Researchers have uncovered evidence that the abnormal "editing" of gene messages in a type of white blood cell may be behind the development of lupus. Scientists hope the finding will lead to earlier diagnosis, a way to monitor patients' response to therapy and possibly a new way to treat the disease. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 6:00 pm
Researchers have created 'living computers' by genetically altering bacteria. The research demonstrates that computing in living cells is feasible, opening the door to a number of applications including data storage and as a tool for manipulating genes for genetic engineering. A research team from biology and the mathematics departments of Davidson College, Biologists and mathematicians added genes to Escherichia coli bacteria, creating bacterial computers able to solve a classic mathematical puzzle, known as the burnt pancake problem. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 6:00 pm
You went to a wedding yesterday. The service was beautiful, the food and drink flowed and there was dancing all night. But people tell you that you are in hospital, that you have been in hospital for weeks, and that you didn't go to a wedding yesterday at all. The experience of false memories like this following neurological damage is known as confabulation. The reasons why patients experience false memories such as these has largely remained a mystery. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 6:00 pm
Superconductors can convey more than 150 times more electricity than copper wires because they don't restrict electron movement, the essence of electricity. But to do this, the materials have to be cooled below a very low, so-called, transition temperature, which often makes them impractical for widespread use. Now for the first time, scientists have found that in addition to chemical manipulation, the superconducting state can be induced by high pressure in so-called high-temperature superconductors. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 6:00 pm
The natural resources of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary off the North Carolina coast are in good condition overall, but the wreck of the Civil War ironclad encompassed by the site is at risk from human activity and natural deterioration, according to a new NOAA report. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 6:00 pm
Menopause experts have concluded that hormone replacement therapy in the early postmenopausal period is safe, and healthy women going through the first few years of the menopause who need HRT to relieve symptoms should have no fears about its use. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 6:00 pm
Researchers have been unable to build an ideal "photonic crystal" to manipulate visible light, impeding the dream of ultrafast optical computers. But now chemists have discovered that nature already has designed photonic crystals with the ideal, diamond-like structure: They are found in the shimmering, iridescent green scales of a beetle from Brazil. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 3:00 pm
Neuroscience researchers have shown for the first time what happens to the visual perceptions of healthy but sleep-deprived volunteers. They found that even after sleep deprivation, people had periods of near-normal brain function in which they could finish tasks quickly. However, this normalcy mixed with periods of slow response and severe drops in visual processing and attention. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 3:00 pm
Evidence of physically similar species hidden within plant tissues suggest that diversity of neotropical herbivorous insects may not simply be a function of plant architecture, but may also reflect the great age and area of the neotropics. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 3:00 pm
A drug developed to fight cancer is showing early promise as a treatment for pulmonary hypertension. In the first human trial of sorafenib as a treatment for pulmonary hypertension, 8 out of the first 9 patients increased their ability to exercise. Six out of 9 had improved right ventricular ejection fraction. Four had a significant decrease in pulmonary artery pressures. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 May 2008 | 3:00 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered the tracks of a herd of 11 long-necked sauropods walking along a coastal mudflat in what is now the Republic of Yemen, the first discovery of dinosaur footprints on the Arabian peninsula.
Damaged aircraft could repair themselves automatically, even during flight, by mimicking healing processes found in nature. Source: LiveScience.com | 21 May 2008 | 11:21 am
The abortion time limit could be cut if the Conservatives win the next general election, according to an analysis of yesterday's votes Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 May 2008 | 10:28 am
Michael White comments on the Commons votes to keep the 24 week time limit for abortions and the right to ivf without a father involved Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 May 2008 | 9:23 am
Abortion laws survive most serious challenge in two decades as MPs reject attempt to reduce upper limit Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 May 2008 | 12:04 am
Campaigners call for decriminalisation of abortion altogether after attempt to reduce time limit was defeated in Commons Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 21 May 2008 | 12:03 am
Green advisers tell the government airport expansion should be suspended pending an inquiry. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 May 2008 | 11:54 pm
Alan Pickup: The three crew members aboard the International Space Station (ISS) might expect to see the Sun rise and set every 91 minutes, during each of their orbits of the Earth Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 20 May 2008 | 11:18 pm
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health officials are seeking to relax blood donation rules for some people who initially tested positive for hepatitis B, which could clear hundred of thousands of new donors, according to documents released on Tuesday.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Astronomers have found some matter that had been missing in deep space and say it is strung along web-like filaments that form the backbone of the universe.
Carbon nanotubes could trigger diseases similar to those caused by asbestos, a study suggests. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 May 2008 | 5:50 pm
As Iceland's whale hunt begins, its foreign minister warns of damage to the country's long term interests. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 May 2008 | 5:32 pm
SYDNEY (Reuters) - For the first time DNA from an extinct species, Australia's marsupial Tasmanian Tiger, has been used to induce a functional response in a living organism, a mouse embryo, Australian and American scientists said on Tuesday.
Nations should avoid biofuel crops that have a high risk of becoming an invasive species, a report warns. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 May 2008 | 4:15 pm
The EU announces plans to reform its hugely expensive rural payments system, the Common Agricultural Policy. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 May 2008 | 2:46 pm
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Scientists in Australia hope a giant cardboard image of a kangaroo, photographed from space on Tuesday, will help them better understand how the earth reflects sunlight and give them new clues about global warming.
Civic leaders must be willing to make tough choices if we are going to live in green cities. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 May 2008 | 12:19 pm
