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Switch turns on allergic disease in peopleA new study in human cells has singled out a molecule that specifically directs immune cells to develop the capability to produce an allergic response. The signaling molecule, called thymic stromal lymphopoietin, is key to the development of allergic diseases such as asthma, atopic dermatitis (eczema) and food allergy.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm Chemical analyses uncover secrets of an ancient amphoraChemists have confirmed that the substance used to hermetically seal an amphora found among remains at Lixus, in Morocco, was pine resin. The scientists also studied the metallic fragments inside the 2,000-year-old vessel, which could be fragments of material used for iron-working.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm Insect colonies operate as 'superorganisms', new research findsNew research finds that insect colonies follow some of the same biological "rules" as individuals, a finding that suggests insect societies operate like a single "superorganism" in terms of their physiology and life cycle.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm Scientists show how brain tumors outsmart drugsResearchers have shown one way in which gliomas, a deadly type of brain tumor, can evade drugs aimed at blocking a key cell signaling protein, epidermal growth factor receptor, that is crucial for tumor growth.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm How does an outfielder know where to run for a fly ball?To test three theories that might explain an outfielder's ability to catch a fly ball, researchers had to produce realistic balls and simulate catches. Scientists then lobbed virtual fly balls to a dozen experienced ball players.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm Tracking MRSA evolution and transmission: Revolutionary strategy for control and prevention of infectionResearchers have developed a remarkable new method to precisely track transmission of MRSA from one person to another in a hospital setting. The method "zooms" from large-scale inter-continental transmission events to person-to-person infection of MRSA within a single hospital. The technique, which harnesses the latest high-throughput DNA sequencing technologies, helps researchers understand how strains spread so rapidly, and should lead to novel infection control strategies, not only for MRSA but also for other emerging superbugs.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm New 'nanoburrs' could help fight heart diseaseResearchers have built targeted nanoparticles that can cling to artery walls and slowly release medicine, an advance that potentially provides an alternative to drug-releasing stents in some patients with cardiovascular disease.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm Parkinson's: Treadmill training improves movementTreadmill training can be used to help people with Parkinson's disease achieve better walking movements, say researchers. In a systematic review of the evidence, Cochrane researchers concluded treadmill training could be used to improve specific gait parameters in Parkinson's patients.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm San Andreas Fault study unearths new earthquake informationRecent studies of stream channel offsets along the San Andreas Fault reveal new information about fault behavior -- affecting how we understand the potential for damaging earthquakes.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm High vitamin D levels linked to lower risk of colon cancerHigh blood levels of vitamin D are associated with a lower risk of colon cancer, finds a large European study. The risk was cut by as much as 40 percent in people with the highest levels compared with those in the lowest.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 12:00 pm The nation's weather (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 2:54 am Nature crisis 'must be tackled'This year's UN biodiversity agreement is likely to hone in on the underlying causes of nature degradation.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 22 Jan 2010 | 2:17 am Engineered cells produce light showScientists have produced a very unusual light show by engineering bacterial cells to fluoresce in synchrony.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 22 Jan 2010 | 2:03 am Sunflower DNA map could produce plants for fuel (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 1:32 am Mountaintop mining: Coal baron debates a Kennedy (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 22 Jan 2010 | 1:01 am Haiti Aftershocks Will Continue for Months, Maybe Years
A preliminary U.S. Geological Survey assessment has found that the sequence of aftershocks following the magnitude 7 earthquake that struck near Port-au-Prince, Haiti on Jan. 12 is likely to continue for months, possibly years. Though the frequency of aftershocks will decrease over time, there is still potential for quakes large enough to cause more damage in the coming months, and a small possibility of an event larger than the main shock, according to a team of USGS scientists. Their initial probability estimates for the next 30 days are that there is a 3 percent chance of a magnitude 7 or greater quake, a 25 percent chance of a magnitude 6 or greater quake and a 90 percent chance of a magnitude 5 or greater quake. “Any aftershock above magnitude 5.0 will be widely felt and has the potential to cause additional damage, particularly to vulnerable, already damaged structures,” according to the USGS statement released Thursday evening.
The forecast is based on the aftershocks Haiti has already experienced and general statistics on aftershocks. Haiti experienced a magnitude 5.9 aftershock on Wednesday. The USGS expects two or three more of at least magnitude 5 in the nest 30 days. The scientists are also concerned because it’s unclear how much of the Enriquillo-Plantain Garden fault, which bounds the North American and Caribbean plates, ruptured in the earthquake. Analysis of ground deformation at the surface using satellite and aerial photos and preliminary radar data suggests that the segment of the fault directly east of the rupture and directly under Port-au-Prince did not slip. This means it could rupture in the future. At least four times in the past earthquakes as big or bigger than the recent quake have struck Haiti. Two major quakes struck the capital city in 1751 and 1770. For this reason, the USGS cautions that as Port-au-Prince is rebuilt, future seismic risk must be taken into account. USGS webpage for the January 12 Haiti earthquake and aftershocks
Images: 1) NASA/USGS. 2) NASA See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 22 Jan 2010 | 12:22 am Feds allege crime in death of wild jaguar in Ariz. (AP)AP - Investigators say a contractor and possibly an Arizona Game and Fish Department employee acted criminally in the death of what was believed to be the last living wild jaguar in Arizona.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 10:05 pm Genetics Used to Track Transmission of MRSA Bacteria (HealthDay)HealthDay - THURSDAY, Jan. 21 (HealthDay News) -- New technology has made it possible, for the first time, to track the potentially deadly bacteria MRSA around the world or from one person to another, a new study reports.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 9:50 pm Lemur Ancestors Rafted to MadagascarOk, here's a mystery of science for you: how did lemurs get to Madagascar? From genetic analysis, we know their ancestors traversed the 250 miles separating the island from mainland Africa between 50 and 60 million years ago, but how? ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 8:22 pm Meteorite Crashes Through Virginia Doctor's OfficeThe Smithsonian scientists examine the Virginia meteorite (WUSA 9 News) Usually, I'm skeptical of any reports about chunks of space rock hitting vehicles, property, people or pets, as most instances have far more likely (and terrestrial) explanations. Many accounts of ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 6:39 pm Ability to Recognize Faces Is Inherited (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - Some people never forget a face. For the rest of us, recognizing faces is not so easy. And those with prosopagnosia can't even recognize their close friends.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 6:02 pm 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami lessons applied in Haiti (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:58 pm Anti-obesity drug Reductil bannedSibutramine blamed for increasing patients' chances of suffering a heart attack or stroke One of the country's most commonly prescribed anti-obesity drugs has been banned across Europe after it was blamed for increasing patients' chances of suffering a heart attack or a stroke. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) ordered doctors across the continent to stop prescribing sibutramine and told pharmacists not to dispense the drug, which is marketed in the UK as Reductil. The watchdog's Committee for Medicinal Products for Human Use (CHMP) acted after a study of 9,800 patients said the risks of sibutramine outweighed its minimal benefits. About 86,000 people took the drug last year. It is prescribed alongside lifetsyle changes for patients who are classed as clinically obese, because they have a Body Mass Index of at least 30, and also in profoundly overweight people who also have a condition such as type 2 diabetes or abnormal levels of fat in their blood. Users should not worry and should arrange to see their family doctor to be put on an alternative treatment, according to EMA advice last night, which was endorsed by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Dr June Raine, from the MHRA said: "Evidence suggests that there is an increased risk of non-fatal heart attacks and strokes with this medicine that outweigh the benefits of weight loss, which is modest and may not be sustained in the long term after stopping treatment." Anyone currently using the weight-loss aid should not face any implications for their health if they decided to stop taking it before seeing their GP, Raine added.There has been concern about the safety of sibutramine since it was first licensed for use in the EU in 1999. Initially it was felt that the drug's benefits overrode the risks involved. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:39 pm You Have Got To Be Kidding Me. Plugless Plug-In Vehicles?It's like something you'd dream up when you're eight years old and sitting around wondering what if. Buck Rogers stuff. What if cars could just draw their power from the floor? James Bond stuff. Apparently, there is something afoot that ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:15 pm The Planets | Your next box setThe BBC's landmark series about our cosmic neighbourhood is a fascinating look at the planets themselves, and at the people who taught us about them This is the story of the solar system: how it was made, what it is made from, how it might evolve. It is also the story of the human ingenuity involved in finding all of this stuff out. How do you take pictures of a planet when its surface is so hot it would melt a probe? How do you survey the furthest planets when rocket power can only propel a probe to Jupiter? The Planets was the BBC's landmark science series to end the 20th century. Today, we're spoilt by regular pictures of our neighbouring worlds, but The Planets still cuts it as a near-definitive report card for the state of human knowledge on Earth's celestial family. Even the special effects – probe flybys, planet close-ups and lots of big bangs – don't look dated. Just as compelling are the first-hand accounts of the scientists and engineers who worked out the staggering mechanics of sending probes to distant worlds, poring over grainy images and endless data to find out facts we now take for granted. Venus's surface temperature can hit 400C and its atmospheric pressure is almost 100 times that on Earth. No probe could survive there and several Russian Venera missions failed, while others sent back images for an hour before melting. So Nasa's Pioneer mapped the surface using radar instead, orbiting from a distance. And how did they reach the furthest planets? By using the gravity of the gas giants to accelerate a probe from one planet to the next. But the "slingshot" can only work if everything is properly aligned, something that takes place once every 175 years. Fortunately, this happened in the 1970s, which allowed Voyager 1 to send back the first close-ups of Jupiter and Saturn. It's not all geology and rockets, though – it's hard to keep a straight face at the haircuts, beards and plastic helmets (with horns) worn by all the jubilant scientists in the Nasa control room, as Viking successfully lands on Mars in 1976. This is, after all, as much a story about people as it is about planets. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:05 pm Letters: Human salvation at the apex of creationHumankind is indeed at the apex of creation, in Christian terms, or, from the secular viewpoint, not only at the apex of biological evolution but also the sole being to have developed a social, or socio-historical, life. George Monbiot (Comment, 19 January) appears to question this self-evident fact, on the grounds that the sector of humankind which he terms "industry" misuses that unique position in such a way as to threaten our very existence. However, the behaviour of "industry", thus defined, should not be taken to represent what is specifically human; it represents, on the contrary, a reversion to the antisocial, even instinctual, motivational force of greed which is found in abundance elsewhere in the natural world. Conversely, there is no point moving down below the "apex of creation" for salvation from these forces; only we have a hope of doing that – chimpanzees and dolphins cannot do it, unfortunately. Dr Hugh Goodacre University College London • Helen Owen (Letters, 21 January) prays to know what is the Christian worldview which places humankind at the apex of creation. Perhaps the beginning of an answer is to be found in biblical texts such as Psalm 8:5-6 ("You have made human beings a little lower than God and … given them dominion over the works of your hands") and Genesis 1:26 ("God said 'Let us make humankind in our own image … and let them have dominion over [everything]'"), texts which have consistently been used to legitimate the very antithesis of the care for nature of which Helen speaks. The subject is comprehensively dealt with by John Shelby Spong in his book The Sins of Scripture. The attitude of "no regard for the natural world" is still depressingly widespread in conservative western Christian circles and stems, in my view, from a purely theistic understanding of God that fails to take seriously the reality of incarnation that is Christianity's sine qua non. Fr Alec Mitchell Manchester guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:05 pm Rickets warning from doctors as vitamin D deficiency widensSharp rise in problem blamed on kids indoors playing computers and parents using too much sunscreen Computer-obsessed children who spend too long indoors and over-anxious parents who slap on excessive sunscreen are contributing to a sharp rise in cases of the bone disease rickets, doctors are warning. Vitamin D deficiency, which causes the condition, could be rectified by adding supplements to milk and other food, a research team at Newcastle University suggests. There are several hundred cases of the preventable condition among children in the UK every year, according to a clinical review paper in the British Medical Journal by Professor Simon Pearce and Dr Tim Cheetham. "More than 50% of the adult population [in the UK] have insufficient levels of vitamin D and 16% have severe deficiency during winter and spring," they say. "The highest rates are in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. People with pigmented skin are at high risk as are the elderly, obese individuals and those with malabsorption." Most vitamin D is synthesised in the body by absorption of sunlight. Some comes from foods such as fish oil. People with darker skins need more sunlight to top up their vitamin D levels. One of the main reasons for the reappearance of rickets – once considered a disease of the industrial poor in 19th-century cities – is the changing ethnic makeup of the population, Pearce explained. The most commonly affected are people of Asian or African descent who live in northern cities. He has examined cases among young Somali speakers who live in east Newcastle. But changing lifestyles are also contributing to lowering vitamin D levels in the general population. "Some people are taking the safe sun message too far," Pearce said. "It's good to have 20 to 30 minutes of exposure to the sun two to three times a week, after which you can put on a hat or sunscreen. "Vitamin D levels in parts of the population are precarious. The average worker nowadays is in a call centre, not out in the field. People tend to stay at home rather than going outside to kick a ball around. They stay at home on computer games." Pearce has written to the Department of Health proposing that vitamin D is added to milk. It is already added as a supplement to artificial baby milk. He has also asked the Royal College of Paediatrics to record cases of rickets but said figures were not being collected. "A more robust approach to statutory food supplementation with vitamin D (for example in milk) is needed in the UK," the paper concludes. Meanwhile, figures obtained by the Tories show the number of patients leaving hospital with malnutrition has hit record levels in the last year. Those affected are primarily elderly people. The NHS figures show that last year 175,000 people were malnourished on entry to hospital but nearly 185,500 were in a similar condition on discharge, meaning more than 10,000 patients were more malnourished after medical treatment. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:05 pm Black bear about to bear cubs live on Internet (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:57 pm Senate, House panels approve `net metering' bills (AP)AP - A bill aimed at utility customers who install renewable power sources such as wind turbines is seriously flawed and would hurt Indiana's renewable energy movement, clean energy advocates told a state Senate committee Thursday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:51 pm NASA Garage Sale Includes Shuttles, Engines, Space Suits
Looking for a good deal during the recession? Space geeks don’t have to look any further than NASA, where they can pick up a retired space shuttle for the bargain-basement price of $28.8 million. That’s the cost NASA estimates for shipping and handling on a space shuttle. The Space Shuttle Discovery has already been spoken for by the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, but Atlantis and Endeavour are still available. Not just anybody can buy them, however. NASA says because of the role the shuttles have played in the nation’s space program, “special attention is being given to ensure the shuttle orbiters are appropriately retired and displayed in the broadest interest of the American public.” That means Bill Gates or Sergei Brin probably can’t put one in the backyard.
The $28.8 million price tag is more than 30 percent off the original sticker price of $42 million NASA was asking in December of 2008. The space agency says it dropped the price because much of the original cost included work that is needed to decommission the shuttles even if they were only to be stored in a hangar. NASA says the new price reflects the cost of transporting the space vehicles to their new locations and fixing them up so they are in proper display condition. More than 20 inquiries were received after the initial listing, but NASA expects others will step up now that the shuttles have been discounted. Technically, Atlantis and Endeavour are not for sale. They will remain property of NASA, but will be on permanent display at the new locations. The deadline for organizations to apply to adopt a shuttle is February 19. In addition to the orbiters, NASA is also offering up surplus main engines from the space shuttle. And, it’s offering numerous other items are space-shuttle related (.pdf) to museums and educational institutions, including such items as flight-crew clothing and instruments that have been to space, as well as wind-tunnel models, mockups and simulators that never left the ground. The fire sale extends beyond the shuttle program to include 2,500 items from the space program that are newly available, including space suits from Apollo and Mercury and other artifacts like an adorable model of a Gemini spacecraft.
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Images: NASA
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:20 pm NASA: No word from Phoenix Mars lander (AP)AP - NASA says there's no word from the Phoenix lander that is presumed to be frozen near the Martian north pole.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:59 pm U.S. Babies Are Getting SmallerBirth weights for full-term babies are on the decline, a new study suggests.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:03 pm Our cultish craving for relics of the pastAncient bones and shards are fast gaining mythical status, benefiting their priestly interpreters from museums to the BBC Thank goodness she is back. After a thousand years, Princess Eadgyth has returned to Mercia to have her teeth examined, after being entombed in Magdeburg in Germany. The nation's breast should burst with pride, and grants pour into the lap of Bristol university archaeology department. Britons have apparently been pining for centuries under the shame of Eadgyth's sojourn abroad, exiled in AD929 by her cruel brother, Athelstan, to become queen to the Holy Roman Emperor, Otto. It was the first great act of European diplomacy, as if Margaret Thatcher had shipped her son, Mark, as a peace offering to Mitterand's daughter. But will the princess return after dentistry to Magdeburg? Relic worship is becoming the first cult of the 21st century. The BBC is immersed in it, courtesy of series this month by Neil MacGregor (radio) and David Dimbleby (television). In Oxford the Alfred Jewel, gem of Eadgyth's grandfather, has gone on spectacular display at the Ashmolean, competing with Thomas Becket's reliquary at the V&A. In an astonishing penological experiment, the Home Office last September took the bones of St Thérèse of Lisieux to Wormwood Scrubs prison, presumably to help with repentance and rehabilitation. The same month, a haul of Saxon gold emerged from the soil near Lichfield, sparking a furious argument over where the precious objects should finally rest. London, Birmingham and Staffordshire all staked a claim, aware of its symbolic and commercial potential. Before Dan Brown gets on the case, perhaps it is time finally to track down the holy grail of all relics, the Holy Grail itself. After coming to Glastonbury, courtesy of Joseph of Arimathea, the cup travelled to the Welsh mountain retreat of Nanteos where it was seen by Wagner and inspired him to write Parsifal. It disappeared, allegedly into a Hereford bank vault, some time in the 1960s and rests there to this day. (NB to bloggers: this is all completely true.) Back to Eadgyth. The wonders of modern science enable isotype analysis of her bones and teeth, and thus of her chemical ingestion, to reveal her life story. In the words of the Bristol professor, Mark Horton: "We hope to be able to map where this individual spent her childhood and so confirm that she came from Wessex, not Germany." The location is clearly of significance, as these could be the oldest surviving regal bones in Europe, from whose children most of the continent's royal houses claim descent. Since the Queen is distantly descended from Eadgyth's grandfather, Alfred the Great, she might claim monarchical title to all Europe. The relics, or at least the teeth, could be brought to London in triumph by Lord Mandelson, covered in gold and ermine, and put in the space under Edward the Confessor's throne vacated by the Stone of Scone. Britain will then own the sacred emblem of sovereignty, the bones of a monarch of the entire continent. Mandelson could demand the presidency of Europe. Who said archaeology was irrelevant? Last year's cavalcade of St Thérèse's bones reportedly led to an upsurge in Roman Catholic relic-worship as thousands came to kiss the perspex coffin. This was accompanied by much theological exegesis on the psychological and emotional import of relics. Iconologists and therapists alike had a field day. They have been at it ever since. The BBC relic department (once called history) now incants hourly radio plugs for MacGregor's 100 objects show. The approach is different only in degree from that of Wormwood Catholocisim. MacGregor speaks of his museum objects in hushed and reverential tones, so as to enhance their aura of holiness. Since this is radio, we are not allowed to see the objects, thus enhancing the status of their custodian as interceding priest. The past remains a foreign country to which he is our appointed guide and master. The objects are like icons behind a Byzantine screen, over which we hear only the chant of the saintly MacGregor. Anyone who wants to worship them in person must visit him in his Bloomsbury cathedral. The rival show has Dimbleby as Martin Luther to MacGregor's archimandrite. This is television, and the people's Reformation. Here we are to be permitted to see the icons, "on a journey revealing treasures of great beauty and craftsmanship". Apparently the "power of objects … connects us to the past by something vivid, something real". Children's BBC is even doing a version to baptise the very young into the faith. It is appropriately called Relic and has children on a nocturnal visit to the British Museum, to endure trial by relic in the manner of Tamino in the Magic Flute. If they succeed they enter the mystic curatorial freemasonry and are "rewarded with guardianship of the museum". If they fail they "are incarcerated forever within the museum walls". Devilish relics will gobble them up and they will be cast into damnation for ever. Museums have given this object worship a metaphysical clutter like that of the 8th-century Council of Nicaea, which ordained that no church could be consecrated without a true relic. Authenticity is essential and there must be no copies or representations – in MacGregor's case not so much as a picture. The location of the object is vested with national as well as aesthetic significance, a grace descending on ownership, as in the case of the Parthenon marbles. This chauvinism has merely encouraged Europe's imperial museums to be besieged by reverse crusades, as Greeks, Egyptians, Ashantis and Maoris march to reclaim their ancestor relics. Museum staff are trained to behave as acolytes to their objects, swearing allegiance to the gods of authenticity and locationism. They don their chasubles and scrape, analyse, clean and study – the meanest shard taking on a spirit that passes mortal understanding. Hallowed by professional care, it must rest for ever in the museum aumbry, more precious than any monstrance, chalice or pyx. It does not matter if no one ever sees the shard. Most museum objects are seen only by their guardians, albeit financed by tithes from taxpayers. The craving for authentic objects is another manifestation of the longing for the real, for an escape from the tyranny of the lighted screen, the keyboard, the world wide web. When the eye rises blearily from the LED it seeks reality above all else, something not machined, not plasticated, not back-lit, not plugged into the wall. Today the beauty of holiness has been replaced by the holiness of beauty. The failure of modern aesthetics to supply accessible appeal in the visual or musical arts has led a stampede into the past. We once derived mental comfort, uplift and local pride from worshipping saintly relics in church. Now we are supposed to find them in a museum. Like churches, museums have pulled off a professional masterstroke. They have made the relic more important than themselves, yet requiring their priestly interpretation. Only thus can humans find intercession with the spirits of the past. As religion must not be tainted by money, museums too must be unsullied – and tithed by the state. The manoeuvre is brilliant. God is dead, long live God. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:30 pm Visible Shock Wave Rocks Japanese Volcano in Slo-MoWe can all agree that volcanic explosions are filled with awesome. But get too close, and you're toast. The camera monitoring Sakurajima Volcano in southern Japan was definitely well within the danger zone when it snapped this stunning sequence last ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:56 pm Government May Ban Giant Snake Imports
Nine species of giant, exotic snakes will face new import and transportation restrictions if regulations under consideration by the Interior Department are enacted. The snakes would be listed as “injurious species” under the Lacey Act, a law first established in 1900 that gives the Interior Department the ability to restrict some aspects of commercial distribution of potentially harmful plants and animals. “The Burmese python and these other alien snakes are destroying some of our nation’s most treasured — and most fragile — ecosystems,” Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement. “The Interior Department and states such as Florida are taking swift and common-sense action to control and eliminate the populations of these snakes, but it is an uphill battle in ecosystems where they have no natural predators. If we are going to succeed, we must shut down the importation of the snakes and end the interstate commerce and transportation of them.” The new regulations come after the the U.S. Geological Survey published an assessment of the risk posed by exotic snakes to native ecosystems. That 300-page study found that the snakes could put 150 endangered species at further risk if they continued to be released into the wild. While not an outright ban on the snakes — pet owners could still keep them and buy them from in-state sources — they could reduce the number of snakes on the market. That will likely drive up the prices for the snakes. And that’s exactly the point, said USGS zoologist Gordon Rodda, who co-led the study.
“It probably will have the effect of driving up the price somewhat. From the standpoint of unwanted pets being released, that’s actually a very good thing,” Rodda told Wired.com. “People are dumping the animals because they are not worth anything, so if you make them more valuable, then they are less inclined to be released.” In other words, by restricting cheap foreign snake imports, the Interior Department hopes to raise price of “used” snakes. It’s a market-based mechanism for changing the behavior of pet owners. But, Rodda noted, the new regulations won’t do anything to address the populations of snakes that are already established. “This really only addresses the prevention of future problems, it’s certainly not air tight,” he said. “There are still going to be tens of thousands of these animals around, some of which will escape or be released.” Individual animals can be a nuisance, but it’s reproducing populations that are the big problem. Three species have established breeding populations in the United States: Burmese pythons, boa constrictors and Northern African pythons. All the known populations are in south Florida. How a few scattered individuals released far from each other in time and space find each other and begin to breed is a major outstanding research question. Indeed, it seems downright improbable. “It takes an unusual confluence of events, and because it’s a rare event, it makes the science a little complicated,” Rodda said. Establishing a new population of non-native animals can be difficult even when humans are trying to do it. In the early 1890s, a group called the American Acclimatization Society engaged in a project to introduce every bird mentioned by Shakespeare into New York. The starlings they released had colonized the entire American continent by 1950, but it took several releases to get the original colony established. “They brought them over many times before it actually worked,” Rodda said. “It wasn’t just one or two birds, either; they brought a whole bunch.” Nonetheless, we know that humans have somehow created populations of snakes accidentally. The key may be that it doesn’t actually take many animals to create a new population. After World War II, the brown tree snake was accidentally introduced into Guam. Over the last 50 years, the species has overrun the island, killing off native species and seriously damaging the native ecosystem. Mitochondrial DNA analysis has found that all those rampaging snakes are the offspring of a single female, Rodda said. Image: Burmese python (Python molurus). Roy Wood/National Park Service.
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 | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:40 pm Low Tech Camel Solution to Scary PlantI'd heard of the notoriously invasive plant kudzu but not tamarisk, which is spreading throughout the West. Since chemicals and even fire haven't been effective on the tamarisk shrub, camels might be a low-tech solution. Rancher Maggie Repp has unleashed ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 1:35 pm New App Translates Baby's CriesNew app could decipher baby's cries, and there's some science behind the claim.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:58 pm High-resolution gene technique zooms in on superbugLONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have found a way to track minutely-differing strains of the "superbug" MRSA as they spread between people and across the globe, a finding that could aid efforts to control the deadly bacteria.Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:25 pm Technique 'tracks' spread of MRSACambridge researchers have developed a technique for precisely tracking the spread of the superbug MRSA in hospitals.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:16 pm Australian giants survived man for a time: studyHONG KONG (Reuters) - Giant marsupials, reptiles and flightless birds that once roamed Australia became extinct about 40,000 years ago, later than had been thought and some 5,000 years after humans arrived, a new study suggests.Source: Reuters: Science News | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:04 pm Slime Mold Beats Humans at Perfecting Traffic NetworksSince the best city planners around the world have not been able to end traffic jams, scientists are looking to a new group of experts: slime mold.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 12:01 pm A howling, bulked-up El NiñoFrom freezing cold to pouring rains, this winter may have a topsy-turvy feel to it, but the people who keep their eyes on conditions in the oceans have no doubt about the pattern of powerful storms now blowing in from ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 11:35 am Explaining Monley's MiracleThe miracle story of five-year-old Monley Elize offered some rare happy news from the earthquake-shattered ruins of Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on Wednesday. Trapped for seven days and 21 hours in his family's flattened apartment building, the dirt-caked, stunned boy was found ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 11:13 am "Faux" Fur on Clothing May Contain Dog HairSo-called "faux" fur may actually contain dog hair, according to Humane Society of the United States investigations. Inspectors for the Humane Society say fur from a canine species known as the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) was found on garments labeled ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 11:08 am In pictures: The first ever photographs of snowflakes | Wilson A BentleyIn the rural backwater of Jericho, Vermont, a self-educated farmer began photographing snowflakes in 1885 Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 10:44 am Photographs by 'Snowflake Bentley' go on sale in New YorkIn the late 19th century, at the age of 19, Wilson A Bentley had the bright idea of taking photographs of snowflakes through a microscope. The results are still spectacular Vintage photographs of snowflakes taken by the first person ever to capture them with a camera went on sale yesterday at an antiques fair in New York. The pictures are just a fraction of a lifetime's work comprising thousands of spectacular images taken by the self-taught photographer and Vermont farmer Wilson A Bentley at the end of the 19th century. Ten of Bentley's snowflake images are up for sale at $4,800 (£3,000) each at the American Antiques Show. They appear alongside other work by the photographer of winter landscapes. "They're remarkably beautiful," Carl Hammer, whose Chicago art gallery is selling the images, said. "There are imperfections on the outer edges of the image itself and on the paper, but the images themselves are quite spectacular." Bentley's obsession with snow crystals began when he received a microscope for his 15th birthday. He became spellbound by their beauty, complexity and endless variety. He told a magazine in 1925: "Under the microscope, I found that snowflakes were miracles of beauty; and it seemed a shame that this beauty should not be seen and appreciated by others. Every crystal was a masterpiece of design and no one design was ever repeated. When a snowflake melted, that design was forever lost. Just that much beauty was gone, without leaving any record behind," he said. Bentley started trying to draw the flakes but the snow melted before he could finish. His parents eventually bought him a camera and he spent two years trying to capture images of the tiny, fleeting crystals. He caught falling snowflakes by standing in the doorway with a wooden tray as snowstorms passed over. The tray was painted black so he could see the crystals and transfer them delicately onto a glass slide. To study the snow crystals, Bentley rigged his bellows camera up to the microscope but found he could not reach the controls to bring them into focus. He overcame the problem through the imaginative use of wheels and cord. Bentley took his first successful photomicrograph of a snow crystal at the age of 19 and went on to capture more than 5,000 more images. Kenneth Libbrecht, a physics professor who grows ice crystals in his laboratory at California Institute of Technology, said Bentley's photographs were so good "hardly anybody bothered to photograph snowflakes for almost 100 years." Stacy Hollander, senior curator of the American Folk Art Museum, which is hosting the fair, said: "Everyone's fascinated by snow. It's just magical, and he captured that magic in these beautiful photomicrographs." In his local town of Jericho, Bentely's fascination with snowflakes earned him the nickname Snowflake Bentley. A museum there is dedicated to his life's work, housing 2,000 of his vintage prints. A book of his photographs, Snow Crystals, was published in 1931. The same year he died walking home in a blizzard. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 10:34 am Heidi Montag's Plastic Surgery: Obsession or Addiction?Heidi Montag may be addicted to plastic surgery, psychologists say.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 10:31 am Big Screen Plasma TVs Inspire Tiny, New BatteriesThese notorious energy wasters could revolutionize battery technology.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 10:25 am A pragmatic fight for animal rights | Ingrid NewkirkDespite criticism, we at Peta believe compromises and funny antics are necessary to the real work of animal protection In recent years, there has been a controversy swirling in animal rights circles, as some people such as Victor Schonfeld object to the work of groups such as Peta, which, while abolitionist and determined to get animals off the dinner plate and out of the fur farms, circuses and laboratories, have nevertheless been working with corporations to achieve animal welfare reforms within their industries. A few outspoken critics of such "half measures" or "baby steps" have gone so far as to argue against Peta's campaigns for improved slaughter practices for chickens, better living conditions for hens and larger cages for animals in laboratories. We find this attitude unhelpful to the goal of animal liberation. Not only is it possible to work for an end to animal slavery while simultaneously supporting incremental change, moving the bar closer to that goal also seems to us to be an important step. Yes, it is more comfortable for industry and consumers alike, but short of a bloody revolution of the sort history has witnessed in other social movements, it is also nearly impossible to move a society forward in any other way. The vast majority of people, if they care about animals − and consumer surveys show that they do − support incremental improvements, even if the increments are far from wholly satisfactory to the animals, who would rather not be caged and mutilated, hung upside down and killed, and to the liberationists, who chafe at such slow progress. It seems obvious that society is more likely to progress in a way that causes particularly abusive systems to be improved or eliminated before full animal liberation is achieved. If society's perspective is that animals should have no rights or interests at all, then moving from that mentality to complete animal liberation will require an impossibly enormous shift in viewpoint, no matter how much more enlightened this generation is than the last when it comes to understanding the complex behaviour and needs of all the various species from dog to duck. However, once society gets the picture provided by ethologists and others who study animals in nature and captivity, the interests not only of great apes and whales but also of the "humbler" species we have long taken for granted and whose fundamental interests have been totally disregarded, including chickens, pigs and other animals, will be understood and begin to be respected. That is when massive changes will come about in what we eat and wear and how we test chemicals. Not to change would be an indictment of our humanity, our societal values, ourselves. Now that some of the world's largest corporations are saying, "Yes, we understand that animals can suffer, and we see that this is a real concern," the discussion has begun in earnest. For those who decry gradualism, the practical philosopher Peter Singer would ask, "Would you prefer to live in the horror you're in, bred to grow seven times more quickly than natural so that your bones splinter and your organs collapse, or would you prefer to be able to live without chronic pain? Would you prefer to live your life crammed into a small cage, unable to lift your wings, build a nest, or do almost anything else that you would like to do, or would you prefer to, at the very least, be able to walk? Would you prefer to be hung upside-down by your feet and then scalded to death or lose consciousness when the crate you are in passes through a controlled atmosphere stunner?" The answers should be clear. Campaigns against the practices of fast-food chains and the campaign to ban battery cages, which have been heavily supported by the hard work of tens of thousands of grassroots activists, have improved the living and dying conditions of millions of animals. As the industries change and evolve, the improvements will apply to billions of animals every year. At Peta, we completely understand the appeal of battle cries such as "Not bigger cages − empty cages!" But giving a little comfort and stimulation for animals who will be in those cages their whole lives is worth fighting for, even as we demand those empty cages. Not only is it the best thing for the animals in the cages, it's also the best thing for animal liberation. It's a stepping stone on the road to animal liberation. As for the sexy women in our ads, the silly costumes, the street tableaux and the tofu sandwich give-aways, in a world where people want to smile, can't resist looking at an attractive image and are up for a free meal, if such harmless antics will allow one individual to reconsider their own role in exploiting animals, how can it be faulted? Yes, Peta could restrict its activities to scientific work, but how often do you read of that in the papers? It could just hand out lengthy tracts about ethics, but how many people would stop and take one, let alone read it? Any peaceful action that opens eyes, hearts and minds should be commended, not condemned. Victor Schonfeld's film is a wonderful milestone and provides an excellent education, but there must be constant incremental daily efforts − not just big hurrahs − or we will never succeed. Too many lives depend on that success for us to be worried about how grand and perfect we are on the way to saving them. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 10:00 am Dye turns fabric into a batteryA method of creating energy storage devices using a carbon nanotube "ink" has been shown to work on ordinary fabrics.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jan 2010 | 9:50 am Faked Moon Landings and Kubrick's 'The Shining'Did Stanley Kubrick film NASA's fake moon landing and then hide his veiled confession in the film adaptation of Stephen King's "The Shining" a decade later? Of course not, but this lunar conspiracy theory is one of the most enthralling ...Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 21 Jan 2010 | 9:03 am Asteroids 'change colour' when they make a pass of EarthThe Earth "changes the colour" of asteroids by shaking them up as they pass, according to scientists.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jan 2010 | 8:00 am Ability to Recognize Faces Is InheritedScientists say the ability to recognize faces is inherited and separate from general intelligence or IQSource: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 7:54 am Simple brain scan can spot post-traumatic stress disorderA quick scan of the brain's magnetic activity has been shown to diagnose post-traumatic stress disorder.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jan 2010 | 6:54 am Homosexuality: Evolutionary dead end?Agony Aunt Carole Jahme shines the cold light of evolutionary psychology on readers' problems. This week: gay dads and punishment strategies I will surviveFrom Joe, age 38 Should I impregnate a friendly lesbian, or would it be simpler – and more efficient in evolutionary terms – to register as a sperm donor? Carole replies: Nephews and nieces share 25% of their genes with their aunts and uncles. The quarter of your genes you have in common with your sibling's offspring is second only to the half of your genes you would have in common with your own children. Thus, gay, lesbian or childless heterosexuals can increase their own reproductive fitness by behaving altruistically towards their nieces and nephews – in other words by helping to ensure their survival and future reproductive success. There are many examples of kin selection in nature. Our New World primate cousin, the endangered golden lion tamarin, is a highly cooperative breeder. Pairs of males (sometimes brothers) both mate with the same female. When the infant is born neither male knows which is the father, and yet both invest equal care in the progeny. The more carers an infant tamarin monkey has the better its chances of survival. Humans are no different in this regard. For example, a child born as the result of an alliance between a gay couple and a lesbian couple has two genetic parents and two "alloparents". With four adult carers this infant is better placed to succeed in the game of life than a child born to a heterosexual pairing. In answer to the second part of your question: yes, as a sperm donor you could fulfil your fitness potential, potentially fathering several children (assuming women chose your sample – would you declare your sexuality when donating?). And so long as any resulting progeny do not try to find you later in life, you would have done so without incurring the potentially heavy costs of parenthood. Those costs would be met by sperm recipient and her partner. Tempted? Zhang, Y, Xiao, Y, Bales, KL (2009) Primate social systems, scent-marking and their applications in mobile and static sensor networks. International Journal of Sensor Networks; 5 (4): 210-222. Buss, DM (1994) The Evolution of Desire: Strategies of Human Mating. Basic Books. Wilson, EO (1975) Sociobiology: The New Synthesis; Abridged edition (1980) Harvard University Press. Crime and punishmentFrom Nicholas, no age given Carole replies: You ask whether you should punish a foul. The answer may depend on whether the foul leads to a goal, or to a penalty and the other team scoring. Many humans are Machiavellian, so their double standards will mean they silently overlook a foul that brings benefit, but raise the alarm over the ones that cause damage. You mention, "d) something else" – one novel approach is called "spite", in which you punish yourself and "cut off your nose to spite your face". If you were a highly respected coach and had a bad leg, for example, you could make the punishment a physical exercise that obviously pains you. Your team would be distressed to see you suffer and would resent the tardy player. You might hope his guilt would make his timekeeping better (Kevin Costner attempts this strategy in The Guardian). But a spiteful strategy frequently backfires. If you are not a highly respected and loved coach your team might think you an idiot for making yourself suffer. Your status could fall and your team's faith in your leadership evaporate. Your captain might challenge your authority, even ousting you and assuming the alpha role, at least temporarily, while a new coach is found. In fact, a lack of respect for the alpha may have contributed to the original tardiness. Strategy "a)" may be the best option. Status is a great motivator (as are money and sex). Pull rank, punish the player for lateness and make his status fall. As you break your dilemma down into game theoretic options I'm guessing you already have the answers you seek. But let's be honest, solutions found in textbook theories are not always applicable to real-life situations. There are always exceptions to rules, because the social realm is invariably complex. For example, the player in question may be the most gifted in the squad, and a club further up the league table would love a chance to poach him. Perhaps he was late for training because on his way he took time to help a blind stranger across a busy road. With this additional information is option "a" still your best course of action? The systematic punishments found written in dusty, draconian rulebooks are frequently unjust. Listening to and empathising with your players will help you accommodate all these social intricacies. Smith, V (2004) Economics as a laboratory science. Journal of Socio-Economics; 33 (1): 15-28. Gintis, H (2009) The Bounds of Reason: Game Theory and the Unification of the Behavioural Sciences. Princeton University Press. Terms and conditions We regret that Carole cannot answer all the mails we receive. We cannot provide urgent advice and suggest that if you need such advice you seek it immediately without waiting for a response from Carole. With regards to legal, medical or financial issues, we recommend seeking the advice of a listed professional. We will not be held liable for any loss, damage or injury you incur as a result of using this site or as a result of any advice given. We will not enter into personal correspondence via email. Carole is UK-based and as such any advice she gives is intended for a UK audience only. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 5:58 am Asian ozone boosts smog levels in USScientists discover link between atmospheric ozone over US and pollution from burning fossil fuels during Asian economic boom Ozone blowing over from Asia is raising background levels of a major ingredient of smog in the skies over western US states, according to a new study appearing in today's edition of the journal Nature. The amounts are small and, so far, only found in a region of the atmosphere known as the free troposphere, at an altitude of two to five miles, but the development could complicate US efforts to control air pollution. Though the levels are small, they have been steadily rising since 1995, and probably longer, said lead author Owen R Cooper, a research scientist at the University of Colorado attached to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colorado. "The important aspect of this study for North America is that we have a strong indication that baseline ozone is increasing," said Cooper. "We still don't know how much is coming down to the surface. If the surface ozone is increasing along with the free tropospheric ozone, that could make it more difficult for the US to meet its ozone air quality standard." The study is the first link between atmospheric ozone over the US and Asian pollution, said Dan Jaffe, a University of Washington-Bothell professor of atmospheric and environmental chemistry. He contributed data from his observatory on top of Mount Bachelor in Oregon to the study. The US Environmental Protection Agency is considering lowering the current limit on ozone in the atmosphere by as much as 20%, and has been working with China to lower its emissions of the chemicals that turn into ozone. Ozone is harmful to people's respiratory systems and plants. It is created when compounds produced by burning fossil fuels are hit by sunlight and break down. Ozone also contributes to the greenhouse effect, ranking behind carbon dioxide and methane in importance. Ozone is only one of many pollutants from Asia that reach the United States. Instruments regularly detect mercury, soot, and cancer-causing PCBs. Jaffe said it was logical to conclude that the increasing ozone was the result of burning more coal and oil as part of the Asia's booming economic growth. The next step is to track the amounts of Asian ozone reaching ground levels on the west coast, said Cooper. Work will start in May and end in June, when air currents produce the greatest amounts of Asian ozone detected in the US weather balloons and research aircraft will be launched daily to measure ozone closer to ground, where it affects the air people breathe, Cooper said. The study to be published in Nature looked at thousands of air samples collected between 1995 and 2008 and found a 14% increase in the amount of background ozone at middle altitudes in spring. When data from 1984 were factored in, the rate of increase was similar, and the overall increase was 29. When ozone from local sources was removed from the data, the trend became stronger, Cooper said. Using a computer model based on weather patterns, the ozone was traced back to south-eastern Asia, including the countries of India, China, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The ozone increases were strongest when winds prevailed from south-eastern Asian, Cooper said. In a commentary also published in Nature, atmospheric chemist Kathy Law of the Université de Paris in France said the study was "the most conclusive evidence so far" of increasing ozone over the western United States. Law noted that natural sources of ozone could contribute to the increases, and there were limitations to the computer model used to trace the sources of the increases, but the study remained a "vital benchmark" that could be used to test climate change models, which have been unable to reproduce increases in ozone. William Sprigg, a research professor at the University of Arizona who studies the global movement of airborne dust, said he agreed with Law's comments, adding that studies like this one make it possible to control air quality. "Part of the solution to controlling emissions from abroad is to show the negative consequences and our own efforts to lower emissions," he wrote. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:44 am Kids Spend 10+ Hours Daily on Electronic MediaThe amount of time kids spend with electronic entertainment media has risen dramatically in recent yearsSource: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:25 am Air Traffic Delays Cost U.S. More Than Hurricanes
ATLANTA — Air traffic delays are more than just annoying: On average, they probably cost the U.S. economy more than hurricanes do.
From January 2004 through December 2008, about 78 percent of all airline flights in the United States were on time, Maxson said. Greg Forbes, a meteorologist at The Weather Channel in Atlanta, reported at the same meeting that more than 5 million flights took to the air in the United States in 2009, but only 0.08 percent of them experienced delays of more than two hours.
Episodes of bad weather, particularly thunderstorms, are the most common cause of air traffic delays, Maxson said. And all airspace is not created equal, he notes: Large swaths of the Midwest can be covered with fierce thunderstorms that have little effect on air traffic, but one small cluster of storms in just the wrong place — the approach path for flights into high-traffic airports in Newark, N.J., or New York City, for example — can trigger delays affecting an immense number of passengers. In an air traffic system that operates near capacity, any delays in one region tend to spread like ripples and trigger delays elsewhere. Forbes agreed: “It doesn’t take severe weather to disrupt air traffic.” A 2008 analysis by the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress suggested that domestic air traffic delays in 2007 alone cost the economy as much as $41 billion, including $19 billion in increased operational costs for the airlines and $12 billion worth of lost time for passengers. Those figures are likely to be overestimates, Maxson said. But even if the economic costs of air traffic delays are only $15 billion per year, for the years 2000 through 2008 those costs still would have added up to more economic damage than the hurricanes that struck the United States during that same interval, Maxson said. While storm damage was about $131 billion during that nine-year period — including damages exceeding $90 billion in 2005, the year of Katrina and Rita, and the nearly $20 billion burden caused by the four hurricanes that raked across Florida the previous year — air traffic delays would have cost the economy about $135 billion, Maxson estimates. Image: Simulated 2006 air traffic over the United States at 10:41 a.m. PST./NASA See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 21 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am Cadavers Made to Blink with Artificial MusclesArtificial muscles may help restore the ability of thousands of patients with facial paralysis.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:54 am Lawns May Contribute to Global WarmingA new study suggests that, in certain parts of the country, total emissions would actually be lower if there weren't any lawns.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:50 am Charles Darwin: Family Man, Scientist and SkepticCharles Darwin, subject of the controversial film "Creation," was a serious skeptic and a devout family man.Source: Livescience.com | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:47 am King-sized fast food for fur sealAntarctic fur seals have been filmed catching and eating king penguins in the open ocean, behaviour not seen before.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jan 2010 | 3:39 am Precious waterReader photos of watery scenes around AfricaSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jan 2010 | 2:43 am
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