'Junk DNA' drives cancer growth, Hodgkin's lymphoma study finds

Researchers have discovered a new driving force behind cancer growth. New studies have identified how 'junk' DNA promotes the growth of cancer cells in patients with Hodgkin's lymphoma.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 9:00 am

Radar images near-Earth asteroid: No impact for next 100 years

Near-Earth asteroid 2005 YU55 was "imaged" by the Arecibo Radar Telescope in Puerto Rico on April 19. Data collected during Arecibo's observation of 2005 YU55 allowed the Near-Earth Object Program Office at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to refine the space rock's orbit, allowing scientists to rule out any possibility of an Earth impact for the next 100 years.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 9:00 am

Olive oil could guard against developing ulcerative colitis

Eating more olive oil could help prevent ulcerative colitis, according to a new study. The findings show that people with a diet rich in oleic acid, which is present in olive oil, are far less likely to develop ulcerative colitis. Oleic acid is a monounsaturated fatty acid found in olive oil, peanut oil and grapeseed oil, as well as in butter and certain margarines.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 9:00 am

Sleep disturbances associated with behavior problems in children with autism

Reports have suggested that sleep problems in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are associated with challenging daytime behaviors. A new study on a large group of youths with ASD confirms these reports and will support the development of treatments for sleep disturbances as a way to improve behavior, according to researchers.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 9:00 am

Study adds to evidence that autism has genetic basis

Although there is no known cause of autism, studies have shown that mutations in several genes are associated with the developmental brain disorder. New research has uncovered two additional genes that may be involved with autism.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 9:00 am

'Dimmer switch' for superconducting quantum computing developed

Scientists have developed the first "dimmer switch" for a superconducting circuit linking a quantum bit (qubit) and a quantum bus -- promising technologies for storing and transporting information in future quantum computers. The switch is a new type of control device that can "tune" interactions between these components and potentially could speed up the development of a practical quantum computer.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 9:00 am

Children living in apartments with nonsmoking adults still exposed to secondhand smoke, study finds

The majority of children living in apartments are exposed to secondhand smoke, even when they don't live with smokers. This study from the University of Rochester Medical Center is the first to examine whether housing type is a potential contributor to children's exposure to cigarette smoke.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 am

Ocean bacteria can harvest energy from sunlight for survival

Bacteria in the ocean can harvest light energy from sunlight to promote survival thanks to a unique photoprotein, according to research by a team of scientists in Sweden and Spain.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 am

New insights into how omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation also hints at novel disease treatments

Scientists went on a molecular fishing trip and netted a catch of new mediators that not only can explain how omega-3 fatty acids reduce inflammation, but also hint at novel treatments for a host of diseases linked to inflammatory processes.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 am

NASA study sheds light on ozone hole chemistry

A new NASA study of Earth's polar ozone layer reinforces scientists' understanding of how human-produced chlorine chemicals involved in the destruction of ozone interact with each other.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 3 May 2010 | 6:00 am

Science in God's image | Steve Fuller

The greatest scientific advances presuppose something that looks very like the mind of God

The question: Is intelligent design bad theology?

Intelligent design theory (ID), the latest version of scientific creationism to challenge the Darwinian orthodoxy in biology, is in the unenviable position of being damned as both bad science and bad theology. However, if those charges are true, then the basis of our belief in both science and God may be irrational. At the very least, ID suggests that belief in the two may be interdependent. I agree with ID on this point, which provides the main thesis of my latest book, a defence of science as an "art of living".

The most basic formulation of ID is that biology is divine technology. In other words, God is no less – and possibly no more – than an infinitely better version of the ideal Homo sapiens, whose distinctive species calling card is art, science and technology. Thus, when ID supporters claim that a cell is as intelligently designed as a mousetrap, they mean it literally. The difference between God and us is simply that God is the one being in whom all of our virtues are concentrated perfectly, whereas for our own part those virtues are distributed imperfectly amongst many individuals.

It is easy to imagine how this way of putting our relationship with God would result in many academic disputes – and it has. But the basic point that remains radical to this day is that, in important ways, the divine and the human are comparable. Notwithstanding Adam's fall, we are still created "in the image and likeness of God". From this biblical claim it follows that we might be capable of deploying the powers that distinguish us from the other animals to come closer to God. Such is the theological template on which the secular idea of progress was forged during the scientific revolution.

This point is of more than historical interest because the scientific projects that have most impressed humanity presuppose what the philosopher Thomas Nagel has called "the view from nowhere", aka "the mind of God". I mean to include here not only the achievements of Newton and Einstein, which allow us to comprehend a universe only a tiny fraction of which we will ever experience directly, but also Charles Darwin's conceptualisation of natural history long before humans first walked the earth. Yet, from a strictly evolutionary standpoint, it is by no means clear what adaptive advantage any of this knowledge has provided us as a species whose members still struggle on earth to survive roughly 75 years.

On the contrary, the second world war – if the first had not already – demonstrated the levels of global risk that we have been willing to tolerate in the pursuit of science and technology. And that faith remains unabated. Nowadays what passes for "anti-science", be it New Age movements or ID itself, mostly reflects distrust in established scientific authorities. It is no more anti-science than the original Protestant reformers were atheists. If anything, these developments – which I have dubbed "Protscience" – speak to the increasing desire of people to take science into their own hands in the 20th and 21st centuries, as they did religion in the 16th and 17th centuries. In this context, the internet today functions very much as the printing press did five centuries ago.

Insofar as we continue to put aside our misgivings that science might destroy us and the planet – that we pursue nuclear energy despite the atom bomb, that we pursue genetics despite the Holocaust, that we pursue social science despite brainwashing and surveillance – we are trading on a residual sense of our closeness to God. Indeed, the Christian doctrine of providence, which was designed to instil perseverance in the face of adversity, is the model for this curious, and some would say, blind faith in science. Certainly such a view makes more sense if God is thought to reveal his handiwork in nature, as ID supporters presume, than if the deity is inscrutable or non-existent, as ID opponents normally do.

In this context, Charles Darwin himself provides an instructive lesson. He began as an ID supporter but fell from the fold when he could not square the mass extinctions, monstrous events and design flaws so evident in nature with a super-smart, super-good, super-powerful deity that might serve as a beacon for human progress. As this awareness set in, Darwin gradually became more pessimistic about science's capacity to ameliorate the human condition. In every science-led policy initiative of his day – not only eugenics and vivisection but even publicity about contraception – Darwin always took a cautious line, doubting the policy's ultimate efficacy and warning about the dangers of "fixed ideas", whether based on science or religion (or both).

Of course, Darwin may be right about all this, but science would not have taken the shape or acquired the significance it has if we agreed with him.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 3 May 2010 | 3:30 am

The nation's weather (AP)

AP - A strong cold front was forecast to continue moving toward the eastern seaboard Monday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 May 2010 | 2:59 am

Tenn. officials brace for more flooding, deaths (AP)

AP - Opryland's 1,500 guests were spending the night in a high school to escape rising floodwaters that threatened other areas of downtown hit by devastating thunderstorms that slammed Tennessee and northern Mississippi, killing at least 15 people.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 May 2010 | 2:30 am

Another week at least of unabated Gulf oil geyser (AP)

AP - Another week of oil pouring from the seafloor. That is the best-case scenario for the Gulf Coast, where dead sea turtles washed ashore and a massive rust-colored slick continued to swell from an uncontrolled gusher spewing into the water.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 May 2010 | 2:26 am

Another excellent reason to ditch Labour on Thursday

We challenged the main political parties to answer questions about their science policy posed by prominent scientists including Ben Goldacre, Simon Singh and David Nutt. Martin Robbins is unimpressed by Labour's responses

Read Labour's answers in full here

We all remember John Prescott dancing – well, wobbling – to D:Ream's election anthem Things Can Only Get Better as Labour was swept into power in 1997. Thirteen years later the band's keyboard player, Brian Cox, has become a professor of physics and passionate science activist, and leads a small army of scientists and science advocates who are fed up with the party after a series of very public rows about things such as drug policy and science funding.

Has Labour learned from its mistakes?

As with the Conservatives, Labour's manifesto places great emphasis on linking science with business, and indeed its responses to our questions came from business minister Pat McFadden, rather than science minister Lord Drayson. One promised initiative would seek to increase the supply of science and technology graduates, creating what Labour calls a "technician class" providing employees for hi-tech industry. In terms of its broad approach to the position of science in society, it's difficult to find air between Labour and the Tories.

Brian Cox: Science funding

Do you plan to maintain Britain's science budget below the European average?

Two questionable statements are made in Labour's response to our question. First, the suggestion that the debate is no longer about saving British science is an arrogant one that dismisses serious concerns in the research community. Second, the assertion that "investment in science and research" has doubled in real terms is highly dependent on what figures you include, and ignores the fact that spending as a proportion of GDP has remained static. Research continues to be something that is paid for out of the Treasury's loose change.

Past record aside, Labour's pledges are as vague as those of the other parties, with no manifesto commitment to preserve the science budget. Science funding will be ring-fenced, but we don't know how big the enclosure will be.

Alternative medicine

If the balance of evidence suggests that a treatment does not perform any better than placebo, should it be supported by the NHS?

The Department of Health has yet to give its response to the Science and Technology Select Committee's damning report on homeopathy, but under a Labour government its views would apparently be irrelevant. Labour states that it would not take a line on alternative medicine, but would rather leave the decision to local trusts.

A revealing comment is that "the availability of suitably qualified/regulated practitioners" would be taken into account in decisions on the provision of treatments. Labour has been active in promoting the creation of alternative medicine quangos in the past few years, which means it is helping to give credibility to quacks and increasing their chances of infiltrating our health services. The fact that hundreds of thousands of pounds of public money have been poured into alt med lobby groups like Prince Charles' Foundation for Integrated Health – now defunct after being involved in fraud and under investigation by the Charity Commission – raises serious questions about ministers' judgement.

Simon Singh: Libel

What will your party do to reduce the chilling effect of our libel laws on science?

Nothing controversial here, with Labour part of the cross-party consensus on libel reform. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to the British Chiropractic Association for its generous sacrifice in making reform of our libel laws possible.

Climate change/Energy

Should nuclear power be part of our country's strategy for reducing greenhouse gas emissions? How soon can we bring new plants online?

In contrast to all the other parties, Labour provides very specific and credible plans for energy, although of course it has greater access to the necessary information. Increased nuclear capacity would begin to come online by 2018 (although the cost of this is not mentioned), with a target for 15% of energy to come from renewables by 2020, including plans to construct up to 6,400 new offshore wind turbines. Labour also demonstrates an understanding of the economic rewards to be reaped from turning Britain into a world-leading centre for green technology, with a particular emphasis on marine and tidal energy.

David Nutt: Drug policy

To what extent should drug policy be based on scientific evidence? What evidence, if any, would you require to declassify a drug?

"It is for government to consider that advice and then to make policy decisions taking into account all relevant factors."

In saying this, Labour demonstrates that it has not understood the criticism it received after Nutt-gate, and positions itself firmly alongside the Conservatives in believing that no amount of evidence can ever trump political ideology. What makes this an even more bitter pill to swallow for many on the left is that Labour's political ideology in this area appears to be the same social conservatism as that of the Tory party.

Animal testing

Is animal testing necessary? Are the ethical concerns outweighed by the benefits? How would you like to see regulations on animal testing change under your government, if at all?

As with the other major parties, Labour supports animal testing and understands its necessity, correctly pointing out that "no validated and established laboratory methods are available to totally replace animal experimentation." It is also worth mentioning Labour's decent record in this area, with a ban on the testing of cosmetics on animals, and the protection of great apes.

Petra Boynton: Public health

How will your party ensure public health/education campaigns are underpinned by evidence, and how will you evaluate their success?

Labour is good at making the right noises on public health campaigns:

"We have put in place tough performance targets in key areas like childhood obesity and the success of interventions is monitored closely. We also track performance in areas like smoking cessation."

The problem is that targets and performance measures aren't necessarily the same as properly controlled trials of the sort that the Lib Dems and Conservatives propose, and it's hard for independent researchers to evaluate their success if methodology and data are not openly published. While the other main parties are looking at policy improvements in this area, Labour seems happy to continue with the status quo, which is disappointing.

Ben Goldacre: Pharmaceutical regulation

Do you believe pharmaceutical companies should be forced to publish all the research data they have on the potential benefits and harms of drugs they manufacture?

"A Labour government will always keep an open mind on the publication of data from this sector where there is strong public interest, but we have no immediate plans to force this type of disclosure."

When is the disclosure of information about the efficacy of drugs not strongly in the public interest? A disappointing answer, once again indistinguishable from the Tory position, which gives a free pass to pharmaceutical companies.

Conclusions

On the positive side, we have reasonably coherent and detailed plans for tackling climate change and building up energy security over the next 10 years. Labour also joins a broad political consensus on GM technology, stem cell research, libel reform and animal testing; and it is no worse than the other parties when it comes to the future of science funding.

The problems are many, and can be clumped into two broad groups. The first group includes science funding, drug policy and pharmaceutical regulation, where Labour's approach seems virtually indistinguishable from Conservative policy. In fact it's notable that if you take many of Labour's answers, you would be hard-pressed to tell which party they came from.

It takes a remarkably pro-business line, which manifests itself in a refusal to put proper scrutiny on pharmaceutical companies, and an attitude that seems to regard science as almost a subset of business. Meanwhile on drugs, we are faced with another potential government that believes the ignorant views of Daily Mail columnists should be considered on a level with expert scientific advice.

Then we have the disappointment of Labour's policies on public health and alternative medicine, which both seem to be "carry on as before" in spite of voluminous evidence and criticism suggesting that this is not a sensible approach.

The problem with Labour isn't its previous record on science. We all make bad decisions, and so do governments, but the measure of a good government should be its ability to learn from its mistakes, and improve policy accordingly. The problem is, quite simply, that it hasn't. And so, for many, science has become yet another reason to desert Labour.

Best candidate

Andrew Lomas, candidate for Wycombe, is tackling a PhD in cancer biology and drug design, but finds time to engage with science activists. He challenged his party's treatment of David Nutt, and described homeopathy as "a stinking pile of uselessness".

Worst candidate

Alan Johnson. While arguably a number of Labour MPs hold even more worrying views, his treatment of Nutt epitomised the clash between science and ideology in politics in recent years.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 3 May 2010 | 2:18 am

Obama defends US oil slick response (AFP)

AFP - US authorities raced Monday to stem the tide of a disastrous oil slick in the Gulf of Mexico a day after President Barack Obama fiercely defended his response and promised federal help for as long as needed.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 May 2010 | 1:45 am

A murky picture as seafood industry eyes oil slick (AP)

AP - As a giant oil slick lapped at southeastern Louisiana's ecologically sensitive coast, chefs, restaurant owners and seafood dealers were certain it would squeeze the state's $2.4 billion seafood industry. They just weren't sure how badly or for how long.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 May 2010 | 1:30 am

Strange Spots on Pluto May be Tar and Frost (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - When scientists got an unprecedented up-close view of Pluto from the Hubble telescope recently, they found mysterious bright and dark spots mottling the dwarf planet's surface. Now researchers think they have a better guess at what's causing those weird spots.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 3 May 2010 | 12:30 am

James Cameron at Caltech: The Science of Pandora

Last week, Oscar-winning director James Cameron visited Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., to discuss the science behind his hit movie "Avatar" and Jennifer Ouellette was there to listen into the fascinating discussion.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 2 May 2010 | 11:11 pm

Ash ban 'might have ended sooner'

The suspension of UK flights after the volcanic eruption in Iceland might have ended sooner, the Civil Aviation Authority says.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 May 2010 | 10:30 pm

Mexico, Germany urges action on climate change (AP)

AP - With the fight against global warming in serious trouble, Germany and Mexico are calling on world leaders to get international negotiations back on track and reach concrete results by the end of the year.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 May 2010 | 9:33 pm

U.S. pressures BP over Gulf oil spill; no easy fix (Reuters)

Reuters - A vast oil slick moved closer to the U.S. Gulf Coast on Sunday, threatening an economic and ecological disaster as President Barack Obama sharpened his criticism of BP Plc and pressed the energy giant to find a way to stem the oil gushing from its ruptured well.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 May 2010 | 8:42 pm

Obama's sombre oil leak prognosis

President Barack Obama says the Gulf oil slick is a "potentially unprecedented" environmental disaster, and BP must pay.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 May 2010 | 7:42 pm

20 sea turtles found dead along Miss. beaches (AP)

AP - At least 20 sea turtles have been found dead this weekend along a 30-mile stretch of Mississippi beaches from Biloxi to Bay St. Louis.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 May 2010 | 5:15 pm

Podcast: Battle of the apes

How will your vote affect the future prospects for science in the UK? And in the event of a hung parliament, will the parties' attitudes to science play any part in negotiations? Researcher Martin Robbins has been finding out in his Litmus Test series in which all the main political parties were challenged to answer some thorny questions about their science policies.

We also bring you ... battle of the apes! The Guardian's evolutionary agony aunt Carole Jahme uncovers the evolutionary roots of the party leaders' behaviour in the three televised debates.

In the newsjam we look at how chimpanzees cope with the death of other chimps; research that suggests asteroids may have helped start life on Earth; a truce between Susan Greenfield and the Royal Institution; and why there's good news for hot dog sellers near comedy venues.

Guardian science correspondent Ian Sample and The Observer's science and technology editor Robin McKie are in the studio.

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 | 2 May 2010 | 5:01 pm

Rain-making lasers could trigger showers on demand

Lasers that stimulate condensation may help to induce rain artificially.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/MTFikD53Zsg" height="1" width="1"/>
Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 2 May 2010 | 3:00 pm

Mammoths had 'anti-freeze blood'

Mammoths had a form of "anti-freeze" blood to keep their bodies supplied with oxygen at freezing temperatures, scientists say.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 2 May 2010 | 12:58 pm

Survival secret? Antifreeze blood

DNA study on remains shows physiological trick that enabled mammoths to live in sub-zero temperatures

Mammoths had more than woolly coats to protect them from the frigid conditions of their sub-zero stomping grounds, scientists have discovered.

The extinct beasts had a form of antifreeze blood that kept their bodies supplied with oxygen in the sub-zero temperatures, according to a study of DNA extracted from 43,000-year-old mammoth remains.

A genetic adaptation in the woolly mammoths' haemoglobin – the molecular cage that carries oxygen in the blood – allowed them to thrive at high latitudes without losing much heat.

Ancestors of the woolly mammoth originated in equatorial Africa about seven million years ago, but populations migrated north more than one million years ago, in a period of Earth's history when climate change caused temperatures to plummet.

Unlike modern elephants, which have evolved large ears and other characteristics to keep cool in excessive heat, ancestral mammoths survived by evolving ways of saving heat, such as small ears and tails.

In the latest study, a team led by Kevin Campbell at the University of Manitoba in Canada found another physiological trick that mammoths used to endure the ice age. Campbell's team isolated haemoglobin DNA from a woolly mammoth recovered from the Siberian permafrost and compared it with genetic code extracted from modern African and Asian elephants.

The mammoth's DNA differed in a small but significant way. Changes in one percent of the proteins studied showed that it took less energy for mammoth haemoglobin to release its oxygen into the body as it coursed through the blood vessels. "It literally allows their blood to run cold," Campbell said.

"Without this genetic adaptation, woolly mammoths would lose more heat in winter, and they would have to replace that energy by eating more. In winter, there is less food around, so it was clearly a benefit to have this." The research is reported in the journal Nature Genetics.

Current Arctic species, such as musk ox and reindeer, have evolved a similar antifreeze system independently.

Campbell said the work shows how paleobiology – broadly the study of ancient, extinct life – has come of age. "We resurrected mammoth haemoglobin. It's no different from going back 40,000 years in a time machine and taking a blood sample from the animal."

Michi Hofreiter, a co-author of the study at the University of York, said: "Our study is the first one to reconstruct an evolutionary important, adaptive trait from an extinct species using ancient DNA.

"It therefore opens up the possibility to build up a much more complete picture of morphology, physiology and evolutionary adaptations than would be possible using non-molecular study of fossil bones."

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 2 May 2010 | 11:17 am

Apple Obsession: The Science of iPad Fanaticism (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - When Apple released its iPad, people lined up for hours to get their hands on the latest shiny techno-gadget stamped with the Apple logo.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 2 May 2010 | 9:40 am

5 Minutes with Nature Can Boost Mental Health

Just 5 minutes doing something in a park, in the woods or even in your backyard can boost mental health
Source: Livescience.com | 2 May 2010 | 8:43 am

Apple Obsession: The Science of iPad Fanaticism

The odd behavior of Apple fans makes sense to market researchers and psychologists who weigh in on the reasons for Apple's cult-like following.
Source: Livescience.com | 2 May 2010 | 8:24 am

New Underwater Technique Disperses Oil at the Source

When oil spills threaten ocean and coastal environments, several techniques are employed to mitigate the damage. One of them is a chemical dispersant, a liquid typically dropped by a plane flying over the slick's surface. The chemical breaks down oil ...
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 2 May 2010 | 8:12 am