Chemists have discovered that a chemical reaction in the atmosphere above major cities long assumed to be unimportant in urban air pollution is in fact a significant contributor to urban ozone -- the main component of smog.
Empathy is an emotional reaction to the plight of others. Empathy can lead to altruistic behavior, i.e. helping someone with the sole intention of enhancing that person's wellbeing. If we see people in difficulty, for example, we feel the same emotions, and this may prompt us to help them. Yet the relationship between empathy and altruism is still far from clear. One young psychologist has researched the topic and concluded that when we help friends in need, we are prompted by feelings of empathy, and that when we help relatives we do so because we have expectations of reciprocity.
What many diabetic patients may not know is that the medications that help control healthy insulin levels may lead to unexpected events at the dentist's office. According to a new study, diabetic patients especially need to communicate special needs to their dentists. This is due to harmful interactions that could occur because of the materials and medications used at dental appointments.
Researchers have unlocked new evidence that could help them get to the bottom of our most common phobias and their causes. Hundreds of thousands of people count snakes and spiders among their fears, and while scientists have previously assumed we possess an evolutionary predisposition to fear the unpopular animals, new research seem to indicate otherwise.
No matter how pleasant a meal is, eating causes what's known as oxidative stress. As we digest our food, we create sometimes-harmful molecules known as free radicals. But antioxidants -- healthful compounds in fruits and vegetables -- can help by neutralizing the free radicals.
Therapeutic cloning, also known as somatic-cell nuclear transfer, can be used to treat Parkinson's disease in mice. For the first time, researchers showed that therapeutic cloning or SCNT has been successfully used to treat disease in the same subjects from whom the initial cells were derived. While this current work is in animals, it could have future implications as this method may be an effective way to reduce transplant rejection and enhance recovery in other diseases and in other organ systems.
Most oceanographers have assumed that the iron needed to fertilize infrequent plankton blooms in the high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll regions of the world's oceans comes almost entirely from wind-blown dust. Earth scientists have now shown that in at least one of three major HNLCs around the globe, the Subarctic North Pacific, the key source of iron is not dust but the volcanic continental margins. Understanding the origins, transport mechanisms, and fate of naturally occurring iron in high-nutrient, low-chlorophyll surface waters is important in calculating climate change.
SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Europe's top semiconductor maker, STMicroelectronics, said it has developed a portable chip to detect influenza viruses including bird flu in humans.
We hear from the biodiversity and environmental legend EO Wilson. Plus, AC Grayling on the science of learning. And Heisenberg's uncertainty principle explained in song Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:23 pm
Biodiversity and environmental legend EO Wilson gives us his thoughts on climate change, extraterrestrial life, and species extinction Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:18 pm
Plants may cluster the genes needed to make defense chemicals, which may provide a way to discover new natural plant products of use as drugs, herbicides or crop protectants. Using a gene cluster that makes an antifungal compound in oats as a template, they uncovered a previously unknown gene cluster making a related compound in a different species, and now want to extend the search to other plants.
Black carbon, a form of particulate air pollution most often produced from biomass burning, cooking with solid fuels and diesel exhaust, has a warming effect in the atmosphere three to four times greater than prevailing estimates. soot and other forms of black carbon could have as much as 60 percent of the current global warming effect of carbon dioxide, more than that of any greenhouse gas besides carbon dioxide. The researchers also noted, however, that mitigation would have immediate societal benefits in addition to the long term effect of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
A study involving several Major League Baseball pitchers indicates that the height of the pitcher's mound can affect the athlete's throwing arm motion, which may lead to potential injuries because of stress on the shoulder and elbow.
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Space shuttle Endeavour was set to depart from the International Space Station on Monday, ending a long and busy stay that had astronauts thinking fondly about the return home.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers who used cloned embryonic stem cells to treat Parkinson's disease in mice said on Sunday they worked better than other cells.
The UK's chief environment scientist deals a damaging blow to the government's biofuels policy. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:09 am
Relatives urged to provide blood samples for a nationwide DNA database in attempt to identify skeletons from unmarked graves Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:04 am
Crisis over whether dissenting MPs should vote against the human embryology and fertilisation bill Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:03 am
Scientists show that stem cells produced by therapeutic cloning are effective for treating Parkinson's in mice Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:03 am
Family left in the dark for more than five years over the accidental death of a government scientist Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:03 am
Research suggests soot produced by burning coal, diesel, wood and dung harms environment more than previously thought Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:02 am
Madeleine Bunting: Alarmist condemnation of all alternative therapies ignores the crucial role some could play in the human healing process Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 24 Mar 2008 | 12:02 am
Therapeutic cloning has been successfully used to treat Parkinson's disease in mice, research shows. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 23 Mar 2008 | 7:03 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - British explorer Hannah McKeand has called off her attempt to become the first woman to reach the North Pole alone and unaided after falling through ice and injuring herself, her expedition manager said on Sunday.
BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's military will help fight an outbreak of dengue fever in Rio de Janeiro, the defense ministry said at the weekend, after the disease killed 49 people and made more than 30,000 ill this year.
LONDON (Reuters) - The British government is confident it can push through legislation allowing human-animal embryo research, as calls for a free vote on the sensitive bill grew, Health Secretary Alan Johnson told Sky News on Sunday.
