Science Headlines for August 5, 2008

Military Use Of Robots Increases

Robots in the military are no longer the stuff of science fiction. They have left the movie screen and entered the battlefield. Researchers report that the military goal is to have approximately 30% of the army be robotic forces by somewhere around 2020.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Tevatron Experiments Double-team Higgs Boson

The CDF and DZero collaborations at the US Department of Energy's Fermilab are advancing the quest for the long-sought Higgs boson. Their latest results indicate that researchers have for the first time excluded, with 95 percent probability, a mass for the Higgs of 170 GeV. This value lies in the possible mass range for the particle established by earlier experiments. The result demonstrates that the Tevatron experiments are sensitive to potential Higgs signals.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Recurrence Of Group B Strep High In Subsequent Pregnancies, Say Obstetricians

A new study could help experts better decide whether to continue the current practice of retesting women during their second pregnancies for a common bacterial infection if they had tested positive for the infection previously.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

New Role Found For A 'Foxy Old Gene'

Researchers have discovered that a protein called FOXA2 controls genes that maintain the proper level of bile in the liver. FOXA2 may become the focus for new therapies to treat diseases that involve the regulation of bile salts.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Paradox Of Higher Education, Crime: Male College Students More Likely Than Less-educated Peers To Commit Property Crimes, Study Finds

Men who attend college are more likely to commit property crimes during their college years than their non-college-attending peers, according to research to be presented at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Two Years Old: A Childhood Obesity Tipping Point? Research Suggests That Childhood Obesity Begins In Infancy

Over the last decade, childhood obesity has grown into an epidemic, reflected in soaring rates of type 2 diabetes and recommendations that pediatricians check toddlers for elevated cholesterol. What hasn't been as clear is how early to intervene. A study presented at a pediatric research program on Friday suggested obesity prevention efforts should begin as early as age two, when children reach a "tipping point" in a progression that leads to obesity later in life.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Booger the pit bull is back! All five of him...

SEOUL (Reuters) - The loss of Booger the pit bull terrier was almost more than Bernann McKinney could bear.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:47 pm

Tropical storm Edouard hits Texas coast (Reuters)

Reuters - Tropical Storm Edouard hit the upper Texas coast early on Tuesday, bringing driving rains and winds near 65 mph (100 kmh), U.S. forecasters said.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:35 pm

The sea creature giving Britain's olympic sailing squad a boost

Britain's sailing squad has an extra weapon going into the Olympics - an extract from a sea creature which could help keep them ready to race.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:34 pm

Nano Sculptures In Gold

If someone is charged up, the color of their face might change, but they don’t immediately pull off one of their arms, only to reattach it as a third leg. With some molecules, however, the situation is quite different - for example, in a gold cluster with seven atoms. In a charged state, the atoms arrange themselves differently than when they are uncharged.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm

Maternal Deaths Following Cesarean Delivery Can Be Reduced

Maternal death rates have remained constant in the United States for many decades. Are there any improvements in health care that could reduce these rates further? A new study examined all maternal deaths in nearly 1.5 million birth records from the last six years to look for possible keys to saving more mothers. The study demonstrated that the risk of death attributable to cesarean delivery, approximately 2/100,000 procedures, can realistically be reduced only with universal thromboembolism prophylaxis for patients delivered by cesarean.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm

Extinction Threat To Monkeys And Other Primates Due To Habitat Loss, Hunting

Mankind's closest relatives -- the world's monkeys, apes and other primates -- are disappearing from the face of the Earth, with some literally being eaten into extinction. The first comprehensive review in five years of the world's 634 kinds of primates found that almost 50 percent are in danger of going extinct, according to the criteria of the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm

Outdoor Activity And Nearsightedness In Children

A growing number of the world's children are mildly to severely nearsighted (myopic), with rates especially high among urbanized East Asians. In addition to coping with poor distance vision, children with severe myopia are more prone to visual impairment and blindness later in life.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:00 pm

Eclipse darkens NW China, a week before Olympics (Reuters)

Reuters - Darkness fell on Friday over the last outpost of the Great Wall of China, where a rare total solar eclipse delighted skywatchers a week before the Olympics open in Beijing.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 11:36 am

Eclipse darkens NW China, a week before Olympics

JIAYUGUAN, China (Reuters) - Darkness fell on Friday over the last outpost of the Great Wall of China, where a rare total solar eclipse delighted skywatchers a week before the Olympics open in Beijing.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 11:36 am

McCain -- "Big Oil's best investment": Obama (AFP)

AFP - Barack Obama branded John McCain a stooge of profit-soaked US oil giants, as the White House rivals dueled on high gasoline prices and energy policy exactly three months from election day.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 11:28 am

Surprising Number of Lowland Gorillas Discovered in Africa (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - A new tally of lowland gorillas has found massive and surprising numbers of these African primates alive and well in the Republic of Congo, Wildlife Conservation Society scientists announced.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 11:22 am

The world's first cloned pet dogs

Five cloned pitbull terriers have been shown to the world after being born to two surrogate mothers
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 5 Aug 2008 | 11:20 am

Surprising Number of Lowland Gorillas Discovered in Africa

A 'planet of the apes' of sorts has been discovered in the Republic of Congo.
Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2008 | 11:09 am

Great Planet Debate: Scientists Could Overturn Official Definition

Scientists will convene this month to figure out what makes an object a planet.
Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2008 | 10:53 am

Ethical dilemma

Should a baby be risked to save her sister?
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2008 | 10:15 am

Pet cloning service bears five baby Boogers

California woman pays £25,000 for South Korean scientists to create five identical copies of beloved pit bull terrier
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 5 Aug 2008 | 10:05 am

Packet pioneer

The technology that keeps the net running turns 40
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2008 | 9:09 am

Firm claims first pet dog clones

Scientists in South Korea say they have successfully completed the world's first commercial cloning of a pet dog.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2008 | 8:39 am

Congo gorilla bonanza doubles population estimates

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A crowd of gorillas has survived in the northern part of the Republic of Congo -- so many that environmentalists can double population estimates, according to a report released on Tuesday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 7:06 am

Martian soil may contain detrimental substance (AP)

AP - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft has detected the presence of a chemically reactive salt in the Martian soil, a finding that if confirmed could make it less friendly to potential life than once believed.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 5:13 am

Scientists: 125,000 gorillas found in African zone (AP)

AP - Wildlife researchers said Tuesday that they've discovered 125,000 western lowland gorillas deep in the forests of the Republic of Congo, calling it a major increase in the animal's estimated population.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 4:04 am

Alaska sues over listing polar bear as threatened (AP)

AP - The state of Alaska sued Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne on Monday, seeking to reverse his decision to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 3:17 am

NASA lander may have found toxic substance on Mars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Phoenix Mars Lander may have detected perchlorate, a potentially toxic substance used in rocket fuel, in soil samples taken from the Red Planet, NASA scientists said on Monday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Aug 2008 | 2:08 am

Nancy banks-Smith on last night's TV

Nancy Banks-Smith on The Genius of Charles Darwin | I'm Kylie's Body Double | Coronation Street
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 5 Aug 2008 | 1:06 am

Primates 'face extinction crisis'

Almost half of the world's primate species are facing extinction, a major global assessment warns, with habitat loss the main threat.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2008 | 12:10 am

Human malaria jab tests nearing

Successful animal experiments have given the green light for trials of a new type of malaria vaccine in humans.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2008 | 11:15 pm

HIV vaccine 'allows drug breaks'

Scientists are testing a vaccine designed to give HIV patients a prolonged break from their regular medication.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2008 | 11:09 pm

Endangered primates

Nearly half of all primates are in danger of becoming extinct, according to a study by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. Here are some of the species under threat from habitat destruction and hunting for food and the illegal wildlife trade
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 4 Aug 2008 | 11:03 pm

Nearly half of all the world's primates at risk of extinction, study finds

Outlook for monkeys, apes and other primates has dramatically worsened, warns major new study
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 4 Aug 2008 | 11:03 pm

Health: Research points to vitamin C role in fighting cancer

Doctors to investigate whether cancer patients should be given the vitamin alongside conventional drugs
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 4 Aug 2008 | 11:02 pm

Britain has become a nation of positively effusive kissers

When did we all start smooching our friends, colleagues and acquaintances?
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 4 Aug 2008 | 11:02 pm

Phoenix diary

The team is under pressure to get results on Mars
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2008 | 10:47 pm

SLIDE SHOW: Antarctica's Once-Living Valleys

Fourteen million years ago, Antarctica's now-barren valleys were thriving with life.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Aug 2008 | 10:00 pm

Fossils Evince Once-Living Antarctica

Antarctica's now-barren valleys were once teeming with life, new fossils show.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Aug 2008 | 10:00 pm

One-Third of Uninsured Are Chronically Ill

And that can mean missed care, fading health, earlier death, experts say
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 9:22 pm

Fatty fish may help prevent memory loss: study

LONDON (Reuters) - Eating tuna and other fatty fish may help prevent memory loss in addition to reducing the risk of stroke, Finnish researchers said on Monday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 4 Aug 2008 | 9:16 pm

Ancient moss, insects found in Antarctica (AP)

AP - Mosses once grew and insects crawled in what are now barren valleys in Antarctica, according to scientists who have recovered remains of life from that frozen continent. Fourteen million years ago the now lifeless valleys were tundra, similar to parts of Alaska, Canada and Siberia cold but able to support life, researchers report.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 4 Aug 2008 | 9:14 pm

VIDEO: Emirates A-380

A bit of the flavor of Business Class and First Class aboard Dubai-based Emirates Airlines first A-380 into JFK airport in New York.
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 9:11 pm

Estrogen May Have Preventive Role in Women's Schizophrenia

Symptoms, including delusions, hallucinatory behavior, improved with estradiol, study says
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 8:16 pm

Undersea 'Black Smokers' Found Off Arctic

Jets of hot water spewing from the ocean floor are discovered in the Arctic Ocean.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

Rocket Racing Debuts With Grounded Plane

The first head-to-head race between two rocket-propelled planes was a bit of a bust.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 4 Aug 2008 | 7:51 pm

'Sex link' to French oyster rout

Young French oysters are dying from a killer virus because developing their sex organs too soon has exhausted them, scientists believe.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2008 | 4:41 pm

OTC Cold Medicines Sending Children to Emergency Rooms

The FDA recently advised that kids under 2 not use these products
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 4:36 pm

Ancient Shark's Bite More Powerful Than T. Rex's

The most powerful bite of all time has been found — that of the prehistoric giant shark Megalodon.
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 4:02 pm

What Do the Olympic Rings Symbolize?

The meaning of the Olympic Games' five interlocking rings is not at all black-and-white.
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 3:56 pm

How the Olympics Changed the World

While the competitors in Beijing will become part of a 112-year-old tradition of sporting excellence, the history of the Olympics is also politically charged, often acting as a showcase for the world's squabbles.
Source: Livescience.com | 4 Aug 2008 | 3:01 pm

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