A team of medical, ethical and legal scholars argues in PLoS Medicine that in some US states the modification of lethal injection protocols is tantamount to experimentation upon prisoners without the prisoners' consent and without any ethical safeguards. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
Newly developed porous glass microspheres can be filled with absorbents to store gas and other materials. On a macro scale, these strong, reusable microspheres can be made to behave like a liquid. Applications for hydrogen storage, gas transport, gas purification and separation, sensor technologies, global-warming applications, and drug delivery systems are underway. Coatings, plates and fibers with similar properties can also be fabricated. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
Researchers have uncovered a brain pathway that shuts down seizures. They found that an acid-activated ion channel in the brain reacts to a drop in pH (increased acid) in a way that shuts down seizure activity. The link between low pH in the brain and seizure termination was first hinted at nearly 80 years ago when clinical experiments showed that breathing carbon dioxide, which makes brain tissue more acidic, helps stop epileptic seizures. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
A single organ may contain more than one type of adult stem cell -- a discovery that complicates prospects for using the versatile cells to replace damaged tissue as a treatment for disease, according to a new study. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
A team of forensic scientists at the University of Copenhagen has studied human remains found in two ancient Danish burial grounds dating back to the iron age, and discovered a man who appears to be of Arabian origin. The findings suggest that human beings were as genetically diverse 2,000 years ago as they are today and indicate greater mobility among the Danish iron age populations than was previously thought. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
Who would think that the froth on a morning cup of cappuccino has a lot in common with superconductors? Physicists have found that the bubble-like arrangement of magnetic domains in superconducting lead exhibits patterns that are very similar to everyday froths like milk on a fancy coffee. The similarities between "suprafroths" and conventional froths establish suprafroths as a model system for the study of all froths. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
A new study says that cases of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis among soldiers who served in the first Persian Gulf War were caused by certain events during their deployment to the war zone, meaning the exposure and illness is not as widespread as previously thought. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 3:00 am
Should a sergeant sacrifice a wounded private on the battlefield in order to save the rest of his troops? Is euthanasia acceptable if it prevents needless suffering? Many of us will have to face some sort of extreme moral choice such as these at least once in our life. A new study in Psychological Science explores how people understand morality and make decisions on moral issues. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am
Researchers have modified a common chemotherapy drug to create a new probe for Positron Emission Tomography, an advance that will allow them to model and measure the immune system in action and monitor response to new therapies. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am
Investigators have identified a genetic variation associated with an earlier age of onset in Alzheimer's disease. Unlike genetic mutations previously linked to rare, inherited forms of early-onset Alzheimer's disease -- which can strike people as young as their 30s or 40s -- these variants influence an earlier presentation of symptoms in people affected by the more common, late-onset form of the disease. Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Jun 2008 | 12:00 am
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - NASA scientists struggled on Monday to process the soil that the Phoenix Mars Lander scooped from the Red Planet's surface, finding that the Martian dirt was too clumpy to sift into the spacecraft's onboard laboratory.
AP - Nearly a month after China's devastating earthquake, the Wolong Nature Reserve held a funeral Tuesday for a panda that was crushed in the temblor.
AP - Engineers kept watch over rain-deluged Wisconsin's dams Tuesday after a major collapse nearly emptied Lake Delton in a torrent that washed away houses and a highway.
While we wait for the potential McCain-Obama election scandals to unfold, test yourself on these historic election controversies. Source: LiveScience.com | 10 Jun 2008 | 3:10 pm
Bikinis and other sexy stimuli can make men more prone to seek immediate gratification - leading to blown diets, budgets and bank accounts. Source: LiveScience.com | 10 Jun 2008 | 3:10 pm
Post-mortem tests on dolphins found dead in Cornwall reveal no clues to the cause of the mass stranding. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 10 Jun 2008 | 2:53 pm
AFP - XTO Energy Incorporated on Tuesday said it would buy privately held Hunt Petroleum Corporation as well as other entities for a total purchase price of 4.186 billion dollars.
AP - Little work remained for shuttle Discovery's astronauts to complete aboard the international space station Tuesday before they closed the hatches between the two spacecraft in preparation for their return trip to Earth.
AFP - A hi-tech telescope NASA plans to launch on Wednesday hopes to fling open a new window on the Universe, exploring extreme sources of gamma-rays that point to powerful and exotic phenomena.
Despite recent criticisms, the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism is delivering the goods. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 10 Jun 2008 | 12:24 pm
The Phoenix lander tries different ways of making clumpy Martian soil samples enter its onboard lab ovens. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 10 Jun 2008 | 12:12 pm
AP - Long-tailed macaque monkeys have a reputation for knowing how to find food whether it be grabbing fruit from jungle trees or snatching a banana from a startled tourist.
LiveScience.com - If that carrot traveled across state lines, I'm not eating
it! Even if it costs more to buy one that didn't. Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Jun 2008 | 11:10 am
AP - Lesser prairie chickens have been reduced to a fraction of their population across five states, says a conservation group that is ratcheting up the pressure on the federal government to provide more protection for the rare bird.
The next clean coal power stations could lead to higher electric bills, a power firm boss tells the BBC. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 10 Jun 2008 | 7:53 am
CANBERRA (Reuters) - Next time you crank up the volume, beware: an Australian government report said young people risk developing permanent hearing problems if they go to noisy bars and listen to loud music through headphones.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Drilling of a gas exploration well, and not an earthquake, set off a volcano that has been spewing boiling mud for two years and has displaced more than 50,000 people on the Indonesian island of Java, experts said on Monday.
AP - Scientists troubleshooting the Phoenix lander said Monday they will try one last shake to get a scoopful of Martian dirt inside a tiny oven in hopes of jump-starting their study of Mars' north pole region.
Burying gas could achieve 1/3 of UK emissions targets but without it, experts say disaster is unavoidable Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Jun 2008 | 11:15 pm
The world's largest lizard is a powerful predator with razor-sharp teeth, but is the Komodo dragon really as fearsome as we think? Jon Henley reports Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Jun 2008 | 11:15 pm
The world's most advanced commercially available bionic hand has won the UK's top engineering award. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 9 Jun 2008 | 11:13 pm
Built from microchips originally destined for games consoles, Roadrunner is the world's fastest and latest supercomputer Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Jun 2008 | 11:13 pm
LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have worked out how crops such as rice absorb arsenic, a finding that could help prevent people from eating dangerous levels of the poisonous metal, they said on Tuesday.
HOUSTON (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery astronaut Akihiko Hoshide unfolded the International Space Station's new Japanese-built robotic arm on Monday, although there was nothing around for it to grasp.
Earth Report looks at what measures New Zealand is taking to achieve its goal of becoming carbon neutral. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 9 Jun 2008 | 9:27 pm
Illegal "tiger bone wine" is being made and sold by a number of animals parks in China, say campaigners. Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 9 Jun 2008 | 9:23 pm
Lucy Chesire: The re-emergence of tuberculosis could reverse a decade of advances in the fight against HIV/Aids Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 9 Jun 2008 | 5:30 pm
A Japanese-built robotic arm has been unfolded on the International Space Station (ISS). Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 9 Jun 2008 | 5:14 pm
CHICAGO (Reuters) - Researchers who compared two diabetes trials said on Friday they are getting some insight into why patients in one were more likely to die after aggressive treatment, while patients in another were not.
ROME (Reuters) - Archaeologists have discovered a nearly 2,000-year-old, intact necropolis on the outskirts of Rome that gives a rare insight into the lives of poor laborers in the Roman era.
AP - Nearly a month after China's devastating earthquake, the Wolong Nature Reserve held a funeral Tuesday for a panda that was crushed in the temblor.
AP - Engineers kept watch over rain-deluged Wisconsin's dams Tuesday after a major collapse nearly emptied Lake Delton in a torrent that washed away houses and a highway.
AFP - XTO Energy Incorporated on Tuesday said it would buy privately held Hunt Petroleum Corporation as well as other entities for a total purchase price of 4.186 billion dollars.
AP - Little work remained for shuttle Discovery's astronauts to complete aboard the international space station Tuesday before they closed the hatches between the two spacecraft in preparation for their return trip to Earth.
AFP - A hi-tech telescope NASA plans to launch on Wednesday hopes to fling open a new window on the Universe, exploring extreme sources of gamma-rays that point to powerful and exotic phenomena.
AP - Long-tailed macaque monkeys have a reputation for knowing how to find food whether it be grabbing fruit from jungle trees or snatching a banana from a startled tourist.
AP - Lesser prairie chickens have been reduced to a fraction of their population across five states, says a conservation group that is ratcheting up the pressure on the federal government to provide more protection for the rare bird.
AP - Scientists troubleshooting the Phoenix lander said Monday they will try one last shake to get a scoopful of Martian dirt inside a tiny oven in hopes of jump-starting their study of Mars' north pole region.