Science Headlines for October 18, 2008

Spallation Neutron Source Sends First Neutrons To 'Big Bang' Beam Line

New analytical tools coming on line at the Spallation Neutron Source, the Department of Energy's state-of-the-art neutron science facility at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, include a beam line dedicated to nuclear physics studies.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Viruses And 'Young Cuckoos' Lead The Way In The Brain

Harmless viruses and genetic 'young cuckoos' are going to reveal the answers as to how the brain establishes where we are. The understanding of our sense of locality will be the first higher brain function that we understand at a molecular level.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

No Higher Risk Of Leukemia Found For Children Living Near Powerful Radio Or Television Transmitters

Children living in the vicinity of powerful radio and television transmitters are not significantly more at risk of leukemia than others, according to a new German study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Turf Wars: Sand And Corals Don't Mix

When reef fish get a mouthful of sand, coral reefs can drown. "We've known for a while that having a lot of sediment in the water is bad for corals and can smother them. What we didn't realize is how permanent this state of affairs can become, to the point where it may prevent the corals ever re-establishing."
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Optics Of Alzheimer’s Disease

One of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease is the formation of plaques made of protein aggregates in the brain tissue. There is still considerable debate among scientists as to whether these plaques are the cause of the neuronal death that occurs in Alzheimer’s or just a by-product of the disease, however.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Ghostly Glow Reveals Galaxy Clusters In Collision

Astronomers have detected long wavelength radio emission from a colliding, massive galaxy cluster which, surprisingly, is not detected at the shorter wavelengths typically seen in these objects.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Oct 2008 | 12:00 am

Drug Candidate Slows Age-related Macular Degeneration

Research results show that the progression of age-related macular degeneration is markedly slowed in new laboratory-engineered mice when they received treatments of retinylamine, a trial drug that has been tested in a medical school lab. AMD is a leading cause of vision loss in Americans 60 years of age and older.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Keeping Herpes Infection In Check: Researchers Describe Immune System Strategies

Herpes simplex virus type I can cause bouts of cold sores, blindness and potentially lethal encephalitis when it reawakens from a quiescent state in the nerve cells it infects. To prevent these consequences, the stealthy virus is kept under constant guard by the immune system, say University of Pittsburgh scientists. Their research challenges the once common notion that latent HSV-1 in sensory neurons is invisible to the immune system.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Fine Balance: Class Of Spinal Cord Neurons Makes Sure That Sides Of Body Don't Get Ahead Of One Other

Once a toddler has mastered the art of walking, it seems to come naturally for the rest of her life. But walking and running require a high degree of coordination between the left and right sides of the body. Now researchers have shown how a class of spinal cord neurons, known as V3 neurons, makes sure that one side of the body doesn't get ahead of the other.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Physical Decline Caused By Slow Decay Of Brain's Myelin

Human's physical and mental abilities slow as we age, caused by the steady decay of myelin, the "insulation" around neuronal axons.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Government Declares Beluga Whale Endangered

The beluga whales of Alaska's Cook Inlet are endangered and require additional protection.
Source: Livescience.com | 18 Oct 2008 | 12:56 pm

Foamy Invention Could Save Energy and Lives (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - This Behind the Scenes article was provided to LiveScience in partnership with the National Science Foundation.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 12:47 pm

Cat championship include Obama, McCain - the cats (AP)

AP - Barack Obama and John McCain will attend a New York cat show this weekend Obama the Bombay cat and McCain the American Shorthair, that is.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 11:40 am

NASA sees no quick fix for broken Hubble telescope (AP)

AP - NASA's efforts to get the ailing Hubble Space Telescope working again have hit a snag, and engineers are trying to figure out their next step.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 9:18 am

NASA to launch probe to map solar system's edge (AP)

AP - A small NASA spacecraft embarks on a two-year mission this weekend to give scientists their first view of the happenings at the edge of the solar system. The Ibex probe, short for Interstellar Boundary Explorer, will study a chaotic region in space where the solar wind from the sun clashes with cold gases from interstellar space.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 3:29 am

U.S. to study possible space-based defense

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress has approved $5 million for an independent study of possible space-based missile defenses, a potential step toward a system once mocked as "Star Wars."

Source: Reuters: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 3:22 am

Omar weakens to tropical storm in Atlantic (Reuters)

Reuters - Omar lost hurricane strength on Friday, weakening to a tropical storm in the Atlantic Ocean and posing no threat to land after causing little damage this week in the northern Caribbean.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 2:56 am

Scientists have new clue to mystery of sunken sub (AP)

AP - It's long been a mystery why the H.L. Hunley never returned after becoming the first submarine in history to sink an enemy warship in 1864, but new research announced Friday may lend credence to one of the theories. Scientists found the eight-man crew of the hand-cranked Confederate submarine had not set the pump to remove water from the crew compartment, which might indicate it was not being flooded.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 1:02 am

Hubble telescope encounters further problems, delays: NASA (AFP)

AFP - New technical problems on the Hubble Space Telescope, which is currently undergoing repairs, will further delay the resumption of the telescope's regular duties, according to NASA officials.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Oct 2008 | 12:47 am

Green revolution

Italy to launch pioneering carbon-neutral farm
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Oct 2008 | 12:11 am

Seven shootings, one murder - the grisly history of a pistol known as Exhibit RS1

In the last two years this gun has been used in violent clashes between the UK's rival street gangs
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:10 pm

Ann Summers pulls chocolate sex toy spread

Novelty sex products imported from Chinese manufacturer shelved after tests reveal melamine contamination
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:10 pm

Lucy Mangan on evolution stopping

Lucy Mangan: If God made man in his own image, he is a fat bloke with his feet up watching Sky+
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 17 Oct 2008 | 11:05 pm

NASA wrestles with more Hubble problems

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A new glitch has shut down the Hubble Space Telescope, dashing NASA's hopes of a speedy recovery from an earlier computer breakdown, officials said on Friday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:25 pm

Government declares beluga whale endangered (AP)

AP - The beluga whales of Alaska's Cook Inlet are endangered and require additional protection to survive, the government declared Friday, contradicting Gov. Sarah Palin who has questioned whether the distinctive white whales are actually declining.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 10:15 pm

Unexpected Trouble Keeps Hubble Offline

In contrast to yesterday's cheery optimism, NASA engineers say that they've encountered more trouble repairing the Hubble Space Telescope's router for scientific data.

In the final stages of a complicated operation to switch on a long-dormant backup system, NASA engineers detected two separate "anomalies" in the information the backup system was producing. Both problems are being investigated, but NASA has released little information about the severity of the issues.

Scientific operations were supposed to resume today, but now it is unclear when the Hubble will be back up and running. If the backup system can't be switched on, the Hubble could be unable to conduct most observations until a shuttle servicing mission tentatively scheduled for February.

See Also:

Image: NASA.

WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal's Twitter , Google Reader feed, and webpage; Wired Science on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:55 pm

Museum Unveils World's Longest Insect

Measuring over a foot long, a stick bug from the island of Borneo sets the record of the world's longest insect, scientists said Thursday.

The specimen is now on display at Britain's Natural History Museum, courtesy of its discoverer Datuk Chan Chew Lun, a Malaysian naturalist. Including its legs, the specimen measures 22 inches long; its body length is 14 inches. The last stick bug to hold the title was about an inch shorter.

Including the record-holder, only three stick bugs of this species have been found, also from Borneo. The species has been named Phobaeticus chani, meaning "Chan's megastick," in honor of the naturalist.

As their name suggests, stick bugs resemble twigs, an effective camouflage. Most stick bug species are found in the tropics.

The Natural History Museum's web site is showing a video of the record-holding specimen.

World's longest insect revealed [Natural History Museum]

Photo: AP

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:38 pm

NASA satellite to scan solar system's outer limits

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - NASA is preparing to launch a satellite that will study in unprecedented detail the distant regions where the outermost reaches of our solar system collide with the cold expanse of interstellar space.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Oct 2008 | 9:32 pm

Rare White Lions Get Wild

Captive bred white lions have been released into a wildlife reserve.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:39 pm

Men's Reactions Peak at Age 39

This explains everything.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:33 pm

Europe delays its ExoMars mission

The ExoMars rover, which will search for signs of life on the Red Planet, will not launch now until 2016 because of high costs.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Oct 2008 | 8:14 pm

NASA Faces More Hubble Trouble

NASA's efforts to get the ailing telescope working again have hit a snag.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Oct 2008 | 7:52 pm

Video: White Lion Pride

A pride of white African lions, including two adult males and two juvenile females, was released into a wild reserve in South Africa. Credit: The Mantis Collection
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 7:43 pm

Plants Cry For Help

When injured, plants can cry for help via a chemical phone call to the roots.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 7:28 pm

India's Judges Overrule Scientists on 'Guilty Brain' Tech

Tab1brief2grayscalesquared Although a government-commissioned panel of scientists said that India's courts should disregard a device that purports to read the minds of criminal suspects, the country's justice system has plunged ahead with its use.

At issue is a practice called brain electrical oscillation signature (BEOS) profiling, developed by the Bangalore-based Forensic Science Laboratories. As the New York Times reported last month, leading North American neuroscientists call its use "'fascinating,' 'ridiculous,' 'chilling' and 'unconscionable'" — and Indian scientists agree. The Hindu reports that a year-long expert review of the technology found it to be unscientific; the review committee, headed by the chief of India's national neuroscience program, recommended against using it in court or even during investigations.

Nevertheless, the government's forensic science department rejected these recommendations on the grounds that the committee took too long. The review was completed in May; one month later, BEOS profiling — which even its manufacturer admits has a five percent error rate — was used in the trial of Aditi Sharma, a 24-year-old woman found guilty of murdering her husband. According to the New York Times, the judge's decision "included a nine-page defense of BEOS," which he described as providing "experiential evidence" of her guilt. Sharma was given a life sentence.

From a distance, the case's details are unclear. Prosecutors provided evidence other than BEOS, and Sharma insists on her innocence. But one detail is quite clear: India's courtroom use of brain-scanning technology has outpaced the science behind it.

Image: Ibrahim Iujaz

WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:17 pm

Rejection Fosters Intuition

Rejected individuals are best at spotting fake smiles.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Breast-feeding Fights Disease

A new study of 7,000 children age 6-15 finds those breast fed for six months had much lower rates of asthma.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 5:49 pm

Superstrong 'Buckypaper' Could Be Dream Material

It looks like ordinary paper, it's 10 times lighter and 500 times stronger than steel.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Oct 2008 | 5:31 pm

One Mystery of Jet Streams Explained

A simulation shows how thunderstorms create jet streams on giant planets.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 5:05 pm

Device Would Allow Conversation with Plants

This has to be one of the strangest patent illustrations I've ever seen.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:58 pm

Putin's Dog Gets Satellite-Guided Tracking Collar

Putin's black Lab tested out Russia's new satellite-guided navigation system.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:56 pm

The Facts About Obama's $3 Million Projector

Tab1news John McCain uses Barack Obama's request for a $3-milllion planetarium projector as an example of wasteful extravagance.

So what would that $3 million have bought, had it actually been included in the federal budget?

Nothing less than a chance for a million children to explore our solar system.

Yesterday I called up Mark Webb, theaters manager of the Adler Planetarium, the would-be recipient of Obama's largesse. Webb said that the planetarium, which receives half a million visitors every year, is still using the same projector it purchased in 1970.

It's not a bad machine, but the technology has evolved. Top-end projectors, said Webb, now mix traditional mechanical projection with high-resolution digital capabilities.

"Traditional projectors show you what stars look like from Earth. But when you add digital capabilities to the system, you can do anything you can do with a computer. You can see millions of objects that aren't visible to the naked eye. You can leave the surface of the Earth, and fly out to them. You could have a picture of Jupiter, then fly in close-up and see spacecraft images of Jupiter in different wavelength. It exponentially expands the capabilities of the traditional planetarium projector," he said. "We're even hoping to be able to update data frequently, even daily. When you see a picture of the Earth on the dome, you'll see it with this morning's clouds mapped onto it."

Given the rapidly changing technology, it's unlikely that a new projector would last as long as the old one. Webb expects it to last from five to ten years. He also estimated that 40 percent of the museum's visitors are children, which puts the number of kids who would see the projector's show at one million. Many come from from light-polluted urban areas.

"Especially in major metropolitan areas like Chicago, children who grew up here barely even know that the sky is filled with stars. They can see, even on a clear night, maybe three or four dozen stars up there," he said.

So that's what Senator Barack Obama would have purchased with $3 million of what Senator John McCain called "pork barrel earmark projects."

"My friends," said McCain during the second presidential debate, "do we need to spend that kind of money?"

See Also:

Chicago Planetarium's $3M "Overhead Projector"

Image: "Young Stars Sculpt Gas with Powerful Outflows in the Small Magellanic Cloud," as photographed by the Hubble Telescope.

WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Oct 2008 | 4:56 pm

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