Science Headlines for November 11, 2008

Getting Little Sleep May Be Associated With Risk Of Heart Disease

Sleeping less than seven and a half hours per day may be associated with future risk of heart disease, according to a new article. In addition, a combination of little sleep and overnight elevated blood pressure appears to be associated with an increased risk of the disease.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Heart's Surplus Energy May Help Power Pacemakers, Defibrillators

Researchers have shown that a beating heart may produce enough energy to power a pacemaker or defibrillator. An experimental microgenerator captured enough surplus heart energy to provide 17 percent of the power needed to run an implantable pacemaker. Generator refinements could yield smaller, longer-lasting, and more sophisticated implantable devices.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Protein 'Tubules' Free Avian Flu Virus From Immune Recognition

A protein found in the virulent avian influenza virus strain called H5N1 forms tiny tubules in which it "hides" the pieces of double-stranded RNA formed during viral infection, which otherwise would prompt an antiviral immune response from infected cells, researchers report.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Babies Placed In Incubators Decrease Risk Of Depression As Adults

Babies who receive incubator care after birth are two to three times less likely to suffer depression as adults according to a surprising new study published in the journal Psychiatry Research.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Web-spinning Spiders And 'Wannabe Butterflies' Head To Space Shuttle

A NASA space shuttle mission carrying a payload of web-spinning spiders and wannabe butterflies will be closely monitored by hundreds of K-12 students from Colorado's Front Range after Endeavour launches from Florida for the International Space Station Nov. 14.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Limb Loss In Lizards: Evidence For Rapid Evolution

Small skink lizards, Lerista, demonstrate extensive changes in body shape over geologically brief periods. New research shows that several species of these skinks have rapidly evolved an elongate, limbless body form.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Almost Frictionless Gears With Liquid Crystal Lubricants

Lubricants in bearings and gear units ensure that not too much energy is lost through friction. Yet it still takes a certain percentage of the energy to compensate for friction losses. Lubricants made of liquid crystals could reduce friction to almost zero.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 1:00 pm

Strong Education Blunts Effects Of Alzheimer's Disease, Study Suggests

A test that reveals brain changes believed to be at the heart of Alzheimer's disease has bolstered the theory that education can delay the onset of the dementia and cognitive decline that are characteristic of the disorder.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 1:00 pm

Daily Rhythms In Blood Vessels May Explain Morning Peak In Heart Attacks

Daily rhythms in the activity of cells that line blood vessels may help explain why heart attacks and strokes occur most often in early morning hours, researchers have found.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 1:00 pm

New Laser Technique Seals And Heals Wounds

Not much has changed in the last 2,000 years when it comes to suturing together cuts and wounds. Even with microsurgery techniques, infection and permanent scarring remain major concerns. Now a new laser technique has been developed that seals and heals wounds.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 1:00 pm

Statins found to be effective against infertility condition

Statins, the cholesterol-lowering drugs, are also effective against a common condition that harms women's fertility, according to a clinical trial that compared them with a drug often used to treat the condition.

In the randomised trial, which involved 60 women in Poland, statins improved various symptoms of polycystic ovary syndrome (Pcos) including acne, excess body hair and irregular periods. The drug also lowered the patients' body weight and cholesterol levels.

"There's a growing body of evidence that statins may be very beneficial in the treatment of women with Pcos," said Dr Leszek Pawelczyk at the Poznan University of Medical Science in Poland. "I think that it is a completely new possibility for the treatment of patients."

Pcos affects around one in 10 women in the UK according to the NHS, including Victoria Beckham and Jamie Oliver's wife, Jools. The condition – which is also called Stein-Leventhal syndrome – is associated with multiple cysts in the ovaries. It is the most common cause of ovulation failure leading to infertility in pre-menopausal women.

It leads to irregular hormone levels including typically high levels of testosterone as well as unreliable egg release from the ovaries. Symptoms – which typically begin to appear in late teens or early 20s – include weight gain, acne, irregular or light periods, excess body hair and problems getting pregnant. Many women with the condition suffer very mild symptoms.

Pawelczyk and his colleagues split their 60 patients into three groups at random. All the women had Pcos and none were taking oral contraceptives. Eighteen of them received regular doses of simvastatin (one type of statin), 19 received metformin (a diabetes drug commonly used to treat Pcos) and 23 were given a combination of the two.

After six months on the medications the team found that those on simvastatin had increased their menstruation frequency by 89% compared with a 32% increase on metformin. The two drugs reduced acne by 67% and 59% respectively while the patients' cholesterol levels dropped by 17% and 1%. The two drugs reduced testosterone levels in the patients by 27% and 19% and the body mass index of the two groups of women dropped by 2.2% and 4.3% respectively. Pawelczyk reported his results at the American Society of Reproductive Medicine annual meeting in San Francisco.

"Simvastatin may be a very good option," said Pawelczyk although he stressed that it could not be given to women who were planning to get pregnant, because statins have been associated with birth defects. The results did not show any benefit to giving simvastatin and metformin together.

Indonesia launches new early warning tsunami system

JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia launched a new hi-tech system Tuesday aimed at detecting a potential tsunami and providing faster alerts in a region battered by frequent earthquakes.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 11:31 am

Indonesia launches new early warning tsunami system (Reuters)

Reuters - Indonesia launched a new hi-tech system Tuesday aimed at detecting a potential tsunami and providing faster alerts in a region battered by frequent earthquakes.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 11:31 am

Gov't wants to change course of forest experiments (AP)

AP - For more than a decade, the federal government has spent millions of dollars pumping elevated levels of carbon dioxide into small groups of trees to test how forests will respond to global warming in the next 50 years.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 11:30 am

StatoilHydro says it will invest $3.4bln in US gas project (AFP)

AFP - Norwegian energy giant StatoilHydro intends to invest about 3.4 billion dollars (2.65 billion euros) in a shale gas project in the United States, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 11:29 am

NASA loses contact with Mars lander, ends mission

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The Phoenix Mars Lander, which made history by finding definitive proof of water on the Red Planet, has lost contact with Earth, effectively ending its more than five-month mission, NASA said on Monday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 11:21 am

Astronaut set to become Japan's first mom in space

TOKYO (Reuters) - A Japanese astronaut and mother of one has been picked as a crew member of the space shuttle Atlantis, Japan's space agency said Tuesday, making her the country's first mom to go into space.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 6:35 am

Astronaut set to become Japan's first mom in space (Reuters)

Reuters - A Japanese astronaut and mother of one has been picked as a crew member of the space shuttle Atlantis, Japan's space agency said Tuesday, making her the country's first mom to go into space.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 6:35 am

NASA says Phoenix Mars mission has ended (AP)

AP - NASA on Monday declared an end to the Phoenix mission, some five months after the spacecraft became the first to land in Mars' arctic plains and taste water on another planet. Mission engineers have not heard from the Phoenix lander in over a week. It fell silent shortly after a raging dust storm blocked sunlight from reaching its solar panels.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 5:21 am

Icy Slush Chills Blood to Save Lives (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - A bio-compatible ice slurry created by scientists in the Nuclear Engineering Division at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory can be injected directly into the body. The ice slurry can be used to lower the temperature of an organ, reducing its need for oxygen, giving doctors extra time to diagnose and heal.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 3:05 am

Farewell to Phoenix

As the bitter Martian chill sinks into its metal innards, Phoenix has twittered its last. The plucky robotic lander that set off from Earth on August 4 2007 and landed on the red planet on May 25 this year has finally come to the end of its mission – having almost doubled its planned operational life of three months.

But shutdown had to happen eventually. The probe landed further north than any previous Martian lander and as winter sets in and the days shorten it is no longer receiving enough light during the day to charge its batteries. Dustier skies, more cloud cover and gathering cold also contributed to its demise.

It has been a busy five months. In that time, Phoenix has sent back more than 25,000 images. It has verified the presence of water-ice under the surface. It has operated the first atomic force microscope ever used on another world. It has found small quantities of salts that could be substrates for life. And it made the puzzling discovery of perchlorate salts.

Phoenix's final twitter read "01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000", the binary code for "triumph". And her controllers added "MarsPhoenix is finally frozen in the Martian arctic plain. Veni, vidi, fodi."

If your Latin is rusty that means "I came, I saw, I dug".

The Latin epitaph was the winner of a competition run by Wired to write the catchiest sign-off less than 140 characters long. My favourite, though – from a certain D. Adams – was "So long and thanks for all the ice".

There is a small chance Phoenix might wake up in spring and phone home. Watch this space.

Obama team: No decisions on reversing Bush orders (Reuters)

Reuters - U.S. President-elect Barack Obama's team cautioned on Monday he had not yet decided whether to reverse executive orders on topics such as stem cell research and oil drilling imposed by President George W. Bush.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Nov 2008 | 2:07 am

Frozen embryos safer for health of IVF babies, studies say

Using frozen rather than freshly collected embryos during IVF treatment reduces the risks of stillbirth and premature delivery, according to three separate studies published yesterday.

The findings, from the US, Finland and Australia, suggest the act of stimulating a woman's ovaries with powerful drugs and then collecting the extra eggs she produces temporarily disrupts any IVF attempt conducted shortly afterwards.

The researchers said the results argue for more IVF cycles to be completed using frozen embryos, which goes against current practice. The most recently available UK figures show that, in 2006, 29,304 patients under 35 received IVF treatment cycles using fresh embryos, while 6,894 were treated with frozen cycles. The new data suggests this preponderance of fresh cycles puts IVF babies at higher risk of being born prematurely and underweight, or dying soon after birth.

The new data poses a dilemma for IVF clinics, because fresh cycles tend to be more successful at resulting in pregnancies - 31% of fresh cycles in 2006 for under 35s resulted in a birth, compared with 20.1% for frozen cycles.

"Frozen embryo transfers are not as successful as fresh ones in terms of getting a pregnancy. So it may be that we have to balance the health of children against chances of success," said Dr Allan Pacey from the University of Sheffield, who is secretary of the British Fertility Society.

"In a normal IVF cycle patients have their embryo transfer while the uterus is still affected by the drugs they take to stimulate the ovaries. This allows the patient's body to get rid of the drugs, and to grow a new endometrial lining," said Dr Mandy Katz-Jaffe, of the Colorado Centre for Reproductive Medicine.

In the Australian study a team lead by Prof Gordon Baker at the Royal Women's hospital in Melbourne analysed data from all Melbourne's fertility centres collected between 2001 and 2004. They found 469 (11%) of the 4,279 attempts using fresh embryos resulted in babies with a low birth weight (less than 2.5 kg), compared with 163 (6.5%) of the 2,510 IVF cycles using frozen embryos. Similarly, the fresh cycles had a higher proportion of babies dying within 28 days (1.87% to 1.16%) and more pre-term births (12.3% to 9.4%) - defining pre-term as earlier than 37 weeks.

"These results suggest that adverse birth outcomes of assisted reproductive therapy are associated with fresh embryo transfers," the authors wrote.

Using frozen embryos also has benefits for the mother. One risk posed by drugs used to stimulate the ovaries is a condition called ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome (OHSS), which can be fatal in rare cases. At present, if patients begin to develop symptoms, fertility doctors typically abandon an IVF attempt using fresh embryos because the hormonal disruption of pregnancy can make OHSS worse.

'Super-microscope' opens at Isis

A new £200m neutron source at Isis, Oxfordshire, will allow scientists to probe matter at the atomic level.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 11 Nov 2008 | 12:27 am

Fast Food: Just Another Name for Corn

That the $100-billion fast food industry rests on a foundation of corn has been known more through inference and observation than hard scientific fact — until now.

Chemical analysis from restaurants across the United States shows that nearly every cow or chicken used in fast food is raised on a diet of corn, prompting fresh criticism of the government's role in subsidizing poor eating habits.

"People had talked about what they observed or found out about, as individual journalists or individual consumers," said University of Hawaii geobiologist and study co-author A. Hope Jahren. But anecdotes do not add up to scientific proof, she said. "We got national data on how this food is being produced. It's very objective."

Corn is central to agriculture in the United States, where it is grown in greater volumes and receives more government subsidies than any other crop. Between 1995 and 2006 corn growers received $56 billion in federal subsidies, and the annual figure may soon hit $10 billion.

But in recent years, environmentalists have branded corn as an icon of unsustainable agriculture. It requires large amounts of fertilizer and pesticides, both of which require large amounts of fossil fuel to manufacture.

Most of the resulting corn is fed to livestock who didn't evolve to subsist entirely on corn. In cattle, eating corn increases flatulence emissions of methane — a potent greenhouse gas — and creates an intestinal environment rich in e. coli, a common cause of food poisoning. That necessitates mixing cow feed with antibiotics, in turn producing antibiotic-resistant disease strains.

Many of those livestock end up in high-calorie, low-nutrition franchised fast foods, which have been repeatedly linked to obesity, diabetes and heart disease. Fast food's biggest selling point is its low price — and that, say industry critics, is largely possible because of corn's ubiquitous cheapness.

"We're seeing that corn is the number-one reason that fast food is so cheap and available," said Meredith Niles, a food policy analyst at the Center for Food Safety who was not involved in the study. "U.S. programs are subsidizing obesity in this country."

Jahren's team analyzed hamburgers, chicken sandwiches and french fries from multiple McDonald's, Burger King and Wendy's restaurants in six U.S. cities. In both types of meat at every location, a telltale configuration of nitrogen and carbon traces showed that the animals had eaten corn-heavy diets; in the case of beef, 150 out of 162 samples came from animals that ate nothing but corn. Fries were prepared in corn-based oil.

The results weren't surprising, said New York University food studies expert Marion Nestle, but underscored the fact that "most people aren't aware of the extent to which corn ingredients permeate the food supply."

Nutrition aside, Jahren urged consumers to consider the implications of what they eat. "When you give a nickel to fast food, invariably it goes right back to the corn industry," she said.

For Niles, the results are a political challenge.

"We have a new President taking his place in the White House. It's a great opportunity to rearrange agricultural policy and to think about obesity," she said. "This study shows that it comes down in a lot of ways to one product."

Carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes in fast food: Signatures of corn and confinement [PNAS]

Image: Don

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

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 11 Nov 2008 | 12:17 am

Expert view: Sharks are just not meant to be hunted

It was one of the most memorable day's fishing of my life. I was 10 and my dad took me and my friend Charlie out on a charter boat from Looe in Cornwall. Shark fishing then was just taking off as a sport, and the main quarry was the small but fast blue shark. We all caught one and it was undeniably a thrill, hearing the line squealing off the reel. Mine was only 18kg (40lb), so didn't quite feel like a real shark, but my dad caught one twice that size - and taller than me.

Looking back, I've never felt that good about it. The sharks were killed and hung up from a kind of gibbet at the back of the boat, their guts hanging out of their mouths. Even then, my pride, and anticipation of a good bragging to my landlubber friends, were tempered by a creeping sense of shame.

I hope the sharks we caught somehow got eaten. I'd feel a little better to know that, in the days before anybody even considered the "ecological impact" of shark fishing, they were at least giving somebody a good meal. But I suspect they didn't. In some coastal parts of the world shark is a traditional part of the local fish diet. But pursuing them with modern fishing vessels can only lead to their rapid demise. Despite their astonishing success as a species - they've been around unchanged since the time of dinosaurs - they have a flaw in their otherwise perfect evolutionary design. Unlike most other fish, which produce vast numbers of eggs, and swim in huge shoals, sharks are just not meant to be hunted.

Rather, their place in nature is at the top of the food chain. That's why they are slow growers, who lay small numbers of eggs - or in some cases, such as the spurdog, give birth to live young. Start killing the adult breeding stock and numbers will soon crash to a tipping point. That's why extinction is a very real risk of commercially targeting certain species of shark.

Several species of small British shark are now in serious trouble - for decades the spurdog, tope and bull huss were collectively marketed in fishmongers and chip shops as "rock salmon". You won't see them much now, because there just aren't many left. The porbeagle, our largest native shark, is now also on the endangered list - it's the latest Atlantic species to be targeted to satisfy the insatiable demand for dried shark fins in the far east.

The only shark species that I could possibly condone eating is the smallest of all our sharks, which we call the lesser spotted dogfish. Its numbers are very high because it's a highly successful scavenger, and one member of the shark family that seems to be doing well in the face of overfishing.

Any small shark is likely to be labelled "huss" at the fishmonger. Once skinned and gutted, their long tapering bodies all look the same. If it's longer than about 18in or thicker than about 2in, then it's definitely not a dogfish. It must be some other kind of shark and you should leave well alone.

All in the family - scientists discover gene for cocaine addiction

It has become commonplace for people who are overweight to attribute their waistline to their DNA. Now, celebrities caught snorting cocaine might also be able to blame their parents.

Scientists reported yesterday the discovery of a gene that increases the chances of becoming hooked on the drug. Addicts were 25% more likely to carry the gene variant than people who did not use cocaine, a study found.

The discovery is unlikely to lead to a treatment for cocaine addicts, but scientists hope it could be used to screen for those most likely to have problems kicking the habit if they ever try the drug.

"If you are a carrier of this gene variant, the likelihood of getting addicted to cocaine is higher," said Rainer Spanagel, a professor of psychopharmacology at the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim, Germany, who led the study. "You can certainly use this as a vulnerability marker for cocaine addiction."

He said people found to be susceptible to cocaine addiction could be given counselling or protected with experimental vaccines now being developed. The vaccines are designed to block the "high", or euphoria, associated with the drug.

Last week, an analysis by the European Union's drug agency put Britain at the top of its list of cocaine-abusing states, with its users outnumbering all those elsewhere on the continent.

Genetic factors, scientists believe, account for 70% of cocaine addiction, making it as heritable as schizophrenia and other mental health conditions. Studies of twins suggest alcoholism is about 50% genetic.

Researchers linked a version of the CAMK4 gene with cocaine addiction after studying mice that had been genetically modified to alter the gene. One particular breed was affected more strongly by the drug and became addicted quicker than others in the group, according to the study in the US journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

To see if the gene played a role in cocaine addiction in humans, the researchers ran genetic tests on 670 cocaine addicts and more than 700 matched non-users. While 40% of non-users carried the gene, it was found in half of the addicts.

Obituary: Trevor Goodwin

Obituary: A leading biochemist known for his research into carotenoids
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 11 Nov 2008 | 12:06 am

Hawaii switching to digital TV early for the birds (AP)

AP - Hawaii will switch to digital TV faster than the rest of the country to make way for an endangered, volcano-dwelling bird.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 11:54 pm

Satellites map cholera outbreaks

Satellite monitoring data can be used to predict cholera outbreaks in India and Bangladesh, researchers find.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 11:42 pm

Icy Slush Chills Blood to Save Lives

A bio-compatible ice slurry is injected right into the body.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 11:35 pm

Education blunts effects of Alzheimer's: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brain scans of people with an abnormality that is a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease are strengthening the notion that greater education levels somehow protect against this common form of dementia.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 11:05 pm

2,000-year-old gold earring found in Jerusalem (AP)

AP - A luxurious gold, pearl and emerald earring provides a new visual clue about the life of the elite in Jerusalem some 2,000 years ago. And its discovery was a true eureka moment for excavators.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 10:49 pm

Probe ends historic Mars mission

Nasa says its Phoenix lander on the surface of Mars has gone silent and is almost certainly dead.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 10:33 pm

Mars Lander Mission Appears to be Over

Mission controllers lose contact with Phoenix Mars Lander, science operations over.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 10:14 pm

Origin of Hair Theory Gets Roots Retouched

The leading theory on the origin of hair has been challenged by findings suggesting that mammalian locks originated in reptilian claws.

A genetic analysis of lizards and chickens — those feathery descendants of reptiles — uncovered genes that code for keratin, a hard protein whose derivatives form hair.

It has long been thought that mammals developed hair on their own, perhaps as an evolutionary tweak on scales in some intermediate lineage between auropsids — the forefathers of reptiles and birds — and the furry creatures whose descendants would eventually include us.

But the fossils of such an intermediate have never been found, and perhaps they never will. The new findings, write Italian biologists in today's Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, suggest that keratin genes "are not restricted to mammals and suggest that the evolution of mammalian hair involved the co-option of pre-existing structural proteins."

Keratin genes, they conclude, likely emerged in the last common ancestor of all amniotes — the group of four-legged vertebrates spanning mammals, reptiles and birds.

All I can say is, there always did seem to be something a bit lizardlike about Cy Sperling

Identification of reptilian genes encoding hair keratin-like proteins suggests a new scenario for the evolutionary origin of hair [PNAS]

Image: Flickr/David

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 10 Nov 2008 | 10:01 pm

How Plants Become Annuals vs. Perennials

The difference comes down to two critical flower-inducing genes.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 9:38 pm

Mars Phoenix Lander Runs Out of Juice

The phenomenally popular Mars Phoenix Lander mission has officially come to an end.

Originally slated for a mere 90 days near the Martian north pole, clever NASA power engineers kept the Lander doing science for nearly two months beyond that goal. But now mission officials are certain: The lander has run out of power for its internal heater and is presumed to be frozen on the arctic plane.

"At this time, we're pretty convinced that the vehicle is no longer available for us to use," said Barry Goldstein, Phoenix project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We're ceasing operations and declaring an end to mission operations at this point."

As late as last week, the team was still trying to eke a few more experiments out of the robotic lander, even as the declining amount of solar energy in the pole area made their task more difficult.

The mission's legacy, however, will not be defined by its longevity so much as by its problem-light successes and legions of fans. Driven by a clever social media strategy that built a huge Twitter following, the NASA mission struck a chord with space lovers, who watched with rapt attention as the lander made a picture-perfect landing and proceeded to become the first human spacecraft to "taste" Martian water.

"If we're successful, this mission will be remembered for being the first to do direct analysis of ice or water on the surface of Mars," predicted NASA's Mike Gross, who engineered the mission's scientific instrumentation, back in May.

Indeed, Phoenix primary investigator, Peter Smith, led off his eulogy for the Lander noting that his team discovered ice, before recounting the mission's success measuring Martian weather and finding perchlorate, a known energy source for some microbes on Earth.

"It's been a great mission, a highlight of my life," Smith said.

It will take months to analyze the 25,000 photographs and the data from the dozens of experiments that the Lander conducted over the last several months, but the mission is already seen as a major success for relatively cheap robotic missions. At $480 million, the Phoenix lander cost about as much as a single Shuttle mission.

In fact, the mission's biggest failure — not finding evidence of life — doesn't have much to do with the execution of the mission so much as the Red Planet itself.

"We've seen nutrients and energy sources," Smith said. "That leads to the question: Is this a habitable zone?"

But, just like the mission, Smith left the ultimate question of extraterrestrial life unanswered, saying just that his team needed time to go back to their labs and examine the data from the mission in greater detail.

@MarsPhoenix, the lively voice of the lander, sent her last message six minutes ago.

"01010100 01110010 01101001 01110101 01101101 01110000 01101000 <3," she Tweeted.

That's binary for "Triumph," and the herald of a new digital-savvy era for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.

"Veni, vidi, fodi."

Graham Vosloo's winning Twitter-style epitaph for @MarsPhoenix

Images: 1. A Wordle cloud of Wired.com readers' Twitter epitaphs. 2. Wired Science Mars Phoenix coverage.

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

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 10 Nov 2008 | 9:28 pm

Umbilical cord blood may help build heart valves

LONDON (Reuters) - Doctors may one day be able to use stem cells taken from umbilical cord blood to build new heart valves for children born with heart defects, German scientists said on Monday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 9:19 pm

Solar Rig Brings Green Ice to Margaritaville

SAN FRANCISCO — "Ice is civilization!"

Or so Harrison Ford's character cries in The Mosquito Coast, the story of an inventor who tries to bring a kerosene-powered ice maker to Honduras.

That movie — and concept — provided the inspiration for a solar ice maker designed by a team of students at San Jose State University that became a finalist at the California Clean Tech Open last Thursday.

Using a concentrating solar mirror aimed at a tube filled with ammonia and chemicals, the setup could be used to refrigerate medicines or food in the developing world.

"During the day, we use the heat from the sun to drive a chemical reaction which separates a chemical refrigerant from a chemical absorbent. And then at night, the reaction runs in reverse," said Jinny Rhee, the engineering professor in charge of the project. "When the refrigerant gets reabsorbed, it gets very, very cold."

Temperature control is a given in the developed world, but energy-hogging refrigeration systems are too expensive for rural, poor areas. Not to mention the greenhouse gas emissions associated with all that energy, most of which can be traced back to fossil fuels, especially in the United States and China.

That's why a solar ice maker is an attractive technology. Clean, portable and relatively cheap, solar ice makers could make the storage of high-value perishable items a reality in hot, poor regions.

But designers who work in the developing world caution that many good ideas fail to gain traction in places so vastly different from where their creators live. Heather Fleming, founder of Catapult Design, a developing-world design consultancy under the aegis Engineers Without Borders, saw solar ice makers encountering the same difficulties as solar cookers and water distillers.

"They all face similar challenges — availability of the proper materials (highly reflective surfaces), maintenance (keeping the surfaces clean, unobstructed), and acceptance rates," Fleming wrote in an e-mail to Wired.com.

Indeed, solar ice maker designs like Energy Concepts' ISAAC have been around for nearly a decade without major adoption anywhere in the world, but that product is estimated to cost $7,000. Rhee estimates that her team's solar ice maker would cost just $1,000, so it could have a major cost advantage. But it's still just plain difficult to get people to accept major lifestyle changes, even if they are good, Fleming said.

"Change is difficult to advocate, even if it's for the better," Fleming said. "The better option is to work with what people know, change up the technology instead of trying to change people."

Rhee is aware of the problems of trying to push out an unfamiliar product in the developing world, especially to the consumer level. She's hoping that she and her students can connect with local organizations that, through microfinance institutions, would help local people build businesses around the technology of creating ice.

"We do want this to be a technology that rural populations can use to increase their standard of living," she said.

Emily Pilloton, founder of the humanitarian design organization Project H, voiced the same concerns as Fleming, but liked Rhee's approach to using the new tech as capital.

"That's exactly how they should be doing it," Pilloton said. "All that stuff works really well as a form of capital for small businesses. Instead of giving someone a $100 check through a microfinance channel, you're giving them a solar machine, something that has immediate profitability."

But before the solar ice maker gets into the field, it'll need to be made more efficient and cheaper. The first prototype could only make around 15 pounds of ice a day. They are now working on a second, larger prototype that Rhee says will create more ice.

But if you can't wait for your guilt-free trip to margaritaville [pdf] at your off-grid cabana, you can make your own solar ice maker with this guide from Home Power magazine.

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

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 10 Nov 2008 | 9:17 pm

Does Space Matter Anymore?

Maybe, again, yes. Sure!
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 8:57 pm

Sea sponges beam light deep inside their bodies

Sea sponges can beam light deep inside their bodies, and do so using the natural equivalent of fibre optic cables, scientists find.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 8:11 pm

Stem-cell firms surge as Obama fuels funding hopes

BANGALORE (Reuters) - Shares of companies developing therapies based on stem cells surged on Monday, after confirmation over the weekend that U.S. president-elect Barack Obama plans to reverse an existing executive order against federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 8:00 pm

James Randerson: Repealing Bush's stem cell law is an easy and obvious change for Barack Obama to make

August 9 2001. This date is seared in the minds of many US scientists as the most potent symbol of the Bush administration's willingness to put religious-inspired ideology over rationalism and scientific progress.

This was president Bush's cut-off date for federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. Any cell lines created after this date could not benefit from federal funding including the massive $28bn pot handed out annually by the National Institutes of Health.

Sweeping away the policy looks like being an early priority for president-elect Obama and it was a cornerstone of his science manifesto (pdf).

This is an important step that will accelerate stem cell research in the US. Private and state funding has maintained America's position as the world leader in stem cell research, but the confidence of longer term federal funding for blue skies research will undoubtedly give the field a boost.

It will also leave other countries vulnerable to an exodus of talent as research opportunities in the US spring up. The UK in particular has benefited from Bush's restrictive policies with several talented US researchers choosing to base themselves there and doubtless many more UK scientists deciding not to make the trip across the pond.

The change can only help scientists' understanding of how human tissues develop and bring forward treatments for so far intractable diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But it won't change anything overnight. Research is a long game and it will be years or decades before this decision bears fruit.

More importantly, it sends an early message about how this administration values research, evidence and rational argument. Many in the scientific community have spent the last eight years fighting ideological obstructions to their work.

Public health researchers under Bush were stopped from attending conferences or promoting evidence for the effectiveness of condoms against the Aids pandemic; scientific advice on climate change was doctored by administration lackeys to play down the causal role human activities; and expert advisory committees were stacked with ideologues. Even the president's science adviser was kicked out of the White House to a place in the Washington bureaucracy where he could safely be ignored. Obama has pledged to restore the position's previous authority.

Repealing Bush's stem cell law is an easy and obvious change to make. Much more significant though will be whether Obama's administration brings sound scientific advice and a thoughtful rationalist approach back into the Oval Office. The consequences of that go way beyond US science.

You can keep up to date with the Science Weekly podcast here

Mountain gorillas at mercy of Congo war factions

GOMA, Congo (Reuters) - East Congo's conflict has put more than a quarter of the world's last mountain gorillas at the mercy of armed groups who hunt and camp in their territory, park officials said on Monday.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 7:53 pm

Broken arrow

Nuke lost in Greenland 'left radioactive legacy'
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 7:05 pm

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Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 6:29 pm

Sharks under threat

Shark meat is regarded as a delicacy in some countries. But the appetite for shark meat is threatening many species with extinction
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 10 Nov 2008 | 6:19 pm

Report: Peru to Sue Yale for Inca Artifacts

Peru approves plans to sue Yale for artifacts excavated at Machu Picchu.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 6:14 pm

Two Thousand-Year-Old Earring Found in Jerusalem

A pearl earring dating to the time of Christ is found by Jerusalem's old city.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 5:33 pm

Mars Simulation to Test Human Limits

A 105-day experiment will test whether humans could survive a Martian mission.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 5:33 pm

Bee Decline Not Yet Felt in Agriculture

The decline in bee populations has not yet harmed crops, research finds.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 5:05 pm

Two New 'Flying Lemur' Species Identified

The acrobatic primate has four species, not just two as was previously thought.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 5:00 pm

Sam's Club Offers Electronics Trade-in Program

Members can earn gift cards for trading in obsolete electronics to be recycled or reused.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 4:59 pm

Plan B for a Warming Planet

Civilization shouldn't put all its eggs in one basket, says a prominent limate researcher.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 4:50 pm

'Mild' form of IVF just as effective, researchers claim

A form of IVF that does not require women to take powerful drugs has a success rate similar to conventional IVF, according to data from the only UK fertility clinic licensed to carry out the treatment.

The team at the Oxford Fertility Unit followed 40 women who received the treatment known as in vitro maturation – including those who had the first babies born in Britain using the technique in October last year. Nine of the women became pregnant – a pregnancy rate of 33% in under 35s.

The data suggest that in vitro maturation (IVM) is a valid alternative to standard IVF – particularly for the 40% of women, including Victoria Beckham and Jamie Oliver's wife Jools, who suffer from a condition called polycystic ovary syndrome (Pcos). In conventional IVF, these women are vulnerable to ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome which can lead to a build up of fluid in the lungs and abdomen, and can in rare cases be fatal. The syndrome occurs in around 1% of standard IVF cycles, but around one in 10 cycles in women with Pcos.

In IVM immature eggs are extracted without administering drugs and matured in the lab for 48 hours. The researchers then fertilise the eggs by injecting sperm into them before implanting the embryos into the uterus. Because fewer drugs are necessary the cost of an IVM treatment cycle is substantially lower than standard IVF – £1,700 versus around £4,300.

Dr Tim Child at the Oxford Fertility Unit presented results from the 40 patients treated between February 2007 and March 2008 to the American Society of Reproductive Medicine's annual meeting in San Francisco. All the patients had polycystic ovaries.

Nine of the women achieved an established pregnancy (in which a foetal heart beat was recorded by ultrasound). All the patients were under 35, giving a pregnancy rate of 33% for that group and 23% overall. "Unstimulated IVM treatment is a viable alternative to standard IVF for women under 35 years of age who have ovaries of polycystic morphology," the authors wrote. "IVM avoids the potentially fatal complication of ovarian hyperstimulation syndrome in this at risk patient group."

The success rate of IVM compares favourably with IVF. According to the most recent figures (2006), the average success rate for IVF in under 35s was 29% across the country, although it was much higher in some clinics.

Dr Geeta Nargund, chief executive of the Health Education Research Trust and consultant in reproductive medicine at St George's Hospital in south London, said IVM would not work in older women. Their ovaries have fewer eggs, and because many eggs fail to mature in the laboratory, a high number are needed to begin with.

Podcast No. 10: Boldly Goat Where No Lawnmower Has Gone Before

For an average lawn, a mower works just fine, but for fire-prone slopes or polluted landfills, an increasing number of cities are turning to a rugged biological machine: the goat.

The sure-footed creatures pack a world-renowned four-chambered stomach that allows them to devour tree bark and magazines as easily as you nibble lettuce. Key to the process is the rumen, which "acts as a big fermentation vat," and allows goats to selectively regurgitate food for rechewing until it can actually be digested. From this process, the goats get the ability to eat roughage and the English language received the verb "ruminate."

Now, urban and industrial sites across the country are exploiting this amazing machinery to clear their lands of unwanted vegetation without using chemicals or lawnmowers.

Dozens of services across the country allow owners of large areas of land to rent goats to reduce the amount of vegetation on their land. In San Diego, the goats clear brush that provides fuel for fires. In Denver, a herd of 100 goats is used to graze on severely degraded land and in areas where herbicides are too blunt an instrument for park management.

In this video, we visit City Grazing, a goat rental service based near Hunters Point in San Francisco. Run by David Simon, aka The Goat Whisperer, the company grazes its goats on a landfill in a heavily industrial area of the city. Don't get fooled by the post-apocalyptic setting: this is an urban farm with a real business model.

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 | 10 Nov 2008 | 4:21 pm

Heartbeats may power future pacemakers

LONDON (Reuters) - Pacemakers and defibrillators of the future may generate an extra power boost from a surprising energy source: The heart itself.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 10 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm

Wilson 'had Alzheimer's when PM'

An analysis of former Prime Minister Harold Wilson's speeches suggests he may have had early Alzheimer's disease while still in office.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 3:54 pm

Space Station to Get Extreme Makeover

The International Space Station will soon get a new toilet and other perks.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 3:51 pm

Dog Experts to Obama: Plenty to Choose From

Who should be the first dog? Experts and breeders weigh in.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 3:50 pm

Bullet work named top invention

A technique, developed in Northamptonshire, to find fingerprints on bullets is named a top invention of 2008.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 3:36 pm

2,000-year-old Gold Earring Found in Jerusalem

Archaeologists have found a 2,000-year-old gold earring made around the time of Christ. It was beneath a parking lot next to the walls of Jerusalem's old city.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 3:05 pm

The Carbon Footprint of Wine

Bulk of wine's carbon footprint comes through transportation methods.
Source: Livescience.com | 10 Nov 2008 | 2:42 pm

Census Reveals Sea Creature Colonies

A new marine census reveals the secret lives of deep-sea creatures.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 2:25 pm

'Bio-Beer' Designed to Extend Life

Scientists engineer beer containing a chemical thought to prevent cancer.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 10 Nov 2008 | 2:25 pm

IUCN report warns that a quarter of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic face extinction

More than a quarter of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic face extinction from overfishing, conservationists warned today.

A "red list" report from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) found that 26% of all sharks, rays and related species in the regional waters are threatened with extinction. Seven per cent are classed as critically endangered, while a fifth are regarded as "near-threatened".

The total number of at-risk species may well be higher because scientists lack of sufficient information to assess the populations of more than a quarter (27%) of them, the report adds. Many are slow-breeding fish that are especially vulnerable to fisheries.

Two species of shark that are highly prized for their meat, the spiny dogfish (rock salmon) and porbeagle, are critically endangered. They are among the few species that are subject to EU fishing restrictions, although these quotas are well above the zero-catch levels proposed by scientists at the International Council for Exploration of the Sea (Ices).

Angel sharks and common skates are also critically endangered in the north-east Atlantic, prompting Ices scientists to call for greater restrictions on fisheries that target them or land them as bycatch. The basking shark, the world's second largest fish, was listed as vulnerable.

Sonja Fordham, policy director at the Shark Alliance, and co-author of the report said: "The north Atlantic is one of the most overfished regions in the world and yet only four species of sharks and rays are protected. This is a clear consequence of overfishing, whether these species are targeted or taken as bycatch."

Another species listed as critically endangered is the deep-water gulper shark, sought for its rich liver oil, which is used by the cosmetics industry. In 2005, Ices urged the EU to effectively ban deepwater shark fishing, but current quotas allow more than 800 tonnes to be taken next year.

The percentage of sharks and rays in the north-east Atlantic region classified as threatened is higher than the figure for species globally (18%), the IUCN found. It said the decline in numbers was due to the activity of fishing nations such as Spain, Portugal, France and Britain.

"North-east Atlantic populations of these vulnerable species are in serious trouble, more so than in many other parts of the world," said Claudine Gibson, former programme officer for the IUCN's shark specialist group and lead author of the report.

"Most sharks and rays are exceptionally vulnerable to overfishing because of their tendency to grow slowly, mature late, and produce few young. Those at greatest risk of extinction in the northeast Atlantic include heavily fished large sharks and rays like porbeagle and common skate, as well as commercially valuable deepwater sharks and spiny dogfish."

Marine conservationists urged EU fisheries ministers, who are due to agree fishing quotas in December, to impose tighter restrictions in line with scientific advice.

"Country officials should heed the dire warnings of this report and act to protect threatened sharks and rays at national, regional and international levels. Such action is immediately possible and absolutely necessary to change the current course toward extincction of these remarkable ocean animals," said Fordham.

Families at risk

Anxious times as gorilla rangers' families flee fighting
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 10 Nov 2008 | 12:31 pm

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