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Prostate Cancer Gene Test Provides New Early DetectionCurrently, early detection of prostate cancer depends on an abnormal digital rectal examination and an elevated prostate-specific-antigen (PSA) level requiring a prostate biopsy, often associated with anxiety, discomfort, complications, and heavy expenses. Now researchers have developed a test using a new PCa gene-based marker that can be carried out with a urine sample.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm Gene Screen To Identify Causes Of AutismA new screening method can be used to detect the chromosomal abnormalities most commonly associated with autism spectrum disorders. By screening for genetic defects associated with various kinds of cognitive impairment, the approach will help clinicians identify the underlying causes of some patients' autism spectrum disorders.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm Better Beer: College Team Creating Anticancer BrewCollege students often spend their free time thinking about beer, but a group of Rice University students are taking it to the next level. They're using genetic engineering to create beer that contains resveratrol, a chemical in wine that's been shown to reduce cancer and heart disease in lab animals.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm Nanotechnology Boosts War On SuperbugsScientists are using nanotechnology to investigate the workings of vancomycin, one of the few antibiotics that can be used to combat increasingly resistant infections such as MRSA. The researchers developed ultra-sensitive probes capable of providing new insight into how antibiotics work, paving the way for the development of more effective new drugs.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm First Gamma-ray-only Pulsar Observation Opens New Window On Stellar EvolutionAbout three times a second, a 10,000-year-old stellar corpse sweeps a beam of gamma-rays toward Earth. This object, known as a pulsar, is the first one known to "blink" only in gamma rays, and was discovered by the Large Area Telescope onboard NASA's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm Mathematicians Illuminate Deep Connection Between Classical And Quantum PhysicsMathematicians have proven a significant version of the quantum unique ergodicity conjecture. The new work, based in the pure mathematics area of number theory, illuminates deep connections between classical and quantum physics in what is being hailed as one of the best theorems of the year.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:00 pm Neuroscientist Finds Transplanted Hand-to-brain Mapping 35 Years After Loss Of LimbFour months after a successful hand transplant -- 35 years after amputation in an industrial accident at age 19 -- a 54-year-old man's emerging sense of touch is registered in the former "hand area" of the his brain, says a University of Oregon neuroscientist.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Invisibility Cloak And Ultra-powerful Microscopes: New Research Field Promises Radical Advances In Optical TechnologiesA new research field called transformation optics may usher in a host of radical advances including a cloak of invisibility and ultra-powerful microscopes and computers by harnessing nanotechnology and "metamaterials."Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Bugs In The Gut Trigger Production Of Important Immune Cells, Study FindsA new study reveals that specific types of bacteria in the intestine trigger the generation of pro-inflammatory immune cells, a finding that could eventually lead to novel treatments for inflammatory bowel disease and other diseases.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm Disease Leads To Vision Loss More Often In MenA new study shows that men are more likely to lose vision as a result of a particular cause of intracranial hypertension, or increased pressure in the brain, than women with the condition.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm The Water Cooler: Breast is BestScience news from around the web.Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 1:05 pm Putin's dog gets a satellite collar (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 12:21 pm Alien invadersReaders' photos of invasive species found in the UKSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:16 am FAA Approves Rocket RacesRocket-powered racers received the go-ahead from the Feds for public demo flights.Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:05 am Doorstep Astronomy: Mercury in the MorningThe next three weeks will present an excellent opportunity to view Mercury.Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:05 am Rome reveals tombs of dark ages cityOther archaeological finds include site of emperor Caligula's murder, nobleman's tomb and baths used by rich and powerfulSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:47 am Farmers bring foot-and-mouth caseFourteen farmers affected by last year's foot-and-mouth outbreak in England are to sue two labs and the government.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:31 am Weakening Omar moves out into Atlantic (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:08 am Australian leader holds firm on climate change (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:27 am Aspirin does not stop first heart attack in diabeticsStudy shows people with diabetes who have no symptoms of heart disease do not benefit from taking aspirinSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:12 am Armyworms attacking pastures, wheat in Texas (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:04 am Magnetic field 'aids coma victim'A US patient left in a coma-like state after a road accident recovered the ability to speak after repeated exposure to a magnetic field.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:59 am Scientists say stick bug is world's longest insect (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:47 am Overeating? Blame Your Genes (HealthDay)HealthDay - THURSDAY, Oct. 16 (HealthDay News) -- A gene could help prod people to overeat and gain excess weight, new research shows.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 3:48 am Forgotten Experiment May Explain Origins of Life
After reanalyzing the results of unpublished research conducted by Stanley Miller in 1953, chemists realized that his experiment had actually produced a wealth of amino acids — the protein foundation of life. Miller is famed for the results of experiments on amino acid formation in a jar filled with methane, hydrogen and ammonia — his version of the primordial soup. However, his estimates of atmospheric composition were eventually considered inaccurate. The experiment became regarded as a general rather than useful example of how the first organic molecules may have assembled. But the latest results, derived from samples found in an old box by one of Miller's former graduate students, come from a device that mimicked volcanic conditions now believed to have existed three billion years ago. The findings suggest that amino acids could have formed when lightning struck pools of gas on the flanks of volcanoes, and are a fitting coda for the late father of prebiotic chemistry. "What's amazing is that he did it," said study co-author Jeffrey Bada, a Scripps Institute of Oceanography biochemist and Miller's former student. "All I did is have access to his extracts." Bada stumbled across the original experiment by accident when a colleague of Miller's mentioned having seen a box of experimental samples in Miller's office. Bada, who inherited Miller's scientific possessions after his death in 2007, found the box — literally labeled "1953-1954 experiments" — in his own office. Inside it were samples taken by Miller from a device that spewed a concentrated stream of primordial gases over an electrical spark. It was a high-powered variation on the steady-steam apparatus that earned him fame — but unlike that device, it appeared to have produced few amino acids, and was unmentioned in his landmark 1953 Science study, "A Production of Amino Acids Under Possible Primitive Earth Conditions." But Miller didn't have access to high-performance liquid chromatography, which lets chemists break down and classify samples with once-unthinkable levels of precision. And when Bada's team reanalyzed the disregarded samples, they found no fewer than 22 amino acids, several of which were never seen by Miller in a lifetime of primordial modeling. Perhaps amino acids first formed when the gases in Miller's device accumulated around active volcanoes, said Bada. "Instead of having global synthesis of organic molecules, you had a lot of little localized factories in the form of these volcanic islands," he said. "The amino acid precursors formed in a plume and concentrated along tidal shores. They settled in the water, underwent further reactions there, and as they washed along the shore, became concentrated and underwent further polymerization events," explained Indiana University biochemist Adam Johnson, a co-author of the study. "And lightning" — the final catalyst in the equation — "tends to be extremely common with volcanic eruptions." Luke Leman, a Scripps Institute biochemist who was not involved in the study, published today in Science, agreed. "These findings add to a growing body of literature suggesting that areas near volcanoes could have been hotspots of organic chemistry on early Earth," he said. Leman continued, "These findings will likely inspire a next generation of prebiotic chemists, much as Miller's original experimental results have inspired the field for more than fifty years."
Added Bada, "There's a lesson here: don't throw anything away." WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Oct 2008 | 11:49 pm New spark in classic experimentsScientists re-examine the iconic 1950s tests that attempted to show how life may have got started on Earth.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 11:22 pm Creationist gets website blockedThe website of Turkey's third largest-selling newspaper has been blocked after a complaint by an Islamic creationist. By Robert Tait in IstanbulSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 16 Oct 2008 | 11:02 pm Mercury warning for Japanese diners who eat dolphin meatStudy finds consumption of controversial meat leads to levels ten times higher than national averageSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 16 Oct 2008 | 11:02 pm Palin says God blessed America with oil and gas (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:44 pm Video Podcast #7: Building a Coral Reef from ScratchCoral reefs in oceans across the world are in trouble. Polluted waters, human encroachment, and ocean acidification are threatening to kill off these ecosystem-creating creatures. Worse, once they're gone, some scientists say it could take millions of years for them to flourish again. To learn more about how coral reefs -- and the strange animals that build them -- work, we headed out to the California Academy of Sciences' Steinhart Aquarium, where they have built the world's deepest manmade coral reef. You don't create one of the world's awesomest fish tanks by just dropping some rocks into a pool. The corals require very specific conditions to thrive, so they are hand-placed by divers and their water is kept moving by a complex, underwater engineering system. In this video, the aquarium's director leads you on a guided tour of his 25-foot deep tank of beautiful fish and surprisingly competitive corals. Every week, Wired Science will bring you videos on the latest in science, medicine, energy, and space. You can subscribe to the podcast through iTunes, too, so check us out there. See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:43 pm Space Station Renovation: 6 bedrooms/2 baths
Although the crew reported some trouble with the one on board toilet earlier this week a NASA spokesperson at Moscow mission control said they were able to get it back up and running within a day. Earlier this year when the crew had a problem with the space toilet Russia had to send a replacement pump to the United States in a diplomatic pouch to be carried up on the next Shuttle flight to get it repaired. Although other equipment had to be removed to make room for it, Shuttle payloads manager Scott Higginbotham said, "clearly having a working toilet is a priority for us." Now the next Shuttle mission to the International Space Station is manifested for November 14th and it will bring sleeping quarters for an three additional crew members, new kitchen equipment, a second toilet, new exercise equipment as well as a new waste water processor that will create more potable water for the station. All this is currently being packed into 'Leonardo,' the Italian supplied mini-pressurized logistics module that fits into the Space Shuttle's cargo bay. When all the 'movers' are done the first crew of six will be ready to take over the station in May 2009. Until then the current crew may just have to try out all the new bunks to see which one they like best. See Also:
Image: NASA Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Oct 2008 | 10:19 pm Stayin' Alive Sets Perfect Beat for CPRAn old disco song has almost the perfect rhythm to help jump-start a stopped heart.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:47 pm Mysterious Mars Moon a Pile of RubbleNew observations of Mars' moon Phobos show the object is more like a pile of rubble than a single solid body.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:38 pm Hottest Planet Ever DiscoveredScientists have discovered the hottest, fastest-orbiting exoplanet ever.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:37 pm Impact Crater Exhumed from Mars IceAn ice mound imaged in the north polar region of Mars indicates a crater underneath.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:36 pm Obama, McCain Battle for Science CredResearchers say they are happy that science is finally taking center stage in U.S. politics.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 9:05 pm White space backers see new devices in a yearWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Opening unused U.S. television channels to wireless devices, an idea endorsed by communications regulators this week, could spark development of faster devices with features such as high-definition video within a year, backers said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 8:50 pm Negative Political Ads Elicit Fear and AnxietyBarack Obama and John McCain both accused each other, rather ironically, of negative campaigning.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:28 pm Report says Arctic temperatures at record highs (AP)AP - Autumn temperatures in the Arctic are at record levels, the Arctic Ocean is getting warmer and less salty as sea ice melts, and reindeer herds appear to be declining, researchers reported Thursday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:24 pm Brain's Response to Tasty Food May Predict ObesityWhen the brain doesn't get gratification from food, people may overeat, research finds.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:10 pm Brain's Reaction to Yummy Food May Predict WeightSome overweight individuals are genetically wired to overeat.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 7:08 pm Hobbled Hubble Space Telescope revivedCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The Hubble Space Telescope was in the final stages of recovery on Thursday after NASA successfully bypassed a faulty computer and resurrected an 18-year-old spare from orbital hibernation.Source: Reuters: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:59 pm Arctic Temps Reach Record HighsOn top of a record ice melt, autumn temperatures in the Arctic are higher than ever.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:55 pm Want a Date? Just Volunteer (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - Guys looking for dates might do well to volunteer at the Salvation Army or help people rescue lost dogs. A new study suggests that women put a high value on altruism in potential mates.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:33 pm Want a Date? Just VolunteerHelping others is a good way to attract a mate.Source: Livescience.com | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:12 pm Dead Star Flings Gamma Rays in PulsesA new gamma ray telescope makes a surprising discovery in a young supernova.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:05 pm Titanic Survivor Sells Momentos to Pay for CareMillvina Dean, 96, sells items related to the Titanic disaster to pay her nursing home.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 6:05 pm Engineers Fix Hubble's Busted Data System
NASA engineers will bring the Hubble Space Telescope online tomorrow after two weeks of trouble for the landmark scientific instrument. A backup system, lying dormant since launch, has successfully been switched on. Using the backup scientific data formatter allowed the team to put the Hubble's old-school 486 computer back in control of the mission's data, an important step in restoring normal operations. "If all goes well, the full schedule science observations will start tomorrow morning," said Susan Hendrix, a spokesperson with NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. "We'll be back in normal science mode." Final tests and calibrations will continue throughout the night, but engineers expect a fully-functioning Hubble to be up-and-running by Friday morning. If that happens, astronomers around the world will breathe a sigh of relief. Two weeks ago, the Hubble encountered an unforeseen error and went into "safe mode," but there were initial fears that the world's favorite space telescope could be bricked. NASA has said they hope to get another decade of observations out of the orbiting craft. Luckily, the Scientific Data Formatter came with two backup systems. The first was the backup system, called "Side B," that the engineers switched on last night. The second is an entirely new scientific data formatter that NASA has had mothballed on the ground. Engineers are putting the unit through the paces, and if it checks out, they'll install it during the long-awaited fourth servicing mission for the Hubble. That shuttle mission, initially scheduled for this month, has been pushed back to next year so that the new data formatter can be included in the last shuttle mission to service the HST. Image: flickr/Beige Alert. A 486 computer, not unlike the one that the Hubble uses. WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal's Twitter , Google Reader feed, and webpage; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Oct 2008 | 5:53 pm "Big Bang" collider glitch was electrical fault: CERNGENEVA (Reuters) - The technical problem that forced the shut-down of a huge particle collider built to probe the origins of the universe was a faulty electrical connection between two of the accelerator's magnets, CERN said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 16 Oct 2008 | 5:11 pm Susan WattsCan we have economic growth and cut emissions?Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 4:41 pm First flightHonours for an aviation pioneer 100 years onSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 4:15 pm Your questionsExpert answers your alien invader questionsSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 4:13 pm With a Little Help, Near-Extinct Fish Makes Comeback
Remants of a species common in an ancient, wetter southwestern United States, the pupfish are now found in a single deep pool near Death Valley, where an isolated colony has survived for 10,000 years. Only 36 were found when scientists counted them in 2006, down from 500 a decade ago. But thanks to a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service feeding program, those numbers are up to 126 [.pdf] -- still a fragile population, but headed in the right direction. And none of this would be possible without a landmark 1976 Supreme Court ruling that nearby ranch owners were not entitled to pump water from Devil's Hole if it destroyed the species. Darn those activist judges! Image: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 16 Oct 2008 | 3:35 pm Tougher climate target unveiledEd Miliband commits the UK to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80% - up from a 60% target - by 2050.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 3:27 pm Original 'Gladiator's' Tomb Unearthed in RomeArchaeologists say they have uncovered the tomb of gladiator Marcus Nonius Macrinius.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 2:48 pm Crumbling Glacier Quakes as It BreaksCrashing icebergs may be the source of Greenland's mysterious "glacier quakes."Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 1:33 pm Talking robotTrying to have a proper chat with a computerSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 1:28 pm Duck-Billed Dinosaurs Emitted Eerie SoundsDuck-billed dinosaurs may have used their nasal passages to make low, eerie calls.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 16 Oct 2008 | 1:15 pm EU 'holds firm' on climate goalsThe EU will keep to its targets to tackle climate change despite worries about slowing economies, the French president says.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 16 Oct 2008 | 12:55 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 | 16 Oct 2008 | 11:53 am
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Amidst seemingly endless reports of soon-endangered animals, a bit of good news: the Devil's Hole pupfish is being pulled back from the edge of extinction.