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Popular Insect Repellent Deet Is NeurotoxicThe active ingredient in many insect repellents, deet, has been found to be toxic to the central nervous system. Researchers say that more investigations are urgently needed to confirm or dismiss any potential neurotoxicity to humans, especially when deet-based repellents are used in combination with other neurotoxic insecticides.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Protein That May Be 'Boon' To Medicine IsolatedScientists have isolated a unique protein that appears to have a dual function and could lead to a "boon in medicine."Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Men Who Do The Housework Are More Likely To Get The GirlMarriage and cohabiting rates in developed countries can be linked to attitudes towards the roles of men and women, and views on who is responsible for doing the housework and looking after the children. Both men and women have shown they are more likely to want a live-in relationship with the opposite sex if they think their partner will do a share of the housework and childcare duties.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Shedding Light On Freak Wave Hot SpotsInstances of "freak" or extreme waves have long been part of maritime lore, known for suddenly sending ships to the ocean floor. Using mathematical simulations, researchers have shown that changes in water depth and currents, which are common in coastal areas, may significantly increase the likelihood of extreme waves. These findings could allow for identification of extreme wave hotspots, which would greatly benefit the shipping industry and design of offshore structures.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm African Village Dogs Are Genetically Much More Diverse Than Modern BreedsAfrican village dogs are not a mixture of modern breeds but have directly descended from an ancestral pool of indigenous dogs, according to a new genetic analysis of hundreds of semi-feral African village dogs.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm All-in-One Nanoparticle: A 'Swiss Army Knife' For NanomedicineNanoparticles are being developed to perform a wide range of medical uses -- imaging tumors, carrying drugs, delivering pulses of heat. Rather than settling for just one of these, researchers have combined two nanoparticles in one tiny package. The result is the first structure that creates a multipurpose nanotechnology tool for medical imaging and therapy.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm Do Chicago’s Suburbs Hold The Key To Understanding West Nile Virus?When Tony Goldberg is not whacking through the brush of central Africa, one of the world's great cauldrons of emerging human and animal disease, he is scouring another disease hot spot: the southwestern suburbs of Chicago. The goal of Goldberg's study is to ferret out the reasons why one neighborhood might be in the eye of the West Nile storm while another neighboring area is not.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Decoding Leukemia Patient Genome Leads Scientists To Mutations In Other PatientsScientists have sequenced the complete genome of a patient with acute myeloid leukemia, discovering a suite of genetic changes in the cancer cells. Their research has revealed that one of these mutations also is common in certain brain tumors called gliomas and that another occurred in a second patient with the same type of leukemia. Neither mutation had been previously linked to leukemia.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Astronomers Find Hyperactive Galaxies In Early UniverseLooking almost 11 billion years into the past, astronomers have measured the motions of stars for the first time in a very distant galaxy and clocked speeds upwards of one million miles per hour, about twice the speed of our Sun through the Milky Way.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Sex Hormones Associated With Broken Bones In Older MenLow levels of estradiol or high levels of sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) are associated with an increased risk of osteoporotic fracture in older men, according to a new study. The study also finds that men with low levels of testosterone combined with high levels of SHBG are also at higher risk for bone fracture.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Pacific islands survival 'depends on climate deal' (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:27 am Toyota Prius top-selling car in Japan for 3 months (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 4:11 am The Nation's weather (AP)AP - Active weather was forecast to persist across the Gulf and Mid-Atlantic States on Thursday as a front continued to linger over the region.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:59 am Boost for endangered vultures after captive breeding successTwo slender-billed vultures born in RSPB breeding programme in India as wild population heads towards extinction One of the world's most threatened birds has been successfully bred in captivity for the first time, conservationists said today. The slender-billed vulture, which is even more threatened than the tiger in India, is one of several Asian species of the carrion-eating bird which has seen dramatic declines in numbers in recent years and are now critically endangered. There are just 1,000 slender-billed vultures left in the wild, according to the RSPB. Conservationists say successfully breeding one of the birds in captivity is a "huge boost" to efforts to prevent it becoming extinct in the wild. The slender-billed vulture and another species, the long-billed vulture, have together suffered declines of almost 97% since 1992. The population of a third of critically endangered species, the oriental white-backed vulture, is halving each year and is heading towards extinction even more quickly than the dodo. The vultures have been hit by the use of the veterinarian drug Diclofenac which gives them kidney failure when they eat the carcasses of livestock that have died within a few days of being treated with the medication. A captive breeding scheme in India, run by a coalition of conservation groups including the RSPB and the Zoological Society of London, has seen the successful hatching and fledging of two slender-billed vultures for the first time this year. Last year, the dedicated breeding centres managed to rear Oriental white-backed vultures for the first time, and repeated their success this year with three chicks. "It is clear we are refining our expertise, but with extinction in the wild likely in the next 10 years, we do not have a moment to waste," said Chris Bowden, who is in charge of the RSPB's Asian vulture programme. "The more vultures that we can bring into captivity means a better chance of survival for these rapidly-declining species. Birds can only be saved from extinction through banning the retail sale of Diclofenac, promotion of the safe alternative, Meloxicam, and the capture of more birds for the breeding programme." The RSPB said veterinary formulations of Diclofenac had been banned in India since 2006 and efforts to take it out of use there and in Nepal were taking effect. But more steps were needed to prevent versions of the medication which are being illegally given to livestock, and introduce the safe alternative Meloxicam. 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 | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:58 am Aussie koala that survived fires dies in surgery (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:57 am Lucky survivors rescued by Fla. turtle hospital (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:53 am Sea snake's two-headed illusionSea snake uses skin markings to fool predators into thinking that its tail is a second head, according to researchers.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Aug 2009 | 3:00 am How the humble raindrop has driven flower evolutionThe humble raindrop may have played an important role in the evolution of flowers, scientists in China have discovered.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Aug 2009 | 2:58 am At least 10 die in floods in southwest China: report (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Aug 2009 | 12:06 am Man indicted in death of Hawaiian monk seal (AP)AP - A federal grand jury has indicted a 78-year-old Kauai man in the shooting death of an endangered Hawaiian monk seal in May.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm New technique gives big picture of AIDS gene mapWASHINGTON (Reuters) - A new technique has given researchers a "big picture" look at the genome of the AIDS virus, the first time its entire gene map has been decoded.Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Aug 2009 | 7:42 pm Walking with DinosaursO2, London One of the first things you notice is how much of the 02 is missing. The dinosaurs seem to have commandeered nearly half the arena for their backstage business. It makes sense – you can't let them hang around the stage door smoking. There is an announcement that "the role of Huxley the palaeontologist will be played by Mr Dominic Rickhards". I hadn't reckoned on a human actor taking the stage with the animatronic monsters of Walking With Dinosaurs, the arena spectacular which has already sold 3m tickets worldwide, but his presence gives one a sense of scale: some of his co-stars are five times his height. No one takes much notice of the pre-show warning that the dinosaurs do not take kindly to flash photography, which is surprising when one's first thought, as a nimble liliensternus steps into the light, is that the barriers between stage and audience aren't high enough. If it wanted to, it could hop right over. One gets a vague idea of what it was like in the early days of film, when people ran from images of oncoming trains. Walking With Dinosaurs is, first and foremost, a triumph of modern stagecraft. Even the vegetation is exciting. The dinosaurs are, to a man, brilliant. Some are clearly puppets with people inside, and some are apparently controlled by "voodoo operators" who move little dinosaurs backstage to make the big ones do what they want. One attribute that distinguishes these creatures from other animatronic dinosaurs is their speed. There's nothing you feel you could outrun. And yet the show somehow manages not to terrify the legions of five-year-olds in the audience (at that age I would have fainted). Even when the T-Rex bends down and roars in our faces, they just stare, while their parents engage in reckless flash photography. The show is based on the BBC series, and proceeds much along the same lines. It's an informative 90-minute journey through Earth's 163m years of dinosaur occupation. Huxley's breathless narration keeps the whole thing from being a mere parade of clever puppets and machines. The overall illusion is highly effective, but they let you glimpse just enough of the workings to leave you impressed. There are even a couple of decent laughs. Walking With Dinosaurs is crowd-pleasing in the best sense, which is probably why it's sold more tickets than Coldplay this year. It's hard to imagine anyone not enjoying it – it may even be cool enough to convert a few creationists. 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 | 5 Aug 2009 | 6:36 pm Structure of HIV genome 'decoded'A team of researchers in the US has decoded the entire genetic structure of the HIV-1 virus, Nature journal reportsSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 6:23 pm San Diego Zoo panda gives birth to 5th cub (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2009 | 6:15 pm 'Two-Headed' Snake Fakes Predators (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - One species of venomous sea snake shows the advantages of being two-faced. This slithering reptile twists its tail so its hind end appears to predators as a second head.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2009 | 5:06 pm 'Two-Headed' Snake Fakes PredatorsOne sea snake tricks predators with a head-mimicking tail.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 5:01 pm Presidential Panel Narrows Options for NASA's Future (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - A White House panel tasked with reevaluating NASA's plans for future space exploration has begun culling a list of potential options - one that ranges from staying the current course to taking direct aim at sending humans to Mars.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Aug 2009 | 5:00 pm DNA computer 'answers questions'A computer with DNA at its core can solve classic logical conundrums, according to Israeli researchers.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:32 pm Your Mom’s Facebook Status: I’m Crunching Climate Data!
Solving the climate change problem or curing cancer can seem like Everest-scale problems that anyone who isn’t a millionaire philanthropist or brilliant scientist can do nothing about. But now you, and all your Facebook friends, can pitch in. Intel has created an application for the popular social networking site that allows people to donate their computers’ spare processing power to scientific research. “The more computers we have, the better calculations we can do,” said biochemist David Baker of the University of Washington, who uses volunteer computing for his research via Rosetta@home, which is working on cures for cancer and myriad other diseases. “There is no upper limit.” Volunteer computing for science has been around since 1999 when SETI put lay people to work searching for ET, but the strategy had limited reach. Since then developers have created a general version of the SETI@home software, called BOINC (Berkeley open infrastructure for network computing), as a tool for any type of scientific computing. The biggest remaining hurdle is that people don’t know about volunteer computing. Worldwide, there are about 50 BOINC projects that engage only about 317,000 volunteers. But now the same strategy can tap into massive preexisting social networks and marshal far more computing power.
This could be a major help for scientists who are limited by the processing power available to them. For University researchers and other scientists who don’t work at a national lab with a petaflop supercomputer, this can be quite limiting indeed. “We saw Facebook as a great way to bring large numbers to volunteer computing,” said John Cooney, online programs manager for Intel. Facebook users can choose from three projects: Rosetta@home; Climateprediction.net, which is predicting the Earth’s climate and testing the accuracy of climate models; and Africa@home, which is studying simulation models of malaria transmission and the potential impact of new anti-malarial drugs and vaccines. “To me, the interesting thing is how this gives people a way to practically and constructively engage in major issues of the day,” said Matt Blumberg, executive director of the nonprofit Grid Republic, which developed the application, called Progress Through Processors, with Intel. “It’s better to be part of solution than to be sitting on the sidelines and throwing up your hands.” To address potential security concerns, BOINC creates a folder on volunteers’ computers that has no access to the rest of the file system. Data is transferred using state-of-the-art cryptography. And the program takes a backseat to volunteers’ demands on their processors. “No third-party site ever contacts your computer,” said Blumberg. “It’s only your computer that reaches out. In terms of security risk, it’s comparable to browsing the web or reading email.” To keep scientists feeling secure as well, the software duplicates processing to make sure volunteers don’t alter data. Even if volunteers do glimpse research topics, the risk to the projects is minimal. “In the case of Rosetta@home, which has about 150,000 people participating, each person only gets 1/150,000 of the problem,” Blumberg said. See Also:
Image: Flickr/Jeff Henshaw
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:07 pm 'Cash for Clunkers' Barely Makes a DentClimate experts aren't impressed by the effect of "cash for clunkers" on emissions.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Infrared Telescope Warms Up to Star-Forming Cloud
Now warmed up to a toasty minus 406 degrees Fahrenheit, NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope has produced the first set of photos since running out of liquid coolant in May.
“The performance of the two short wavelength channels of Spitzer’s infrared array camera is essentially unchanged from what it was before the observatory’s liquid helium was exhausted,” said Doug Hudgins, the Spitzer program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington in a press release. “To put that in perspective, that means Spitzer’s sensitivity at those wavelengths is still roughly the same as a 30-meter ground-based telescope.” Spitzer took two other photos, the first of a relatively calm galaxy 68 million light-years away, and the second of a dying star called a planetary nebula. The nebula is unusual because it has four jets of ejected material instead of two, suggesting that it might contain two dying stars each with its own double jet. See Also:
Images: NASA.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:02 pm Richest Nations See Baby BoomLeading economic nations are experiencing modest baby booms.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 2:00 pm Men Stare at Women 43 Minutes Per DayThat adds up to nearly a year of ogling time between age 18 and 50.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:15 pm BIG PIC: Lightning Over Discovery's Launch PadStorms slow space shuttle Discovery's launch pad arrival Tuesday evening.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 1:00 pm Ancient pterosaurs were skilled fliersRIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - A fossil found in China of a pterosaur, the earliest known flying vertebrate, shows the creatures had unique and complex wing fibers that enabled them to fly with the precision and control of birds, researchers said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:49 pm How to Tell Liver Spots from Moles and CancerLiver spots are not dangerous. Melanoma is.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:44 pm New Photos: Earth from the MoonTwo spacecraft have beamed back new pictures of Earth taken from the vantage point of the moon, which offers a view of our planet as a full globe.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:42 pm NASA Goes Green With New Sustainability BaseNASA plans to build a new “green” building at its Ames Research Center in California, incorporating the agency's most advanced recycling and intelligent control technologies.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:38 pm Speeding Stars Confirm Bizarre Nature of Faraway GalaxiesSpeeding stars confirm that galaxies in the early universe are strangely compact, a new study found.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:34 pm Space Telescope Warms Up, Makes Pretty PicturesNASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has officially started its “Warm Mission” after taking its first shots of the cosmos since it ran out of coolant in May.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:33 pm Mystery Surrounds Prevalence of Twins in Indian VillageA small village in India is home to more than 200 sets of twins.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 12:23 pm Martian methane mystery deepensMethane on Mars is produced and destroyed far faster than on Earth according to analysis of recent data.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 11:17 am Photo: Strange Star System Makes Its Own Nebula
The beautiful nebula surrounding the star HD 87643 like a hood is formed by matter it ejects. Closer observation of the star by astronomers at the European Southern Observatory found that the nebula’s engine could be a two-stroke. A small companion star is locked in orbit around HD 87643. The violent interactions between the stars when they draw close together provide a plausible explanation for why every 15-50 years, the star blasts out enormous amounts of material. The cloud of dust and gas has been shaped by the star’s wind, giving it a ragged edge. The system is located in a field of stars in the direction of the Carina constellation. See Also:
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 | 5 Aug 2009 | 11:06 am Mapping HIV Genome’s Shape, Not Just Sequence
The cellular equivalent of a rough wiring diagram for HIV gives further evidence that the architecture of its genome, not just its sequence, explains how the deadly virus works. Researchers at the University of North Carolina used chemical compounds that linked to pieces of HIV’s genome to trace its shape and arrangement. Their morphological reverse-engineering was necessary because HIV stymies standard atomic-level microscopes. Unlike most genomes, the genetic code of HIV is made from single-stranded RNA rather than double-stranded DNA. Its units are small, densely packed and very hard to work with. As a result, though scientists have identified HIV’s genes and their order, just one-fifth of its genome has been described in precise spatial detail. That’s important because genomes don’t look anything like the neatly linear, bar code-like pictures returned by basic sequencing techniques. In reality, genomes are arranged in intricate, three-dimensional loops and whorls. And just as a list of machines isn’t very useful without a description of their arrangement on a factory floor, structure matters. In a commentary accompanying the findings, published Wednesday in Nature, University of Michigan chemist Hashim Al-Hashimi called them an “aerial view.” The map is still not complete or truly high-resolution. It’s also a one-time representation of an ever-shifting target. But even so, it’s detailed enough to suggest that the architecture of certain spots in the HIV genome’s middle regions coordinates protein manufacture. Until now, high-resolution imaging efforts have focused on the genome’s tips. Researchers can now target other regions in greater detail, and perhaps see where a wrench might be thrown into the viral assembly line. “The quest for a high-resolution structure of the entire HIV-1 RNA genome has begun in earnest,” writes Hashimi. See Also:
Citations: “Architecture and secondary structure of an entire HIV-1 RNA genome.” By Joseph M. Watts, Kristen K. Dang, Robert J. Gorelick, Christopher W. Leonard, Julian W. Bess Jr, “Aerial view of the HIV genome.” By Hashim M. Al-Hashimi. Nature Vol. 460 No. 7256, August 6, 2009. Image: Nature Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes, Wired Science on Twitter.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 5 Aug 2009 | 11:03 am Bug Plays Dead, Sacrifices NeighborSome beetles play possum, and for the same reason that possums do: to avoid attention from predators.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 10:40 am Orangutans' Leafy InstrumentAn orangutan strips leaves from a twig, holds it them to its mouth and produces the kiss squeak call, an example of tools use for communication in primates.Source: Livescience.com | 5 Aug 2009 | 10:31 am Orangutans Invent Deceptive 'Kiss Squeak'Orangutans use a "kiss squeak" sound to deter potential predators.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 10:00 am How a gecko knows when to get a gripResearchers have solved the mystery of what triggers the gecko's famous adhesion mechanism. Gecko-inspired technologies could include robots that scuttle up and down the outsides of spacecraft looking for damage – and spiderman pads Geckos are the champion climbers of the vertebrate world, running around on walls and ceilings with insouciant ease. They have some pretty remarkable adaptations that enable them to do this. Each of their toes is covered with "setae" – tiny projections much thinner than a human hair. Each seta is tipped with hundreds of even finer projections called spatulae, which have a diameter smaller than the wavelength of visible light. The spatulae stick to walls by van der Waals forces, the electrostatic attraction or repulsion between materials caused by the uneven distribution of charge on their molecules. The same interactions are responsible for the pages in your newspaper sticking together. These forces allow a gecko to cling to almost any surface, without secreting a sticky substance. Although a gecko only weighs around 90g, it can stick to a ceiling tightly enough to support a weight of around 40kg. Clearly it would be difficult to move around if you stuck so strongly with every step, so geckos can turn their grip on and off. They switch it on by rolling their toes down and gripping inwards, and detach by rolling the toes upwards and backwards to peel the spatulae off. They're able to do this so quickly that they can attach and detach from a surface 15 times a second. But until now, scientists have been unsure what triggers the geckos to deploy the gripping mechanism. In a paper published online today in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, Anthony Russell of the University of Calgary in Canada and Timothy Higham of Clemson University in South Carolina report that the gecko's perception of body orientation determines when it activates the adhesive system. On a 30-degree slope, all six of the geckos they tested deployed the grip. On a 10-degree slope only three of the geckos did, suggesting that 10 degrees is about the threshold at which the gripping mechanism is activated. The three geckos that did start clinging at 10 degrees moved more slowly, showing that there are drawbacks to turning on the adhesive system. "There are costs, in terms of speed, and benefits, in terms of traction, associated with this switch, just as there are for Formula 1 cars when rain tyres are employed instead of slicks when circumstances place a premium on grip over outright speed," said Russell. The scientists ruled out the possibility that geckos switch on their traction control when they feel their feet slipping. When the geckos ran on a smooth Plexiglas surface their feet slipped – even on a level surface – but this didn't trigger the adhesive system. Researchers studying how geckos cling to walls and ceilings hope that a better understanding of the process will enable engineers to copy it for robotics and other commercial applications. A team from Carnegie Mellon University has built robots with ultra-thin fibres on their feet that enable them to climb walls. A similar design could be used to make robots that can scale the outsides of spacecraft to inspect for damage. Last year a group at the University of California, Berkeley, developed a gecko-inspired adhesive tape covered with microscopic contacts, that only sticks when you try to pull it across a surface. Soon we could be using gecko technology to hang pictures on walls using non-sticky adhesives. Is it too early to dream of Spiderman-style pads that would enable us to scale walls like geckos? Perhaps not ... 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 | 5 Aug 2009 | 9:54 am SLIDE SHOW: Five Techs Inspired by SharksPlenty of technology is inspired by the shark, from its skin to its speed.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 9:24 am Harrabin's notesIs climate change an energy or a 'green' issue?Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 9:16 am BLOG: Artificial Leaf Uses TranspirationAn artificial leaf made from a glass wafer uses transpiration to generate energy.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 8:54 am Gravity Cues Geckos When to Use Sticky FeetGeckos turn on their sticky feet when they encounter an incline of at least 10 degrees.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 7:25 am US struggling to find cyber-tsarThe Obama administration has come under fire for dragging its feet in its search for a head of cyber security.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 6:48 am Gorillas Perform Hand Clapping RitualFemale gorillas have a clapping ritual that holds meaning for other gorillas.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 5 Aug 2009 | 6:25 am Battling the bugsAre we losing the war on viruses and bacteria?Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 5:25 am City dwellers 'should keep bees'People in English towns areas are being encouraged to keep bees to help declining populations.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:29 am How orangutans lower their voices in a ruse to ward off predatorsWild orangutans use leaves to lower their voices in a ruse to ward off predators, a study shows.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Aug 2009 | 4:26 am
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Two of the telescope’s infrared channels are still working well despite the hotter temperature, and they were able to capture this dramatic image of a cloud bursting with stars in the Cygnus region of the Milky Way Galaxy. Infrared imaging lets Spitzer see and look through dust, which appears blue. Young stars can be seen forming beneath dusty blue clouds, and the orange swirls are mainly hot gas.
