Relief is now available for 600 people around the world who suffer from a rare genetic condition triggered by exposure to cold. "It's like you're freezing from the inside out," says Rachel Doherty, who took part in a clinical trial. In proving the effectiveness of anakinra, a Dalhousie dermatology team successfully concluded a 20-year quest to find a treatment for Familial Cold Autoinflammatory Syndrome.
Biologists find that sand dollar larvae created clones of themselves within 24 hours of being exposed to fish mucous, a cue that predators are near. The cloning process resulted in small new larvae and original larvae that were substantially smaller.
Giving up smoking during pregnancy may boost the chances of giving birth to an easy going child. The findings are based on over 18,000 UK babies born between 2000 and 2002, who were taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study.
Some cells self-destruct peacefully. Others, exposed to toxins or infections, spill a chemical warning when they die. The body responds with inflammation that can backfire and damage vital tissues. The inflammatory response to dying cells' distress calls may be helpful or harmful, research shows.
A growing number of plug-in hybrid electric cars and trucks could require major new power generation resources or none at all -- depending on when people recharge their automobiles. A recent study examined how an expected increase in ownership of hybrid electric cars and trucks will affect the power grid depending on what time of day or night the vehicles are charged. In the worst-case scenario —- if all hybrid owners charged their vehicles at 5 p.m. -- up to 160 large power plants would be needed nationwide to supply the extra electricity.
For the first time, a researchers have linked pain receptors found throughout the nervous system to learning and memory in the brain. The findings, published in Neuron, point up new drug targets for memory loss or epileptic seizures.
The first milestone in the successive assembly of the Wendelstein 7-X fusion device has been reached on schedule with the completion of the first two half-modules of the large-scale experiment: Two-tenths of the inner core of the device is now ready, and is being assembled. Construction of the complex device will take about another six years.
Scientists studying macrophages, the biological cells that spring from white blood cells to eat and destroy foreign or dying cells, have discovered how these "policemen" differentiate between friend and foe.
Researchers have definitively shown that the widely used bug repellent DEET acts like a chemical cloak, masking human odors that blood-feeding insects find attractive. The research now makes it possible not only to systematically improve upon the repellent properties of DEET but also to make it a safer chemical.
Scientists have discovered a state of two-dimensional (2D) fluctuating superconductivity in a high-temperature superconductor with a particular arrangement of electrical charges known as "stripes." The finding was uncovered during studies of directional dependence in the material's electron-transport and magnetic properties. In the 2D plane, the material acts as a superconductor -- conducts electricity with no resistance -- at a significantly higher temperature than in the 3D state.
A senior marine scientist welcomes European Commission plans for an EU-wide shark protection scheme. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 11:02 am
A $200m (£100m) robot at the international space station was today paralysed and waiting for a software fix to reanimate it Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:31 am
Scientists find ancient road and irrigation systems at fortress close to civilisation's capital, Cuzco Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:26 am
EU leaders meeting in Brussels are poised to agree on an ambitious plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 10:09 am
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Astronauts used a robot arm to attach the first piece of Japan's Kibo laboratory to the International Space Station on Friday, finally giving the Asian country a permanent fixture on the orbital outpost.
HOUSTON (Reuters) -- Two U.S. astronauts floated out into open space on Thursday to get a section of Japan's elaborate research laboratory ready for installation on the International Space Station.
Two American astronauts on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS) begin their first space walk. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 6:43 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A software malfunction prevented a key piece of equipment on the Cassini spacecraft from recording data as it flew through the plume from a geyser shooting off a moon of Saturn, NASA said late on Thursday.
LIMA (Reuters) - Researchers have found the ruins of an Inca temple built for religious ceremonies in the Andes mountains, at a park in the archeologically rich region of southern Peru that includes Machu Picchu.
Health and environmental well-being could be raised by investing in "nature's capital, the National Trust suggests. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:58 am
The National Audit Office is to look at a more risk-based approach to public procurement as part of government plans to bolster innovation in the UK Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:15 am
Scientists one step closer to curing severe inherited brain-wasting disease following success with mice Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 14 Mar 2008 | 12:15 am
PARIS (Reuters) - Faced with surging demand, France's champagne producers have decided on a very simple way to boost production -- by widening the vineyard.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The bug repellent DEET works by making mosquitoes and their brethren unable to smell the sweet aroma of human sweat that alerts them that a meal of blood is nearby, scientists said on Thursday.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Alligators can stealthily maneuver through the water leaving nary a ripple, despite having neither fins nor flippers like other adept swimmers. Instead, they use special muscles to shift the position of their lungs, U.S. researchers said on Thursday.
A pair of meteorites discovered in Antarctica are in a class all of their own, a space conference is told. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 5:59 pm
Water ice has probably been detected below Mars' surface, far from the planet's polar ice caps, say scientists. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 5:49 pm
Iceland's government is likely to approve the commercial hunting of whales for this summer, the BBC learns. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 5:12 pm
The US shuttle Endeavour docks with the International Space Station on a mission to deliver a Japanese space lab. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 11:49 am
Space shuttle Endeavour completes 'textbook' docking at international space station to install Japanese lab Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 13 Mar 2008 | 11:42 am
Hundreds of Kenyans by Mombasa port say they have become ill after chemical containers were dumped nearby. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 11:16 am
The US introduces tougher air quality standards for the first time in 10 years, to improve public health. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 13 Mar 2008 | 11:07 am
