Green tea chemical combined with another may hold promise for treatment of brain disorders

Scientists have found that combining two chemicals, one of which is the green tea component EGCG, can prevent and destroy a variety of protein structures known as amyloids. Amyloids are the primary culprits in fatal brain disorders such as Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Understanding DNA repair and cancer

A protein that plays a key role in copying DNA also plays a vital role in repairing breaks in it, scientists have found. The work is helping researchers understand how cancer cells can resist radiation and chemotherapy, as well as how cells become cancerous in the first place.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Wrap rage: A holiday injury waiting to happen

Here's a holiday news nugget for those who will experience "wrap rage" this season ... According to a poll of Pennsylvania adults, about 17 percent of Pennsylvanians experienced an injury or knows someone who was injured while opening gifts during past seasons.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Biodiversity loss can increase infectious diseases in humans

Biodiversity loss can increase infectious diseases in humans, scientists show in a first-of-its-kind global study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Dessert on your mind? Your muscles may be getting the message

Even the anticipation of sweets may cause our muscles to start taking up more blood sugar, say researchers. That message is delivered via neurons in the brain's hypothalamus containing the chemical known as orexin and the sympathetic nervous system, the studies in mice and rats suggest.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Why some monkeys don't get AIDS

Two new studies provide a significant advance in understanding how some species of monkeys such as sooty mangabeys and African green monkeys avoid AIDS when infected with SIV, the simian equivalent of HIV.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:00 pm

Diabetic flies: Fruit fly model helps unravel genetics of human diabetes

Researchers are using the fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, as a model system to unravel what genes and gene pathways are involved in the metabolic changes that lead to insulin resistance and full-blown diabetes in humans.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Potential new 'twist' in breast cancer detection

Working with mice, scientists have shown that a protein made by a gene called "Twist" may be the proverbial red flag that can accurately distinguish stem cells that drive aggressive, metastatic breast cancer from other breast cancer cells.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Balancing protein intake, not cutting calories, may be key to long life

Getting the correct balance of proteins in our diet may be more important for healthy aging than reducing calories, new research suggests.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

Stem cells battle for space

The body is a battle zone. Cells constantly compete with one another for space and dominance. Though the manner in which some cells win this competition is well known to be the survival of the fittest, how stem cells duke it out for space and survival is not as clear. A new study on fruit flies describes how stem cells win this battle by literally sticking around.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 9:00 am

UN climate chief: hacked e-mails are damaging (AP)

AP - The top U.N. climate official says hacked e-mails from climate scientists that appear to cast doubt on their research do look bad, but studies of global warming are solid.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 3:26 am

Dubai debt woes may cut CO2 but much more needed (AFP)

AFP - Dubai's debt crisis may make a small dent in its greenhouse gas emissions but the Gulf emirate faces an enormous task to cut carbon to the levels to be proposed at the UN climate summit starting this week.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 2:21 am

Climate drama climax looks elusive in Copenhagen (AP)

AP - For 20 years, as this crowded planet grew warmer, nations have gathered annually to try to do something about it. History now brings them to this chilly northern capital, and to a crossroads.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 6 Dec 2009 | 1:26 am

Mass cannibalism clues uncovered

Archaeologists uncover signs of mass cannibalism at a 7,000-year-old human burial site in Germany.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 6 Dec 2009 | 12:34 am

Chicken of the sea? Tuna farming getting a boost (AP)

AP - Thousands of tuna, their silver bellies bloated with fat, swim frantically around in netted areas of a small bay, stuffing themselves until they grow twice as heavy as in the wild.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 10:34 pm

Australia in 82 billion dollar LNG deal with Japan (AFP)

AFP - Australia has welcomed a 90 billion dollar (82 billion US) deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a Japanese power company in what is believed to be the country's biggest export sales contract.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 10:33 pm

Scientists, lawyers mull effects of home robots (AP)

AP - Eric Horvitz illustrates the potential dilemmas of living with robots by telling the story of how he once got stuck in an elevator at Stanford Hospital with a droid the size of a washing machine.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 10:30 pm

Has the Mystery of Uranus' Tilt Been Solved?

Uranus orbits the sun on its side. Although the consensus is that the gas giant must have collided with something to make it this way, two researchers have modeled Uranus getting "wobbled" by a large moon, tugging it off axis. ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 5 Dec 2009 | 10:09 pm

Rocket launches Air Force satellite from Fla. (AP)

AP - A rocket carrying an Air Force satellite that will be used by the military has launched from Cape Canaveral.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 9:25 pm

US deploys balloons... to test accuracy of online spread of info

US defence experts launch 10 red balloons across the country to assess the accuracy with which information spreads on the internet.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Dec 2009 | 8:40 pm

Florida Skywatchers Have Chances to Spot Space Station (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Skywatchers in Florida have two chances to spot the International Space Station fly high overhead in the next week.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 7:45 pm

Break-in raises fears of pre-summit smear campaign

New incident raises fears of a smear campaign

Attempts have been made to break into the offices of one of Canada's leading climate scientists, it was revealed yesterday. The victim was Andrew Weaver, a University of Victoria scientist and a key contributor to the work of the Inter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In one incident, an old computer was stolen and papers were disturbed.

In addition, individuals have attempted to impersonate technicians in a bid to access data from his office, said Weaver. The attempted breaches, on top of the hacking of files from British climate researcher Phil Jones, have heightened fears that climate-change deniers are mounting a campaign to discredit the work of leading meteorologists before the start of the Copenhagen climate summit tomorrow.

"The key thing is to try to find anybody who's involved in any aspect of the IPCC and find something that you can … take out of context," said Weaver. The prospect of more break-ins and hacking has forced researchers to step up computer security.

Fears of further attacks by climate-change deniers have also put Copenhagen delegates under increased pressure to reach a comprehensive deal to limit carbon emissions, with Britain's chief negotiator, energy and climate change secretary Ed Miliband, warning last week that there was no certainty that a deal would be reached. "We need to have our foot on the gas all the time," he said on Thursday. "We should not be complacent about getting a deal." It was crucial that Britain, and Europe, showed ambition in setting an agenda for a tough, binding agreement and not let the efforts of climate sceptics derail negotiations, he added. "Our children will hold us in contempt if we fail now."

Analysts say the key to success at Copenhagen would be the establishment of a treaty in which developed countries agree to make major carbon emission cuts while developing nations make lesser, but nevertheless significant reductions of their own. Ultimately, the aim is to ensure that the world's output of CO₂ begins to decline by 2020. If this is not achieved, temperatures will rise by more than 2C and take the world into uncontrollable global warming.

In addition, the Copenhagen summit will also have to establish a mechanism by which the west will pledge to pay billions of pounds in aid to the developing world to introduce renewable technologies and other climate-control measures. So far, there is little sign of rapprochement, particularly over the issue of cash aid from developed countries.

"Rich nations tell us they are going to Copenhagen to seal a deal, but we say not an unfair deal. We will never give way," said Abdalmahmood Abdalhaleem Mohamed, Sudan's ambassador to the UN. Bangladesh's senior delegate was equally robust, describing the $10bn so far offered by the west as "peanuts".

However, there was more encouraging news last week when India's prime minister, Manmohan Singh, announced he would attend the summit, joining Gordon Brown and President Barack Obama on the final day of the meeting. India is the world's fourth biggest emitter of greenhouse gases and has just pledged to cut its carbon emissions by 20-25% by 2020. India had previously been reluctant to commit itself to carbon cuts. Singh's new stance suggests his country is now prepared to be more co-operative.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 5 Dec 2009 | 5:09 pm

Why caring can sour a happy marriage

New psychological research has revealed surprising data about how relationships fail

True love may be the key to a long and happy marriage – but being a dentist or an agricultural engineer helps, too, according to new research.

A paper that correlates occupations with divorce and separation rates, to be published in the Journal of Police and Criminal Psychology, reveals that those employed in extrovert and stressful jobs are highly likely to divorce, as are those who work in the caring professions.

Dancers, choreographers and bartenders have around a 40% chance of experiencing a relationship breakdown. But also at high risk are nurses, psychiatrists and those who help the elderly and disabled. Conversely, agricultural engineers, optometrists, dentists, clergymen and podiatrists are all in occupations which carry a 2-7% chance of family breakdown.

"This is a fascinating piece of research containing all sorts of surprises," said Dai Williams, a chartered occupational psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society. "It won't amaze anyone that relationships frequently break down under the pressure of jobs involving long hours and unpredictable working patterns. Or that if you work in an extrovert environment, you will have more chance to meet other people and develop competing relationships. Opticians, who have a low divorce rate, meet lots of people, but don't have the time to chat them up.

"But what is interesting is that those involved in caring professions experience a high level of break-up. This might be because they spend too long caring for other people at the cost of their own families, or because they are naturally sensitive people who are more vulnerable and sensitive in their own relationship," he said.

The study found that chefs, secretaries and mathematicians shared a 20% chance of being divorced or separated. Journalists and urban planners had a 18% chance, while librarians, dietitians and fitness instructors had a 17% chance.

Travel agents, writers and police shared a 16% likelihood of divorce, slightly above firefighters and teachers. At a 12% chance of divorce, judges and magistrates were slightly less likely to succeed in their relationships than vets and funeral directors.

Despite their long hours, or perhaps because of them, chief executives had only a 10% chance of experiencing marriage breakdown, slightly above pharmacists, dentists and farmers. Agricultural engineers were the most faithful of all, with their relationships suffering a breakdown rate of less than 2%.

Dr Caroline Schuster Cotterell, a chartered psychologist and author of Leadership Behaviour & Corporate Success, said: "Chief executives may be a case on their own. One might expect the leaders of organisations to experience high levels of stress involving personnel issues, financial implications and personal leadership style, but this may not be the case. While CEOs are busy, they are also excellent at time management, conflict resolution, delegation and are, more often than not, highly emotionally intelligent – all necessary ingredients of a successful relationship."

Dr Michael Aamodt, an industrial psychologist at Radford University in Virginia, invented a formula to work out the likelihood of success of a marriage based on the occupation of one of the partners. The formula (separated plus divorced) divided by (total population minus never married) was used to establish the percentage of people in 449 occupations who were once in a marital relationship.

Aamodt rated professions and trades according to their likelihood of a successful marriage. "I looked at the divorce rate for each given occupation after controlling for gender, race, age and income characteristics," said Aamodt. "By controlling for demographic variables that might be related to divorce rates, we also obtained race, gender, age and income information for each occupation."

However, shift work, overtime and weekend work made no significant difference, he said.

Percentage chance of a divorce

1. Dancers and choreographers 43.05%

2. Bartenders 38.43%

3. Massage therapists 38.22%

4. Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides 28.95%

5. Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers 28.49%

6. Baggage porters and concierges 28.43%

7. Telemarketers 28.10%

8. Waiters/waitresses 27.12%

9. Roofers 26.85%, and maids and housekeeping cleaners 26.38%

10. Chefs/head cooks 20.10%

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

Genes may protect some people from TB infection (Reuters)

Reuters - A study involving 128 South African families has identified genetic traits that may protect some people from tuberculosis in a finding that could help lead to a new TB vaccine, scientists said on Saturday.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 12:38 pm

Climate protests ahead of summit

Tens of thousands of people have taken part in climate change protests around the UK ahead of the Copenhagen summit.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Dec 2009 | 12:13 pm

Nobel prize foundation frets over its finances

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Nobel Foundation might have to reduce the money it awards winners of its prestigious prizes due to the effects of the global financial crisis, its director said on Saturday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 10:04 am

The Most Surprising Results of Global Warming (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - At the United Nations meeting on climate change next week, scientists will be discussing some of the potentially devastating effects of global warming, such as rising temperatures, melting ice caps and rising sea levels in the near future. But Earth's changing climate is already wreaking havoc in some very weird ways. So gird yourself for such strange effects as savage wildfires, disappearing lakes, freak allergies, and the threat of long-gone diseases re-emerging.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 5 Dec 2009 | 9:40 am

The Most Surprising Results of Global Warming

Earth's changing climate is wreaking havoc in some very weird ways.
Source: Livescience.com | 5 Dec 2009 | 9:35 am

Down to the wire

Richard Black on the countdown to Copenhagen
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 5 Dec 2009 | 5:52 am

Met Office to publish climate change data amid fraud claims

The Met Office is to release its climate change data after stolen material suggested the case for man-made global warming has been exaggerated

The Met Office is to publish some of the data it uses to analyse climate change after allegations that researchers have manipulated the evidence supporting manmade global warming.

Information collected by more than 1,000 weather stations from across the world would be released next week, a Met Office spokesman said.

The move follows the online publication of emails and other material stolen from the University of East Anglia's Climatic Research Unit. Climate change sceptics claim the material shows that the evidence to support manmade global warming has been exaggerated.

Dr Rajendra Pachauri, the chairman of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), told BBC Radio 4 yesterday that the claims, dubbed Climategate, were serious and would be looked at "in detail".

A Met Office spokesman said: "The Met Office does intend to release data from more than 1,000 weather stations. It will be available on our website."

He said the office had "every confidence" in the data, which would show that global temperatures had warmed up over the past 150 years. The Met Office's database is a main source of analysis for the IPCC.

Further information may be released at a later date after 188 countries were written to asking for permission to publish historic data.

The University of East Anglia has appointed tje Scottish civil servant and former principal and vice-chancellor of the University of Glasgow, Sir Muir Russell, to head an independent review into the email allegations.

The investigation will look at the leaked email exchanges to see if there is any evidence of manipulation or suppression of data that would call into question the research findings of the centre.

The centre's director, Professor Phil Jones, has said he will stand down from the post while the independent inquiry takes place.

The climate change secretary, Ed Miliband, has welcomed the UN's investigation of the claims but warned against listening to "flat-earthers" who were trying to undermine the science.

He said sceptics who suggested the Earth was cooling because 1998 was the hottest year on record were wrong, because the past 10 years were the warmest decade on record. The hottest year, 1998, coincided with natural warming effects of a strong El Nino weather pattern.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 5 Dec 2009 | 5:18 am