Silver Is Key To Reducing Pneumonia Associated With Breathing Tubes

People have long prized silver as a precious metal. Now, silver-coated endotracheal tubes are giving critically ill patients another reason to value the lustrous metal. Researchers now report that the silver-coated tubes led to a 36 percent reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

Critical Protein Complex In Formation Of Cell Cilia Identified

Scientists have identified a protein complex that regulates the formation of cilia, which are found on virtually all mature human cells and are essential to normal cell function.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

Can Biofuels Be Sustainable?

With oil prices skyrocketing, the search is on for efficient and sustainable biofuels. Research published this month in Agronomy Journal examines one biofuel crop contender: corn stover. Corn stover is made up of the leaves and stalks of corn plants that are left in the field after harvesting the edible corn grain. Corn stover could supply as much as 25 percent of the biofuel crop needed by 2030.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

Key Advance Toward 'Micro-spacecraft'

Fleets of inexpensive, pint-sized spacecraft are one giant leap closer to lift off. Researchers describe a new, razor thin temperature-regulating film that brings this sci-fi vision of "micro-spacecraft" weighing barely 50 pounds and 10-pound "nano-spacecraft" closer to reality.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

Researchers Uncover Attack Mechanism Of Illness-inducing Bacterium

An infectious ocean-dwelling bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish kills its host's cells by causing them to burst, providing the invader with a nutrient-rich meal, researchers have found.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

Calculators Okay In Math Class, If Students Know The Facts First, Study Finds

Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found. The findings shed light on the debate about whether and when calculators should be used in the classroom.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 6:00 pm

Heads-up Study Of Hair Dynamics May Lead To Better Hair-care Products

From frizzy perms to over-bleached waves, "bad hair days" could soon become a less frequent occurrence. Chemists report the first detailed microscopic analysis of what happens to individual hair fibers when they interact with each other, an advance in knowledge key to the development of improved shampoos, conditioners and other products for repairing damaged hair, the researchers say. Their research will be presented in August at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Greenland Ice Core Reveals History Of Pollution In The Arctic

New research, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that coal burning, primarily in North America and Europe, contaminated the Arctic and potentially affected human health and ecosystems in and around Earth's polar regions.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths In 1918 Influenza Pandemic

The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

'Point Of Care Diagnostics' In The Starting Blocks

Tracking down cancer at a very early stage, studying cell growth, developing new medicines: future lab-on-a-chip systems will use nanoscale electrical fields to enable the detection and manipulation of cells and biomolecules.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 3:00 pm

New Clues to Where Salmon Go

New tracking devices could answer questions about salmon survival.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:10 pm

Group says climate resolutions increase (AP)

AP - Support for climate-change proposals may be growing among investors in big U.S. companies.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:55 am

Rice signs missile defense deal with Poland (AP)

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, left, and Polish President Lech Kaczynski shake hands after a meeting in Warsaw, Poland, Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008. Rice came to Warsaw to sign a deal with Poland that will see a U.S. missile defense base built in northern Poland. (AP Photo/Alik Keplicz)AP - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her Polish counterpart signed a deal Wednesday to build a U.S. missile defense base in Poland, an agreement that prompted an infuriated Russia to warn of a possible attack against the former Soviet satellite.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:50 am

Hopes fade for Sydney whale calf

A humpback whale calf separated from its mother and trying to suckle from boats off Sydney, Australia, is weakening, observers say.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:44 am

The Nation's Weather (AP)

The Weather Underground forecast for Wednesday, Aug. 20, 2008 showing heavy showers and thunderstorms are expected to persist throughout Florida as Fay treks northeast. Meanwhile a front pushing through the Pacific Northwest will bring showers and possible storms. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)AP - Tropical Storm Fay was expected to move northwest toward northern Florida or the Georgia coast Wednesday evening. Forecasters said it could intensify into a hurricane as it moves over water and were keeping a close eye on the cyclone.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:19 am

Oil prices dip before US energy data (AFP)

The AFP - Oil prices eased on Wednesday, reversing earlier gains and a sharp spike the day before, as the market awaited the latest weekly government report on the health of American energy inventories.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:18 am

eBay insect fossil is new species

A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay finds that it belongs to a new species.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:17 am

Birds 'off the pace' with warming

French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, a study suggests.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:03 am

How to Mine Martian Water

Microwave beams could help extract water ice from the moon and Mars.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Aug 2008 | 11:02 am

Bid for world land-speed record

Two British men prepare to try and break the world land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Aug 2008 | 10:46 am

"Bigfoot" was rubber gorilla costume

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - No wonder Bigfoot failed a DNA test. Researchers said on Tuesday the hairy heap claimed by two men to be the corpse of the mythical half-ape, half-human creature was actually a full-body rubber gorilla costume.


Source: Reuters: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 9:20 am

Dry hunger

Why lack of water will make it hard to feed ourselves
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Aug 2008 | 7:16 am

Resilient storm Fay could hit Florida a third time

MIAMI (Reuters) - Tropical Storm Fay swept into Florida from the Gulf of Mexico and soaked the state on Tuesday while growing strong enough that forecasters said it could become a hurricane before smacking Florida a third time.


Source: Reuters: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 2:39 am

Monkey business - US 'Bigfoot' turns out to be gorilla suit in ice

The claimed recent discovery of Bigfoot in the US state of Georgia has turned out to be a gorilla suit in a block of ice.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 20 Aug 2008 | 1:38 am

Face Recognition Varies by Culture (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - The way people recognize faces might say a lot about what culture they come from, scientists now reveal.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:25 am

Face Recognition Varies by Culture

The way people recognize faces might say a lot about what culture they come from.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:19 am

Stem cell test to help treat bowel cancer (Reuters)

Reuters - Stem cell scientists have developed a new and more accurate way of spotting aggressive forms of bowel cancer, allowing for tailored treatment that should improve patients' chances of survival.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:18 am

Stem cell test to help treat bowel cancer

LONDON (Reuters) - Stem cell scientists have developed a new and more accurate way of spotting aggressive forms of bowel cancer, allowing for tailored treatment that should improve patients' chances of survival.


Source: Reuters: Science News | 20 Aug 2008 | 12:18 am

The question: Do animals feel grief?

Justine Hankins: Animals invest time, energy and genetic material into their young and they naturally want them to survive
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 11:06 pm

Wide-Faced Men More Aggressive

Men with big mugs are more aggressive, a new study of hockey players suggests.
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 11:04 pm

Medicine: DNA may decide patients' drugs

Genetic data may be more accurate than referring to someone's race when prescribing drugs
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 11:04 pm

Spacewatch

Some of the most secret of satellites are also the brightest and easiest to see
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 11:04 pm

Call to tackle UK business waste

The government should do more to curb waste using tax as an incentive, a House of Lords committee has said.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 19 Aug 2008 | 11:00 pm

NASA fixes moonship shaking with shock absorbers (AP)

Legendary NASA space suit engineer Joe Kosmo, right, talks with technician Kevin Groenman, in a 300-pound space suit, June 10, 2008, in Moses Lake, Wash. NASA scientists and contractors spent two weeks in Moses Lake field testing some of the vehicles and robots that will be used when humans return to the moon later this century. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)AP - A space-age version of the rusty springs under old pickup trucks will help NASA fix the most pressing technical problem with its high-tech new rocket to send astronauts back to the moon.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Aug 2008 | 9:21 pm

Trace Arsenic in Water Linked to Diabetes

A new study is the first to link low-level arsenic exposure to Type 2 diabetes.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 19 Aug 2008 | 9:10 pm

Obesity Rates Up in 37 States: Report

At least 20% of adults are obese in every state except Colorado
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 8:13 pm

Whale activists vow to fight Japan despite arrest threat (AFP)

Activists vowed no let-up in their campaign to stop Japan's whaling as reports said Tokyo was seeking further arrests overseas of people who obstructed a hunt. AFP - Animal rights activists vowed no let-up in their campaign to stop Japan's whaling as reports Tuesday said Tokyo was seeking further arrests overseas of people who obstructed a hunt.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Aug 2008 | 7:57 pm

What's Inside the Giant Planets?

A look inside the giants.
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 7:41 pm

Stem cells could allow "blood farms," company says

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Embryonic stem cells can be used to grow vats of red blood cells, which could lead to the creation of "farms" that could provide limitless sources of blood, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.


Source: Reuters: Science News | 19 Aug 2008 | 7:37 pm

Stem cell advance may help transfusion supplies (AP)

AP - Scientists say they've found an efficient way to make red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells, a possible step toward making transfusion supplies in the laboratory. The promise of a virtually limitless supply is tantalizing because of blood donor shortages and disappointments in creating blood substitutes.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Aug 2008 | 7:13 pm

Stem Cells Could Boost Blood Transfusion Supplies

Making blood cells from stem cells could lead to a supply of "universal" blood.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 19 Aug 2008 | 7:10 pm

Aboriginal Kids Count Without Numbers

Children who speak languages without words for more than one or two can still compare quantities.
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 5:59 pm

MoD announces winner of robotic spy challenge

The robotic technology demonstrated in the competition could be at the disposal of the British army within 18 months
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 5:42 pm

American Diets May Lack Vitamin D

Cases of bone-deforming rickets have increased, but nobody is sure why.
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 5:17 pm

BLOG: The Candidates Talk Space

The presidential candidates' visions for space exploration reveal similar thinking.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 19 Aug 2008 | 5:00 pm

Bacteria a big killer in 1918 flu pandemic: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bacterial pneumonia may have killed most people during the 1918 flu pandemic, and antibiotics may be as crucial as flu drugs to fight any new pandemic, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday.


Source: Reuters: Science News | 19 Aug 2008 | 4:56 pm

Stellar result in MoD challenge

The Ministry of Defence has concluded a contest to identify robots best suited to battlefield conditions.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 19 Aug 2008 | 4:52 pm

U.S. Droughts Can Last Centuries

North America had centuries-long droughts in past due to changing solar activity.
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 4:34 pm

Video: Baby whale mistakes boat for mother

Australian wildlife experts attempt to save lost baby humpback that has been seen nuzzling up to yachts
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 3:31 pm

A thermostat for mini-spacecraft

A new technology has been demonstrated that can regulate the temperature of miniature satellites and spacecraft
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 19 Aug 2008 | 2:41 pm

Changes to our blogs

From 4pm BST today, commenting on this blog will be turned off as we move to a new home. This process will last all night as every blogpost and all of your comments are transferred to our new and improved system.
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 2:29 pm

Hefty Dinosaurs Trampled Denmark

Sauropod dinosaur tracks are found on the Danish island of Bornholm.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 19 Aug 2008 | 2:27 pm

Church Attendance Boosts Student GPAs

If you want to boost your teenager's grade point average, take the kid to church.
Source: Livescience.com | 19 Aug 2008 | 2:00 pm

A bucket of dust

Phoenix gets up close and personal with Martian dust
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 19 Aug 2008 | 1:34 pm

Imperiled Baby Whale Returns to 'Mama' Yachts

A baby humpback whale that confused a yacht for its actual mother is unlikely to survive.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 19 Aug 2008 | 1:10 pm

Creationist challenges Dawkins

Richard Dawkins has been challenged to a public debate by an eccentric Turkish creationist
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 19 Aug 2008 | 12:56 pm