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How Hyenas 'Inherit' Their Social StatusScientists have now answered the question how social status is inherited in one of the most social of all mammals, the spotted hyena. The scientists used observations during the last 20 years of rare cases of adoption among hyenas in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater in Tanzania in combination with the latest molecular techniques to identify genetic mothers to demonstrate that hyena mothers pass on their social status by supporting their young during social interactions with other group members.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 8 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am Less Nitrogen Could Increase Profit, SustainabilityMore fertilizer doesn't always mean more profit. Research results suggest that when managing fields with relatively high nitrogen levels, farmers could benefit economically from reduced nitrogen fertilization rates.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 8 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am Arthritis Hinders Physical Activity For Adults With Heart DiseaseArthritis affects more than half of adults with heart disease and appears to be a substantial barrier to utilizing physical activity to help manage their condition, according to a new study. According to the Arthritis Foundation, the study underscores the importance of physical activity in effective management for adults with both arthritis and heart disease.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 8 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am Promising Target To Treat Chronic Abdominal PainHigh levels of a protein linked to the way pain signals are sent to the brain led to a decrease in abdominal pain in a recent study in mice. Researchers say the finding suggests the protein might someday serve as the basis of new treatments for chronic pain associated with a number of bowel disorders.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 8 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am Alcohol Abuse May Lead To Depression Risk, Rather Than Vice VersaA statistical modeling study suggests that problems with alcohol abuse may lead to an increased risk of depression, as opposed to the reverse model in which individuals with depression self-medicate with alcohol, according to a new report.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 8 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am Origins Of Pompeii-style Artifacts ExaminedRoman artifacts which are nearly two thousand years old with similarities to ancient remains found at Pompeii in Italy have been examined at the Science and Technology Facilities Council's ISIS neutron source.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 8 Mar 2009 | 4:00 am 'Silver Nanoparticle' Microscope May Shed New Light On Cancer, Bone DiseasesIn a finding that could help speed the understanding of diseases ranging from cancer to osteoporosis, researchers are reporting development of a new microscope technique that uses "silver nanoparticle" mirrors to reveal hidden details inside bones, cancer cells, and other biological structures. The method also can help identify structural damage in a wide variety of materials, including carbon-fiber plastics used in airplanes, the researchers say.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm Bizarre Bird Behavior Predicted By Game TheoryA team of scientists has used game theory to explain the bizarre behavior of a group of ravens. Juvenile birds from a roost in North Wales have been observed adopting the unusual strategy of foraging for food in 'gangs'. New research explains how this curious behavior can be predicted by adapting models more commonly used by economists to analyze financial trends. This is the first time game theory has been used to successfully predict novel animal behavior in the real world.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm New Tool Guides Doctors To Save Cancer Patients' FertilityThe powerful chemotherapy and radiation used to save cancer patients' lives can also destroy their fertility. Research in a new field called oncofertility has advanced the ability of doctors to preserve the reproductive health of cancer patients. Yet, many oncologists aren't familiar with these new strategies. Oncofertility scientists have written a guide to help doctors navigate their patients through the new technologies to preserve their fertility and understand the fertility threats posed by cancer treatments.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm Health Is Going High Tech WIth Camera Pills, Health Sensors And Ultrasound Maps For SurgeonsCamera pills and ultrasound creating maps of the body: health has become high technology. Scientists have created a new IT-base window on the inside of the body, a window that makes a patient transparent on a screen when a surgeon inserts operating instruments through small openings in the abdominal wall.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 10:00 pm Stem-cell policy change liberating to researchers (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 11:15 am Obama to reverse Bush limits on stem-cell research (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:57 am Nasa launches search for second EarthThe US space agency's first mission to look for habitable, Earth-sized planets has begun The launch of the Kepler spacecraft from Cape Canaveral in Florida today marks the beginning of the most ambitious hunt for planets like ours in distant solar systems. The Kepler telescope will spend three-and-a-half years staring deep into a starry region of the Milky Way, in the direction of the constellations Cygnus and Lyra, in the hope of spotting Earth-sized planets as they pass in front of their stars. Every half hour, Kepler will record the brightness of 100,000 stars using a 95 megapixel camera built by the British firm e2v. The camera is so sensitive, it could spot the imperceptible dimming of a car headlight as a fly wanders across it. The mission will focus its attention on planets in the "Goldilocks region" of space, where conditions are just right for liquid water to exist. Some of these worlds could potentially be home to life as we know it. By the end of the mission, we may have a clearer idea of our place in the universe, and whether warm, wet rocks like Earth are the exception rather than the rule. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 7 Mar 2009 | 8:18 am NASA planet hunter rockets into space (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 6:01 am Feds OK gray wolves' removal from endangered list (AP)AP - Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said Friday he was upholding the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's decision to remove gray wolves from the federal endangered list in the Northern Rockies and the western Great Lakes.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:49 am Kepler Spacecraft Blasts Off to Hunt Earth-Like Worlds (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - NASA's new planet-hunting Kepler telescope launched into space late Friday, lighting up the night sky above Florida as it began an ambitious mission to seek out Earth-like planets around alien stars.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 5:30 am NASA launches telescope to scout for EarthsCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA launched a pioneering telescope on Friday to survey a corner of the galaxy in hopes of learning if other planets like Earth exist.Source: Reuters: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 4:22 am Nasa launches Earth hunter probeA Nasa mission carrying a telescope to search the sky for Earth-like planets launches from Cape Canaveral in Florida.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 7 Mar 2009 | 3:50 am Obama toughens US line against whaling (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 7 Mar 2009 | 3:23 am Kepler Planet Hunter Launches Into SpaceThe Kepler space telescope rockets into space on a voyage to find Earthly worlds.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 7 Mar 2009 | 1:07 am 'She lives! Let's go find planets!': Telescope Launch Successful
The Kepler Space Telescope is the first human tool that will be able to find planets capable of supporting life as we know it. Its initial launch went exactly was planned, with the @NASA twitter feed declaring it, "A perfect launch!" NASA Headquarters sent out a release at 1:00 am in which Kepler's project manager drew attention not just to the launch, but the telescope's ultimate mission. "It was a stunning launch," said Kepler Project Manager James Fanson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our team is Excitement about the launch had been running high both because of the special nature of Kepler's science program — what one NASA scientist called trying to find "E.T.'s home" — and the failure of NASA's last satellite launch. "It's not just another science mission. This one has historical significance built into it," Ed Weiler of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA headquarters said at a press conference Thursday. After sad drama of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory, which failed to reach orbit aboard a Taurus rocket, the Kepler launch was all sunshine and sparkles. The final separation of the spacecraft and its rocket occurred right on schedule, with the voice of the NASA launch saying, with barely contained excitement, "At 64 minutes 30 seconds into the flight, we've just received positive confirmation of spacecraft separation." After that, there was only one step left: making contact with her handlers at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado. The signal came through right on time and NASA folks finally began to celebrate. "She lives! Let's go find planets!" tweeted S. Pete Worden, head of NASA Ames, which co-managed the project. Space-lovers watched the launch live in Florida — and across the country via NASA's streaming feed. Perhaps the best way to capture the moment of the launch is to watch the video that @DaveFlys shot on his cell phone and posted on Twitter. It's simple — just a camera pointed at the distant launch pad — but you can hear the awe of the people around him as they watch the rocket ascend into the heights that humans can reach. Here at Wired Science, we liveblogged and Twittered the event. You can find all that archived below, along with updates from NASA and other Twitterers. 11:10 PM: Awesome launch pics from Twitterers:
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11:05 PM: @NASA says, "Kepler's second stage cut off as scheduled at 10:02 after launch, and the spacecraft has started a 40-minute coast phase. A perfect launch!" Now we wait. 10:57 PM: So far, so very good. Actual times for major mission events are all within a second of predicted times seven minutes into the flight. 10:51 PM: The Delta rocket burning fuel at incredible rate. Kepler and its rocket weigh half of what they did at liftoff. T+2 10:49 PM: A light goes screaming across the sky. #kepler T+1 Everything going as planned so far. 10:48 PM: "Kepler spacecraft is go." T minus 2. 10:46 PM: The count picks up at T-4. Everything has been "picture perfect" so far. Everything is a go. Permission has been granted to proceed into the terminal count. 10:36 PM: The mission heads into its final "hold." When they come out of it in about eight minutes, we'll be just a few minutes from launch. The rocket steams into the night, beautifully lit like a scientific Disneyland. Meanwhile, an ad flashes across uStream for the Rachel Ray Diet. I think, "This is why people love space. It's pure." 10:33 PM: NASA launch folks running through their checklists. This is the apotheosis of the, "Wallet, keys, cell phone" check. 10:22 PM: At T-30, all systems are looking good. The official NASA organs say, "Weather is a go. Range is a go." The Delta II rocket has been filled with fuel and is ready to fly. @NASA says, "The candle is lit." There was an enormous amount of traditional and social media coverage. We've aggregated tweets for you in two ways. On the left you see a small selection of people who are live-tweeting the event. On the right is a river of all Kepler tweets.
Image: Carleton Bailie, United Launch Alliance. Official launch photo via @VeronicaMcG. See Also:
WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal's Twitter , Google Reader feed, and project site, Inventing Green: the lost history of American clean tech; Wired Science on Facebook.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 6 Mar 2009 | 11:58 pm Watchmen: The Science of Dr. ManhattanNewsarama talks with Dr. James Kaklios, scientific adviser to Watchmen about the possible explanations for Dr. Manhattan's powersSource: Livescience.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 11:36 pm Organism Sets Mutation Speed Record, May Explain Life's Origins
An uber-primitive plant pathogen made from naked strands of genetic material mutates faster than any other known organism — and it might just illuminate the origins of life. Called hammerhead viroids, their mutation rates are orders of magnitude more rapid than those of viruses, the next-most-primitive organisms, which are orders of magnitude more rapid than lowly bacteria. In less academic terms, the hammerhead viroid blueprint of life is being constantly redrawn. Such accelerated mutation could have been useful four billion years ago, after a few quirky chemicals assembled into ribonucleic acid, or RNA — DNA's single-stranded forerunner.
Whether hammerhead viroids are descended from replicons isn't known. But in a study published Thursday in Science, University of Valencia plant biologists led by Rafael Sanjuan say the viroids at least resemble that long-lost link in the evolutionary chian. Their traits could explain how RNA learned to make proteins — the next critical step towards self-assembling DNA and the complex life that flowed from it. And no other hammerhead viroid trait is more remarkable than its mutation rate. "It's extremely high," said Irene Chen, a Harvard University systems biologist who studies the evolution of molecules. Chen was not involved in the study . "It's right at the Eigen error threshold" — the mutation rate at which replication becomes intrinsically self-destructive because every copy is so error-ridden. Sanjuan's team used an ingenious trick to quantify the viroids' mutation rate: they measured their death rate. Hammerhead viroids rely on a 15-molecule structure called the ribozyme to finalize copies of themselves. If a transcription error affects certain parts of the ribozyme, further replication is impossible. By counting non-replicating viroids in each generation, the researchers calculated that replication produces roughly one mutation for every 400 pieces of RNA. Such rates produce plenty of haywire copies, a dilemma solved by evolution in two ways: viroids are small, and endowed with prodigious powers of replication. Their tiny genome means viroids inherit one mistake at a time. And they make so many copies of themselves that it doesn't matter when some are nonviable. Others will succeed — and perhaps improve on the original. "Error correction mechanisms that reduced mutation rates and allowed replicons to increase their size" probably came next, said Sanjuan. Chen called an improved ribozyme the "smoking gun" of RNA world evolution. Tantalizingly, she said, it appears that ribosomes — cellular components that assemble simple amino acids into complicated chains — "are just ribozymes, fancily decorated by proteins." The replicons' updated ribozymes, then, may have led to protein-making RNA, which in turn gave rise to DNA, the ultra-efficient biological information carrier that made it possible for complex life to evolve. But where did replicons come from? Hammerhead viroids can't tell us — but replicons may well be the product of non-biological evolution. "Evolutionary dynamics are a universal principle. They can operate with whatever is at hand," said Harvard University evolutionary biologist Martin Nowak after an earlier study on the original formation of RNA. All that's needed, he said, "is some chemical system that produces all sorts of chemicals, and some have the property of forming strings." Citation: "Extremely High Mutation Rate of a Hammerhead Viroid." By Selma Gago, Santiago F. Elena, Ricardo Flores, Rafael Sanjuán. Science, Vol. 323 Iss. 5919, March 5, 2009. Images: WikiMedia Commons / Science See Also:
Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 6 Mar 2009 | 11:24 pm Obama 'to reverse stem cell ban'President Barack Obama is to lift restrictions on US funding for research on human embryonic stem cells, reports say.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Mar 2009 | 11:08 pm NASA: Wednesday night shuttle launch is official (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Mar 2009 | 10:25 pm Musicians Read Emotions Better (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - That soulful singer and expressive guitarist really are more tapped into their feelings than the rest of us. New research shows that people with musical training are better at reading emotion in sound.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Mar 2009 | 9:15 pm NASA clears Discovery for liftoff on WednesdayCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA managers on Friday cleared the space shuttle Discovery for launch Wednesday on a construction mission to the International Space Station.Source: Reuters: Science News | 6 Mar 2009 | 9:03 pm Napolitano takes helicopter tour of Miss. coast (AP)AP - A helicopter tour Friday of Mississippi's coast convinced Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano that the area appears to be on a faster track to recovery from Hurricane Katrina than New Orleans is 3 1/2 years after the storm.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Mar 2009 | 8:29 pm Focusing on Sexual Desire Can Ruin ItWomen who pay too much attention to their performance during sex could be inhibiting sexual desire.Source: Livescience.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 8:00 pm Indonesian Rhinos Caught Taking Mud BathNewly released footage shows elusive Javan rhinos wallowing in the mud in Indonesia.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 6 Mar 2009 | 7:07 pm Seven New Coral Species ID'd Off HawaiiSeven new species of bamboo coral are discovered deep in the ocean off Hawaii.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 6 Mar 2009 | 6:07 pm OPEC rubbishes IEA on oil prices (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Mar 2009 | 5:47 pm SLIDE SHOW: The Week's Top StoriesBrowse through images of some of the week's top stories.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 6 Mar 2009 | 5:07 pm Musicians Read Emotions BetterNew research shows that people with musical training are better at reading emotion in sound.Source: Livescience.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 4:17 pm Italy revives Sicily bridge planItaly's government revives plans to build a controversial bridge to Sicily as part of a massive public works project.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Mar 2009 | 3:56 pm New Antarctic Fish Species DiscoveredResearchers find previously unknown species of fish in little explored part of Antarctica Ocean.Source: Livescience.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 3:20 pm Alien World Conditions Explored -- on EarthScientists on Earth explore how matter might behave on far away planets.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 6 Mar 2009 | 3:02 pm Illinois declares that Pluto is still a planetThree years ago, the astronomy community voted to downsize the solar system by revoking Pluto's planetary status. Now the land of Lincoln is fighting back Every now and then a story comes along that seems to be true in spite of every cell in your brain telling you it can't be. Welcome to one of those stories. In their wisdom, the IAU came up with a new class of heavenly body, "dwarf planet", which would include Pluto. Dwarf planets, incidentally, are not planets that are dwarfy. They are something completely different, the IAU said. The new definition was such a kluge that the chair of the IAU's own planet definition committee, Owen Gingerich, said:
It seems that the insult to Pluto has been too much to bear for the good people of Illinois. State documents declare that Pluto was unfairly downgraded, and that the decision to demote the poor planet resulted from a vote involving only 4% of the IAU membership. As such, the Illinois state governors have resolved to take action and reinstate Pluto as a planet. What's more, they have announced their intention to name Friday 13 March 2009 "Pluto Day", to mark its discovery in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh, who happened to be born on a farm in the state. It's all wonderful, if deeply baffling stuff. Why is this happening? Whatever your views on Pluto's rightful status, it's heartening to see that the fate of that small rock, and so the size of the solar system, is still up in the air. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:45 pm Can a Comedian Take Over the Space Station?Comedian Stephen Colbert jumps into NASA's space station naming contest.Source: Livescience.com | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:37 pm 'Invisibility Cloak' Directs Light Away From EyeA new light-bending material could make objects invisible and improve solar panels.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:33 pm Tropical Turtle Fossil Found in the ArcticThe finding of a tropical turtle in the Arctic suggests the region was once much balmier.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 6 Mar 2009 | 2:04 pm UK's top young scientists namedThe first UK science competition for teenagers names its young scientist and young technologist of the year.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Mar 2009 | 1:51 pm Advertising Transforms Lab Machine Into Killer Ninja RobotGenetics research is pretty exciting, but it would be far more entertaining if lab instruments could transform into killer robots. In the real world, DNA copying machines, perform a tremendously mundane task, repeatedly heating and cooling little vials of liquid. But in this viral ad, made by a marketing team that calls itself Bison, the latest product from Roche has ninja skills and a penchant for blowing things up. And it wants revenge. "Roche wanted to do something big," says Tyler Kay, the founder of Bison. "Why not turn their Real-Time PCR thermal cycler into an ass-kicking robot?" Since 2005, instrument companies have embraced viral advertising, filming a Monty Python spoof to sell chromatography equipment, and music videos to promote biotech products. Bison works its movie magic for companies that advertise on Biocompare, a product review site for life science researchers. Several of their best clips are about the polymerase chain reaction, or PCR, which allows researchers to make perfect copies of DNA by mixing it with some chemical building blocks and a special enzyme, before heating it and cooling the brew repeatedly. "We launched our Bio-Rad PCR music video a year ago and it's had about 1.5 million views," says Kay. "Our boy band music video for Eppendorf, launched last June, has also had over a million views." See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 6 Mar 2009 | 1:35 pm Getting to know youDon't be put off by dubious pop-psychology, writes Oliver Burkeman - there's a fascinating world inside your own head waiting to be discovered "The purpose of psychology is to give us a completely different idea of the things we know best," wrote the French philosopher Paul Valery. But we often resist: we imagine we already know ourselves and those closest to us perfectly well enough. The history of psychology is littered with experiments in which ordinary people behave in bizarre, irrational, sometimes hilarious and occasionally terrifying ways. Yet who wants to believe they'd do so themselves? Sure, 65% of the participants in Stanley Milgram's infamous studies on obedience were willing to deliver what they thought were dangerous electric shocks to members of the public, just because a man in a lab coat urged them to do so - but you probably think you'd have been one of the hold-outs. Other research indicates that people respond more positively to a romantic overture from a stranger when it occurs on a wobbly bridge, rather than solid ground; that they're likelier to trust a salesperson who's mirroring their physical movements; or that when they've accidentally bought non-refundable tickets to two clashing events, they'll usually decide to attend the more expensive one, not the one they expect to enjoy more. But that's them, not us, right? Look beneath the surface, though, and this confidence in our own self-knowledge and common sense soon gives way to insecurity; the ever-increasing market in books on self-improvement and happiness is testament to that. The shelves of British bookshops heave with good science and pseudoscience, marvellous advice and terrible advice, contributions from professional academics, Buddhist monks, therapists, hypnotists, philosophers, business gurus, novelists, film stars, and Noel Edmonds. Oh, and Rhonda Byrne, the Australian television producer whose book The Secret - a partly mystical and entirely ridiculous guide to obtaining sports cars and piles of cash by the power of thought alone - has become one of the bestselling books of all time. It's easy to see the pop-psychology phenomenon as a depressing symptom of a sad, needy, alienated society: why are we so desperate for advice and consolation, and why can't we find it from friends and family? Besides, plenty of the factual claims you'll find between self-help covers are factually wrong, or unproven at best. For example, we don't use only 10% of our brain's capacity, as fist-pumping motivational coaches like to claim. And yet a cynical dismissal of the entire sector misses something profoundly exhilarating about it all. We're lucky, for example, to be living in the era of "positive psychology", a movement among experimental psychologists to broaden the discipline's focus beyond disease - to investigate what's happening not just when things go wrong with the human mind, but when The online culture of "lifehacking" explores tips and tricks for maximising happiness and productivity, treating the mind like a children's chemistry set, ripe for tinkering. And the explosion in the popularity of books on happiness signals a refreshing shift towards honesty. All we've ever wanted is to feel happy; after all, that's what motivates hedge fund managers and aid workers alike. Perhaps we're just getting less secretive about it. This two-part guide, free in the Guardian tomorrow and in the Observer on Sunday, offer entry into the fascinating world inside your own head, and the heads of those with whom you share a home and a workplace. They won't tell you how to think your way to a fortune, or how to develop irresistible charisma using only the power of affirmation. But experiment after experiment has concluded that learning how the mind works is the best antidote to the irrational and self-defeating cognitive glitches to which we're prone: once you know how easily we succumb to groupthink, or foolishly worry about one-in-a-million aeroplane crashes rather than road accidents, or obey men wearing lab coats, it's easier not to do so. Can you also use the information contained herein for more Machiavellian purposes: getting people to buy you things, fall in love with you, or otherwise do what you want? We make no such claims, and cannot be held responsible for the results. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 6 Mar 2009 | 12:50 pm
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