Science Headlines for July 23, 2008

Molecular Hula Hoop Nanorotor

Japanese researchers have observed the action of a nanorotor on the molecular scale. They were able to get "snapshots" of individual molecular rotors caught in motion.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 3:00 pm

Hormone Oxytocin May Inhibit Social Phobia

Scientists have shown using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that the hormone oxytocin can inhibit feelings of anxiety in specific individuals. Their discovery might lead to a better understanding and the improved treatment of psychiatric affections in which people feel distressed when meeting others, such as in cases of autism and social phobia.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 3:00 pm

How Gastric Reflux May Trigger Asthma

Researchers appear to have solved at least a piece of a puzzle that has mystified physicians for years: why so many patients with asthma also suffer from GERD, or gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 3:00 pm

Super-Resolution X-ray Microscopy Unveils Buried Secrets Of The Nanoworld

A novel super-resolution X-ray microscope combines the high penetration power of x-rays with high spatial resolution, making it possible for the first time to shed light on the detailed interior composition of semiconductor devices and cellular structures.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 3:00 pm

Micro Air Vehicle: Three Gram 'Dragonfly' Takes Flight

Engineers have made a new tiny DelFly Micro air vehicle. This successor to the DelFly I and II weighs barely 3 grams, and with its flapping wings is very similar to a dragonfly. Ultra-small, remote-controlled micro aircraft with cameras, such as this DelFly, may well be used in the future for observation flights in difficult-to-reach or dangerous areas.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 3:00 pm

Viral Recombination: Another Way HIV Fools The Immune System

When individuals infected with HIV become infected with a second strain of the virus, the two viral strains can exchange genetic information, creating a third, recombinant strain of the virus that can evade immune system control. Now a study from the Partners AIDS Research Center at Massachusetts General Hospital shows that how and where viral strains swap DNA may be determined by the immune response against the original infecting strain.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 3:00 pm

Dolphin call tells calf who's mum

Bottlenose dolphins whistle more to their newborns, perhaps to stop theft by other females, researchers say.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 23 Jul 2008 | 1:10 pm

Heading Circulatory Disease Off At The Pass

Researchers have devised an ultrasound imaging technique that picks up subtle early evidence of peripheral arterial disease that current conventional tests miss. The test, if approved for clinical use, could lead to early treatments that would head off the serious complications that can result from the disease.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:00 pm

Unique Fossil Discovery Shows Antarctic Was Once Much Warmer

A new fossil discovery -- the first of its kind from the whole of the Antarctic continent -- provides new evidence to support the theory that the polar region was once much warmer. Scientists made the new fossil discovery in the Dry Valleys of the East Antarctic region. The fossils (ostracods) come from an ancient lake -- 14 million years old -- and are exceptionally well preserved, with all of their soft anatomy in 3-dimensions. This rare find has implications for tracking the polar ice cap.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:00 pm

New Evidence Of Battle Between Humans And Ancient Virus

Human ancestors fought back against an ancient retrovirus with a defense mechanism that our bodies still use today. Evidence of this battle has been preserved in our DNA for millions of years.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:00 pm

Carbon Dioxide Laser Resurfacing May Reduce Wrinkles Over Long Term

Carbon dioxide laser resurfacing appears to be an effective long-term treatment for facial wrinkles, according to a report in the Archives of Facial Plastic Surgery.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:00 pm

Hurricane Dolly strengthens as it nears Texas (Reuters)

Reuters - Hurricane Dolly strengthened on Wednesday as it churned toward southern Texas, and was expected to lash low-lying areas on the U.S.-Mexico border with torrential rains when it comes ashore around mid-day.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 11:26 am

EU proposes crackdown on seal hunt (AP)

AP - The European Union proposed an import ban Wednesday on products derived from seals that are killed in a cruel way, a move that could hurt the annual seal hunt in Canada the largest in the world.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 11:24 am

Fossils date Dry Valleys' origin

Tiny fossils time the climate shift which gave rise to Antarctica's Dry Valleys, a landscape akin to Mars.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 23 Jul 2008 | 11:19 am

Small Satellite Designed to Spot Big Bad Asteroids

A tiny Canadian satellite will track space rocks near Earth.
Source: Livescience.com | 23 Jul 2008 | 11:04 am

Small Satellite Designed to Spot Big Bad Asteroids (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A tiny Canadian satellite is gearing up for a mission to hunt wayward space rocks that may pose a threat to Earth.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 11:02 am

Researcher says Gulf dead zone bigger than ever (AP)

AP - A "dead zone" in the Gulf of Mexico off the Texas-Louisiana coast this year is likely to be the biggest ever and last longer than ever before, with marine life affected for hundreds of miles, a scientist warned.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 9:39 am

Alaska House OKs gas pipeline license (AP)

AP - The Alaska State House of Representatives has approved a state license for a Canadian company to pursue a natural gas pipeline project that could unlock 4.5 billion cubic feet of North Slope gas reserves daily.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 6:17 am

No-cull badger policy 'deficient'

The decision not to cull badgers in England to control tuberculosis in cattle is flawed in the short-term, say MPs.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:25 am

Parasitic worms may help fuel AIDS epidemic: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - People infected with parasitic worms may be much more susceptible to the AIDS virus, according to a study published on Tuesday that may help explain why HIV has hit sub-Saharan Africa particularly hard.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:03 am

Commercially bred bees spread disease to wild bees

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disease spread to wild bees from commercially bred bees used for pollination in agriculture greenhouses may be playing a role in the mysterious decline in North American bee populations, researchers said on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Jul 2008 | 12:03 am

Fossil Suggests Antarctica Much Warmer in Past (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - A college student's new discovery of fossils collected in the East Antarctic suggests that the frozen polar cap was once a much balmier place. The well-preserved fossils of ostracods, a type of small crustaceans, came from the Dry Valleys region of Antarctica's Transantarctic Mountains and date from about 14 million years ago. The fossils were a rare find, showing all of the ostracods' soft anatomy in 3-D. The fossils were discovered by Richard Thommasson during screening of the sediment in research team member Allan Ashworth's lab at North Dakota State University. ...

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 11:33 pm

Fossil Suggests Antarctica Much Warmer in Past

Crustacean fossil supports idea that Antarctica was warmer in past.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 11:23 pm

Dino diversity had a long pedigree, says study (AFP)

AFP - The belief that dinosaurs underwent explosive species diversification just before they were wiped out is an illusion, for the beasts' main evolutionary shifts took place millions of years before, a study says.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 11:10 pm

School failure harder on girls than boys: U.S. study

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Academic failure appears to trouble teen-age girls more deeply than boys, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 10:34 pm

Manned spaceship design unveiled

The first official image of a proposed joint Russian and European manned spacecraft is unveiled.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 22 Jul 2008 | 9:56 pm

Memory Problems Tied to Sound Processing Disorder

Inability to filter out background noise may be indicator of mild impairment, study says
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 9:25 pm

Women Urged to Seek 'Preconception Care'

Doctors beginning task of implementing government-recommended guidelines
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 9:24 pm

'Bizarre!' Frog Tunes Ears to Specific Frequencies

An unusual Chinese frog is the only known animal that can actively select what sound frequency range to tune in to.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 8:30 pm

Day care babies gain more weight: study

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Infants cared for by someone other than mom or dad are more apt to be exposed to "unfavorable" feeding practices and to gain more weight during their first year of life, a new study shows, which could contribute to childhood weight problems.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 8:25 pm

Distant Wildfires Cause Arctic Cooling

Wildfire smoke from North America may cool the Arctic for weeks or months.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 22 Jul 2008 | 8:22 pm

Oldest Bible Pieced Together

The oldest surviving copy of the New Testament becomes complete...at least online.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 22 Jul 2008 | 7:40 pm

Traffic Deaths Drop with Rising Gas Prices

Traffic deaths around the country are plummeting.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 7:36 pm

Horrified Man Finds Another Long Python In Maine

A man is having trouble sleeping since he found a python snake about 9 feet long under the engine of his pickup truck.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 7:25 pm

Viagra helps depressed women get satisfaction, too

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Viagra, a popular anti-impotence pill, may help some women on antidepressants have better sex, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 6:56 pm

Germans find Olympic course where Nero raced chariot

ATHENS (Reuters) - German archaeologists using radar technology believe they may have discovered the ancient horse racing track at Olympia where Roman Emperor Nero bribed his way to Olympic laurels.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 5:10 pm

Head Trauma: Scientists Brainstorm Causes, Cures

New ways to diagnose and treat traumatic brain injury, which is easily overlooked.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 4:36 pm

Scholars Plan to Reunite Ancient Bible - Online

The oldest surviving copy of the New Testament, a 4th century version that had its Gospels and epistles spread across the world, is being made whole again — online.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 3:29 pm

Focus on ADHD: A Deficit of Understanding

For most doctors and psychologists, what remains controversial is not whether ADHD is real but rather how to diagnose and treat it.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Jul 2008 | 3:19 pm

Busy start heralds bruising Atlantic hurricane season

MIAMI (Reuters) - The 2008 Atlantic hurricane season is already a month ahead of schedule, portending a rough year for tropical storms for the United States, Caribbean and Central America although most likely not a repeat of the devastating 2005 season.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Jul 2008 | 2:38 pm

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