Psychological experiments that stopped 40 years ago because of ethical concerns could instead be conducted in cyberspace in the future. Read more…
Fat zapping to shed excess weight, miniature telescopes to restore vision, and smart nappies to detect common childhood infections -- these are some of the new technologies that promise to transform medicine, according to this week's Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal. Read more…
A new study led by UC Berkeley researchers identifies specific genetic changes in a species of water flea in response to contaminants, lending new support for the role of toxicogenomics in environmental monitoring. Read more…
Although some Americans gain five to seven pounds with a diet of big meals and sweets between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, most people only gain a pound or two during the holidays, according to a UT Southwestern Medical Center registered dietitian. Read more…
The holidays just wouldn't be the same without the decorations. From a single wreath or child's picture of Santa taped to a window, to elaborate displays, the festive season seems to spur the need to express the holiday spirit to our neighbors and kin. But neighborhoods also vary in the vigor of their holiday displays, as anyone who tours the streets of their town or city can attest. And scientists at Binghamton University are using these decorations to measure holiday spirit. Read more…
University of Illinois plant scientist Daniel Warnock hopes that one day soon a uniquely marbled pink poinsettia will be available to consumers who like decorating for the holidays with a flare for the unusual. The variety is yet unnamed, but is a natural mutation of a poinsettia variety called Premium Picasso. Read more…
Children with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) have particular difficulty understanding numbers and sequences, a University of Alberta study shows. Read more…
Increasing levels of inbreeding is a threat against the viability of the Scandinavian wolf population. A study just coming out in the new journal PLoS ONE now demonstrates that inbreeding is not affecting the wolves as badly as expected. The results show that it is the most genetically variable wolf individuals that are recruited into the breeding population. An important consequence of this action of natural selection is that the negative effects of inbreeding are accumulating much slower than previously believed. Read more…
A Mayo Clinic researcher has discovered a target site within malaria-carrying mosquitoes that could be used to develop pesticides that are toxic to the Anopheles gambiae mosquito and other mosquito species. Read more…
New chemical evidence sheds light on the physical constraints of 'hotspots' -- locations where upwellings of Earth's mantle material form seamounts and island chains. Although the existence of hotspots has been debated over the past 30 years, consistent data from uranium isotope decay series at eight island locations supports the idea that concentrated plumes of hot mantle material formed these islands. Read more…
A new study suggests biochemical changes associated with schizophrenia aren't limited to the central nervous system and that the disease could have more encompassing effects throughout the body than previously thought. The findings, scheduled for publication in the January 2007 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Proteome Research, could lead to better diagnostic testing for the disease and help explain why those afflicted with it are more prone to other chronic health problems. Read more…
Engineers are designing new high-tech medical tools to equip the operating room of the future, in an effort to help doctors treat patients more safely and effectively and allow them to perform surgical tasks that are nearly impossible today. Read more…
Reuters - Church and temple bells rang across Sri Lanka on Tuesday for the victims of the 2004 tsunami but commemoration ceremonies in rebel-held areas, which were the worst hit, were deliberately low-key. Read more…
AP - After three years of closed-door talks, nine nations are quietly edging toward a deal to jointly oversee the waters of the Nile, an agreement that has eluded lands along the great river since the days of the pharaohs. Read more…
AFP - Two people were killed when a cyclone hit the northern coast of Madagascar, before losing strength as it moved towards the south of the island, meteorological authorities said. Read more…
Reuters - A tsunami of up to one meter (3.3 feet) triggered by an earthquake off Taiwan may hit the Philippines, Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said on Tuesday. Read more…
Reuters - Two major earthquakes struck southern Taiwan on Tuesday, triggering fears of destructive waves as Asia marked the second anniversary of the Indian Ocean tsunami. Read more…
SPACE.com - NASA is on a flight path to replant astronauts on the Moon, looking to sustain a human presence on that cratered, airless orb on a "go-as-the nation-can-afford-to-pay" basis. That approach is seen as letting people step back onto the lunar surface no later than 2020. Read more…
SPACE.com - The launch of a European space telescope called COROT tomorrow could help planet hunting astronomers spot a bevy of small, rocky worlds only a few times larger than Earth. But the detection of a true, Earth-like world--the holy grail amongst planet seeking astronomers--will have to wait at least another two years until the launch of NASA's space observatory, Kepler. Read more…
AFP - Work will begin on a launch pad for Russian rockets in French Guyana in February, Russian Space Agency head Anatoly Perminov said, predicting the first will blast off in 2009. Read more…
AP - House Democrats in the first weeks of the new Congress plan to establish a dedicated fund to promote renewable energy and conservation, using money from oil companies. That's only one legislative hit the oil industry is expected to take next year as a Congress run by Democrats is likely to show little sympathy to the cash-rich, high-profile business. Read more…
LiveScience.com - A fossil of a leaf-imitating insect from 47 million years ago bears a striking resemblance to the mimickers of today. Read more…
AP - Mexican gray wolves, black-footed ferrets, and aplomado falcons are among the endangered species who have found homes and a chance for survival on Ted Turner's ranches in New Mexico. Now, Turner's Armendaris Ranch is doing the same for a group of bolson tortoises. Read more…
AP - Four Christmas Day tornadoes damaged hundreds of Florida homes, with one flipping airplanes at a flight school and tearing the roofs off three apartment buildings, officials confirmed Tuesday. Read more…
AP - Fifteen years of warm winter weather is beginning to change the Washington area's landscape — with Southern species like crape myrtles having an easier time and northern types feeling less welcome, according to findings by the National Arbor Day Foundation. Read more…
