Toward home-brewed electricity with 'personalized solar energy'

New scientific discoveries are moving society toward the era of "personalized solar energy," in which the focus of electricity production shifts from huge central generating stations to individuals in their own homes and communities.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Sweet as can be: How E. coli gets ahead

Scientists have discovered how certain bacteria such as Escherichia coli have evolved to capture rare sugars from their environment giving them an evolutionary advantage in naturally competitive environments like the human gut.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Shifting blame is socially contagious

Merely observing someone publicly blame an individual in an organization for a problem -- even when the target is innocent -- greatly increases the odds that the practice of blaming others will spread with the tenacity of the H1N1 flu.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Termites create sustainable monoculture fungus farming

Food production of modern human societies is mostly based on large-scale monoculture crops, but it now appears that advanced insect societies have the same practice. Our societies took just ten thousand years of (mainly cultural) evolution to adopt this habit and we are far from convinced that it is sustainable. Farming ants and termites had tens of millions of years to evolve their fungus farming systems and here monocultures are apparently evolutionary stable.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Sugar-coated polymer is new weapon against allergies and asthma

Scientists have developed sugar-coated polymer strands that selectively kill off cells involved in triggering aggressive allergy and asthma attacks. Their advance is a significant step toward crafting pharmaceuticals to fight these often life-endangering conditions in a new way.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Researchers find new piece of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) puzzle

A new treatment route for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) and its human form Creutzfeldt Jakob disease could be a step closer based on new results from scientists in the UK. The team has found that a protein called Glypican-1 plays a key role in the development of BSE.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 3:00 pm

Solar winds triggered by magnetic fields

Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by researchers based on the latest observations from the Hinode satellite.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

'Slimming gene' discovered that regulates body fat

Scientists have discovered a previously unknown fruit fly gene that controls the metabolism of fat. Larvae in which this gene is defective lose their entire fat reserves. Mammals carry a group of genes that are structurally very similar. The scientists therefore hope this research could lead to new medicines to fight obesity.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

Tooth-binding micelles containing antimicrobials may provide long-term cavity protection

A new study suggests that tooth-binding micelles (or particles) may provide long-term cavity protection by adhering to tooth surfaces and gradually releasing encapsulated antimicrobials. Formulation of a mouthwash-based delivery system is anticipated, ultimately simplifying application and increasing at-home patient compliance.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

DNA molecules in moss open door to new biotechnology

Plasmids, which are DNA molecules capable of independent replication in cells, have played an important role in gene technology. Researchers have now demonstrated that plasmid-based methods, which had been limited to single-cell organisms such as bacteria and yeasts, can be extended to mosses, opening the door to applications of a number of powerful techniques in plant research.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 9:00 am

The nation's weather (AP)

AP - A low-pressure system that has lingered in the Gulf of Mexico the past few days, bringing rain to the Gulf Coast, was expected to finally move inland into the Southeast on Sunday. This was likely to translate to widespread rain and even a few thunderstorms in the area even as the system weakens while moving toward the Southeast coast.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 2:10 am

Baby can wait as expectant dad finishes spacewalk (AP)

AP - A spacewalking astronaut put aside the impending birth of his daughter and blazed through his first-ever venture outside the International Space Station on Saturday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 2:01 am

India's Reliance announces bid for LyondellBasell (AFP)

AFP - India's private sector energy giant Reliance Industries Limited has announced a cash bid to buy a controlling stake in bankrupt petrochemicals firm LyondellBasell Industries.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 12:36 am

China harnesses mountain wind power (AFP)

AFP - In the mountains above the southwestern Chinese town of Dali, dozens of new wind turbines dot the landscape -- a symbol of the country's sky-high ambitions for clean, green energy.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Nov 2009 | 12:25 am

Ukraine's `hot air' bedevils global climate deal (AP)

AP - Vladimir Gapor is a plumber by trade, but now he's a scavenger, prying bits of scrap steel from the ruins of his old factory and selling them for a pittance.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 11:15 pm

Thousands flock to 'world's biggest animal sacrifice' (AFP)

AFP - Thousands of Hindu devotees have flocked to a village in Nepal ahead of the planned sacrifice of more than 300,000 animals in a ceremony condemned by animal rights activists, including French actress Brigitte Bardot.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 10:25 pm

Cern Collider makes fast progress

Researchers working on the Large Hadron Collider are delighted with the progress made since the machine restarted.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Nov 2009 | 9:02 pm

LyondellBasell says receives offer from Reliance (Reuters)

Reuters - Indian energy giant Reliance Industries has made a non-binding cash offer to buy a controlling interest in bankrupt petrochemicals company LyondellBasell Industries, LyondellBasell said on Saturday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 8:18 pm

Atlantis astronauts install gadgets on second spacewalk (AFP)

AFP - Shuttle Atlantis astronauts on Saturday completed the second of their mission's three spacewalks to maintain and install more high-tech gadgets on the International Space Station.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:52 pm

EPA: Uranium from polluted mine in Nev. wells (AP)

AP - Peggy Pauly lives in a robin-egg blue, two-story house not far from acres of onion fields that make the northern Nevada air smell sweet at harvest time.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:31 pm

Delayed spacewalk ends successfully

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - NASA astronauts completed a spacewalk on Saturday at the International Space Station that had been delayed after a false alarm woke the crews of the station and the visiting space shuttle Atlantis.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:25 pm

Astronauts Speed Through Second Spacewalk (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Two astronauts raced through the second spacewalk of their docked shuttle mission at the International Space Station Saturday, getting so far ahead of schedule they took on jobs scheduled for future excursions.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 3:46 pm

"Big Bang" experiment advancing fast

GENEVA (Reuters) - After a year's delay, scientists at the world's biggest accelerator have restarted an experiment to recreate "Big Bang" conditions that had sparked suggestions the earth would be sucked in by millions of black holes.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm

Water mission returns first data

A European satellite launched to study the Earth's water cycle returns its first data, confirming its novel instrument is working well.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Nov 2009 | 12:48 pm

After Space Shuttle, Who’ll Have a Ticket to Ride?

The simmering debate over the future direction of our nation's human space flight program hit even more air turbulence over the past couple weeks. On the cusp of the Augustine Report on NASA's future space flight plans (that was delivered ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Nov 2009 | 11:10 am

Fish 'at risk' in acidified ocean

Fish reared in water acidified by CO2 may become "fatally attracted" to the smell of their predators, say scientists.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Nov 2009 | 10:48 am

Spacewalkers work on space station

Construction and maintenance continue on the orbiting lab as Nasa's Atlantis space shuttle pays a visit

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Nov 2009 | 9:40 am

Marmots Remember Long-Gone Predators

Colorado marmots “remember” a long-gone foe.
Source: Livescience.com | 21 Nov 2009 | 6:09 am

Never Send a Machine to Do a Human's Job

Humans aren't suited for space, robots are. Does this mean we should sideline human space flight in favor of sending the equivalent of a digital camera to distant worlds? Greg Fish doesn't think so and neither do we.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Nov 2009 | 4:19 am

2nd Night of False Alarms on Space Station

Depressurization and smoke alarms woke the shuttle and station crews for a second consecutive night on Friday. Flight controllers quickly determined they were false alarms, but the station's ventilation system automatically shut down, prompting NASA to cancel spacewalk preparations inside ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Nov 2009 | 3:31 am

Harrabin's notes

Arguments over hacked climate change e-mails
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Nov 2009 | 1:42 am