Computer Forensics Links Internet Postcards To Virus

Fake Internet postcards circulating through e-mail inboxes worldwide are carrying links to the virus known as Zeus Bot, said a computer forensics expert. Zeus Bot has been named America's most pervasive computer Botnet virus by Network World magazine, reportedly infecting 3.6 million US computers.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

New Method To Cleaner And More Efficient Carbon Dioxide Capture

Researchers have developed a screening method that would use ionic liquids -- a special type of molten salt that becomes liquid under the boiling point of water (100 degrees Celsius) -- to separate carbon dioxide from its source, making it a cleaner, more viable and stable method than what is currently available.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Injection Reverses Heart-attack Damage

Injured heart tissue normally can't regrow, but researchers now offer a groundwork for regenerating heart tissue after a heart attack, in patients with heart failure, or in children with congenital heart defects. They show that a growth factor involved in the development of the heart and nervous system can spur heart-muscle growth and recovery of cardiac function when injected systemically into animals after a heart attack.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Caffeine-Drinking Teens Don’t Get Enough Sleep

Fueled by caffeine teens are up late at night, and they aren't just focusing on homework. Web surfing, text messaging and gaming are keeping them up for hours into the night, according to a recent study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Improving Impaired Attention May Help Patients Recover From Stroke

An attention training program may be a viable and effective way to improve attention span in stroke survivors. Survivors who received attention training had higher improved rates of attention compared to patients receiving standard rehabilitation.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Ants More Rational Than Humans?

Researchers now show that ants can accomplish a task more rationally than our -- multimodal, egg-headed, tool-using, bipedal, opposing-thumbed -- selves. This is not the case of humans being "stupider" than ants.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:00 pm

Immune System's Natural Killer Cells Linked To Infant Liver Disease

Scientists have linked an overactive response by one of the immune system's key weapons against infection -- natural killer cells -- to biliary atresia in infants, a disease where blocked bile ducts can cause severe liver damage and death. The study shows blocking a gene that helps NK cells attack bile duct tissues may be a way to treat a common cause of liver disease in children.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Hubble Captures Rare Jupiter Collision

The checkout and calibration of the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has been interrupted to aim the recently refurbished observatory at a new expanding spot on the giant planet Jupiter. The spot, caused by the impact of a comet or an asteroid, is changing from day to day in the planet's cloud tops.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Some Blood Pressure Drugs May Help Protect Against Dementia, Study Shows

A particular class of medication used to treat high blood pressure could protect older adults against memory decline and other impairments in cognitive function, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Cell Membranes Applied To Manufactured Surfaces Could Lead To New Class Of Self-assembling Materials

Applying biological molecules from cell membranes to the surfaces of artificial materials is opening peepholes on the very basics of cell-to-cell interaction. Two new articles suggest that putting lipids and other cell membrane components on manufactured surfaces could lead to new classes of self-assembling materials for use in precision optics, nanotechnology, electronics and pharmaceuticals.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

All 13 astronauts enjoy first day off in 11 days (AP)

AP - The astronauts in orbit, all 13 of them, are enjoying their first day off in more than a week after a series of grueling spacewalks.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 12:11 pm

For 13 Astronauts, a Day Off in Space (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - The 13 people living on the International Space Station have some time off planned Saturday, a welcome relief after a hectic week of orbital construction.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 12:02 pm

Govt 'sceptical' over carbon import tariffs (AFP)

AFP - Britain opposes the use of carbon import tariffs against developing countries to encourage them to tackle global warming, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Ed Miliband said on Saturday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 11:09 am

5 ancient Roman shipwrecks found off Italy coast (AP)

AP - Archaeologists have found five well-preserved Roman shipwrecks deep under the sea off a small Mediterranean island, with their cargo of vases, pots and other objects largely intact, officials said Friday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 11:02 am

Cosmic soap bubble snapped

The rare, spherical planetary nebula was first spotted by an amateur astronomer last year but has been photographed in all its perfection for the first time

Astronomical objects generally don't live up to their names, with constellations like Taurus or Aries bearing little resemblance to a bull or ram. Blame ancient stargazers with overactive imaginations.

The same cannot be said for the recently discovered Soap Bubble Nebula, however. A transparent, near-perfect sphere, it hangs in the night sky like a bubble floating on the wind.

It was first spotted by amateur astronomer Dave Jurasevich in California on 6 July 2008, but it wasn't until last month that the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona was able to capture the clear image above.

Officially known as PN G75.5+1.7, the Soap Bubble is an example of a planetary nebula. These are formed when the nuclear fusion reactions at the centre of a star can no longer support its structure. External layers of the star are forced outwards, drifting through space for thousands of years.

These gases are ionised by ultraviolet light from the remaining core and glow, resulting in nebulae that take on a variety of shapes and sizes. Most are elliptical or cigar-shaped, but the Soap Bubble Nebula is a rare sphere.

The label "planetary nebula" is another astronomical misnomer, as the objects are completely unrelated to planets. The name originates from the 18th century, when telescopes weren't powerful enough to distinguish nebulae from gas giant planets.

Most famous of the gas giants is Jupiter, which also benefited from the vigilant observation of an amateur astronomer this week. Australian Anthony Wesley discovered that a comet or asteroid had crashed into Jupiter, and emailed Nasa to let them know.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 25 Jul 2009 | 10:51 am

The Nation's weather (AP)

AP - A low pressure system will sweep over the Great Lakes from Canada on Saturday, providing the most active weather in the country.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 9:14 am

Baby panda born from frozen sperm

The first giant panda conceived through artificial insemination using frozen sperm has been born in China, scientists say.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 25 Jul 2009 | 6:25 am

Coming Soon -- Stem-Cell Surgical Thread? (HealthDay)

HealthDay - FRIDAY, July 24 (HealthDay News) -- A team of John Hopkins University undergraduates say they have found a way to quickly and easily embed a person's stem cells into surgical thread, a procedure they believe may help improve healing and prevent re-injury.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 3:48 am

Evidence of endangered frog group found in Calif. (AP)

AP - Scientists have found evidence of a potentially large population of the nearly extinct mountain yellow-legged frog in a Southern California wilderness where it hadn't been seen in a half-century, raising prospects for restoring the species to its once wide range.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Jul 2009 | 3:40 am

PM criticised over climate change

Gordon Brown is accused of "hindering" work on the environment by leading green adviser Sir Jonathon Porritt.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 25 Jul 2009 | 1:35 am

Hubble pictures Jupiter's 'scar'

The refurbished Hubble telescope focuses on the result of an apparent comet or asteroid impact on Jupiter.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 11:43 pm

Are probiotics really that good for you?

While a huge number of us have been persuaded by advertisers that we need our daily 'nutraceutical' dose, the benefits they claim have yet to be verified by the European Food Standards Agency

I recently came across an advert for a probiotic product. "Improves weight gain by 10%," it said, "… proven in more than 40 scientifically designed and controlled trials." A probiotics manufacturer boasting about weight gain? Surely some mistake? But the advert was insistent: "Maintaining the integrity of the gastro-intestinal flora effects increased weight gain," it went on.

I had strayed on to a farmers' website. This is how probiotics are marketed for pigs.

Teenagers taking their biology GCSE this summer have had to parrot a different characterisation of probiotics, as I discovered when helping one with revision. As part of their syllabus they learn that probiotics "strengthen the immune system", a phrase disconcertingly close to the pitch used by manufacturers to sell probiotics such as Yakult and Actimel to ordinary consumers. Speedier fattening, needless to say, is not a promise for which many of us are prepared to pay a premium.

It is not clear who coined the word probiotics – which simply comes from the Greek "for life". Nor is it clear how the word spread into UK school science teaching. In fact, probiotics – the name given to specialised bacteria added to foods that are said to improve digestion or general health – seemed to emerge out of nowhere in the 1990s. The live cultures or bacteria in plain live yoghurt have been said for generations to boost beneficial gut microflora, particularly when you have taken antibiotics. But plain old live yoghurt is cheap; probiotics like these are highly packaged and highly processed with the high margin for growth manufacturers need.

They are part of a whole category of heavily marketed new foods, variously called nutraceuticals or functional foods, making claims to promote our health. Human beings have managed without them for millennia, but in just 10 years an extraordinary number of us have been persuaded by the food industry that we need them for the sake of our health.

Nearly 60% of UK households now regularly buy probiotic drinks. The market is worth £164m a year in this country alone. How and why that happened is a fascinating commentary of the nature of advanced capitalism and its genius for making consumers want whatever it has to sell. The food market in affluent countries is saturated. Growth cannot come just from making us eat more, since there is a limit to our physical needs. But tap into our deep-seated emotional needs and, as political commentator Neal Lawson points out in his new book All Consuming, there is no limit to what we can be persuaded to buy.

Yakult, a yoghurt drink made by the Japanese company of the same name, was the pioneer. It burst on to the European market in the 1990s as a fermented milk drink with an added strain of healthy bacterium, Lactobacillus casei Shirota. It was launched in the UK in 1996 in a heavily sweetened drink in what look like little toy milk bottles. The utilitarian design and miniaturisation of its packaging managed to give it both an aura of healthy, almost medicinal, purpose and to make it as attractive to children as doll's house furniture. Sales took off, helped considerably by a marketing campaign worth £40m in the UK alone. Danone was quick to follow with Actimel, also packaged in dinky bottles; it now has 64% of the UK market, outselling Yakult. Danone subsequently formed a strategic alliance with Yakult and owns 20% of its shares.

So how did these drinks gain such a hold? Thanks to a detailed submission about Actimel by Danone's advertising agency to the industry's advertising effectiveness awards in 2006, I was able to gain an inside view of how the marketers managed to persuade us to buy their probiotics on a mass scale.

In 1999, that submission explains, Danone had set its sights on the UK market for yoghurt and "Actimel was chosen as lead foot soldier" with the aim of getting us "drinking Actimel every day". Persuading us that we needed to have a daily dose of this sort of premium-priced functional food was not plain sailing. Actimel spent millions on a TV advertising campaign in Britain in 2001, but by 2002 it was clear the British public was not entirely convinced by Actimel. "Forty per cent of Actimel's advertising audience [held] a highly sceptical view as to its benefit …" the submission explained.

Undeterred, the company and its ad agency set out to find a solution. Consumer research showed that if they could claim in TV advertising that Actimel's Lactobacillus casei Imunitass worked to "balance the body's intestinal flora thereby strengthening the body's natural defences" they could get people trying it. Unfortunately the ad industry's self-regulating body wasn't impressed. "The Broadcast Advertising Clearance Centre did not accept Danone's scientific evidence supporting its natural defences claim," the submission admits. It goes on: "So the question became how could we build penetration, and justify a relative price premium, among sceptics without telling them what the product does or illustrating the biological function?"

It was back to the drawing board, or to a "strategic hothouse" in summer 2002, the submission continues. They were determined to find a "strong emotive brand benefit" to get the mass market buying it as often as possible.

Yet more research showed how they could lead consumers down a certain thought process to get them to buy. They worked out that "immune system" was the catch-all phrase to sum up the body's natural defences to disease. So the logic was as follows: Actimel contains friendly live bacteria called L.c. Imunitass (note the cod Latin) therefore L.c. Imunitass is involved with the immune system; a strong immune system means feeling healthy. The feeling healthy "hot button", as the submission puts it, was pressed when represented as freedom from fatigue and resistance to catching coughs and colds … in short, feeling good.

Over the next two to three years Danone spent nearly £22m advertising Actimel in the UK. The ads used subliminal clues such as bad weather and people with coughs and colds to infer its "strengthen natural defences" and "helps your immune system" messages and showed supercharged women running around after drinking Actimel for two weeks to imply that it gave you energy. Sales rose 426%.

According to the ad agency, the profit margins on this low-cost high-price little yoghurt drink are about 40%. It reckoned Danone would have made over £36m profit as a result, getting back £1.67 for every £1 it spent on advertising.

At this time, while we were being first persuaded to buy into this new category of probiotics, there was no independent assessment by our regulators of whether probiotic products do what they claim. What independent work there was had not been encouraging. The respected Drug and Therapeutics Bulletin said when it reviewed the scientific literature in 2004 and 2005 that the evidence as to whether probiotics actually work was patchy in relation to the gut and unreliable in terms of improving general wellbeing or helping with allergies. The evidence was strongest for helping those with diarrhoea caused by antibiotics or with flare-ups of inflammatory bowel disease. People suffering from these problems might find them useful, but what the food industry needs is for as many of us as possible to believe we need to eat them as often as possible, to take them as though they were a daily dose of medicine.

I asked Danone and Yakult back in 2006 how they could justify their claims. Yakult, which markets its products as "self-defence for your gut … where the majority of your immune system is located", said it had its own independent research to support them and the fact that its bacteria survived digestion. It pointed out that Yakult is categorised as "a food for specified health use" by the Ministry of Health in Japan. "To achieve this status foods must be rigorously and independently examined to verify that consumption of the product can have a beneficial effect," it said.

Danone said it too had done extensive research on the value of its probiotics and that various further studies were underway to show that its bacteria survived. "Many beneficial effects for probiotics in general have either been demonstrated or investigated by the scientific community as a whole," it said.

It added that its probiotics were developed after more than 10 years of clinical research, it had conducted over 25 scientific studies on its bacteria, showing that Actimel had a measurable beneficial effect for healthy people when taken on a daily basis and was doing substantial further research.

In 2007 I asked the Food Standards Agency what advice it would give to consumers who wanted to know whether it was worth paying extra for probiotic products, but was told that it did not issue advice regarding the consumption of legally marketed foods products such as these. It had conducted laboratory tests on probiotics and found in simulated digestion that overall the addition of these bacteria did not affect the number of total bacteria in the gut and the supposedly healthy Lactobacillus bacteria – the good ones you are paying all that money to get into your digestive system – remained "subdominant" in laboratory conditions in a 10-day experimental period. In other words, the composition of the gut flora was not significantly changed.

But, it said, these tests were to check whether probiotics were safe rather than whether they worked, since other foods eaten at the same time and what they were digested with would make a big difference.

Until 2007 there had been pretty much a free-for-all over functional foods' marketing slogans in Europe. But that year new EU regulations were finally agreed, largely as a result of pressure from consumer groups who demanded that food companies should be prevented from using health claims to sell products unless they have proved them first and unless the products are healthy enough overall to merit carrying a health claim. Under the new rules, member states were asked to submit health claims from their manufacturers with dossiers of scientific evidence to be independently assessed by European Food Safety Authority (Efsa).

The UK Food Standards Agency collected over 4,000 claims from industry, weeded out half of them, and submitted about 2,000 for the new approvals process. Across Europe some 44,000 claims were submitted. Efsa scientists, stunned by the volume of claims, managed to whittle these down to 4,000 for detailed assessment.

This week, it emerged that Efsa has now rejected some of the claims made for high-profile functional food products by mainstream manufacturers. In fact, the authority's scientists have assessed about 70 health claims so far and have rejected 66 – the overwhelming majority.

They ruled, for example, that there was insufficient scientific evidence to support the health claim made by Unilever that its Lipton Tea helps increase alertness, or by Ocean Spray that its cranberry juice helps protect against urinary tract infections.

So what about probiotics? To date, Efsa has published five opinions on probiotics' claims, although the claims of the leading brands have yet to be assessed. Efsa scientists "avoid using the term probiotics", a spokeswoman told me, but confirmed that all five opinions on probiotics published so far have been negative.

The leading manufacturers of probiotics, Danone and Yakult, both told me this week that they are confident that the scientific evidence for their claims is robust and that they will be approved by Efsa. But the fact is, nearly a decade after they achieved mass consumption, we are still waiting to hear whether Efsa's scientists think they work or not.

Following the stream of negative opinions from Efsa for other health claims, the food industry as a whole has been quietly getting more and more concerned. Its trade groups have called for urgent meetings with Efsa about how the process is working, and it has accused the authority in the trade media of using "gold standards" to assess the health-supporting dossiers that are more appropriate to new pharmaceuticals. It has also complained of lack of clarity in technical aspects of the process.

Danone withdrew its applications for approval of the health claims it makes for Actimel (helps strengthen the body's natural defences) and Activia (improves digestive comfort; improves slow transit) in April. It says, however, that it will resubmit them when technical confusions have been sorted out and that it is absolutely confident that they are well supported by science and will win Efsa approval.

"The three health claim applications are related to Danone's fresh dairy products Activia and Actimel, that are among the probiotic products with the most extensive scientific documentation. Their efficacy has been shown in many different studies and the results have been published in highly reputed international scientific journals," Danone told us in a statement. "We welcome the new process and remain committed to working with Efsa."

The company declined to give a date for its resubmission or to comment on the fact that its US arm, Dannon, earlier this year reached an out of court settlement in one of several class actions brought against it over its probiotic health claims. Dannon vigorously denied the accusation originally made in the action that it was misleading consumers with a multimillion-dollar advertising campaign that claimed its probiotics had been clinically proven to help regulate the digestive system and strengthen the body's defences when consumed daily. The plaintiffs claimed compensation for the 30% premium over other dairy products paid by consumers and a corrective advertising campaign.

The new EU regulations will not be fully implemented until 2020. Whether Efsa in the end rules that the leading manufacturers' claims about probiotics are indeed supported by the scientific evidence they submit or not, even Danone has conceded to me in the past that "results reported by individual Actimel users can be as individual as their gut flora profile and overall diet and other lifestyle factors".

In other words, there is no silver bullet food ingredient that will make us feel healthy and well. But perhaps even the fattening pigs could have told us that.

Felicity Lawrence's Eat Your Heart Out: Why the Food Business is Bad for the Planet and Your Health, is published by Penguin

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 24 Jul 2009 | 11:06 pm

Dragonflies in danger of extinction seek sanctuary at new rescue centre

Pollution, pesticides and habitat loss bring dragonflies close to the brink after 325m years

Dragonflies may have hovered and hunted across the planet for the last 325m years, but their modern relatives are staring extinction in the face. Experts warn that one-third of British species are now under threat, a plight that today sees the opening of the UK's first ever dragonfly centre to celebrate and protect one of the country's most fascinating insects.

Located at Wicken Fen nature reserve in Cambridgeshire, the new centre hopes to reverse the decline of the 42 species found regularly in the UK. Conservationists blame the decline on the loss of wetlands, and pesticides and insecticides drifting from farmland.

Springwatch presenter Chris Packham, who opened the centre today, said: "The loss of wetland habitat throughout the UK is having a massive impact on the long-term survival prospects for many dragonfly species." He warned that three British species have already become extinct since the 1960s.

Dragonflies spend much of their lives underwater as larva "nymphs", and when the winged adult finally emerges its flying lifetime is comparatively short, ranging from just weeks for small species to a few years for the largest. They are a key indicator of water quality and a valuable natural predator of mosquitoes and midges.

Some British species are faring worse than others. White-faced darters have seen a signifcant loss and drying out of the bog pools where they live, while the Norfolk hawker's limited distribution - mostly in the Norfolk Broads - has left it vulnerable to sea level rises and salt water infiltration.

As well as pressure from the historic loss of East Anglian fens, many of which have been drained and converted to farmland, British dragonflies and their prey are at risk from insecticides and pesticides. Vicky Kindemba, freshwater officer at conservation charity Buglife, said: "Different chemicals affect invertebates differently, but one we know about is permethrin - used to treat wood and animals to remove fleas and woodworm - which can affect dragonflies when it finds its way into the water course." Chemicals reaching rivers and streams from agricultural run-off can disrupt dragonfly breeding patterns - reducing the number of eggs, for example.

There are signs that increasingly conservation-conscious farmers are aware of the problem. David Felce, who runs Midloe Grange Farm near the site of the new dragonfly centre, said: "We have several types of dragonfly on the farm, including blue emperors and brown hawkers, which we've protected by building grass buffer zones near our seven ponds and water courses. As well as acting as a failsafe to keep insecticides away from dragonflies and other insects, the grass is a habitat for wildlife in its own right."

Dragonflies are doing better this year compared to 2008, according to anecdotal evidence from naturalists at the British Dragonfly Society. "We think it's due to the sustained wet weather during late spring and early summer last year," said Katharine Parkes, a spokesperson for the society. "This year, although we've still had wet weather, it's been showery rather than sustained, and dragonflies are very good at making the most of sunny intervals."

However, long-term records are required to establish an accurate picture of dragonfly health, and the data collected by naturalists from 1986 to 2005 shows a third of British species are now classified as endangered, vulnerable or near-threatened under official Red List criteria.

Wicken Fen, where the dragonfly centre opened today, is one of the few bright spots for dragonflies and home to 21 of Britain's species. Stuart Warrington, the National Trust's Nature Conservation Advisor for the East of England, said: "Dragonflies symbolise the importance of Wicken Fen and our ambitious project to create a 22 square mile nature reserve. Work to develop good quality habitats for dragonflies, such as clean ditches and ponds, has led to successful breeding of all the species found at Wicken and on the land surrounding the fen."

The new centre, staffed by volunteers, will give visitors access to educational displays, advanced courses on species identification and guided "safaris" to see the fen's darting inhabitants, from the emperor dragonfly to the hairy dragonfly.

Dragonflies: fast facts

• The dragonfly family has more species than any other mammal

• The wings of a dragonfly beat at up to 35 times a second

• The insects can fly forwards and backwards at up to 18mph

• The eyes of a dragonfly cover a field of vision close to 360°

• The largest species have been known to fly across the Atlantic Ocean

• Dragonflies don't sting humans

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 24 Jul 2009 | 11:06 pm

China announces first panda from frozen sperm (AP)

AP - For the first time, a giant panda cub has been born in China after being conceived using frozen sperm, officials announced Friday — an innovation scientists hope will help the endangered species avoid extinction.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Jul 2009 | 11:04 pm

Spacewalkers Add New Batteries to Space Station (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Two determined astronauts added a fresh set of vital batteries on the International Space Station Friday during an extra-long spacewalk made more so by the need to take things slow and steady.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Jul 2009 | 10:00 pm

Astronauts Complete Fourth Spacewalk

The Endeavour crew completed their spacewalk, avoiding repeat suit troubles.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 9:40 pm

Nearly Extinct California Frog Rediscovered (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - For the first time in nearly 50 years, a population of a nearly extinct type of frog has been rediscovered in California's San Bernardino National Forest.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 24 Jul 2009 | 9:33 pm

Hubble Snaps Sharpest Image Yet of Jupiter Impact

Jupiter’s new scar has been photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope. The huge mark was left when a comet or asteroid plowed into the planet.

The image above is the sharpest yet of the Pacific Ocean–sized impact site, which was first observed by world’s luckiest amateur astronomer, Anthony Wesley. The new shot was taken by Hubble’s newest toy, the Wide Field Camera 3, which was installed during the most-recent servicing mission to the telescope in May.

The collision is believed to be the largest since Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 busted into 21 pieces and slammed into the solar system’s largest planet 15 years ago.

If whatever hit Jupiter — and astronomers might never know what it was — had instead struck Earth, it would have caused catastrophic damage to human civilization.

See Also:

• Jupiter’s Moon Plays Peekaboo With Hubble
• Oh, Hubble, Can This Really Be the End?
• 40 Years After Apollo 11, NASA Maps Out the Future
• Citizen Science Is for the Birds
• 150,000 Amateur Astronomers Help Classify 900,000 Galaxies
• Lost in Space: 8 Weird Pieces of Space Junk

Image: NASA.

WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal’s Twitter, Google Reader feed, and green tech history research site; Wired Science on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 24 Jul 2009 | 8:27 pm

Hubble Telescope Photographs Jupiter Impact Site

NASA pauses testing of Hubble's new instruments to take image of Jupiter impact scar.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 7:41 pm

SLIDE SHOW: This Week's Top Stories

Take a look at this week's top stories in the Discovery News Flashback Slide Show.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 7:30 pm

WATCH: Why Do We Get Sunburns?

Before heading to the beach this weekend, find out why we get sunburns.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 7:30 pm

No heavy breathing, NASA tells spacewalkers

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA has some advice for the elite Navy diver-turned-astronaut whose first spacewalk was cut short because of an air issue: Breathe easily.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 24 Jul 2009 | 7:01 pm

Nearly Extinct California Frog Rediscovered

Scientists on expedition find new populations of endangered mountain frog.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 6:58 pm

Taller Athletes Are Faster, Study Finds

Its the new breed of 'slender' athletes that are smashing records.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 6:52 pm

WD-40: Strange Facts and Myths

WD-40 does not contain fish oil and it won't cure arthritis.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 6:10 pm

BLOG: Six Animals That Could Save Your Life

These six animals can help control disease-transmitting insects.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 6:00 pm

Getting a grip

How fast is the Greenland Ice Sheet melting?
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 5:50 pm

Strange Science? There’s an App for That

Think of almost anything you can do, and Apple claims there’s an app for that.

But what about if you need the proteomes for several yeast and yeast strains right now. Oh, actually, there is an app for that. It’s called iProto Yeast, and this $5 app heads our list of weird science apps for Apple’s iPhone.

For all you yeastologists and zymurgists out there who protest that your discipline is incredibly important and that yeast are fascinating model organisms with even more fascinating proteomes, we don’t disagree. But, it’s still amazing that someone coded an app just for handy pocket access to the proteins of Saccharomyces cerevisiae and friends.

Herewith, our other picks:

• ScienceWars: It’s the year 2041, and a “New Way” party has taken control of the U.S. government and banned “many scientific achievements they claim are ‘unharmonious with reality.’” Only you, science merchant, can save the nation by selling pharmaceuticals to renegade doctors. This app is sponsored by GlaxoSmithKline. Just kidding. (We think). [App Store]
• Kolmogorov-Smirnov Test: This app is simple. Take a set of numbers, input them, and if there is an outlier — Bang! — it tells you faster than Malcolm Gladwell. All that for only $6.99. That’s basically cheaper than Free! [App Store]
• Scoligauge: Using the internal sensors of the iPhone, this app acts as a virtual scoliosis diagnostic tool by measuring the curve of the spine. “No need to rummage in the clinic drawers for a scoliometer or inclinometer,” the advertising copy declares. Whew. So line up all your favorite sixth-graders and get working, M.D. Lyte. [App Store]
• iSeismometer: This app isn’t exactly a seismometer, but it does use the iPhone’s built in sensors to create awesome graphs out of any iPhone movement. Sit it on a table and bang your fist. Voila: a sweet graph. Bonus: You can upload that data to the Interwebs. Not sure what you’d use it for, but it’s great. [App Store]
• Science Jokes: That’s right, an application that randomly displays funny, er, “funny” science jokes. Here’s a taste. “Marine biology researchers have developed a new method to fend off shark attacks,” one jokes begins. “If you are diving and are approached by a shark, they recommend that you swim towards it aggressively and punch it in the nose as hard as possible. If that doesn’t work, beat the shark with your stump.” As the app’s marketing promises, you will obviously “instantly become the coolest person in the room” with this in your pocket. [App Store]
• Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures: Mary Baker Eddy’s “classic” 1875 Christian Science manifesto is now available for your self-delusional usage right on your iPhone! “We must abandon pharmaceutics, and take up ontology,” we read. Or maybe we can just take some Advil and vaccinate our children. [App Store]

See Also:

• 22 iPhone Apps for Science Geeks
• GPS-Equipped iPhone Could Enable New Citizen Science
• Friday Animal Post: 3 Baby Raccoons Eating Cherries
• Contest: Creative Science Students Can Win an iPhone
• Wired Science Scores Exclusive Twitter Interview with the Phoenix
• World’s First Computer Displayed Olympic Calendar

Image: Flickr/DGHdeeo

WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal’s Twitter, Google Reader feed, and green tech history research site; Wired Science on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 24 Jul 2009 | 5:49 pm

Bacteria make computers look like pocket calculators

Biologists have created a living computer from E. coli bacteria that can solve complex mathematical problems

Computers are evolving – literally. While the tech world argues netbooks vs notebooks, synthetic biologists are leaving traditional computers behind altogether. A team of US scientists have engineered bacteria that can solve complex mathematical problems faster than anything made from silicon.

The research, published today in the Journal of Biological Engineering, proves that bacteria can be used to solve a puzzle known as the Hamiltonian Path Problem. Imagine you want to tour the 10 biggest cities in the UK, starting in London (number 1) and finishing in Bristol (number 10). The solution to the Hamiltonian Path Problem is the the shortest possible route you can take.

This simple problem is surprisingly difficult to solve. There are over 3.5 million possible routes to choose from, and a regular computer must try them out one at a time to find the shortest. Alternatively, a computer made from millions of bacteria can look at every route simultaneously. The biological world also has other advantages. As time goes by, a bacterial computer will actually increase in power as the bacteria reproduce.

Programming such a computer is no easy task, however. The researchers coded a simplified version of the problem, using just three cities, by modifying the DNA of Escherichia coli bacteria. The cities were represented by a combination of genes causing the bacteria to glow red or green, and the possible routes between the cities were explored by the random shuffling of DNA. Bacteria producing the correct answer glowed both colours, turning them yellow.

The experiment worked, and the scientists checked the yellow bacteria's answer by examining their DNA sequence. By using additional genetic differences such as resistance to particular antibiotics, the team believe their method could be expanded to solve problems involving more cities.

This is not the only problem bacteria can solve. The research builds on previous work by the same team, who last year created a bacterial computer to solve the Burnt Pancake Problem. This unusually named conundrum is a mathematical sorting process that can be visualised as a stack of pancakes, all burnt on one side, which must be ordered by size.

In addition to proving the power of bacterial computing, the team have also contributed significantly to the field of synthetic biology. Just as electronic circuits are made from transistors, diodes and other devices, so too are biological circuits. Synthetic biologists have worked together to create the Registry of Standard Biological Parts, and this new research has contributed more than 60 new components to the list.

For more information on the expanding field of synthetic biology, download the latest edition of the Guardian's Science Weekly podcast. Alok Jha and James Randerson were joined in the pod by synthetic biologist Paul Freemont, professor of protein crystallography at Imperial College London, to discuss a future of biological machines.

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Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 24 Jul 2009 | 5:44 pm

Internet Groupthink Throttles Creativity

Social networking may inspire a lot of, well, nothing, because follow-the-crowd thinking trumps radical ideas.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 5:21 pm

Five Roman-Era Shipwrecks Found Off Italy

A graveyard of five ancient Roman shipwrecks are discovered off Italy's coast.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 5:20 pm

People steal meat from wild lions

Lions in Cameroon are having their kills stolen from under their noses by hungry villagers, say conservationists.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 4:02 pm

Green beetle's super-shiny secret

An iridescent beetle's exoskeleton has almost exactly the same structure as hi-tech liquid crystal, say scientists.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 3:14 pm

BLOG: Do Clouds Play a Role in Warming?

Clouds have mostly been excluded from climate change models -- until now.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 3:05 pm

First Panda Born From Frozen Sperm

The first panda is born from artificial insemination using frozen sperm.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 3:00 pm

Objection to wind farm over birds

RSPB Scotland lodges an objection to plans for Scotland's largest community wind farm on Shetland over bird fears.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 2:43 pm

Cash for Clunkers: Smart or Stupid?

You can get cash vouchers for that old gas-guzzling clunker under the new $1 billion federal Car Allowance Rebate System.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 2:34 pm

Gull killer turbines are removed

An aquarium in Devon takes down two wind turbines because of a number of difficulties with the generators, including their killing birds.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 2:34 pm

New Science Rap by 'AlpineKat' Deals with Nuclear Physics

A science rapper has returned to YouTube, now with lyrical rhyming about nuclear physics and explaining the science behind the Facility for Rare Isotope Beams (FRIB).
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 1:43 pm

Justin Timberlake Opens First Eco-Friendly Golf Course

Irrigation systems to maximize the use of rainwater, native landscaping and solar-powered golf carts.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 1:30 pm

Altar to Mysterious Deity Found at Roman Fort

An altar to a cult deity is found during excavations of a Roman fort in England.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 1:30 pm

Money Relieves Pain

Money dulls physical pain and eases the sting of rejection, new research shows.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 1:03 pm

Permafrost Could Be Climate's Ticking Time Bomb

A professor extracts Arctic soil and water samples in search of clues to the melting of permafrost, which could be key to global warming.
Source: Livescience.com | 24 Jul 2009 | 12:29 pm

Wall 'could stop desert spread'

The growing environmental threat of desertification could be stopped in Africa by solidifying dunes using bacteria.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 12:03 pm

First Flapping, Two-Winged Aircraft Takes Flight

The first flapping, rudderless, two-winged aircraft may have military applications.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 24 Jul 2009 | 12:00 pm

New lizard species found in India

Scientists discover a new species of lizard in the lush Western Ghats mountain range in the Indian state of Maharashtra.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 24 Jul 2009 | 11:45 am

Recreating 17th century Manhattan

To create liveable cities in the future, Eric Sanderson looked to the past and recreated the environment of Manhattan in 1609 when Henry Hudson sailed into New York harbour

Our image of Manhattan is of an almost completely urban landscape of glass, steel and concrete canyons, but 400 years ago, when Henry Hudson sailed into New York Harbour, the island had more distinct ecological communities than Yosemite.

Eric Sanderson studies ecosystems and how landscapes create livable environments for plants and animals. What about the ecosystem of a city? How does it provide a liveable habitat for people?

New York was the world's first mega-city, the first city with more than 10m people. Thinking about the ecosystem of present-day New York City, he looked to Manhattan's past. How would the island have looked 400 years ago when Henry Hudson sailed into New York Harbour?

They started their research looking at historical documents, including a painting of Greenwich Village from the 1740s and a huge map of the island made by British military cartographers during the American Revolutionary War. The 'city' of New York extended only as far as City Hall Park. Gramercy Park was a swamp, and two streams came together in what is now Times Square.

To create an image of Manhattan four centuries ago, they took the island back to its ecological fundamentals, back to the bedrock and surface topology. With that information, they created a digital elevation model to restore the landscape of 17th century Manhattan.

They reconstructed the height of the hills and looked for the best places for human habitation: Areas close to water that would have been sheltered from the harsh winter winds.

Manhattan supported an extraordinary level of biodiversity. The ecosystem included more than 85 different kinds of fish, as well as beavers and black bears. They looked at all of the things that native plants and animals needed and where they might have been on the island, creating a visualisation of this ecological network called a Muir web.

This allowed them to create a photo-realistic recreation of 17th Century island, which you can explore on the Mannahatta web site. You can search any address or landmark and see what the area would have looked like in 1609 and also what plants and animals were there.

Walking down the court steps in Law & Order, in 1609, the lawyers would walk right into a pond, which provided drinking for the young city of New York.

Thinking four centuries ahead, Sanderson returns to the question of how to build liveable cities. To create the cities of the future, we need to think about our needs of food, water, shelter, reproductive resources and meaning.

In building our modern cities, not enough attention has been given to food and water, he said. He would like to bring back streams to the city and build windmills to provide power. If the 12m people who live in the New York metropolitan area lived at the same density as Manhattan, it would open up large areas for green space.

Cities of the future "need the dynamism of Manhattan but learn from the sustainability and ecologies of the past."

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 24 Jul 2009 | 10:26 am