Concussions Linked To Weakened Brain Functioning Years Later

Word is spreading, on the sidelines, in the locker rooms, and in the media, that an athlete whose bell has been rung -- that is, suffered a concussion -- may have experienced an injury that could take a more serious toll later in life. Results of a new study support that speculation.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Nano-sonar Uses Electrons To Measure Under The Surface

Just as sonar sends out sound waves to explore the hidden depths of the ocean, electrons can be used by scanning tunneling microscopes to investigate the well-hidden properties of the atomic lattice of metals. Scientists have now succeeded in making bulk Fermi surfaces visible in this manner. Fermi surfaces determine the most important properties of metals.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Small Robots Can Prepare Lunar Surface For NASA Outpost

Small robots the size of riding mowers could prepare a safe landing site for NASA's Moon outpost, according to a NASA-sponsored study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Ethnic Differences Found For Fatty Liver Disease And Insulin Resistance

A new study suggests that the metabolic response to obesity and insulin resistance, particularly as it pertains to the liver, differs among ethnic groups in the US African Americans are more resistant to the buildup of fat in the abdominal adipose tissue and liver, and to high triglyceride levels associated with insulin resistance.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Underlying Sleep Problem Linked To Attention-deficit/hyperactivity Disorder In Children

New research suggests the presence of an intrinsic sleep problem specific to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and supports the idea that children with ADHD may be chronically sleep deprived and have abnormal REM sleep.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Is Our Obsession With Pandemic Bird Flu Justified?

While it is almost a certainty that within the next few decades humanity will experience another influenza pandemic, it may not be caused by the avian influenza strain H5N1 that many scientists believe could be a prime candidate.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 7:00 pm

Obesity Gene: Mice Lacking FTO Gene Burn More Energy And Do Not Become Overweight

Mice which do not have FTO gene, burn more energy and do not become overweight. These findings verify the importance of the FTO gene for the regulation of body weight. The results of this research may lead to new ways of treating obesity.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 4:00 pm

Light Or Fight? How Plants Make Tough Survival Choices

Ever since insects developed a taste for vegetation, plants have faced the same dilemma: use limited resources to out-compete their neighbors for light to grow, or, invest directly in defense against hungry insects. Now, biologists have discovered how plants weigh the trade-offs and redirect their energies accordingly.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 4:00 pm

From Stem Cells To New Organs: Scientists Cross Threshold In Regenerative Medicine

By now, most people have read stories about how to "grow your own organs" using stem cells is just a breakthrough away. Despite the hype, this breakthrough has been elusive. A new report brings bioengineered organs a step closer. Specifically, the advance clears two major hurdles, namely a matrix on which stem cells can form a three-dimensional organ and transplant rejection.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 4:00 pm

Malaria Parasite Zeroes In On Molecule To Enhance Its Survival

Scientists have found that the parasite that causes malaria breaks down an important amino acid in its quest to adapt and thrive within the human body. By depleting this substance called arginine, the parasite may trigger a more critical and deadlier phase of the disease. The work may point the way to better treatments.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 4:00 pm

Going Gray? Blame Catalase

Scientists figure out why we go gray, raising hopes of finding a way to stop the process.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 2 Mar 2009 | 2:00 pm

US nuclear relic found in bottle

A bottle discarded at a waste site in the US contains the world's oldest sample of bomb-grade plutonium, scientists say.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:54 pm

NKorean satellite launch would trigger UN sanctions: Aso (AFP)

AFP - Japan's Prime Minister Taro Aso signalled on Monday that a North Korean rocket launch -- even one carrying a satellite -- would lead to UN Security Council sanctions against the communist state.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:52 pm

Why Evidence for the Paranormal Doesn't Improve

Final evidence is always in sight but never obtained.
Source: Livescience.com | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:49 pm

Football fans take their rivalries into mathematical hyperspace

Practitioners of the beautiful game can now be found kicking symmetrical objects around in mathematical hyperspace

It has been a bad week for Tottenham Hotspur. Having been knocked out of the UEFA Cup on Thursday, the team then lost to Manchester United in the Carling Cup Final yesterday. However, supporters can console themselves with the knowledge that Spurs is the only football team in the world to have gained honours in mathematical hyperspace: two of its players have symmetry groups named after them.

The worlds of maths and science have a long history of naming important objects after people. For example, when astronomers discover new asteroids they often name them in honour of famous individuals, including pharaohs (2436 Hatshepsut), popes (8661 Ratzinger) and musicians (1815 Beethoven, 3834 Zappafrank and 15092 Beegees).

Similarly, every time a biologist discovers a new species, there is the opportunity to honour someone or something. In 2007, Joe McHugh discovered a new species of Peruvian slime mould beetle and named it Genisphindus roxannae after his wife Roxanne.

Less kindly, researchers at Cornell University had a batch of new beetles to name and dubbed them Agathidium bushi, Agathidium cheneyi, Agathidium rumsfeldi and Agathidium vaderi.

Realising that naming a new species could be lucrative, some biologists initiated a bidding war over the right to name a Central American monkey. The Golden Palace Casino won the auction and handed over $650,000 to help protect the monkey's habitat, and in return the species was named Callicebus aureipalatii.

Joe Cavelli, who works for the casino, prefers to call it the GoldenPalace.com monkey.

In a similar vein, the Oxford mathematician and professor for the public understanding of science Marcus Du Sautoy decided to offer naming rights over symmetrical objects in hyperspace – abstract mathematical entities that are infinite in number and linked to so-called elliptic curves. Over the last year he has raised $3,000 for Common Hope, a charity working with street children in Guatemala.

Most people who have bought symmetry groups have named them after sons, daughters, spouses and friends, but on 4 November 2008 the British mathematician Tony Mann asked Du Sautoy to name a group in honour of the Tottenham player David Bentley, who had scored one of the most remarkable goals of the year against Arsenal the previous week.

Technically, the group is labelled Set [C[1], C[2], C[3], C[4]]=[40, 13, 4, 4]. I suspect that this particular group was chosen because the final two digits correspond to the 4-4 result of the match in which Bentley scored.

A few weeks later, Mann paid for a symmetry group to be named after Jermaine Defoe when the player rejoined Spurs. He explained that he wanted to mark the occasion because Defoe would be "the star who will make Spurs the best team in north London".

But why does Mann, a mathematician based at the University of Greenwich in south London, support a north London team like Spurs? When I spoke to him, he revealed that he doesn't actually support Spurs but merely loves winding up Professor Du Sautoy, who is an ardent Arsenal fan.

In other words, Mann is more than willing to donate a few pounds to a good cause in order to pursue a sporting spat in mathematical hyperspace.

Arsenal supporters may wish to fight back by buying symmetry groups to honour their own players, but I am going to name a group in honour of the only world class footballer who was also a world class mathematician: Harald Bohr, brother of the physicist Niels Bohr.

While Niels was a very respectable goalkeeper, Harald played half-back for the Danish national team and competed in the 1908 London Olympics, at which where football was an official event for the first time. The Danes beat France 17-1 in the semi-final, but lost 2-0 to Great Britain in the final.

Nevertheless, Harald Bohr was hailed as a hero when he returned to Denmark. When he defended his doctoral dissertation at a public event at the University of Copenhagen in 1910, there were more soccer fans in the audience than mathematicians.

Nobody in the past 100 years has done so much to unite the worlds of mathematics and football.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:33 pm

Northeast pounded by snowy late-winter storm (AP)

AP - A massive late winter snow storm roared out of the Southeast and into the Northeast overnight, idling hundreds of flights and making Monday's morning rush treacherous as motorists contended with nearly a foot of snow in spots.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:27 pm

Researchers find safer way to make stem cells

LONDON (Reuters) - Researchers said on Sunday they had found a safer way to transform ordinary skin cells into powerful stem cells in a move that could eventually remove the need to use human embryos.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:18 pm

And now for something completely different ...

We've invited a clutch of the most engaging and entertaining scientists to join us as regular columnists. Beginning this week, they will bring you the latest from the coal face of science

The portrayal of science and scientists in the media often leaves something to be desired. Most stories cover studies published in dry, academic journals. Usually, they are important, occasionally they are entertaining, and every so often, they are truly awe-inspiring.

But overwhelmingly, the science stories that make the headlines tell us little about how science works and how those involved see the world around them. They rarely get past the surface to reveal what's really going on. We've decided to do something about that, by asking some of our favourite scientists to write for us, on whatever takes their fancy.

There are good reasons to give scientists a new place to vent and muse. Science will mould our future society, and so critical thinking, respect for evidence, and a nose for the lack of it, will be crucial in plotting our course.

This week we are introducing the first of four new columnists, each of whom will be writing monthly for the science website about anything they think deserves attention. Together, they cover a wide range of sciences, from biology and physics, to psychology, ethics and new media.

Simon Singh, the particle physicist and bestselling author is first to step up to the plate. Simon is perhaps best known for his books, Fermat's Last Theorem, The Code Book and his most recent title, Trick or Treatment: alternative medicine on trial. Today, he solves the mystery of why players at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club have had mind-boggling shapes named after them by the man who stepped into Richard Dawkins' shoes at Oxford University, Marcus du Sautoy.

Also joining us is Chris French, professor of psychology at Goldsmith's, University of London. Chris heads up the fantastically named Anomalistic Psychology Research Unit. If you've ever wondered why some people believe in UFOs, life after death, telepathy and all manner of bizarre paranormal phenomena, Chris is the man to ask.

He was recently called upon to comment on the cause of a broken wind turbine in Lincolnshire, which the British tabloid newspaper The Sun attributed to a collision with a UFO. He pointed out that it was unlikely that technologically advanced aliens had travelled light years across space, only to bump into a windmill on reaching our shores.

He is co-editor of The Skeptic.

Andy Miah, professor of ethics and emerging technologies at the University of the West of Scotland, is also on board. His interests range from bioethics and human enhancement technologies to genetic modification and the effect of the internet on people's perceptions of health and disease.

Finally, the leading American evolutionary biologist, PZ Myers, joins us. PZ is based at the University of Minnesota, Morris, and is the author of the ever-amazing Pharyngula blog. A glance through his recent posts reveal musings on the love songs of mosquitoes, a spat over a poll about the afterlife and an electron micrograph of a truly terrifying beetle phallus, which does indeed look like a medieval torture instrument.

PZ, we are delighted to have you with us.

Each week we will publish a column from one of the four, and we urge you wholeheartedly to join in the discussions that follow.

Before I wrap up, a reminder that our online book club is about to launch in earnest. Last month, Tim Radford picked our first book for discussion, "Life: an unauthorised biography", by Richard Fortey. Tim will open discussions on the book next week.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 2 Mar 2009 | 1:08 pm

Protest puts spotlight on Congress' power plant (AP)

AP - They are calling it one of the biggest U.S. protests on climate change — hundreds of activists gathered around a tiny power plant in Southeast Washington that heats and cools the Capitol.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 10:28 am

Asia's biofuel dreams shelved as crude oil tumbles (AFP)

AFP - Hopes of a biofuel bonanza for Southeast Asia, raised when sky-high oil prices made the search for alternative fuels a priority, have been shelved as global fortunes and crude prices nose-dive.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 Mar 2009 | 2:26 am

Four out of five repudiate creationism

Belief map of the UK published by theology thinktank Theos

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 2 Mar 2009 | 12:05 am

The importance of daring experiments

On this week's podcast, why scientists experiment and how a career in particle physics doesn't mean you can't believe in God.

Biologist and author Olivia Judson tells us where scientists are missing out in their quest for knowledge. They should take more risks and never assume they know anything, she says – experimentation is always the answer.

Particle physicist turned theologian John Polkinghorne tells Ian Sample how he quantifies his religious beliefs. John's scientific work was on elementary particles, and he played a significant role in the discovery of the quark. But in 1979 he left physics to become an Anglican priest and he has since published books on how religion and science can co-exist. His new book – Questions of Truth – proposes answers to questions such as, can you prove God exists, and is he actually a delusion?

In the Newsjam, we discuss why the word "dirty" is most in danger of going the way of the dodo, Nasa's doomed Orbiting Carbon Observatory and why doodling while you listen to this podcast shows that you ARE paying attention.

Leave us your thoughts below or on our Facebook wall, and do try out our new twitter feeds – guardianscience and scienceweekly.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 2 Mar 2009 | 12:05 am

Scots bird team on Syrian mission

Four Scottish conservationists are heading to Syria to search for critically endangered birds.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 Mar 2009 | 12:03 am

Starwatch

Venus's stint as an impressive evening star ends later this month as it plummets into our western twilight on its way to inferior conjunction on the 27th, 42m km away between the Earth and the Sun. This time, though, it sweeps 8° N of the Sun, allowing us to follow it all the way through conjunction. Indeed, it may be glimpsed as a morning star even before we lose it in the evening.

Venus (mag -4.6) is 54m km distant and 30° high in the W at sunset tonight, appearing as a 17% sunlit crescent 46 arcsec wide through a telescope, or even just binoculars. By the 22nd, it is 10° high at sunset, only 2% illuminated and its 59 arcsec sliver might even be glimpsed unaided by the keenest of eyes. It falls to only 4° high at sunset by the 27th but stands higher than this in the E at sunrise from the 18th onwards. Do not risk your eyesight by trying to spot Venus when any part of the Sun is above the horizon.

The star-spangled sky around Orion stands in the S at nightfall tonight, but is sinking towards the W by our map times. Orion's place in the S is taken by Leo which climbs from the E at nightfall and brings with it the mag 0.5 planet Saturn. The latter stands 1,256m km away at opposition next Sunday when the rings surrounding its 20 arcsec disc are tipped 3° towards us and measure 45 arcsec wide but only 2 arcsec thick. Look for Saturn in the full moon's glare two days later.

Mercury and Mars remain hidden in the morning twilight from which Jupiter (mag -2.0) is beginning to emerge when it lies to the left of the waning Moon in the 22nd. And after passing close to Saturn and Regulus in our sky last week, expect the green Comet Lulin to dim sharply this month. However, binoculars should still show it on Thursday night as its milky smudge passes 1.8° S of the Praesepe star cluster in Cancer.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 2 Mar 2009 | 12:01 am

Chinese probe crashes into moon

The Chinese lunar probe Chang'e 1 crashes into the moon in what Beijing describes as a controlled collision.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 1 Mar 2009 | 8:44 pm

Stem cell discovery ends ethical dilemma

Experts in Britain and Canada find way to make stem cells without destroying embryos

Scientists have found a way to make an almost limitless supply of stem cells that could safely be used in patients while avoiding the ethical dilemma of destroying embryos.

In a breakthrough that could have huge implications, British and Canadian scientists have found a way of reprogramming skin cells taken from adults, effectively winding the clock back on the cells until they were in an embryonic form.

The work has been hailed as a major step forward by scientists and welcomed by pro-life organisations, who called on researchers to halt other experiments which use stem cells collected from embryos made at IVF clinics.

Sir Ian Wilmut, who led the team that cloned Dolly the Sheep and heads the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at Edinburgh University where the work was done, said: "This is a significant step in the right direction. The team has made great progress and combining this work with that of other scientists working on stem cell differentiation, there is hope that the promise of regenerative medicine could soon be met."

Stem cells have the potential to be turned into any tissue in the body, an ability that has led researchers to believe they could be used to make "spare parts" to replace diseased and damaged organs and treat conditions as diverse as Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injury.

Because the cells can be made from a patient's own skin, they carry the same DNA and so could be used without a risk of being rejected by the immune system.

Scientists showed they could make stem cells from adult cells more than a year ago, but the cells could never be used in patients because the procedure involved injecting viruses that could cause cancer. Overcoming the problem has been a major stumbling block in efforts to make stem cells fulfil their promise of transforming the future of medicine.

Now, scientists at the universities of Edinburgh and Toronto have found a way to achieve the same feat without using viruses, making so-called induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell therapies a realistic prospect for the first time.

In 2007, researchers in Japan and America announced they had turned adult skin cells into stem cells by injecting them with a virus carrying four extra genes. Because the virus could accidentally switch on cancer genes, the cells would not be safe enough to use in patients.

In two papers published in the journal Nature, Keisuke Kaji in Edinburgh and Andras Nagy in Toronto, describe how they reprogrammed cells using a safer technique called electroporation. This allowed the scientists to do away with viruses and ferry genes into the cells through pores. Once the genes had done their job, the scientists removed them, leaving the cells healthy and intact.

Tests on stem cells made from human and mouse cells showed they behaved in the same as embryonic stem cells.

"I was very excited when I found stem cell-like cells in my culture dishes. Nobody, including me, thought it was really possible," said Kaji. "It is a step towards the practical use of reprogrammed cells in medicine, perhaps even eliminating the need for human embryos as a source of stem cells."

Nagy said: "We hope that these stem cells will form the basis for treatment for many diseases and conditions that are currently considered incurable. We have found a highly efficient and safe way to create new cells for the human body which avoids the challenge of immune rejection."

Josephine Quintavalle from the lobby group Comment on Reproductive Ethics, which opposes embryonic stem cell research, said: "What we've got here is something that will bring joy to the pro-life movement, a way of obtaining embryonic-type stem cells without having to destroy human embryos.

"There are some scientists who like to hold on to what they've got, but I don't think people are going to waste time on embryonic stem cells any more. Half of Europe is opposed to embryonic stem cell research. Ideally you want something that everybody can use without any problems. This is definitely a very, very promising way forward and a very promising solution to the embryonic stem cell battle."

It would be some time before the cells could be used in patients, Wilmut said, because scientists have yet to find reliable ways of making different tissues from stem cells.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 1 Mar 2009 | 6:22 pm

Stem cell breakthrough now goes one step further (AFP)

AFP - Pioneering work by Japanese stem-cell researchers two years ago has taken a major step forward, helping the quest for versatile, grow-in-a-dish transplant tissue, according to papers published on Sunday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Mar 2009 | 6:20 pm

Explorers begin epic Arctic trek

A British team has begun a gruelling trek to the North Pole to discover how quickly the Arctic sea-ice is melting
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 1 Mar 2009 | 6:13 pm

Women More Religious Than Men (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - A new analysis of survey data finds women pray more often then men, are more likely to believe in God, and are more religious than men in a variety of other ways.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Mar 2009 | 4:30 pm

China lunar probe mission ends with planned crash (AP)

AP - China's lunar probe crashed into the moon Sunday in a controlled collision at the end of a 16-month mission, state media reported.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Mar 2009 | 3:57 pm

Unemployed besiege British zoo seeking summer jobs (AP)

AP - The jobs are temporary, at basic wages, and some involve cleaning up after zoo animals. But Britain is suffering a recession, so when the help-wanted ads appeared, about 3,000 people applied, including laid-off executives and company bosses.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Mar 2009 | 3:48 pm

Archaeologists rediscover lost Egyptian tomb

CAIRO (Reuters) - Belgian archaeologists have rediscovered an ancient Egyptian tomb that had been lost for decades under sand, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosni said on Sunday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 1 Mar 2009 | 2:36 pm

DNA reveals Roots author Alex Haley had Scottish blood

DNA evidence reveals that bestselling Roots author Alex Haley was descended from a Scotsman.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 1 Mar 2009 | 1:43 pm

Islam's evolutionary legacy

As we celebrate Darwin, let's not forget the unsung champions of evolution from the Muslim world

Last month, scientists from around the world partied into the small hours on the 200th anniversary of the birth of Darwin.

But as we celebrate the work of one of the most influential scientists ever, let's take a moment or two to remember others who contributed ideas in the history of evolutionary thought. Many came from Britain as well as other countries in Europe. Others came from further afield, and their writings are increasingly coming to light thanks to the painstaking work of historians of science, and historians of ideas.

One of them is an East African writer based in Baghdad in the 9th century called al-Jahiz. In a book describing the characteristics of animals, he remarked:

"Animals engage in a struggle for existence, and for resources, to avoid being eaten, and to breed." He added, "Environmental factors influence organisms to develop new characteristics to ensure survival, thus transforming them into new species. Animals that survive to breed can pass on their successful characteristics to their offspring."

Or there's Muhammad al-Nakhshabi, a scholar from 10th century central Asia. He wrote: "While man has sprung from sentient creatures [animals], these have sprung from vegetal beings [plants], and these in turn from combined substances; these from elementary qualities, and these [in turn] from celestial bodies."

In their excellent Darwin's Sacred Cause: Race, Slavery and the Quest for Human Origins, Adrian Desmond and James Moore describe how Darwin and his family were influenced by the anti-slavery movement, and they explore the extent to which these ideas, in turn, influenced his own thinking – especially on the idea of the connectedness of humanity.

A parallel line of argument can also be found from a Spanish philosopher from the 12th century. His name is Muhammad ibn Arabi and he developed an idea that his translators called the "unity of existence". He believed that all living matter is connected. And many commentators now think that this was his way of showing that within humanity, there can be no outsiders or "others".

These ideas were later taken up in the writings of Indian-born philosopher-poet Muhammad Iqbal in the early 20th century. We also know that Iqbal had been reading Darwin and wanted to find a way of synthesising the latest ideas from biological science with earlier Islamic-era philosophy. Iqbal today is revered throughout South Asia and also happens to be Pakistan's national poet.

Why is it important to emphasise links between Darwin, and thinking on evolution in other cultures?

One reason is that in many developing countries today, Darwin – and by extension evolution – are seen as being in the service of imperialism. This is partly because of the period in which Darwin lived and worked, but also because of a perception that Darwin's ideas were used by colonialists to provide "scientific" justification for empire.

Another reason comes from the rise of creationism. I've just finished work on a new documentary series for BBC radio 4 on science and Islam in the modern world. One thing I didn't expect to find was the extent to which creationism poses a risk to what is otherwise more encouraging news: that after decades of neglect, interest and investment in science and learning in Islamic countries is on an upward trajectory.

Many countries are building more universities and opening doors for young people to embark on PhDs. Progress, however, will be slower if more start believing that scientific knowledge can be found in the pages of sacred texts; or if they devote time and energy getting sucked into anti-evolution campaigns.

Instead, if today's young scientists could just take a peek into the history of science in Islamic cultures, they would see a respectable tradition of thinking, debate and argument on the origins of life and the evolution of species.

The irony in all this is that creationism did not exist as a significant movement during the heyday of Islamic civilisation. Back when Baghdad was a centre for advanced learning, scientists did not spend hours examining passages of revelation to see if they compare with observed knowledge of the natural world.

Instead, they went out and tried to discover things for themselves.

Islam and Science is on BBC Radio 4 at 9pm on Monday 2 March. It is also available to download on BBC i-player.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 1 Mar 2009 | 1:00 pm

China's lunar probe ends mission

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's lunar probe has ended its 16-month life with a planned crash into the moon, the official Xinhua news agency said on Sunday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 1 Mar 2009 | 12:29 pm