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Master Gene That Switches On Disease-fighting Cells Identified By ScientistsThe master gene that causes blood stem cells to turn into disease-fighting "natural killer" immune cells has been identified. The discovery could one day help scientists boost the body's production of these frontline tumor-killing cells, creating new ways to treat cancer.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 pm Opto-electronic Nose Sniffs Out Toxic GasesImagine a polka-dotted postage stamp that can sniff out poisonous gases or deadly toxins simply by changing colors. Scientists have just developed an artificial nose for the general detection of toxic industrial chemicals that is simple, fast and inexpensive -- and works by visualizing odors.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 pm Giant Stone-age Axes Found In African Lake BasinA giant African lake basin is providing information about possible migration routes and hunting practices of early humans in the Middle and Late Stone Age periods, between 150,000 and 10,000 years ago. Researchers have documented thousands of stone tools on the lake bed, which sheds new light on how humans in Africa adapted to several substantial climate change events during the period that coincided with the last Ice Age in Europe.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 pm Hormone Promises To Keep Joint Injuries From Causing Long-term OsteoarthritisAn existing osteoporosis drug is the first ever found to prevent cartilage loss from osteoarthritis following injury to a joint, and may also regenerate some cartilage that has been lost to osteoarthritis, according to a new study.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 pm Sex Talk Revelations Of The Lonely Y Chromosome: Communication Between Male And Female Occurs In Our Innermost BeingsNew findings reveal for the first time that the male and female do truly communicate -- at least at the fundamental genetic level.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 pm Artificial Intelligence Helps Diagnose Cardiac InfectionsResearchers say that "teachable software" designed to mimic the human brain may help them diagnose cardiac infections without an invasive exam.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:00 pm Drug Delivery System Using Nanoparticles And Lasers DevelopedResearchers have developed a new way to deliver drugs into cancer cells by exposing them briefly to a non-harmful laser.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am How Photon Echoes Can Be Used To Create A Quantum Memory DeviceA new way of storing and 'echoing' pulses of light has been discovered by a team from Australia, allowing bursts of laser to work as a flexible optical memory and potentially assist in extending the range of quantum information systems.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am Wireless Sensor Systems Enable A Better SleepResearchers have recently presented the clinical validation of a wireless sleep staging system. The miniaturized wireless system allows patients to wear the device in the comfort of their home, thus enabling early screening of abnormal sleep profiles outside clinics.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am 'Watchful Waiting' Is A Viable Option For Prostate Cancer Patients With Low-risk Tumors, Study FindsAppropriately selected prostate cancer patients, including older men and men with small, low-risk tumors, may safely defer treatment for many years with no adverse consequences, according to a new study.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 9:00 am China breaks ground on space launch center (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:29 am Energy giants sign off on Australian LNG project (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 4:21 am The Nation's weather (AP)AP - The southern U.S. was forecast to remain wet and dreary, while the North would continue to see mild weather Monday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 2:58 am China showers gifts on resources-rich Timor (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 1:05 am Israel in mourning after astronaut son's death (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Sep 2009 | 12:49 am Awards given for leukemia treatment, DNA advances (AP)AP - Five scientists have won prestigious research awards for developing a life-saving leukemia treatment and for advances in "reprogramming" DNA, which led to a new kind of stem cell.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 10:09 pm Want Your Own Dinosaur? Place Your Bids<< previous image | next image >>
If you ever dreamed of owning your own dinosaur, now’s your chance. Possibly the most impressive natural history auction ever is set to take place Oct. 3 at the Venetian Casino in Las Vegas.
“The items we have in this auction are definitely museum standard, or better,” said Tom Lindgren, co-director of natural history for the auction house Bonhams & Butterfields told Wired.com in August. “Most of the museums in the world don’t have anything near what we have in this auction.” Highlights will include the largest shark jaw ever found, a giant pig skull and a duck-billed dinosaur. Above: The T. rex known as Samson, One of the Most Complete Tyrannosaurus rex Specimens in Existence The rare 66-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex is one of the three most complete examples of its species to have been discovered. Excavated from a ranch near Buffalo, South Dakota over 15 years ago, Samson has journeyed to NASA for CAT scans of the skull, the Carnegie Museum for the preparation of the skull and to a New Jersey laboratory where she was professionally mounted for display. In life, Samson could have looked into a second story window. Her massive skull and powerful serrated teeth could have bitten through the leg bone of any contemporary dinosaur. Most likely a very skilled hunter with binocular color vision and an extremely sensitive sense of smell, this colossus lived as an apex predator of the Late Cretaceous Period. Prepared at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, Samson’s skull is regarded as one of the finest and most complete T. rex skulls in existence, and displays 22 teeth. The skeleton contains approximately 170 bones, more than 55 percent of the total bone count of an entire skeleton. Samson was equal in weight to Sue, the T. rex skeleton currently displayed at the Field Museum in Chicago. Her large size is one indication that Samson is a female, despite her male moniker. Images and caption: Bonhams and Butterfields
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 13 Sep 2009 | 10:00 pm Team Armadillo Succeeds in Mock Moon Landing Challenge (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - A commercial vehicle successfully completed a mock lunar landing Saturday, qualifying its team to win a $1 million prize offered for NASA's Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander Challenge.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 5:30 pm In praise of… Norman BorlaugNo one person could ever encapsulate all the progressive hopes of the 20th century – faith in science, education and the triumph of fact and reason over tradition and superstition – but Norman Borlaug came close. Through his long life, Borlaug, who died on Saturday aged 95, championed scientific modernity, breeding the new, more productive, varieties of agricultural plants that led to what others called the "green revolution" (he never liked the term). In doing so, he saved millions of lives. If he was not quite the unquestionable hero that some of his admirers saw, it was only because one man could never have solved the social and environmental challenges that face the developing world. He was a famer's son from Iowa who got an education with help from New Deal programmes, and worked on a plant-breeding programme in Mexico, which revolutionised wheat production in the country. His achievement was not just in scientific research: he also persuaded farmers and governments to use his short-stemmed, high-yeild varieties, with spectacular success in Asia. Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1970 and President Bartlett cited him as a progressive hero in an episode of the West Wing. Critics say his new crops used too much water and relied on pesticides and fertilisers, but without them there would have been mass starvation. Borlaug remained an active scientist into his 90s, warning of environmental calamity. He never claimed to have saved the world, but he certainly changed it for the better. 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 | 13 Sep 2009 | 5:05 pm British Science Festival 2009Our guest this week is Maggie Aderin-Pocock who heads the optical instrumentation group at the company Astrium. Aderin-Pocock is a judge for the Royal Society's Science book prize. We analyse the shortlist. Guardian science correspondent Ian Sample reports back from the British Science Festival in Guildford. We discuss whether the UK can become Europe's carbon capital, how a new fossil find challenges theories on early humans, and an orchestra of lost instruments. We also hear about some new research into solar cells. The cocoon at London's Natural History Museum opens this week. We look at some of the science that will be carried out there. Have a sneak preview of what's inside the incredible new structure in our video tour. And Steven Morris takes a tour of a new building in Bristol which is claiming to be the world's quietest. 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 | 13 Sep 2009 | 5:01 pm 2 Utah areas on list of West's 'imperiled' land (AP)AP - A sportsmen's group has placed two Utah wildlife areas on a list of the West's 10 most imperiled places to hunt and fish because of threats posed by oil and gas development, the Deseret News said in a story published Sunday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 4:05 pm Battle of the breakfast table as cereal makers fight health warning ads on TV• Food watchdog aims to reduce salt consumption Cereal manufacturers are worried that their products are to be targeted in a government advertising campaign. Giants including Kellogg's and Weetabix have begun a late attempt to persuade the government's Food Standards Agency to drop or modify ads warning of the health risks of too much salt. The agency will next month launch a fresh drive to reduce consumption, highlighting the fact that 75% of salt eaten is in foods such as breakfast cereals, tomato ketchup, ready-made soup and bread. Too much can lead to high blood pressure, linked to increased risks of strokes and heart attacks; for every gram a day cut from the average intake in the UK population, 7,000 deaths would be prevented. Health guidelines recommend adults do not consume more than 6g of salt a day – a target to be hit next year. But the agency could struggle to meet that, as Britons are consuming an average 8.56g a day. The Association of Cereal Food Manufacturers, which represents makers and brands including Kellogg's, Weetabix and Cereal Partners in the UK, fears that the campaign will "demonise" cereals, failing to reflect the work done by the industry in reducing salt over the past few years. Representatives of the association met agency officials last week. One industry source said: "Clearly we support the FSA's drive to reduce salt, but we think it should target higher-salt foods such as meat, milk, cheese and ready meals. We don't think cereals should be unfairly demonised." Past campaigns targeted convenience foods; cereals have not been singled out before. The £3m push is to be launched on 5 October, the Guardian understands. A previous TV campaign with comedian Jenny Eclair will re-edited alongside new images of offending salty foods – she warned everyday foods are "Full of it". The association said that cereal makers had achieved one of the largest reductions in food salt content: 44% since 1998. A spokesman said: "We have been praised for our efforts. The FSA agrees breakfast cereals are a good way to start the day and an important part of the diet, as per their eight healthy eating tips. There is a wide range of breakfast cereals to suit all tastes and lower salt options are available." But many studies by groups such as Cash (Consensus Action on Salt and Health) and Which? have "named and shamed" offenders by highlighting surprisingly high salt levels in cereals and other foods. In April Which? found 100g of Tesco Special Flakes had the same amount of salt as 100g of Walkers Ready Salted crisps. A Kellogg's spokeswoman said its salt cutting plan was in its 11th year. "We've worked hard to gradually reduce salt by 39%, while still delivering the taste and quality our customers know and love." Last year, breakfast cereal was only 2.7% of the salt in the average shopping basket, lower than milk (4.8%), fresh meat (6.2%) and bread (9%). Kellogg's was also developing cereals such as Optivita and Wheats with no added salt, she added. An FSA spokesman said: "This is not about demonising categories of food. It is about pointing out healthy options and encouraging consumers to make sensible choices. There are no plans to water the campaign down, and it will go ahead." 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 | 13 Sep 2009 | 2:23 pm Borlaug, who saved millions from hunger, dies (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 2:09 pm German rivals joust on jobs, nuclear power at TV debate (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 2:02 pm Cost-cutting will lead to forensic science errors, say expertsPolice contracts that put pressure on forensic scientists to deliver low-cost investigations within tight timescales risk jeopardising quality and could lead to a miscarriage of justice, experts have warned. Police forces have changed the way they obtain forensic science services for criminal investigations and now pick laboratories through competitive tendering. That has led to forces typically employing firms that offer the lowest cost or quickest turnaround time for testing evidence, according to Clare Stangoe, principal scientist at Forensic Access, a leading provider of forensics services. The murder and sex crimes specialist said that whereas before scientists were given "the time they need", they might now have to deliver results within three days, with the laboratory facing a fine if they are late. "The danger comes where arbitrary time frames are put on work," Stangoe said. "Too much pressure put on scientists to do the work so quickly [means] that they may only do very specifically what they have been asked … It could lead to mistakes being made or not enough being done to investigate something properly." She added: "There's a lot of concern in the community [of forensic scientists], that you don't want miscarriages of justice to take place in the future." Her comments were backed by Helen Kenny, who as branch secretary for the Prospect trade union at the Forensic Science Service represents 1,200 forensic scientists. She said demanding contract terms could encourage scientists to accept a "quick [DNA] match" rather than carry out the "best possible investigation". "Forensic scientists have concerns about the pressure on turnaround and price," she said. While emphasising that the FSS had not told its scientists to compromise on quality, she said such pressures "can't be good for the criminal justice system". The FSS used to have a monopoly on police forensics work, but competitive tendering has exposed it to commercial pressures and in June it announced plans to axe 800 jobs, to the anger of Prospect. Professor Allan Jamieson, director of the Forensic Institute in Glasgow, said that the principle of competitive tendering was the right one but that it needed refinement. "It's the best way, done properly, to ensure the proper spending of public money. However, you need quality assessment as well as financial assessment," he said. Jamieson said there were similar pressures on the defence side, where the legal aid board would instinctively favour the lowest cost option. The Home Office said: "Commercial suppliers have provided an excellent service in forensic analysis to the criminal justice system for many years. There is no evidence to suggest that that should change in the future." 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 | 13 Sep 2009 | 1:11 pm Now you see it... has the Bermuda Triangle mystery been 'solved'?A BBC investigation uncovers new evidence to explain the loss of two British planes that disappeared over the so-called Bermuda Triangle more than 50 years ago.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 13 Sep 2009 | 12:09 pm Itching to stop smoking? Scientists may know whyLONDON (Reuters) - Scientists think they have discovered why people trying to quit smoking often find they are itching to stop.Source: Reuters: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:27 am Nanotech safety: Smaller particles may be riskierCHICAGO (Reuters) - In determining the safety of improbably small materials known as nanoparticles, special properties associated with some of the very smallest particles may be the key, scientists said on Sunday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:24 am Key gene 'controls disease fight'A master gene that helps mobilise the immune system to fight disease has been discovered by UK scientists.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 13 Sep 2009 | 11:01 am Ice Age clues unearthed in a southern English caveTeeth and bones from late Ice Age animals, including hyenas and woolly rhinos, are unearthed at a cave in Devon.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 13 Sep 2009 | 4:12 am
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The main event will be Samson, 
