Mild Glucose Intolerance In Pregnancy May Be Associated With Cardiovascular Risk

Mild glucose intolerance in pregnancy may be an early identifier of women who are at increased risk of heart disease in the future.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

Astronomers Find Coldest, Driest, Calmest Place On Earth

The search for the best observatory site in the world has lead to the discovery of what is thought to be the coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth. No human is thought to have ever been there but it is expected to yield images of the heavens three times sharper than any ever taken from the ground.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

Visits To Nana's May Keep Toddlers From Developing Negative Age Stereotypes

It's easy to list the negative stereotypes attributed to the elderly: they are considered forgetful, hard-of-hearing, absent-minded and confused. What's unsettling is that those stereotypes can be present in children as young as two or three.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

Listening To Rocks Helps Researchers Better Understand Earthquakes

Using a technique called "ambient noise correlation," seismologists have observed significant changes in the behavior of parts of Earth's crust that were disturbed by three major earthquakes.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

Up-scale: Frequency Converter Enables Ultra-high Sensitivity Infrared Spectrometry

In what may prove to be a major development for scientists in fields ranging from forensics to quantum communications, researchers have developed a new, highly sensitive, low-cost technique for measuring light in the near-infrared range.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

Surprising Rate Of Recurring Heart Attacks, Strokes Globally

Despite medicines for patients with vascular disease, a large international study shows these patients have a surprisingly high rate of recurring strokes, heart attacks and hospitalizations as well as mortality. Patients in North America experienced an above-average rate of these events. Patients in Eastern Europe had the highest rate, and those in Australia and Japan had the lowest.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am

UN chief sees climate change first-hand in Arctic (AFP)

AFP - UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon on Tuesday visited a research community in Ny-Aalesund in the Arctic's Svalbard archipelago to see the effects of climate change first-hand, officials said.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 4:20 am

London artists plan a giant lunar clock for 2012

Scientists and artists plan to build a giant lunar clock by the River Thames.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:56 am

Non-coding RNA Called Evf2 Is Important For Gene Regulation

Can mental disorders result from altered non-coding RNA-dependent gene regulation during embryonic development? Researchers have found for the first time that a non-coding RNA called Evf2 is important for gene regulation and the development of interneurons that produce GABA, the major inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am

Antioxidants Not Associated With Increased Melanoma Risk

Antioxidant supplements do not appear to be associated with an increased risk of melanoma, according to a new report.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am

No Such Thing As Ethnic Groups, Genetically Speaking, Researchers Say

Central Asian ethnic groups are more defined by societal rules than ancestry. Researchers found that overall there are more genetic differences within ethnic groups than between them, indicating that separate "ethnic groups" exist in the mind more than the blood.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am

Neural Nanoblockers Pinpointed In Carbon Nanotubes

Scientists have pinpointed why carbon nanotubes tend to block a critical signaling pathway in neurons. It's not the tubes, the researchers find, but the metal catalysts used to form the tubes. The discovery means carbon nanotubes without metal catalysts may be useful in treating human neurological disorders.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 3:00 am

U.N. chief calls for urgent action on climate

LONGYEARBYEN, Svalbard (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders on Monday to take urgent action to combat climate change for the sake of "the future of humanity."
Source: Reuters: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:48 am

U.N. chief calls for urgent action on climate (Reuters)

Reuters - United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon called on world leaders on Monday to take urgent action to combat climate change for the sake of "the future of humanity."
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:47 am

The Nation's Weather (AP)

AP - Cooler temperatures were projected again for the Eastern U.S., while the Northwest was forecast to see wet weather Tuesday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 2:36 am

Astronauts gear up for first spacewalk of mission (AP)

AP - It's moving and spacewalking day in orbit.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:56 am

Fossil heaven

Why Angola is the 'final frontier' for dinosaur-hunters
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:09 am

AP Exclusive: Video shows chicks ground up alive (AP)

AP - An undercover video shot by an animal rights group at an Iowa egg hatchery shows workers discarding unwanted chicks by sending them alive into a grinder, and other chicks falling through a sorting machine to die on the factory floor.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:08 am

UN chief in Arctic climate visit

UN chief Ban Ki-moon visits the Arctic Circle to draw attention to the need for action at climate change talks in December.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:06 am

US agriculture interests split over energy bill (AP)

AP - Legislation to confront climate change could be an economic godsend to farmers and ranchers. Or it could be an enormous financial burden.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 1 Sep 2009 | 1:06 am

EU bans old-fashioned light bulbs

A ban comes into force in the European Union on the manufacture and import of 100-watt incandescent light bulbs.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 31 Aug 2009 | 11:01 pm

Freshwater Fish Populations See Rapid Decline

Efforts to protect rapidly declining freshwater fish populations may not be enough.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm

Oceans Could Absorb Much More CO2

Carbon uptake in oceans could potentially be much higher than once thought.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 11:00 pm

Indonesian satellite launched from China misses orbit (Reuters)

Reuters - An Indonesian communications satellite launched from China failed to enter a preset orbit, state media reported, in another setback in China's efforts to market its space launch capability.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 9:54 pm

Indonesian satellite launched from China misses orbit

BEIJING (Reuters) - An Indonesian communications satellite launched from China failed to enter a preset orbit, state media reported, in another setback in China's efforts to market its space launch capability.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 9:54 pm

Shuttle Astronauts Move In at Space Station (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - It was moving day at the International Space Station Monday as astronauts installed a cargo module packed full of fresh supplies, science gear and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 8:45 pm

Secrets of the womb

In a prize-winning essay, Jacqueline Maybin says the female body could hold the key to a medical revolution

I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king.
Queen Elizabeth I, 1588

When addressing her troops before they faced the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth I identified the exceptional ability of women to overcome their natural disadvantages. From birth, Elizabeth was a disappointment to her father, Henry VIII, because of her sex. Yet, despite her "weak and feeble" body, Good Queen Bess became one of England's most popular and successful monarchs.

Without doubt, the average male is physically stronger than the average female. This is due to higher levels of the male hormone testosterone. Nevertheless, I've noticed that strength does not always equate to physical power. The female hormones have ingenious ways of compensating. They give women an understated but enviable form of strength. Ironically, despite her exceptional "heart and stomach", the most remarkable organs Elizabeth possessed were the ones that made her female.

The uterus, or womb, is the organ par excellence. It functions so efficiently that a full understanding of its processes may lead to novel treatments for a plethora of medical disorders.

The inner lining of the womb is the endometrium. This lining responds to the female hormones and is shed monthly in a period. During bleeding, the endometrium is red and inflamed and looks very similar to a wound on the skin. In contrast to the skin, however, the endometrium has the extraordinary ability to repair rapidly without scarring. This efficient monthly repair is unparalleled in the male, or outside the reproductive system.

Severe inflammation in other organs leads to suboptimal healing, scar formation and disastrous consequences. A scarred organ does not function properly and loss of function equals illness. Patients in this situation require regular medication, surgery or even transplantation of a new organ. So how does the endometrium do it? What unique processes are at play allowing the female system to withstand repeated inflammation on a monthly basis?

The answer is that the endometrium is sophisticated, complicated and not fully understood – that is, typically female! Endeavouring to solve the mysterious workings of the endometrium will certainly be worthwhile. By defining what happens in an efficient system we hope to be able to convert abnormal, "diseased" states back to normal. Or better still, prevent damage from occurring in the first place.

So what have we uncovered so far? It is clear that repair is highly co-ordinated and that any deviation from the tightly regulated sequence leads to inefficient healing. Just before a period, white blood cells pour into the endometrial tissue from the blood stream. These cells release enzymes that break down tissue and cause bleeding. As well as initiating the injury, these cells also mop up dead tissue and remove debris.

White blood cells are a fundamental component of the healing process, but if they hang around for too long they cause problems. Therefore, the switch from "attack" to "retreat" has to be well timed.

By examining tissue from women having a hysterectomy, I am trying to identify control mechanisms for white cells in the endometrium. If identified, a factor that clears these cells could be harnessed as a treatment for inflammation anywhere in the body.

Subsequently, formation of new tissue must occur to repair the ragged surface left after a period. In addition, it allows regeneration of the lining in preparation for a potential pregnancy. A host of growth factors drive the production of new tissue. A master regulatory protein is likely to co-ordinate these factors. I study one such protein: hypoxia inducible factor (HIF). My research has shown that HIF is produced in endometrial cells when oxygen levels are low. Right before a period, the endometrial blood vessels constrict, meaning less blood and oxygen reaches the tissue. This fall in oxygen activates HIF, which leads to increased production of repair factors in the endometrium.

I have also discovered that HIF levels vary from woman to woman. High levels of HIF lead to increased repair and might explain why some lucky women have very light bleeding. Conversely, low levels of HIF may equate to less efficient repair and longer, heavier periods.

Studying the extraordinary workings of the endometrium is exciting stuff. Not only is there potential to develop new treatments for gynaecological disorders, but also for serious pathology elsewhere in the body.

Undoubtedly, Queen Elizabeth's men involved in battle in 1588 would have appreciated therapies that maximised wound repair and minimised scarring. Even today, our hospitals are full of people with problematic scarring and persistent inflammation. We still have a long way to go, but I hope my work will take us one step closer to providing treatments that really are "the best a man can get".

• Jacqueline Maybin is a PhD student at the centre for reproductive biology at Queen's Medical Research Institute, University of Edinburgh. Her winning essay is called The best a man can't get

The Max Perutz prize

Now in its thirteenth year, the prize, sponsored by the Medical Research Council, invites PhD students to convey the importance, relevance and excitement of their work through a popular science article. Judges included Alok Jha, the Guardian's science correspondent, and Lavinia Greenlaw, professor of creative writing at the University of East Anglia, who said: "These students are clearly passionate about the research that they are doing, and it was thrilling to see how they managed to communicate a sense of wonder about such complex work to their readers."

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 31 Aug 2009 | 5:59 pm

Science Weekly: A 10:10 vision for the future of planet Earth

10:10 founder Franny Armstrong tells us about the mass participation climate change campaign she is launching today.

Climatologist Gavin Schmidt from the Nasa Goddard Institute for Space Studies shares his thoughts about the campaign and the prospects for reducing global emissions. Listen to the full interview in the latest Science Weekly Extra podcast.

What are the chances that the 10:10 project will spread across the globe? We dial up the Guardian's environment correspondent in China, Jonathan Watts.

James Randerson and Adam Vaughan from the Guardian's environment website explain exactly how the campaign will work and how to get involved.

Post your comments about the programme below.

Join our Facebook group.

Listen back through our archive.

Follow the podcast on our Science Weekly Twitter feed and receive updates on all breaking science news stories from Guardian Science.

Subscribe free via iTunes to ensure every episode gets delivered. (Here is the non-iTunes URL feed).

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 31 Aug 2009 | 5:12 pm

Healthy lifestyle could prevent 40% of breast cancer cases, charity says

• Review strengthens link between diet and disease
• Breastfeeding plays major role in preventing illness

More than four out of 10 cases of breast cancer in the UK could be prevented if women adopted healthier lifestyles, according to a leading medical charity.

The estimate, by the World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF), is based on its latest review of global research linking the disease to excessive alcohol intake, lack of exercise and being overweight.

Breastfeeding babies also emerges from the study as an important means of reducing the chance of developing breast cancer – a condition that kills about 12,000 women in the UK each year.

The compilation of more than 950 research papers from around the world provides the strongest evidence so far that women's lifestyle choices influence the risk of contracting the disease.

The report, published today, updates a major cancer prevention study released in 2007 that examined different types of cancer.

That review drew on 873 breast cancer studies. Scientists at Imperial College London have now added a further 81 studies published in the last few years.

Professor Martin Wiseman, medical and scientific adviser for the WCRF, said the expanded report "represents the clearest picture we have ever had" of how lifestyle affects a woman's risk of breast cancer.

"This means we are now more sure than ever before that by limiting the amount of alcohol they drink, maintaining a healthy weight and being physically active, women can make a significant difference to their risk," he said. "We estimate over 40% of breast cancer cases in the UK could be prevented just by making these relatively straightforward changes. About 45,000 women are diagnosed with breast cancer every year in the UK, so it is clear these changes could make a big difference."

A WCRF spokesman added: "There's very convincing evidence of the role breastfeeding plays in reducing the risk of breast cancer.

"The main messages from our last study have not changed but the evidence is stronger. We estimate that 42% of all breast cancers in the UK could be prevented through reducing alcohol consumption, exercise and [weight control]."

Patterns of the disease differ around the world. Paradoxically, China – where the population already consumes a better diet and takes more exercise – has less ability to reduce the incidence of breast cancer.

The charity recommends that both men and women aim to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight. A healthy body mass index (BMI) is between 18 and 25. The WCRF advises people to remain close to the lower end of the scale.

The charity also recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise a day and, if alcohol is drunk at all, it be limited to two drinks a day for a man and one for a woman.

The latest study on breast cancer is part of a continuous update project run by the WCRF. Bowel cancer and prostate cancer will now be studied, with updates on these due to become available in 2010.

Marilyn Gentry, chief executive of the WCRF, said: "We believe it is important that people have access to advice that is based on the latest scientific research.

"These are still quite early stages in the project but once it is fully up and running it will mean that people all over the world will always have access to up-to-date advice about how they can make lifestyle changes that can reduce their risk of cancer."

Arlene Wilkie, director of research and policy at Breast Cancer Campaign, said: "This review provides further evidence that maintaining a healthy weight throughout life along with regular physical exercise will reduce the risk of many health problems, including breast cancer, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, arthritis and other types of cancer.

"Although age is the biggest single risk factor – 80% of breast cancers are diagnosed in women over the age of 50 – being overweight after the menopause increases your risk even further."

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 31 Aug 2009 | 5:05 pm

For the Best Stargazing on Earth, Send Robots to Antarctica

Astronomers have found the very best place on Earth to observe the heavens. Now all they have to do is get there.

Ridge A, as the spot is known, is located in Antarctica, six hundred miles from the South Pole and 13,297 feet above sea level. All things considered, it’s probably the very worst place on the surface of the planet for humans.

As far as anyone knows, no person has ever even set foot there. But thanks to satellite data, scientists now know that Ridge A surpasses all other sites based on eight factors that impact the sharpness of observations, like cloud cover and atmospheric turbulence.

“The astronomical images taken at Ridge A should be at least three times sharper than at the best sites currently used by astronomers,” said Will Saunders, an astronomer at the Anglo-Australian Observatory and visiting professor to UNSW, in a press release. “Because the sky there is so much darker and drier, it means that a modestly-sized telescope there would be as powerful as the largest telescopes anywhere else on earth.”

The new work was published today in the Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacific. The Antarctic site, said co-author Patrick Minnis, an atmospheric scientist at NASA Langley, was about as “close to space as you can get,” and that’s exactly what makes it so great. It’s cold, dry, and nearly lacking weather or even clouds.

A similar site, Dome A — about 90 miles from Ridge A — became the home of the first robotic Antarctic viewing station, The PLATeau Observatory (PLATO). It was deployed in January of 2008 and collected data all last winter without humans attending to it. The Chinese-led, Australian-built project could be a model for future robotic observatories near the South Pole.

The simple observatory is, in the words of University of Arizona astronomer Craig Kulesa, a steel shipping container that scientists “cut in half and insulated the crap out of.”

“It’s kind of Rube Goldberged together but they did a really good job designing it,” Kulesa said.

Each of the last two winters, it operated without a human within 600 miles for more than 200 days.

“It’s been working without any human intervention and just taking some fantastic data,” he said. “It’s just an unbelievable success.”

Getting experiments to the Antarctic plateau isn’t easy. Ridge A is far from everywhere on Antarctica, which is, of course, one of the most isolated places on Earth. PLATO was shipped to a Chinese coastal base and then sledded up to Dome A. It took two weeks.

Even given the difficulty that humans have in the Antarctic environment, building telescopes in Antarctica could turn out to be a bargain.

“It’s not convenient compared to going to the Palomar Observatory but if you put it in the context of a space mission, it’s incredibly cheap,” Kulesa said.

Getting a kilogram of anything into orbit costs thousands of dollars. The cost of getting a kilogram to Ridge A is about $10.

The problem is that unlike space telescope missions, an Antarctic observatory can’t bank on NASA-level cash. The space agency isn’t too interested in hearing that some its work could be accomplished on the ground. The National Science Foundation has a third of NASA’s budget and the American efforts in Antarctica have focused on the base at the South Pole.

“We’ve put so much effort into the South Pole station that this is a bit of a distraction,” Kulesa said.

The NSF was a minor partner in the PLATO experiments, though, and Kulesa is confident that as the virtues of Ridge A become clear, momentum will build in the scientific community.

“I think there will be more and more people realizing that the Plateau is significantly better than the South Pole for a lot of kinds of astronomy,” he concluded.

Images: 1. Google Earth. 2. PLATO mission.

See Also:

• Mammoth Telescope to Be Built in Hawaii
• The Design of Extremely Large Telescopes
• Telescope Tech Will Speed Search for Extraterrestrial Life
• What Alien Telescopes Would See, Looking At Earth
• Should Google Sponsor Giant Radio Telescopes?

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 | 31 Aug 2009 | 4:39 pm

Jaycee's Abductor: What Makes a Monster (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - The bittersweet reunion of abducted girl Jaycee Lee Dugard with her family touches on the worst fears of a parent and leaves us all shaking our heads as to how someone could commit such an act. Social psychologists have some answers.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 3:41 pm

Bonding with a Captor: Why Jaycee Dugard Didn't Flee

Many are surprised that Jaycee Dugard came to sympathize with her kidnappers, but experts say her reaction is common.
Source: Livescience.com | 31 Aug 2009 | 3:38 pm

Wolf hunts to open, judge eyes injunction request (AP)

AP - Gray wolf hunting was set to begin in the Northern Rockies, even as a federal judge eyed a request to stop the killing of the predators just four months after they were removed from the endangered species list.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 3:25 pm

Jaycee's Abductor: What Makes a Monster

Social psychologists weigh in on kidnapper of 11-year-old girl.
Source: Livescience.com | 31 Aug 2009 | 2:54 pm

Coldest, Driest, Calmest Place on Earth Found

Search for best spot for observatory pinpoints coldest, driest, calmest place on Earth.
Source: Livescience.com | 31 Aug 2009 | 2:36 pm

BLOG: Wildfires Threaten Mount Wilson Observatory

Fire crews race to prevent wildfires from overtaking the historic Mt. Wilson Observatory.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 1:00 pm

The Buzz About New Bug Sprays

Researchers are developing a bug spray with a fruity scent.
Source: Livescience.com | 31 Aug 2009 | 12:43 pm

WATCH: Behind the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale

Explore how hurricanes are measured using the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 12:15 pm

Extending space station key to Mars: NASA scientist

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Getting humans to Mars will require medical research on the International Space Station through at least 2020, said the program's lead scientist, presenting a time frame five years beyond NASA's current budget forecast.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 12:09 pm

Infrared Eye to Help Search for Asteroids

An infrared telescope will soon be launched and will help locate asteroids near Earth.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 12:00 pm

Obituary: Chris Lamb

Astute and creative biochemist who showed how plants defend themselves

Professor Chris Lamb, who has died at the age of 59 from heart failure, was one of the leading plant scientists of his generation, as director of the John Innes Centre in Norwich, as regius professor of plant science at Edinburgh University, and as director of the plant biology laboratory at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California.

His research aimed to understand how plants defend themselves against myriad pathogens. It is perhaps obvious that plants, unlike the rest of us, cannot run away from danger, but instead have to tolerate a continuous attack by a wide variety of pests. In a series of highly insightful and influential publications over the past 20 years, Chris focused on how plants establish an intricate and effective series of defences.

Chris was foremost an astute and creative biochemist; he showed, in an elegant series of experiments, that the woody cell walls of plants are rapidly strengthened to form the first line of defence against attack. In another biochemical tour de force he identified the small molecules of hydrogen peroxide and nitric oxide as mobile signals or messengers, produced as a consequence of early recognition of the pathogen, that move around the plant to prepare it to fight off disease. Underlining the deep similarities of all living creatures, these small messengers are also potent and important in humans.

Born in York, Chris spent his youth in Middlesbrough, where he attended Middlesbrough high school and became a lifelong follower of Middlesbrough FC. He barely made it into Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, to read biochemistry, but subsequently took a first-class degree and went on to earn a PhD there. He met Jane, his wife of 39 years, during freshers' week. After completing his PhD, he became a research fellow at the Queen's College, Oxford, before moving to the Salk Institute in 1982 to set up a plant research programme.

In his 17 years in southern California Chris built one of the most highly regarded and visible programmes in plant biology. The Salk Plant lab under him was a catalyst for the expansion of plant biology (academic and industrial) in the region now comprising 16 laboratories across three institutions (UC San Diego, the Scripps Research Institute and the Salk Institute).

Like many British scientists who have worked in the US, he enthusiastically adopted American scientific culture, which provides great opportunities for the motivated to achieve success. He brought this reforming zeal back to Britain. He was appointed director of the John Innes Centre in Norwich in 1999 (where I worked with him closely). He effected a remarkable transformation of the institute into one of the world's flagship plant and microbial research centres by identifying, attracting and retaining new talent from all over the world.

Moreover, his keen championing of scientific interactions drove the development of Norwich Research Park into a powerhouse for science underpinning sustainable food production, the interactions of organisms in the changing environment, and the complex interactions between diet and health. He realised early on the potential of science in Norwich to provide solutions to these seemingly intractable issues. He was in the middle of championing the development of new generations of crop plants for sustainable food production when he died.

In this work, his subtle, persistent and comprehensive approach to difficult issues was most clearly at play; he opened conduits to the highest reaches of government and had a long-term game plan (possibly honed while watching Middlesbrough matches) that harnessed and focused the skills of many organisations. While a proponent of GM (genetic modification) where it could provide solutions to food production, he also wanted to persuade society of the value of science when it came to the challenge of providing sufficient food. This is evident in his development at the John Innes Centre of substantial programmes for promoting science education and for providing opportunities for training the next generation of young scientists.

Chris's intellect, skill and dedication are reflected in his scientific record, his institutional legacy (on two continents) and in the large number of scientists and students whom he trained, encouraged and supported. His legacy is very broad and its significance is sure to grow as we face up to the important challenges to which he devoted his energy and effort, namely, feeding a growing population, developing renewable biofuels and decreasing the impact of agriculture on the environment.

Outside work, Chris loved spending time with his large and loving extend- ed family. Family holidays, where he was often the host and always the official map reader, were a great pleasure. He loved walking, cycling, and drinking good wine. Most days he solved the Guardian crossword.

Chris's scientific excellence was recognised by election to fellowship of the Royal Society in 2008 and in June this year he was appointed CBE, but had yet to be invested. He is survived by Jane, their children Catherine, William and Donald, and a granddaughter, Sadie, who is only two months old.

• Christopher John Lamb, plant scientist, born 19 March 1950; died 21 August 2009878 words

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 31 Aug 2009 | 11:53 am

Iron Age Butter Discovered in Ireland

Butter from the Iron Age, one of the earliest examples of preserved food, has been found.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 10:30 am

Lizards Use Third Eye to Steer by the Sun

A series of clever experiments into the reptilian “third eye” has confirmed that lizards use this patch of light-sensitive cells as a sun-calibrated compass.

To test how third eyes — technically known as parietal eyes — help them find their way, biologists at Italy’s University of Ferrara first trained Italian wall lizards to swim from the center of a small outdoor swimming pool to a hidden ledge at its edge. A fence was erected around the pool, so that the only visual point of reference was the position of the sun. The lizards passed the test.

The researchers next put groups of lizards in three artificially lit rooms for a week. In the control room, lights brightened and dimmed in sync with the rise and fall of day. Lights in the other rooms were set out of sync, causing the lizards’ body clocks to be artificially sped up or slowed down by six hours.

When tested in the pool, only lizards from the control group could find the ledge. Depending on the state of their body clock, the others swam too far to the left or right, as would be expected if they’d used the sun to navigate and were now confused by the disjunction between the sun’s location and where they expected it to be.

Finally, the researchers covered the lizards’ third eyes with paint or — in a later, more gruesome iteration — removed their third eyes altogether. In both cases, the lizards swam in random directions, no longer able to navigate at all.

The findings, published last Friday in the Journal of Experimental Biology, reinforce the third-eye-as-compass theory, at least in lizards. The eyes are also found in some species of amphibians and fish. If it works the same way in fish, that could help explain part of their navigational prowess.

Humans also have a version of the third eye system. Unfortunately for hikers and drivers, it’s located under our skulls. It’s essential for spatial processing, but not much help if you’re lost.

See Also:

• Reverse-Engineering the Quantum Compass of Birds
• Hacking Salmon’s Mental Compass to Save Endangered Fish
• Cows Really Do Have a Magnetic Sixth Sense

Citation: “Orientation of lizards in a Morris water-maze: roles of the sun compass and the parietal eye.” By Augusto Foà, Francesca Basaglia, Giulia Beltrami, Margherita Carnacina, Elisa Moretto and Cristiano Bertolucci. Journal of Experimental Biology, Vol. 212 Issue 18, September 15, 2009.

Image: Red Hand Records

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

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 31 Aug 2009 | 10:25 am

Edwards completes enrollment in valve study

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Edwards Lifesciences Corp said on Monday it has finished enrolling patients in a study of its Sapien aortic heart valve that is threaded into place with a catheter without the need for open-heart surgery.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 31 Aug 2009 | 8:34 am

Space Shuttle Discovery Arrives at ISS

Space shuttle Discovery links up with the International Space Station.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 8:10 am

What Makes a Psychopath? Answers Remain Elusive

Scientists are investigating if there are natural born killers.
Source: Livescience.com | 31 Aug 2009 | 8:04 am

L.A. Fires Seen From Space

A NASA satellite captures an image of the raging wildfires in Los Angeles County.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 8:00 am

Powerful Ideas: Bacteria Clean Sewage and Create Electricity

Batteries made with microbes could help generate power by cleaning up organic waste at the same time.
Source: Livescience.com | 31 Aug 2009 | 7:34 am

Mysterious Weather Pulses Help Predict Hurricanes

A mysterious weather pattern over the Indian Ocean may help hurricane prediction.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 31 Aug 2009 | 7:30 am

Lunar lessons

What did India's abandoned Moon mission achieve?
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 31 Aug 2009 | 7:07 am

British plan to tackle asteroids

A UK team is developing plans for a spacecraft that could stop large asteroids from hitting the Earth.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 31 Aug 2009 | 4:09 am