Flying By The Skin Of Our Teeth

A new study looks at the highly sophisticated structure of teeth and how this structure could be applied to aircraft and space vehicles of the future.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Insomnia Is Bad For The Heart; Increases Blood Pressure

Can't sleep at night? A new study has found that people who suffer from insomnia have heightened nighttime blood pressure, which can lead to cardiac problems. The investigation measured the 24-hour blood pressure of insomniacs compared to sound sleepers.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Researchers Identify Critical Gene For Brain Development, Mental Retardation

Researchers have now discovered that establishing the neural wiring necessary to function normally depends on the ability of neurons to make finger-like projections of their membrane called filopodia.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Design Research Points The Way So You Won't Get Lost At The Hospital

Design students have been working on a national project to create symbols that will guide users in health-care settings -- no matter a user's language or reading level. The students are completing their work and testing begins soon.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Cardiac Biomarker Levels Strongly Predict Outcome Of Bypass Surgery

Levels of a biomarker used in the diagnosis of heart attacks are almost universally elevated in patients who have undergone coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG) and, when markedly elevated, powerfully predict the risk of complications.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Milky Way's Not-so-distant Cousin Likely Harbors Supermassive Black Hole

Astronomers have taken a striking new image of a nearby galaxy that many astronomers think closely resembles our own Milky Way. Though the galaxy is seen edge-on, observations of NGC 4945 suggest that this hive of stars is a spiral galaxy much like our own, with swirling, luminous arms and a bar-shaped central region. These resemblances aside, NGC 4945 has a brighter center that likely harbors a supermassive black hole, which is devouring reams of matter and blasting energy out into space.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 3:00 pm

Mitotic Release Of Chromatin-binding RNA Gives Insight Into X Chromosome Silencing

Early in development, mammalian female cells counteract their double dose of X chromosomes by coating one of them with a large RNA named XIST. The RNA binds to the same X chromosome from which it is transcribed and initiates a series of events leading to the chromosome's permanent silencing. Researchers recently exploited the fact that XIST temporarily dissociates from the X chromosome during mitosis and find that Aurora B kinase helps regulate the RNA's chromatin binding.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

Monkey Brains Signal The Desire To Explore

Sticking with what you know often comes at the price of learning about more favorable alternatives. Managing this trade-off is easy for many, but not for those with conditions such as Alzheimer's disease or obsessive-compulsive disorder who are trapped in simple routines. Using brain scans in monkeys, researchers are now able to predict when monkeys will switch from exploiting a known resource to exploring their options.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

Researchers Identify Key Contributor To Pre-eclampsia

A new study reveals a key component in the development of pre-eclampsia in pregnant women, a condition that can result in miscarriage and maternal death.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

Indoor Plants Found To Release Volatile Organic Compounds

Potted plants add aesthetic value to homes and offices, and have been shown to remove volatile organic compounds (VOCs) gases or vapors emitted by solids and liquids that may have adverse health effects. But take heed when considering adding some green to your environment; in addition to giving off oxygen and sucking out harmful VOCs, a new study shows that some indoor plants actually release volatile organic compounds into the environment.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am

Astronauts take mission's 3rd and final spacewalk (AP)

In this image provided by NASA anchored to a Canadarm2 mobile foot restraint, European Space Agency astronaut Christer Fuglesang, participates in the mission's second session of extravehicular activity Thursday Sept. 3, 2009 as construction and maintenance continue on the International Space Station. During the six-hour, 39-minute spacewalk, Fuglesang and NASA astronaut John 'Danny' Olivas (out of frame) installed the new Ammonia Tank Assembly on the space station. (AP Photo/NASA)AP - Two spacewalking astronauts took on cable and antenna work at the international space station Saturday in their final trek outside, but encountered last-minute difficulty with a connector and had to leave one job undone.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 4:30 am

Astronauts make final spacewalk

Astronauts from space shuttle Discovery encounter problems during their final spacewalk from the International Space Station.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Sep 2009 | 2:26 am

Great white sharks tagged for first time off Mass. (AP)

This image provided by the Massachusets State Division of Marine Fisheries shows a great white shark swimming in the waters near Cape Cod Mass. in Oct. 2004. Massachusetts officials are using high-tech tags to track the movements of two great white sharks near Cape Cod — the first time the fearsome fish have ever been tagged in the Atlantic Ocean. The sharks were spotted Saturday Sept. 5, 2009 by scientists investigating sightings off Monomoy Island in Chatham. Sharks are common in Cape waters during summer, though great white sharks are relatively rare around New England. (AP Photo/Massachusets State Division of Marine Fisheries)AP - Massachusetts officials are using high-tech tags to track the movements of two great white sharks near Cape Cod — the first time the fearsome fish have ever been tagged in the Atlantic Ocean.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 2:22 am

Drag racing goes green as US electric cars shine (AFP)

A photo illustration of a drag race at a motor speeedway in Texas. Far from the fury of traditional race-tracks, spectators have been getting a glimpse of the future as they watched electric cars rev up, and silently bomb off around the Mason-Dixon Dragway.(AFP/Getty Images/File/Tom Pennington)AFP - Far from the fury of traditional race-tracks, spectators got a glimpse of the future as they watched electric cars rev up, and silently bomb off around the Mason-Dixon Dragway.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 1:24 am

Astronauts conclude final spacewalk mission (AFP)

This NASA photo shows the STS-128 mission's first spacewalk, astronauts Danny Olivas (left) and Nicole Stott, on September 1, as they remove an empty ammonia tank from the station's truss. Discovery astronauts have concluded a third and final spacewalk of their mission, installing new equipment on the ISS, but failing to connect some of the cables.(AFP/NASA-HO/File)AFP - Astronauts from the US space shuttle Discovery concluded a third and final spacewalk of their mission, installing new equipment on the International Space Station, but failing to connect some of the cables.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 12:58 am

Astronauts Outfit Space Station in Mission's Last Spacewalk (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - This story was updated at 2:15 a.m. EDT. Two spacewalking astronauts primed the International Space Station Saturday for future shuttle visits Saturday despite dealing with a wayward spacesuit camera that almost came loose late in their work.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Sep 2009 | 12:30 am

Weather presenters grapple with uncertain climate (AFP)

Locals are pictured watching a weather report in Havana. Wedged between the pondered complexity of climate scientists and the demands of the average viewer or listener for certainty come rain or shine, the weather men and women act as a go-between -- and the scapegoat if the forecast errs.(AFP/File)AFP - Familiar faces and voices took to the stage at the World Climate Conference over the past week as weather presenters grappled with a core issue, how best to inform their audience about climate change.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Sep 2009 | 10:35 pm

Spacewalkers outfit station for final node

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - A pair of spacewalking astronauts from the U.S. shuttle Discovery worked outside the International Space Station on Saturday to lay power cables for the orbital outpost's last connecting node.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Sep 2009 | 10:24 pm

Divided Venezuelans march for, against Chavez (Reuters)

Opponents of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez take part in a rally in Caracas September 5, 2009. REUTERS/Jorge SilvaReuters - Thousands of Venezuelans marched on Saturday in protests against President Hugo Chavez while thousands of his supporters held their own rallies, a sign of the sharp split in the OPEC nation over the socialist leader's policies.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Sep 2009 | 3:51 pm

Gossip Girl

Sue Nelson reports from the British Science Festival
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Sep 2009 | 12:44 pm

West Coast fishermen embark on new wave of fishing (AP)

This Sept. 2, 2009 photo shows Capt. Todd Whaley standing on his fishing tralwer, the Miss Sarah, on Sept. 2, 2009 in the Port of Brookings-Harbor, Ore. Whaley and other fishermen in the West Coast groundfish fishery will be coming under a new management system known as 'catch share' which NOAA Fisheries Service is encouraging as a way of ending overfishing. (AP Photo/Jeff Barnard)AP - The West Coast groundfish fleet has struggled to stay afloat during major cutbacks to reverse long-standing problems with overfishing and to protect the seafloor from damage caused by bottom trawling gear.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Sep 2009 | 12:32 pm

The Nation's weather (AP)

The forecast for noon, Saturday, Sept. 5, 2009 shows thunderstorms will continue throughout the Rockies and Southwest as monsoon flow continues. Storms are also expected in the Lower Mississippi Valley. A Pacific storm will move into the Northwest bringing more rain to the coastal region. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)AP - The big pattern change Saturday will come in the West as a strong low pressure system slams into the Northwest from the Gulf of Alaska.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Sep 2009 | 5:38 am

T. rex for sale: Dinosaur fossil on block in Vegas (AP)

AP - Museums and high-rolling natural history buffs will get a crack at buying a fossilized Tyrannosaurus rex next month at a Las Vegas Strip auction.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Sep 2009 | 3:26 am