First Discovery Of Life's Building Block In Comet

NASA scientists have discovered glycine, a fundamental building block of life, in samples of comet Wild 2 returned by NASA's Stardust spacecraft.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am

New 'Biofactories' Produce Rare Healing Substances In Endangered Devil's Claw Plant

Deep in Africa's Kalahari Desert lies the "Devil's claw," a plant that may hold the key to effective treatments for arthritis, tendinitis and other illnesses that affect millions each year. Unfortunately, years of drought have pushed the Devil's claw toward extinction, so scientists are scrambling to devise new ways to produce the valuable medicinal chemicals of the Devil's claw and other rare plants.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am

New, Faster Way To Diagnose, Fight Flu

Researchers are using a new and faster method of rapidly producing highly targeted monoclonal antibodies for use in diagnostic tests as well as a temporary therapy to stave off infectious diseases such as the H1N1 (swine flu) virus.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am

Engineered Protein-like Molecule Protects Cells Against HIV Infection

With the help of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and molecular engineering, researchers have designed synthetic protein-like mimics convincing enough to interrupt unwanted biological conversations between cells.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am

Arabic Chemists From The 'Golden Age' Given Long Overdue Credit

It is a little known fact that Arabic scientists made important contributions to the fields of astronomy, geography, engineering and mathematics, and chemistry that last to this day, a researcher reports.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am

New Devices Harness Carbon Nanomaterials For Drug Delivery Systems, Oxygen Sensors

Two nanoscale devices recently reported in two separate journals harness the potential of carbon nanomaterials to enhance technologies for drug or imaging agent delivery and energy storage systems, in one case, and, in the other, bolster the sensitivity of oxygen sensors essential in confined settings, from mines to spacecrafts.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am

Honey-bee Aggression Study Suggests Nurture Alters Nature

A new study of honey bees lends support to the idea that nurture (an organism's environment) may ultimately influence nature (it's genetic inheritance).
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 6:00 am

List Of Hazardous Chemicals In Smokeless Tobacco Is Expanded In New Study

Attention all smokeless tobacco users: It's time to banish the comforting notion that snuff and chewing tobacco are safe because they don't burn and produce inhalable smoke like cigarettes. A study that looked beyond the well-researched tobacco hazards, nitrosamines and nicotine, has discovered a single pinch -- the amount in a portion -- of smokeless tobacco exposes the user to the same amount of another group of dangerous chemicals as the smoke of five cigarettes.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 6:00 am

New Method To Selectively Kill Metastatic Melanoma Cells Identified

Scientists have identified a new method for selectively killing metastatic melanoma cells, which may lead to new areas for drug development in melanoma -- a cancer that is highly resistant to current treatment strategies.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 6:00 am

Common Variation In Gene Linked To Structural Changes In The Brain

Common variations in a gene -- previously shown to be associated with Retts Syndrome, autism, and mental retardation -- are associated with differences in brain structure in both healthy individuals and patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 6:00 am

Asian competitors shadow German solar industry (AFP)

AFP - Germany's solar power industry, until recently the world leader in the technology, is facing an unprecedented crisis, analysts say, outshone by cheaper competitors from Asia, most notably Chinese firms.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:47 am

Protection plan deep-sea coral reefs considered (AP)

AP - Deep beneath the crystalline blue surface of the Atlantic Ocean off the southeastern U.S. lies a virtual rain forest of coral reefs so expansive the network is believed to be the world's largest.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:44 am

Russian hydro plant accident kills 12, 64 missing (AP)

AP - Rescue workers searched Russia's largest hydroelectric plant Tuesday for 64 missing workers after an accident during repairs killed at least 12 others at the massive plant in southern Siberia.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:13 am

Wet and dry

Bolivians look to ancestors for flood advice
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Aug 2009 | 3:11 am

The Nation's Weather (AP)

AP - An active weather pattern was forecast to remain across the Central and Southeastern regions of the nation Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:55 am

Hopes fade for missing in Russia plant tragedy (AFP)

AFP - Divers Tuesday searched flooded wreckage for 64 people still missing after an accident at Russia's biggest hydroelectric plant but officials admitted that the chances of finding survivors were dwindling.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 2:46 am

South Korea rocket launch bound to rile the North

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea is counting down to its first space launch on Wednesday that will likely open the door to its nascent rocket program and rile neighbor North Korea, hit by U.N. sanctions after its own rocket launch in April.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:36 am

China could see emissions peak in 2030: govt panel (AFP)

AFP - China could see its greenhouse gas emissions peak in 2030 if it sets "quantitative" reduction targets and invests heavily in the use of clean fuel technologies, a government panel of experts has said.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Aug 2009 | 1:31 am

Science proves zombies could annihilate humans

If zombies existed - an attack by them would lead to the collapse of civilisation unless dealt with quickly and aggressively, scientists say.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Aug 2009 | 12:38 am

Building block of life found on comet

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The amino acid glycine, a fundamental building block of proteins, has been found in a comet for the first time, bolstering the theory that raw ingredients of life arrived on Earth from outer space, scientists said on Monday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:47 pm

Sleep apnea raises death risk 46 percent: study

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Severe sleep apnea raises the risk of dying early by 46 percent, U.S. researchers reported Monday, but said people with milder sleep-breathing problems do not share that risk.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:38 pm

Law of the claw

Time to take wildlife crime seriously, says RSPB
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:00 pm

Hurricane Bill strengthens to Category 2 hurricane (AFP)

AFP - Hurricane Bill, the first of the Atlantic storm season, reached Category 2 strength, with top winds whizzing at about 100 miles per hour (160 kilometers per hour), US forecasters said.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 9:54 pm

New NIH chief: Turn science into better care, fast (AP)

AP - An influential geneticist who wears his faith on his sleeve says that as the new director of the National Institutes of Health he won't inject his religious convictions into medical research while pushing cutting-edge science into better bedside care.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 5:35 pm

I name this rat-eating plant 'Sir David Attenborough'

Celebrities inspire naturalists seeking to name new species

Sir David Attenborough is increasingly the go-to man for scientists overcome by the creative challenge of naming a new discovery. The naturalist has given his name to a prehistoric lizard, a parasitic wasp, an echidna (or spiny anteater), a fossilised fish and, now, a rat-eating plant.

It seems a dubious honour when your name is attached to a giant pitcher plant capable of trapping rodents in enormous folds. Sir David, however, is delighted that the carnivorous species was given the scientific title Nepenthes attenboroughii by a team of botanists led by Stewart McPherson, who discovered it during a plant-hunting expedition to Mount Victoria in the Philippines.

"I like these oddball plants and this is a very dramatic one. It can hold up to two litres of water in its jugs," says Sir David. "It is a very nice, complimentary thing for this young, intrepid explorer to do and I am very touched that Stewart McPherson should have done it in my name."

Every year, more than 15,000 new species of animal alone are recognised by scientists. In the old days, they would often pay tribute to a learned colleague but by the mid-19th century many species were named after wealthy patrons who funded scientific endeavour.

While modern scientists are admirably blind to the commercial potential of a new species of coffee plant called Starkbuckii or a prehistoric cow named McDonaldae, many have a weakness for honouring random celebrities. Hence we have a sea snail called Bufonaria borisbeckeri, a ground beetle named Agra katewinsletae and several dinosaurs named after Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg. Scientists have also immortalised their dodgy music taste (a dinosaur called Masiakasaurus knopfleri, after Dire Straits singer Mark Knopfler) and geeky passion for Star Wars (a wasp named Polemistus chewbacca and a beetle called Agathidium vaderi).

This year, a species of lichen was named Caloplaca obamae in honour of Barack Obama's support of science. The names given to three species of slime-mold beetle (Agathidium bushi after George Bush, Agathidium cheneyi after Dick Cheney and Agathidium rumsfeldi after Donald Rumsfeld) might not carry the same intent.

It is acceptable to name a species after a public figure but not after yourself, according to Steve Tracey of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature. Scientists naming discoveries after family members is also "a little bit naughty", says Tracey, particularly as the discoverer's name is anyway placed next to the species name so authorship is not forgotten.

His personal favourites are humorous: the mollusc of the genus Abra that was given the species name cadabra, while the naturalist Sir Peter Scott caused a stir by giving the Loch Ness Monster the scientific name of Nessiteras rhombopteryx. Supposed to mean "the wonder of Ness with the diamond-shaped fin", it was later revealed as an anagram of "Monster hoax by Sir Peter S".

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 17 Aug 2009 | 5:05 pm

Key to Affordable Health Care Revealed (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Scientists this week are reporting a breakthrough therapy to lower the risk of developing the most common and deadly chronic diseases - diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer - by about 80 percent.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 4:05 pm

Funding top goal for new U.S. research institute head

BETHESDA, Maryland (Reuters) - The new director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health, Dr. Francis Collins, has one main goal for the giant research agency -- getting more money.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:55 pm

Comet Holds Building Block for Life

An amino acid, an essential building block for life, is found in a comet for the first time.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:40 pm

Hacker Attacks: 6 Things You Must Know

Where is your computer vulnerable? Computer security consultants Izaac Falken and Brett Scudder answer critical questions most often asked about hacker threats.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:18 pm

Comet Contains One of Life’s Precursors

Scientists have discovered the amino acid glycine, a critical component of all living things, hiding in samples from the comet Wild 2.

It’s the first time an amino acid has been found inside a comet, and NASA scientists say the discovery supports the theory that some of the ingredients necessary for life originated in space and traveled to Earth by comet or meteorite.

“If you’re seeing amino acids in comets, then that really gives credence to the idea that the basic componenets of life are going to be widespread throughout the universe,” said planetary biologist Max Bernstein of the NASA Astrobiology Institute, who was not involved in the research. “It’s one thing for me to do it in the lab and say it should be so, but it’s another thing for somebody to actually measure it.”

Glycine was isolated from tiny samples of material collected from Wild 2 in 2004 by the NASA spacecraft Stardust. As the spacecraft flew through dense clouds of gas and dust surrounding the comet’s nucleus, a container of aerogel trapped particles from the comet. Since the aerogel capsule was parachuted to Earth in 2006, scientists have been racing to analyze the contents of the collected samples. Although preliminary reports indicated traces of glycine in the aerogel, researchers didn’t have enough aerogel sample to determine whether the amino acid was an Earthly contaminant or had truly come from space.

To get enough glycine for their analysis, the scientists actually analyzed the aluminum foil that lined the inside of the aerogel collection grid. Volatile gas particles had diffused through the aerogel and gotten stuck to the foil — but even the foil provided only a half a nanamole of glycine to work with, and it took the researchers two years to confirm that the glycine had extraterrestrial origins.

“What we did was look at the carbon isotopes,” said NASA scientist Jamie Elsila, who presented the work Sunday at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington D.C. “The stuff on the Earth has a special signature, and the extraterrestrial signature is very different. When we looked at glycine and measured its carbon signature, we saw that it’s in the extraterrestrial range.”

Elsila says the extraterrestrial glycine may have formed inside the comet when UV light hit the molecular precursors and caused them to react. Researchers say this provides some of the best evidence thus far that the precursors for life may have originated in outer space. “We don’t know how life originated on the early Earth,” Elsila said. “But we have a pretty good idea that the comets and meteorites that bombarded the early Earth provided a lot of the material.”

Image: 1) Artist’s rendering of the Stardust spacecraft as it approached the Wild 2 comet, NASA/JPL. 2) Tracks of comet particles in aerogel, NASA.

See Also:

• Seeds of Life Came From Space
• Mars Meteorite: Proof of Life?
• Key Molecule for Life Found in Habitable Region of the Galaxy …
• Top 5 Bets for Extraterrestrial Life in the Solar System
• Humans and Aliens Might Share DNA Roots
• Proof That Meteors Could Have Sparked Life on Earth
• Howard Hughes’ Nightmare: Space May Be Filled With Germs

Follow us on Twitter @wiredscience, and on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:05 pm

Spate of 1996 UFO Sightings Spurred by 'X Files'

Supposed UFO sightings in Britain were often explained by natural or man-made phenomena.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:57 pm

Your Weather, Courtesy El Nino

The warm tropical Pacific water brought on by El Nino, which began again in mid-2009, greatly affects global patterns of temperature and precipitation.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:47 pm

Monkeys booze because of genes

A study has shown that having a particular gene variant causes some macaque monkeys to drink more alcohol in experiments.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:40 pm

Inflatable Spacecraft Shield Works, Space Test Shows (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - NASA launched an inflatable spacecraft heat shield on Monday to test the technology for use on future space missions.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:32 pm

Artificial Tongue Is Sweeter Than Real Thing

A new artificial tongue is better than the real thing when it comes to sensing subtle differences in sweeteners, including the many natural and artificial variations used in beverages, cakes, cookies and chewing gum.

About the size of a business card, the sweetness sensor works by detecting pH changes when a sweet substance mixes with a derivative of the chemical boric acid.

“We take things that smell or taste and convert their chemical properties into a visual image,” chemist Kenneth Suslick of the University of Illinois said in a press release. “This is the first practical ‘electronic tongue’ sensor that you can simply dip into a sample and identify the source of sweetness based on its color.”

Several other groups have attempted to create electronic tongues, but artificial tasters usually have trouble distinguishing between similar chemical flavors, especially in a complex mixture. For instance, one rogue robot mixed up the flavor of the human hand with prosciutto. (Or perhaps we just taste like ham … it’s hard to know.)

The new sensor identified 14 kinds of natural and artificial sweeteners with 100 percent accuracy in 80 different trials. “Actually, our sensor is much better at telling the difference between sweeteners than humans,” wrote Suslick in an e-mail. The researchers presented their findings Monday at the American Chemical Society meeting in Washington D.C.

According to Suslick, the artificial tongue could eventually replace human tasters in the food industry. “For routine quality control,” he wrote, “our device might be a substantial improvement, because one wants to compare to a known standard.” But there are some functions that a robot taster will never be able to fulfill, he said: “For use in formulations (e.g., new recipes), there is no substitute for the human tongue, because after all, that’s what the consumer actually uses!”

Image: Results show the artificial tongue’s analysis of six common natural and artificial sweeteners.
Courtesy Kenneth Suslick/University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

See Also:

• Science Behind Mysterious ‘Fifth Taste’ Revealed
• Researchers Want to Add Touch, Taste and Smell to Virtual Reality
  
• Firefox Has a Sweet Tooth
• An Evolutionary Explanation for Sexual Smell Differences
• How the Smell of Rotten Eggs Could Lead to a New Viagra
• To Smell, Perchance to Dream
• Women, Trust Your Nose: Inbred Men May Smell Bad
• Perfume Customized to Your DNA: It’s Your Smell, Deal With It
  

Follow us on Twitter @wiredscience, and on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:00 pm

Life's Building Block Found in Comet

A fundamental building block for life is hidden in comet samples.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 1:31 pm

Blood pressure drug reverses MS symptoms in mice

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A widely used blood pressure drug may hold promise as a treatment for multiple sclerosis, U.S. researchers said on Monday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 1:02 pm

Giant Pandas on Verge of Extinction

The problem: increasingly fragmented habitat due to human economic development.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:56 pm

Water reform is 'needed in Asia'

Asia must reform its water use to feed 1.5 billion extra people by 2050, according to a report to presented at a major conference.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:41 pm

BLOG: We (Really) Are Stardust

Exploring the space connection in Joni Mitchell's famous "Woodstock" lyrics.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:40 pm

Good Vibrations Generate Electricity

Relying on the piezoelectric effect, a new device harvests energy from tiny vibrations.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:34 pm

Social Snubs Can Hurt, Physically

Being picked last for a sports team can literally hurt.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 12:29 pm

Ocean Temps Set Record High in July

Breaks the previous high mark established in 1998.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:58 am

What's the Biggest Known Planet?

Pluto debate aside, scientists have found similar confusion regarding planetary definitions at the big end of the scale.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:45 am

First Atlantic Hurricane Gains Strength

Hurricane Bill grew stronger and could become a major hurricane this week.
Source: Livescience.com | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:44 am

Herbs 'can be natural pesticides'

Common herbs and spices show promise an alternative to conventional pesticides, scientists have said.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:33 am

Killer Spices Keep Pests at Bay

Rosemary, thyme and other spices offer a new alternative in organic pest-control.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:30 am

Faith rites boost brains, even for atheists: book

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Buddhist monks and Catholic nuns boost their brain power through meditation and prayer, but even atheists can enjoy the mental benefits that believers derive from faith, according to a popular neuroscience author.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:17 am

WATCH: Hurricane-Prone Coastlines

Hurricanes can do a lot of damage, but can they do any good?
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:15 am

BLOG: Voice Recognition: Do We Expect Too Much?

Since voice recognition software sounds human, expections become unrealistic.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 11:00 am

Brain’s Wrinkles Protect Against Head Banging

As you greet the new week by banging your head on your desk in office despair, rest assured: The brain’s wrinkled surface protects you from non-existential damage.

The prevailing explanation for the brain’s crenellations is that they increase computational capacity by packing a large surface area into a small space. Exactly how this works is a matter of speculation, but abnormalities have been linked to disorders like autism and depression.

In a paper published online Monday in the Journal of Biomechanics, researchers simulated the effects of trauma on three-dimensional computer models of normal and wrinkle-free brains. In the smooth models, almost every brain structure, from brain stem to frontal lobe, was more vulnerable to damage. Our brains appear to have a built-in crumple zone.

The results should improve models of traumatic impacts used to design protective headgear and investigate injury. In the meantime, the protective effect of the wrinkles, known technically as sulci, doesn’t mean cognitive explanations are incorrect. The two features are complementary, a testament to the exquisite piece of evolutionary engineering that is the brain.

See Also:

• Shell Shock 2.0: A Coming Wave of Battlefield Brain Injuries …
• Speed Gauge for Soldiers’ Heads
• New Hope for Head Injuries

Via Mind Hacks

Citation: “Can sulci protect the brain from traumatic injury?” By Johnson Ho and Svein Kleiven. Journal of Biomechanics, August 17, 2009.

Images: 1. Flickr/Striatic 2. Journal of Biomechanics

Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes, Wired Science on Twitter.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:44 am

The quest for extraterrestrial life

The discovery of life elsewhere in the Solar System would 'profoundly change our understanding of where we came from and our place in the cosmos', astrobiologist Lewis Dartnell told Sam Wong ahead of his public lecture on the subject this week

Is there anybody out there? That's the big question scientists are asking in the emerging field of astrobiology. Its practitioners bring together expertise from a variety of disciplines in their quest to determine whether there is life beyond our green and pleasant home planet.

"The question of whether we are alone in the universe or not is something that every single one of us has wondered about at one point," says Lewis Dartnell, an astrobiology researcher at University College London and author of Life In The Universe: A Beginner's Guide. "Whatever the answer, I think it would profoundly change our understanding of where we came from and our place in the cosmos."

At first glance the prospects of finding life elsewhere in our own solar system don't look good, since every planetary body other than our own is either scorching hot or ferociously cold. Then again, we know that on Earth life can flourish in the unlikeliest locations, from polar ice caps to hydrothermal vents reaching 113C.

The first place to look has naturally been our neighbouring planet, Mars. When Nasa dispatched two Viking spacecraft to land on the Red Planet in the 1970s, they sent equipment designed to carry out experiments to test whether there might be microorganisms in the Martian soil.

The instruments detected no trace of any organic chemicals. However, one experiment, called "labelled release", did produce a positive result. When a dilute solution of nutrients containing radioactive carbon atoms was added to a soil sample, carbon dioxide gas was given off that contained the same labelled carbon atoms.

This was taken by some to indicate that the nutrients must have been metabolised by a life form. But most scientists believe that the experiment was flawed, since the chemical reactions that it detected could occur without any biological assistance.

In 2003, the European Space Agency's Mars Express spacecraft detected traces of methane in Mars's atmosphere. More recently, vast plumes of the gas have been detected by Earth-based telescopes. Since the gas is highly unstable, this suggests that there must be some ongoing process that is producing methane on Mars. Although geological processes could account for it, the absence of any known volcanic activity on the planet raises hopes that subterranean microbes could be the source.

"Provided it was protected from the harsh radiation and chemical environment right on the surface of Mars, life there could remain safely dormant for long periods of time," says Dartnell. "Subterranean life, miles deep in the warmer Martian crust, may even be active still today, feeding off minerals in the rock like the hardy organisms on Earth."

Nasa is due to launch its most ambitious probe to date in 2011. The Mars Science Laboratory, christened Curiosity, aims to determine whether life has ever existed on the planet next door. Esa is also hoping to send a lander to Mars in 2018 to look for signs of life. In the more distant future, space scientists want to bring back a sample of Martian rock to Earth so that it can be investigated more thoroughly.

Further afield, the satellites of the gas giants are the locations that arouse most interest in astrobiologists. The icy surface of Jupiter's sixth moon, Europa, is covered with cracks just like polar ice on Earth, suggesting that it is continually breaking up and reforming. This could only be explained by the presence of liquid water underneath. The subsurface ocean could be kept warm by tidal forces resulting from Jupiter's gravitational pull.

"In the dark depths of our own oceans we find hardy microbial life forms surviving off nothing more than the inorganic chemicals spewing out of the Earth's crust," says Dartnell. "Just the same kind of life might be lurking beneath the icy crust of Europa."

The surface of Titan, the largest satellite of Saturn, is strikingly Earth-like. Photographs taken by the Cassini orbiter in 2004 revealed mountain ranges, dunes and even lakes – not lakes of water, admittedly, but astrobiologists think that the liquid methane on Titan's surface could support some sort of life form quite different from anything that exists on Earth.

"Any life on the surface of Titan would need to operate on an exotic biochemistry, based on liquid methane rather than water," says Dartnell.

Another of Saturn's moons, Enceladus, attracted the attention of astrobiologists when Cassini discovered plumes of water vapour and hydrocarbons spewing from beneath its icy surface, raising hopes that there might be underground water.

Last month Nasa reported that the plumes contain ammonia, which can allow water to remain liquid down to a temperature of minus 97 degrees Celsius.

The plumes also contain sodium – an exciting finding for astrobiologists like Dartnell. "It implies the plumes are coming from underground caverns of salty water, exactly the sort of environment that could provide the conditions for life."

Nasa and Esa have plans in the pipeline to send probes to both Jupiter and Saturn. Earlier this year they announced that the Europa Jupiter System Mission would be given priority over the Titan Saturn System Mission, with the former due to begin its six-year voyage in 2020.

Lewis Dartnell was our guest on this week's Science Weekly podcast, "What would an alien look like?". He will give a public lecture about astrobiology on Sunday at 5pm as part of the Your Universe event at University College London, a series of talks and activities starting on Thursday to celebrate the International Year of Astronomy 2009

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:32 am

Pandas Could Be Extinct in 2-3 Generations

The giant panda could soon be extinct as the animal's habitat is continually split up.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 10:15 am

BLOG: Bear Alarms Keep Researcher Safe

When polar bears trigger a tripwire alarm, an Arctic researcher knows to be ready.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 9:15 am

IBM uses DNA to make next-gen microchips

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp is looking to the building blocks of our bodies -- DNA -- to be the structure of next-generation microchips.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 8:25 am

Tell-tale signs

Can popcorn and cranes show a boom is coming?
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 8:15 am

UFO sightings may have been down to "X Files"

LONDON (Reuters) - A cluster of UFO sightings over Britain in 1996 may have had more to do with public fascination with TV shows like the "X Files" than extraterrestrial activity, according to files released by the National Archives on Monday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 8:08 am

Muscular Hadrosaur Was One of Last Dinosaurs

A muscular, plant-eating hadrosaur may have been the world's last dinosaur.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 7:15 am

WHO chief urges swine flu vigilance

DAR ES SALAAM (Reuters) - The world must remain on its guard against H1N1 influenza, which has been mild so far but could become more serious as the northern hemisphere heads into winter, the head of the World Health Organization said on Sunday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 17 Aug 2009 | 6:47 am

AI Tested in 'Super Mario Brothers' Game

A competition to evaluate artificial intelligence pits computer programs against Bowser.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 17 Aug 2009 | 6:15 am

Early farming methods caused climate change, say researchers

Farmers thousands of years ago cleared land by burning forests and moved to a new area once the yields declined, say scientists

Farmers who used "slash and burn" methods of clearing forests to grow crops thousands of years ago could have increased carbon dioxide levels enough to change the climate, researchers claimed today.

The US scientists believe that small populations released carbon emissions as they cleared large tracts of land to produce relatively meagre amounts of food.

They were much less efficient than farmers using today's agricultural practices because there were no constraints on land.

A study published online in the journal Quaternary Science Reviews by researchers at the University of Virginia and the University of Maryland-Baltimore County (UMBC) said that early farmers could have cleared five or more times as much land as they used at any one time.

According to the researchers, today's population of six billion people uses about 90% less land per person for growing food than the early farming societies.

William Ruddiman, the paper's lead author and emeritus professor of environmental sciences at the University of Virginia, said the early farmers were likely to have cleared land by burning forests, planted crop seeds among the dead stumps and moved on to a new area once the yields declined.

"They used more land for farming because they had little incentive to maximise yield from less land, and because there was plenty of forest to burn. They may have inadvertently altered the climate," he said.

Ruddiman first published a hypothesis five years ago suggesting people began altering the global climate thousands of years ago, with human activity accounting for rises in carbon dioxide that began about 7,000 years ago.

His theory was criticised by scientists who believe the human impact on the climate began with the industrial revolution because earlier populations were too small to influence the level of carbon emissions in the atmosphere.

But Ruddiman said that early farming methods, with around 10 times the amount of land per person than is used today, could have created an impact on the climate despite the small number of people in early civilisations.

He suggests it was only as populations grew larger that farming technologies improved to increase yields using less land.

His co-author, Erle Ellis, of UMBC, said: "Many climate models assume that land use in the past was similar to land use today and that the great population explosion of the past 150 years has increased land use proportionally.

"We are proposing that much smaller earlier populations used much more land per person and may have more greatly affected climate than current models reflect."

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 17 Aug 2009 | 5:08 am

Ancient stone artwork discovered

An amateur archaeologist discovers prehistoric artwork on a stone at a mountain range near Loch Tay, in Perthshire.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 4:59 am

DNA 'organises itself' on silicon

Researchers have shown that engineered, self-organising DNA chunks could be used to build smaller, faster computers.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 4:57 am

In pictures

The team that keeps underground waterways flowing
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 17 Aug 2009 | 3:51 am

Side effects of the race to beat swine flu

The big worry is that the government's exuberant use of Tamiflu will hasten the appearance and spread of resistant mutants

A giant experiment started in England on Thursday 23 July. The algorithm-driven free "prescription" of Tamiflu through the National Pandemic Flu Service is without precedent. Never before has an antimicrobial agent been used on such a vast scale without medical control.

It could be said that policymakers have only themselves to blame for making this inevitable. Pronouncements about pandemic planning in recent years – and the plan itself – for all practical purposes redefined a pandemic as a horror-laden event in which mortuaries would be overflowing, with people dropping dead in the street and normal civic functions grinding to a halt. So it is not surprising that when swine flu met the standard pandemic criterion – community spread in more than one continent – WHO was lobbied (unsuccessfully) by the UK to postpone its declaration and incorporate severity into its definition.

But in spite of all the subsequent pronouncements that swine flu is mild for most, causing an illness no worse than seasonal flu (which rarely hits the headlines and whose sufferers rarely get Tamiflu unless they are in high-risk groups), it appears that policymakers still considered that the public wanted more to be done. And the perception of Tamiflu as a life-saving cure – however overblown – has defined the necessary action.

The pandemic plan caused the government to buy lots of Tamiflu. A cynic might say that not using up a big stockpile with a finite shelf life when there is a use for it would be an affront to the tidy civil service mind, which has a horror of untidiness and leaving loose ends and which is driven by the need to prevent waste at all costs.

There is no doubt that Tamiflu brings benefits. The earlier it is given the greater they are. The ideal is to take it before the onset of symptoms. Even after a couple of days it shortens the illness by a day or so. It is less certain how effective it is in preventing the development of severe complications, although it is reasonable to assume that it may reduce their frequency. Its effect in reducing the transmission of the virus from person to person is probably not very great. Influenza virus sufferers are excreting virus before the onset of symptoms so taking Tamiflu a day or so later means that they will already have had plenty of opportunities to infect their close contacts.

So the benefits to be expected from giving Tamiflu – even on a grand scale – are real, but limited. And there are downsides. Some will experience side effects. These are well known. Nausea and vomiting has been taken up by the tabloids. In most of the anecdotes it is impossible to know whether the symptoms have been caused by the drug, or by the influenza for which the complainant was being treated.

The big worry is that the exuberant and poorly controlled use of Tamiflu will hasten the appearance and spread of resistant mutants. It used to be thought that these were feeble viruses that spread poorly. No longer. H1N1 seasonal viruses that are highly resistant and effective spreaders suddenly appeared throughout Europe in the 2007-2008 winter flu season. Only time will tell whether swine flu will go down the same road. As a general principle the use of a single antimicrobial agent sooner (if poorly controlled) or later (when under medical control) selects for resistance. Exceptions are few and far between. So the operations of the National Pandemic Influenza Service carry a big risk. The race is between resistance and the vaccine.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 17 Aug 2009 | 2:54 am