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 29 Feb 2008 | 11:26 am
