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First Electronic Quantum Processor CreatedResearchers have created the first rudimentary solid-state quantum processor, and used the two-qubit superconducting chip to successfully run elementary algorithms, demonstrating quantum information processing with a solid-state device for the first time.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm First Global Map Of Ammonia Emissions Measured From Space Reveals New HotspotsThe first complete map of global ammonia emissions has recently been achieved using to satellite data. It reveals an underestimation of some of the ammonia concentrations detected by current inventories, and identifies new hotspots.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm 'Bycatch' Whaling A Growing Threat To Coastal WhalesScientists are warning that a new form of unregulated whaling has emerged along the coastlines of Japan and South Korea, where the commercial sale of whales killed as fisheries "bycatch" is threatening coastal stocks of minke whales and other protected species.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Eczema Patients Most At Risk For Dangerous Viral InfectionsEczema patients at risk for serious viral infections have more severe disease, are more likely to be allergic to food and other allergens, and have a frequent history of staph infections, according to researchers. The findings could help identify people at risk for serious complications of smallpox vaccinations, and point to defects in the skin barrier and antimicrobial-protein production as possible causes for the increased susceptibility.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Nanotechnology Combats Fatal Brain InfectionsScientists have developed novel peptide nanoparticles that effectively seek out and destroy bacteria and fungal cells that could cause fatal infections.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Why Do Subordinates In Many Animal Species Accept Social Position Without A Fight?In many animal species stable hierarchies are routinely formed in which some individuals seem to slip naturally into their dominant role whereas others resign themselves to play the part of lowly subordinates. Why do subordinates embrace this fate so readily instead of putting up a fight?Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:00 pm Chain Reaction Of The Immune System FrozenScientists have succeeded in freezing a chain reaction of the immune system. This achievement marks a breakthrough in the field of immunology.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 12:00 pm 'Mixed Reality' Human Helps Medical Students Learn To Do Intimate ExamsIntimate procedures such as breast exams, while a routine and critical part of medical care, are notoriously tough to teach. Engineers have now crafted a solution: a hybrid computer/mannequin that helps train students not only how to correctly perform a breast exam — but also how to talk to, and glean information from, the patient during the procedure.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 12:00 pm Site For Alcohol's Action In The Brain DiscoveredAlcohol's inebriating effects are familiar to almost everyone. But the molecular details of alcohol's impact on brain activity remain a mystery. A new study brings us closer to understanding how alcohol alters the way brain cells work.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 12:00 pm New Trigger For Chronic Inflammation In Rheumatoid Arthritis DiscoveredA signal molecule made by the human body that triggers the immune system into action may be important in rheumatoid arthritis, according to new research. The authors say that if scientists could block this signal, it may be possible to develop more effective arthritis treatments.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 12:00 pm Week-long heatwave to send temperatures soaring in the UKA heatwave alert is issued by the Met Office for England and Wales over the next few days.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Jun 2009 | 10:43 am Lion prides form to win turf warsLions form prides to defend territory against other lions, not to improve their hunting success, new research reveals.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Jun 2009 | 10:37 am Scientists kill cancer cells with "trojan horse"SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian scientists have developed a "trojan horse" therapy to combat cancer, using a bacterially-derived nano cell to penetrate and disarm the cancer cell before a second nano cell kills it with chemotherapy drugs.Source: Reuters: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 9:57 am Tech LabJohn Pethica on what nanotech can do for youSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Jun 2009 | 9:16 am The Nation's weather (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 9:02 am Nigerian militants say attack Shell despite amnesty (Reuters)Reuters - Nigeria's main militant group said its fighters had attacked an oil facility belonging to Royal Dutch Shell in the Niger Delta on Monday, in the face of an amnesty offer from President Umaru Yar'Adua.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 9:01 am Forgotten evolutionist lives in Darwin's shadow (AP)AP - As he trudges past chest-high ferns and butterflies the size of saucers, George Beccaloni scours a jungle hilltop overlooking the South China Sea for signs of a long-forgotten Victorian-era scientist.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 8:21 am Where now for planet Earth?What will our world look like in 2050? Astronomer Royal and president of the Royal Society Martin Rees predicts crises in water and energy supplies as a result of increased population pressure, exacerbated by climate change. Speaking to Alok Jha earlier this month, he also discussed the prospects for mitigating global warming and the UK's role in reducing carbon emissions. This is the full-length version of the excerpt we ran in our Hay Festival special. On a lighter note - perhaps - Rees weighed up the chances that we will have discovered alien life by 2050. Our full-length Science Weekly podcasts return next week after a brief holiday break. In the meantime, please feel free to ... • Mail us at science@guardian.co.uk
Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 29 Jun 2009 | 7:44 am African rootsDNA testing helps African Americans find their originsSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Jun 2009 | 7:05 am Frog Dozes in Mud for Years (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - One species of burrowing frogs can survive for years buried in mud without food and water. New research has figured out how the frog and other "super-sleeper" animals do it.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 4:40 am Frog Dozes in Mud for YearsNew research has figured out how "super-sleeper" animals conserve energy in the absence of food and water.Source: Livescience.com | 29 Jun 2009 | 4:37 am Questions mount over Jackson animal kingdom (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 3:30 am Obama against penalties on polluters (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 2:49 am Obama opposes energy bill trade penalties: reports (Reuters)Reuters - President Barack Obama on Sunday called a House-passed climate change bill "an extraordinary first step," but spoke out against a provision that would impose trade penalties on countries that fail to cut greenhouse gas emissions.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Jun 2009 | 12:39 am Pope claims remains belong to St PaulHuman remains found beneath the Vatican have been identified as belonging to St Paul, Pope Benedict XVI said, apparently laying to rest the mystery of a tomb first discovered in the city in 2006. Archaeologists found material and fragments of bone dating to the first or second century AD inside the tomb at the basilica of St Paul Outside the Walls in Rome. Vatican experts claim the tomb's position, underneath the epigraph Paulo Apostolo Mart (Paul the Apostle and Martyr), at the base of the main altar is proof that it belongs to the apostle. The pope said the tomb had not been opened but that a probe inserted through a small hole had revealed traces of purple linen decorated with gold sequins, blue material and red incense grains as well as the remains. "Small fragments of bone were carbon dated by experts who knew nothing about their provenance and results showed they were from someone who lived between the first and second century," he said. "This seems to confirm the unanimous and uncontested tradition that these are the mortal remains of Paul the apostle," he said, adding that the discovery "fills our souls with great emotion". The pope made the announcement from the basilica as he celebrated the end of the Pauline year, which has marked the 2,000th anniversary of the apostle's birth. It also comes a day after Vatican archaeologists uncovered what they believe to be the oldest icon of St Paul in a Rome catacomb, dating to the late fourth century. St Paul was a Roman Jew who converted to Christianity after he saw a light on the road to Damascus. His letters in the New Testament are considered highly influential in Christian thinking. Tradition holds that Paul was beheaded by the Emperor Nero around AD 62-65 and buried in a vineyard over which the Emperor Constantine built a basilica in 324. St Paul Outside the Walls is the second biggest church in Rome after St Peter's. 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 | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:38 pm Scientists attack energy industryBritain must invest hugely to create a new low-carbon economy, say leading members of the Royal Society.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:11 pm Women who miscarry are at greater risk of premature birth laterThe findings of international experts should make it easier to predict which women may need special care during pregnancy Women who have a miscarriage are more likely to give birth prematurely in their next pregnancy, doctors have found. The findings of an international group of experts, to be presented at the annual conference today of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in Amsterdam, Netherlands, should make it easier for doctors to predict which women may need special care and attention during pregnancy. Premature babies can survive from as early as 22 weeks' gestation, but they are on the border of viability. Every extra week of life in the womb increases chances of survival and improves prospects of long-term health without significant disability. Dr Robbert van Oppenraaij from the department of obstetrics and gynaecology at Erasmus University medical centre in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and colleagues from the UK, Denmark and Spain reviewed 75 studies carried out between 1980 and 2008, looking at the impact of complications in early pregnancy. They found that women who experienced complications either early in their current pregnancy or who had had a miscarriage or other problem in a previous pregnancy were more at risk of going into labour prematurely or experiencing other difficulties in later weeks. Women who had experienced one or more miscarriages had nearly double the risk in their next pregnancy of giving birth prematurely. Those who had suffered three or more miscarriages were at even greater risk. Termination of a previous pregnancy, for any reason, also increased the risk of premature birth in a subsequent pregnancy. A whole range of problems in the first three months of a pregnancy were predictive of later complications: • Vaginal bleeding increased the risk of pre-eclampsia or dangerously high blood pressure in the woman, as well as raising the chances that the baby would be born prematurely and under-weight. • The survivor of a vanishing twin pregnancy (where one twin miscarries very early on) was more likely to be born prematurely, had three times the normal risk of very low birth weight and was more than three times more likely to die around the time of birth. • Women who suffered from extreme early morning sickness were three times more likely to give birth prematurely and the baby was nearly three times more likely to be of low weight. Identifying these women as at high risk of problem births would help to ensure their babies have the best chance of survival through careful monitoring of the baby's development, said Van Oppenraaij. More studies are needed to confirm the findings, he said. Events and complications in early pregnancy can be extremely distressing for women, Van Oppenraaij said. For the clinician it is important to interpret the symptoms and to understand not only the short-term consequences, but also the long-term consequences of these early pregnancy complications. This is especially important for reassuring and supporting the couple at a difficult time. 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 | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:05 pm GPs' failure to spot ovarian cancer is costing livesNearly half of women have to wait six months for a correct diagnosis of the 'silent killer', and third must visit their doctor several times before seeing a specialist Women are dying unnecessarily of ovarian cancer because GPs fail to spot warning signs, according to experts. Large numbers of family doctors cannot correctly identify the cancer's symptoms, according to a major study published today. It found that 37% of women visit their GP several times before their cancer is detected, and 65% are not referred for a test right away. The charity Target Ovarian Cancer's study, in which leading doctors played a key role, found widespread ignorance among GPs about the symptoms and that some mistook it for other, less serious illnesses such as irritable bowel syndrome. The study found that 44% of women had to wait more than six months for a correct diagnosis and 37% had to visit their GP between three and five times before they were referred to a cancer specialist. Some 65% said they were not immediately referred for a blood test or internal scan. "Some GPs miss ovarian cancer. That's a real problem as the delay could cost the woman her life, and at a minimum causes her a lot of anxiety. The sad fact is some women are dying from late diagnosis of ovarian cancer," said Dr Willie Hamilton, senior research fellow at Bristol University and study advisory panel member. Ovarian cancer claims 4,300 lives a year in the UK. It is hard to detect because it lacks one telltale symptom, unlike a breast lump in breast cancer or bleeding for bowel cancer. Some 96% of the 400 GPs interviewed in May for the study said they believed ovarian cancer is a "silent killer". Prompt diagnosis is crucial because while 80%-90% of women whose cancer is detected early survive for at least five years, that figure falls to just 25% when the disease is spotted late, once it has spread. Diagnosis in the UK typically takes until a year after symptoms have appeared. Diagnostic delays of as little as a week may impact on some chances of treatment helping prolong life, said Hamilton. "Anything that can expedite diagnosis may cut the death toll," added Hamilton. GPs who may not usually consider ovarian cancer as a possible diagnosis because of its vague symptoms should be more willing to do an internal examination or refer women for ultrasound scanning or to a gynaecologist, he said. "There is considerable scope for earlier diagnosis in this disease," said Professor Bob Haward, associate director of the National Cancer Research Network and chairman of the study's group of advisers. "A lot of women at present are diagnosed with advanced disease that is associated with poor survival rates. But for some earlier diagnosis may have been possible." Earlier detection could result in better prospects, he added. Ovarian cancer is the deadliest gynaecological cancer Some 6,800 women are diagnosed with it each year, mainly the over-50s. The UK has one of the worst survival rates for it in Europe, partly due to late diagnosis. Previous similar studies have also identified a trend of later diagnosis in the UK compared to other countries as a key factor in breast cancer survival, said Professor Michel Coleman, an expert in cancer diagnosis at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.A survey of 1,000 women revealed very low knowledge levels about both ovarian cancer's symptoms, such as a distended stomach and abdominal pain, and its risk factors, which include childlessness. Annwen Jones, Target Ovarian Cancer's chief executive, said the Department of Health should mount an urgent, high-profile campaign to increase women's and GPs' understanding of the disease. "We're worried that women are losing their lives who might otherwise have survived. Delays in diagnosis can never be good news," she said. Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, said the disease was "notoriously difficult to diagnose" but agreed that family doctors needed to detect it more consistently. "GPs should be more aware of the possibility of ovarian cancer and if there are any doubts should refer for a specialist opinion," said Field. "There's no doubt that the later presentation of symptoms, and on occasion delayed referral, will contribute to the death of women, and anything we can do to improve that situation, we should." Health minister, Ann Keen, said the study "identifies the challenges and opportunities of improving survival and quality of life for women with ovarian cancer. As a nurse, I understand how important early detection is in helping to fight this deadly disease. The Department of Health is working to improve survival rates, "especially in the area of symptom awareness amongst women and GP," she added. 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 | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:05 pm Alan Pickup's StarwatchNow that the Sun has turned southwards, the fainter stars will soon emerge from the night-long twilight at our latitudes. It may be August, though, before we enjoy clear views of the Milky Way as it arches high across our E sky from Sagittarius and Scorpius in the S though the Summer Triangle formed by Vega, Deneb and Altair. The sole planet on our charts is Jupiter which rises from the ESE at nightfall to pass 20°- 25° high in the S at dawn. Conspicuous at mag -2.7 to -2.8 at the E edge of Capricornus, it is 629 million km distant and below-right of the Moon on 10th. On that night, the 5th mag star Mu Capricorni lies only 0.3° above Jupiter, with the remote planet Neptune the same distance above Mu, but barely visible through binoculars at mag 7.8. Saturn, mag 1.0 and the brightest object very low in the W at nightfall at present, sinks to set 30 minutes before our map times and may be lost in the twilight by the July's end. Although Venus is edging closer to the Sun in the sky, its altitude in the E at sunrise improves from 19° to 25° and it is unmistakably brilliant at mag -4.1 for more than two hours before dawn. Mars, very much fainter at mag 1.1, lies above and right of Venus, the separation growing from 4° to 16° as both planets track eastwards through Taurus. Perhaps the only fact that connects July's two eclipses is that neither is visible from Europe. The brightness of the Full Moon is barely affected as it skims the outer edge of the Earth's shadow on the 7th. On the other hand, the solar eclipse on the 22nd has the longest totality of any eclipse this century. The path of totality stretches from India, across China and the Pacific to end well to the S of Hawaii. At its widest, to the SE of Japan, the path is almost 260km wide and the Sun is hidden for up to 6min 39sec. 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 | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:01 pm In praise of ... Alexander von HumboldtCharles Darwin took his works on the Beagle voyage, and wrote from Bahia that "he, like another Sun, illumines everything I behold". Goethe knew him, Thomas Jefferson befriended him, Simón Bolívar admired him. He gave his name to a penguin, a squid, a skunk and an Amazon river dolphin; and also to a tropical current, a peak, and a range of mountains. Yet Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander von Humboldt, born in 1769, remains in eclipse. A Prussian scholar and superintendent of mines in Franconia, he spent his inheritance in an epic exploration of Central and South America and from it produced a body of research that attempted to make sense of, and unify, the sciences of botany, geography, palaeontology, oceanography and meteorology. He explored caves and forests and investigated earthquake phenomena and climbed mountains and recorded the plants that grew at particular altitudes. He established that living things tend to flourish in the environments that most suit them, and in doing so, prepared the way for the Darwinian revolution. He also pioneered atmospheric research, measuring the changing blueness of the sky as he climbed the Andes. The Humboldt approach has been revived by modern climate research, which also must incorporate biology, meteorology, topography and oceanography. The 150th anniversary of Humboldt's death in 1859, has slipped by barely remarked. Yet after he died Darwin saluted him as "the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived". 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 | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:01 pm U.S. gasoline prices hover around $2.66/gallon: survey (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Jun 2009 | 8:45 pm Pope says bone fragments found in St Paul's tombROME (Reuters) - Pope Benedict announced on Sunday that fragments of bone from the first or second century had been found in a tomb in the Basilica of St Paul in Rome, which he said confirmed the belief that it housed the apostle's remains.Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Jun 2009 | 7:51 pm Richard Dawkins backs atheist camp to give children 'godless alternative'An atheist summer camp for children is to be held in the UK for the first time this year, offering a "godless alternative" to similar religious events under canvas. The purpose of Camp Quest UK, supported by the atheist and sceptic author Richard Dawkins, is to encourage critical thinking and provide children with a summer camp "free of religious dogma". The five-day retreat near Bath is already fully booked. On top of cooking, hiking and canoeing, activities for campers include a competition to disprove the existence of the mythical unicorn – with the winner receiving a £10 note on which Dawkins, the author of The God Delusion, has signed his name. The organiser, Samantha Stein, said the camp was not only for the offspring of atheists or "irreligious" parents. "It is a secular alternative open to children of parents of all faiths and none," she said. "It is not about changing what they think, but the way that they think. There is very little that attacks religion; we are not a rival to religious camps." The £275 all-inclusive adventure break is supported, Stein says, by a one-off donation from the Richard Dawkins Foundation, but he is not personally involved. Camp Quest UK's website says its counsellors and volunteers will lead activities teaching eight to 17-year-olds "about science, free thought and humanist principles. Activities cover critical thinking, science, history, human rights and ethics". The camp will have a Darwinist theme because is the 200th anniversary of naturalist Charles Darwin's birth. 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 | 28 Jun 2009 | 6:08 pm Volcano Could Create Dramatic SunsetsEurope could get delightful sunsets over the next 24 hours.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jun 2009 | 4:33 pm Crying Baby Monkeys Get on Everyone's NervesWhen baby rhesus monkeys want to suckle, they do what human infants do: cry, cry, cry.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Jun 2009 | 2:21 pm Moon-lovers remember Apollo with radio chit-chat (Reuters)Reuters - Radio hams and amateur astronomers around the world spent the weekend bouncing radio conversations off the Moon to one another in commemoration of the Apollo 11 landings 40 years ago, organizers in Australia said Sunday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:44 am Moon-lovers remember Apollo with radio chit-chatSYDNEY (Reuters) - Radio hams and amateur astronomers around the world spent the weekend bouncing radio conversations off the Moon to one another in commemoration of the Apollo 11 landings 40 years ago, organizers in Australia said Sunday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:44 am Experts say blood-sucking fish is a sign of good qualityThe discovery of a blood-sucking fish in the River Wear means water quality is high, say conservationists.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jun 2009 | 11:03 am Agencies meet for Mars discussionsThe University of Plymouth hosts an annual summit of the European and US space agencies, which will discuss future missions.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Jun 2009 | 10:03 am
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