STATUS REPORT Date Released: Friday, December 22, 2006 Source: Johnson Space Center NASA JSC Solicitation: ISS Cargo Transportation Services - Questions and Answers Modification - Dec 22, 2006 General Information Solicitation Number: NNJ07ISSBG Posted Date: Dec 22, 2006 FedBizOpps Posted Date:... Read more…
The air you breathe is teeming with more than 1,800 kinds of bacteria, including harmless relatives of microbes associated with bioterrorist attacks, according to a new study. Read more…
The surprising structure and properties of a protein responsible for regulating the transport, storage and use of iron -- as it binds its target RNA -- are described by researchers from the University of Illinois at Chicago in the December 22 issue of Science. Read more…
Researchers conducting genetic analysis of India-born individuals in the US may have begun to shed light on the genetic variations of the diverse population of India. Read more…
A different approach to treating urinary tract infections (UTIs) could defeat the bacteria that cause the infections without directly killing them, a strategy that could help slow the growth of antibiotic-resistant infections. Read more…
A team of researchers from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) and the University of Queensland in Australia have re-analyzed data from 27 countries around the world to estimate both the global mortality patterns of the 1918 pandemic and, based on 2004 population data, how a similar pandemic would affect the world today. Read more…
Fossils of a giant Sauropod, found in Teruel Spain, reveal that Europe was home to giant dinosaurs in the Late Jurassic period -- about 150 million years ago. Giant dinosaurs have previously been found mainly in the New World and Africa. Read more…
New research shows that unbelted backseat passengers risk injury or death to themselves and the driver seated in front of them in the event of a head-on crash. Read more…
Mice with neuroblastoma tumors have been successfully treated with genetically modified cells that sought out the cancer cells and activated a chemotherapy drug directly at those sites, according to investigators at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital and their colleagues at City of Hope National Medical Center (Duarte, Calif.) and the University of British Columbia (Vancouver, Canada). Neuroblastoma is a solid tumor that arises in the part of the nervous system outside the brain. Read more…
UC San Diego biologists have shown that the chemical language with which neurons communicate depends on the pattern of electrical activity in the developing nervous system. The findings suggest that modification of nerve activity could have potential as a treatment for a wide range of brain disorders. Read more…
UC Berkeley scientists Jill Banfield and Brett Baker have found some of the smallest organisms known in a sample of slime from a California mine. Their discovery proves the value of a technique called "shotgun" sequencing to identify all organisms in a microbial community, particularly those too small to see in a microscope, those very low in abundance, or those too novel to be picked up by PCR. Read more…
Researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center have developed the first gene chip to use in the early diagnosis of at least five hereditary liver diseases, to detect genetic causes of jaundice in children and adults, and potentially to lead to personalized treatment options. Read more…
A study led by a researcher at the University of Illinois at Chicago compares the safety, effectiveness and reliability of the two most common types of laser eye surgery, laser epithelial keratomileusis (LASEK) and laser in situ keratomileusis (LASIK) in the December 2006, issue of the American Journal of Ophthalmology. Read more…
Researchers have analysed the mandibles of 43,000-year-old Neanderthal remains at El Sidr?n in Spain, revealing significant physical differences between those from northern and southern Europe. The analysis revealed north--south variations, with southern European Neanderthals showing broader faces with increased lower facial heights. Read more…
Surgeons are taller and more handsome than physicians, finds a study in this week's Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal. Doctors at the University of Barcelona Hospital noticed that the tallest and most handsome male students were more likely to go for surgery, and the shortest (and perhaps not so good looking) ones were more likely to become physicians. Read more…
A researcher in Sweden has examined whether purified wastewater from municipal purification plants and cellulose factories in Sweden contains hormone-disrupting compounds in such amounts that they are affecting fish. She has also studied how the levels of these compounds can be reduced in wastewater. Read more…
Influenza experts have borrowed a page from economists, creating a futures market for influenza activity that predicted outbreaks two to four weeks in advance. The influenza prediction market is presented in the January 15 issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases. Read more…
The team working on the European Space Agency's Rosetta mission have been particularly busy lately. Activities are underway to set the spacecraft's trajectory and prepare the on-board instruments ready for the next major mission milestone: the swing-by of planet Mars in February 2007. Read more…
AP - A moderate earthquake struck off India's Andaman islands early Saturday, but no casualties or damage were reported, the India Meteorological Department said. Read more…
Reuters - Space shuttle Discovery flew through gray Florida skies and safely touched down on a Kennedy Space Center runway at twilight on Friday to cap a 13-day mission to continue construction of the International Space Station. Read more…
AP - Georgia will pay more than double what it pays now for Russian natural gas under an agreement signed Friday, a top executive with Russian gas giant OAO Gazprom said, in a deal that could potentially threaten its fragile economy. Read more…
AP - A conservation group, alarmed at a decrease in the number of sea otters in southwest Alaska, filed a lawsuit in federal court on Tuesday to try to compel the government to designate critical habitat to help the endangered species recover. Read more…
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AP - A 350-pound Siberian tiger that mauled an experienced San Francisco Zoo keeper so badly she could lose her arm had no history of violence, prompting an investigation into what led to the vicious attack. Read more…
Saturday's issue of The Tennessean features a number of editorials and op-eds on NASA's plans to establish a lunar base, including an essay by Rep. Bart Gordon, incoming chairman of the House Science Committee. Gordon likens a lunar base to existing bases in Antarctica in terms of scientific and strategic importance: Like our bases in Antarctica, a moon base appears to offer the promise of a research facility that could advance our knowledge, prepare the nation for future exploration and promote international cooperation in science and technology. And like our presence in Antarctica, it's strategically important for us to be on the moon, given other nations will eventually be there, too. However, Gordon said he and others in Congress need more details about the base from NASA, and signs from the administration that they're serious about the project by requesting the appropriate amount of funding for the overall exploration program: "If a return to the moon is really the president's priority, he needs to come up with the funds required, not simply take money from NASA's other core missions and programs." An editorial in the same issue endorses, to some degree, the lunar base plans, although not on its scientific merits so much as for national spirit: "…inherent in the debate over the choices the United States makes over space exploration is the nice realization that in terms of discovery, America has a can-do spirit again." Read more…
