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HIV Subtype Linked To Increased Likelihood For DementiaPatients infected with a particular subtype of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, are more likely to develop dementia than patients with other subtypes, a new study shows.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Scientists First To Image 'Anatomy' Of A MoleculeIBM scientists have been able to image the "anatomy" -- or chemical structure -- inside a molecule with unprecedented resolution, using a complex technique known as noncontact atomic force microscopy.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm It's Not All In Your Head: Descending Neural Mechanisms Of Placebo-induced Pain ControlA new study reveals that when it comes to pain control, the "placebo effect" involves evolutionarily old pain control pathways in the human brainstem, the part of the brain that is continuous with the spinal cord. The research provides fascinating mechanistic insight into how and why simply expecting that a treatment will reduce pain can act as an effective analgesic.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Rheumatism Video Discloses Center Of Inflammation At An Early StageIt can strike anyone: rheumatism occurs just as often as diabetes, arteriosclerosis and cancer combined. Approximately one percent of the population is stricken with the rheumatoid arthritis. Now scientists in Germany have developed such an early detection method.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Parasites Ready To Jump: Even DNA Is Subject To Attack By ParasitesEven DNA is subject to attack by parasites -- so-called transposons. Transposons are mobile genetic elements that can insert into genomes at variable sites and disseminate to new locations. Researchers have discovered a mechanism that helps to repress their activity.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Scientists Construct 'Off Switch' For Parkinson TherapyAddressing safety concerns related to potential gene therapies for Parkinson's disease, researchers at the have constructed a gene transfer therapy that can be inhibited with a common antibiotic. Experiments in rats show that the gene therapy product can be completely shut off, indicating for the first time that genes that have been irrevocably delivered to the brain to treat Parkinson's can be regulated.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Handwriting-based Tool Offers Alternate Lie Detection MethodA handwriting lie detection tool may change the face of effective law enforcement. Researchers utilized a computerized tablet that measured the physical properties of the subject's handwriting, which are difficult to consciously control. They have found that these handwriting characteristics differ when an individual is in the process of writing deceptive sentences as opposed to truthful sentences.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Seeing The Tree From The Forest: Predicting The Future Of Plant CommunitiesA recent paper presents an algorithm that may be used to predict the future dynamics of plant communities, an increasingly interesting area of study as significant environmental changes, such as global climate change and invasive species, are affecting current plant communities. A goal of plant ecology has been to find ways to predict plant behavior in communities based on observed properties of a few representative members.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am New Target For Treating Breast Cancer MetastasisResearchers have demonstrated that the protein Brk plays a role in breast cancer progression and dissemination.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am Obesity Is A Poor Gauge For Detecting High Cholesterol Levels In ChildrenWith the epidemic of childhood obesity in the United States, there is concern that overweight and obese children need to be screened for chronic medical conditions, including high cholesterol levels. However, body fat is not an effective indicator of high cholesterol in children, according to new research.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 9:00 am India 'loses contact' with first mooncraft (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 4:22 am Space shuttle blasts off, finally flying on try 3 (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 4:19 am Cairn India starts oil output from Rajasthan block (Reuters)Reuters - BARMER, Rajasthan (Reuters) -Cairn India, a unit of U.K.-based Cairn Energy Plc, on Saturday began pumping crude from its Mangala oil field in the Rajasthan block, the first major crude oil discovery in the energy-hungry nation in two decades.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:18 am Tropical Storm Jimena forms in Pacific Ocean (AP)AP - The National Hurricane Center says Tropical Storm Jimena has formed in the Pacific south of Mexico.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 3:03 am Australia denies 'downplaying' oil spill (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 2:45 am Shuttle Discovery Blasts Off Toward Space Station (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - The space shuttle Discovery turned night into day above Florida late Friday as it blazed into the midnight sky carrying seven astronauts bound for the International Space Station.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Aug 2009 | 1:01 am Space shuttle Discovery launched after days of delaysCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Discovery rocketed into orbit early on Saturday, carrying lab equipment, supplies, spare parts, genetically altered mice and a new crewmember to the International Space Station.Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 11:18 pm Space Shuttle Discovery Blazes Through Night SkyAfter delays due to thunderstorms and a broken valve, space shuttle Discovery finally takes flight.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm Space shuttle lifts off for ISSNasa launches the US shuttle Discovery for a mission to the International Space Station with seven astronauts on board.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Aug 2009 | 10:08 pm Feds to reconsider protecting mountain plovers (AP)AP - Federal officials will reconsider whether a bird that breeds in Colorado and neighboring states and summers in California should be protected.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 6:59 pm Xcel indicted in deaths at U.S. plant 2 years ago (Reuters)Reuters - Xcel Energy Inc was indicted with two other companies on charges related to the deaths of five workers at a hydroelectric plant in Colorado two years ago, a U.S. attorney said on Friday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 5:09 pm Warning on possible pot growers called profiling (AP)AP - A federal warning to beware of campers in national forests who eat tortillas, drink Tecate beer and play Spanish music because they could be armed marijuana growers is racial profiling, an advocate for Hispanic rights said Friday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 4:17 pm Jaycee Dugard Abduction Case Highlights Failure of PsychicsAmazingly, a Reno psychic is now claiming the case proves the accuracy of her abilities.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 4:05 pm Why We Cry (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - We shed tears when in pain, but what purpose does crying have?Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 3:55 pm SLIDE SHOW: The Week's Top StoriesTake a look at the past week's top news in the Flashback Slide Show.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 3:00 pm Science NationScience for the People: Surprising discoveries and fascinating researchers.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 2:38 pm Quest to Seek and Destroy Cancer CellsFighting the war on cancer at the nano-level, researchers hopes to dramatically change how cancer is being treated. They are trying to create nanoparticles that travel the bloodstream, latch onto cancers in their earliest stages and destroy them.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 2:36 pm Why Did Evolution Produce Depression?Well, maybe depression's not such a bad thing.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 2:23 pm Fake Trees Could Combat Global WarmingEngineers propose a forest of 100,000 fake trees to soak up carbon emissions.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 1:48 pm Robofish Takes To WaterThese new small, robotic fish may one day help to monitor environmental hazards.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 1:45 pm Dangers in the Deep: 10 Scariest Sea CreaturesJust when you though it was safe to go in the water, these predators lurk below.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 1:35 pm NASA’s Most Awesomely Weird Mission Patches
Perhaps the best thing about NASA’s military provenance is that the agency picked up the armed services’ habit of making patches. We’ve long loved the Most Awesomely Bad Military Patches series that our sister blog, Danger Room, runs. Then, earlier this week, space collectors bid up the accidentally limited edition Stephen Colbert treadmill patch to more than $175 on eBay. And with the Augustine Commission report on the future of human space exploration due next week — and bad news likely — we thought we’d do some old-fashioned space boosterism and assemble this gallery of Awesomely Awesome NASA Patches. The patches above were drawn and worn by the wives of the astronauts on those respective missions. They are nearly identical to the actual patches, but the central figure is a woman instead of Leonardo Da Vinci’s Virtruvian Man.
The Stephen Colbert patch commemorating the treadmill that sort of bears his name on the International Space Station combines the new photorealistic style with the line drawings of older patches.
Older mission patches tend to be more iconographic than their contemporary counterparts. The sailing ship of the Apollo 12 mission patch played on the golden age of exploration on Earth.
NASA hasn’t shied away from using well-known figures on its patches in recent years. In 2003, Daffy Duck and Marvin Martian made appearances on two patches for Mars Exploration Rover missions. (Many thanks to CollectSPACE for these images.)
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were featured on a patch for the Multi-Purpose Logistics Model of the International Space Station. Why? Three of the four modules of the MPLM shared their names with the famous “heroes in a half shell.” (Turtle Power!) Click through for more awesomely weird patches:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Aug 2009 | 12:37 pm WATCH: Why Do We Feel Thirst?Explore what makes us feel parched in this Why? Tell Me Why! segment.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 12:35 pm If Blood Is Red, Why Are Veins Blue?Blood is red when it has oxygen in it. Without oxygen, it turns blue.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 11:49 am Eyeless, Fanged Crustacean Found in ‘Tunnel to Atlantis’
A species of crustacean with no eyes and venom-injecting fangs has been discovered in an underwater volcanic cave in the Canary Islands off the coast of North Africa. Researchers discovered the new animal during a diving expedition through the world’s longest submarine lava tube, called the Tunnel de la Atlantida, or “tunnel to Atlantis.” The divers were searching for specimens of a closely related crustacean species that they’d discovered 25 years ago in the same cave. But after capturing several of the sea creatures, the researchers noticed something peculiar. “Some animals were much more active in swimming around than others in the small sample bottles,” said marine biologist Tom Iliffe of Texas A&M University at Galveston, who was part of the team that discovered the new species. “On closer examination, and subsequently with DNA testing, we confirmed that they were actually two different species.” Their findings appear this month in a special edition of Marine Biodiversity. The new crustacean has been named Speleonectes atlantida, which means “cave swimmer of Atlantis.” It’s a very apt name, Iliffe said, because the creature is a very active swimmer, gliding through the water an undulating fashion. Because the crustacean lives in near-total blackness of the cave, its body is almost transparent. Through its clear skin, 20 to 24 nearly identical body segments can be seen.
“These animals are crustaceans, but they look more like a centipede,” he said, “with a highly segmented body and a well developed head with specialized appendages.” These specialized mouthparts include a set of hollow-tipped fangs filled with venom. Although the poison is strong enough to kill small shrimp and other marine animals, Iliffe said it’s not toxic enough to harm people. The new crustacean is a member of the class Remipedia, which researchers think is one of the oldest groups of crustaceans on Earth. Because Remipedia have been found in the Atlantic, the Caribbean and also in Australia, scientists speculate that the animals may have originated when the continents of Europe, Africa and the Americas were close together. “So it’s thought remipedes could be at least 200 million years old,” Iliffe said in a press release, “a time when dinosaurs roamed the Earth.” On the same expedition, Iliffe’s team also discovered two new species of tiny worms, each smaller than a grain of rice.
Image 1: A live specimen of the new crustacean, photographed by Urlike Streker. Image 2: Cave divers Terrence Tysall, Jim Rozzi and Tom Iliffe (left to right) in the submarine lava tube where the new species was discovered, photographed by Jill Heinerth. See Also:
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Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Aug 2009 | 11:38 am Job Insecurity Worse For Your Health Than UnemploymentSurprisingly, the effect is worse than actually losing your job.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 10:45 am Giant piranha found in Devon riverEnvironment Agency workers shocked to find ferocious fish – believed to have been a pet – floating in river Torridge A giant piranha – the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world – has been found in a Devon river, the Environment Agency said today. Bathers in the UK's rivers and streams should be reassured that the fish was dead and is thought to have been an abandoned pet. Its discovery will add, however, to experts' anxieties about non-native wildlife being introduced to the UK. The fish, of a species more accustomed to the Amazon river basin, was discovered in the river Torridge by Environment Agency workers conducting a wildlife survey. Eddie Stevens, one of the three-man monitoring team, said they were left open-mouthed by their discovery. "What we actually came across was something which we would not expect to find in our wildest dreams. We could hardly believe our eyes," he said. Used to more temperate climes, the fish probably could not tolerate the cold waters, the agency said. A closer examination revealed that its stomach was full of sweetcorn – further evidence it may have been kept as a domestic pet. At a length of 36cm (14in), the red-bellied piranha was a giant of its kind – more than eight inches longer than an average specimen. The team first spotted its tail sticking out of an undercut bank on the far side of the river. "Our first thought was that a sea trout had become lodged in amongst the rocks and debris collected under the bank," Stevens said. "But when it was removed from the river we were speechless to find it was a piranha." The introduction of non-native species poses a serious threat to native wildlife, according to the agency. Mark Diamond, an ecology manager, said: "Whilst piranhas can't survive the colder climates of the UK, this latest find highlights a real issue – that releasing unwanted exotic pets or plants into rivers can have serious consequences for native wildlife. "Rather than dumping things in the wild, we would urge people to seek advice about what to do with exotic species." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Aug 2009 | 10:33 am China, U.S. may cooperate on world's biggest telescopeSHANGHAI (Reuters) - Astronomers from China and the United States may cooperate on building the world's largest telescope aimed at providing deeper insight into the very early stages of the universe, Xinhua news agency reported on Friday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 10:13 am Microbe Metabolism Harnessed to Produce FuelGenetic engineering used to manipulate microbes to produce biofuels.Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 9:50 am PODCAST: Zombie Outbreak ModeledResearchers use zombies to model the spread of infectious disease.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 9:30 am Fast-Spreading Bug Threatens Calif. CitrusAn aphid-like insect is found farther north in Calif. than it has ever been seen before.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 8:35 am New Theory for Why We CryWe shed tears when in pain, but what purpose does crying have?Source: Livescience.com | 28 Aug 2009 | 8:29 am Semenya's testosterone levels 'normal'• Testosterone levels within range for woman Caster Semenya's testosterone levels were found to be within the range that allows her to participate in women's races, despite being higher than usual, according to a press report in South Africa. After the fallout and speculation following her spectacular win at Berlin in the 800m World Championship final, fingers were being pointed at the management of Athletics South Africa, which had been aware of the questions raised about her eligibility to compete in women's athletics since she started to shine in junior competitions but had done nothing to stem the controversy. Sources within the ASA told South Africa's Mail & Guardian this week that said Semanya had taken a standard urine test – taken by all athletes – and not gender verification to make sure she was eligible to compete. "She was tested three years ago when she started competing and it was found that she is a woman. She may have rather high levels of male hormones but she is definitely a woman," the source said. Another source said she has been tested and found to be a woman, and the issue of whether or not an athlete is tested has to be kept confidential. "Of course it is controversial but results are made known only if there is a problem." Chris Hattingh, the chair of ASA's anti-doping committee, says a urine sample taken for a doping test is often used to test the ratio between testosterone and epi-testosterone. Epitestosterone is a natural steroid produced by the body but can be used to mask the appearance of an unusually high amount of testosterone and is classified as a prohibited substance. The urine sample given for doping tests is taken by a person of the same gender who is also authorised to check any irregularities in the athlete's genitalia. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Aug 2009 | 7:58 am New fat-fighting drug has anti-diabetes action tooWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Researchers searching for a cure for obesity said on Thursday they have developed a drug that not only makes mice lose weight, but reverses diabetes and lowers their cholesterol, too.Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Aug 2009 | 7:24 am Look Ma, No Pen! Electrical Impulses Can Reproduce Handwriting
Someday, instead of typing your text message on a cramped iPhone keyboard, neuroscientist Michael Linderman says you’ll be scrawling your thoughts in the air.
Linderman and colleagues have figured out how to translate electrical impulses from muscles in the forearm and hand into written language. Using pattern-recognition algorithms and a technique called electromyography, the researchers can recognize and reproduce a person’s unique handwriting pattern from the movement of their hands. Eventually, they hope to create a fingerless glove equipped with electrode sensors that can automatically translate hand motions into digital or handwritten text. “You can write in the air, can write on any surface, can write using a pen or pencil or even without,” said Linderman, “and this will be converted into text on the display of a cellphone or computer.” For the first phase of their research project, published Wednesday in PLoS ONE, the scientists asked six volunteers to don a prototype glove that recorded the electrical activity of eight muscles in the hand and forearm. Each subject wrote the numerals zero to nine 50 times, and a computer recorded both the input from their digital pen and the electrical activity of their hand muscles as they completed the exercise.
The results of the experiment can be seen in the figure on the right: What participants actually wrote is shown in blue, while their handwriting reconstructed from the electrical recordings is in red. The reproduction isn’t perfect, but since submitting the paper, Linderman says the team has significantly refined its process. “That was using a very simplistic algorithm, because we had a very short time to work on this project,” he said. “We do not have the pictures yet, but we have certainly improved the algorithms.” Once they could accurately reproduce handwriting from electrical tracings, the team tested how well their computer program could recognize characters based on muscle movements using a technique called discriminate analysis. After five repetitions of each character, the computer could recognize 63 percent of the numerals; with 35 training repetitions, the computer achieved 97 percent accuracy. “I think it’s a very solid piece of work,” said electrophysiology expert Andrew Fuglevand of the University of Arizona, who was not involved in the research but has consulted with Linderman in the past. “It’s something that they should in the future be able to use to as a way to electronically extract somebody’s handwriting based on recording the patterns of their muscle activity.” However, Fuglevand says he has a hard time envisioning what sort of practical functions the technology might serve. Linderman, on the other hand, has no trouble imagining myriad uses for his device. He says digital hand technology isn’t just for teenagers who want to send a faster text message: Because many neuromuscular disorders, including Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s, often start with mild hand tremors, he thinks the glove could be used as a screening device to catch diseases earlier. It might also be useful for creating prosthetic writing devices, he said, or helping patients with a hand tremor learn to write again. Linderman founded the company Norconnect Inc. to market his device, and last February, the researchers received a NSF grant of more than $450,000 for the second phase of their research. But medical indications aside, there’s at least one major drawback to this technology: If people look silly now while talking on a bluetooth, just think how ridiculous they’ll look waving their hands in the air to send text messages. Image 1: A recording session using the handwriting recognition glove, alongside a diagram of the eight muscles used to record electrical impulses/ PLoS ONE. Image 2: Actual handwriting (blue) vs. reconstructed handwriting (red)/ PLoS ONE. Citation: “Recognition of Handwriting from Electromyography.” By Michael Linderman, Mikhail Lebedev and Joseph Erlichman. Public Library of Science ONE, August 26, 2009. See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Aug 2009 | 7:11 am Devon river team's piranha shockA dead piranha is discovered in a Devon river by a "speechless" team of water samplers from the Environment Agency.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Aug 2009 | 6:53 am Great Pacific Garbage Patch SwellsAn enourmous mass of garbage in the Pacific hosts much more debris than scientists expected.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 6:45 am African Tree Makes Soils Rich for CropsA close cousin of the acacia tree proves a valuable fertilizing tool for African farmers.Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Aug 2009 | 6:45 am Sunspots linked to Pacific rainAn international team details how the 11-year sunspot cycle might influence the amount of rain falling across the Pacific.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Aug 2009 | 6:14 am Great British walksClick on our map for ideas about where to spend time outdoors this bank holiday weekend
Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 28 Aug 2009 | 5:15 am Europe looks to buy Soyuz craftEurope is seeking to maintain flight opportunities for its astronauts by buying Soyuz spacecraft from Russia.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Aug 2009 | 5:13 am Star gazingNo telescope? Why not try naked eye astronomySource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Aug 2009 | 3:59 am
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Then, using pattern recognition software, the researchers taught the computer to convert the electrical-impulse tracings into written language. “We wanted the system to be able to recognize those bursts of electricity as particular patterns associated with this type of mechanical activity,” Linderman said.