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To learn better, take a nap (and don't forget to dream)It is by now well established that sleep can be an important tool when it comes to enhancing memory and learning skills. And now, a new study sheds light on the role that dreams play in this important process.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 9:00 am Molecular structure of key fluorescent proteins revealedScientists have determined the crystal structures of two key fluorescent proteins -- one blue, one red -- used to "light up" molecules in cells. The researchers now have the first roadmap for rationally designing new and differently colored fluorescent proteins to illuminate the structures and processes in living cells.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 9:00 am Brain-like computing on an organic molecular layerOne big advantage a brain's circuitry has always had over a computer's is its ability to evolve as it tackles complex problems. Now, scientists have created a tiny computing device with a brain-like "evolutionary circuit."Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 9:00 am Australian researchers develop highest-yielding salt-tolerant wheatIn a major breakthrough for wheat farmers in salt-affected areas, Australian researchers have developed a salt tolerant durum wheat that yields 25 percent more grain than the parent variety in saline soils.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 9:00 am Targeting a microscopic pathogen lurking in waterThe microscopic pathogen cryptosporidium lurks worldwide in water, contaminating swimming pools, water parks, and drinking water supplies. A top researcher has made a critical breakthrough in eroding cryptosporidium's defenses.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 9:00 am Exercise therapy for low back painLow back pain (or lumbago) is a common ailment often triggered by something as simple as lifting a suitcase. What is the best way to remedy the situation? An exercise machine designed specifically for back muscles could be the solution.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 9:00 am Ancient asphalt domes discovered off California coastThey paved paradise and, it turns out, actually did put up a parking lot. A big one. Some 700 feet deep in the waters off California's jewel of a coastal resort, Santa Barbara, sits a group of football-field-sized asphalt domes unlike any other underwater features known to exist.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 6:00 am Better vitamin D status could mean better quality of life for seniorsPaying attention to how much vitamin D we get is likely important at every age and can especially help enhance the quality component of life as we enter our senior years.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 6:00 am Ethnic differences in precursors of type 2 diabetes apparent at an early ageA new study finds that precursors of higher risk of diabetes in South Asian and African-Caribbean adults in the UK are increased in healthy children from these ethnic groups.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 6:00 am Making its predators tremble: Multiple defenses act synergistically in aspenIf plants did not defend themselves in some way, they would certainly be gobbled up by a whole suite of voracious predators ranging from little insects to large mammalian herbivores. Indeed, not only do plants defend themselves, they typically have more than one kind of defense. When a plant has several options, how does it choose? Does it allocate multiple defenses to the same tissues or defend different tissues in different ways?Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 6:00 am Mission to stem US oil rig leakRobotic submersibles are being used to try to stop a serious oil leak nearly a mile below the surface in the Gulf of Mexico.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Apr 2010 | 3:39 am The nation's weather (AP)AP - Active weather was anticipated over much of the U.S. on Monday.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 2:47 am Science driveRussia aims to create its own Silicon ValleySource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 26 Apr 2010 | 2:32 am BP struggles to cap leak as US oil slick spreads (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 26 Apr 2010 | 1:38 am 'Green tea party' closes US Earth Day celebrations (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 11:09 pm Strong quake in Taiwan, Philippines; no damage reports (Reuters)Reuters - A 6.9 magnitude quake struck in an ocean area north of the Philippines on Monday and was felt throughout Taiwan, officials said, but there were no immediate reports of damage and no mass tsunami warnings.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 10:39 pm Smoking May Be in Your Genes (HealthDay)HealthDay - SUNDAY, April 25 (HealthDay News) -- For some people, quitting smoking could be especially difficult because their dependence may be explained in part by genetics, three new studies suggest.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 9:48 pm Quick end to gulf oil leak depends on robot subs (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 7:43 pm Genes influence smoking addiction: study (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 5:47 pm New culprit emerges in epilepsyUS researchers shed new light on the mechanism behind epilepsy attacks in the brain, revealing a potential new target for drug treatment.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 25 Apr 2010 | 5:16 pm Brain scans in the theatreWith the help of a neuroscientist, writers Louise Whiteley and James Wilkes have written a play about the growing power of brain scans not just to diagnose disease but also to read our minds and predict our behaviour. Who will own our scans and how might they be used to invade the once-private territory of our thoughts? Interior Traces is a radio play performed live on stage, with live music and projected videos. It will be touring the UK from 5 to 14 May, with post-show discussions featuring neuroscientists, ethicists and legal thinkers as part of the Identity Project season from the Wellcome Trust. We hear excerpts and Alok Jha talks to the authors about the issues they explore in the play. Their science consultant, neuroscientist Geraint Rees of University College London, joins us in the studio. You can hear more of the play at the Interior Traces website. Robin McKie, science editor of the Observer, and James Randerson, editor of environmentguardian.co.uk, lend us their thoughts. They also chew over what happened at the Guardian's green general election hustings last week, where the party spokesmen spelt out what they propose to do about climate change. Finally, why did it take a week for engineers to get a handle on the relative dangers of volcanic ash to jet engines? Air analyst Chris Yates explains to science correspondent Ian Sample. In the Newsjam, the team discovers that playing brain-training computer games won't make them any smarter; why the UK government should ban the use of manufactured trans fats in food; how a chemical known as MDAI is already replacing the banned recreational drug mephedrone; and a treasure trove of weird and wonderful animals in Borneo. Feel free to post your thoughts below. Join our Facebook group. Listen back through our archive. Follow the podcast on our Science Weekly Twitter feed and receive updates on all breaking science news stories from Guardian Science. Subscribe free via iTunes to ensure every episode gets delivered. (Here is the non-iTunes URL feed). Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 25 Apr 2010 | 5:05 pm Geothermal energy summit in BaliIndonesia is hosting what is being called the world's biggest geothermal energy conference, with 80 countries attending.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 25 Apr 2010 | 3:58 pm An oceanic 'fast-lane' for climate changeA deep-sea current moves millions of cubic metres of water northward every second.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/CLMqRYUTzX4" height="1" width="1"/>Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 25 Apr 2010 | 3:00 pm 12 Twisted Tornado Facts (LiveScience.com)LiveScience.com - Despite improved warnings and forecasts over the past few decades, tornadoes still cause many deaths each year. To learn a little more about these violent storms, here are 12 facts that illustrate how destructive tornadoes can be, where they can occur and how to prepare for them.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 1:25 pm Save our Anglo-Saxon stone!Part of an ancient Northamptonshire monument to England's first female hermit is up for sale. Should it be allowed to leave Britain? At the time it seemed the ideal solution. For eight years, Nick Evered has had a piece of carved Anglo-Saxon stone in his sitting room (it came with the house). "It's attractive," he says, but not the sort of thing he would go out and buy; and he could do without the responsibility of looking after it, insuring it and showing it to the occasional visiting scholar. Selling it seemed a good idea. But when he handed the stone over to Bonhams in London – where it is due to be auctioned on Wednesday – he had no idea what a storm the Anglo-Saxon specialists would blow up. Shaped like a staddle stone, lot number 286W is covered in snake-like carvings of beasts and foliage, and is part of a free-standing cross that once stood to commemorate St Pega, England's first known female hermit. The Evereds' home, St Pega's Hermitage, in Peakirk, Northamptonshire, is on the site of the saint's cell. She died in AD716, and in the middle ages a chapel there was dedicated to St Bartholomew, her brother Guthlac's patron saint. After the dissolution of the monasteries in the 16th century, the chapel saw a variety of uses, from a cobblers to a parish hall, until it and an adjacent cottage were taken over by communities of Anglican nuns. They left in 2001, and the complex, with its fragment of cross, became a grade-2 listed residence, which Evered and his wife bought. He didn't know how much the specialists cared about it. That was about to change. Professor Rosemary Cramp, from Durham University, is leading a project to catalogue all surviving Anglo-Saxon stone sculpture. As it happens, she and Joanna Story, a lecturer at the University of Leicester, are in the process of recording Northamptonshire – hence a visit the Evereds recently received from a geologist in Cramp's team. St Pega's cross, says Story, is a typical piece from the important Peterborough school of Anglo-Saxon art, and one of very few sculptures that can be linked to a place whose significance in Anglo-Saxon times is known. Graham Jones, an Oxford University researcher and student of early Christian saints, says the stone is "part of the core historical heritage of the country". So what is it doing in a saleroom – from where it could in theory end up anywhere in the world, and, as academics most fear, disappear from public view? Bonhams established it was not part of the listed building, which would have prevented the sale: the church had simply sold it with the house without restrictions, and it's not physically attached. The Treasure Act protects finds such as the Anglo-Saxon Staffordshire hoard. But the act applies to metals, not limestone. The best that we can hope, says Story, is that the buyer will keep the cross locally and make it accessible. However, Peterborough museum is unlikely to be able to afford it. The stone has a guide price of £7,000 to £9,000, but telephone bids have already exceeded that estimate. Evered, who finds himself cast as the villain, says he had no idea of the level of interest in the stone, "was never selling it for the money", and has inquired about withdrawing it from the sale. But to do so could lead to a consignment fee of more than £9,000. Cramp, meanwhile, says she has worked hard to "stop a market in these monuments from being created". So far she has been successful. Could Pega's be a cross too far? 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 | 25 Apr 2010 | 1:00 pm Scientists uncover deep ocean current near AntarcticaSINGAPORE (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered a fast-moving deep ocean current with the volume of 40 Amazon Rivers near Antarctica that will help researchers monitor the impacts of climate change on the world's oceans.Source: Reuters: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 12:05 pm Viruses exploit genetic achilles heelScientists say some viruses can turn cells into 'viral hotels' by exploiting tiny molecules derived from human DNA A genetic achilles heel that helps viruses invade the body and trigger cancer has been uncovered by scientists. Some viruses learned to protect themselves by exploiting a natural "brake" on the immune system, research has shown. The process is complex and involves microRNAs – small chunks of genetic material that help regulate gene activity. One of their roles is to dampen immune responses so they do not run out of control, leading to harmful inflammation. The UK study found that some viruses can boost microRNA activity to suppress the immune system's reaction to them. One herpes virus with this ability can trigger a cancer called Kaposi's sarcoma in susceptible individuals. Another is the herpes virus which causes cold sores. Scientists are investigating the role of microRNAs which, like the RNA molecules involved in protein synthesis, are derived from DNA. But instead of performing the usual RNA function of carrying protein-making instructions from the genetic code, they suppress the action of genes. Scientists estimate a third of genes may be regulated by microRNAs. The new study shows how viruses are able to "upregulate" the production of immune system microRNAs to facilitate infection. The head of the study, Dr Dimitris Lagos, from the Cancer Research UK viral oncology group at University College London, said: "The viruses we tested have evolved with humans for millions of years and use a variety of biological tricks to establish life-long and mostly harmless infections. "We discovered that it is likely that other viruses, which can cause diseases including cancer, exploit the tiny molecules present in everyone's DNA, called microRNAs, to turn cells into a viral 'hotel' which they can check into, to cause infection and spread." The research was reported in the journal Nature Cell Biology. Dr Lesley Walker, director of cancer information at Cancer Research UK, said: "This is intriguing research which unravels an ancient molecular mystery – and provides a hot new therapeutic target to prevent cancer-causing infection from viruses. "Infectious viruses and human DNA have been around for so long that a relationship has developed and viruses can cheekily use the bits of our DNA that we often think of as rubbish for their own benefit. Now we know how they are using our DNA we can research ways to put the brakes on it." 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 | 25 Apr 2010 | 11:38 am Stay home ET. UK scientist: Aliens may pose risks (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 11:16 am Errors at IVF clinics double in a yearHundreds of failures in fertility treatment include lost embryos and sperm mix-ups Errors at fertility clinics almost doubled in 12 months, it was reported today. The number of mistakes at IVF centres in England and Wales rose from 182 in 2007/8 to 334 in 2008/9. Blunders included embryos being lost or implanted in the wrong woman, and eggs being fertilised with the wrong man's sperm. The figures from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA), the IVF regulatory body, were obtained by BBC Radio Five Live's Donal MacIntyre show. The HFEA said the errors represented less than 1% of more than 50,000 IVF cycles. One couple were told by the University Hospital of Wales's IVF clinic that their last remaining embryos had been lost during treatment. The pair, identified only as Clare and Gareth, had been trying for a baby for eight years. Clare told the BBC: "I was sat there, gowned up, waiting to go in and have a transfer. "They said you've got one embryo remaining, the other two embryos have gone missing. "They said in the next sentence I can assure you they haven't gone into anyone else." She added: "Those were two potential babies." The centre in Cardiff was responsible for another mix-up three years ago when a couple's last viable embryo was placed in the wrong woman. An investigation revealed serious failings at the clinic. The clinic said its success rate in recovering embryos is among the highest in the world and all incidents are reported to the HFEA. Clare and Gareth's solicitor, Guy Forster, of law firm Irwin Mitchell, said he has dealt with a dozen couples involved in similar incidents at different clinics around the country in the past 12 months. He said: "It may be perhaps that the embryos have been lost, or in the worst case scenario an embryo has been transferred into the wrong patient. It's deeply disturbing." Dr Sammy Lee, a fertility expert at University College Hospital, said: "The key failure of the HFEA is that when they ask clinics to put in special procedures, they're not enforcing them. There's no point simply putting a request in writing and then expecting everything to be all right. You need to make sure that when you require something, you have a way of enforcing it." 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 | 25 Apr 2010 | 10:29 am Viability of carbon capture challengedDocument from Houston University claims governments overestimated CCS value A new research paper from American academics is threatening to blow a hole in growing political support for carbon capture and storage as a weapon in the fight against global warming. The document from Houston University claims that governments wanting to use CCS have overestimated its value and says it would take a reservoir the size of a small US state to hold the CO2 produced by one power station. Previous modelling has hugely underestimated the space needed to store CO2 because it was based on the "totally erroneous" premise that the pressure feeding the carbon into the rock structures would be constant, argues Michael Economides, professor of chemical engineering at Houston, and his co-author Christene Ehlig-Economides, professor of energy engineering at Texas A&M University "It is like putting a bicycle pump up against a wall. It would be hard to inject CO2 into a closed system without eventually producing so much pressure that it fractured the rock and allowed the carbon to migrate to other zones and possibly escape to the surface," Economides said. The paper concludes that CCS "is not a practical means to provide any substantive reduction in CO2 emissions, although it has been repeatedly presented as such by others." The report has come at a critical time when British and other governments worldwide have started to fast-track a series of CCS prototype schemes as a way of removing carbon from the atmosphere and helping with climate change. On 8 April, Royal assent was given on to what is now the Energy Act 2010, which made law plans to raise a levy on power users to establish four CCS projects in Britain. Ministers see this as a potentially planet-friendly way of building new coal fired power stations, such as the one E.ON wants to construct at Kingsnorth, in Kent. The Carbon Capture and Storage Association (CCSA), which lobbies on behalf of the sector, says Britain is now at the forefront of new technology with a legislative framework in place that offers the opportunity for long-term investment. Projects are proceeding in the US, such as the experimental coal-fired Mountaineer plant in New Haven, West Virginia, which began small-scale carbon capture last year, as well as in Canada, China and other countries. Jeff Chapman, chief executive of the CCSA, believes Economides has made inappropriate assumptions about the science and geology. He believes the conclusions in the paper are wrong and says his views are backed up by rebuttals from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, the Pacific Northwest National laboratory and the American Petroleum Institute. The British Geological Survey confirmed it was looking at the Economides findings and was hoping to shortly produce a peer-reviewed analysis. Economides, who has a PHD from Stanford University, said he had seen the arguments against his paper from the API and dismissed them as "nonsense" saying vested interests are protecting a new concept foisted on the world by geologists without proper thought. "I was a [practising] petroleum engineer for many years and soon realised that geologists did not understand flow and the laws of physics, against which you can't argue." Chapman pointed out that Statoil, a Norwegian oil company, had been injecting CO2 into an old reservoir on the North Sea Sleipner field for some time as a successful experiment in carbon storage. But Economides says the Sleipner scheme involved a million tonnes over three years, while one 500mW commercial station would need to absorb and store 3m tonnes annually for 25 years.Economides, who admits he veers towards being something of a climate change sceptic, says the oil and coal industries see these schemes as potential solutions so they can keep on doing what they have been doing in the past, but "CCS is the last refuge of the scoundrel," he said. 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 | 25 Apr 2010 | 10:26 am Asteroid-Sampling Spacecraft Returning to Earth in June (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - A resilient Japanese space probe is on track to become the first spacecraft to return to Earth with pieces of an asteroid when it drops a sample canister in a deserted patch of the Australian outback in June.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 9:15 am Premature Births Remain a Medical MysteryWhile recent medical advancements mean most preemies will survive, preventing early birth in the first place is a different story.Source: Livescience.com | 25 Apr 2010 | 9:03 am Some lava, less ash from Iceland volcanoREYKJAVIK (Reuters) - A small amount of lava is now flowing from the Icelandic volcano that disrupted air traffic across Europe last week, and the ash production that caused the problems has diminished.Source: Reuters: Science News | 25 Apr 2010 | 3:39 am Contacting alien life could be risky, warns Stephen HawkingRenowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking cautions against trying to make contact with aliens as it is "a little too risky".Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 25 Apr 2010 | 3:35 am Tornado in Miss. Kills 10, Injures Many MoreTornadoes killed more than six people in Mississippi and injured many others.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 25 Apr 2010 | 3:21 am
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