Drug created to keep tumor growth switched off

A novel -- and rapid -- anti-cancer drug development strategy has resulted in a new drug that stops kidney and pancreatic tumors from growing in mice. Researchers have found a drug that binds to a molecular "switch" found in cancer cells and cancer-associated blood vessels to keep it in the "off" position.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

Computer simulations can be as effective as direct observation at teaching students

Students can learn some science concepts just as well from computers simulations as they do from direct observation, new research suggests. A study found that people who used computer simulations to learn about moon phases understood the concepts just as well -- and in some cases better -- than did those who learned from collecting data from viewing the moon.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

Scientists turn light into electrical current using a golden nanoscale system

Material scientists have created a system, using nano-sized molecules of gold, that induces and projects electrical current across molecules, similar to that of photovoltaic solar cells.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

Metabolite common among cancers

Several distinct mutations found in a subset of patients with acute myelogenous leukemia result in excess production of the same metabolite, according to new research.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

fMRIs reveal brain's handling of low-priority ideas

Brain networks that allow individuals to put social decisions on the back burner are impacted by genetics, a new study indicates. This capability has been shown to be abnormal in a number of psychiatric disorders.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

Catching calcium waves could provide Alzheimer's insights

New insights on what causes Alzheimer's disease could arise from a recent discovery made by bioengineers. The finding concerns the infamous amyloid beta peptides (A²) -- fragments of which form plaques thought to play a role in Alzheimer's disease. The bioengineers found that amyloid beta peptides spontaneously trigger calcium waves in purified cultures of astrocyte cells extracted from the cortex region of rat brains and grown in the lab.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:00 pm

Layers in a Mars crater record a history of changes

Near the center of a Martian crater about the size of Connecticut, hundreds of exposed rock layers form a mound as tall as the Rockies and reveal a record of major environmental changes on Mars billions of years ago.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

Compound shows promise against intractable heart failure

A chemical compound found normally in the blood shows promise in treating and preventing an intractable form of heart failure in a mouse model of the disease.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

First blinded study of venous insufficiency prevalence in multiple sclerosis shows promising results

More than 55 percent of multiple sclerosis patients participating in the initial phase of the first randomized clinical study to determine if persons with MS exhibit narrowing of the extracranial veins, causing restriction of normal outflow of blood from the brain, were found to have the abnormality.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

Are high speed elephants running or walking?

Elephants can move fast, but can they ever be said to be truly "running"? Researchers have measured the colossal forces generated by high-speed elephants and found that the animals do conserve energy like runners by recycling it like a pogo stick, however, they do not bounce like runners. What is more they are three times more economical than human runners.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 9:00 am

Surf contest reminds bystanders of sea's power (AP)

Darryl 'Flea: Virostko loses on a giant wave during the first heat of the Mavericks surf contest on Saturday, Feb. 13, 2010, in Half Moon Bay, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)AP - Pamela Massette's attendance at the Mavericks Surf Contest was no day at the beach.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 3:07 am

The nation's weather (AP)

The forecast for noon, Sunday, Feb. 14, 2010 shows a potent system will sag south across the Plains and Mississippi Valley, bringing cold and snowy weather from the Midwest to the Deep South. More snow is expected across the Great Lakes and Upper Midwest. A Pacific front brings wet conditions to the West. (AP Photo/Weather Underground)AP - Wet weather was in the forecast Sunday for the Northwest, as a Pacific storm pushed a cold front ashore.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 2:49 am

Spacewalkers Hook Up Plumbing For New Space Station Room (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Two spacewalking astronauts ventured outside the International Space Station late Saturday for a high-flying plumbing job on the orbiting laboratory's newest room.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 2:33 am

Spacewalking astronauts turn plumbers, hook hoses (AP)

In this image provided by NASA the Tranquility module is transferred late Thursday evening Feb. 11, 2010 from its stowage position in space shuttle Endeavour's payload bay in the grasp of the station's Canadarm2 to position it on the port side of the Unity node of the International Space Station. Tranquility was locked in place with 16 remotely-controlled bolts. Earth's horizon and the blackness of space provide the backdrop for the scene. (AP Photo/NASA)AP - The International Space Station's newest room came alive with power Sunday after spacewalking astronauts managed to hook up plumbing despite an ammonia leak.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Feb 2010 | 2:08 am

Who was Saint Valentine? (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Several tales have taken root as the cultural heart of Valentine's Day, most of which stem from the patron Saint Valentine.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Feb 2010 | 9:01 pm

Obama nuke plant loan reflects new energy strategy (AP)

President Barack Obama listens to a question during the daily press briefing at the White House, in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2010. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)AP - The Obama administration's planned loan guarantee to build the first nuclear power plant in the U.S in almost three decades is part of a broad shift in energy strategy to lessen dependence on foreign oil and reduce the use of other fossil fuels blamed for global warming.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Feb 2010 | 4:44 pm

Did 'Dark Stars' Spawn Supermassive Black Holes?

A massive dark star voraciously eating matter and dark matter until it is well over 100,000 times the mass of the sun (NASA/Ian O'Neill). Approximately 200 million years after the Big Bang, the universe was a very different place. For ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 13 Feb 2010 | 4:15 pm

Floridians protest offshore oil drilling (Reuters)

Reuters - Thousands of Floridians demonstrated against moves to allow offshore oil drilling on Saturday along the east and west coasts of the state in a protest dubbed "Hands Across the Sand."
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Feb 2010 | 2:59 pm

Stunning Space Photo Shows Shuttle in Silhouette (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Stunning new photographs released by NASA reveal the space shuttle Endeavour in silhouette against a colorful backdrop provided by the Earth.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Feb 2010 | 2:46 pm

Cyclone misses American Samoa, turns toward Tonga (AP)

A teenager walks around the town area with his umbrella during a drizzling rain as Tropical Cyclone Rene approaches American Samoa on Friday Feb. 12, 2010. In the background are vessels docked at the Port of Pago Pago. The storm packing hurricane-force winds slammed into American Samoa Friday even as residents recovered from last year's deadly tsunami. Rene hit the sparsely populated Manu'a islands with sustained winds of 75 mph Friday afternoon. (AP Photo/Fili Sagapolutele)AP - A powerful tropical storm missed American Samoa early Saturday morning, causing heavy rains and high winds but sparing more devastation to the U.S. territory battered by a deadly autumn tsunami.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Feb 2010 | 2:35 pm

Microsoft co-founder Gates tackling climate change (AFP)

microsoft=AFP - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates has broken from philanthropic work fighting poverty and disease to take on another threat to the world's poor -- climate change.



Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 13 Feb 2010 | 2:31 pm

Climate data 'not well organised'

The professor behind the Climategate affair, admits some of his decades-old weather data was not well enough organised.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 13 Feb 2010 | 9:26 am

Year of the Tiger: All About the Chinese Zodiac

Feb. 14 marks a new year according to the Chinese calendar, which will be moving from the reign of the Ox to the year of the Tiger.
Source: Livescience.com | 13 Feb 2010 | 8:08 am

Visualizing the Electric Car 2015

Contests like the X Prize use the power of prize to throw the doors open on a problem to get all of us, or some among all of us, to go to work on a solution. (The secrets of crafting ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 13 Feb 2010 | 7:55 am

Valentines in Ancient Rome Were All About Pain

While Valentines today tend to stress caring and warmth, love letters from ancient Rome often highlighted the wrenching, painful side of romance, historians say.
Source: Livescience.com | 13 Feb 2010 | 6:51 am