Using Tools Requires That Brain Is Able To Control Movements

Our ability to use objects and tools to perform actions is essential to our daily activities, and it is developed to a level that is unique to our species. Researchers have found that brain-lesioned patients who have difficulties using familiar objects and tools in their usual context (e.g. cutting paper with scissors) may also be impaired at controlling the movement of an object in the context of simpler movements such as pointing at a target.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm

Guam Rhino Beetles Got Rhythm

In May 2008 the island of Guam became a living laboratory for scientists as they attached acoustic equipment to coconut trees in order to listen for rhinoceros beetles.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm

Dark Hair? Don't Burn? Your Genes May Still Put You At Risk For Melanoma

New genetic research suggests that the traditional risk factors for melanoma may not be as helpful in predicting risk in all people as previously thought.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm

New Drug To Target Tumor Cells And Blood Vessels

Researchers have identified a new drug compound that appears to target tumor cells and surrounding blood vessels without the negative side effects typically associated with Cox-2 inhibitors.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm

Two Highly Complex Organic Molecules Detected In Space

Scientists have detected two of the most complex molecules yet discovered in interstellar space: ethyl formate and n-propyl cyanide. Their computational models of interstellar chemistry also indicate that yet larger organic molecules may be present -- including the so-far elusive amino acids, which are essential for life.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm

Ultrasound Imaging Now Possible With Smartphone

Computer engineers are bringing the minimalist approach to medical care and computing by coupling USB-based ultrasound probe technology with a smartphone, enabling a compact, mobile computational platform and a medical imaging device that fits in the palm of a hand.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm

Charred Meat May Increase Risk Of Pancreatic Cancer

Meat cooked at high temperatures to the point of burning and charring may increase the risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a new report.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm

Pesticide Exposure Found To Increase Risk Of Parkinson's Disease

A new epidemiological study by scientists in California establishes a link between early exposure to pesticides and the neurodegenerative process that leads to Parkinson's disease in humans.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm

Secret To Night Vision Found In DNA's Unconventional 'Architecture'

Researchers have discovered an important element for making night vision possible in nocturnal mammals: the DNA within the photoreceptor rod cells responsible for low light vision is packaged in a very unconventional way, according to a new article. That special DNA architecture turns the rod cell nuclei themselves into tiny light-collecting lenses, with millions of them in every nocturnal eye.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm

Personalized Medicine Helps Cancer Patients Survive

Cancer patients can survive longer under treatments based on their individual genetic profiles, according to a nationwide study. The study shows that molecular profiling of patients can identify specific treatments for individuals, helping keep their cancer in check for significantly longer periods and in some cases even shrinking tumors.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm

New York touts climate-saving plan to lock away CO2 (AFP)

AFP - Scientists in New York have touted an experimental plan to lock carbon dioxide gasses underground and prevent big polluters like China and the United States from wrecking the world's climate.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:05 pm

Gene Studies Reveal Cancer's Secrets (HealthDay)

HealthDay - TUESDAY, April 21 (HealthDay News) -- A close look at a tumor's or patient's genetics can provide important, potentially lifesaving clues to preventing and treating cancer.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:03 pm

Success Stories: Cleaning Up Planet Earth (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Cleaner air, cleaner water and cleaner-burning gasoline - which means less brain-toxic lead in our blood - are the major achievements of the modern environmental movement, but global climate change looms as the elephant in the living room, experts say.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:52 pm

Simulated brain closer to thought

A detailed simulation of one region of the brain is built molecule by molecule, and put in to a "virtual body".
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:46 pm

Is Modern Society Ruining Childhood?

If a carefree childhood is a goal, Western society seems to be failing miserably.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:43 pm

Success Stories: Cleaning Up Planet Earth

Cleaner air, cleaner water and cleaner-burning gasoline are environmentalism's successes, but global climate change looms.
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:33 pm

Afghanistan's First National Park Protects Deep Blue Lakes

Six deep blue lakes separated by natural dams made of the rich red rock travertine are protected
Source: Livescience.com | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:25 pm

Japan mulls satellite for missile launch detection

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is mulling an early warning satellite that can detect missile launches, a government official said Wednesday, amid worries about North Korea's missile power.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:11 pm

Big pharma tries to sugar the pill

The pharmaceuticals industry needs to rebuild its image with a public sceptical of science and genetically modified crops, and at Bayer they are trying to do just that

Big Pharma is in the throes of convulsive change. A spate of multibillion mergers and acquisitions in the past few months is transforming the landscape, with this week's $3.6bn (£2.5bn) takeover of Stiefel by GlaxoSmithKline the latest and certainly not the last.

It's a truism among analysts that this huge restructuring is driven, primarily, by a dearth of new blockbusting drugs in the pipeline of the biggest pharma groups, which are being forced to buy up innovation via smart start-ups and/or generic drugs companies.

But on the day GSK made its latest foray under its new chief Andrew Whitty, Wolfgang Plischke, board member for innovation, technology and environment at Bayer, pointed to a deeper set of trends. Over lunch in the German group's HQ overlooking a Japanese water garden, we discussed a growing public distaste for, nay dislike of, science and a "war for scarce talent" as young people turned their backs on it.

"I don't expect there'll be a change in public opinion in the next five to 10 years," he said.

But echoing the famous aphorism of the Italian Marxist Antonio Gramsci – "pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will" – Plischke, an ultra-lean 57-year-old biologist keen on endurance sports, is convinced the industry – and science – can overcome their poor reputation and image.

Bayer, forever associated with aspirin, is in common with all companies buffeted or bulldozered by the recession reinventing itself. Its material science division, worth 30% of annual group turnover of around €32bn (£28bn) a year, has been harmed by plummeting demand in the car and construction sectors – as will be evidenced in first-quarter figures due on 29 April.

The business is branching out into "eco-commercial" buildings such as a new admin centre near Delhi in India, which will take much of its power and air-conditioning from a huge array of solar panels on its roof.

"The government has just committed more than €3bn to a second phase of its car scrappage scheme," said Bayer spokesman Michael Preuss. "But nobody is talking about insulating our homes, which could produce far greater energy savings and CO₂ cuts."

More controversially, the German group is expanding its crop sciences division, which accounts for about 20% of group sales – with 7% of that slice coming from genetically modified seeds and plants.

This month, Berlin banned the use of GM pest-resistant corn (maize) strains made by Monsanto. Plischke is troubled by the precedent-setting decision but takes comfort from the fact that it isn't a blanket ban on all GM seeds and crops. "It has no scientific basis," he said.

Bayer is investing €650m this year on research and development for the division, of which a third goes to environmental impacts, part of an increased overall €2.9bn research budget. Bayer has set its store by a "second green revolution" after the agricultural advances of more than 30 years ago.

Aware of continuing public hostility, marshalled by environmental NGOs and arguments about the long-term safety of the food chain allegedly threatened by genetically modified organisms, Plischke still insists that the real issue is the growing threat to food security posed by climate change, growth in the global population to 7.5 billion by 2020, scarcity of agricultural land and urbanisation.

"There'll only be 0.2 hectares per head available compared with 0.5 hectares only 10 or 20 years ago," he said. "There's a crying need to improve the quality of agriculture, increase yields and invest in agricultural research. We need to develop new stress-resistant plant varieties and crop protection, plants which can grow on poor, salty soil and the like. This is just the beginning of a new era."

This new era is being trialled in a research centre in nearby Monheim, where stress tests are carried out on tomato and cucumber seedlings, wheat and rice. Bayer's motto is: science for life. But Plischke admits it's an uphill struggle to convince the public.

"The trouble is that we're trying to have a concentrated debate on scientific issues but the public debate isn't about content but values. It's really hard to discuss issues without a shared set of objectives.

"We're keen to enable younger people, the upcoming people in our society, to have the ability to understand and debate scientific issues. And, thanks to the government, the interest of young people is starting to grow again."

The company holds a series of seminars for 12 to 18-year-olds in "Baylabs", trying to overcome their initial boredom, and claims success in opening young minds to the complexities of the GM debate.

One of Plischke's main tasks is to retain and restock Bayer's 12,000-strong research staff, including growing numbers based in the Asia Pacific region he also directs. Scientific excellence is vital, he says, to maintaining Germany's industrial base ("You lost yours in Britain," he said) and government reforms have buttressed this, forging closer links between industry and academia. As much as 70% of the R&D budget is spent in Germany.

He takes issue with the analysts' view that Big Pharma is losing its innovative edge despite this investment in research and product, arguing that up top 40 new drugs are released each year now – as was the case 10 or 20 years ago.

"What's changed is the money spent and the regulatory environment. It can cost up to $1bn to develop and launch new products, compared with $300m in the 1990s, and two-thirds of that cost is on expanded clinical trials. We have to test on, say, 2,000 patients compared with 200. It can cost up to $15,000 per patient, a horrendously large amount of money."

And, he added, there were limits to the way productivity and efficiency could be raised, despite EU talks on a low-dose approach to toxicology trials, increasing the substance "library" tenfold and efforts to shorten the time before a new product is used on humans. But he admitted many pharma groups had done little or no innovation, preferring to buy in from outside. But, he said: "Our ratio of discovery to spend is one of the highest in the industry."

Pharma is a risky business – including actual or potential litigation on safety as well as the continuing threat of public hostility or indifference. Europe, once the world's pharmacy, produced seven of 10 new medicines only a decade ago; now it's three, even though the EU accounts for 35% of global output and its three biggest firms count among the top five in the world.

Bayer's healthcare division, still accounting for half its turnover and working on new drugs to combat liver cancer, is mid-sized and often linked to takeover rumours (the latest has Swiss-based Novartis as the predator). "I guess the industry is not delivering in the public's eyes," said Plischke soberly. "We have to do more to get our message across."

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:05 pm

Japanese fleet sets sail to hunt 60 minke whales (AFP)

AFP - Japan launched a whaling mission on Wednesday with the target of killing 60 minke whales for what the government calls research, drawing immediate protests from environmentalists.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:05 pm

SLIDE SHOW: On Earth Day, a Bird's-Eye View

Earth-observing satellites offer a fresh window to the planet's changing landscape.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 22 Apr 2009 | 12:00 pm

Are ants better than people at finding a home?

The house-hunting techniques of ants are revealed by Bristol researchers who attached radio tags to the insects.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:25 am

The downside of religious belonging

Research into the effects of group belonging suggests that its powerful binding effects may have a darker aspect

Madeleine Bunting, like many others, is fed up with the New Atheists, the media attention their best-selling books have garnered, and the debates they have re-ignited. I am not. I read Dawkins, Dennett, Harris and Hitchens, and mostly find myself nodding in agreement. Unsurprisingly, I disagree with a lot of what Bunting has written about religion and atheism, old and new. Yet I also sympathise with some of the points Bunting makes, along with Karen Armstrong and John Gray whom she approvingly cites.

Aside from the alleged intellectual arrogance and hubris of the New Atheists, Bunting has another beef. This issue is not about whether the empirical and logical arguments of the New Atheists are sound, but how these thinkers see religion in the world of real people, and how they approach religion as target of criticism.

Bunting endorses Karen Armstrong's claim that "We need to get away from the endless discussion about wretched beliefs; religion is about doing – and what every faith makes clear is that the doing is about compassion". So let's abandon talk of "wretched beliefs" for the moment, and look at "religion as doing". The first question is what religion does, and what it's for. Armstrong suggests that it facilitates, and perhaps underscores, compassion. That's a tidy and pleasing answer, but the truth is likely to be a lot more complex.

Some of this complexity is brought out by recent work in social and moral psychology. The nature of religious belief is in many ways similar to moral belief. For a start, while some general moral prohibitions probably have their origins in an innate, emotionally driven aversion to harming or killing other people, many specific and sometimes culturally localised moral norms are picked up through socialisation and participation in daily social life, like religious beliefs.

And just as religious belief is not fundamentally about uncovering objective truths about the nature of the universe (though it does, of course, make such claims too), our moral psychology is not concerned with revealing universal and eternal moral verities. Both religion and morality are about "social doing" rather than "truth finding"; practice rather than propositions.

So what are the social effects of moral and religious systems, and what sorts of behaviours do they promote? The relevant empirical work on these questions is in its early stages, but there are already some telling results (incidentally, it is this sort of potentially taboo-breaking empirical research that New Atheist authors such as Dan Dennett call for, and which is required for the sort of conversation Bunting and Armstrong want to have). Our moral sense is often focused on certain groups of people, and our moral resources of empathy and compassion are not invested in everyone equally. Though we are clearly capable of signing up to universally applicable ethical precepts, we often practice a particularly parochial from of moral concern.

Similar results have been found for the effects of religion on prosocial or other-regarding behaviour (summarised in a recent article in Science by Ara Norenzayan and Azim Shariff). Currently available behavioural studies suggest that the effects of religion in promoting prosocial behaviour are context-dependent: they often favour those of the same religious community, are more potent when reputation can be enhanced by acting selflessly (perhaps a particular concern for the religiously devout) and are often only noticeable when reminders of religion are salient (perhaps by unconsciously priming us to feel that there is a moral deity watching over us).

There is a good case to be made that morality and religion emerged over evolutionary and historical time for similar reasons: both can help bind communities together by nurturing other-regarding sentiments. And by all pulling together, humans have been able to transcend their limitations as individuals, and build on the power of cooperative human teams focused on a common goal.

This capacity to "bind and build" has made humans a global evolutionary success story. But it has a downside. When we're bound together, we form a group – our in-group – creating one or more out-groups. When the interests of groups near one another diverge, conflict arises. Indeed, it's not implausible that between-group conflict, or war, was the driving force behind the cultural evolution of moral norms promoting prosocial sentiments to people of our group. This could foster productive cooperation, and never less than when the group conflicts with the "others".

If this is on the right track, then we are a naturally groupish species sensitive to cultural distinctions between us and them. We draw a circle around an in-group deserving of our moral concern, beyond which lie out-groups to whom we are indifferent or out-rightly hostile. Both moral parochialism and religious identity can encourage amity within groups while generating enmity between groups. Religion is perhaps preeminent in its power to clearly demarcate the morally relevant in-group. While this might altruistically bind one group together into a coherent whole, it also generates another opponent for other groups to fight with.

The distinction between religious belief and religious doing (participation in community activities, communal ritual, integration and contact with like-minded believers and so on) has some interesting twists. In a study published recently in Psychological Science, Jeremy Ginges and colleagues found that attendance at religious services (a measure of group commitment) is a better predictor of support for suicide attacks against out-groups (subjects in the study were Palestinians and Israelis). The more tightly-knit the group, the narrower the focus of moral concern.

We should all welcome a serious conversation about the role and effects of "religion as doing" on social attitudes and moral behaviour. This is a crucial empirical issue, and it is not enough to merely look at religious traditions and claim that they are essentially concerned with promoting compassion, and leave it there.

Religious believers and atheists old and new must be prepared to sincerely but critically engage in this conversation. In doing so, we must not cling dogmatically to the beliefs of our "tribe", religious or atheist: we must be willing to accept that the effects of religion are not all bad (as some hardcore atheists may wish), nor all good (as defenders of religious traditions and religion as doing may wish). That said, the practice of religion may contribute less to prosociality per se and more to group commitment, which all too often goes together with powerful ethnic, nationalistic and political identities. As this, as history and contemporary events constantly remind us, is not always such a great thing.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 22 Apr 2009 | 10:00 am

Scientists find most Earth-like exoplanet ever (AFP)

AFP - Astronomers have unveiled the lightest exoplanet ever detected and, in the same distant solar system, the first "serious candidate" for a world with abundant liquid water, both conditions essential for supporting life.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 9:42 am

Scientists discover a nearly Earth-sized planet (AP)

AP - In the search for Earth-like planets, astronomers zeroed in on two places that look awfully familiar to home. One is close to the right size. The other is in the right place. European researchers said they not only found the smallest exoplanet ever, called Gliese 581 e, but realized that a neighboring planet discovered earlier, Gliese 581 d, was in the prime habitable zone for potential life.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 7:43 am

Testing terror

Watch scientists simulate truck bomb attack
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 22 Apr 2009 | 4:58 am

Smallest exoplanet found in search for Earth's twin

SANTIAGO (Reuters) - Scientists searching for a planet like Earth said on Tuesday they have found the smallest planet ever detected outside the solar system, less than twice the size of our own.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 22 Apr 2009 | 3:24 am

Pieces of Infant Solar System Found in Comet's Wake

What we know about stardust continues to get more granular, thanks to increasingly sophisticated nano-analysis of interstellar particles.

Using particles collected by NASA aircraft after the Earth passed through a comet's wake, researchers found grains of dust from the nebula out of which our solar system formed.

“We found an extraordinary wealth of primitive chemical "fingerprints", including abundant pre-solar grains, true stardust ... associated with extremely pristine organic matter that must pre-date the formation of our planets,” said Henner Busemann of the University of Manchester, who presented the results Tuesday at the European Week of Astronomy and Space Science.

The grains of dust are considered samples of our solar system's building blocks, almost like time capsules of what our neighborhood was like before the sun and planets formed four-and-a-half billion years ago. Scientists try to find the primitive materials on comets — as in the Stardust mission — but that's difficult and expensive.

In this case, Busemann's team got NASA to fly a high-altitude plane at just the time when the Earth was passing through the 26P/Grigg-Skjellerup comet.

See Also:

• Surprise! That Comet Is an Asteroid, Sort Of
• Surfing Space With Smart Dust
• Moon-Forming Planetary Collisions Rare, Astronomers Say
• Organic Building Blocks Spotted Around Distant Star

WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal's Twitter , Google Reader feed, and book site for The History of Our Future; Wired Science on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 22 Apr 2009 | 1:06 am

UK to bid for Mars sample centre

Rocks from Mars could be brought to the UK within the next 20 years, if a bid to host a study facility is successful.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:02 pm

'Missing link' fossils reveal T rex had some small ancestors

Clues to the evolution of Tyrannosaurus rex have come to light following a fossil find in China.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:02 pm

Plantwatch: Spring tide

It is breathtaking how spring suddenly bursts like a green wave over the country, and this month's blend of sunshine and showers has triggered a magnificent sight as trees and shrubs have come into leaf. The beech flush is now casting a surreal green glow on woodland floors as sunlight filters through the soft young beech leaves. After two wet summers and a soggy winter the beeches are in good health, but before then they endured years of punishing heat and droughts that stopped many from growing.

The new leaves of hornbeam have emerged and are easily mistaken for beech, although the hornbeam leaves have a toothed instead of smooth edge. Hornbeam is renowned for having the hardest wood of any tree in Europe, used for butchers' chopping blocks, cogs in mill gears and gun butts. Its male catkins also look a bit like hops, and are currently shedding their pollen. In fact, the pollen spilling from lots of trees is now creating misery for many hayfever sufferers, and the worst offender is birch pollen. April is the worst time for birch, although it goes through a 2-year cycle of greatest pollen production and this year is due to be a low pollen season.

Apart from trees, now is also the time to enjoy banks of dandelions and daisies craning their flower heads towards the sun, while bluebells, cuckoo flower, and the brilliant white star-shaped wood anemone are now blooming through the country, all of them a touch earlier than the chilly spring last year.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:01 pm

Organ donation: A delicate operation

Many more people would agree to donate the organs of a dead relative for transplant if they were approached in the right way and given more time to think about it, a study says today.

The research, published online by the British Medical Journal, suggests that better handling of this distressing situation could help solve the UK's organ transplant crisis. However, the authors warn that care must be taken to ensure relatives do not feel coerced into giving permission.

Timing is crucial, the researchers found. Family members who are asked for their permission at the moment of being told their relative is brain-dead are much more likely to refuse.

Waiting lists for transplants are long because demand far outstrips supply and, on average, one potential organ recipient dies every day while waiting for a donor. The shortfall has led to calls for an opt-out system, where everybody would be assumed to be willing to donate organs unless they specifically stated otherwise.

A recent audit of 341 deaths in intensive care units showed 41% of people refused when asked to donate their dead relative's organs, which is a necessary procedure if the deceased's wishes were unclear. But other work has shown people can change their minds. In one study, 30% of relatives said they would not refuse if they were in the same situation again, and only a few who gave consent later regretted it.

Dr Duncan Young, from the John Radcliffe hospital in Oxford, and colleagues examined findings from 20 studies on organ donation to find out what influenced relatives' decisions. Most of the studies were carried out in the US, where more work on the issue has been done and success rates tend to be higher than in the UK.

"The two factors that had the largest effect on consent rates were the person making the request and the timing of this conversation," they write in their paper.

When a doctor or nurse made the organ donation request on their own, 53% of relatives gave permission. In one of the US studies, when the request was made by a trained transplant co-ordinator, the consent rate went up to 62%. But when doctor and transplant co-ordinator made the approach together, the rate rose to 72%.

Other significant factors were ensuring that the relatives fully understood what was meant by brain-stem death and how well they thought their relative had been cared for in the hospital.

More important still, however, was the timing of the request. It could be made before brain-stem death was certified or afterwards, but relatives were most likely to refuse permission if they were asked during the conversation in which they were told their loved one had died.

The authors say a study of the best ways to persuade people to donate relatives' organs is needed - but they recognise the dangers. "The point at which fine-tuning request procedures might be considered coercion requires further discussion and clarification," they write.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:01 pm

Global warming will hit rivers in developing world hardest

Some of the mightiest rivers on the planet, including the Ganges, the Niger, and the Yellow river in China, are drying up because of climate change, a study of global waterways warned yesterday.

The study by the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Colorado found that global warming has had a far more damaging impact on rivers than had been realised and that, overwhelmingly, those rivers in highly populated areas were the most severely affected. That could threaten food and water supply to millions of people living in some of the world's poorest regions, the study warned.

"In the subtropics this [decrease] is devastating, but the continent affected most is Africa," said NCAR's Kevin Trenberth. "The prospects generally are for rainfalls, when they do occur, to be heavier and with greater risk of flooding and with longer dry spells in between, so water management becomes much more difficult."

The scientists examined recorded data and computer models of flow in 925 rivers, constituting about 73% of the world's supply of running water, from 1948-2004. It found that climate change had had an impact on about a third of the major rivers. More than twice as many rivers experienced diminished flow as a result of climate change than those that saw a rise in water levels.

In addition, those rivers that did see a rise were in sparsely populated, high latitude areas near the Arctic Ocean where there is rapid melting of ice and snow.

The authors said their study brought new clarity to an understanding of the long-term effects of climate change on waterways. "I think our study settles the question regarding long-term trends in global streamflow," said Aiguo Dai, the lead author of the report.

The greatest danger was posed to those dependent on the Niger in West Africa, the Ganges in South Asia and the Yellow river in China. The Colorado river in the US was also experiencing a drop in water levels.

Other big rivers in Asia, such as the Brahmaputra in India and the Yangtze in China, remained stable or registered an increase in flow. But the scientists said they too could begin shrinking because of the gradual disappearance of the Himalayan glaciers.

The only rivers that could gain strength from climate change were those that flow north of the 50th parallel. "Global warming raises temperature and precipitation there and it may not be a bad thing," said Dai. "However, these are sparsely populated regions."

The study found that climate change, which had disrupted rain patterns and evaporation, had a far greater and more damaging effect on the world's rivers than other human-made factors such as dams, and diverting water for irrigation. "For many of world's large rivers the effects of the human activities on yearly streamflow are likely small compared with that of climate variations during 1948-2004," the study said.

It also had a knock-on effect because the rivers empty into the world's oceans. As the rivers shrink, oceans were growing saltier. During the lifespan of the study, fresh water discharge into the Pacific ocean fell by about 6% – or roughly the annual volume of the Misssissippi.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:01 pm

Obituary: Olgierd Zienkiewicz

A civil engineer and pioneer of the finite element method

The eminent Anglo-Polish civil engineer Olgierd "Olek" Zienkiewicz, who has died aged 87, devoted his distinguished career to using a computer-based method for the design and analysis of engineered systems, such as dams, automobiles, aircraft, medical and electronic devices. The "finite element method" (FEM) of computer-aided engineering breaks down complex and apparently insoluble problems into pieces for which equations can be used to arrive at approximate solutions. Those local solutions can then be combined to arrive at global approximate solutions.

In 1961 Olek became professor and head of the civil engineering department at Swansea University. In a few years, he made it a leading centre for the research and development of FEM. Many firsts followed rapidly - including the development of new forms of elements for application to design and analysis of shell and arch dams, extension of the method to non-structural problems in fluids and electro-magnetics, and the development of practical methods for error estimation in solutions. An early use of his FEM developments was made in the design of the Clywedog dam in Mid Wales.

In 1967 Olek published The Finite Element Method in Structural and Continuum Mechanics, the first book on the subject. Five subsequent editions followed, the last consisting of three volumes devoted to basics, solid and structural applications and fluid dynamics. At the time of his death, he was working on the seventh edition. In 1968 Olek and Professor Richard Gallagher co-founded and served as chief editors of the International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering. This was the first journal devoted to the subject and still leads the field. Olek also served on the editorial board of more than 20 other journals.

He never missed an important conference (no matter where it was held), travelled to many countries and everywhere made contacts with leading scholars who became personal friends. Through these travels he recognised a need for an international organisation devoted to numerical methods, and this led to the founding in 1986 of the International Association for Computational Mechanics, which he served for four years as its first president.

Following his retirement in 1988, Olek served as director of the Institute for Numerical Methods in Engineering at Swansea and continued his research and supervision of doctoral students. In 1989 he was appointed CBE, and from that year until death he held the Unesco chair of numerical methods in engineering at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya in Barcelona. Other honours included election to fellowship of the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering.

Olek was born in Caterham, Surrey, the son of a Polish father and an English mother. When he was two, the family moved to Poland, where they remained, mostly in Katowice, until the beginning of the second world war. It was in Poland that Olek received his early education, with an emphasis on the sciences and mathematics. In 1939 he was in Warsaw preparing for admission to university when the war began. He participated in the early defence of Warsaw, but returned to Katowice when the family received visas to travel through Italy into France. Eventually they joined a Polish ship sailing to Plymouth. The family settled in London, where Olek was provided with scholarships for his university studies at Imperial College.

There, he undertook research on dams using relaxation methods, under the supervision of Sir Richard Southwell and Professor John Pippard. He also received a diploma in engineering from the Polish University of Technology, London, and from 1945 to 1949 worked as a consulting engineer, supervising the construction of dams in Glen Affric, Scotland, for the firm of Sir William Halcrow and Partners. Later, at the London office, Olek carried out designs for several other hydroelectric projects.

He started his academic career as a lecturer at Edinburgh University in 1949, and from 1957 to 1961 was professor of structural and civil engineering at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. It was there that he began his research into FEM.

Olek had a phenomenal memory and, even in his late life, he could still recite long passages of Latin from his schooling, sing the Polish songs of Wladyslaw Szpilman, and recall salient points from any of his publications. In addition to being a distinguished scholar, Olek was an adventurer. While a student in Poland, he constructed his first sailing boat and learned to sail. He continued to sail throughout his life, often enlisting his students, colleagues and visitors to join him for a scenic cruise around Gower or across the Bristol Channel.

He was adventurous in the foods he ate - which ranged from very rare steaks, plates of escargot and tapas (heavy on the garlic) to oysters. He also roamed over south Wales searching for fungi, berries, samphire or anything else he deemed edible. Accompanying him on a drive was another type of adventure, as Olek enjoyed a diversion to see a new sight - often over roads that were nearly impassable - all along the route discussing his latest works or current interests. He was a distinguished scholar and good friend to many.

Olek is survived by his wife Helen, whom he married in 1952, two sons, a daughter, and his sister Aldona.

• Olgierd "Olek" Cecil Zienkiewicz, engineer and educator, born 18 May 1921; died 2 January 2009

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:01 pm

World's major rivers 'drying up'

Water levels in some of the world's most important rivers have fallen sharply over the past 50 years, US researchers say.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:00 pm

Want to reduce breast cancer risk? Eat walnuts

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - By eating walnuts, women could reduce their risk of breast cancer, researchers said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 10:49 pm

Egyptian boy dies of bird flu

CAIRO (Reuters) - A six-year-old Egyptian boy has died of the H5N1 bird flu virus, the 24th human fatality of the disease in Egypt, state news agency MENA said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 9:45 pm

New ancient Egypt temples discovered in Sinai (AP)

AP - Archaeologists exploring an old military road in the Sinai have unearthed four new temples amidst the 3,000-year-old remains of an ancient fortified city that could have been used to impress foreign delegations visiting Egypt, antiquities authorities announced Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 9:21 pm

Rivers shrinking: Flow of many rivers in decline (AP)

AP - The flow of water in the world's largest rivers has declined over the past half-century, with significant changes found in about a third of the big rivers. An analysis of 925 major rivers from 1948 to 2004 showed an overall decline in total discharge.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 9:21 pm

Let's Fantasize: Could You Be Batman?

Batman possesses no supernatural powers. But wow, he must've trained hard!
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 8:52 pm

Man Survives 3 Days Lost in the Arctic

The missing man was identified as a 38-year-old U.S. citizen.
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 8:05 pm

Are Fat People Destroying Earth?

Many people question whether it's good science or bad manners to pin the planet's woes on the overweight.
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 7:41 pm

Lab finds new method to turn biomass into gasoline

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. scientists have combined a discovery from a French garbage dump with breakthroughs in synthetic biology to come up with a novel method for turning plant waste into gasoline, without the need of any food sources.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 7:19 pm

Egypt finds mud brick pharaonic temple in Sinai

CAIRO (Reuters) - Archaeologists have unearthed four pharaonic temples in the Sinai peninsula, including one of mud brick with fortified walls that served as an important religious center at the eastern gateway to ancient Egypt.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 7:18 pm

Earth Checkup: 10 Health Status Signs

A look at how Earth is fairing and what progress has been made to cure its ills.
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 6:11 pm

Claim: Fish Get Seasick

Seems so, if you do this...
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 5:28 pm

Astronaut Claims UFO Hush-Up

An Apollo astronaut claims that the truth about extraterrestrial life has been buried.
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 5:15 pm

Great Wall of China Grows Longer

The Chinese government says the Great Wall is 5,500 miles (8,851.8 km) long.
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Apr 2009 | 5:15 pm

Astronomers Closer to Exoplanet 'Holy Grail'

In the astronomical equivalent of meeting someone who reminds you of yourself, scientists have discovered a planet outside the solar system that weighs just twice as much as Earth.

The relatively small size of the new planet, dubbed Gliese 581e, prompted Grenoble Observatory astronomer Xavier Bonfils to call it "the least massive exoplanet ever detected" in a press release. The discovery comes exactly 25 years to the day after the first exoplanet discovery was announced.

The largest exoplanet yet found, named TrES-4 and found — quite appropriately — orbiting a star in the Hercules constellation, is roughly twice the diameter of Jupiter, which itself could house 1,000 planet Earths. Corot-7b, the previous smallest-exoplanet designee, is twice the size of Earth and about five times as heavy.

(Not one of today's Gliese 581e stories even mention Corot-7b, which after its discovery in February was all the rage. Oh, the fickleness of interplanetary celebrity!)

Rocky planets closer to Earth's size and weight are better candidates for extraterrestrial life. Exoplanet junkies who've followed the quest for the astronomical holy grail of an Earth-like planet will recognize Gliese 581e's appellation. Almost two years ago to the day, Gliese 581c caught the world's imagination when astronomers reported that might be temperate enough to support liquid water.

Unfortunately, Gliese 581e's orbit falls outside the habitable zone of its planetary system's Libra-constellation star, making it an unlikely candidate for even extremophile life. But there's a consolation: in addition to to reporting on the new planet, Bonfils' team re-calibrated the orbit of Gliese 581d, a previously-discovered ice giant.

The frosty planet apparently falls within the habitable zone, and may support liquid water.

Gliese 581d "could even be covered by a large and deep ocean — it is the first serious 'water world' candidate," said research co-investigator Stephane Udry in the press release.

The planets were detected by the European Southern Observatory's 3.6-meter telescope at La Silla, Chile by observing subtle wobbles of the star as the planets' gravitational tug moved it.

See Also:

• Gliese 581c Discoverer: More Earth-Like Planets to Come
• Analysis: Gliese 581c Not So Nice After All?
• Potentially Habitable Planet Discovered Outside Our Solar System
• Top 5 Bets for Extraterrestrial Life in the Solar System
• Hubble Detects First Organic Molecule Around Exoplanet

Image: European Space Agency

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

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 21 Apr 2009 | 5:00 pm

Ancient Carvings Reveal Pharaoh's Dark Age

Carvings in the Sinai peninsula may shed light on an obscure period of Pharaonic history.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 5:00 pm

Op-Ed: What Marmots Teach Us About Terrorism

When dealing with national security, we would be wise to take lessons from nature about managing risks. Animals that fail to evolve or learn effective ways to avoid predation leave no descendants. Thus, by studying the diversity of anti-predator adaptations, we may learn about what works and what doesn't work with respect to our own risks.

Since Sept. 11, we've all become more aware of our security, and since the start of military activities in Afghanistan and Iraq, we’re more aware of the costs of defense. In a time where resources are limited, we have to make some hard decisions about how to allocate resources to defense versus other worthwhile things, like education, health care and social security. Can biology inspire new defenses and security solutions?

I think the answer is yes.

A key lesson is that avoiding all risk is impossible. Virtually all animals must live with some risk from predators at some point in their lives, and we must too. A common trade-off facing animals is the probability of starvation versus the risk of predation. Imagine a rodent in an alpine meadow. If it remains in its safe burrow, it will ultimately starve to death. If it emerges to forage, it faces some risk of predation.

Animals have evolved different ways to cope with this situation. Marmots, for instance, reduce the time they spend foraging in risky areas, but kangaroos and wallabies increase the time they spend being vigilant.

In Iraq, we see both strategies at work outside the Green Zone. Transport vehicles drive quickly to reduce exposure, while soldiers on patrol are highly vigilant, ready to respond at a moment’s notice. The more general lesson from nature is that different solutions may be best in particular situations.

A counter intuitive lesson from nature is that sometimes an animal's best strategy is to declare itself to a potential predator. Impala jump up and down in a stiff-legged ritualized display, and many birds vocalize when they see their predators and may even attack them. This kind of detection signaling lets predators that require stealth to catch their prey know they've been detected and the game’s up.

We too can communicate to our adversaries that we're on to them. And perhaps we already do: One possible explanation for the changes in the Department of Homeland Security's threat levels after Sept. 11, is that we were letting the terrorists know they'd been detected.

Animals also spend resources on assessing threats. The presence of a predator doesn't necessarily mean that an individual is at risk: Imagine a group of African ungulates walking by a sleeping pride of lions. Many small fish, such as guppies, approach and inspect their predators to evaluate their risk. And marmots spend more time looking around after they hear alarm calls from an unreliable marmot. Such uncertainties should elicit more investigation.

It follows that if the FBI analysts who received reports of foreigners enrolling in flight schools followed up on those leads, perhaps the Sept. 11 attacks could have been averted.

Both penguins and squirrels use tactics to reveal the presence or strength of an adversary. When Adelie penguins enter the water from an ice shelf they may be preyed upon by waiting leopard seals. The penguins typically bunch up, waiting to see if the first one in is attacked. Sometimes they may even 'encourage' another penguin in with a flipper-butt! Probing for safety is also seen in California ground squirrels that kick sand in the face of rattlesnakes so as to elicit the telltale rattle — more dangerous warm snakes rattle faster, and big snakes produce lower pitched rattles.

Studying nature shows us it's essential to reduce costly defenses when risk decreases. Guppies become less cryptic and less wary in predator-free locations, and wallabies are less cautious when isolated on islands without predators. By no longer allocating energy or time to anti-predator behavior, these animals are able to put their resources toward other activities.

Similarly, our defense budget should be particularly sensitive to the true risk and be modified appropriately, especially when money is tight. After all, one hypothesis for the fall of the Soviet Union is that we forced them to spend more on defense than they could afford.

The great thing about nature's lessons is that they’re all around us just waiting for discovery. I believe that by involving a new set of scientific minds to address an old problem we might be able to help create a bigger, more effective toolkit of security solutions.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 21 Apr 2009 | 4:58 pm

Volcano 'Poses Tsunami Threat' in Caribbean

The collapse of a volcano on Dominica could unleash a devastating tsunami.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 4:55 pm

Nanocluster Acts as Hydrogen Super Sponge

A new zinc oxide nanoparticle has highest surface area of any known material.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 3:55 pm

Women who have ovaries removed during hysterectomy at increased risk

Finding challenges the notion that removing ovaries along with the uterus offers the best chance for long-time survival

Women who have their healthy ovaries removed when they have a hysterectomy face a higher risk of death, including death from coronary heart disease and lung cancer, than women who keep their ovaries, according to new research.

The finding, from a study published in the May issue of the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology, challenges conventional wisdom that removing ovaries along with the uterus offers the best chance for long-time survival.

Doctors have recommended for decades that women who get a hysterectomy consider having both ovaries removed - a surgical procedure called a bilateral oophorectomy - to prevent ovarian cancer later in life. Ovarian cancer is rare, accounting for about 3% of all cancers and 1% of cancer deaths in women. But it is difficult to detect and treat, so many women opt to have their ovaries taken out.

Of the 600,000 women in the United States who get a hysterectomy every year, about 300,000 also have their ovaries removed - about 50% of those between the ages of 40 and 44, and 78% of those between the ages of 45 and 64.

But the study authors said routine removal is often not a good choice. Though the risk of ovarian and breast cancer declined after ovary removal, women's risk of heart disease and stroke nearly doubled and risk of death overall rose by 40%.

"For the last 35 years, most doctors have been routinely advising women undergoing hysterectomy to have their ovaries removed to prevent ovarian cancer," said lead author Dr William H Parker, who is on the adjunct faculty at the John Wayne cancer institute at St John's health centre in Santa Monica, California "We believe that such an automatic recommendation is no longer warranted."

Removing the ovaries did not appear to provide an overall survival benefit for any age group of women, in large part because heart disease, stroke and lung cancer each is far more common than ovarian cancer.

Among women who had never used oestrogen replacement therapy, the study also found that those who were younger than 50 when their ovaries were removed had a significantly greater risk of death from coronary heart disease, stroke and any cause than did older women.

Before menopause, women's ovaries are still producing oestrogen and other hormones that have a protective effect on the heart, bones and bone vessels, said Dr Bert Scoccia, professor and director in the division of reproductive endocrinology and infertility at the University of Illinois college of medicine. That effect is lost when the ovaries are removed.
"My hope is that this study will change the way we practice medicine, especially in women before menopause," Scoccia said. "It makes sense to leave the ovaries if there is no risk factors or pathology at the time of surgery, especially in young women since those are the ones who seem to be most affected."

The study mined data from the national nurses' health study, which has analysed the health of 122,700 female registered nurses ages 30 to 55 since 1976. Over the past 24 years, 16,345 women in the study had a hysterectomy and their ovaries removed, and 13,035 women had a hysterectomy and kept their ovaries.

An international team led by Parker and researchers from Harvard medical school analysed incident rates and deaths from coronary heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, colorectal cancer, total cancers, hip fracture and pulmonary embolism as well as death from all causes.

Study subjects were divided into three age groups. The study included pre- and post-menopausal women, some of whom were taking oestrogen replacement therapy. None of the women had cancer at the time of hysterectomy.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 21 Apr 2009 | 3:34 pm

Rare 'mountain chicken' frogs evacuated

One of the world's rarest species of amphibians, the mountain chicken frog, has been airlifted to safety from Montserrat in a last-ditch attempt to save it from extinction

Conservationists have rescued a number of critically endangered "mountain chicken" frogs from the path of a fatal disease which has hit their Caribbean island home of Montserrat.

The decision to remove 50 mountain chicken frogs (leptodactylus fallax) from their natural habitat was taken in the face of the spread of the chytrid fungus, which is devastating amphibian populations worldwide.

The Zoological Society London (ZSL) and the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, based in Jersey, have each provided a home for 12 of the frogs which have been removed from Montserrat. Another 26 have gone to Parken zoo in Stockholm.

The plan is to breed the rescued frogs in captivity in a bid to save the species from extinction.

Montserrat is one of only two sites where the once-common mountain chicken is found, but hundreds of the frogs - one of the world's largest species - have been killed in the last few weeks by the disease.

The mountain chicken - named because its flesh is said to taste like chicken - is threatened by hunting for food and loss of habitat, and most recently by outbreaks of the chytrid fungus.

Chytrid fungus is a disease which infects the skin through which many amphibians drink and breathe. In recent decades it has spread rapidly, and some scientists believe the situation is worsening as temperatures rise due to of climate change.

The other stronghold of the species, Dominica, saw populations crash from around 2002 onwards as a result of the disease, which is thought to have spread to Montserrat late last year or earlier this year.

Dr Andrew Cunningham, a senior ZSL scientist, said: "Chytridiomycosis has already decimated the mountain chickens on Dominica and within a few weeks of the disease being diagnosed on the neighbouring island of Montserrat, its impact has been catastrophic. The mountain chicken frog has been virtually wiped out on the island and the number of surviving frogs decreases every day."

Director of conservation at the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, John Fa, said the drastic action to remove the frogs was taken "simply because we know from other experiences that chytrid will completely decimate populations of frogs".

Scientists working with the Montserrat government were able to reach the main healthy population, which they knew would be soon by hit by the spreading chytrid, and remove individuals before it was too late, he said.

The Durrell trust has housed its rescued mountain chickens in a bio-secure unit at its wildlife park in Jersey and hopes to breed from the frogs to create a population which can be reintroduced in as little as two years.

ZSL London zoo will now house mountain chicken frogs from both Dominica and Montserrat in its captive breeding unit which includes temperature controlled rooms, automated spray systems and dedicated areas for rearing live food.

Bio-security measures including full paper suits, masks and gloves worn by keepers, ensure that no pathogens - such as the chytridiomycosis - can enter from the outside.

The mountain chicken is difficult to keep and breed in captivity because of its voracious appetite and its unusual breeding behaviour in which the frog creates a foam nest in the ground for the tadpoles which the female then feeds regularly with unfertilised eggs.

The plan is to reintroduce the frogs to a part of Montserrat which has not been affected by the chytrid fungus, while also maintaining a "safety net population" in captivity in case wild populations are hit by future outbreaks of chytrid.

Source: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 21 Apr 2009 | 3:29 pm

Hubble Snaps Fantastic Galaxy Collision

After 19 years of service, the Hubble Space Telescope continues to send fantastic images of exotic celestial objects such as these interacting galaxies.

This group of galaxies, known as Arp 194 is 600 million light years away from Earth in the constellation Cepheus. There are three galaxies in the image: Two are colliding at the top and the third in the lower part of the image is actually in the background.

The glowing trail that appears to link the galaxies is more than 100,000 light years long and is made of gas, dust and blue-colored star clusters that themselves may contain dozens of smaller clusters of young stars. The arm was stretched out as the galaxies ran into each other and their gravitational forces interacted.

Since it was launched in 1990, Hubble has made more than 880,000 and taken more than 570,000 images of 29,000 different celestial objects. The final shuttle mission to service the telescope is scheduled for May after several delays.

See Also:

• Astronomers Find Hidden Exoplanet in Hubble's Dustbin
• Hubble Snaps Image of Triple Galaxy, as Ordered by the People
• Hubble Captures Image of Strange Giant Galaxy
• Hubble Monitors Spectacular Black Hole Flare
• 'When Galaxies Collide'- 59 New Hubble Images Released
• Oh, Hubble, Can This Really Be the End?
• Hubble Captures Images of Rare Mammoth Stars
• Shuttle Dodges Space Junk Risk
• Hubble to Finally Get Some Astronaut Love

Image: NASA, ESA and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA)

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 21 Apr 2009 | 3:22 pm

Earth-Sized Exoplanet Is Smallest Ever Found

The least massive exoplanet ever found is too close to its parent star to be habitable.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 2:55 pm

Earth Watch

European Union fishing reforms hit back of the net
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Apr 2009 | 2:18 pm

Hawking's family 'looking forward' to recovery (AP)

AP - Physicist Stephen Hawking was hospitalized overnight for a chest infection but his family "is looking forward" to a full recovery, Cambridge University said Tuesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 1:44 pm

Stephen Hawking Expected to Recover

Physicist Stephen Hawking is expected to fully recover from a chest infection.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 1:44 pm

BLOG: Polo Horses May Have Been Poisoned

Were 21 horses that died Sunday at the U.S. Open Polo Championship poisoned?
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 1:40 pm

Days to Lengthen With Climate Change

Changes in the atmosphere due to global warming will lengthen Earth's days.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 1:40 pm

Complex Molecules Found in Milky Way's 'Sweet Spot'

Astronomers describe two of the most complex molecules ever found in space.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 21 Apr 2009 | 1:15 pm

Physicist Stephen Hawking "comfortable" in hospital

LONDON (Reuters) - Physicist Stephen Hawking, the author of "A Brief History of Time" who is almost completely paralyzed by motor neurone disease, was comfortable in hospital on Tuesday, his university said.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Apr 2009 | 11:34 am