Wet breathing system filters transmit harmful bacteria and yeast, hospitals warned

UK doctors have highlighted potential problems with the breathing system filters used in anesthesia, including intensive care units, after demonstrating that they don’t provide protection from harmful bacteria and yeast when they become wet. A new study shows that when they were wet, six commonly available filters allowed substantial passage of Candida albicans (a yeast infection linked to a range of chronic illnesses) and coagulase-negative staphylococci (a common hospital-acquired bacterial infection).
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am

Antidepressants make shrimps see the light

Rising levels of antidepressants in coastal waters could change sea-life behavior and potentially damage the food-chain, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am

Eye movements and sight distance reveal how drivers negotiate winding roads

New research finds that the further drivers can look ahead, generally in left-hand curves, wide curves and when leaving a curve, the less they have to look at the tangent point. The ultimate goal of the project is to build a device into cars that warns the driver if he is in danger of unintentionally departing from the lane.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am

First preliminary profile of proteins in bed bugs' saliva

With bed bugs reemerging as a nuisance in some parts of the country, scientists are reporting the first preliminary description of the bug's sialome -- the saliva proteins that are the secret to Cimex lectularius' ability to suck blood from its human victims and escape to bite again with risking a lethal slap. The findings could have medical applications in diagnosing bed bug bites and preventing the itch.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am

Breakthrough in terahertz remote sensing: Unique THz 'fingerprints' will identify hidden explosives from a distance

A major breakthrough in remote wave sensing by a team of researchers opens the way for detecting hidden explosives, chemical, biological agents and illegal drugs from a distance of 20 meters.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am

Honey as an antibiotic: Scientists identify a secret ingredient in honey that kills bacteria

Sweet news for those looking for new antibiotics: new research explains for the first time how honey kills bacteria. Specifically, the research shows that bees make a protein that they add to the honey, called defensin-1, which could one day be used to treat burns and skin infections and to develop new drugs that could combat antibiotic-resistant infections.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 9:00 am

Geo-neutrinos: Discovery of subatomic particles could answer deep questions in geology

An international team has detected subatomic particles -- geo-neutrinos -- deep within Earth's interior. The discovery could help geologists understand how reactions taking place in the planet's interior affect events on the surface such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Someday, scientists may know enough about the sources and flow of heat in Earth to predict events like the recent volcanic eruption in Iceland.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am

Protein identified which helps cancer cells to survive stressful conditions

Researchers have made a discovery that could lead to the development of more effective treatments for a number of diseases. They have shown that a protein produced when cells are stressed interacts with a stress sensor allowing cells to survive conditions of intense stress. Understanding this interaction may help scientists interfere with cancer cells so the cells can no longer survive exposure to stressful conditions.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am

Plasma protein appears to be associated with development and severity of Alzheimer's disease

Higher concentrations of clusterin, a protein in the blood plasma, appears to be associated with the development, severity and progression of Alzheimer's disease, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am

Surprisingly regular patterns in hurricane energy discovered

Researchers in Spain have discovered a mathematical relation between the number of hurricanes produced in certain parts of Earth and the energy they release.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 6:00 am

Choral genetics: Hear a choir sing the 'code of life'

Scientists and composers produce a new choral work in which singers sing parts of their own genetic code.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 3:56 am

Tiger countries meet in Indonesia to map rescue (AFP)

AFP - Representatives from 13 "tiger-range countries" met in Indonesia on Monday to draft a global recovery plan ahead of a summit in Russia in September.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 3:44 am

Evidence for a 'younger Earth'

Planet Earth could be 70 million years younger than previously estimated, according to a new geological study.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 3:13 am

Feeling the heat

The impact of a warming Arctic region
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 3:05 am

Population concerns Royal Society

The UK's top science academy begin a major review into scientific aspects of human population growth.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 2:58 am

BP reports progress on oil cap; Gulf Coast waits (AP)

AP - BP underwater robots steadily assembled heavy metal pieces in what could be the most significant progress yet toward containing the gushing Gulf of Mexico oil well, watched warily by residents onshore.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 2:56 am

Stargazers in awe as total eclipse arcs across Pacific (AFP)

AFP - A total solar eclipse drew an 11,000-kilometer (6,800-mile) arc over the Pacific Sunday, plunging remote territories into darkness, but drawing thousands of curious tourists and their dollars.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:53 am

BP puts oil leak bill at £2.3 billion (AFP)

AFP - The continuing oil leak caused by the April explosion of a Gulf of Mexico oil rig has cost BP 3.5 billion dollars (2.3 billion pounds), the oil giant said Monday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:41 am

Interplanetary Vagabonds and Hayabusa's Asteroid Dust

Asteroid dust may have been found inside Hayabusa's sample return capsule, but how could this finding help us? For a start, it'll help us understand these potentially hazardous objects a little better.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:41 am

Robots replace cap over gushing BP oil well (AFP)

AFP - Engineers worked Monday to replace a cap over a gushing oil well in the Gulf of Mexico after reporting good progress in attempts to contain the worst environmental disaster in US history.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:41 am

Tags reveal puffin food 'hotspot'

GPS trackers trace puffins to food 'hotspots'
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:38 am

Tree flowers after 90-year wait

An ancient Chinese proverb tells us that with patience a mulberry leaf eventually becomes a silk gown.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:37 am

Can Culture Make the California Condor Wild Again? (Time.com)

Time.com - Researchers discover that social learning just might be the only way to save the extremely endangered species.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:30 am

Bali talks target tiger decline

Officials seek ways to double the number of tigers in the world, at an international forum in Bali, Indonesia.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:24 am

The constellation of Hercules

Venus, 3° above and left of Regulus in Leo, is very bright but low down in the W at nightfall, edging away from the star in the direction of the fainter Mars and Saturn. Our next brightest night-time object after Venus is Jupiter which rises in the E at midnight.

The wide swath of sky between Venus and Jupiter is dominated by Arcturus in Bootes, higher in our W evening sky, and by the Summer Triangle of Vega, Deneb and Altair which stands high in the SE at nightfall and crosses the meridian in the middle of the night.

Our star chart looks S at 23:00 BST and features the relatively dim region sandwiched between Arcturus and the Triangle. It reaches from the zenith at the top to the horizon at its base, and includes as its two brightest stars Vega in Lyra near the upper-left and Antares, the red supergiant in Scorpius, towards the lower-right. Starwatch regulars will note the reappearance of the Teapot of Sagittarius (SGR) at the lower-left and Northern Crown, Corona Borealis (CrB), in the upper-right.

Much of the chart though is filled by the constellations of the hero Hercules and serpent-bearer Ophiuchus whose Alpha stars, Rasalgethi and Rasalhague, stand only 5° apart in the centre. A white star of mag 2.1, Rasalhague lies 47 light years (ly) distant and has a name derived from the Arabic for "Head of the Serpent-charmer". The constellation of the serpent, Serpens, is the only one to be divided in the sky with its head lying to the W (right) of Ophiuchus, while the tail slots between Ophiuchus and Scutum the Shield to the E.

Rasalgethi, "Head of the Kneeler", is a red supergiant at some 380 ly. Always fainter than Rasalhague, it shines near mag 3.5 but pulsates semi-regularly over a magnitude or so with a period of about four months.

Further N, and on the W edge of the quadrilateral of the Keystone, is the globular star cluster M13. A round smudge to the unaided eye on good nights, and easy through binoculars, this is the brightest globular in the N half of the sky. About half as wide as the Moon, its hundreds of thousands of stars are packed in a region 145 ly across and 25,100 ly away. M92, further N is only slightly fainter, smaller and more distant, but is often overlooked. M5 in Serpens is fainter still, but a little closer than M13, while M22, hovering above the Teapot, outshines even M13 and lies "only" 10,600 ly from us.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 12 Jul 2010 | 1:00 am

'Invisible Gorilla' Test Shows How Little We Notice

Invisible gorilla basketball video highlights inattentiveness.
Source: Livescience.com | 11 Jul 2010 | 9:59 pm

Red Hot Chili Peppers Stored in Cool Arctic Doomsday Vault (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - Seeds from some of North America's hottest chili peppers were recently delivered to the cool Arctic and stored in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, where they'll be safe for centuries in case some terrestrial catastrophe renders them otherwise extinct.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Jul 2010 | 6:40 pm

Vt. scrap-wood dinosaur posing modern-day problem (AP)

AP - Does a 25-foot-tall, 122-foot-long dinosaur need a permit to avoid extinction?

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Jul 2010 | 6:22 pm

Red Hot Chili Peppers Stored in Cool Arctic Doomsday Vault

Seeds delivered to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault.
Source: Livescience.com | 11 Jul 2010 | 6:15 pm

Antioxidants Not the Only Key to Anti-Aging

You do not need to have lowered free radical production to live long.
Source: Livescience.com | 11 Jul 2010 | 5:32 pm

Higher education: Strategies for science

The universities minister faces a difficult choice between scientific excellence and student numbers

Higher education is in a collective state of anxiety at the noises emanating from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, where Vince Cable is showing what to them appears indecent enthusiasm for axing spending at the top end of the education and research establishment. There is talk of cuts of 33%. Universities will have to wait until later this week for his thoughts on the balance to be struck between quantity of places and the quality of research. But on Friday the universities minister, David Willetts, in a speech that underlines how far he has come since he was a key figure at Margaret Thatcher's court, praised the record of British research and spoke enthusiastically about the contribution the state can make to supporting scientific endeavour. Scientists who in previous Tory (and Labour) governments have felt valued only for their potential to contribute to economic wellbeing will have noted and welcomed Mr Willetts's recognition of the role that science and scientific method can play as a common denominator in an increasingly diverse society.

But, as the minister observed, science is not only a good thing in itself. In austere times the economic impact of research matters, even if assessing it is only a fledgling science – so uncertain that Mr Willetts announced a one‑year delay in introducing a new system to direct public money into the best-performing areas, to allow for a longer appraisal. All the same, there is evidence suggesting that funding distributed through the UK research councils delivers the biggest and broadest benefits: every 1% of publicly funded research and development, according to an OECD survey, produces a 0.1% gain in overall productivity. And by current evaluation methods, British universities have a good tale to tell, second only to the US in research funding, and world leaders in research productivity – while expanding access by 500,000 between 1998 and 2008. But higher education spending doubled in the Labour years, and even before the election it was clear there was going to be a severe retrenchment. Lord Browne's inquiry into tuition fees looms over the autumn. At the same time, a record number of disappointed applicants for degree courses is anticipated as the number of applications soars by 20% just as universities scale back the number of places on offer to accommodate cuts that have already been imposed.

Scientific excellence or student numbers: there are persuasive arguments for both. The top universities claim unique benefits from clusters or centres of research where different disciplines feed off each other, able to compete internationally and respond to international developments. Mr Willetts pointed to the newly opened Harwell Science and Innovation Campus as a model of public investment in a research platform for the private sector. But, as David Miliband said in an under-reported speech last month, access matters more. In economies such as South Korea, more than half of school leavers go on to university. Future prosperity depends on a highly skilled population – yet Dr Cable has already suggested that the 50% target is unachievable.

It is true that even sustaining the current levels of access may involve radical rethinking. The present higher education model is not the only one: a system that evolved to meet the demands of an elite in medieval times is unlikely to be a viable or even a desirable way of equipping a majority of the 21st-century nation. Cheaper first degrees – shorter courses and distance learning – may be part of the solution to expansion in straitened times. It may be necessary, as long as it does not damage access, to accept tough implications for student charges (something the Lib Dems in the coalition would struggle to accept). Mr Willetts promised no government micromanagement of university research: but the universities can't have the money if they don't take the students.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 11 Jul 2010 | 5:05 pm

Weight Watchers works, say scientists

Medical Research Council says weight-loss method could help NHS tackle obesity

It's a jungle out there for the overweight, with a multitude of miracle slimming programmes promising the pounds will drop off fast and easy.

Atkins vies with the Zone while bookshop shelves sag under the weight of diet tomes. Science has not offered a clear path through the confusion, beyond the odd study that has found your choice of what not to eat makes precious little difference – what matters is not to eat so much.

Today science is offering an authoritative and surprisingly positive endorsement: two studies from the Medical Research Council, led by one of Britain's leading nutrition scientists, say that Weight Watchers really does work, and is a cheap and effective way for the NHS to tackle Britain's huge obesity problem.

Dr Susan Jebb, head of nutrition and health research at the MRC's human nutrition research centre in Cambridge, is an adviser to government and a member of the Foresight team whose 2007 report warned that more than half the population would be obese by 2050, costing the nation an estimated £46bn.

She embarked on the studies because, she told the Guardian, "there is a huge pessimism among health professionals that it is just hopeless and nothing works. We know quite a lot (about what works) but we have failed to put it into practice."

She cites operations to reduce the capacity of the stomach, using gastric bands or other methods, that work "but primary care trusts are not always keen to pay the bill".

Jebb's interest in Weight Watchers is that it does not just offer another variety of diet – they are in the tricky business of behaviour change. People with a weight problem go to a weekly class, where they get help and support, as well as advice on what to eat and a way of monitoring their food intake through a points system. This sort of supportive, educative programme has been shown to work with people at risk of diabetes in the US and in Finland. The Medical Research Council, the UK's leading research body, carried out the studies but Weight Watchers paid the costs – as drug companies pay for trials of their drugs. Jebb pointed out that she has not been paid for her involvement.

There were two questions for Jebb: could Weight Watchers deliver and if they could, would it be a workable, effective answer to the obesity crisis for the NHS?

Six years ago, a few primary care trusts offered a small number of patients the chance to try Weight Watchers on the NHS. "We never marketed it to a PCT," said Zoe Hellman, WW's dietician. "Word has just spread." Two-thirds of PCTs now pay for a 12-week Weight Watchers course for some patients, at £45 a time. But it's not available to all and, until now, nobody knew what proportion of those referred was actually losing weight and keeping it off.

Jebb and colleagues carried out two pieces of work. One was an audit of the weight loss of almost 30,000 people who had been put on a 12-session course by their GP. The other was a research trial, comparing the progress over a much longer period of people who went to Weight Watchers with those who got normal care and support from their GP practice. The results of the audit, Jebb said, were impressive. These were people with a mean BMI (body mass index, which relates weight to height) of 35, which means they were technically obese. On average, the weight loss of those referred by their GP was 2.8kg (6lbs). But that average included those who went only once and some who didn't go at all. More than half – 58% – completed the course. Their average weight loss was 5.2kg and they lost at least 5% in weight. "That's the point when you can be pretty confident you will get clinical benefits," said Jebb. Even better, 12% lost more than 10% in weight.

"Our conclusion is that it works," she said. The research trial took place in Australia and Germany as well as the UK. About 800 people took part, randomised either to a Weight Watchers course or to their local health service care. This time they were followed up for a year to see whether those who lost weight kept it off. The results were also good. Although the dropout rate was high, fewer people dropped out among those who joined Weight Watchers.

Those who completed a year of Weight Watchers lost nearly 7kg, but those who were managed by their GP lost 3.9kg. About two-thirds of the Weight Watchers group lost 5% in weight, compared with one third of the others. Results were almost identical in all three countries.

Jebb said the data was "incredibly encouraging. It tells us this is an effective way of getting people to lose weight.Not only is this an effective way of losing weight, but it is very reproducible. It's the standard package (that works) - not individual group leaders." It's the support that is key, says Jebb. Zoe Hellman agrees: "One of the key things is having support and motivation. Healthy eating, getting active, helping people change their behaviour- but it is all in the context of group support," And no, she says - humiliating public weigh-ins are not part of the deal. "One of the things people bring up is the Little Britain sketch where they weigh people publicly and ring bells and talk about their weight. It couldn't be further from the truth." Only you and your group leader see what the scales say.

Jebb is excited by the findings, which she will present today at the international congress on obesity in Stockholm. But there is one big catch. "Weight Watchers and its counterparts are not going to be the kind of thing that every overweight person wants to do. Something like 90% were women. It just doesn't appeal to men," she said. She also thinks there may be other demographic issues. Weight Watchers members are also overwhelmingly white and it may appeal to some social groups more than others. But it may be possible to tailor the approach, such as by offering it via the internet.

The studies are published as the health secretary, Andrew Lansley, unveils his white paper, which will put commissioning powers into the hands of GPs. Faced with the soaring costs of treating people with obesity-related problems, such as diabetes and heart disease, GPs may well consider the £45 for 12 sessions of Weight Watchers – or a similar slimming club – to be worth trying.

Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 11 Jul 2010 | 5:01 pm

Science Weekly: A postcard of our universe

Hiranya Peiris, a cosmologist at University College London, tells us about her work on the cosmic microwave background using Esa's Planck observatory. We discuss the beautiful image of our universe revealed to the world last week and what the "splotches" mean.

One of the world's leading scientists dropped into London last week to pick up the 2010 Issac Newton medal of the Institute of Physics. Edward Witten investigates superstring theory and supersymmetric quantum field theories at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, New Jersey. He bravely tries to untangle string theory and megaverses in terms the Science Weekly team can understand.

We look at the latest and most comprehensive report into the University of East Anglia hacked climate emails.

On Wednesday 14 July, the Guardian is hosting a debate on the emails saga, hosted by George Monbiot. Tickets may still be available for the event at Riba in London. We'll be uploading the debate to Science Weekly's podcast feed.

Archaeologists digging on a Norfolk beach have found stone tools that suggest the first humans were living in Britain much earlier than previously thought.

Heather Christie visits an exhibition at London's Southbank Centre celebrating the 350th anniversary of the Royal Society. She hears about shape-shifting technology, apple and pear-shaped bodies, holographic radar and climate change detecting molluscs. She also tests her lung capacity and attempts to build a leg.

The Guardian's science correspondent Ian Sample and environment correspondent David Adam were in the studio.

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

Email scienceweeklypodcast@gmail.com.

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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 | 11 Jul 2010 | 5:01 pm

Technology's disasters share long trail of hubris (AP)

AP - It's all so familiar. A technological disaster, then a presidential commission examining what went wrong. And ultimately a discovery that while technology marches on, concern for safety lags. Technology isn't as foolproof as it seemed.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Jul 2010 | 11:37 am

FDA nears approval of genetically engineered salmon (McClatchy Newspapers)

McClatchy Newspapers - WASHINGTON — They may not be the 500-pound "Frankenfish" that some researchers were talking about 10 years ago, but a Massachusetts company says it's on the verge of receiving federal approval to market a quick-growing Atlantic salmon that's been genetically modified with help from a Pacific Chinook salmon.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 11 Jul 2010 | 9:01 am

Estonia's 'Johnny Appleseed' of Free Wi-Fi

Veljo Haamer dreams of one day making the entire country of Estonia one giant hotspot.
Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 11 Jul 2010 | 7:39 am

The Dark Side of Perfectionism Revealed

One might assume perfectionists are being models for physical well-being. But new research suggests this is not always the case — the trait seems to bring both perils and profits.
Source: Livescience.com | 11 Jul 2010 | 7:27 am

Fish in Isolated Coral Reefs in Greater Peril

Small, remote populations of Great Barrier Reef more stressed
Source: Livescience.com | 11 Jul 2010 | 7:25 am

BP's new oil leak plan under way

Underwater robots successfully remove a leaking cap as BP tries again to halt the Gulf of Mexico oil leak.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 11 Jul 2010 | 6:50 am