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Methamphetamine Enters Brain Quickly And LingersUsing positron emission tomography to track tracer doses of methamphetamine in humans' brains, scientists find that the addictive and long-lasting effects of this increasingly prevalent drug can be explained in part by its pharmacokinetics -- the rate at which it enters and clears the brain, and its distribution.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm 10 Years On, High-school Social Skills Predict Better Earnings Than Test ScoresTen years after graduation, high-school students who had been rated as conscientious and cooperative by their teachers were earning more than classmates who had similar test scores but fewer social skills, said a new study.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Obtaining Kidney Transplants Abroad Carries Certain Medical RisksPeople traveling to other countries to receive kidney transplants experience more severe post-transplant complications with a higher incidence of acute rejection and severe infections, according to a new study. The findings suggest that such "transplant tourism" by Americans may not be as safe as receiving transplants in the United States.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Baby Formula Contamination May Be Linked To Pet Food ContaminationA new study in Toxicological Sciences describes the kidney toxicity of melamine and cyanuric acid based on research that was done to characterize the toxicity of the compounds that contaminated pet food in North America in 2007. This research points to a possible link between the pet food contamination that occurred in North America in 2007 and the recent adulteration of milk protein and resultant intoxication of thousands of babies from Asia.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Sensitive Laser Instrument Could Aid Search For Life On MarsMinuscule traces of cells can be detected in a mineral likely present on Mars, researchers report in the current online issue of the peer-reviewed Geomicrobiology Journal. The results, obtained using a technique developed at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory, could help mission scientists choose Martian surface samples with the most promise for yielding signs of life.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Global Warming Threatens Australia's Iconic KangaroosAn increase in average temperature of only two degrees Celsius could have a devastating effect on populations of Australia's iconic kangaroos.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Movement Restored To Paralyzed Limbs In Monkeys Through Artificial Brain-muscle ConnectionsResearchers have demonstrated for the first time that a direct artificial connection from the brain to muscles can restore voluntary movement in monkeys whose arms have been temporarily anesthetized.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm Preventing Colds: Washing Your Hands Is More Effective Than Taking VitaminsMany people have started taking vitamin C tablets as a precautionary measure. But research has shown that vitamin supplements do not provide nearly as much protection as other measures, like frequently washing your hands -- and that high doses can even be harmful.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm Coastal Dead Zones May Benefit Some Species, Scientist FindsA Brown ecologist has found that coastal "dead zones" may not be so dead after all. In a paper published this month in the journal Ecology, Andrew Altieri has found that the commercially valuable quahog clam thrives in hypoxic waters in Narragansett Bay -- partly because the clam's predators flee the low-oxygen areas.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm Body's Anti-HIV Drug ExplainedHumans have a built-in weapon against HIV, but until recently no one knew how to unlock its potential. A new study in the journal Nature reveals the atomic structure of an enzyme capable of repelling the virus HIV, suggesting new approach for drug development.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm Omar in Atlantic after pounding Virgin Islands: NHC (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 11:37 am A Major Moon Dust-UpThe moon is covered in dust lying between four inches to a yard deep.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:59 am 'Alien' Water Bears Amaze ScientistsTardigrades' survival in space gives more credence to the panspermia idea.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:59 am Science Weekly Extra podcast: Kerry Emanuel, an atmospheric scientist at MIT, discusses hurricane formationAlok Jha discusses tropical cyclones with MIT atmospheric scientist Kerry EmanuelSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:44 am EU set to backtrack on emissionsEU leaders look set to give way to demands from some members to water down the bloc's ambitious climate change plans.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:23 am Red squirrels found with immunity to deadly poxThe deadly virus, carried by grey squirrels was thought to be fatal in all cases. Scientists are hopeful of developing a vaccineSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:09 am Next generationMeet 10 new aliens that could cause havoc in the UKSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:05 am Brain signals revive paralyzed muscles in monkeys (AP)AP - Monkeys taught to play a computer game were able to overcome wrist paralysis with an experimental device that might lead to new treatments for patients with stroke and spinal cord injury.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 4:42 am California releases plan to cut greenhouse gases (AP)AP - To reach its global warming goals, California must cut greenhouse gas emissions by about four tons per person, which would require cleaner cars, more renewable energy and a cap on major polluters, according to a state plan released Wednesday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 12:39 am Dying Lawyer's Son, Clintons Beg Biogen to Use Drug (Bloomberg)Bloomberg - Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- The son of Fred Baron is pleading with Biogen Idec Inc. to let his dying father, the Dallas trial lawyer who served as finance chairman for John Edwards's presidential campaign, use the experimental cancer drug Tysabri.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:39 pm 'I would be able to hug my wife' with new brain implant technologyCase study: The potential patient for brain implants to help disabled people move independentlySource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:09 pm The playing, paralysed monkeys that offer hope to spinal injury victimsHuman trials may be possible within five years using new technique to bypass nervous system damageSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:08 pm Obituary: Ron RiveraObituary: Potter who developed a water filter that saved lives in the third worldSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:08 pm Getting the measure of you: how does biometrics work?Biometrics is becoming more accurate as the government prepares to launch its ID scheme; the main obstacle is winning acceptanceSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:05 pm "Walking fish" reveals fresh evolutionary insightsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - An extraordinary fish that existed 375 million years ago had unique features in its head that helped pave the way for vertebrate animals to live on land, scientists said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 10:34 pm U.S. oil prices fall more than $1 (Reuters)Reuters - U.S. crude oil futures fell more than $1 a barrel after Wednesday's settlement, slipping to a 13-month low as traders were concerned over weaker demand linked to a widespread economic slowdown.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 10:09 pm Scientists view both Obama, McCain as supportive (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 9:25 pm Americans Flunk Simple 3-Question Political Survey (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - Some news audiences are more politically savvy than others, according to a new poll, with readers of The New Yorker and similar high-brow magazines being the most knowledgeable.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 9:25 pm Americans Flunk Simple 3-Question Political SurveySome news audiences are more politically informed than others.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 9:13 pm Device helps monkeys move paralyzed wristsCHICAGO (Reuters) - Monkeys regained the use of paralyzed wrist muscles with a computer-aided device that uses brain signals to direct movement, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 9:10 pm Why Dick Cheney's Heart Skipped a BeatAtrial fibrillation (AF), the most common affliction of the heart, affects more than 2 million Americans.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 9:01 pm Diatoms: The Ultimate in Hybrid Vigor
"These organisms represent a veritable melting pot of traits—a hybrid of genetic mechanisms contributed by ancestral lineages of plants, animals, and bacteria," Chris Bowler, a plant biologist at France's Ecole Normale Supérieure said in a press release. Bowler's team sequenced the genome of a diatom called Phaeodactylum tricornutum, then compared it to a previously sequenced diatom genome. The contrast showed both how rapidly diatoms have evolved and how deeply indebted they are to the primitive creatures that later became plants and animals. The latter contributed genes necessary to produce urea, and the former gave genes responsible for photosynthesis. Another 300 genes appear to come from bacteria — the largest-ever example of horizontal gene transfer in a multi-cellular animal. "Gene transfer between diatoms and other organisms has been extremely common, making diatoms 'transgenic by nature,'" said Bowler. The Phaeodactylum genome reveals the evolutionary history of diatom genomes [Nature] Images: Nature Source: Wired: Wired Science | 15 Oct 2008 | 8:22 pm Suit Against God Tossed Out: No AddressA judge has thrown out a Nebraska legislator's lawsuit against God.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 8:18 pm Earthly Animals Owe Necks to 'Fishapod'
The creature, dubbed Tiktaalik roseae — or, to be less formal, Fishapod — lived 375 million years ago 600 miles north of the Arctic Circle in a subtropical floodplain that eventually became Ellesmere Island, where it was discovered in 2004. Tiktaalik had the jaw, fins and scales of a fish, and the neck, ribs and limbs of a four-legged animal. In an evolutionary sense, it was learning to breathe air and walk on solid ground.
"We used to think of this transition of the neck and skull as a rapid event, largely because we lacked information about the intermediate animals," said Neil Shubin, one of Tiktaalik's discoverers, in a press release. "Tiktaalik neatly fills this morphological gap, and helps to resolve the timing of this complex transition." WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 15 Oct 2008 | 8:06 pm Night-Shining Clouds May Have Metal LiningA physicist explains why thin clouds hovering at the edge of space reflect radar.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 15 Oct 2008 | 8:00 pm Direct Brain-to-Muscle Electrical Circuit Helps Paralyzed Monkeys Move
The monkeys were only temporarily paralyzed, and much work remains before the technique could be used in humans — but as an alternative technological approach to paralysis, it's a powerful proof-of-principle. "The force could push a button, or press keys on a keyboard — but it was more forceful than that," said University of Washington biophysicist Eberhard Fetz. Brain-machine interfaces have previously been used to control robotic arms and computer cursors, but they required researchers to identify entire populations of neurons already associated with movement. By contrast, Fetz and his colleagues identified neurons not previously associated with motion, then used them to stimulate individual muscles rather than a robotic device. "We used a direct connection between single cells and single muscles, which are then able to provide an intuitive and immediate consequence of cell activity," said Fetz. "It's much more direct than decoding a large population of cells." The researchers started by connecting a computer to electrodes planted in each monkey's motor cortex, a brain region that controls movement and remains functional in people paralyzed by spinal cord injuries. Electrical activity in the monkeys' cortexes affected an on-screen cursor, which the researchers trained the monkeys to control in target-practice games. Then they anesthetized the monkeys, cutting off their brains' natural motor signaling to the arms. Instead, the electrodes were connected to flexor and extensor muscles in the monkeys' wrists — and when they used their brains in the same way they'd previously controlled a cursor, electrical signals caused their muscles to contract. "This study demonstrates a novel approach to restoring movement through neuroprosthetic devices," said National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke program director Joseph Pancrazio in a press release. Pancrazio was not involved in the research, published today in Nature. Fetz cautioned that the technique is far from ready, but was excited at its potential. "Just about any cell in the motor cortex that could be recorded could be brought under volitional control," he said. "And it might involve having single cells trigger a programmed pattern of stimulation that triggers a coordinated movement, like grasping." Instead of stimulating muscles, said Fetz, researchers could even stimulate the spinal cord. "This typically produces a coordinated contraction of synergistic muscles," he said. "Stimulation there could be advantageous for generating more complex, useful movements." Image: Nature WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 15 Oct 2008 | 6:40 pm Monkeys Overcome Paralysis With Brain SignalsAfter playing a computer game, monkeys were able to revive paralyzed muscles.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 15 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Brain Signals Revive Paralyzed Muscles in MonkeysMonkeys taught to play a computer game were able to overcome wrist paralysis.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 5:41 pm Tiny Tide Travelers May Sense GravityLife is no beach for tidal creatures that must migrate in sync with the waterline.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 5:10 pm Brain implant allows monkeys to move paralysed limbsMore advanced versions of the implant could eventually allow people with paraysed legs to walk again, and give paraplegics control over their limbsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 15 Oct 2008 | 5:03 pm Mind power moves paralysed limbsScientists show it is possible to harness brain signals and redirect them to make paralysed limbs move.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Oct 2008 | 5:02 pm Amazing Power of Music RevealedMusic has amazing power over our minds and bodies, including during sports.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 5:02 pm Ray of hope for the red squirrelSome red squirrels have developed immunity to a deadly disease carried by grey squirrels, scientists find.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Oct 2008 | 4:58 pm Study finds brain chemical linked to griefLONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have pinpointed a key brain chemical involved in dealing with the sudden loss or long-term separation of a partner, they said Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 4:48 pm 'Black silicon' boosts solar cell efficiencyRough surface means black silicon traps wide range of light frequencies, says company after decade of developmentSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 15 Oct 2008 | 4:38 pm Bogus Anthrax 'State of Emergency' Protects Drugmakers, Not Public
The emergency was declared earlier this month by the Department of Health and Human Services, and will last until 2015. Whether it will protect public health is debatable, but it will certainly protect makers of faulty anthrax vaccines. Emergency exemption from legal liability is granted to vaccine manufacturers by the Public Readiness and Preparedness Act, passed in 2005 to protect against paralyzing lawsuits during outbreaks of anthrax, avian influenza or other potentially pandemic diseases. The act is supposed to be invoked when the Secretary of Homeland Security has determined "that there is a domestic emergency, or a significant potential for a domestic emergency, involving a heightened risk of attack with a specified biological, chemical, radiological, or nuclear agent or agents." But as Homeland Security chief Michael Chertoff explains in a letter to the DHHS, none of these conditions are met: there's neither emergency nor heightened risk of attack nor "credible information indicating an imminent threat of an attack." But that doesn't matter. "These findings are not necessary to make a determination," Chertoff wrote. It's enough that anthrax was declared a threat four years ago, and that "were the government to determine in the future that there is a heightened risk of an anthrax attack ... that determination would almost certainly result in a domestic emergency." In other words, there could be an emergency someday — so we might as well declare an emergency now. Beyond the tortured logic, there's something not quite right about this. Could it have something to do with the fact that the federal government has spent nearly a billion dollars on anthrax vaccines of questionable efficacy and safety? The CDC's vaccine committee meets next week to discuss anthrax vaccines. It will be interesting to see what they say. Image: Reeve77200 WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 15 Oct 2008 | 3:35 pm World's Strongest Robot Ousted by New ChampThe 16-month reign of the world's strongest robot has come to an end.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 15 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm In Lab Mice, Gender Can Change ResultsMost lab mice are males, but males and females can react differently to treatment.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 15 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm Church Pastors Dismiss Mental IllnessThe problem was solely spiritual in nature, people were told.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 2:08 pm Ancient bones show tuberculosis older than thoughtLONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered tuberculosis in 9,000 year-old human bones found submerged off Israel's coast -- evidence the disease is at least 3,000 years older than previously thought, researchers said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 2:08 pm Workout for brain just a few clicks awayCHICAGO (Reuters) - Searching the Internet may help middle-aged and older adults keep their memories sharp, U.S. researchers said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 2:03 pm Time to flyAssessing the highs and lows of key wildlife summitSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Oct 2008 | 1:48 pm NASA to attempt to reboot Hubble Space TelescopeCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA will attempt on Wednesday to revive the $2 billion Hubble Space Telescope, which was idled two weeks ago by an equipment failure, officials said on Tuesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 1:33 pm Climate Change Can Grind Down Plate TectonicsGiven enough time, climate change can alter the course of plate tectonics.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 15 Oct 2008 | 1:20 pm NY museum's climate change show dives into politicsNEW YORK (Reuters) - One of America's most renowned science museums dives into politics again this week with a new exhibition on climate change that curators say is an effort to separate fact from fear.Source: Reuters: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 1:11 pm The Water Cooler: Good and Bad News for ReligionScience news from around the web.Source: Livescience.com | 15 Oct 2008 | 1:11 pm NASA to start long distance repairs on Hubble (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:28 am Europe Aims For Re-entry Spacecraft (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - Plenty of European astronauts and hardware have gone up to the space station or to other orbits around Earth, but now the European Space Agency (ESA) is thinking of ways to get them back down on their own.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Oct 2008 | 11:02 am
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Microscopic algae that gobble carbon dioxide and produce 20 percent of the oxygen we breathe are a genetic hodgepodge, a symphony of evolution as composed by Danger Mouse.
The internal skull structure of a creature that bridges the gap between fishes and the first land-dwelling animals has been reconstructed.
An external electrical circuit connecting the brain directly to a muscle allowed paralyzed monkeys to move their arms, an advance that could lead to neuroprosthetics for humans with spinal cord injuries.
