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'Fingerprinting' RFID tags: Researchers develop anti-counterfeiting technologyEngineering researchers have developed a unique and robust method to prevent cloning of passive radio frequency identification tags. The technology, based on one or more unique physical attributes of individual tags rather than information stored on them, will prevent the production of counterfeit tags and thus greatly enhance both security and privacy for government agencies, businesses and consumers.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm 'Fly paper' created to capture circulating cancer cellsJust as fly paper captures insects, an innovative new device with nano-sized features is able to grab cancer cells in the blood that have broken off from a tumor. These cells, known as circulating tumor cells, or CTCs, can provide critical information for examining and diagnosing cancer metastasis, determining patient prognosis, and monitoring the effectiveness of therapies.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm Pig out more at Thanksgiving and you may shop lessEating a traditional Thanksgiving dinner with turkey and mashed potatoes makes consumers less likely to buy on impulse, which might affect the outcome of their shopping on Black Friday, historically one of the busiest retail shopping days of the year.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm Bees can learn differences in food's temperature, study findsBiologists have discovered that honeybees can discriminate between food at different temperatures, an ability that may assist bees in locating the warm, sugar-rich nectar or high-protein pollen produced by many flowers.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm Common pain relief medication may encourage cancer growthAlthough morphine has been the gold-standard treatment for postoperative and chronic cancer pain for two centuries, a growing body of evidence is showing that opiate-based painkillers can stimulate the growth and spread of cancer cells. Two new studies advance that argument and demonstrate how shielding lung cancer cells from opiates reduces cell proliferation, invasion and migration in both cell-culture and mouse models.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm Nutrigenomics researchers replicate gene interaction with saturated fatRsearchers have identified a gene-diet interaction that appears to influence body weight and have replicated their findings in three independent studies. Men and women carrying the CC genotype demonstrated higher body mass index scores and a higher incidence of obesity, but only if they consumed a diet high in saturated fat. These associations were seen in the apolipoprotein A-II gene promoter.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:00 pm How viruses destroy bacteriaViruses are well known for attacking humans and animals, but some viruses instead attack bacteria. Researchers are exploring how hungry viruses, armed with transformer-like weapons, attack bacteria, which may aid in the treatment of bacterial infections.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am Last-resort lower-body amputation effective in extreme cases of bone infection, 25-year review showsA landmark, 25-year review of cases in which surgeons had to remove the lower portion of the body from the waist down for severe pelvic bone infections shows the therapy can add years and quality of life to survivors.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am Accidental discovery produces durable new blue pigment for multiple applicationsAn accidental discovery has apparently solved a quest that over thousands of years has absorbed the energies of ancient Egyptians, the Han dynasty in China, Mayan cultures and more -- the creation of a near-perfect blue pigment.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndromeAt birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development. Scientists have now demonstrated a possible new approach to slowing the inevitable progression of cognitive decline found in Down syndrome.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am Baby ibex's epic struggle to liveAmazing footage of a baby ibex's perilous escape from a fox is captured on film by a BBC natural history cameraman.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 19 Nov 2009 | 3:02 am The nation's weather (AP)AP - Wet weather was expected to persist and intensify over the Northwest, while lingering showers could continue over the Northeast on Thursday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:55 am Model Helena Christensen examines climate change in Peru (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:34 am Calif. requires TVs to be more energy-efficient (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:19 am Researchers ask: Are caged chickens miserable? (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 2:11 am Astronauts get set for 1st spacewalk of mission (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 1:02 am FDA to review Actelion's Zavesca for additional use (Reuters)Reuters - Actelion Ltd, Europe's largest biotech company, said on Thursday the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) would review use of its drug Zavesca to treat a rare neurodegenerative disease early next year.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:59 am Lab worms are stunned by 'phaser'Scientists show off an effect not unlike that of "phasers" in Star Trek - but it only works on tiny worms called nematodes.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 19 Nov 2009 | 12:20 am Japan nuke plant smoke, no radiation says operator (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 11:37 pm Japan whale fleet leave for Antarctic: Greenpeace (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 11:25 pm Cigarette Butts Toxic to FishNeed another reason to quit smoking?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 10:00 pm Mouse study points to treatment for Down syndromeCHICAGO (Reuters) - Increasing the levels of a message-carrying chemical in the brain may help prevent some of the memory deficits in Down syndrome that hinder learning and make it hard for the brain to develop normally, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 8:05 pm Cyborg Beetles Employed as Military WeaponsBy implanting miniature neural and muscle stimulation systems into beetles, scientists for the first time have been able to control the flight of insects. (Electrodes are implanted at the pupal stage and then later connected to remote control electronics.) They ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 7:00 pm Gene protects brain-eaters from mad cow-type disease (Reuters)Reuters - Villagers in the highlands of Papua New Guinea who ritualistically ate human brains but did not die of a brain disease called kuru have a genetic mutation that protects them, researchers said Wednesday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm Gene protects brain-eaters from mad cow-type diseaseWASHINGTON (Reuters) - Villagers in the highlands of Papua New Guinea who ritualistically ate human brains but did not die of a brain disease called kuru have a genetic mutation that protects them, researchers said Wednesday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 4:21 pm NASA to Try to Free Stuck Mars Rover Again (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - NASA engineers are set to take a second go at extricating the stuck rover Spirit from its sandy trap on Mars.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 4:01 pm ID Error Leaves Fish at Edge of Extinction
In an extinction scenario that might have been concocted by Douglas Adams or a taxonomically minded Kafka, a classification error has allowed fishermen to drive a species of skate to near oblivion. If it vanishes, the flapper skate will be the first fish officially exterminated by commercial pressures — and for the last 83 years, it wasn’t even considered a species. Biologist R.S. Clark declared in 1926 that the flapper skate, formally known as Dipturis intermedia, and the blue skate, or Dipturus flossada, were actually the same animal. His classification was widely accepted, and the two species were lumped together as the common skate. But when French Museum of Natural History biologist Samuel Iglesias decided to review Clark’s assessment, he noticed that common skates often look quite different. Genetic analysis backed up his suspicions: Clark was wrong. The flapper skate and blue skate really are different species. And that means trouble, because overfishing had already pushed the common skate to critically endangered status — a prognosis that now seems optimistic. Instead, continued reports of rare common-skate catches have obscured the flapper skate’s even-nearer-total collapse. According to Iglesias, whose analysis will be published in an upcoming issue of Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, immediate action is necessary to save the flapper skate. Otherwise it will go extinct, soon — and if it weren’t for Iglesias, nobody would have known. Image: Flickr/DanCentury See Also:
Citation: “Taxonomic confusion and market mislabeling of threatened skates: important consequences for their conservation status.” By Iglésias S.P., Toulhoat L., Sellos D.Y. Aquatic Conservation: Marine and Freshwater Ecosystems, in press. Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on a book about ecosystem and planetary tipping points.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 18 Nov 2009 | 2:46 pm Scientists Unravel Evolution of Highly Toxic Box JellyfishFrom the Northeast Fisheries Science Center: With thousands of stinging cells that can emit deadly venom from tentacles that can reach ten feet in length, the 50 or so species of box jellyfish have long been of interest to scientists ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 2:14 pm Pearls Cultured from ConchsScientists have invented the first successful method for culturing pearls from the queen conchSource: Livescience.com | 18 Nov 2009 | 2:02 pm Shuttle Atlantis arrives at space stationCAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space shuttle Atlantis arrived at the International Space Station on Wednesday to deliver spare parts needed to keep the outpost operational after the shuttles' retirement next year.Source: Reuters: Science News | 18 Nov 2009 | 1:34 pm Sea Creature Sighting ExplainedSea monsters sightings are centuries old, but a new claim and video has Florida residents concerned about this latest sea creature. Madeira Beach resident Russ Sittlow claims his Florida canal is home to a creature that’s now being labeled "Normandy ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 1:34 pm Plants Have a Social Life, Too
After decades of seeing plants as passive recipients of fate, scientists have found them capable of behaviors once thought unique to animals. Some plants even appear to be social, favoring family while pushing strangers from the neighborhood. Research into plant sociality is still young, with many questions unanswered. But it may change how people conceive of the floral world, and provide new ways of raising productivity on Earth’s maxed-out farmlands. “When I was in school, researchers assumed that some plants were better or worse than others at getting resources, but they were blind to the whole social situation,” said Susan Dudley, a McMaster University biologist. “I went looking for it, and to my shock, found it. And we’ve found more of it since.” In a paper published in the November American Journal of Botany, Dudley describes how Impatiens pallida, a common flowering plant, devotes less energy than usual to growing roots when surrounded by relatives. In the presence of genetically unrelated Impatiens, individuals grow their roots as fast as they can. Acknowledging relatives in this way is an example of kin recognition. It’s common in the animal world, and is a precursor to kin selection, in which animals help their familial group, not just themselves. Dudley thinks plants have kin selection, too. It’s a controversial idea, but that it’s even being debated shows how far research into plant sociality has come.
When Dudley was in school in the 1980s, the very idea of plant sociality was practically taboo among scientists. It had burst into popular consciousness a decade earlier with the publication of The Secret Life of Plants, a New Age classic which also discussed orgones and dowsing. Later studies on “talking trees” went unreplicated, and the idea fell into disrepute. But even if full-blown sentience was a silly idea, research on plant communication gathered. Much of it described how plants defended themselves, producing toxins and concentrating resources on their immune systems when unrelated neighboring plants were eaten. That clearly involved some sort of chemical signaling. Further studies conclusively showed plants were able to recognize themselves. Whether plants might respond to their relatives became a legitimate and intriguing question. The answer isn’t only of concern to people with imaginations stirred by thoughts of chatting flora. It could provide a whole new perspective on plant behavior and evolution. By providing insights that improve agricultural productivity, studies of kin recognition could literally bear fruit. “We know that in the animal world, kin recognition and selection plays a very important role for family structure, altruistic behavior and those kinds of things,” said Hans de Kroon, a plant ecologist at Radboud University in the Netherlands. “It’s so prominent in the animal literature. Once we start to discover that plants can recognize their kin, there’s a whole set of hypotheses we can apply to studying plants, that nobody ever thought to.”
In a Communicative and Integrative Biology paper published in October, University of Delaware biologists Harsh Bais and Meredith Biedrzycki tried to isolate the means of recognition by exposing Arabidopsis thaliana seedlings, each in its own pot, to root secretions from other Arabidopsis plants. The signal indeed proved to be in the roots — and just as Dudley had seen, growth patterns varied according to whether secretions came from genetically unrelated plants, or family. Intriguingly, the plants in Dudley’s latest study were potted separately and unexposed to each others’ secretions, suggesting that their leaves emit chemical signals, as well as their roots. That’s supported by the research of University of California, Davis ecologist Richard Karban, who in a June Ecology Letters study showed that sagebrush boosts its immune system when exposed to the damaged cuttings of a related plant [pdf]. It seems to hear warnings from its kin. More studies are needed to show exactly what sort of benefits are provided by these signaling and response systems. De Kroon said kin recognition doesn’t necessarily mean kin selection: maybe the plants are communicating, but it doesn’t do them much good in practice. One of Dudley’s students, Amanda File, is now studying whether some trees favor their own progeny, which might grow best near their parents. Dudley and graduate student Guillermo Murphy, a co-author of the American Journal of Botany paper, are looking for for kin selection in invasive plants. “We’re testing the hypothesis that invasive plants evolve greater altruism within their populations, allowing them to be better invaders of their new habitats,” said Dudley. For plants used in agriculture, Dudley recommends kin recognition studies to see whether certain arrangements of relatives and strangers would be especially productive. De Kroon is looking at multi-species mixes. Karban hopes to use communication insights to engineer natural defense systems against pests. “Maybe we thought before that only humans could do certain things, or vertebrates, or animals,” said Karban. “Plants are capable of much more sophisticated behavior than we assumed.” Images: 1) Mustard seedlings exposed to root secretions/Harsh Bais. 2) Impatiens seedlings grown next to relatives and strangers/Susan Dudley. See Also:
Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on a book about ecosystem and planetary tipping points.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 18 Nov 2009 | 1:16 pm Shuttle Atlantis Docks With Space StationAtlantis arrived at its intended destination Wednesday, carrying much needed cargo to the space station.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 1:00 pm Vision and vacuum tubesSir Maurice Wilkes, 96, one of the pioneers of British computing, strolls through the history the he helped create Walk round the National Museum of Computing at Bletchley Park and sooner or later you'll hear a cry of recognition and someone will say: "I remember using one of those." It probably doesn't happen often to The Millionaire, a mechanical calculator that went into production in 1893, but Sir Maurice Wilkes spotted it, adding: "We used to have one in the lab. I hope it's still there." In this case, "the lab" was what became the Cambridge University Computer Lab, which Wilkes headed from 1945 until 1980. It was where he built Edsac, one of the world's first electronic computers, using sound beams traversing baths of mercury for the memory units. Edsac (Electronic Delay Storage Automatic Calculator) first ran in May 1949, so this year a dinner was held to celebrate its 60th birthday. And, of course, to celebrate Wilkes himself, who is a bright, sharp 96 years of age, and has seen most of the history of computing at first hand. How sharp? On seeing the museum's air traffic control display, which fascinates many visitors, he immediately asks: "Where's the radar?" Ah, well, there isn't one. The displays are running real radar sequences but they're recorded. Wilkes, the consummate hardware guy, doesn't just see the screen, he looks to see how the whole system fits together. Ham but no chips One of the reasons Wilkes paid his first visit to the museum last week was to see the valve-based Witch computer (Technology, 9 September 2009), which is currently being restored. His tour also took in the Colossus second world war code-breaking computer being built from scratch by Tony Sale and his team, and he asked to visit the radio hut. "I used to be a ham," he says. Wilkes said he'd heard about the Witch – which was renamed during its time at the Wolverhampton College of Technology – when it was being built at Harwell, the atomic energy research lab, in 1951, and he'd talked to its three designers, who are still alive. "At the time, it wasn't terribly interesting, technically, but it turned out to be very reliable, and it did exactly what Harwell wanted," he says now. "It's earned its keep, that machine." Wilkes's Edsac and Edsac 2 computers were more innovative, but they were also designed for practical purposes, such as calculations for Cambridge University's researchers, some of whom were doing Nobel Prize-winning work. "We said prayers for reliability, for reliable answers," he says. "We never tried with the Edsac to exploit to the full the technology of the time, because even a slow electronic computer would be so fast [in comparison to hand-turned mechanical calculators]. You don't want to take a bigger jump than you need." Edsac was not just a workhorse, it gave rise to the world's first commercial computer: it was the basis for the design of Leo (Lyons Electronic Office), which ran its first business application in 1951. Leo was so successful in helping to manage the operations of the J Lyons catering empire that the company set up Leo Computers to sell versions to other businesses. "We had vision," says Wilkes. "We saw computers as becoming important in the world, not just for mechanical calculations, but for business. But all we had was vacuum tubes! We couldn't possibly have had any premonition of transistors and integrated circuits, and that's what's made the difference. Integrated circuits have given us speed and low cost and so on, but the central thing is reliability. Even if you don't use them very often, they still work." Like many people who catch the wave of an emerging technology, Wilkes says: "I was very lucky, in coming along at just the right time, and being in the right place." This is undoubtedly true. Wilkes had the luck to read a copy of John von Neumann's First Draft of a Report on the Edvac, a planned US computer based on the stored program concept. Wilkes recognised immediately that this was the way the future would develop (computers became known as "von Neumann machines"). He then had the luck to be invited to the series of lectures on "Theory and Techniques for Design of Electronic Digital Computers". These were held in 1946 at the University of Pennsylvania, where America's giant Eniac computer had been built during the war. Abnormal times Wilkes could meet some of the American pioneers, including Howard Aiken at Harvard, and John Mauchly and Presper Eckert, who developed Eniac. He thus become one of the relatively few people who had some idea how to build a real computer, even though doing it was still a huge challenge given the technology available at the time. Wilkes also had the luck to be running the Cambridge University lab, "so I didn't have to ask anybody 'Could I build a computer, please?' I didn't have to put in any proposal. I didn't have to arrange any budget. I was in charge and I could go ahead. The times were extremely abnormal," he wrote in a paper for the Computer Conservation Society. Of course, many other people were in similar or even luckier positions, and achieved little compared with Wilkes. Being the right man at the right time wasn't luck. Wilkes's brief tour, conducted by museum director Kevin Murrell, started with early valve-based computers, and ended with a sandwich and a glass of red wine. Along the way, Wilkes chatted with Tony Sale about some of the details of Colossus. He stopped to look at various DEC minicomputers – he worked for DEC in the US after he retired from Cambridge – and some of the 1980s British micros, many of which were developed in Cambridge. Now he's ready to leave, he says he's enjoyed every minute of his visit, and observes that "progress now goes a lot faster than it used to". "So what are you looking forward to now?" I ask him. "You can't see into the future, it's one of the laws of nature," he says, grinning. "If you'd asked me that half an hour ago, I'd have said 'My lunch'!" 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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 12:30 pm Skate may be fished to extinctionA species of skate could become the first marine fish driven to extinction by commercial fishing, say scientists.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 12:23 pm Fidel Castro, Dead?Today, the Internet was buzzing with the rumor that Fidel Castro, known as "El Presidente" in Cuba until 2008, when he ceded control to his brother Raul, has died. False reports of Castro's death have been circulating for years, especially ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 12:09 pm Obituary: Sir John CroftonLeading figure in respiratory medicine and the treatment of tuberculosis Sir John Crofton, who has died aged 97, was a world leader in respiratory medicine for more than 60 years and was at the forefront of the modern treatment of tuberculosis, smoking control and medical education. Born in Dublin, where his father was a doctor, he went to Tonbridge school, Kent, and then Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge, graduating in 1933. In the same year, along with MS Cumming, he was credited with the first ascent of a difficult rock-climbing route on Garbh Choire of Beinn a'Bhùird in the Cairngorms, still known as the Cumming-Crofton route. From Cambridge he went to St Thomas' hospital, qualifying in 1937, and after junior posts, he served as a medical specialist in the Royal Army Medical Corps in France, Egypt, Greece, Eritrea, Malta and Germany, using his experiences of typhus for his MD thesis in 1946. After demobilisation, he worked at the Royal Brompton hospital, London, from 1947 to 1949, partly in the tuberculosis unit of the British Medical Research Council, and was in charge of early trials of the antibiotic streptomycin. This was a crucial time in the battle against tuberculosis. The disease was rife, and until that time, the only available treatment was the "sanatorium regime" of prolonged rest, fresh air and good food, plus the occasional use of surgery – all of very limited effectiveness. John moved to the Royal Post-graduate Medical School at the Hammersmith hospital from 1947 to 1951, first as lecturer with Guy Scadding, who became a lifelong friend, then as senior lecturer with consultant status. In 1951 he was appointed professor of respiratory diseases and tuberculosis at Edinburgh University, later becoming dean of the faculty of medicine and then vice-principal. When he moved to Edinburgh, the treatment of TB was in a desperate state. There were huge waiting lists for hospital admission, many deaths, and the correct use of the new drugs PAS (para-aminosalicylic acid) and isoniazid in relation to streptomycin was unclear. TB physicians were suspicious of the new agents, and also of an outsider from the south seeking to make changes. But within a year or so John had revolutionised the situation, getting more beds and more consultant appointments, and with the support and enthusiasm of his colleagues, the Edinburgh model of multiple drug treatment was developed. The triple-drug regime ensured that the TB organisms did not become resistant to the treatment, and people could be cured without the need for surgery. Indeed, a cure was possible without the need for a stay in hospital, and despite some initial disbelief at the remarkable results, the Edinburgh system was adopted worldwide. New TB cases were sought using a mass miniature radiography campaign in 1957, and the prevalence of TB fell rapidly – nowhere more so than in Edinburgh. The control of tuberculosis globally remained a major concern for John, and he continued to advise and motivate people, publishing in 1992 a low-cost text on clinical tuberculosis with Norman Horne and Fred Millar, intended for the developing world. This has gone to new editions and several reprints, in 22 languages. He was also a founder and honorary president of TB Alert, Britain's national tuberculosis charity, launched in 1999, and was an active advocate, fundraiser and supporter of the organisation. For much of his time in Edinburgh, John worked in partnership with Andrew Douglas, and it was plain to all those who worked as their trainees, as I did, that they held each other in great respect and affection and provided a model of how to work harmoniously and effectively together. This was evident when they published the major textbook Respiratory Diseases (1969), which went into several editions. During his time in Edinburgh, John's research and public health interests broadened, particularly towards the prevention of disease by reducing smoking. He was one of those responsible for starting Ash-UK (Action on Smoking and Health) and also Ash Scotland (in 1973), of which his wife Eileen, whom he married in 1945, became the first director. He was delighted when these medically-based organisations helped achieve legislation restricting tobacco promotion and the ban on smoking in public places, with Scotland leading the way in the UK. In 2002, with David Simpson, he published Tobacco, a Global Threat – another low-cost book, this one aimed at encouraging tobacco control and the cessation of smoking in the developing world. John's great skill was to know what needed to be done in whatever field he had investigated, and then to make it happen by taking his teams with him, building and inspiring their loyalty and enthusiasm, and achieving the objectives without compromise. He respected all those who contributed from every discipline, and all those who worked with him became aware of his support. Many of his trainees felt that they were continuing to work for him and his causes long after leaving his department, and were very conscious of the privilege of having John as their mentor. He never ceased to work and develop ideas for improving people's lives, and a list of his other initiatives and achievements is almost endless. It should certainly include brokering the amalgamation of the British Thoracic Association with the Thoracic Society to create a single British Thoracic Society; a distinguished presidency of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh; involvement in the founding of Scottish Health Action on Alcohol Problems (Shaap); some 50 years as a council member of Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland; and prominent roles in the Britain-Nepal Medical Trust and the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. He accepted many richly deserved honours modestly, and continued to work and influence people until his peaceful death at home. John and Eileen were delightful and sociable people, regularly inviting staff and students to their home. They had an astonishing knowledge of the arts and a wide interest in people, which made them easy and stimulating company in any gathering. While he will be greatly missed, the achievements of this small but wonderful man will continue to benefit millions around the world. A sense of thanksgiving for a life is not often so widespread and overwhelming as it is for his. He is survived by Eileen, their five children and 11 grandchildren. • John Wenman Crofton, respiratory physician, born 27 March 1912; died 3 November 2009 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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 12:06 pm Mummy Scans Show Heart Disease Was Rampant
ORLANDO, Florida — The curse of the mummy may truly be fatal. An examination of mummified bodies has revealed that ancient Egyptians suffered from hardening of the arteries in surprising frequency, suggesting that blame for heart disease extends beyond the modern culprits of smoking, fast food and the remote control.
Although researchers have previously taken X-rays and other images of famous mummies, “no one has ever put a series of ancient people through modern CT scans,” Thompson said. The mummies, from the Museum of Antiquities in Cairo, ranged from 2,000 to 3,500 years old. All were selected by museum staff, who chose the most intact bodies from different spans of time. On a CT scan, the buildup of fat, cholesterol, calcium and other substances inside artery walls looks as distinct for the dead as the living. The scientists decided to conduct the study after two of the research team members — Gregory Thomas of the University of California, Irvine and Adel Allam of the Al Azhar Medical School in Cairo — visited the museum in 2008. They noticed that the nameplate for Merenptah, who ruled around 1200 B.C., claimed the pharaoh had suffered from atherosclerosis. Curious to know whether this was true, the doctors gathered a research team to determine the prevalence of heart disease among the preserved representatives of an ancient, upper-class civilization. Funding came from Siemens, the National Bank of Egypt and the Mid America Heart Institute.
In Orlando, the scientists reported the consequences of all those fatted calves: Among the eight people in the sample who had lived past the age of 45, seven had signs of clogged arteries. The most ancient mummy to have suffered from heart disease was Lady Rai, a nursemaid to Queen Amrose Nefertari. She died around 1530 B.C. while she was in her 30s, though her cause of death is not known. “We would have thought this was a disease of modern man,” said Samuel Wann of the Wisconsin Heart Hospital in Wauwatosa and a study team member. The results, he said, are bound to stoke an ongoing controversy among cardiologists. “We have a debate among our colleagues whether atherosclerosis is inevitable if you live long enough,” he said. The findings should not be taken to mean that modern risk factors have no bearing on heart disease, said Robert Bonow, chief of cardiology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The mummies studied would have had diets high in salt (for food preservation) and would have enjoyed the pampered lifestyle of the wealthy, so even these ancient people may have had risk factors like those of modern people, said Bonow, who was not part of the research team. “This does not tell you what the true incidence was,” he said at the meeting. “Patients should not take this as evidence that they shouldn’t worry about preventing heart disease because it’s been around a long time.” Image: Michael Miyamoto/UC San Diego See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 18 Nov 2009 | 11:56 am Saving the Ocean With RobotsFiguring out where to designate marine protected areas so fish populations can bounce back sounds simple. Heck, we just found water on the moon! But it's no easy task, which is why we're going to need water-ready robots. In California, ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 11:18 am Russian Cosmonaut’s Blog Much Funnier Than NASA
It’s not just NASA that’s hip to the social media game anymore. Now, the Russian space agency Roscosmos has one of its own blogging from the International Space Station. The blog, as translated by Russia Today, includes pictures from the ISS — and covers a much different array of topics than you usually see in NASA press releases or Twitter feeds. A recent post detailed the “holy symbols” in the Russian area of the station, illustrated by photos of icons and crucifixes floating in zero gravity.
Not exactly what you’d find NASA astronauts like Mike Massimino writing about, and that’s exactly what makes the reflections worth reading. We tend to receive our vision of space exploration through the American lens, so it’s great to get some outside perspective on what’s going on up there. And Suraev’s site really feels like someone’s blog. He even injects some dark, faux Cold-War humor into his writing. Take, for example, his description of the photo above. “In the photo I’m holding the latest gadget developed by our military. The device works in two modes. One allows eavesdropping on our colleagues in the American segment. You can … record all their conversations. Also, the device can be used for martial arts training — to be prepared for an alien attack on the Russian segment of the ISS,” he wrote last week. “Guys, it’s just a joke, I hope you realize! It’s not some weapon or a spy gadget. Just an old pump that Roma and I replaced!” If you read Russian, you can check out the original Roscosmos postings. Via: @txflygirl See Also:
Images: Roscosmos 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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 11:10 am Shuttle docks with space stationSpace shuttle Atlantis has successfully docked with the International Space Station, Nasa officials say.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 11:01 am Hubble Detects Galactic X-File
This photo from the Hubble Space Telescope reveals a strange, faint “X” shape extending from the center of the spiral galaxy NGC 4710. Spiral galaxies are named for the arms curling outward from a central core of stars and gas. All of them have some sort of bulge at the center, but some, perhaps 20 or 30 percent, have this strange type of boxy or peanut-shaped bulge. (Astronomers sometimes even abbreviate this shape as B/PS.) The mysterious structures can only be observed when looking edge-on at the galaxy. How and why such shapes develop is a matter of dispute in the astronomical community. One theory holds that they formed early in the galaxy’s history before its arms and structure were well-defined. Other astronomers propose that the bulges develop throughout the galaxy’s existence, slowly building up. Various mechanisms for distributing matter in this way have been proposed, too. NGC 4710 is located in the Virgo Cluster of galaxies. It’s located 60 million light-years away in a lesser-known northern constellation which bears the strange name, Coma Berenices, translated as the “Hair of Queen Berenice.” Image: NASA & ESA. See Also:
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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 10:58 am Drilling Into Ice to See Into Earth's Past, FuturePaleoclimate researcher studies Greenland ice cores to see how Earth's climate has changed.Source: Livescience.com | 18 Nov 2009 | 10:51 am Ancient Mummies Show Signs of Heart DiseaseHave archaeologists uncovered the real curse of the mummies?Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 10:29 am Mercury mission clears key hurdleScience delegations to the European Space Agency approve a much more expensive mission to the planet Mercury.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 10:17 am Jurassic Dinosaur Bones Inaccessible Due to Safety IssuesThe Dinosaur National Monument Quarry Visitor Center remains closed due to safety concerns, preventing paleontologists and other interested individuals from seeing one of the United State's largest and best quarry of dinosaur bones from the Jurassic period. Around 1,500 dinosaur ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 10:03 am Darwin's Handwritten Manuscripts and Notes DigitizedMost of us have read the works of Charles Darwin, but it's a powerful, more personal experience to see them in his own handwriting. Be sure to check out the Darwin Manuscripts Project site, mentioned in the following American Museum ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 18 Nov 2009 | 9:18 am Tiny chip could diagnose diseaseA simple and cheap approach to diagnosing a wide array of medical conditions has been demonstrated by researchers.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am SpacemanCountdown to maiden flight of Falcon 9 rocketSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 7:52 am Study Paints Sabertooths as Relative PussycatsThe sabertooth cat may have been less aggressive than its feline cousin, the American lion, a new study says.Source: Livescience.com | 18 Nov 2009 | 7:02 am Meteor shower 'fails to impress'Stargazers who stayed up all night to witness what an intense meteor shower are left disappointedSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 6:20 am Charities watchdog releases Simon Singh libel campaign complaintsThe Charity Commission has handed the Guardian the complaints it received – and dismissed – concerning the campaign by Sense about Science in support of Singh's legal battle This summer, Britain's charity watchdog received complaints about the pro-science charity, Sense about Science. The complaints were quickly dismissed. At the time, the only information released about the incident was the correspondence between the charity and the watchdog. We've now got the other side of the conversation: the correspondence between the Charity Commission and the complainant, and I include the text here in case it's of interest. The complainant thought the charity was "acting beyond the spirit of its charity status" over the prominent and mind-numbingly depressing libel case that rolls on between Simon Singh and the British Chiropractic Association. You can read up on the details of the case here and here. The complaints concerned a campaign, Keep Libel Laws out of Science, that Sense about Science launched this year. The aims of the campaign are clear: to reform English libel law, which unquestionably stifles free and open discussion about scientific issues. Since the charity's raison d'etre is to promote "good science and evidence in public debates", it is clearly proper ground for them to be fighting on. Sense about Science published their correspondence with the Charity Commission earlier this year. The Charity Commission has now released, under the Freedom of Information Act, redacted versions of the correspondence it had with the complainant. I've included the full text here in the interests of having the details out in the open as much as possible. Simon Singh isn't the only one affected by libel laws and science reporting. Prominent science magazines are threatened with legal action regularly and are forced to publish articles they wouldn't dream of running otherwise. It's not a good time for science reporting. Click here for background on the Keep Libel Laws out of Science campaign.
To receive up-to-the-minute science news from the Guardian, follow us on Twitter. 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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 6:05 am Scientists hold their breath as they prepare to fire up the LHCIf all goes to plan, beams of particles will begin whizzing around the LHC on Friday evening for the first time since last year's explosion A giant scientific instrument that was designed to recreate the big bang but blew itself up in the process will be back in business on Friday. Scientists at the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at Cern, the nuclear research organisation near Geneva, aim to have beams of subatomic particles whizzing around the machine on Friday evening, and will begin smashing them together soon after. The first collisions will mark the end of a long and frustrating period for the researchers, who waited eight years for the machine to be built only to see it explode shortly after being switched on in September last year. Repairs and a new safety system cost an estimated £24m. The machine, which occupies a 27km tunnel 100m beneath the French-Swiss border, will probe some of the deepest mysteries of the universe by crashing subatomic particles into one another at close to the speed of light. The collisions are expected to reveal tantalising signs of new physics that could include extra dimensions of space and "supersymmetry", a theory that calls for every particle in the universe to have an invisible partner. Scientists also hope the machine will finally discover the elusive Higgs boson, aka the God particle, which imbues other particles with mass. It may also expose the nature of dark matter, a mysterious, invisible material that stretches across the cosmos and collects around galaxies. The £6bn machine was shut down last year after a spark caused by faulty wiring tore a hole in the collider and released liquid helium, wrecking surrounding equipment and encasing it in a layer of ice. Engineers have spent the past year checking the wiring in the rest of the machine and installing safety measures to prevent another catastrophe. Work on the machine was interrupted earlier this month when a short circuit took out an electrical substation. The incident was blamed on a piece of baguette dropped by a passing bird. The first collisions will be at low energies but will give scientists working on the machine's four giant detectors their first real data to work on. Two beams of subatomic particles called protons, travelling in opposite directions around the tunnel, will be accelerated to almost the speed of light. At four points around the ring the beams will cross over, slamming the protons into each other head-on. The violent impacts will release fleeting bursts of energy that will recreate in microcosm the conditions that existed only a fraction of a second after the big bang. Lyn Evans, who has overseen the construction of the LHC for the past 15 years, said Cern hoped to get two beams of protons circulating in the machine on Friday evening. "Then we just have to steer them into one another," he said. Collisions are expected to reach an energy of 2.2 trillion electronvolts by Christmas, enough for the LHC to take the title of the most powerful particle collider in the world. By January, the machine should be running with at least three times as much energy as the current world-leading particle smasher, the Tevatron at Fermilab near Chicago. "It's been a frustrating time, but what we do know is that the machine works beautifully," Evans said. "By Christmas, I expect we will take the high-energy frontier, if only by a whisker." Cern engineers have already sent beams of particles half way around the machine. Their first goal later this week will be to circulate two beams of protons at low energy, the stage they reached this time last year before the machine exploded. The first low-energy collisions will give scientists a chance to check the machine is working properly and ensure its detectors are recording the beautiful streaks of subatomic debris created when the particles crash into one another. The machine will close for a couple of weeks over Christmas while engineers finish installing safety measures to prevent the machine exploding again when it is running at higher energies next year. Jim Virdee, a physicist at Imperial College, London, and spokesman for the machine's giant CMS (Compact Muon Solenoid) detector, has spent the past year calibrating the detector by watching high-energy particles in cosmic rays hurtle through it. "There's a mood of great anticipation here. We're cautiously optimistic and looking forward to finally getting going," he said. "We will soon be making great inroads into new territory. We'll be looking for new things, but what we find depends on how kind nature is to us." Some scientists are relying on the LHC to pull physics out of at least a decade in the doldrums. While theoretical physicists have pushed ahead with string theory and other models that describe the particles and forces of nature, experiments to prove any of them right or wrong have been lacking. Last year, an American court dismissed a legal challenge that claimed the LHC might destroy the planet by creating a black hole or a clump of matter known as a strangelet. This year, physicists at the Niels Bohr Institute proposed an even more extraordinary possibility. Their calculations suggested that the long-sought Higgs boson was so abhorrent to nature that any machine that tried to make it would be "sabotaged" from the future. Few scientists are losing sleep over the prospect. "We are absolutely and totally confident that the machine is perfectly safe, just as we were last year," said Evans. "And i'm not at all worried about the it being destroyed by its own 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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 5:21 am Cardboard hellThe science of milk carton design and other objectsSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 5:15 am Poor women 'bear climate burden'Women in developing countries will be the most vulnerable to climate change, a report from the UN Population Fund warns.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 18 Nov 2009 | 5:00 am US evangelicals warm to climate change science in Capitol Hill campaign| Suzanne GoldenbergLeading environmental scientists and evangelical Christians join forces to lobby senators in support of the climate bill The handful of Senators trying to rustle up support for Obama's energy and climate change legislation in Congress could certainly do with some inspiration, or even divine intervention – so an initiative this week by scientists and evangelical leaders is especially timely. Members of the two camps paired up in a campaign on Capitol Hill to lobby Senators to support the bill. Evangelicals are the bedrock of the Republican party and are often seen as sceptical of science, from global warming to evolution. So the initiative's core argument is: if evangelicals can find it in their hearts to support action on climate change, why can't senators have a similar conversion? As they began their rounds on Tuesday, Harry Reid, the Senate Majority leader, confirmed that a climate change bill would have to wait until next spring. The delay suggests a further weakening of political will to cut America's greenhouse gas emissions, which Republicans and conservative Democrats say will deepen the economic recession. But Richard Cizik, a former executive of the National Association of Evangelicals, who is one of the leaders of the initiative, argues there is far broader support among religious communities for action on climate change that is widely understood. The younger generations especially are passionately concerned about the environment. "These evangelicals have an intensity level that even some in the environmental community don't have. They believe this is their God-given calling," he said. "When you realise you have missed something – as I did when I had a conversion on these issues – you become like a new convert to the faith, a passionate activist." For many, the connection between climate change and poverty in the developing world – a core issue for many churches – was crucial in forcing a rethink on climate change issues. "There has been for some in this country a conflict between faith and religion and science and so climate change has been in certain ways a victim of the origins debate. Scientists believe in evolution, therefore I oppose evolution." The Scientists and Evangelicals Initiative is an effort to build bridges on the climate change issue: Ultimately, we believe that such collaboration will capture the imagination of people worldwide who will recognise the urgency of our concerns about the environment and be moved by our willingness to put aside whatever differences we may have to work together to protect it. Among the top targets of the evangelical-scientist lobbying effort is Richard Lugar, the most senior Republican on the Senate foreign relations committee who said last week he could not vote for the current version of a climate change bill. "Senator Lugar we would hope would take a higher-profile leadership role," Cizik said. "We think there are ways to bring Republicans like Lugar on board." Lugar co-sponsored a senate briefing about the initiative with Senator John Kerry on Capitol Hill yesterday. Other Republicans apparently are beyond redemption on the issue of climate change though. Senator James Inhofe of Oklahoma has famously called global warming a "hoax". "I am not persuaded that Senator Inhofe will ever be convinced that the science of climate change is real and urgent," said Cizik. Here is the list of evangelicals and scientists involved in this week's action: • Eric Chivian, MD, founder and director of the Centre for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School. Shared the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize. Named by Time in 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. • James J McCarthy, PhD, Alexander Agassiz professor of biological oceanography at Harvard. Past president, American Association for the Advancement of Science. Former co-chair, Impacts Working Group, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. • Nancy Knowlton, PhD, holder of the sant chair in marine science at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History, and adjunct professor of marine biology, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. • Thomas E Lovejoy, PhD, the first recipient of the newly created Heinz Centre biodiversity chair, who coined the term "biological diversity". Former chief biodiversity adviser to the president of the World Bank and assistant secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. • Paul R Epstein, MD, MPH, associate director of the Centre for Health and the Global Environment, Harvard Medical School. Adviser to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. • Richard Cizik, D Min, senior fellow at the United Nations Foundation, president of the group New Evangelicals, and former vice president for governmental affairs of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE). Named by Time in 2008 as one of the 100 most influential people in the world. • Gerald L Durley, PhD, an educator, psychologist, and motivational speaker, who is the pastor of the historic Providence Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. • Deborah Fikes, executive adviser to the World Evangelical Alliance. Board of directors and member of the Creation Care Advisory Team, NAE. • Joel C Hunter D Min, senior pastor of Northland Church, a megachurch with a congregation of 12,000 in Orlando, Florida. Board of directors and chairman of the creation care advisory team, NAE. 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 | 18 Nov 2009 | 4:40 am Corinne Le Quéré on how carbon sinks in oceans and forests are becoming less effectiveCorinne Le Quéré on how carbon sinks in oceans and forests are becoming less effective Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 18 Nov 2009 | 2:43 am
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“We have four holy icons on the Russia segment. We also have the gospels and a big cross,” wrote Maksim Suraev. “And I have a reliquary cross in my cabin. A priest gave it to me at Baikanur before the launch. Father Job told me a piece of the original cross on which Jesus was crucified is contained in mine.”