Exposure to letters A or F can affect test performance

Seeing the letter A before an exam can improve a student's exam result while exposure to the letter F may make a student more likely to fail, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

Biggest, deepest crater exposes hidden, ancient moon

Shortly after the Moon formed, an asteroid smacked into its southern hemisphere and gouged out a truly enormous crater, the South Pole-Aitken basin, almost 1,500 miles across and more than five miles deep.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

New light shed on how retina's hardware is used in color vision

Biologists have identified, in greater detail, how the retina's cellular hardware is used in color preference. The findings enhance our understanding of how eyes and the brain process color.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

Physicists find way to see through paint, paper, and other opaque materials

New experiments show that it's possible to focus light through opaque materials and detect objects hidden behind them, provided you know enough about the material.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

Bone marrow can harbor HIV-infected cells

Antiviral drugs have reduced AIDS to more of chronic disease rather than a death sentence, but why is the disease so hard to cure? New research shows that bone marrow, previously thought to be resistant to the virus, can contain latent forms of the infection. Targeting these reservoirs of latent cells may open the door to new treatments.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

Synthetic 'sea shells' made from chalk and materials used in disposable coffee cups

Scientists have made synthetic 'sea shells' from a mixture of chalk and polystyrene cups -- and produced a tough new material that could make our homes and offices more durable.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 9:00 am

Asexual plant reproduction may seed new approach for agriculture

A scientist has moved a step closer to turning sexually-reproducing plants into asexual reproducers, a finding that could have profound implications for agriculture.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

Women who drink moderately appear to gain less weight than nondrinkers

Normal-weight women who drink a light to moderate amount of alcohol appear to gain less weight and have a lower risk of becoming overweight and obese than nondrinkers, according to a new article.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

Like little golden assassins, 'smart' nanoparticles identify, target and kill cancer cells

Another weapon in the arsenal against cancer: nanoparticles that identify, target and kill specific cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

Dietary supplements discouraged for prostate cancer patients

Prostate-specific dietary supplements should not be taken during radiation therapy treatments because they have been shown to increase the radiosensitivity of normal prostate cell lines, leading to normal tissue complications, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 6:00 am

Skynet satellite system extended

Skynet 5, the UK's single biggest space project, will get a fourth satellite to increase the information capacity available to British forces.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 9 Mar 2010 | 3:17 am

Syria wants to develop nuclear energy (AP)

AP - A senior Syrian official says his country would like to pursue nuclear power to meet growing energy needs.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:27 am

Alien vs predator

The UK's foray into bio-control breaks important ground
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:20 am

Prius with stuck accelerator glides to safe stop (AP)

AP - A California Highway Patrol officer helped slow a runaway Toyota Prius from 94 mph to a safe stop on Monday after the car's accelerator became stuck on a San Diego County freeway, the CHP said.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 9 Mar 2010 | 2:19 am

Dr Crippen: On the problem with prostate cancer screening

At post-mortem, most elderly men have traces of prostate cancer but have died of other causes

There is a much-publicised screening test for early prostate cancer, but GPs hesitate before ordering the test on demand. A slightly raised PSA (a protein that healthy prostates produce in small amounts) may indicate early prostate cancer, but it will not tell you what to do about it. Surgical removal of the prostate has a mortality rate and may cause unpleasant side-effects, like impotence and incontinence. At post-mortem, most elderly men have traces of prostate cancer but have died of other causes. We would have done them no favours, if we had removed their prostates.

I saw Ernest, a 67 year old man, three moths ago. His brother, aged 60, had just been found to have inoperable prostate cancer, so Ernest wanted a check. He did not have much in the way of symptoms. His prostate felt soft and benign but his PSA blood test came back slightly raised. A biopsy showed prostate cancer but it was very early and had not spread.

There was talk of "watch and wait" but Ernest could not contemplate that. The urologist recommended an open prostatectomy. Ernest consulted Dr Google. He saw another urologist privately who does laparoscopic prostatectomies. This procedure, still in its infancy in the UK, looks promising and the urologists who are doing it are keen to practise. He saw a radiation oncologist privately. She mentioned brachytherapy, a specialised form of internal radiotherapy. The surgeons, who both talked of a "complete" cure, told Ernest that radiotherapy brought an increased risk of rectal cancer, and the possibility of chronic diarrhoea and urinary frequency. The radiotherapist talked of impotence and incontinence as a risk of surgery. The open prostatectomy surgeon talked of "tried and tested" procedures. The laparoscopic surgeon talked of the reduced risks of key-hole surgery.

Ernest did not know what to do. You could make good arguments for each treatment that had been offered. Or you can go to Paris where they are playing with lasers. Ernest said, "I've seen lots of specialists; they are all charming but I got the feeling that they are all selling their wares. What would you do, doc?"

If I was fit, like Ernest, I would have the open prostatectomy. Laparoscopic prostatectomy is not widely available on the NHS and in any case I am not sure I would want to be the material upon which surgeons learn a new technique. Ask me about it in a year or two.

Ernest had the open operation six weeks ago. He is not incontinent. As regards sexual performance, he has not yet tried, but he says there have been "stirrings". He is doing well. His PSA is zero and he feels he is cured. The only thing I am not sure of is whether it would have been better if we had never measured his PSA in the first place.

Names and some details have been changed. prostate-cancer.org.uk.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:30 am

Huw Irranca-Davies on introducing an insect predator to attack Japanese knotweed

Huw Irranca-Davies, wildlife minister, tells Jon Dennis about a plan to introduce an insect predator to attack Japanese knotweed

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 9 Mar 2010 | 1:18 am

Breast Cancer Patients Often Confused by Genomic Testing (HealthDay)

HealthDay - MONDAY, March 8 (HealthDay News) -- Doctors need to do a better job of explaining genomic test results to breast cancer patients, say U.S. researchers.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 9:48 pm

New TV Show Perpetuates Anorexia Myths

A new VH1 show called “The Price of Beauty,” hosted by Jessica Simpson, will premiere soon. The theme of the show is the extreme measures that some women will endure to look beautiful. It’s a worthy subject, but unfortunately the ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:46 pm

Shellfish could supplant tree-ring climate data

Temperature records gleaned from clamshells reveal accuracy of Norse sagas.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/Y3IVW96vMcA" height="1" width="1"/>
Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 8 Mar 2010 | 6:00 pm

The psychology of heroism

How can normal people be made to act heroically?

In paying tribute to Michael Foot last week, David Cameron used an intriguingly double-edged phrase. He described the former Labour leader as "almost the last link to a more heroic age in politics" – a duly respectful compliment, but one that also hinted that Foot was from a bygone era where politics was done in brash primary colours rather than the thoughtful shades used today.

Of all the virtues, heroism is now the most remote. Heroes are either mythic or historical characters (Achilles or Gandhi) or they are superhuman (Spider-Man, or even 9/11 firefighters). What they are not is one of us. Our age has role models and it has celebrities, but it has no room for heroes.

Fighting to revive heroism is Philip Zimbardo, the septuagenarian who is probably the most famous living psychologist in the world. Zimbardo built his career on the study of evil; in 1971, he led the Stanford Prison Experiment, where long-haired students were put in a mock jail and divvied up as prisoners or guards at random. Within a few days, the "guards" were humiliating their "prisoners", refusing some permission to urinate and subjecting others to simulated sodomy.

That experiment and others convinced Zimbardo that ordinary people could be driven to evil acts if put in horrific situations. His latest work flips that principle and asks: how can normal folk be made to behave heroically? By heroism, the psychologist does not mean altruism but the risking of one's safety or status, sometimes for an ideal. Zimbardo talks of the "banality of heroism" – a neat inversion of Hannah Arendt's observation that the Nazi Adolf Eichman demonstrated "the banality of evil" – and points out that social scientists have done acres of research on evil but barely any on heroism. And to that end, he has been slaving away – heroically, one might say – lecturing policy-makers and raising research funds.

There is more to this project than academic papers, however. Matt Langdon works with Zimbardo and, as head of the Hero Construction Company, runs his own character-building classes for 10-14 year olds. "I always tell them that the opposite of a hero isn't a villain – it's a bystander," he says.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:45 pm

Scientists say UK risks losing innovation edge

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain risks decades of slow economic decline unless it invests heavily in research, which at the moment is one of the country's few genuine areas of economic competitive advantage, leading scientists said on Tuesday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:31 pm

Lords in science investment call

Former Labour and Conservative science ministers challenge the next UK government to maintain investment in science.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:29 pm

Superweed predator to be released

A plant-eating predator that preys on aggressive superweed Japanese knotweed is to be given a trial release in England.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:25 pm

Alien v predator: Moth out to kill Japanese knotweed

Chosen insect feeds on invasive species but not other closely related plants and crops

Biological warfare is to be declared on an alien invader, Japanese knotweed, that swamps gardens and rivers, with the release of an insect to eat the virulent weed.

The decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the first allowing one non-native species, a flying insect resembling a miniature moth, to control the seemingly unstoppable spread of an alien plant.

However, it is likely to cause concern among wildlife lovers because of a long history of human interventions in the natural world ending in failure, and sometimes causing worse problems than the original, as with the cane toad in Australia.

In a public consultation by Defra last year about 20 responses opposed the scheme, though 42 were in favour.

The wildlife minister, Huw Irranca-Davies, said the fast-growing Japanese knotweed was estimated to cost £150m a year to control, and was able to grow through buildings and roads.

Fallopia japonica has also been blamed for flooding, by causing erosion to river banks and clogging up streams with dead plants.

"This project is not only ground-breaking, it offers real hope that we can redress the balance," said Irranca-Davies.

Experts estimated in 2003 that it would cost £1.5bn to fund a physical clearance campaign for Japanese knotweed.

Laboratory tests were started on pests from Japan which control the knotweed by feeding on sap from its stems, causing the plant to die back.

The tests showed the chosen Aphalara itadori did not eat any other species, including closely related British plants and important crops.

The psyllids – or plant-jumping lice, which grows to only 2-2.5mm – will be released at two sites initially, under close supervision.

If these outdoor trials are a success the trials will be extended to another six sites, none of which Defra will disclose.

The concept is similar to biological pest control practised by some farmers, using predator insects to control crop pests. The non-native predatory beetle Rhizophagus grandis was also released in Britain under licence in the mid-1980s to tackle the invasive alien spruce bark beetle (Dendroctonus micans).

On conservation and wildlife internet forums, opponents of the idea said they feared the impact on other native wildlife, for example species that might start feeding on the psyllids. One blogger compared the risk to the traditional nursery rhyme "I know an old lady who swallowed a fly" in reference to the long pursuit of one animal to destroy another – ending in the lady swallowing a horse: "She's dead of course." The Global Invasive Species Programme said that despite a few well-known failures, a third of biological control programmes to tackle pests and weeds were judged successes, and the system was often considered more "permanent, efficient, environmentally sustainable and relatively cheap" than using chemicals or mechanical removal.

"While there are some risks, which still may be considered by some to be unacceptable, biological control is increasingly viewed as being the preferred management strategy for invasive species, wherever possible, and in the case of biological weed control specifically, it has an enviable safety record," said Sarah Simons, Gisp's executive director.

Japanese knotweed, which is native to Japan, Taiwan and China, was introduced by botanists into Britain in the 19th century as an ornamental plant. It grows at up to a metre a month, and a fragment of just 0.8 grams can grow into a new plant. Invasive predators have become a global problem and are among the top causes of global species threats and extinctions according to conservation experts.

The Royal Horticultural Society suggests gardeners destroy knotweed using glyphosate-based weed-killers or by digging out the roots and cutting back regrowth, however it warns that the process can take several seasons. Experts stress that uprooted plants must be destroyed carefully to avoid spreading. "Eradication requires steely determination," says the RHS.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:05 pm

Tory review urges science boost

A Tory-backed report urges incentives for schools and tax breaks for researchers to raise the profile of science.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 4:47 pm

South American Cities Moved in Chile Quake

With disasters striking Haiti, Chile and most recently Turkey, it seems like there is no end in sight for the earthquake-weary. New evidence released from Ohio State University (OSU) shows that the 8.8-magnitude mega-quake that struck off the coast of ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 4:24 pm

U.S. Sitting on Mother Lode of Rare Tech-Crucial Minerals

A U.S. company is sitting on precious metal deposits that could prove crucial to sustaining the U.S. tech industry and the green energy revolution.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 4:09 pm

GE: Limit PCB contamination during Hudson dredging (AP)

AP - General Electric Co. on Monday proposed a halting further dredging of the Hudson River if PCBs churned up by the work spread too much pollution downriver during the second phase of an ongoing cleanup.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 3:55 pm

Not more quakes, just more people in quake zones (AP)

AP - First the ground shook in Haiti, then Chile and now Turkey. The earthquakes keep coming hard and fast this year, causing people to wonder if something sinister is happening underfoot.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 3:45 pm

Drinking Alcohol Could Help Women Stay Slim

A glass a day could keep excessive weight gain at bay.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 3:20 pm

Low Tolerance for Pain May Be Genetic

One form of a common genetic variant may ratchet up pain sensitivity in people who have it, researchers report online March 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

The discovery could lead to more powerful pain treatments that lack the debilitating side effects of current drugs. “We could fill our clinics many times over with people with chronic pain that we can’t help with our current medications,” says neurologist and neuroscientist Stephen Waxman of Yale University School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Hospital in West Haven.

In the new study, researchers led by clinical geneticist Geoffrey Woods of the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research in the United Kingdom examined the DNA of 578 people with the painful condition osteoarthritis. Woods and his colleagues searched for genetic variations that might be linked to how much pain a patient reported feeling — a subjective measure, Woods says, but currently the best researchers can do.

The team found that people who reported higher levels of pain were more likely to carry a particular DNA base, an A instead of a G, at a certain location in the gene SCN9A. The A version is found in an estimated 10 to 30 percent of people, Woods says, though its presence varies in populations of different ancestries.

This gene version may set the pain threshold, he says. “You’re more sensitive to pain.”

The same trend — higher pain levels reported by people who carried the A — held true in cohorts of people with other painful conditions including sciatica, phantom limb syndrome and lumbar discectomy. The A variant wasn’t strongly associated with higher pain scores in patients with chronic pancreatitis, however. Woods says that might change as more people are added to the study.

The researchers also looked for the gene variant in 186 healthy women who had been assessed based on their responses to a number of painful stimuli. The women with the highest responses were more likely to have the A variant instead of the G.

The genetic variation affects the structure of a protein that sits on the outside of nerve cells and allows sodium to enter upon painful stimuli. The sodium influx then spurs the nerve cell to send a pain message to the brain.

This channel protein is a promising target for extremely specific and effective pain drugs, Waxman says: “Given that this channel has been indicted, it would be nice if we could develop therapeutic handles that turn it off or down.”

Researchers already knew that people with mutations in SCN9A can have extreme pain syndromes. Genetic changes that render the protein completely inactive can leave a person impervious to pain, although otherwise healthy. Other mutations can lead to conditions such as “man on fire” syndrome, in which people experience relentless, searing pain.

Although these syndromes are extreme cases, they strongly implicate SCN9A as important for pain thresholds, Waxman says. The new study is “an important paper that advances our understanding of pain.”

In additional laboratory studies, the researchers found that nerve cells carrying the A variant of the gene took longer to close their sodium gates, allowing a stronger pain signal to be sent to the brain. Nerve cells carrying the more common G version of the gene snapped shut faster, stopping the pain signal sooner.

Image: flickr/Lou Mussacchio

See Also:

• For Back Pain, Even Fake Acupuncture Works
• Mental Problems a Real Pain in the Neck

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 8 Mar 2010 | 3:04 pm

Chile's earthquake-delayed school year begins (AP)

AP - Chile's earthquake-delayed school year began Monday, but education officials said it may take until April 1 before all students are back in classrooms.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 3:03 pm

Chilled Chameleons Still Quick to Snag a Meal (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Chameleons' high-speed tongues can still shoot out lickety-split to capture prey in cold temperatures, when their other muscles don't move as fast, a new study finds.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 2:31 pm

All of Life’s Ingredients Found in Orion Nebula

The ingredients for life as we know it have been found in the Orion Nebula.

By finely separating the spectrum of incoming light, astronomers are able to detect the chemical fingerprints of molecules like water and methanol. The spectrograph that their work produces can be seen in the image above. The peaks represent the presence of the molecule indicated.

The new data was collected by the Herschel Telescope, launched into space last year by the European Space Agency. Herschel’s HiFi instrument uses a new technique to do more-sensitive spectroscopy. It will enable scientists to better understand the chemistry of space.

The Orion Nebula is located about 1,300 light-years away. No very active star-forming region is closer to Earth. M42, as the nebula is also known, is 24 light-years across.

Image: ESA, HEXOS, HIFI Consortium.

WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal’s Twitter, Tumblr, and green tech history research site; Wired Science on Twitter and Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 8 Mar 2010 | 2:16 pm

Chilled Chameleons Still Quick to Snag a Meal

A Chameleon's tongue can still project quickly to capture prey in cold weather, even though the rest of its body slows down.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 2:03 pm

U.S. and Europe 'Outsource' Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Carbon dioxide emissions imported, exported between developed and developing countries.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 2:03 pm

Cooperation Is Contagious

One kind act can infect others, causing them to be more generous to others in a pay-it-forward fashion.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 2:00 pm

Space Station Wins Prestigious Collier Trophy (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - The International Space Station program has won a prestigious aviation award — the 2009 Collier Trophy — in recognition of its strides in advancing aeronautics.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:46 pm

Lack of trust in complex science

There is no simple way to battle public hostility to climate research. As the psychologists show, facts barely sway us anyway

There is one question that no one who denies manmade climate change wants to answer: what would it take to persuade you? In most cases the answer seems to be nothing. No level of evidence can shake the growing belief that climate science is a giant conspiracy codded up by boffins and governments to tax and control us. The new study by the Met Office, which paints an even grimmer picture than the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, will do nothing to change this view.

The attack on climate scientists is now widening to an all-out war on science. Writing recently for the Telegraph, the columnist Gerald Warner dismissed scientists as "white-coated prima donnas and narcissists … pointy-heads in lab coats [who] have reassumed the role of mad cranks … The public is no longer in awe of scientists. Like squabbling evangelical churches in the 19th century, they can form as many schismatic sects as they like, nobody is listening to them any more."

Views like this can be explained partly as the revenge of the humanities students. There is scarcely an editor or executive in any major media company – and precious few journalists – with a science degree, yet everyone knows that the anoraks are taking over the world. But the problem is compounded by complexity. Arthur C Clarke remarked that "any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic". He might have added that any sufficiently advanced expertise is indistinguishable from gobbledegook. Scientific specialisation is now so extreme that even people studying neighbouring subjects within the same discipline can no longer understand each other. The detail of modern science is incomprehensible to almost everyone, which means that we have to take what scientists say on trust. Yet science tells us to trust nothing, to believe only what can be demonstrated. This contradiction is fatal to public confidence.

Distrust has been multiplied by the publishers of scientific journals, whose monopolistic practices make the supermarkets look like angels, and which are long overdue for a referral to the Competition Commission. They pay nothing for most of the material they publish, yet, unless you are attached to an academic institute, they'll charge you £20 or more for access to a single article. In some cases they charge libraries tens of thousands for an annual subscription. If scientists want people at least to try to understand their work, they should raise a full-scale revolt against the journals that publish them. It is no longer acceptable for the guardians of knowledge to behave like 19th-century gamekeepers, chasing the proles out of the grand estates.

But there's a deeper suspicion here as well. Popular mythology – from Faust through Frankenstein to Dr No – casts scientists as sinister schemers, harnessing the dark arts to further their diabolical powers. Sometimes this isn't far from the truth. Some use their genius to weaponise anthrax for the US and Russian governments. Some isolate terminator genes for biotech companies, to prevent farmers from saving their own seed. Some lend their names to articles ghostwritten by pharmaceutical companies, which mislead doctors about the drugs they sell. Until there is a global code of practice or a Hippocratic oath binding scientists to do no harm, the reputation of science will be dragged through the dirt by researchers who devise new means of hurting us.

Yesterday in the Guardian Peter Preston called for a prophet to lead us out of the wilderness. "We need one passionate, persuasive scientist who can connect and convince … We need to be taught to believe by a true believer." Would it work? No. Look at the hatred and derision the passionate and persuasive Al Gore attracts. The problem is not only that most climate scientists can speak no recognisable human language, but also the expectation that people are amenable to persuasion.

In 2008 the Washington Post summarised recent psychological research on misinformation. This shows that in some cases debunking a false story can increase the number of people who believe it. In one study, 34% of conservatives who were told about the Bush government's claims that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction were inclined to believe them. But among those who were shown that the government's claims were later comprehensively refuted by the Duelfer report, 64% ended up believing that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.

There's a possible explanation in an article published by Nature in January. It shows that people tend to "take their cue about what they should feel, and hence believe, from the cheers and boos of the home crowd". Those who see themselves as individualists and those who respect authority, for instance, "tend to dismiss evidence of environmental risks, because the widespread acceptance of such evidence would lead to restrictions on commerce and industry, activities they admire". Those with more egalitarian values are "more inclined to believe that such activities pose unacceptable risks and should be restricted".

These divisions, researchers have found, are better at explaining different responses to information than any other factor. Our ideological filters encourage us to interpret new evidence in ways that reinforce our beliefs. "As a result, groups with opposing values often become more polarised, not less, when exposed to scientifically sound information." The conservatives in the Iraq experiment might have reacted against something they associated with the Duelfer report, rather than the information it contained.

While this analysis rings true, the description of where the dividing line lies isn't quite right. It doesn't describe the odd position in which I find myself. Despite my iconoclastic, anti-corporate instincts, I spend much of my time defending the scientific establishment from attacks by the kind of rabble-rousers with whom I usually associate. My heart rebels against this project: I would rather be pelting scientists with eggs than trying to understand their datasets. But my beliefs oblige me to try to make sense of the science and to explain its implications. This turns out to be the most divisive project I've ever engaged in. The more I stick to the facts, the more virulent the abuse becomes.

This doesn't bother me – I have a hide like a glyptodon – but it reinforces the disturbing possibility that nothing works. The research discussed in the Nature paper shows that when scientists dress soberly, shave off their beards and give their papers conservative titles, they can reach to the other side. But in doing so they will surely alienate people who would otherwise be inclined to trust them. As the MMR saga shows, people who mistrust authority are just as likely to kick against science as those who respect it.

Perhaps we have to accept that there is no simple solution to public disbelief in science. The battle over climate change suggests that the more clearly you spell the problem out, the more you turn people away. If they don't want to know, nothing and no one will reach them. There goes my life's work.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:30 pm

Chameleons Possess Weatherproof, Ballistic Tongues

Understanding the mechanics of this reptile's tongue could lead to advancement in prosthetic devices, sports equipment and more.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:01 pm

Kindness Breeds More Kindness, Study Shows

In findings sure to gladden the heart of anyone who’s ever wondered whether tiny acts of kindness have larger consequences, researchers have shown that generosity is contagious.

Goodness spurs goodness, they found: A single act can influence dozens more.

In a game where selfishness made more sense than cooperation, acts of giving were “tripled over the course of the experiment by other subjects who are directly or indirectly influenced to contribute more,” wrote political scientist James Fowler of the University of California, San Diego, and medical sociologist Nicholas Christakis of Harvard University.

Their findings, published March 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, are the latest in a series of studies the pair have conducted on the spread of behaviors through social networks.

In other papers, they’ve described the spread of obesity, loneliness, happiness and smoking. But there was no way to know whether those apparent behavioral contagions were actually just correlations. People who are overweight, for example, might simply tend to befriend other overweight people, or live in an area where high-fat, low-nutrient diets are the norm.

The latest research was designed to identify cause-and-effect links. In it, Fowler and Christakis analyze the results of a so-called public-goods game, in which people were divided into groups of four, given 20 credits each, and asked to secretly decide what to keep for themselves and what to contribute to a common fund. That fund would be multiplied by two-fifths, then divided equally among the group. The best payoff would come if everyone gave all their money — but without knowing what others were doing, it always made sense to keep one’s money and skim from the generosity of others.

Only at the end of each game did players find out what the rest of their group had done. The game was run again and again, each time mixing group members and keeping their identities anonymous, so that decisions were never personal.

When one person gave, others in their group tended to be generous during the next two rounds of play. Recipients of their largess became more generous in turn, and so on down the chain. When a punishment round was added — players could spend their own money to reduce the rewards of selfish players — generosity lasted even longer.

“It is often supposed that individuals in experiments like the one described here selfishly seek to maximize their own payoffs,” wrote Fowler and Christakis. “The equilibrium prediction is to contribute nothing and to pay nothing to punish noncontributors, but the subjects did not follow this pattern.”

According to the the researchers, the explanation lies not in calculations of odds and rewards, but in simple behavioral mimicry: Monkey see, monkey do, human style. When people are irrationally generous, others follow suit.

The network described by Fowler and Christakis doesn’t necessarily replicate natural group dynamics, but suggests a general model for how behaviors spread. They suggest that researchers of altruism and cultural evolution study how different group configurations promote or limit the spread of behaviors.

However, the findings aren’t just a feel-good story. Selfish behavior spreads easily, too.

Images: 1) Heath Brandon/Flickr.
2) James Fowler.

See Also:

• Loneliness May Be Contagious
• Altruism’s Bloody Roots
• Termite Altruism Might Have Roots in War
• The Buddy System: How Medical Data Revealed Secret to Health and Happiness
• Bacteria Sacrifice Selves for Greater Good

Citation: “Cooperative behavior cascades in human social networks.” By James H. Fowler and Nicholas A. Christakis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107 No. 10, March 9, 2010.

Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on a book about ecological tipping points.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:00 pm

Big Bang experiment may reveal dark universe: CERN

GENEVA (Reuters) - Dark matter, which scientists believe makes up 25 percent of the universe but whose existence has never been proven, could be detected by the giant particle collider at CERN, the research center's head said Monday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 12:59 pm

Obama to Host Space Summit in Florida

Say what you like about President Obama, but at least he’s no coward. Otherwise, the last place he’d want to show his face is central Florida, ground zero for the next tsunami of job layoffs following the retirement of the ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 12:46 pm

How Does the Iditarod Race Work?

Find out what makes sled dogs ultra-athletes.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 12:31 pm

Oldest Rottweilers Inspire 'The Old Grey Muzzle Tour'

Do you have a really old Rottweiler? If so, you might wish to roll out your welcome mat for Dr. David J. Waters, who is launching "The Old Grey Muzzle Tour" this week. During the 23-day tour, Waters, who is ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 12:02 pm

Chile Earthquake Moved Entire City 10 Feet to the West

The magnitude 8.8 quake that struck near Maule, Chile, Feb. 27 moved the entire city of Concepcion 10 feet to the west.

Precise GPS measurements from before and after the earthquake, the fifth largest ever recorded by seismographs, show that the country’s capital, Santiago, moved 11 inches west. Even Buenos Aires, nearly 800 miles from the epicenter, shifted an inch. The image above uses red arrows to represent the relative direction and magnitude of the ground movement in the vicinity of the quake.

The analysis comes from a project led by Ohio State earth scientist Mike Bevis that has been using GPS to record movements of the crust on Chile since 1993. The area is of particular interest to geoscientists because it is an active subduction zone, where an oceanic plate is colliding with a continental plate and being pushed into the Earth’s molten mantle below.

The world’s largest recorded earthquakes since 1900 have all occurred in subduction zones, including the largest quake ever recorded, which was a magnitude 9.5 in 1960 in Chile not too far from February’s earthquake. The second largest was a 9.2 in Alaska in 1964, and the third was the magnitude 9.1 Sumatra quake of 2004 that created the tsunami that killed more than 200,000 people. The fourth largest quake was a magnitude 9 on Russia’s Kamchatka peninsula.

Bevis’ team hopes to add 50 more GPS stations to its current 25 to better measure the movement and deformation of the crust that will continue for years.

“The Maule earthquake will arguably become one of the, if not the most important great earthquake yet studied,” said project scientist Ben Brooks of the University of Hawaii in a press release. “We now have modern, precise instruments to evaluate this event, and because the site abuts a continent, we will be able to obtain dense spatial sampling of the changes it caused.”

“As such the event represents an unprecedented opportunity for the earth science community if certain observations are made with quickly and comprehensively,” Brooks said.

Images: University of Hawaii

See Also:

• Satellite Photos of Haiti Before and After the Earthquake
• Haiti Aftershocks Will Continue for Months, Maybe Years
• 5 Most Dangerous U.S. Earthquake Hot Spots Beyond California
• Top 5 Ways to Cause a Man-Made Earthquake

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 8 Mar 2010 | 11:24 am

Magnitude 5.9 Quake Hits Turkey. Doomsday Upon Us???

Covering earthquakes is getting to be a tiring, depressing business lately. From the horrific ongoing tragedy in Haiti that started with a magnitude 7.0 tremor in January to strong quakes in Japan, Taiwan, Chile, and just this morning, a magnitude ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 10:45 am

Roche, Biogen suspends arthritis drug after deaths (Reuters)

Reuters - Swiss drugmaker Roche Holding AG and U.S. biotechnology company Biogen Idec are suspending experimental rheumatoid arthritis and lupus treatment ocrelizumab after deaths following its use, casting doubt over its future.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 10:33 am

Ghost orchid back from dead

Three species thought extinct, including a caddisfly and yellow-spotted bell frog, have been sighted in the UK and Australia

• Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts

Three species thought to be extinct have been found again, to the delight of conservationists.

In the UK, the rare ghost orchid, declared extinct in this country just last year, has been found in England, and a caddisfly – a small flying insect – last seen more than a century ago has been discovered again in Scotland. On the global stage the yellow-spotted bell frog, presumed "possibly extinct" by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, has been seen on a creek-bed in Australia.

The good news stories follow a warning by a leading IUCN expert that humans are now driving plants and animals to extinction faster than new species can evolve.

Simon Stuart, the IUCN expert who chairs the Species Survival Commission which declares species endangered or extinct, said that although roughly one "possibly extinct" species each year was re-discovered, many more plants and animals were added to the list.

There will also be continuing concern for species that are re-discovered in very small numbers. For example only a single 5cm high ghost orchid was found by the botanists who revealed it is still alive in the UK. The sighting of the caddisfly by a PhD student beside a river in north-west Scotland – 350 miles north of the previous record, according to the conservation charity Buglife – could further suggest the influence of climate change in driving species out of their traditional habitats, something some plants and animals will be able to adapt to better than others.

"The whole point of the 'possibly extinct' list is they can come in and out," said Stuart. "But we're adding species on to the 'possibly extinct' list much faster than we're taking them off it."

The IUCN has much stricter rules about declaring a species fully extinct, including that it must have been actively searched for by teams of experts in the field. However in 2008 the Switzerland-based organisation did have to move the Miles' robber frog (Craugastor milesi) from the extinct to critically endangered list after a single specimen was found in Honduras.

Among the reasons conservationists dislike a species being declared extinct are that it is no longer possible to get money to research and preserve its habitat. The locations of the orchid and the Australian frog are both being kept secret to protect them, however one of the bell frogs and a tadpole have been taken to Taronga zoo in Sydney for a captive breeding programme.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 8 Mar 2010 | 10:10 am

Scientists find why "sunshine" vitamin D is crucial

LONDON (Reuters) - Vitamin D is vital in activating human defences and low levels suffered by around half the world's population may mean their immune systems' killer T cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said on Sunday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 9:50 am

Warp Speed Will Kill You (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - Captain Kirk might want to avoid taking the starship Enterprise to warp speed, unless he's ready to shrug off interstellar hydrogen atoms that would deliver a lethal radiation blast to both ship and crew.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 8 Mar 2010 | 9:46 am

Sharks and Rays Gather in Fish Cleaning Stations

The animated film Shark Tale from a few years ago featured a "car wash" for dirty marine dwellers. Now a new study in the journal Marine & Freshwater Research documents something very similar: fish cleaning stations for sharks and manta ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 9:44 am

Spaceman

Rummaging in BBC archive for Apollo reports 40 years on
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 9:13 am

iPhone Addictive, Survey Reveals

Apple's smartphone can be addicting.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 8:47 am

Art from Space: Phytoplankton Bloom

A NASA satellite has photographed a particularly artful bloom in the Arabian Sea.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 8:36 am

Mini Helicopters Create Flying Display

This has got to be one of the coolest ideas I've seen in a while: Miniature helicopters with LED lights flying in a pattern that creates a display in the air. Think of each helicopter acting as a pixel on ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 8:26 am

How Common is Low-Back Pain?

Back pain is very common and affects about 8 out of 10 people.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:24 am

How to Tell if a Guy Is Trustworthy

Facial width can say a lot about whether a guy is aggressive and trustworthy, with wider faces linked to less trustworthy behaviors.
Source: Livescience.com | 8 Mar 2010 | 7:20 am

How to Reboot Your Corpse

Thousands of bodies are already cryonically frozen, waiting for faster computers and medical advances that will undo their cause of death.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 8 Mar 2010 | 6:46 am

Jovian vision

Secrets the coming missions to Jupiter could reveal
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:52 am

China picks mums for astronaut training

Officials concerned space flight might affect fertility of first Chinese women to go into orbit

They are, of course, in peak physical condition, with the flying skills required of any air force ace. But China's first female astronauts have faced an extra challenge: they had to be mothers to qualify for the country's prestigious space programme.

Two women and five men have been selected as the next generation to go into space, a Hong Kong newspaper reported today, citing an unnamed military source.

Xu Xianrong, an expert at the air force general hospital, said women had advantages as astronauts over men because they were more mentally stable, better able to bear loneliness and had better communication skills.

The insistence that they should also be wives and mothers does not relate to their multi-tasking abilities. Officials are concerned that space flight might affect their fertility.

"It's out of the consideration of being responsible for the female pilots," Xu told the state news agency Xinhua. "Though there is little evidence on how the space experience will affect the female constitution, we have to be extra cautious. After all, it's unprecedented in China."

The authorities have yet to disclose the names of the would-be astronauts, but all are between 27 and 34. Hong Kong's Wen Wei Po newspaper identified five of the 15 women shortlisted, who it said were all from Shandong province.

Sun Jing is described as a "flying maniac", while Xing Lei was the only straight-A student in pilot school. Cao Yanyan comes from a high-flying family; both her husband and mother-in-law are said to be outstanding pilots.

Liu Lu is multi-talented and a lover of literature, while Wang Yaping helped with recovery efforts after the Sichuan earthquake in 2008 and seeded clouds to ensure clear skies for the Beijing Olympics.

Qi Faren, a delegate to the Chinese political advisory body currently meeting in Beijing, told state media that one or two women were currently receiving training for the space programme, but had no timetable for launch. They face up to five years of intensive training.

Last year Sui Guosheng, an officer in charge of recruitment with the air force, said he expected to see a woman in space by 2012 – nine years after Yang Liwei became the first Chinese citizen to lift off.

Would-be astronauts are vetted so carefully that even bad breath can scupper their chances, a medical adviser revealed last year. Many of those who make the grade and undertake the gruelling training programme never actually make it into space.

Valentina Tereshkova, from the then USSR, became the first woman in space in 1963. Nasa barred women for years – despite the fact female aspirants scored better on several medical tests than male counterparts – and it was only in 1983 that Sally Ride became the first American woman to go into space.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 8 Mar 2010 | 5:41 am

Working outdoors reduces cancer risk

Research shows vitamin D, produced by skin when exposed to ultraviolet light, associated with reduced rate of renal cancer

Men who work outdoors, enabling their bodies to create vitamins through exposure to sunlight, have a reduced risk of kidney cancer, researchers said today.

In the largest study of its kind, scientists found that vitamin D – produced by the skin when exposed to ultraviolet light – was associated with a reduced rate of renal cancer of up to 73% among men.

However, the study, published by the American Cancer Society, found that the reduced risk only applied to men – there was no drop in renal cancer among the women studied who worked outdoors.

The researchers, from the National Cancer Institute in the US, said the study of 2,500 workers in central Europe supported emerging evidence that the prevalence of a number of cancers, including breast, ovarian and colorectal cancer, was lower when people were exposed to ultraviolet light.

They said vitamin D, a known anti-carcinogenic, was carried by the body to the liver and on to the kidneys, and recommended further research.

"Scientific evidence suggests that vitamin D, which is generally made in the body after exposure to the sunlight, may help prevent a number of diseases, including cancer," the research author, Sara Karami, said.

"In our study, we used job titles to estimate sunlight exposure at work. We observed that men with high estimated levels of sunlight exposure had a lower risk of kidney cancer than men who had lower estimated sunlight exposure at work."

Scientists have monitored an increase in renal cell carcinoma (RCC), the main form of kidney cancer, in the US and globally over the past 20 years.

A reduction in vitamin D – probably caused by many more people having sedentary lifestyles and indoor jobs – is believed to be a likely contributory factor.

The researchers studied more than 2,500 workers of Caucasian descent in Russia, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic, splitting them into three groups according to exposure to daylight in their jobs.

A significant fall of up to 38% in the risk of RCC was found with increasing occupational UV exposure among men.

In northern-most regions, that increased to a 73% drop. But after finding no similar decrease in the risk for women, Karami said: "We do not have an explanation for the apparent differences in risk between men and women".

"Biological or behavioural differences between men and women may play a role. For example, hormonal differences may influence the body's response to sunlight exposure, and men may be prone to working outdoors while shirtless."

Although some foods contain vitamin D, the majority of people receive up to 90% of the chemical through exposure to ultraviolet light.

Farm workers and those who receive strong UV light reflected from the sea were in the highest category. Those in high-sunlight jobs were assumed to receive double the intensity of sunlight to those in low-exposure jobs.

Despite the findings, the researchers warned against ignoring the "well-documented risks" of skin cancer resulting from excess exposure to the sun.

"There are no public health recommendations from this study. Men and women should continue to consult their healthcare providers regarding the appropriate amount of sun exposure, weighing the well-documented risks between sun exposure and skin cancer risk," Karami said.

Healthy Caucasians can generate a full dose of vitamin D with 10-20 minutes' exposure to strong sunlight on unprotected skin. After that, photo-degradation ensures no higher levels are created.

The anti-carcinogenic properties of vitamin D include the prevention of tumour cell replication.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 8 Mar 2010 | 2:11 am

Bonobos opt to share their food

One of our closest primate relatives, the bonobo, prefers to share its food rather than dine alone, scientists report.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:58 am

Two Indian tiger cubs found dead

Two tiger cubs are found dead, apparently after being poisoned, at a national park in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 8 Mar 2010 | 1:22 am