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Platypus Helps Illuminate Ovarian CancerResearchers believe our oldest mammalian relative may help us to better understand ovarian cancer. DNA mapping of the platypus has uncovered an interesting relationship between their sex chromosomes and DNA sequences found in human ovarian cancer.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm Dietary Fat Linked To Pancreatic CancerHigh intake of dietary fats from red meat and dairy products was associated with an increased risk of pancreatic cancer, according to a new study.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm Projected Food, Energy Demands Seen To Outpace ProductionWith the caloric needs of the planet expected to soar by 50 percent in the next 40 years, planning and investment in global agriculture will become critically important, according a new report.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm Rating Attractiveness: Consensus Among Men, Not Women, Study FindsHot or not? Men agree on the answer. Women don't. There is much more consensus among men about whom they find attractive than there is among women, according to a new study.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm Can't Compete On Dung? Try Mating On Apple PomaceIn the mating world of yellow dung flies, large, males almost always get the girl. However, a new study suggests that smaller males rule if presented with an opportunity to woo females when they are not hanging out on cow dung. Small male dung flies, which are traditionally unsuccessful at finding and keeping mates on dung pats, successfully mated with females feeding on composting apple pomace.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm Selenium Intake May Worsen Prostate Cancer In Some, Study ReportsHigher selenium levels in the blood may worsen prostate cancer in some men who already have the disease. A higher risk of more-aggressive prostate cancer was seen in men with a certain genetic variant. In those subjects, having a high level of selenium in the blood was associated with a two-fold greater risk of poorer outcomes than men with the lowest amounts of selenium.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 9:00 pm Scientists Identify Key Factor That Controls HIV LatencyScientists have found another clue that may lead to eradication of HIV from infected patients who have been on antiretroviral therapy. A real cure for HIV has been elusive because the virus can "hide" in a latent form in resting CD4-T cells. By understanding this "latency" effect, researchers can identify ways to reactivate the virus, and enable complete clearance by current or future therapies.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Making Nanoparticles In Artificial CellsTwo processes can be used to control the size of nanoparticles, which could serve as tiny light sources.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Evidence Of Memory Seen In Songbird BrainWhen a zebra finch hears a new song from a member of its own species, the experience changes gene expression in its brain in unexpected ways, researchers report. The sequential switching on and off of thousands of genes after a bird hears a new tune offers a new picture of memory in the songbird brain.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Trial Shows Promise For Arthritis DrugA clinical trial of masitinib, a drug in development for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, has shown it to be well-tolerated and effective. Researchers have shown that treatment with masitinib significantly reduced the severity of active arthritis.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm The Nation's weather (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 11:41 am Obama urges US Senate to pass clean energy bill (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 10:17 am Major provisions of House climate and energy bill (AP)AP - Highlights of climate bill approved passed by the House:Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 7:25 am US House passes historic climate change bill (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 7:11 am House passes landmark climate change bill (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 27 Jun 2009 | 1:08 am US House supports emissions billThe US House of Representatives narrowly backs legislation to cut carbon emissions, but the bill now faces a tough Senate battle.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 27 Jun 2009 | 12:48 am SLIDE SHOW: The Week's Top StoriesTake a tour of this week's top stories in the Discovery News Flashback slide show.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 11:15 pm An elephant I'll never forgetThis is not a freak show but one of the most remarkable natural history shows I've seen If you were to compile a list of 100 things you wouldn't really want to see on TV, "watching someone methodically dissect the corpse of an elephant" would probably feature somewhere around the mid-30s point, sandwiched between "Simon Bates investigates naturism" and "toddler being sick against a butcher's shop window". Certainly my initial reaction on hearing about Inside Nature's Giants (Mon, 9pm, C4) was one of incredulity balls-deep in glee. Once I'd got over the title, I thought: they're ACTUALLY chopping up an elephant? For an HOUR? Bless their sensationalist socks. That'll be fun to write about. Maybe they'll use a chainsaw on the trunk. Maybe there'll be a bit where they get 28 dwarves to climb inside the skin and form a human pachyderm, walking around like a giant pantomime horse while the producers play Baby Elephant Walk on the soundtrack. Maybe they'll pull one of its eyes out and demonstrate how tough it is by asking Vernon Kay to jump up and down on it 'til it bursts, except it won't burst - it'll be like jumping on a giant squash ball, so he'll slip over and land face-first in its guts. None of that happens. Make no mistake, they take the poor creature apart. There's not a bit of that elephant you don't get to see. They pull the skin off, drag the intestines out, saw the legs into segments ... and yet, and yet ... And yet the overwhelming sense you're left with is one of towering respect for the wonder of nature, for the excitement of science and its role in explaining the world. This is categorically not an empty freak show, but one of the most remarkable natural history programmes I've ever seen. The gore may sound off-putting but it isn't really. It's fine once you're over the initial shock - like jumping in an unheated swimming pool that feels cold for 10 seconds until your body gets used to it. The first thing to understand is that the elephant wasn't killed for the sake of the programme. It was dead anyway. Secondly, these dissections take place regularly, for the benefit of trainee veterinary surgeons (there's a large number of them watching proceedings throughout). Thirdly, and perhaps most significantly, the programme takes each segment of the elephant - literally - and uses it as a springboard for a fairly in-depth VT sequence detailing how said part works and why it evolved that way. So we get an entire section on the digestive system, one on the trunk, another on the feet, and so on, all illustrated with bespoke reports from Africa, archive footage, explanatory CGI animations and even Richard Dawkins, who pops up a couple of times to share his awe of nature (and appears so delighted and enthused by the process of evolution, he manages to talk for several minutes without once calling all organised religion a bastard). At every turn, you learn new things about elephants - and not just things you didn't know, but things you hadn't even thought of questioning. Take the feet. I always thought of elephants' feet as simply being stumps with toenails. In fact I scarcely thought of them as "feet" at all, but legs that ended arbitrarily at the point they met the ground. I now know that, inside, the skeletal structure of an elephant's foot is surprisingly human. They're effectively walking around on tip-toes: the rear of each foot is a kind of fatty pad, a shock absorber, like a spongy wedge heel. It evolved to help them cope with their massive weight. That's a small example, but one that's genuinely changed the way I'll look at elephants forever. And it's precisely the sort of detail that might simply wash over you in a more traditional nature documentary. This is a rare thing - a hardcore biological science documentary that will both entertain and enlighten almost anyone who watches. It's also strangely moving. Because they chop that elephant to pieces all right - but they do so with palpable love. Watch it. It's amazing. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 26 Jun 2009 | 11:01 pm WATCH VIDEO: Titanic Artifacts Arrive in NYCArtifacts from the Titanic finally arrive at their intended destination.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 11:00 pm Why Don't Dogs Pop Wheelies?The longer a dog's back, the faster it can accelerate without flipping over backward.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 10:14 pm Risk of mad cow disease from farmed fish?NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Three U.S. scientists are concern about the potential of people contracting Creutzfeldt Jakob disease -- the human form of "mad cow disease" -- from eating farmed fish who are fed byproducts rendered from cows.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 8:59 pm This Week's Cool Science ImagesThe images that made science news this week.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 8:07 pm Renewable EnergyThe search for cheaper, cleaner energy in rural areas uses everything form solar panels to pig wasteSource: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 7:58 pm After 19 years, Ulysses solar probe to go dark (AP)AP - NASA and the European Space Agency are about to pull the plug on a robotic solar probe that just wouldn't quit. The Ulysses probe was launched from the space shuttle Discovery in 1990. It was supposed to last five years. But it's now nearing 19 years, 5.8 billion miles and still going.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 7:26 pm After shuttle's retirement, could commercial space flights deliver? (McClatchy Newspapers)McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON NASA is turning to private space companies to plug a worrisome five-year gap in its ability to boost astronauts into orbit and return them safely to Earth.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 7:26 pm Models of Earliest Vehicles FoundTiny models suggest the earliest wheeled vehicles were pulled by camels and bulls.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 7:15 pm Study Dispels Myth of Post-Workout Fat BurnA recent study found this to be a myth for moderate exercisers.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 7:13 pm Pigeons Make Good Art CriticsPigeons have the potential to learn and mark a "good" piece from a "bad" one.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 7:00 pm Update: Climate Bill Clears House by Narrow Margin
Update 4:45 pm: The American Clean Energy and Security Act passed the House today by a vote of 219-212, the first time that a bill capping carbon dioxide emissions has passed a chamber of Congress. It now heads to Senate, where many are expecting another tough battle for the legislation. Climate change legislation faces a major political test as the American Clean Energy and Security Act heads to a vote on the floor of the House Friday. The floor debate began today with Democrats and Republicans trading hyperbole about the economic impact of the bill. Democrats, including President Barack Obama, have been calling it a green jobs bill. Republicans have been calling it “economic suicide.” In fact, it was sometimes difficult to tell that the debate was actually about a bill to “put a price” on the carbon dioxide emissions that scientists believe cause global warming. Here’s the basic idea: by making burning coal, natural gas and other fossil fuels more expensive, the legislation will make renewable energy sources like wind and solar power more attractive. The bill’s details have caused consternation among some environmentalists, but if the chatter from Silicon Valley is any indication, the legislation’s broad stroke actions will stimulate low-carbon energy technological innovation, which would be good news for green tech startups. “We endorse putting a cap on carbon emissions,” wrote John Doerr, a partner at Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers, a venture capital firm with dozens of green tech investments, in a memo to the president. “It alone cannot solve all our problems, and it must include other provisions to make it economically viable and to help smooth the transition, but it is the most important step in a coherent strategy for curtailing emissions.” The Congressional Budget Office has calculated that the net cost of the legislation in 2020 per American household will be about $175, although that could fluctuate as the details shift as the legislation makes its way out of the House — it is expected to pass today — and onto the Senate. The Environmental Protection Agency analysis found that the bill, because of its energy efficiency provisions, could save Americans money on their utility bills.
Advocates of the bill — and climate legislation, in general — say that taxing carbon more accurately reflects the all-in cost of burning fossil fuels, which includes resulting climate change. In recent months, left-leaning thinkers have taken to calling this “closing the carbon pollution loophole.” While the bill is historic, the government has long used regulations, subsidies, and direct R&D funding to change the country’s energy mix. Nuclear power generation received tens of billions of dollars in Federal R&D money and tens of billions more in subsidies and loan guarantees. Oil and coal exploration and mining have been and continue to be supported by government surveys of mineral resources. Indirect subsidies abound, too. A recent RAND study estimated that the 12-15 percent of the military budget could be saved if we relied less on oil from the Persian Gulf. Commonly referred to as the Waxman-Markey bill, after the original Democratic sponsors Henry Waxman of California and Edward Markey of Massachussets, the legislation has been the subject of aggressive attacks by both right- and left-wing groups. Right-wing groups like the Heritage Foundation say the bill will cripple the American economy. They point out that the bill will effectively raise the price of carbon, and because the vast majority of our electricity is generated by burning fossil fuels, the cost of electricity is likely to rise, at least in the near-term. Left-leaning environmental groups say the bill doesn’t go nearly far enough to combat climate change, particularly in the next decade. They also aren’t happy that the utilities will receive their carbon permits for free. Many were pushing for 100 percent auctions, with the money refunded to taxpayers or used to support alternative energy R&D. While both sides seem to have very specific projections about the costs of the bill 10 years in the future, all numbers should be viewed skeptically. It’s very difficult to predict what the price of fossil fuels will be three years out, let alone 10. For example, if global oil and natural gas prices spike — and this bill has generated substantial investments in alternatives — then it will seem like a great idea, regardless of the legislation’s impact on the country’s carbon dioxide emissions. That level of uncertainty could be carried across the rest of the bill. One major argument in favor of passing the climate bill is that it will make international climate negotiations in Copenhagen later this year easier. If the U.S. is leading on the issue, China and India could institute greenhouse gas curbs of their own. The legislation uses a cap-and-trade mechanism in which the level of carbon dioxide emissions is capped and permits for that amount of CO2 are distributed to fossil fuel burners. Most of the permits in the current version of the document will be given to utilities and other fossil fuel users. The remainder will be auctioned. Many on the left had wanted to see all of the tradeable permits auctioned. See Also:
Image: flickr/KQEDquest 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 | 26 Jun 2009 | 6:48 pm Spot the Space Station: Twitter Tells You When (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - The International Space Station (ISS) is easy to spot with the naked eye if you know when and where to look. A new notification service on Twitter will tell you exactly when to go out and look up.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 6:30 pm First Image of a Memory Being Made (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - For the first time, an image of a memory being made at the cellular level has been captured by scientists.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 5:51 pm NASA Wants Your Ideas for Digitizing Rocket Scientist’s Notes
NASA is taking the rare step of reaching out to the public for help. The space agency is looking for the best way to analyze and electronically catalog a precious collection of notes that chronicle the early history of the human space flight program. “We’re looking for creative ways to get it out to the public,” said project manager Jason Crusan. “We don’t always do the best with putting out large sets of data like this.” The notes [pdf] are those of rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, the fist director of NASA’s Marshall Spaceflight Center in Huntsville, Alabama and are typed with copious hand written notes in the margin. According to the official request for information [pdf], NASA needs ideas on what format to use, how to index the notes and how to create a useful database. The unique nature and historical value of the data, literally discovered in boxes six months ago, is what motivated NASA to ask the public for ideas. “It’s first-hand insight on how management and engineering decisions were made on a real-time basis,” Crusan said. “It’s quite scrawled upon all over the place.” Von Braun was born in Germany and led the German army’s “rocket team” which developed ballistic missiles. His V-2 missile was used on European targets during World War II. When it became clear to von Braun that Germany was going to lose the war, he surrendered himself, 500 of his best rocket scientists, plans and vehicles to the Allies. The team moved to the United States and worked on missile development for the U.S. Army.
The details of von Braun’s role in the German army (he received an honorary SS rank from Heinrich Himmler) and his conversion to a NASA pioneer are still being assessed, and his notes are considered a historically valuable source of information about Marshall. “He was significantly important in the formation of the Apollo program,” Crusan said. If you have ideas, let NASA know. If that’s not your cup of tea, perhaps you can help NASA find a location for it’s 40th anniversary “Salute to Apollo: The Kennedy Legacy” party or sell them that automated torque wrench calibration system you’ve been meaning to put on Craigslist. See Also:
Images: NASA Wernher von Braun listens as President Kennedy points heavenward and says, “Let’s go up there.” Follow @wiredscience and @betsymason on Twitter and Wired Science Facebook.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 26 Jun 2009 | 5:48 pm Dramatic Fireball over Southern ArizonaA bright fireball was spotted by several observers June 23 over Tucson.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 5:28 pm Solar Plane to Fly 'Round the WorldAdventurer Bertrand Piccard said this week he plans to fly a solar plane around the world in 2012.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 4:42 pm Brown proposes £60bn climate fundPrime Minister Gordon Brown wants to set up a £60bn annual fund to help poor countries deal with climate change.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Jun 2009 | 4:31 pm Light goes out on solar missionEuropean and US space agencies finally pull the plug on the aging Ulysses spacecraft, which has studied the sun for 18 years.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Jun 2009 | 4:30 pm BLOG: Michael Jackson And His PetsMichael Jackson's first hit was about his pet rat and his pet collections grew from there.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 4:00 pm Aldrin made strong case to be first on moonNEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Astronaut Buzz Aldrin has no regrets about being the second man to walk on the moon but admits that at the time he had made a strong case for why he should have been the one to take history's "giant leap for mankind."Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 3:55 pm Tornado Research: It's Not Like in the MoviesChristopher Weiss leads a Texas Tech contingent in this year’s massive VORTEX2 tornado study.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 3:23 pm The Most Dangerous Sport: CheerleadingCheerleading continues to cause more serious and deadly injuries by far than other sports.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 3:03 pm Cloud clue in space blast mysterySpace shuttle exhaust causes clouds that may explain the 100-year-old mystery of how a Siberian forest was levelled.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm U.S. Swine Flu Cases Hit 1 MillionSwine flu has infected as many as 1 million Americans, U.S. health officials say.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 2:30 pm Adventurer targets first round world solar flightDUEBENDORF, Switzerland (Reuters) - Swiss adventurer Bertrand Piccard unveiled Friday the prototype of a solar powered plane he plans to fly around the world to highlight the potential of alternative energy sources.Source: Reuters: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 2:17 pm BLOG: Michael Jackson's PatentMichael Jackson, a masterful dancer, held a patent for a dance-assisting device.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 2:16 pm First Image of a Memory Being MadeFor the first time, scientists have captured an image of a memory being made at the cellular level.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 1:52 pm ET's Earth Appears as Pale, Red (Not Blue) DotMolecules relevant to life in Earth's atmosphere show up in red wavelengths.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 1:40 pm New Form of Ice Cooked UpChemists just made the fifteenth form of the cold stuff for the first time after years of trying.Source: Livescience.com | 26 Jun 2009 | 1:06 pm Whaling chief says no guarantee of end to killing (AP)AP - There are no guarantees that negotiators from pro- and anti-whaling nations will settle their dispute within a 12-month deadline they have set themselves, the new head of the International Whaling Commission said Friday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Jun 2009 | 12:58 pm Bacteria Plan for Future EventsBacteria and yeast are shown to use one event to predict the arrival of another.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 26 Jun 2009 | 12:35 pm Ad hoc no morePallab Ghosh on infrastructure managementSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Jun 2009 | 12:19 pm Climate academic shuns trip over 'plane emissionsAn academic turns down a flight to a US conference to discuss carbon emissions and others follow suit.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Jun 2009 | 12:09 pm
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In 1960, rocket development was shifted to NASA where von Braun headed Marshall Spaceflight Center and led the Saturn rocket project. In 1970 he moved to Washington D.C. to lead the strategic planning of the project and in 1972 he retired from NASA.