Science Headlines for July 20, 2008

NASA's Deep Impact Films Earth As An Alien World

NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft has created a video of the moon transiting (passing in front of) Earth as seen from the spacecraft's point of view 31 million miles away. Scientists are using the video to develop techniques to study alien worlds.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Regular Walking Protects The Masai -- Who Eat High Fat Diet -- From Cardiovascular Disease

There is strong evidence that the high consumption of animal fats increases the risk of developing cardiovascular disease. Many scientists have therefore been surprised that the nomadic Masai of Kenya and Tanzania are seldom afflicted by the disease, despite having a diet that is rich in animal fats and deficient in carbohydrates. Now, a unique study suggests that the reason is more likely to be the Masai's active lifestyle.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Predicting Outcomes For Stomach Cancer Patients

Researchers have identified two potential molecular markers that may predict outcomes for patients with stomach cancer, one of the most common and fatal cancers worldwide.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Stomach Bug Appears To Protect Kids From Asthma, Says New Study

A long-time microbial inhabitant of the human stomach may protect children from developing asthma, according to a new study among more than 7,000 subjects. Helicobacter pylori, a bacterium that has co-existed with humans for at least 50,000 years, may lead to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. Yet, kids between the ages of 3 and 13 are nearly 59 percent less likely to have asthma if they carry the bug, the researchers report.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Teen Smokers Struggle To Kick The Habit; Most Want To Quit And Can't

Most teenagers who smoke cigarettes make repeated attempts to quit but most are unsuccessful, according to new research. The study found that more than 70 percent of the teens expressed a desire to quit, but only 19 percent actually managed to stop smoking for 12 months or more by the end of the five-year study. Girls were more likely than boys to want to quit and to attempt quitting.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Solar Cooling Becomes A New Air-conditioning System

Scientists have developed an environmentally friendly cooling technology that does not harm the ozone layer. This is achieved by using solar energy and therefore reducing the use of greenhouse gases.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jul 2008 | 12:00 am

Even Toddlers Get It: Data 'Chunks' Are Easier To Remember

Which is easier to remember: 4432879960 or 443-297-9960? The latter, of course. Adults seem to know automatically, in fact, that long strings of numbers are more easily recalled when divided into smaller "bite-sized chunks," which is why we break up our telephone and Social Security numbers in this way. Children as young as 14 months can -- and do -- use a "chunking" strategy (akin to breaking up a phone number or Social Security number into small chunks) to assist their working memories.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

Leatherback Turtles' Newly Discovered Migration Route May Be Roadmap To Salvation

A major effort to tag and track leatherbacks that nest on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica has yielded unprecedented insight into their behavior. While most sea turtles have widely varied dispersal patterns, the leatherbacks from the beaches at Playa Grande consistently follow a relatively narrow corridor out into the sea, past the Galapagos Islands to an area in the South Pacific where they linger at length.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

Removing Ovaries During Hysterectomy: Effects Remain Unknown

During hysterectomy operations, surgeons often remove a woman's ovaries as well as her uterus. Cochrane researchers now say there is no evidence that removing the ovaries provides any additional benefit and warn surgeons to consider the procedure carefully.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

A Potential Metastatic Disease Target?

Researchers have identified a type of cancer stem cell that might initiate metastatic cancer, which spreads beyond the original, primary tumor site and to other locations within the body. For the first time, scientists have revealed that the molecular profiles of these cancer stem cells are much different than those located in primary tumors.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Jul 2008 | 6:00 pm

Barcelona buzz

Gossip girl Sue Nelson goes to the Euroscience festival
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Jul 2008 | 12:33 pm

NASA eyes buying Japan's cargo spacecraft: report (Reuters)

Reuters - NASA has began unofficial negotiations with Japan's space agency on purchasing units of an unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft as the successor to its space shuttles, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Jul 2008 | 11:59 am

NASA eyes buying Japan's cargo spacecraft: report

TOKYO (Reuters) - NASA has began unofficial negotiations with Japan's space agency on purchasing units of an unmanned cargo transfer spacecraft as the successor to its space shuttles, the Yomiuri newspaper said on Sunday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 20 Jul 2008 | 11:59 am

The Nation's Weather (AP)

AP - Tropical Storm Cristobal was expected to continue to move northeastward along the eastern seaboard on Sunday, possibly making landfall over the Outer Banks of North Carolina. In any case, it was to produce much-needed precipitation over the Southeast.