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Quantum Cat’s 'Whiskers' Offer Advanced SensorsScientists have turned one of the key problems with quantum entangled systems -- that they are easily 'disturbed' by their environment -- into an advantage which promises quantum sensors that are fundamentally more sensitive than their conventional counterparts.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm Robot-assisted Surgery Appears Useful For Removal Of Some Head And Neck TumorsRobot-assisted surgery appears feasible for treatment of selected head and neck cancers, according to a new article.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm SPEEDY Babies; A New Behavioral SyndromeSPEEDY babies are active and agile movers with speech disorders and tongue dysfunction. Researchers have studied and described these children, and observed a recurrent pattern in their behavioral phenotype.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm Self-healing Concrete For Safer, More Durable InfrastructureA newly developed concrete material can heal itself when it cracks. No human intervention is necessary -- just water and carbon dioxide.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm Grapefruit Juice Boosts Drug's Anti-cancer Effects, Study SuggestsResults from a small, early clinical trial show that combining grapefruit juice with the drug rapamycin can be effective in treating various types of cancer. The grapefruit juice increases drug levels, allowing lower doses of the drug to be given.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm Gene That Switches On During Development Of Epilepsy DiscoveredA new discovery made while studying mice may help explain how some people without a genetic predisposition to epilepsy can develop the disorder.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm Radiation Exposure Associated With More Aggressive Thyroid Cancer, Worse OutcomesPatients with thyroid cancer who have previously been exposed to radiation -- for example, in the workplace, through environmental exposure or for treatment of acne or another condition -- appear to have more aggressive disease and tend to have worse outcomes in the long term, according to a new article.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm Salmonella Strain's Path To Virulence UncoveredScientists have uncovered genetic evidence about the evolutionary path that transformed Salmonella enteritidis from an innocuous bacterium into a virulent pathogen.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm First Evidence For DNA-based Vaccination Against Chronic Hepatitis CThe first-proof-of-concept for a DNA-based therapeutic vaccination against chronic hepatitis C has been developed. Researchers hope that this will encourage further clinical development. The data also provide further evidence for the antiviral role of the HCV-specific T cell response.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm Animals That Seem Identical May Be Completely Different SpeciesAnimals that seem identical may belong to completely different species. This is the conclusion of researchers in Sweden who have used DNA analyses to discover that one of our most common segmented worms is actually two types of worm. The result is one of many suggesting that the variety of species on Earth could be considerably larger than we thought.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 3:00 pm Merkel calls for calmer debate on GMO crops (Reuters)Reuters - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday warned against too much immediate hostility to crops containing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 12:30 pm Merkel calls for calmer debate on GMO cropsHAMBURG (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday warned against too much immediate hostility to crops containing genetically-modified organisms (GMOs).Source: Reuters: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 12:30 pm US urges Central Asia to boost gas export routes (AP)AP - A recent crippling gas pipeline blast in Turkmenistan, which the government blamed on Russia's gas monopoly Gazprom, is proof that energy-rich Central Asian nations need to diversify their export routes, a senior U.S. diplomat said Friday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:58 am BBC sends `Ethical Man' on global warming quest (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 10:35 am Federal agency spurs people to adopt wild horses (AP)AP - A federal agency is hoping older wild mustangs rounded up from the range will find new homes with a program that will offer stipends to owners who adopt them.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 9:56 am A chicken coup: Group seeks to protect rare breeds (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:17 am Climate heavy-hitters to address House panel (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 8:16 am Calif. approves nation's 1st low-carbon fuel rule (AP)
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News: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 5:18 am Experts identify cells causing severe malariaHONG KONG (Reuters) - A type of immune cells appear to cause more serious disease in malaria patients because they shut down the immune system, allowing the parasite to multiply uncontrollably, researchers have found.Source: Reuters: Science News | 24 Apr 2009 | 2:06 am Vanishing habitatEndangered wildlife of disappearing orchardsSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Apr 2009 | 1:37 am Orchard losses 'threaten species'The disappearance of traditional fruit orchards from England's landscape threatens wildlife species, conservationists warn.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Apr 2009 | 1:37 am Cow Genome DecodedThe work could lead better milk and beef.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 11:27 pm Nicotine Takes Edge Off Anger (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - Smoking to relieve stress is nothing new, but now a brain imaging study shows just how nicotine can blunt our anger response.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 11:12 pm Orchards may vanish by the end of the century, conservationists warnNatural England and National Trust project launched to preserve rare varieties of apples, pears and plums, bring communities together and protect biodiverse habitats Small traditional orchards could vanish from the British landscape by the end of the century unless action is taken to save them, environmental experts and campaigners warned yesterday. Natural England and the National Trust claimed 60% of England's orchards had isappeared since the 1950s as they launched a £500,000 project aimed at halting the decline. The crisis has been even worse in some areas, such as Devon, which has lost almost 90% of its orchards. The organisations argued that if nothing was done, a focal point for communities across the country and a crucial habitat for flora and fauna could be wiped out forever. The loss of orchards would be accompanied by a huge loss of apple varieties, some unique to just a few square miles, and many of them with wonderfully eccentric names such as the Hangy Down, the Oaken Pin and Polly White Hair. David Bullock, the head of nature conservation at the National Trust, said: "Traditional orchards have been disappearing at an alarming rate. We are in real danger of losing these unique habitats." Bullock also said that unless more was done to map the many disused orchards in England, rare varieties would be lost, with no records kept of them ever having existed. In a blossom-filled apple orchard at Killerton, a National Trust estate in Devon, the scale of the crisis was spelled out. Though cider has grown in popularity over the last few years, it tends to be made from apples grown intensively and treated with chemicals. Many smaller traditional orchards have been built on, or uprooted to make way for arable crops and pony paddocks. That meant the loss of habitats for birds, beetles including the threatened Noble Chafer, mammals — such as long-eared bats — moths, lichens and fungi. For the purposes of the new £500,000 project, traditional orchards are defined as having at least five trees widely spaced and allowed to grow gnarled, hollowed and eventually fall where they stand . They are not intensively managed, are treated with few or no chemicals and are often grazed by animals such as sheep or geese or cut for hay. Lucy Cordrey, the project manager, said: "Traditional orchards have become an extremely rare and precious habitat. We need to do something to stop this decline. Orchards bring people and wildlife together. It's about food, the culture behind them, the heritage. They are magical places to be in." Under the two-year project old orchards are being restored and long forgotten or neglected ones rediscovered and mapped. Workshops are being set up to train people in skills such as pruning and grafting and communities are being told how they can revive old orchards, plant new ones and market the fruit they produce. Sue Clifford, director of the environmental charity Common Ground, said she was confident the traditional orchard would be saved. Clifford, whose favourite apple is the west country's Slack-ma-Girdle, said: "The interest is escalating. In the last two or three years we've seen a change in people's attitudes. "We've been trying to excite people since the late eighties about traditional orchards. We've tried to say to them, look there's 2,300 varieties of eating and cooking apples, several hundred more of cider apples. And that's just apples. Think of the pears and the plums and the damsons. And I think people are starting to realise that orchards are beautiful places. They are fantastic for wildlife and they are good for community spirit. " Traditional orchards, traditional apples Here are just a few of the varieties of apples to be found in the orchards of the Killerton estate in Devon: Killerton Sweet Unique to Killerton, a pale green cider apple. One of the varieties used in the estate's popular 6% cider. Killerton Sharp Also found only at Killerton. A little drier and sharper than the sweet, and gives the cider a bit of bite. Ripens in October. Philbert Nut Bush A bright red Somerset apple. Excellent in chutney but also makes a tasty desert apple. Star of Devon Originally from the village of Broadclyst just a few miles away from Killerton. A pale yellowy-green pithy apple. Ten Commandments Split it in two and you find 10 brown dots - hence the name. Pale green and yellow, becoming red as it ripens in late September and early October. 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 | 23 Apr 2009 | 11:05 pm Nicotine Takes Edge Off AngerA brain imaging study shows how nicotine can blunt our anger response.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 11:01 pm Water people of Andes face extinctionClimate change robs Uru Chipaya of lifeline that had sustained them for millennia Its members belong to what is thought to be the oldest surviving culture in the Andes, a tribe that has survived for 4,000 years on the barren plains of the Bolivian interior. But the Uru Chipaya, who outlasted the Inca empire and survived the Spanish conquest, are warning that they now face extinction through climate change. The tribal chief, 62-year-old Felix Quispe, 62, says the river that has sustained them for millennia is drying up. His people cannot cope with the dramatic reduction in the Lauca, which has dwindled in recent decades amid erratic rainfall that has turned crops to dust and livestock to skin and bones. "Over here used to be all water," he said, gesturing across an arid plain. "There were ducks, crabs, reeds growing in the water. I remember that. What are we going to do? We are water people." The Uru Chipaya, who according to mythological origin are "water beings" rather than human beings, could soon be forced to abandon their settlements and go to the cities of Bolivia and Chile, said Quispe. "There is no pasture for animals, no rainfall. Nothing. Drought." The tribe is renowned for surviving on the fringe of a salt desert, a harsh and eerie landscape which even the Incas avoided, by flushing the soil with river water. As the Lauca has dried, many members of the Uru Chipaya have migrated, leaving fewer than 2,000 in the village of Santa Ana and the surrounding settlements. "We have nothing to eat. That's why our children are all leaving," said Vicenta Condori, 52, dressed in traditional skirt and shawl. She has two children in Chile. Some members of the tribe blame the crisis on neglect of the deities. The chief has lobbied for greater offerings and adherence to traditional customs. "This is in our own hands," he said. Scientists say rising temperatures have accelerated the retreat of Andean glaciers throughout Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. A ski resort in Bolivia's capital, La Paz, the highest in South America, closed several years ago because of the retreat of the Chacaltaya glacier. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warned in 2007 that warmer temperatures could melt all Latin America's glaciers within 15 years. A recent World Bank study sounded fresh alarm on the issue. Indigenous groups from around the world are meeting in Alaska this week to discuss global warming. "Indigenous peoples are on the frontlines of climate change," said the host, the Inuit Circumpolar Council. A new Oxfam report, meanwhile, has warned that within six years the number of people affected by climate-related crises will jump by 54% to 375 million. Evo Morales, Bolivia's president, told the Guardian that his government would form a united front with indigenous groups for a "big mobilisation" at a summit in Denmark this year to draw up a successor to the Kyoto treaty. They intend to push industrialised countries to cut carbon emissions. "We are preparing a team from the water and environment ministries to focus not only on the summit but beyond that." One of South America's poorest countries, Bolivia is struggling with competition for natural resources. Water scarcity has hit La Paz and its satellite city, El Alto, prompting conservation campaigns. The shortage is nationwide. The Uru Chipaya accuse Aymara communities, living upriver from the Lauca, of diverting more and more water supplies. "It's a dual cause: climate change and greater competition. The result is an extremely grave threat to this culture. I am very worried," said Alvaro Díez Astete, an anthropologist who has written a book on the tribe. With so many of the young people migrating to cities, where they speak Spanish, the Uru language could disappear within a few generations. Some Uru Chipaya fear the battle for cultural survival could already be lost. The rutted streets of Santa Ana are largely deserted and little disturbs the stillness of the dry plains that once were fields. Several dozen, mostly elderly, people gathered on a recent Sunday to share soup from communal pots. "We are at risk of extinction," said Juan Condori, 55. "The Chipaya could cease to exist within the next 50 years. The most important thing is water. If there is no water the Chipaya have no life." 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 | 23 Apr 2009 | 11:01 pm NASA aims for earlier launch of space shuttleCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA is aiming to launch the final space shuttle mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope a day earlier than planned to avoid a potential schedule conflict at the Florida launch site, officials said on Thursday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 10:13 pm Sum chanceHow maths can plot a path to planetary salvationSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 23 Apr 2009 | 10:00 pm Egyptian woman contracts bird flu as cases mountCAIRO (Reuters) - An Egyptian woman has contracted the highly pathogenic bird flu virus after coming into contact with infected birds, state news agency MENA said on Thursday, as the virus gathers pace in the most populous Arab country.Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 8:49 pm The Lost Forests of AmericaAs deforestation leveled native trees, so too have infestations of disease and insects decimated forests.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 8:39 pm Cattle genes may give clues about human healthCHICAGO (Reuters) - Scientists have created the first genetic blueprint of domestic cattle, saying on Thursday the map may lead to tastier beef, better milk and even new insights about human health.Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 8:24 pm Cow genome 'to transform farming'The full sequence of a cow's genome has been published, revealing coded secrets that could revolutionise agriculture.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 23 Apr 2009 | 8:18 pm Cow's Genetic Code CrackedThe genome of the domestic cow is decoded, revealing a similarity to human chromosomes.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 7:50 pm Never Too Late: 5 Bad Habits You Should Still QuitA new study finds it's never too late to gain health benefits by knocking off bad habits.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 7:16 pm New Hubble mission to launch around May 11 (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 7:14 pm Scientists make super-strong metallic spider silkLONDON (Reuters) - Spider silk is already tougher and lighter than steel, and now scientists have made it three times stronger by adding small amounts of metal.Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 7:14 pm New stem cell method requires a little soakWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers have developed a new way to make embryonic-like stem cells by soaking them in genetically engineered proteins, a new step toward using ordinary cells to treat disease.Source: Reuters: Science News | 23 Apr 2009 | 6:54 pm Scientists claim to have found language of Indus civilisationIf true, deciphering the words may unlock the secrets of one of the most mysterious civilisations known Elaborate symbols drawn on to amulets and tablets by an ancient civilisation belong to an unknown language, according to a new analysis by researchers. The controversial claim raises the prospect of deciphering the written words of one of the most mysterious civilisations known, and so opening a window onto the ancient culture. The Indus civilisation flourished in isolation 4,500 years ago along the border of what is now eastern Pakistan, but almost no historical information exists about the people and their long-lost community. Archaeologists working in the region have unearthed a rich hoard of artifacts, including amulets, seals and ceramic tablets, many of which are embellished with the unusual symbols. The discovery of ancient objects belonging to the Indus has split the scholarly community, with some claiming the symbols form a primitive language and others arguing they are simply pictograms. More than 500 distinct Indus symbols have so far been identified, which include what appear to be representations of fish, rings, men and cowheads. In 2004 one researcher offered $10,000 to anyone who could find a single Indus artifact adorned with more than 50 of the symbols. Scientists at the University of Washington in Seattle and the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research in Mumbai decided to undertake an analysis of the symbols in the hope of settling the dispute over the Indus scripts once and for all. Using a computer programme, the team compared patterns of Indus symbols with those found in known languages and other information systems, such as DNA and computer languages. In some information systems a sequence of symbols can seem to be random, while in others, such as pictograms that represent deities and other concepts, there is usually a strict hierarchy that influences the order in which symbols appear. Spoken languages tend to fall somewhere between these two extremes, incorporating order as well as flexibility. When the researchers ran the analysis on a compilation of Indus texts, they found that the patterns of symbols were strikingly similar to those in spoken languages. The study, which appears in the journal Science, likens the Indus script to the ancient languages of Sumerian from Mesopotamia and Old Tamil from the Indian subcontinent. "At this point, we can say that the Indus script seems to have statistical regularities that are in line with natural languages," said Rajesh Rao, a scientist at the University of Washington who led the study. The team is now examining more Indus scripts in the hope of understanding its syntax and grammatical rules. Asko Parpola, emeritus professor of indology at Helsinki University said he was optimistic the language could be deciphered. "Language is one of the hallmarks of a literate civilisation. If it's real writing, we have a chance to know their language and to get to know more about their religion and other aspects of their culture. We don't have any literature from the region that can be understood," Parpola said. Scholars of the 19th century were only able to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphics after discovering the Rosetta Stone, which was inscribed with Egyptian scripts translated into ancient Greek. To decipher the Indus language, scholars may need a similar discovery. 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 | 23 Apr 2009 | 6:41 pm Trove of Unknown Ben Franklin Letters FoundLetters from Benjamin Franklin have been uncovered the British Library, unseen for 250 years.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 6:13 pm Pharmacy Takes Blame for Polo Horse DeathsA poorly prepared supplement could be to blame for the deaths of 21 polo horses.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 6:10 pm Artificial Intelligence Cracks 4,000-Year-Old Mystery
An ancient script that's defied generations of archaeologists has yielded some of its secrets to artificially intelligent computers. Computational analysis of symbols used 4,000 years ago by a long-lost Indus Valley civilization suggests they represent a spoken language. Some frustrated linguists thought the symbols were merely pretty pictures. "The underlying grammatical structure seems similar to what's found in many languages," said University of Washington computer scientist Rajesh Rao. The Indus script, used between 2,600 and 1,900 B.C. in what is now eastern Pakistan and northwest India, belonged to a civilization as sophisticated as its Mesopotamian and Egyptian contemporaries. However, it left fewer linguistic remains. Archaeologists have uncovered about 1,500 unique inscriptions from fragments of pottery, tablets and seals. The longest inscription is just 27 signs long. In 1877, British archaeologist Alexander Cunningham hypothesized that the Indus script was a forerunner of modern-day Brahmic scripts, used from Central to Southeast Asia. Other researchers disagreed. Fueled by scores of competing and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to decipher the script, that contentious state of affairs has persisted to the present. Among the languages linked to the mysterious script are Chinese Lolo, Sumerian, Egyptian, Dravidian, Indo-Aryan, Old Slavic, even Easter Island — and, finally, no language at all. In 2004, linguist Steve Farmer published a paper asserting that the Indus script was nothing more than political and religious symbols. It was a controversial notion, but not an unpopular one. "One of the main questions in machine learning is how to generalize rules from a limited amount of data," said Rao. "Even though we can't read it, we can look at the patterns and get the underlying grammatical structure." Rao's team used pattern-analyzing software running what's known as a Markov model, a computational tool used to map system dynamics. They fed the program sequences of four spoken languages: ancient Sumerian, Sanskrit and Old Tamil, as well as modern English. Then they gave it samples of four non-spoken communication systems: human DNA, Fortran, bacterial protein sequences and an artificial language. The program calculated the level of order present in each language. Non-spoken languages were either highly ordered, with symbols and structures following each other in unvarying ways, or utterly chaotic. Spoken languages fell in the middle. When they seeded the program with fragments of Indus script, it returned with grammatical rules based on patterns of symbol arrangement. These proved to be moderately ordered, just like spoken languages. As for the meaning of the script, the program remained silent. "It's a useful paper," said University of Helsinki archaeologist Asko Parpola, an authority on Indus scripts, "but it doesn't really further our understanding of the script." Parpola said the primary obstacle confronting decipherers of fragmentary Indus scripts — the difficulty of testing their hypotheses — remains unchanged. But according to Rao, this early analysis provides a foundation for a more comprehensive understanding of Indus script grammar, and ultimately its meaning. "The next step is to create a grammar from the data that we have," he said. "Then we can ask, is this grammar similar to those of the Sanskrit or Indo-European or Dravidian languages? This will give us a language to compare it to." "It's only recently that archaeologists have started to apply computational approaches in a rigid manner," said Rao. "The time is ripe." Citation: "Entropic Evidence for Linguistic Structure in the Indus Script." By Rajesh P. N. Rao, Nisha Yadav, Mayank N. Vahia, Hrishikesh Joglekar, R. Adhikari and Iravatham Mahadevan. Science, Vol. 324 Issue 5926, April 24, 2009. Image: J.M. Kenoyer/Harappa.com See Also:
Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook. Source: Wired: Wired Science | 23 Apr 2009 | 6:01 pm Night Owls Stay Alert Longer than Early BirdsBrain imaging shows circadian signal suppressed by sleep pressure in early birds.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 6:00 pm Black Hole QuizHow much do you know about black holes?Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 5:56 pm Living Abroad Boosts Creative SkillsLiving in another country can make people more adept at solving creative problems.Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 5:44 pm Astrology QuizHow much do you know about astrology?Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 5:12 pm 'Lucky Escape' for Great Barrier ReefA ailing section of Australia's Great Barrier Reef has regenerated itself in record time.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 5:10 pm Memory QuizHow much do you know about your memory?Source: Livescience.com | 23 Apr 2009 | 4:48 pm Ozone Layer Faces Bumpy Return to HealthThe Earth's ailing ozone layer may recover, but it will never look exactly like it used to.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 3:30 pm 'Clean' coal plants get go-aheadMinisters give the go-ahead for a new generation of coal power plants, if they can show they can reduce emissions.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 23 Apr 2009 | 3:20 pm Nasa moon launch may be delayedBecause of growing budget woes, the US space agency is resetting the target date for the lunar launch Nasa's plans to return astronauts to the moon are quietly being revised and are in danger of slipping past 2020. In meetings over the last few weeks at the Kennedy Space Centre, agency managers have told employees and contractors that they are delaying the first lunar launch of the Ares V rocket - a cargo hauler slated to be the most powerful rocket ever built - by two years. Nasa's internal plans had called for Ares V to go to the moon in 2018, though the agency had announced a public goal of 2020. Internal deadlines are used by Nasa to keep programmes on track and to provide a margin of error for developmental problems. But because of growing budget woes, the agency is resetting its internal date to 2020. And privately, engineers say that means the public 2020 date to send humans back to the moon is in deepening trouble. The news is another major blow to KSC; the facility had hoped to get the moon-rocket programme up and running as quickly as possible to offset thousands of job losses from the space shuttle's retirement next year. One contractor sent a BlackBerry message this week to the Orlando Sentinel following a meeting with KSC officials who told his group about the decision to delay Ares V. "It was not received with enthusiasm," the contractor wrote. "[We] understand what that means for the work force." In a speech last week, former Nasa administrator Mike Griffin blamed the White House - especially the Bush administration. He said that money available for Ares V and other moon projects had dropped from roughly $4bn (£2.7bn) through 2015 to just $500m. "This was to be allocated to early work on the Ares V heavy-lifter, and the Altair lunar lander," he told the National Space Club at the annual Goddard Memorial Dinner. "With only a half-billion dollars now available, this work cannot be done." Nasa officials would not comment. "We cannot discuss any changes to Ares V until after the budget is officially released at the beginning of May," spokesman Grey Hautaluoma said. "Nothing definitive can be said about Ares V development cost at this point in time." 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 | 23 Apr 2009 | 3:11 pm Space Shuttle's Future Facing DeadlineAt the end of this month, NASA will be free to start taking apart the space shuttle program.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 2:40 pm Microbe-Powered 'Fart' Machine Stores EnergyA new electrical device could improve fuel cell tech by turning CO2 into methane.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 1:40 pm Yearbook Photo Smiles Predict Marriage SuccessA person's smile in yearbook pictures appears to predict later marriage success.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 23 Apr 2009 | 1:10 pm Blueprint for a Safer PlanetNicholas Stern outlines the climate change crisis and how we can solve it in a lecture at the London School of EconomicsSource: Evolution, genetics, medicine, physics & astronomy news | guardian.co.uk | 23 Apr 2009 | 12:35 pm Mara wildlife in serious declineNumbers of giraffe, impala and topi have halved since 1979 in Kenya's Masai Mara wildlife reserve, scientists estimate.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 23 Apr 2009 | 11:59 am
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