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Precise Measurement Of Phenomenon Advances Solar Cell UnderstandingResearchers have shed light on a basic process that could improve future solar cells. They have now directly measured the rate of hole transfer between identical porphyrin compounds in their ground states. These results are key to understanding the fundamental processes underlying charge separation and have applications for improving the efficiency of solar cells.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm Two From One: Evolution Of Genders From Hermaphroditic Ancestors Mapped OutResearch could finally provide evidence of the first stages of the evolution of separate sexes, a theory that holds that males and females developed from hermaphroditic ancestors. These early stages are not completely understood because the majority of animal species developed into the arguably less titillating separate-sex state too long ago for scientists to observe the transition.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm Simple New Method Detects Contaminants In Life-saving DrugThe blood-thinning drug heparin is highly effective when used to prevent and treat blood clots in veins, arteries and lungs, but earlier this year its reputation as a lifesaver was sullied when contaminated heparin products caused serious allergic reactions that led to a large number of deaths.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm New Filtering Technology Has Environmental, Industrial ApplicationsMaterials engineers have created a new type of membrane that separates oil from water and, if perfected, might be used for environmental cleanup, water purification and industrial applications.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm Potentially Universal Mechanism Of Aging IdentifiedResearchers have uncovered what may be a universal cause of aging, one that applies to both single cell organisms such as yeast and multicellular organisms, including mammals. This is the first time that such an evolutionarily conserved aging mechanism has been identified between such diverse organisms. The mechanism probably dates back more than one billion years. The study shows how DNA damage eventually leads to a breakdown in the cell's ability to properly regulate which genes are switched on and off in particular settings.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm Stopping Germs From Ganging Up On HumansEvolutionary theory points to a new approach to combat drug resistance in disease-causing organisms and in cancer, according to new research. Keeping germs from cooperating can delay the evolution of drug resistance more effectively than killing germs one by one with traditional drugs such as antibiotics.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 7:00 pm Astronauts share freeze-dried Thanksgiving feast (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 4:19 pm How Did Turtles Get Their Shells? Oldest Known Turtle Fossil, 220 Million Years Old, Give CluesSince the age of dinosaurs, turtles have looked pretty much as they do now with their shells intact, and scientists lacked conclusive evidence to support competing evolutionary theories. Now with the discovery in China of the oldest known turtle fossil, estimated at 220 million years old, scientists have a clearer picture of how the turtle got its shell.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm A Good Ear: Rats Identify Specific Sounds In Noisy EnvironmentsAlex Martin placed rats in a partially echo-free, sound-proof chamber and simultaneously played two types of sounds: Gaussian sound (containing all frequencies) of 25 decibels and a pure sound (made up of one frequency). He found that auditory neurons respond to a pure sound even if there is background noise.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm Marijuana-inspired Painkiller? New Chemical Pathway DiscoveredMarijuana can be an effective painkiller, but social issues and unhealthy smoke inhalation complicate its use. As a result, researchers have focused great attention on understanding the biochemical system involved so they might manipulate it by other means. Toward that end, scientists have definitively identified a chemical pathway that, in mice, imitates marijuana's painkilling effect. The work could enable the development of new pain treatments.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm Cause And Possible Treatment Of Motor Neurone Disease IlluminatedResearchers have identified a molecule that could be the key to understanding the cause of neurodegenerative diseases such as motor neurone disease. This insight opens up the possibilities for developing new treatments to treat these devastating progressive conditions.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 4:00 pm ElBaradei prods Syria on atom probe, cites pictures (Reuters)Reuters - The U.N. nuclear watchdog chief prodded Syria on Thursday to open up military sites to investigators and said he would soon show Damascus satellite images which Washington says indicate covert atomic activity.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 3:31 pm Mark Vernon: We should not put our faith in pure science, but rely instead on old-fashioned good judgmentMark Vernon: Rather than looking to pure science for guidance, we should put our faith in old-fashioned good judgmentSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 3:30 pm Wind Farms Could Change Weather (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - A new study suggests that massive wind farms could steer storms and alter the weather if extensive fields of turbines were built, according to a news report.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 2:47 pm Richard BlackIs the UK's new climate law a global test case?Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 27 Nov 2008 | 2:20 pm NASA's Recipe for Space Cornbread DressingNASA's recipe for astronaut-approved space cornbread dressing.Source: Livescience.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 2:05 pm For 10 Astronauts, A Thanksgiving In SpaceIt's Thanksgiving Day for 10 astronauts in space.Source: Livescience.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 2:05 pm Astronauts Offer Their Thanks, Giving Space on the ShuttleSource: Livescience.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 2:05 pm A History of Thanksgiving in SpaceThe history of the U.S. holiday Thanksgiving in space.Source: Livescience.com | 27 Nov 2008 | 2:05 pm Two degree rise could spark Greenland ice sheet meltdown: WWF (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 1:47 pm European agency rules against stem cell patentsLONDON (Reuters) - European regulators on Thursday ruled against allowing a patent on developing human embryonic stem cells, a decision that could stifle research by stem cell companies for commercial purposes.Source: Reuters: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 1:45 pm Tools in spaceHow to spot the missing bag in the night skySource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 27 Nov 2008 | 1:22 pm The Nation's Weather (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:52 pm European agency rules against stem cell patents (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:44 pm Most slimming products are a con, claims nutrition expertOverweight and obese people around the world are being conned out of billions of pounds a year by companies selling bogus health foods that do nothing to help them lose weight, a leading scientist has warned. Michael Lean, professor of human nutrition at Glasgow University, told the Guardian that of the hundreds of slimming strategies that are actively marketed at overweight people, the only ones proven to work are low-calorie diets, exercise programmes, the drugs orlistat and sibutramine, and in some cases bariatric surgery, . In an editorial in the British Medical Journal, Lean attacks the "commercial exploitation of vulnerable patients with quack medicines" and calls for strict enforcement of new laws that have recently made it illegal for companies to mislead customers over the health benefits of their products. Unlike medicines, which must be proved to be effective in clinical trials, the regulations around health foods are less stringent. In May this year, the UK adopted an EU directive on unfair commercial practices that was drawn up to "protect vulnerable consumers who are often the target of unscrupulous traders". The directive obliges companies not to mislead consumers with health claims for their products. "In the past it was a case of buyer beware, but now the law has changed and it's the marketeer that has to beware. If they're using misleading marketing, they are committing a crime," Lean said. In his article, Lean argues that despite the introduction of the new law many companies continue to mislead customers by selling foods that have no proven benefit to health. "It is already illegal under food labelling regulations to claim that food products can treat or prevent disease. However, huge numbers of such claims are still made, particularly for obesity," he writes. In many cases, companies suggest only indirectly that a health food will help people lose weight. "The problem is that most food companies can't be bothered to do the research and in most cases, they know the products they're selling don't do what they say," Lean told the Guardian. Professor Lean has served as an expert on the Joint Health Claims Initiative, which criticised an advertising campaign for St Ivel Advance milk fronted by the fertility expert Robert Winston. The adverts claimed that the milk, which contains omega-3 fatty acid, might improve children's learning and concentration. The adverts were pulled following a ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority. "The new regulations provide good legislation to protect vulnerable consumers from misleading 'health food' claims. They now need to be enforced proactively to help direct doctors and consumers towards safe, cost-effective and evidence-based management of diseases," Lean writes in his editorial. "The regulations may even help with the bigger battle to prevent obesity, by prohibiting advertisements across the EU that encourage children to buy energy-dense products or to pester their parents to buy them." In 2000, a report from Richard Cleland at the US Federal Trade Commission estimated that $35bn (£22bn) was spent in the US alone on weight loss products, many of which were marketed with false or unsubstantiated claims, enticing 7% of the population to buy them. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:39 pm Space research centre to open near OxfordThe European Space Agency (Esa) is to open a research centre near Oxford. The facility, which will be built at the Harwell science and innovation campus in Oxfordshire, could be up and running within a year. The science minister, Lord Drayson, and Esa's director-general, Jean-Jacques Dordain, signed an agreement after a two-day ministerial meeting in The Hague. The government will bear the cost - £159.9m (€234.5m) – of constructing the new research centre, which will focus on climate-change research and space-exploration robotics. As part of the deal, Drayson agreed to invest £82m in Esa's flagship Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programmes, in a package of UK subscriptions totalling over £300m. Once the facility is set up, Esa money will fund new work on climate -change modelling using space data, and on the development of technologies for a new era of planetary exploration, including robotics and novel power sources. Harwell is owned by the science and technology facilities council, the UK atomic energy authority and the Health Protection Agency. It houses the Diamond synchrotron light source, which uses beams of x-rays to analyse the structure of materials, and Isis, the world's largest pulsed neutron source. Drayson said he was delighted with the deal. "Laying the foundations for a possible centre was one of my aspirations at this meeting but to come away with a signed agreement on a facility is great news for the UK and Esa. "This centre represents a first for the UK. It will direct more Esa business and funding to our shores, which of course is very important for our economy . The establishment of a new Esa centre is extremely encouraging for British scientists working in space science, as they will have closer involvement in international space programmes." Drayson said the GMES commitment was vital to increase the pace of climate change research. "The GMES programme offers a crucial tool to aid our understanding and monitoring of climate-change variables," he said. "Participation in GMES, alongside the other significant projects that the UK has committed to support at this meeting, will ensure the UK remains a key player in using space science to monitor climate change." Other programmes backed by the UK include those that will search for life on Mars and develop telecommunications technology with the aim of boosting the UK's role in the global space industry. "It is the government's priority, particularly in the current economic climate, to ensure the most out of every pound we invest in Esa," Drayson said. "This is why we have selected the areas and programmes where the UK can compete and grow most effectively. "Historically, the UK has made smart investments in robotics and microsatellites, and this has enabled us to develop world-class leads in these areas." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:24 pm Mushroom demiseUnsexy image means UK running out of fungi expertsSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 27 Nov 2008 | 11:52 am Atlantic hurricane season blows away records (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:44 am Pupils of today struggle with science questions of the 60sThere has been a "catastrophic slippage" in standards of science taught in schools, leaving children with a superficial understanding of chemistry, biology and physics, according to the Royal Society of Chemistry. Declining standards in schools, linked to teachers focusing on test results rather than analytical skills, risks starving the country of vital skills, the RSC said. In a competition run by the society, 1,300 pupils with a keen interest in science sat chemistry questions from O-level and GCSE papers set every decade since the 1960s. The questions were selected to test logical reasoning and problem-solving. Only 35% got the toughest questions from the most recent GCSE papers right. But the pupils fared progressively worse when doing the older O-level papers. For the 1980s O-level papers, 23% of questions were answered correctly. On the 1970s papers, only 18% of answers were right and on the 1960s papers, just 15% of questions were answered correctly. The government said the results merely demonstrated that science had evolved in 40 years, but Richard Pike, chief executive of the RSC, said: "The brightest pupils are not being stretched, or trained in mathematical techniques, because they can get a grade A* without doing a single calculation. Conversely, the majority get at least a 'good pass' – grade C – by showing merely a superficial knowledge on a wide range of issues, but no understanding of the fundamentals. A mark of 20% was sufficient in one of this summer's GCSE science examinations." He said surveys had revealed that around half of independent schools have withdrawn GCSEs in mathematics and science subjects to opt for tougher, more traditional international GCSEs. The RSC is petitioning the prime minister to take action. Michael Gove, the shadow children's secretary, said: "We've slipped 10 places in the international league tables for science, and children are being asked questions that show our curriculum isn't preparing them for the challenges for the 21st century. That's why we need to make sure that our exams are as good as the world's best." A department for children, schools and families spokesperson said that standards in science were in fact improving in response to better funding of schools. "Times have changed – it is unlikely that pupils from the 1960s could answer questions set today, given that the role of science in society has changed so much in the last 40 years," she said. •Try some of the questions for yourself. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 10:16 am Rome's bird-busters: who else you gonna call?ROME (Reuters) - Dressed from head to toe in a protective white suit and face mask, Fabrizio Zani is paid to prevent Rome's birds from getting a peaceful night's sleep.Source: Reuters: Science News | 27 Nov 2008 | 1:52 am Fossil finally shows how turtle got its shellThe unearthing of a 220m-year-old fossil in China has solved the enduring mystery of how the turtle got its shell. The ancient remains are the only evidence fossil hunters have of a turtle that is midway through evolving a shell, revealing for the first time how the process happened. Fossil hunters uncovered the remains of three remarkably intact adult turtles in Guizhou province last year. Each has characteristics that have never been seen in turtles before, including teeth and an incomplete upper shell, according to a report in the journal Nature. Turtles have had full shells since the time of the dinosaurs. Before the latest find, the oldest known turtle fossil was a sample unearthed in Germany and dated to 210m years ago. That creature, named Proganochelys, did not shed light on the evolution of shells because its own was already fully formed. Scientists have been divided on how the shell originally evolved, with some arguing that the shell grows from bony plates on the skin that broaden to form a kind of armour before fusing to the underlying ribs and backbone. Modern reptiles such as crocodiles have bony plates, called osteoderms, a feature also seen in some dinosaurs, including the ankylosaurs. The latest fossil, named Odontochelys semistestacea, meaning "toothed, half-shelled turtle", shows that shells formed in two stages. First, the underside of the shell, called the plastron, developed, then the ribs and backbone grew out to form the upper shell or carapace. Odontochelys has a fully formed plastron but only a partial upper shell extending from its widened ribs and backbone. "Now we have these fossils of the earliest known turtle. They support the theory that the shell would have formed from below as extensions of the backbone and ribs, rather than as bony plates from the skin as others have theorised," said Dr Xiao-chun Wu at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Wu's student and lead author of the report, Chun Li, of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, discovered the fossils with the help of farmers in Guizhou province. Detailed inspection of the fossils suggests Odontochelys was an aquatic animal and not land-based. The lower shell is one clue, as it would have protected the turtle from predators below as it swam. The remains of other marine reptiles and invertebrates were found in the same rock formations. "Reptiles living on the land have their bellies close to the ground with little exposure to danger," said Olivier Rieppel, head of geology at the Field Museum in Chicago. "This animal tells people to forget about turtle ancestors covered with osteoderms." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:07 am Fuel claims polarise opinionA scheme to boost fuel economy by reducing viscosity has met with scepticism from academicsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:06 am Call to step up deer cull in fight against TBThe government is encouraging landowners to increase the culling of wild deer where there are high levels of TB, to minimise the risk of the disease spreading further in cattle. Just months after the government ruled out a badger cull in England because it could not "meaningfully contribute" to eradicating the disease on farms, it is encouraging targeted measures against deer which its scientific advisers say probably pose a lower TB risk to cattle in most of south-west England and Wales. However, the same team from the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) near York has told ministers that reducing large herds with infected fallow deer "may play a role in reducing overall risks posed to cattle in several localities". Destroying diseased deer is less controversial than a badger cull - a pilot badger cull is still planned for Wales - since deer "management" and hunting are already routine as the UK deer population rises towards 2 million. Britain now has more wild deer than at any time since the ice age. Deer are not protected by law in the same way as badgers - the government has to issue special licences to authorise badger culling to control disease. But some conservationists believe landowners could do more to curb the deer population, to protect woodlands and other habitats. Wild deer are not owned by anyone until they are shot. Then, as venison, they become the property of the landowner or the holder of the deer-shooting rights which the landowner had sold on. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) remains sensitive over culling. In a statement yesterday it said "deer stalkers and managers should take the disease risk into account when establishing any management programmes". Hours later it added : "We do not cull deer specifically to control TB." Uncertainties remain about whether and how the disease might spread between deer and cattle. CSL scientists say there is limited information on contact between the two, but fallow deer are the species which most graze on pasture. Fallow and red deer live in larger, free-mixing herds which probably makes them more susceptible to spreading TB between each other than species which live in smaller, tighter groups. A recent survey for the government suggested high levels of TB in deer in two areas near Cirencester, Gloucestershire, while similar checks on deer in Devon and Cornwall found less of a problem. The RSPCA, which opposed badger culling, said wild deer were already being humanely culled in very large numbers. The National Farmers' Union said: "Defra must commit to continue testing to ensure the deer population does not become a vector for the disease, which is causing real pain for farmers." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:05 am Thabo Mbeki Aids policy 'led to 330,000 deaths'The Aids policies of former president Thabo Mbeki's government were directly responsible for the avoidable deaths of a third of a million people in South Africa, according to research from Harvard University. South Africa has one of the most severe HIV/Aids epidemics in the world. About 5.5 million people, or 18.8% of the adult population, have HIV, according to the UN. In 2005 there were 900 deaths a day. But from the late 90s Mbeki turned his back on the scientific consensus that Aids was caused by a viral infection which could be combated, though not cured, by sophisticated and expensive drugs. He came under the influence of maverick scientists known as Aids-denialists, most prominent among whom was Peter Duesberg from Berkeley, California. In 2000 Mbeki called a round-table of experts, including Duesberg and his supporters but also their opponents, to discuss the cause of Aids. Later that year, at the international Aids conference in Durban, he publicly rejected the accepted wisdom. Aids, he said, was indeed brought about by the collapse of the immune system - but not because of a virus. The cause, he said, was poverty, bad nourishment and general ill-health. The solution was not expensive western medicine but the alleviation of poverty in Africa. In a new paper Harvard researchers have quantified the death toll resulting from Mbeki's stance, which caused him to reject offers of free drugs and grants and led to foot-dragging over a treatment programme, even after Mbeki had taken a vow of silence on the issue. "We contend that the South African government acted as a major obstacle in the provision of medication to patients with Aids," write Pride Chigwedere and colleagues from the Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, in the Journal of Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. They have made their calculations by comparing the scale-up of treatment programmes in neighbouring Botswana and Namibia with the limited availability of drugs in South Africa from 2000-2005. Expensive antiretrovirals came down in price dramatically as a result of activists' campaigning and public pressure. In July 2000 the pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim offered to donate its drug nevirapine, which could prevent the transmission of HIV from mother to child during labour. But South Africa restricted the availability of nevirapine to two pilot sites a province until December 2002. Eventually, under international pressure, South Africa did launch a national programme for the prevention of mother to child transmission in August 2003 and a national adult treatment programme in 2004. But by 2005, the paper's authors estimate, there was still only 23% drug coverage and less than 30% prevention of mother to child transmission. By comparison, Botswana achieved 85% treatment coverage and Namibia 71% by 2005, and both had 70% mother to child transmission programmes coverage. The authors estimate that more than 330,000 people died unnecessarily in South Africa over the period and that 35,000 HIV-infected babies were born who could have been protected from the virus but would now probably have a limited life. Their calculations will withstand scrutiny, they say. "The analysis is robust," said Dr Chigwedere. "We used a transparent and accessible calculation, publicly available data, and, where we made assumptions, we explained their basis. We purposely chose very conservative assumptions and performed sensitivity analyses to test whether the results would qualitatively change if a different assumption were used." The authors conclude: "Access to appropriate public health practice is often determined by a small number of political leaders. In the case of South Africa, many lives were lost because of a failure to accept the use of available ARVs to prevent and treat HIV/Aids in a timely manner." Since Mbeki's ousting from the leadership of the African National Congress in September South Africa has urgently pursued new policies to get treatment to as many people as possible under a new health minister, Barbara Hogan. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 27 Nov 2008 | 12:05 am Plumes spewing from Saturn moon may contain water (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 11:17 pm Plumes from Saturn moon may come from liquid waterWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Huge plumes of water vapor and ice particles are spewing from Saturn's moon Enceladus at supersonic speeds in a way that strongly suggests they come from liquid water down below the icy surface, scientists said.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 10:28 pm Gustav, Ike destroyed 60 energy platforms (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 9:26 pm Brain scans show root of memory glitch with aging (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 9:16 pm Astronauts wrap up space station make-over missionCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - The shuttle Endeavour astronauts packed samples from the International Space Station's revived urine recycling system on Wednesday and prepared to leave the outpost after a successful home-makeover mission.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 8:34 pm Gut chemical may inspire new way to fight obesityWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists have identified a fatty substance made in the gut that signals the brain when it's time to stop eating -- a discovery that could inspire new approaches to fighting obesity.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 8:29 pm How the turtle's shell evolvedA 220-million-year-old fossil from China shows that the ancestors of modern turtles did not have complete shells.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Nov 2008 | 8:07 pm UK 'support' for waste paymentsA survey for BBC News suggests that most people in the UK support the principle of pay-as-you throw waste charging.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Nov 2008 | 7:44 pm Drugs Reveal Another Possible Cause of Aging
Early but intriguing research on mice suggests a new mechanism of aging, and possibly a way to stall it. Drugs designed to target one aspect of aging also seem to help repair DNA damage and regulate gene activity, preventing them from going haywire with the stresses of time. Resveratrol and similar compounds activate an enzyme called SIRT1. The enzyme rejuvenates mitochondria, the machines that power our cells. Mitochondrial breakdown has been associated with many age-related diseases, including heart disease, diabetes and dementia. Several labs in addition to Sirtris are researching compounds that target mitochondria. The new findings suggest that SIRT1 fixes DNA in addition to mitochondria. Some researchers think gene deregulation is a cause of aging: As cells get older, they produce less SIRT1, ostensibly becoming less able to repair faulty DNA and suppress the dormant genes. "One idea of why we age is that DNA becomes damaged or mutated," said Sinclair, lead author of the research published Wednesday in Cell. "But perhaps the main culprit is the effect of genes switching on and off, and that should be reversible." But as with any animal study of a new mechanism for something as complex as aging, caution is advised in extrapolating from the results. "We have a long way to go before applying this to humans," said University of Southern California gerontologist Valter Longo, who was not involved in the study. The exact role of gene activation in aging is not entirely clear. And while Sinclair's work showed that cancer-prone mice lived 40 percent longer than usual after SIRT1 stimulation, they didn't test its benefits on healthy mice. Sinclair said that such tests are planned, as are experiments on elderly mice designed to see whether SIRT1 stimulation causes genetic patterns to revert to youthful states. He also hopes to determine if other members of the SIRT1 enzyme family, known as sirtuins, have similar roles.
"We think this is just the tip of the iceberg, and that SIRT1 is just
the first of many proteins that get reshuffled during aging," he said. See Also:
WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 26 Nov 2008 | 7:34 pm Supermarkets 'to halve bag use'Four of the UK's leading supermarkets say they are on track to halve the numbers of plastic bags handed out.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Nov 2008 | 6:32 pm 5 Surprising Turkey FactsThanksgiving is no longer what the Pilgrims had in mind. Plus, what we now know about turkeys.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Nov 2008 | 6:27 pm Whitehall's egg and bacon divideAll eggs cooked-up and almost all milk served in government departments are British, according to government figures.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Nov 2008 | 6:26 pm China's ancestral turtle sheds light on evolutionHONG KONG (Reuters) - Researchers in China have unearthed fossils of the most primitive turtle to date, a creature with teeth, a fully formed belly shell and a back shell that appeared to be just evolving.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 6:07 pm First Known Turtle Had Shell ShortcomingsAn ancient turtle sported only a belly shell with no back armor.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Nov 2008 | 6:00 pm Fossils reveal how the turtle got its shellThe unearthing of three 220m-year-old fossils in China has solved the enduring mystery of how the turtle got its shell. The ancient remains are the first evidence palaeontologists have of a species of turtle that is in the process of evolving a shell, revealing for the first time how it happened. Fossil hunters uncovered the remains of three remarkably intact adults in Guizhou province last year. Each has characteristics that have never been seen in turtles before, including teeth and an incomplete upper shell, according to a report in the journal Nature. Turtles have had complete shells since the time of the dinosaurs. Before the latest find, the oldest known turtle fossil was a specimen unearthed in Germany dated to 210m years ago. That creature, named Proganochelys, did not shed light on the evolution of shells because its was already fully formed. Scientists have been divided on how the turtle shell evolved, with some arguing that it developed from bony plates on the skin that broadened to form a kind of armour before fusing to the underlying ribs and backbone. Modern reptiles such as crocodiles have bony plates, called osteoderms, a feature also seen in some dinosaurs, including the ankylosaurs. The latest fossil, named Odontochelys semitestacea – meaning "toothed, half-shelled turtle" – proves that shells formed in two stages. First the underside of the shell, called the plastron, developed, then the ribs and backbone grew out to form the upper shell or carapace. Odontochelys has a fully formed plastron but only a partial upper shell extending from its widened ribs and backbone. "Now we have these fossils of the earliest known turtle. They support the theory that the shell would have formed from below as extensions of the backbone and ribs, rather than as bony plates from the skin as others have theorised," said Xiao-chun Wu at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Dr Wu's student and lead author of the report, Chun Li of the Institute of Vertebrate Palaeontology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, discovered the fossils in Guizhou province with the help of local farmers. Detailed inspection of the fossils suggests that Odontochelys was an aquatic animal. The lower shell is one clue, as it would have protected the turtle from predators below as it swam. The remains of other marine reptiles and invertebrates were found in the same rock formations. "Reptiles living on the land have their bellies close to the ground with little exposure to danger," said Olivier Rieppel, head of geology at The Field Museum in Chicago. "This animal tells people to forget about turtle ancestors covered with osteoderms." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 26 Nov 2008 | 6:00 pm Britain's first space facility will monitor the health of planet EarthThe government's aspirations to become health monitor for planet Earth received a boost yesterday when the European Space Agency (ESA) agreed to establish its first British space facility. The centre is expected to become a focus for research into space-based Earth observations, which the government is keen to establish as the cornerstone of its role in the heavens. Based at the home of Britain's atomic energy programme, Harwell in Oxfordshire, the new centre could be up and running within a year. The centre will also specialise in climate modelling, robotics and ways to apply space technology to more down-to-Earth applications. A formal agreement to establish the centre was signed by the UK science minister Lord Drayson and the space agency's director general Jean-Jacques Dordain at an ESA meeting in the Hague yesterday. The announcement was welcomed by the space industry, but some academics voiced concerns that the facility could sap expertise from universities across the country. "It's good to hear that the ESA centre is finally secured, although while welcoming it, those of us in universities are a little nervous. We would not want to see this soak up our research support and the best of our people. The latter is a particular potential problem because ESA salaries tend to be higher and have tax advantages for the individuals," said Martin Barstow, professor of astrophysics and space science at Leicester University. Work at the centre will include using observations of the Earth from satellites to develop better climate models. Of the 44 essential environmental variables used in climate prediction, such as levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and sea-surface temperatures, half depend on satellite measurements. "We know existing climate models are not entirely accurate, and with better monitoring we will be able to improve those models," said Tom Gunner, spokesman for the space industry body UK Space. "Last month, Europe's Envisat satellite showed that Arctic sea ice is melting faster than models predict. We know climate change is happening. Now we need to learn about the regional variations and how it will change people's lives in different parts of the world." Before the Hague meeting, climate scientists raised concerns that Britain might be poised to cut funding to a flagship programme to monitor climate change known as the Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) project. Scientists had been hoping for a contribution of £128m, but yesterday Lord Drayson pledged only £82m for the project. "We're disappointed that the government did not invest in GMES at a fair level, but we hope it's just enough to ensure the UK can keep climate change as its priority," said Gunner. Britain also committed to funding seven other ESA programmes, including an advanced satellite communications project and the Aurora Mars exploration programme, which will look for life on the red planet. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2008 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More FeedsSource: Science | guardian.co.uk | 26 Nov 2008 | 5:38 pm Key Molecule for Life Found in Habitable Region of the Galaxy
A sugar molecule linked to the origin of life was discovered in a potentially habitable region of our galaxy. The molecule, called glycolaldehyde, was spotted in a large star-forming area of space around 26,000 light-years from Earth in the less-chaotic outer regions of the Milky Way. This suggests the sugar could be common across the universe, which is good news for extraterrestrial-life seekers. "This is an important discovery as it is the first time glycolaldehyde, a basic sugar, has been detected towards a star-forming region where planets that could potentially harbor life may exist," Serena Viti of University College London said in a press release. Previously, glycolaldehyde had only been observed toward the center of the galaxy, where conditions are thought to be too extreme to host habitable planets. Glycolaldehyde is a key ingredient for life. It helps to build Ribonucleic acid (RNA), which is thought to be the central molecule involved in the origin of life on Earth. Glycolaldehyde is a monosaccharide sugar, the basic unit of carbohydrates. It can react with the chemical propenal to form ribose, the building block of RNA. "The discovery of an organic sugar molecule in a star forming region of space is very exciting and will provide incredibly useful information in our search for alien life,” said Keith Mason, chief executive of the England’s Science and Technology Facilities Council. The finding, made with the IRAM radio telescope in France, was announced Tuesday and will be published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters. First detection of glycolaldehide outside the Galactic Center / arXiv:0811.3821v1 See Also:
Images: 1) Serge Brunier; 2) Bill Saxton, NRAO/AUI/NSF Source: Wired: Wired Science | 26 Nov 2008 | 5:35 pm Shipwreck may hold key to Turks and Caicos' lineageMIAMI (Reuters) - A pair of glass-eyed idols led marine archeologists to the wreck of a Spanish ship that once carried an illegal cargo of African slaves believed to be the ancestors of many of today's inhabitants of the British colony of Turks and Caicos.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Nov 2008 | 5:19 pm Black Friday and Cyber Monday: Shoppers Win This YearBargain-hunting in current economic climate could force stores to lower prices more.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Nov 2008 | 5:14 pm Europe's 10bn-euro space visionMember states of the European space agency (Esa) have agreed a 10bn-euro budget at their meeting in The Hague.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Nov 2008 | 4:35 pm Jupiter, Venus, Moon to ConvergeThis Thanksgiving, the three brightest objects in the night sky will crowd together.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Nov 2008 | 3:52 pm Iran 'fires second space rocket'Iran says it has launched its second space rocket this year, part of plans to put an Iranian-made satellite in orbit.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Nov 2008 | 3:50 pm Wine's Bouquet Has Overtones of Climate ChangeScientists uncover the history atmospheric CO2 in a surprising place: the wine cellar.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Nov 2008 | 3:02 pm When Intelligent and Natural Design Collide
On a recent flight to California, I found myself looking at man-made structures in the Nevada desert and wondering: did I really know, in a scientifically valid way, that they were artificial? Or was I simply resorting to the principles of Intelligent Design, which in other contexts I'm quick to discredit? For a science writer, this quandary is something close to existential. So I called up Seth Shostak, a senior astronomer at the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Several years ago, Shostak rebutted charges that scientists were perfectly willing to embrace ID principles when looking for evidence of aliens, but not for evidence of God. Shostak agreed that identifying roads and farms from above was analogous to picking out radio signals against a background of cosmic radiation. And he reassured me that it was possible to do so without recognizing eukaryotic cells as proof of divine craftwork. But he also acknowledged that there's a surprising amount of ambiguity at the confluence of observation, inference and certainty. "You're looking for information content, for structure patterns," he said. "And it's kind of tricky."
"If you were to do that with the Nazca lines in Peru, and compare the amount of organization to what you'd find 100 miles away in the Chilean desert, I think you'd see that difference," he said. But there's an obvious problem: nothing is simpler than a sweep of blue sky, or the inky blackness of space. If simplicity is the benchmark, space itself is evidence of design. And leaving aside this uncomfortable implication, it would mean ignoring a piece of skywriting, or an overhead flying saucer, if it contains more visual information than its background.
"ID advocates say the cell is too complex to be built up by random mutation and selection," he said. "But complexity doesn't necessarily mean design. The point is whether there is a natural mechanism that could increase complexity. There obviously is. We find fairly complex compounds in space. They require some chemistry to make, but nobody says that God is needed to make polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons."
"What is life? Who knows. Nobody can come up with a good definition," said Shostak. In the end, he said, information theory provides no perfect formulation by which evidence of intelligence may be deciphered. Until little green men demand passage to our leaders in person, we might have no choice but to gather information, accept ambiguity and rely on intuition.
"Another answer is that given by Supreme Court justice Potter Stewart,
in a case on pornography," said Shostak. "It's become a famous answer
to all these questions: 'I'll know it when I see it.'" See Also:
WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 26 Nov 2008 | 2:49 pm
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