Patients with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease have suboptimal levels of cardiovascular fitness, muscle strength, body composition and physical fitness, according to a new study.
Final results from the University of Utah's High Resolution Fly's Eye cosmic ray observatory show that the most energetic particles in the universe rarely reach Earth at full strength because they come from great distances, so most of them collide with radiation left over from the birth of the universe. The findings confirm a 42-year-old prediction -- known as the Greisen-Zatsepin-Kuzmin "cutoff," "limit" or "suppression" -- about ultrahigh-energy cosmic rays.
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Americans average as much sleep as they did 40 years ago, and possibly more, according to sociologists. The researchers report that adult sleep averages have increased about three hours per week over the last decade, up from 56 to 59 hours.
Is it luck of the draw in poker? The answer is 'no', according to new findings from two psychology studies. In the first study, DeDonno had 41 college students play eight games, totaling 200 hands, of Turbo Texas Hold'em, a computerized simulation of 10-player Hold'em poker.
Ten Short-tailed Albatross chicks have been moved by helicopter, from their current stronghold on Torishima Island to the site of a former colony 350 km to the South-east. The potential for future volcanic events on Torishima is among the most serious threats to this vulnerable species. Currently, 80-85% of the world population breeds on a highly erodible slope on the outwash plain from the caldera of an active volcano.
Male infants in developed nations are more likely to die than female infants, a fact that is partially responsible for men's shorter lifespans, reveals a new study. The paper analyzes 15 countries spanning three continents and hundreds of years. It finds that the gender gap in infant mortality was as high as 30 percent at its peak around 1970.
A team of scientists has succeeded in creating a new type of enzyme for a reaction for which no naturally occurring enzyme has evolved, by using a combination of novel computational methodologies and molecular in vitro evolution. This achievement opens the door to the development of a variety of potential applications in medicine and industry.
It turns out ants, like humans, are true farmers. The difference is that ants are farming fungus. Entomologists are providing new insight into the agricultural abilities of ants and how these abilities have evolved throughout time.
A new mathematical model gives scientists a smarter way to learn which cellular processes are key in many diseases and thus find the most effective drug targets. Scientists say the model, now freely available to researchers, should speed the search for effective treatments for cancer, inflammation and other conditions that affect millions of people.
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.
CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. researchers have identified all 1,116 unique proteins found in human saliva glands, a discovery they said on Tuesday could usher in a wave of convenient, spit-based diagnostic tests that could be done without the need for a single drop of blood.
Gordon Brown today moved to avert damaging cabinet resignations over the fertilisation and embryology bill by offering MPs a free vote on the 'ethical' aspects of the legislation Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 25 Mar 2008 | 12:49 pm
MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Australian grape growers reckon they are the canary in the coalmine of global warming, as a long drought forces winemakers to rethink the styles of wine they can produce and the regions they can grow in.
The US space shuttle Endeavour undocks from the International Space Station at the end of a record mission. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 25 Mar 2008 | 11:25 am
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Space shuttle Endeavour astronauts were set to spend Tuesday on the routine tasks of getting their ship ready for a Wednesday landing as they neared the end of what NASA hailed as a landmark mission.
Trials are about to begin of a drug that may help tackle a syndrome that causes excessive height. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 25 Mar 2008 | 6:33 am
Two lion skulls found during excavations at the Tower of London originated in north-west Africa, researchers say. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 25 Mar 2008 | 2:28 am
SANTA RITA MOUNTAINS, Arizona (Reuters) - Jaguar biologist Emil McCain stoops over a remote-sensing camera attached to a tree in these rugged mountains a few miles to the north of the Arizona-Mexico border.
Simon Ings: The human tendency to anthropomorphise will allow automatons to become part of society Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 25 Mar 2008 | 12:02 am
Polly Toynbee: Clerics cannot randomly intervene in contentious bills, nor should the church take priority over ministers' consciences Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 25 Mar 2008 | 12:02 am
Brown intends to resist EU plans for increased biofuels quotas as doubts over their use multiply Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 25 Mar 2008 | 12:02 am
Leading stem cell scientists accuse Catholic church of using scare tactics in their opposition to human fertilisation and embryology bill Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 25 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
Letters: Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor is wrong to exclude atheists from the beauty of his vision Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 25 Mar 2008 | 12:01 am
CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) - A war on gophers waged by two Canadian men went awry this weekend when a device used to blast the rodents in their holes sparked a massive grass fire in a rural area near Calgary, Alberta, causing more than C$200,000 ($197,000) in damages.
SANTIAGO (Reuters) - A powerful magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck copper-rich northern Chile on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said, but there were no immediate reports of damage.
A 6.1-magnitude quake hits northern Chile close to the border with Bolivia, the US Geological Survey says. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 24 Mar 2008 | 10:05 pm
RINCON COLORADO, Mexico (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered a new species of plant-eating dinosaur in Mexico whose large neck frill and three giant horns helped it attract mates and fight predators on a jungly beach 72 million years ago.
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.
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
