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Drug-resistant Malaria Has Emerged In CambodiaMalaria parasites in western Cambodia have become resistant to artemisinin-based therapies, the first-line treatment for malaria, according to a new study. Resistance to the drugs makes them less effective and could eventually render them obsolete, putting millions of lives at risk.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Tiny Device To 'Sniff Out' Disease, Heart Attacks, Poison And Environmental Pollution DevelopedScientists have coupled biological materials with an electrode-based device to create a customizable sensor that can detect pathogens and biomarkers.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Temptation More Powerful Than Individuals RealizeNew research demonstrates that individuals believe they have more restraint than they actually possess -- ultimately leading to poor decision-making.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm On The Path To Metallic HydrogenA recently discovered hydrogen-based compound could be helpful in the search for metallic and superconducting forms of hydrogen.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Greenroofs Can Save Cities Millions Of Gallons Of WaterHaving a garden on your roof isn't just nice for a garden party; it can make your city more environmentally friendly. Many American cities are beginning to incorporate greenroofs into their planning ordinances because they recognize that, planting a rooftop garden can offset heat, increase city biodiversity and decrease stormwater runoff. This runoff can be problematic in cities where rainwater is funneled by streets and parking lots directly into streams, carrying with it chemicals and debris and increasing the risk of flash floods.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm How Marijuana Causes Memory DeficitsMemory loss associated with marijuana use is caused by the drug's interference with the brain's natural protein synthesis machinery, according to a new study by European researchers.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Epilepsy Halted In MiceScientists have prevented epilepsy caused by a gene defect from being passed on to mice offspring -- an achievement which may herald new therapies for people suffering from the condition.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Scientists Report Original Source Of MalariaResearchers have identified what they believe is the original source of malignant malaria: a parasite found in chimpanzees in equatorial Africa. The deadly parasite jumped to humans from chimpanzees, perhaps through one mosquito.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am New Yeasts Could Help Fast-Track Biofuel ProductionA new yeast that makes ethanol from both five-carbon and six-carbon sugars without needing oxygen has now been developed. This could be an important breakthrough in industrial ethanol production, because it's difficult to control oxygen levels as yeasts ferment sugars into ethanol. The new yeast strain would help alleviate this problem.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Common Household Pesticides Linked To Childhood Cancer Cases In Washington AreaResearchers find a higher level of common household pesticides in the urine of children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a cancer that develops most commonly between three and seven years of age. The findings should not be seen as cause-and-effect, but suggests an association between pesticide exposure and development of childhood ALL.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Hops... polymers? New material makes for fresher beerA material for mopping up a chemical that shortens beer's shelf life has been created by researchers.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:14 am SAfrica: Rich nations must pay for climate change (AP)AP - South Africa says it and other developing countries won't consider the next round of climate change talks successful unless rich nations pay up.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:13 am European bison on 'genetic brink'Europe's largest mammal remains extremely vulnerable to extinction, despite long-standing efforts to save the species.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 4:07 am US cyber-security tsar steps downThe White House's acting cyber-security tsar resigns from her post, according to the Wall Street Journal.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:24 am Soldier's tale'Doctors used my ribs to save my hand'Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 3:02 am The Nation's weather (AP)AP - Active weather was expected for the central part of the country Tuesday as a cold front pushes through the region.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 2:44 am Forests fall to beetle outbreakMEDICINE BOW NATIONAL FOREST, Wyoming (Reuters) - From the vantage point of an 80-foot (25 meter) tower rising above the trees, the Wyoming vista seems idyllic: snow-capped peaks in the distance give way to shimmering green spruce.Source: Reuters: Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 1:24 am Intel boosts Facebook users power for research (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:50 am Replacement teeth grown in miceResearchers in Japan have successfully grown replacement teeth in mice, according to a report in PNAS journal.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:37 am Malaria may have come from chimpsWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Malaria may have jumped to humans from chimpanzees much as AIDS did, U.S. researchers reported on Monday in a study they hope could help in developing a vaccine against the infection.Source: Reuters: Science News | 4 Aug 2009 | 12:17 am Wild! Ohio family visits 52 zoos in 52 weeks (AP)AP - It's been a wild year for members of an Ohio family, who say they've accomplished a goal of visiting 52 zoos in 52 weeks.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 6:57 pm Photos: NASA’s New Rocket Gets Built, and Dang Is It Skinny
The first tall, skinny Ares I-X rocket is now more than half assembled at Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building.
Last week, a host of new pieces were stacked onto the test rocket, putting it over the halfway mark, NASA announced in a blog post titled, “Really Taking Shape Now.” The Ares I-X is set for an October 31 test flight, but along with the entire next-generation NASA Constellation program, its future is uncertain. The Human Spaceflight Review, initiated by the Obama administration earlier this year, could recommend wholesale changes to NASA’s future. Nonetheless, the program continues to soldier on, as can be seen from these construction photos. Below, we see a custom-designed overhead crane, which places the components onto the stack.
These photos really give a sense of the scale of rocket, which will reach a height of 327 feet when it’s complete. In about a month — just about the time the review committee submits its findings — the Ares I-X stacking process will be complete.
Images: 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 | 3 Aug 2009 | 6:23 pm Scientists halt epilepsy in miceScientists have prevented epilepsy caused by a faulty gene from being passed down the generations in mice.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 3 Aug 2009 | 5:15 pm DNA reveals how malaria jumped species from chimps to humansScientists say they have genetic proof that malaria spread by mosquitoes jumped species from chimpanzees to humans.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 3 Aug 2009 | 5:15 pm WATCH: Ancient Warrior Skeleton UnearthedThe remains of a 5,000-year-old Roman warrior was found virtually intact on a public beach.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm "Don't eat me" sign helps bladder tumors escapeWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers said on Monday they had found primitive bladder cancer cells that cloak themselves with a "don't eat me" signal that scares off immune system cells, allowing them to mature into tumors later on.Source: Reuters: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 4:23 pm Domestic dog origins challengedThe suggestion that dogs were first domesticated in Asia is challenged by a new genetic study.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 3 Aug 2009 | 4:01 pm Ex-NASA official goes on trial over steering money (AP)AP - A former high-ranking NASA official went on trial Monday on charges that he steered nearly $10 million to a consulting client and lied about it.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 3:45 pm Tool Bag Lost In Space Meets Fiery End (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - A tool bag lost by a spacewalking astronaut last year met its fiery demise in Earth's atmosphere Monday after months circling ever closer to the planet.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 3:32 pm Experts grow new teeth in adult miceHONG KONG (Reuters) - Scientists in Japan have managed to grow fully functional teeth in adult mice using cells from an embryo, and they hope the same technology can be used to grow human organs in the future.Source: Reuters: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 3:04 pm Dog Domestication Likely Began in AfricaDog domestication may have started in North Africa, not East Asia, according to a new study.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 3:01 pm Malaria Jumped to Humans From Chimpanzees
Malaria appears to have originated in chimpanzees and jumped over to humans at some point in the last two million years, bucking the leading theory that the disease had evolved along with humans. After gathering blood samples from nearly 100 chimpanzees in central Africa, researchers uncovered eight new strains of the parasite that causes chimp malaria. By comparing genes from the new chimp strains to genes from human malaria, scientists discovered that like HIV, our malaria bug is a gift from chimpanzees. “The conventional wisdom on malaria is that this is a disease that has been in humans since the dawn of humanity,” said infectious disease expert Nathan Wolfe of Stanford University, who co-authored the paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. “In fact, what we found was really quite surprising to us: There is a tremendous diversity of these parasites in chimpanzees, and it’s a diversity that completely encompasses a much more limited diversity in human malaria.” “There’s only one way to interpret that finding,” Wolfe said. “Namely, that this is a chimpanzee parasite that had jumped over to human populations.”
Malaria kills more than one million people each year and infects at least 500 million around the world. But until now, scientists had only a cloudy understanding of the origin of the deadliest human malaria parasite, called Plasmodium falciparum. Researchers had identified a single strain of a similar parasite in chimpanzees, but most scientists assumed that the two bugs had evolved from a common ancestor before humans split off from chimpanzees five to seven million years ago. With just one strain of chimp malaria, however, it was impossible to know for sure. Scientists can estimate how long a bacteria or parasite has been around based on the genetic diversity between its various strains: The longer a bug has existed, the more time it has had to mutate and accumulate small differences in its genes.
“The human parasites are sitting on a very, very narrow branch in the midst of a very complex and diverse tree of chimpanzee parasites,” he said. The pattern of diversity suggests that human malaria split off from a particular strain of chimpanzee malaria at some point in our relatively recent past. “There’s no other possible explanation for this finding,” said molecular biologist Ajit Varki of the University of California, San Diego, who specializes in the origins of infectious disease but was not involved in the research. “Looking at it from the evolutionary perspective, there’s really no way that it could have happened in any other way.” The researchers think chimpanzee malaria was probably carried to humans by mosquitoes. And although the main transmission event happened only once, Wolfe thinks that in some remote areas, there could be an ongoing exchange of parasites between humans and chimps. “One of the problems with malaria diagnosis is that it’s very much based on symptoms,” said Wolfe, who has himself been infected with malaria three times. “Only a few cases are diagnosed by blood studies under the microscope, and very few people in the world could identify the difference between chimp and human parasites.” In other words, if chimpanzee malaria is circulating in some remote parts of Africa, we might never know it. In future studies, Wolfe and his colleagues plan to search for this kind of ongoing transmission, as well as try to better understand how malaria affects the chimpanzees themselves. “We simply don’t know much about the additional health consequences of malaria in chimpanzees,” Wolfe said. “Scientists are biased toward thinking that these things don’t cause disease in species that they’ve been in for a long time, but if we find that it causes disease, it won’t be too surprising.” Knowing the origin of malaria may have practical significance for people, too. Scientists have been searching for a malaria vaccine for a long time, Varki said, but so far they’ve failed. If chimp malaria doesn’t cause a serious infection in humans, but generates an immune response, he thinks it might be a good target for a vaccine. Wolfe says there’s a historical lesson to be learned from malaria as well. Media coverage of bird flu, SARS, and swine flu may come and go, but animal diseases that jump over into humans don’t always die out quickly. “Just because these things are spilling over now does not mean they will disappear in five to 10 years,” he said. “They may have the potential to be around thousands of years from now.” “It just emphasizes the importance of what we do, catching pandemics early and stopping them from spreading,” said Wolfe, who founded the Global Viral Forecasting Initiative in 2008 to try to halt pandemics before they start. “Once something spreads around the world and takes hold, it becomes a different story.” See Also:
Images: Chimpanzees in the Mfou National Park in Cameroon. Image 1: Nathan Wolfe, GVFI. Image 2: Matthew LeBreton, GVFI.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 3 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Temptation Harder to Resist Than You Think, Study SuggestsPeople overestimate their abilities to not eat a dessert or abstain from smoking a cigarette.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 2:31 pm Brain Exercises May Delay Dementia (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - Activities that keep the brain active, such as reading, writing and playing card games, may delay the precipitous memory declines that define dementia, a new study suggests.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 2:11 pm Brain Exercises May Delay DementiaReading, writing, other brain exercises put off memory decline of dementia.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 2:01 pm This page no longer worksLearn about the technological breakthroughs that have shaped our lives.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 1:50 pm Top 10 American InnovationsLearn about the technological breakthroughs that have shaped our lives.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 1:39 pm Quake Strikes Gulf of CaliforniaA powerful earthquake measuring magnitude 6.9 struck the Gulf of California today.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 1:36 pm T. Rex Link to Birds Holds UpA new group has restudied soft tissue data and linking T. rex to chickens.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 1:13 pm 6.9-magnitude quake hits Baja California: USGS (Reuters)Reuters - A 6.9-magnitude earthquake struck off Baja California in Mexico on Monday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 1:12 pm From the NASA Archive: Astronaut-Butt Molds
In addition to the many obvious perks of being an astronaut in the early days of NASA — fame, glory, hero status and, of course, going to space — there was the lesser known benefit of having your butt immortalized.
These molded astronaut couches are the same kind that were made for the Mercury capsules. The NASA employees whose names grace these seats didn’t get to go to space, but certainly a couch molded precisely to their behinds had to be the next best thing. This photo was taken at NASA’s Langley Research Centers in 1959. Image: NASA
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 3 Aug 2009 | 12:55 pm THE INFLUENCE GAME: Biotech drug lobbying war (AP)AP - With the nation's $46 billion biological drug market at stake, the war between makers of the pricey biotech medicines and their would-be generic competitors has involved millions of dollars in lobbying, thousands in campaign contributions and uncounted visits to members of Congress. And one noteworthy letter.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 12:39 pm Turbulence: Leading Cause of In-flight InjuriesTurbulence is air movement that normally cannot be seen and often occurs unexpectedly.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 12:18 pm Call for debate on killer robotsA leading academic has called for an international debate on the ethics of using autonomous robots for war.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 3 Aug 2009 | 12:09 pm How to Really Save EnergyRather than just re-invent the energy wheel, we should all grease the ones we have, a new study suggests.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 11:58 am DNA-like technique may help nab fossil thieves (AP)AP - Looters who plundered one of Utah's newest troves of dinosaur bones got away with ribs, vertebrae and part of an ancient legbone they had to bust apart to remove. They also stole hidden scientific clues about the life of a young diplodocus dinosaur that roamed the area some 150 million years ago.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 11:43 am China doctor reveals 100 rules for would-be spacemenSHANGHAI (Reuters) - No scars, no history of serious illness in the last three generations of your family, and no tooth cavities.Source: Reuters: Science News | 3 Aug 2009 | 10:29 am Plague Strikes Again; China Seals TownA pneumonic plague outbreak has Chinese health authorities on high alert.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 10:15 am Can Life on Earth Escape the Swelling Sun?It's only a matter of time before a dying sun may end life on earth.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 10:14 am Giant Star Boils, Releasing Matter Into SpaceGiant gas bubbles spotted on a supergiant star's surface reveal it's boiling.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 10:05 am China screens space cadets for halitosisDoctors screening candidates for China's space programme seek 'superhumans' with no scars, no allergies – and no halitosis Wanted: superhumans. No runny noses, bad breath or ringworm allowed, but pleasant personality a must. The 100 stringent health requirements for China's next team of astronauts have been unveiled by one of the doctors screening them, according to a newspaper. The ban on candidates with halitosis reflects the interests of other space travellers rather than the physical demands of the job. "The bad smell would affect their fellow colleagues in a narrow space," Shi Bingbing, an official at one of the six astronaut health-screening hospitals, told the Yangtze Evening Paper. Tooth cavities are also out, as are scars – which might bleed during acceleration, Shi said. Candidates with serious illness in the last three generations of their families are barred. So too are those who suffer from drug allergies. The country's space fervour has been ignited by its first spacewalk last autumn. China's longer-term goal is to build a space station and officials say they are selecting five to seven "taikonauts". Aside from the physical requirements of the job, the candidates must possess a pleasant and adaptable disposition, the paper said. "These astronauts could be regarded as superhuman beings," said Shi, of the 454th hospital of the People's Liberation Army air force in Nanjing. The newspaper said the standards were so strict they could almost be called unreasonable. Shi said that while many of the criteria were small flaws that were not a problem for ordinary people, astronauts were "the elite of the elite". She added that they were so precious they were protected by bodyguards and could not travel by car or plane with other astronauts in case of accidents. "After both their physical and mental conditions pass the tests, they still need to pass the last requirement – permission from their wives," Shi added. "If a wife has concerns or disagrees with it, she can decide the husband should not go into space." In future husbands may have the veto; last month Chinese media reported that the first female astronaut would be selected soon. The country's first astronaut Yang Liwei – now in charge of selecting his successors – told the official website xinhuanet.com: "The selection is under way. I believe Chinese women will be seen in space in the near future." According to state media they are expected to be recruited from among the 16 female fighter pilots who finished training in April – China's first. 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 | 3 Aug 2009 | 9:48 am Save the Planet: Have Fewer KidsStatistical study finds having children has long-term environmental impact.Source: Livescience.com | 3 Aug 2009 | 9:39 am Marijuana Proven to Affect MemoryMemory loss is often linked to cannabis use, but researchers have just discovered why it happens.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am BLOG: Shark Teeth Rip Open Climate MysteriesA direct link between shark teeth and ocean temperatures is found.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 8:35 am INTERVIEW: How Sharks View the WorldA shark researcher talks about some of sharks' magical sensory abilities.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 7:35 am Elephant Seals Moved Fast With Climate ChangeElephant seals proved highly mobile when an ice sheet retreated 8,000 years ago.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 7:20 am Mammoths Doomed by Hunting, ClimateMammoths were not wiped out by a comet or asteroid, a new study concludes.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 3 Aug 2009 | 6:00 am African woman infected with gorilla strain of HIVA woman from Cameroon now living in France is the first person confirmed to have a type of HIV originating in gorillas rather than chimpanzees A new strain of HIV has been discovered in a woman from Cameroon. It differs from the three known strains and appears to be closely related to a form of the virus recently discovered in wild gorillas, researchers reported today in the journal Nature Medicine. The finding "highlights the continuing need to watch closely for the emergence of new HIV variants, particularly in western central Africa," said the researchers, led by Jean-Christophe Plantier of the University of Rouen, France. The three previously known HIV strains are related to the simian virus that occurs in chimpanzees. The most likely explanation for the new find is gorilla-to-human transmission, Plantier's team said. But they added they cannot rule out the possibility that the new strain arose in chimpanzees and moved into gorillas and then humans, or moved directly from chimpanzees to both gorillas and humans. The 62-year-old patient tested positive for HIV in 2004, shortly after moving to Paris from Cameroon, according to the researchers. She had lived near Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, but said she had no contact with apes or bushmeat. The woman currently shows no signs of Aids and is not yet receiving antiviral drug treatment, the researchers said. How widespread this strain is remains to be determined. The researchers said it could be circulating unnoticed in Cameroon or elsewhere. The virus's rapid replication indicates that it is adapted to human cells, they reported. 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 | 3 Aug 2009 | 4:11 am Burning issueWhy did this UK minister visit the Amazon rainforest?Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 3 Aug 2009 | 3:51 am
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After uncovering eight new types of malaria parasites in chimpanzees, Wolfe and colleagues could compare genes across different strains of chimp malaria for the first time. What they discovered came as a surprise: Unlike P. falciparum, which is very similar across all strains, there’s a huge diversity among the chimpanzee parasites. That means chimp malaria has likely been around a lot longer, Wolfe said.