Now for some "shocking" news about plants: Exposing plants to electricity can boost production of useful plant chemicals and may provide a cheaper, safer, and more efficient method for producing medicines, pesticides, and other commercially important plant-based materials, researchers report.
Rates of serious injury among child pedestrians in poor areas of England are four times as high as those among children in affluent areas, finds new research. The findings are based on an analysis of hospital admission rates for children aged up to 15 between 1999 and 2004. Almost 664,000 children up to the age of 15 were admitted to hospital during this period, of which almost 8,000 were for serious injuries.
The Pleiades star cluster will have a beautiful encounter with the slender moon in the western sky after sunset on April 8. Usually the moon's brightness overpowers nearby stars, but not when it's such a thin crescent. Binoculars will reveal the spectacle as the moon passes just below the famous Seven Sisters. The Pleiades are lovely by themselves, and on a clear night they can be seen with the unaided eye in the constellation Taurus the Bull. Known prehistorically, the cluster is identified as a group of women in many cultures around the world, from Australian Aborigine to Native American.
It's not always politically correct to say so, but there are a few minor differences between the brains of men and women. New research shows a novel reversal of these differences in the brains of schizophrenics. "In comparison to the general population, women's brains seem masculine and men's brains seem feminine," said the researcher.
The production of complex, multicellular tissues such as skin or blood vessels can now be envisaged, due to the development of a bioreactor with a "decoy effect." This novel, patented bioreactor enabling the culture and co-culture of cells of different types is a world first.
A recently approved angina drug may also represent a powerful new treatment for a rare hereditary syndrome that places teens at risk for sudden cardiac death, according to new research.
Engineers have created the first "active matrix" display using a new class of transparent transistors and circuits, a step toward realizing applications such as e-paper, flexible color monitors and "heads-up" displays in car windshields.
Doctors have successfully extracted a kidney through the vagina of a 66 year woman diagnosed with renal cancer. This procedure does not leave external scars, and the recovery time is much less than that of traditional surgery.
NJIT's indefatigable math professor Bruce Bukiet is once again opining on outcomes for this season's Major League Baseball teams. Bukiet's system for recommending wagers has produced positive results for five of the seven years he has posted results.
Insight into why females of some species undergo menopause while others do not has proven elusive despite an understanding of the biological mechanisms behind the change. However, new research suggests that menopause is an adaptation to minimize reproductive competition between generations of females in the same family unit.
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's space agency began recruiting astronauts for the first time in nearly a decade on Tuesday amid growing interest in the space program spurred by a Japanese astronaut's journey on the U.S. space shuttle Endeavour.
Experts say a Tasmanian Devil called Cedric could hold the key to the survival of the cancer-hit species. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 1 Apr 2008 | 5:48 am
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cosmic rays are so dangerous and so poorly understood that people are unlikely to get to Mars or even back to the moon until better ways are found to protect astronauts, experts said on Monday.
A necklace found in Peru is the oldest known gold object made in the Americas, archaeologists say. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 1 Apr 2008 | 1:29 am
Drugs to lower blood pressure in over 80s could reduce death rates by a fifth and heart disease by more than 60% Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Mar 2008 | 11:03 pm
German photographer Walter Schels was terrified of death, but felt compelled to take an extraordinary series of portraits of people before and on the day they died Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Mar 2008 | 11:03 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A gold necklace found near Lake Titicaca in Peru dates back more than 4,000 years and is the oldest gold artifact found in the Americas, researchers said on Monday.
This sombre series of portraits taken of people before and after they had died is a challenging and poignant study. The work by German photographer Walter Schels and his partner Beate Lakotta, who recorded revealing interviews with the subjects in their final days, reveals much about dying - and living Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Mar 2008 | 9:10 pm
STONEHENGE (Reuters) - Archaeologists set out on Monday to unlock one of the secrets of Stonehenge, the majestic monument in southern England -- when were the first standing stones placed at the ancient religious site?
Europe's "Jules Verne" freighter edges to just 12m from the space station to show its readiness to dock. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 31 Mar 2008 | 5:17 pm
Environment writer Fred Pearce discusses his latest book, and Michio Kaku explains the physics of the impossible. Plus, the biofuels and embryology debates that have seen politicians and scientists lock horns Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 31 Mar 2008 | 2:03 pm
The first dig inside the ring at Stonehenge in more than four decades hopes finally to resolve its mysteries. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 31 Mar 2008 | 11:03 am
Researchers reveal how pairs of rooks are able to co-operate to solve difficult problems. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 31 Mar 2008 | 9:46 am
