Quiz: name that synonym! | Mind your language

Jamie Fahey: Now you know your popular orange vegetables from your war-torn republics, can you work out what these phrases refer to?

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 1 Jun 2011 | 5:55 am

When do newborns first feel cold?

Cold sensing neural circuits in newborn mice take around two weeks to become fully active, according to a new study. The finding adds to understanding of the cold sensing protein TRPM8.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am

Using carbon nanotubes in lithium batteries can dramatically improve energy capacity

Batteries might gain a boost in power capacity as a result of a new finding. Researchers found that using carbon nanotubes for one of the battery's electrodes produced a significant increase -- up to tenfold -- in the amount of power it could deliver from a given weight of material, compared to a conventional lithium-ion battery. Such electrodes might find applications in small portable devices, and with further research might also lead to improved batteries for larger, more power-hungry applications.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am

Secret life of water at very low temperatures

The secret life of water just got weirder. For years water has been known to exist in 15 phases -- not just the merry threesome of solid, liquid and gas from grade school science. Now, chemists have confirmed the coexistence of ice and liquid after water crystallizes at very low temperatures.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am

Sequencing a single genome yields cause of inherited bone disorder

Combining new, whole-genome sequencing technology with classic genetic approaches to understanding inherited diseases, geneticists have discovered two gene mutations that cause metachondromatosis, a rare, heritable disorder that leads to bony growths, typically on hands and feet.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am

Polar oceans key to temperature in the tropics

Scientists have found that the ocean temperature at Earth's polar extremes has a significant impact thousands of miles away at the equator.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am

Oral bacteria may offer probiotic potential against upper respiratory infections

Bacteria in the mouth may offer probiotic potential against upper respiratory tract infections, say researchers.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am

Therapeutic potential of embryonic stem cells

Scientists recently investigated the expression of key members of the Nodal embryonic signaling pathway, critical to maintaining pluripotency, in hiPSC and hESC cell lines. Nodal is an important morphogen -- a soluble molecule that can regulate cell fate -- in embryological systems that requires tight regulatory control of its biological function.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am

VISTA views the Sculptor Galaxy

A spectacular new image of the Sculptor Galaxy has been taken with the European Southern Observatory's VISTA telescope at the Paranal Observatory in Chile as part of one of its first major observational campaigns. By observing in infrared light VISTA's view is less affected by dust and reveals a myriad of cooler stars as well as a prominent bar of stars across the central region. The VISTA image provides much new information on the history and development of the galaxy.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am

New research sheds light on Antarctica's melting Pine Island Glacier

Scientists are reporting new results from an investigation into Antarctica's potential contribution to sea level rise. Thinning ice in West Antarctica is currently contributing nearly 10 per cent of global sea level rise, and scientists have identified Pine Island Glacier as a major source.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am

Certain obese people are not at high risk of heart disease, diabetes, study finds

Obese people without metabolic risk factors for diabetes and heart disease, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol, do not have the elevated cardiovascular risk typical of obesity, but they represent only a small percentage of the obese population, according to a long-term study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am

Africa push for 'great tree wall'

African leaders meet to push forward the idea of planting a tree belt - the Great Green Wall - across Africa from west to east.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jun 2010 | 4:05 am

Whaling deal splits key meeting

The International Whaling Commission is set to debate a deal that could regulate whaling for the next 10 years.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:52 am

By the numbers: Oil leak wouldn't fill Superdome (AP)

AP - Overwhelmed and saddened by the gargantuan size of the Gulf oil spill?

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:50 am

Traffic-choked Delhi makes metro breakthrough (AFP)

AFP - New Delhi's metro train system, which residents and tourists hope will ease congestion in the Indian capital, made a key breakthrough Monday by linking up with the satellite town of Gurgaon.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:49 am

Kremlin reduces gas to Belarus over payment dispute (AFP)

AFP - Russia reduced natural gas supplies to Belarus on Monday after Minsk failed to settle a debt, brandishing again the country's energy clout and raising the spectre of supply disruptions to Europe.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:32 am

Ridge clue to Antarctic ice loss

The discovery of an underwater ridge in Antarctica offers a clue to why ice flowing into the sea has accelerated, say researchers.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:32 am

Judge to hear bid to overturn halt on drilling (AP)

AP - Several oil service companies are asking a federal judge to block the Interior Department from enforcing a six-month moratorium on new deepwater drilling projects in the Gulf of Mexico.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:26 am

BP says $2 billion spent on oil spill disaster (AFP)

AFP - BP has spent about two billion dollars (1.6 billion euros) in its response to the massive oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the company announced on Monday, sending its share price sliding once again.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:16 am

Roy Greenslade: Sunday Times 'correction' was a giant climbdown

The Sunday Times carried a rather large "correction" yesterday that, once read alongside the original offending article, amounted to a complete retraction. In fact, it was a giant climbdown.

In The Sunday Times and the IPCC: Correction, the paper refers to a news page story on 31 January headlined "UN climate panel shamed by bogus rainforest claim" (removed from the Sunday Times site, but available, disgracefully, on this site).

The article stated that the 2007 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report had included an "unsubstantiated claim" that up to 40% of the Amazon rainforest could be sensitive to future changes in rainfall.

The IPCC had referenced the claim to a report prepared for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) by Andrew Rowell and Peter Moore, who were described as "green campaigners" with "little scientific expertise."

The Sunday Times article also stated that the authors' research had been based on a scientific paper that dealt with the impact of human activity rather than climate change.

In fact, as the paper now concedes, the IPCC's Amazon statement was supported by peer-reviewed scientific evidence. In the case of the WWF report, the figure had, in error, not been referenced, but was based on research by the respected Amazon Environmental Research Institute (IPAM) which did relate to the impact of climate change.

The "correction" added: "We also understand and accept that Mr Rowell is an experienced environmental journalist and that Dr Moore is an expert in forest management, and apologise for any suggestion to the contrary."

But there was more humble pie to eat, because the article also quoted criticism of the IPCC's use of the WWF report by Dr Simon Lewis, a Royal Society research fellow at the University of Leeds and a leading specialist in tropical forest ecology. He made no such criticism.

So the paper had to retract its remarks about him too. "We accept that, in his quoted remarks, Dr Lewis was making the general point that both the IPCC and WWF should have cited the appropriate peer-reviewed scientific research literature.

"As he made clear to us at the time, including by sending us some of the research literature, Dr Lewis does not dispute the scientific basis for both the IPCC and the WWF reports' statements on the potential vulnerability of the Amazon rainforest to droughts caused by climate change."

And there was yet more because this wholly misconceived article had also stated that Dr Lewis's concern at the IPCC's use of reports by environmental campaign groups related to the prospect of those reports being biased in their conclusions.

Therefore the Sunday Times added: "We accept that Dr Lewis holds no such view – rather, he was concerned that the use of non-peer-reviewed sources risks creating the perception of bias and unnecessary controversy, which is unhelpful in advancing the public's understanding of the science of climate change.

"A version of our article that had been checked with Dr Lewis underwent significant late editing and so did not give a fair or accurate account of his views on these points. We apologise for this."

I think that sets the gold standard in "corrections". But note the time it has taken for this to happen. The offending article was published four-and-a-half months ago.

Why did it take so long for the paper to admit it had got the whole thing wrong. And why didn't its headline simply say: "Sorry, our reporter screwed up and we got it wrong"? Readers would like that candour and regard it as more credible because it had the guts to own up to its mistake.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:14 am

Nuclear rights

Row brews over who can sell what to whom
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jun 2010 | 3:00 am

Proposed kill quotas for whales too high: scientists (AFP)

AFP - The International Whaling Commission starts a key meeting Monday to debate catch quotas which could replace a moratorium on hunting though a key scientific committee will say the catch limits are too high, sources said.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 2:51 am

The nation's weather (AP)

AP - A low pressure system was forecast to move through the Northwest and Intermountain West on Monday producing widespread but decreasing rain in the area before the storm moved northward into western Canada.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 2:48 am

Satellite seeks 3D view of Earth

Germany's TanDEM-X satellite blasts into orbit on a mission to acquire the most precise 3D map of the Earth's surface.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jun 2010 | 2:28 am

Roundup resistant weeds pose environmental threat (AP)

AP - When the weed killer Roundup was introduced in the 1970s, it proved it could kill nearly any plant while still being safer than many other herbicides, and it allowed farmers to give up harsher chemicals and reduce tilling that can contribute to erosion.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 2:13 am

Tea and coffee 'protect hearts'

Drinking several cups of coffee or tea a day appears to protect against heart disease, a 13-year study from the Netherlands finds.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 21 Jun 2010 | 2:12 am

Montana police guard zone damaged by tornado (AP)

AP - National Guard troops and local police were keeping a close eye on damaged property after a tornado barreled through two Billings neighborhoods, tearing the roof off a sports arena and several buildings.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 21 Jun 2010 | 2:10 am

10:10 campaigners push to keep summer time all year round

Parliament today hears evidence from Cambridge academic Dr Elizabeth Garnsey that not putting clocks back will save carbon emissions and lives

As the UK wakes up to the longest day of the year today, campaigners are calling for more sunshine in our lives – by urging the government to keep British Summer Time (BST) all year round.

Maintaining daylight saving time would save energy and 450,000 tonnes of carbon a year, according to new research, and reduce road accidents, saving the NHS £200m annually.

The Lighter Later initiative, which is being coordinated by the 10:10 climate change campaign, would see a permanent shift to daylight saving time. Under the proposals, the clocks would not revert to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) this autumn, but from next year, the clocks would continue in the same pattern of "spring forward, fall back", shifting an hour of daylight from the morning to the evening through the year.

Dr Elizabeth Garnsey, from the University of Cambridge, will present her study from the peer-reviewed journal, Energy Policy, at a parliamentary launch today.

Garnsey found that winter demand peaked at sunset and then around 5.30pm, when people were returning from work. The increased energy demand is met by reserve energy generation, such as oil, which is expensive and polluting.

Daily demand in the UK would be reduced by at least 0.3% if daylight saving time were continued after October, her study found.

This would amount to 450,000 tonnes of carbon saved annually, or the equivalent of taking 200,000 cars off the road.

"We need better alignment with the way people spend their time," Dr Garnsey said. "At 4.30am on 21 June most people will still be asleep – that's an average of three hours' wasted daylight."

Garnsey said that, compared with other measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency and renewable technology, changing the clocks would be extremely cheap.

She said: "Advancing the clocks would be a one-off administrative change and would save energy in all succeeding years. Many ways of reducing carbon emissions inevitably need investment in new infrastructure, none of which are required to advance the clocks."

More than 11,000 people have signed Lighter Later's petition to the prime minister, David Cameron, urging the coalition government to support the introduction of a trial in 2011. The Labour party and Tories backed the move before the last general election.

Garnsey and Lighter Later, which is also supported by the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) and the Tourism Alliance, say that the change would lower fuel bills, increase tourism and reduce crime and obesity – and save lives as evening visibility improves during rush hour. In a related report, Garnsey includes estimates that up to 450 serious injuries and 104 deaths annually could be prevented by abolishing GMT, potentially saving the NHS £200m a year.

"Traffic is heavier for longer in the early evening than in the morning. Consequently an hour of light at evening rush hour reduces risk for more drivers and pedestrians than an hour of light during the shorter morning rush hour, when there are fewer road users than at the end of the working day."

She also addressed concerns over an increased risk to children on the way to school in Scotland. The concerns were raised during a previous trial when the country stuck to GMT+1 all year round.

"In the trial period between 1968 and 1971, it was reported in Hansard that there was a net reduction of deaths on the roads of 3% in England and 8.6% in Scotland. But folk memory has become shaped by tragic accidents that happened in the morning. The media didn't report the reduction in the afternoon and never corrected it."

She added that no one had made the case for keeping GMT as it was. "GMT was not set to save electricity or prevent accidents. It's sundial technology and policy inertia is the only thing preventing this change."

Eugenie Harvey, director of 10:10 UK, said: "In the UK we love our long summer days. Lighter evenings make us happier, healthier and safer. After today the nights will start drawing in again."

Benefits:

• Conservative estimate of 450,000 tonnes of C02 saved annually

• In Britain 450 serious injuries and 104 deaths annually could be prevented on the roads, saving the NHS £200m a year in treatment costs

• Decrease in crime and greater safety for the elderly

• Average of 55 minutes increase in extra daylight for outdoor activities

• £1bn boost to economy as sightseeing opportunities increase for tourists

• Improved conditions for trade with Europe as clocks synchronise

• Improved safety and productivity on construction sites

• Darker morning for those in far north of UK counterbalanced by more light in early evening – peak period on roads and for energy use

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 21 Jun 2010 | 12:00 am

BP 'estimated higher oil amount'

An internal document reveals BP estimated 100,000 barrels of oil a day could, in theory, flow from the ruptured Gulf of Mexico well.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 20 Jun 2010 | 8:41 pm

Is Not Predicting an Earthquake a Crime?

Italian scientists and officials are being investigated for manslaughter charges because they didn't predict a quake that destroyed much of L'Aquila, Italy in 2009.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 20 Jun 2010 | 7:08 pm

Nations divided over lifting ban on whale hunt (AP)

AP - A showdown looms this week over the 25-year ban on commercial whaling: Should it be eased, which might mean fewer whales are killed? Or should it remain — leaving Japan, Norway and Iceland to hunt down as many whales as they want?

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 20 Jun 2010 | 6:16 pm

Egypt Oil Spill threatens Red Sea Marine Life

An oil spill off the Egyptian Red Sea coast is threatening to damage marine life in the area.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 20 Jun 2010 | 5:16 pm

The 'immortal' Henrietta Lacks

Rebecca Skloot tells us about Henrietta Lacks, who is known to scientists through her immortal cells. She was a poor Southern tobacco farmer whose cancer cells - taken without her knowledge - became one of the most important tools in medicine, the HeLa cell line. Rebecca's book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks is out now.

Science correspondent Ian Sample talks to Tim Peake about life as the first British citizen to become an astronaut at the European Space Agency. Tim is well into his 18-month basic training programme.

Follow the podcast on our Science Weekly Twitter feed and receive updates on all breaking science news stories from Guardian Science.

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Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 20 Jun 2010 | 5:01 pm

Genetics tells tall tales

The genetic basis of common traits may be buried deeper than researchers had thought.
Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 20 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm

Modelling Mars in a Texan torrent

Huge canyon carved out in a week may aid understanding of prehistoric megafloods.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/QxiluqK0To8" height="1" width="1"/>
Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 20 Jun 2010 | 3:00 pm

How orchids made a comeback

Our most exotic wildflowers, after years near extinction, are spreading across the country again

Unknown and ignored, some of Britain's most exotic wildflowers are reaching their peak of blooming – our native orchids. These are wacky flowers with names to match – the lizard, lady, monkey or bee – and they dress up in outlandish costumes with strong perfume to fool insects into mating with them (that way the flowers get pollinated and the insects get a cheap thrill).

The common spotted orchids, splashed with purple and white freckles, can be found on grasslands, road verges and even derelict industrial sites with alkaline waste. Alongside them, look out for the bee orchid, with its furry lower petal. And by the end of the month the pyramidal orchid will be flowering, with its tiny deep purple flowers arranged in dense pyramids.

After years of near extinction, many of our orchids are making a comeback. The ghost orchid hadn't been seen for 28 years, but last year a single plant was rediscovered in Herefordshire. Then the Lady's slipper orchid, reduced to one specimen guarded 24 hours a day during its flowering season, came back from the brink after Kew Gardens coaxed its reluctant seeds into germinating in test tubes using a feeding formula for premature babies. They have flowered, in secret, wild locations. And in one revival that caught botanists by surprise, the lizard orchid burst out from its refuge on the golf course at Royal St George's in Kent and spread to other courses across southern England, its seeds hitching a ride on golfers' shoes.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 20 Jun 2010 | 12:30 pm

Canyons Form Quickly, Recent Gusher Suggests

Lake Canyon Gorge was carved by a flood in three days.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Jun 2010 | 11:44 am

Yellow sub finds clues to Antarctic glacier's thaw

ATHENS (Reuters) - A yellow submarine has helped to solve a puzzle about one of Antarctica's fastest-melting glaciers, adding to concerns about how climate change may push up world sea levels, scientists said Sunday.
Source: Reuters: Science News | 20 Jun 2010 | 11:43 am

Shedding Light on a Fast-Melting Glacier

A current of warm water is eating away at the base of Antarctica's Pine Island Glacier, hastening its retreat, and raising the possibility of future collapse.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 20 Jun 2010 | 11:00 am

Why Estonia Is the Poster Child for Cyber-Security

Estonia may be "a small, unassuming European country," but it's quickly becoming a hot-spot for new strategies in protecting our nations, and ourselves, online.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 20 Jun 2010 | 9:57 am

DNA Test Could Explain Why Ozzy Osbourne is Still Alive

Despite decades of drug and alcohol abuse, Ozzy Osbourne is alive and well. Does the secret of his longevity lie in his DNA?
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 20 Jun 2010 | 9:52 am

Why Summer Begins Monday

Find out why Earth and the sun deem Monday the official start of summer.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Jun 2010 | 8:51 am

FDA Warns Against Using Magic Power Coffee

The dietary supplement can dangerously lower blood pressure.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Jun 2010 | 8:39 am

How 'Jaws' Forever Changed Our View of Great White Sharks

The fearsome predator in Jaws changed changed how the public views great white sharks.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Jun 2010 | 7:16 am

Citizen science still needs specialism

The public can be involved in constructing knowledge. But some data sets are more easily offered for external use than others

It is often argued that science needs to be more transparent – that the closed doors, seeming secrecy and esoteric image of science are behind the public's distrust of it. In recent months, this is a point made especially strongly by Fred Pearce, based on his study of the hacked climate science emails.

Science needs to show its workings and make them available for public use. Writing for the Guardian earlier this year, Pearce argued: "Bring on the bloggers. Maybe there's an Einstein among them".

Well, maybe.

At an event at the Royal Institution this week based on Pearce's new book, The Climate Files, social psychologist Adam Corner argued against a call to "force open the lab door". One of the points Corner made was that science is produced by highly skilled people. In a world awash with information, it is sometimes easy to forget that it is what you do with it that counts. Data without context means little. Information may be "beautiful" but on its own, it is inert. Opening data sets doesn't necessarily unlock the craft of knowledge-making. It takes time to learn these skills. Time most of us don't have. We are all busy off being skilled at something else.

It's wrong to assume the public cannot be involved in knowledge construction. Still, some data sets are more easily offered for external use than others. Two recent examples of successful projects in "citizen science", Opal and Galaxy Zoo, deal with topics many people enjoy as hobbies. They also happen to be able to identify tasks in scientific research that are relatively easy to pick up. In these respects they are lucky. However, I also want to stress that these projects work because they offer collaborative relationships between scientists and the public. They have a capacity for mutual learning. Precisely because data needs context and often requires specialist skills to analyse, projects such as these succeed because they are discursive.

One recent interesting case study in the tensions of open data can be found in Ben Goldacre's quick play with the data from Sarah Boseley's investigation into NHS death rates, especially the subsequent 50+ comments debating whether he was right to do so. One key point was summed up by physicist Tom Whyntie: "open data is useless (dangerous?) without an open methodology too?". It's also worth noting how esoteric much of the conversation in the comments was. Personally, I'm pleased the Guardian can put its data up for Goldacre and others to have a play with. But I also think this data remains relatively specialised, made meaningful for most of us through its journalism. Just because the data is there, don't assume we all know what to do with it. We might even say it is in danger of making people feel stupid.

Bring on the bloggers, do. Some of them are very clever. But you have to admit that they are also a bit weird. Even those without much formal training have expertise built up over time and devotion to their cause. The weirdness of bloggers' skills and knowledge is what makes them valuable, but it also betrays what a limited section of the public they are. Sociologist Michael Shudson has a useful term, "monitorial citizenship" (like pencil monitors in school), where different citizens can keep an eye on different parts of information fed to us. This is not a technocracy, ruled by experts; citizens still check, but neither does it expect everyone to be able to know about and contribute to everything.

So, time to force lab doors open? Maybe an invite for a cup of tea and a chat would be a more effective model. Moreover, I doubt a one-size-fit-all model will work. We must remember the sheer size and diversity of this thing we call science: its experts, its ideas, evidence, methods, materials, sites, equipments and its publics. Before we storm the Royal Society, maybe it's time to act local.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 20 Jun 2010 | 7:00 am

Why Skin Cancer Is on the Rise

Skin cancer is on the rise, and indoor tanning and the need to be bronze could be to blame.
Source: Livescience.com | 20 Jun 2010 | 6:57 am