New Giant Clam Species Offers Window Into Human Past

Researchers report the discovery of the first new living species of giant clam in two decades.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 3:00 pm

Teflon: Chemists Break Harmful Bonds

Everybody loves the way eggs slide off of Teflon pans. Indeed, the carbon-fluorine bond at the heart of Teflon cookware is so helpful we also use it in products from clothing to blood substitutes. But the very strength of the C-F bond also gives it greenhouse gas effects. In the journal Science, researchers report a catalyst that breaks the C-F bond and converts it to a carbon-hydrogen bond, rendering it harmless to the environment.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 3:00 pm

Kids Still Drinking Too Much Soda, Even When Not Available At School

In May 2006, an agreement was reached by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and the American Beverage Association on voluntary sales restrictions on "competitive foods" such as soft drinks at schools. However, researchers now say limiting the availability of soft drinks at school may not be enough to affect overall consumption among elementary school children.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 3:00 pm

New Approach, Old Drug Show Promise Against Hepatitis C, Research Shows

Using a novel technique, medical and engineering researchers have discovered a vulnerable step in the virus' reproduction process that in lab testing could be effectively targeted with an obsolete antihistamine.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 3:00 pm

Thawing Permafrost Likely To Boost Global Warming, New Assessment Concludes

A new assessment more than doubles previous estimates of the amount of carbon stored in permafrost, and indicates that carbon dioxide emissions from microbial decomposition of organic carbon in thawing permafrost could amount to roughly half those resulting from global land-use change during this century.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 3:00 pm

Sex Hormones Link To Heart Risk

Men are more prone to, and likely to die of, heart disease compared with women of a similar age -- and sex hormones are to blame, according to a new study. The findings suggest that this "male disadvantage" may be related to the sex-specific effects of naturally occurring sex hormones.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 3:00 pm

Hanna lashes Bahamas, Ivan forms over Atlantic (AP)

At the National Hurricane Center in Miami, meteorologist Brian Mayer examines a video monitor, Monday, Sept. 1, 2008, that displays an enhanced satellite image of the Atlantic Hurricane Basin and showing, from left to right, Hurricane Gustav, Tropical Storm Hanna and newly named Tropical Depression Nine. (AP Photo/Andy Newman)AP - Hurricane Hanna slumped to tropical storm strength while grinding away at the Bahamas and other Atlantic islands on Tuesday, and forecasters said it still poses a hurricane threat to the U.S. East Coast.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:46 pm

Trees Suffer One-Two Punch of Acid Rain and Climate Change (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Forests in Vermont's Green Mountains transition abruptly from a heat-loving mix of sugar maple, American beech, and yellow birch on the lower slopes to a cold-adapted mix of red spruce, balsam fir, and paper birch higher up.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:46 pm

Trees Suffer One-Two Punch of Acid Rain and Climate Change

Trees hike uphill surprisingly quickly.
Source: Livescience.com | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:41 pm

As Gustav winds down, New Orleans eyes damage

NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - A still-largely deserted New Orleans on Tuesday prepared to take stock of damage from Hurricane Gustav after rebuilt levees appeared to hold off a repeat of the flooding caused by Katrina three years earlier.


Source: Reuters: Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:34 pm

Oil prices tumble below $105 (AFP)

A gas station offers a limited service in New Orleans, Louisiana on August 31 after a mandatory evacuation was ordered ahead of Hurricane Gustav. Oil prices dived under 105 dollars, reaching four-month lows, after Gustav spared key energy facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and the US currency strengthened.(AFP/File/Jim Watson)AFP - Oil prices dived under 105 dollars on Tuesday, reaching four-month lows, after Hurricane Gustav spared key energy facilities in the Gulf of Mexico and the US currency strengthened.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:15 pm

Researchers Devise Means To Create Blood By Identifying Earliest Stem Cells

Researchers have discovered the earliest form of human blood stem cells and deciphered the mechanism by which these embryonic stem cells replicate and grow. They also found a surprising biological marker that pinpoints these stem cells, which serve as the progenitors for red blood cells and lymphocytes.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:00 pm

'Superbug' Breast Infections Controllable In Nursing Mothers, Researchers Find

Many nursing mothers who have been hospitalized for breast abscesses are afflicted with the "superbug" methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, or MRSA, but according to new research, conservative treatment can deal with the problem.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:00 pm

Analysis Begins On Phoenix Mars Lander's Deepest Soil Sample

Scientists have begun to analyze a sample of soil delivered to NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander's wet chemistry experiment from the deepest trench dug so far in the Martian arctic plains.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:00 pm

Sleight Of Hand And Sense Of Self: Illusion Isn't Always Just In The Mind

An illusion that tricks people into believing a rubber hand belongs to them isn't all in the mind, researchers have found. They have observed a physical response as well, a finding that offers insight into conditions which affect a patient's sense of self and body ownership, such as stroke, schizophrenia, autism, or eating disorders.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:00 pm

New Orleans Largely Spared by Gustav

After its first major test since the 2005 hurricane season, New Orleans is still standing.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 2 Sep 2008 | 11:26 am

New Maps Detail Solar System Objects

A planetary map-mapmaker targets Mercury and the moons of Saturn.
Source: Livescience.com | 2 Sep 2008 | 10:35 am

Real change

Environmentalism needs a dose of bold reform
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 2 Sep 2008 | 10:26 am

Commitment phobes can blame genes

A man's reluctance to marry may be down to a genetic 'flaw', say researchers.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 2 Sep 2008 | 9:33 am

Atlanta panda cub put in incubator for monitoring (AP)

AP - The only panda born at a U.S. zoo so far this year was placed in an incubator on Monday for closer monitoring by zookeepers after visitors flocked to watch mother and child on a live video feed at Zoo Atlanta.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 7:39 am

Norway's whalers defend tradition amid shrinking markets (AFP)

The town of Nusfjord on one of the northern Norwegian Lofoten islands, the main base for Norway's whaling industry, hunters insist that their tradition has a future despite decades of criticism -- and reject claims that consumers aren't buying whale meat(AFP/Pierre-Henry Deshayes)AFP - In the Lofoten Islands, the main base for Norway's whaling industry, hunters insist that their tradition has a future despite decades of criticism -- and reject claims that consumers aren't buying whale meat.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Sep 2008 | 2:02 am

'Rare' mammoth skull discovered

The fossilised skull of an "extremely rare" steppe mammoth has been discovered in southern France.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 2 Sep 2008 | 12:47 am

Finder of key hominid fossil disputes 7-million-year dating (AFP)

Undated handout photo shows the 3D reconstruction of the skull of Toumai. A fresh storm has broken out over an ancient fossil presented by its defenders as a forebear of humanity and dismissed by its critics as the remains of a vulgar chimp.(AFP/MPFT/File)AFP - A fresh storm has broken out over an ancient fossil presented by its defenders as a forebear of humanity and dismissed by its critics as the remains of a vulgar chimp.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:58 pm

Strange Clouds Spotted at the Edge of Space

Clouds are increasingly appearing at the edge of Earth's atmosphere.
Source: Livescience.com | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:55 pm

Health: Depression in schoolchildren linked to low birth weights

Findings build on previous studies linking low birth weight to medical problems such as adult diabetes
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:13 pm

Letters: Sharing the blame for MMR scare

Letters: Undoubtedly the media must take a large share of the blame for the MMR debacle
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:13 pm

Police discover remains of third body in burnt-out mansion

Detectives upgrade original arson investigation into murder inquiry, but will not confirm names of two unknown victims
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:12 pm

Climate 'hockey stick' is revived

A new study by scientists behind the controversial "hockey stick" climate graph suggests their earlier work was broadly correct.
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 1 Sep 2008 | 9:44 pm

Björn Lomborg and Gary Yohe: The climate change debate is not the place for hyperbole and hysteria; it's time to move on

Björn Lomborg and Gary Yohe: The climate change debate, while very public and very political, is not the place for hyperbole and hysteria; it's time to move on
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 8:00 pm

Is Sarah Palin a Creationist?

It is hard to tell whether Palin herself is a creationist or not.
Source: Livescience.com | 1 Sep 2008 | 7:31 pm

This ain't no jive, particle physics rap is a hit (AP)

AP - Who says science doesn't turn people on? Kate McAlpine is a rising star on YouTube for her rap performance — about high-energy particle physics.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2008 | 6:39 pm

Border Patrol also guards against foreign bugs (AP)

AP - Alishia Beckham is on the front lines defending the United States from foreign invaders — armed with weapons that include a hand mirror and a flashlight.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2008 | 6:14 pm

Podcast: Ben Goldacre decries bad science in the media

Ben Goldacre and Marcus Chown discuss homeopathy, quantum physics; science coverage in the media; and world happiness
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:53 pm

Weather data to help monitoring for nuclear tests

GENEVA (Reuters) - Weather data will help scan for nuclear tests and explosions under a tracking system unveiled on Monday by the U.N. weather agency and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO).


Source: Reuters: Science News | 1 Sep 2008 | 4:18 pm

Science Weekly Extra podcast: Ben Goldacre on homeopathy; science coverage in the media; MMR; plus the placebo effect

Writer of the Guardian's Bad Science column, Ben Goldacre discusses homeopathy, nutritionists, and the placebo effect
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 2:54 pm

Science Weekly Extra podcast: Marcus Chown on quantum mechanics; plus anti-social electrons

Radio astronomer Marcus Chown discusses spinning electrons and his book Quantum Theory Cannot Hurt You with Alok Jha
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 2:53 pm

How 'Mein Kampf' Changed the World

Few books over time have stirred up such controversy.
Source: Livescience.com | 1 Sep 2008 | 1:18 pm

Strange Clouds Spotted at the Edge of Space (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A weirdly wonderful sight appeared to astronauts aboard the International Space Station this summer — thin blue clouds hovering at the boundary between Earth's atmosphere and the void.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2008 | 1:02 pm

Beetles Evolving as Lovers or Fighters

Larger fighting horns or genitalia may drive dung beetles to evolve into new species.
Source: Livescience.com | 1 Sep 2008 | 12:55 pm

People Who Lose Jobs Become Hermits

Downsizing can cause individuals to withdraw from society.
Source: Livescience.com | 1 Sep 2008 | 12:40 pm

Forgotten faces

How computers aid forensic facial reconstruction
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 1 Sep 2008 | 12:22 pm

Science Weekly podcast: Ben Goldacre discusses homeopathy; Marcus Chown summarises quantum mechanics; plus global happiness

Ben Goldacre and Marcus Chown discuss homeopathy, quantum physics, science coverage in the media, as well as world happiness
Source: guardian.co.uk Science | 1 Sep 2008 | 12:12 pm

It's a wrap

After 31 days, how did she do living without plastic?
Source: BBC News | Science/Nature | UK Edition | 1 Sep 2008 | 11:36 am