Current Science News and Events
The following is a collection of the latest news available on the world wide web. These links will lead you to sites outside of Visionlearning.
Current feeds as of 7/3/09 08:00pm EST include the following.
- New York Times
- BBC
- Science Daily News
- Science Magazine News Summaries
- Science Magazine This Week in Science
BBC Science
Moon probe returns first images
The US space agency's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter spacecraft sends back its first images since reaching the Moon.
No safe haven for rarest antelope
Hopes are dashed that some of the few remaining hirola antelope have managed to colonise new, safer territory.
New dinosaurs found in Australia
Three new dinosaur species are found in Queensland, Australia, and named after the Outback song Waltzing Matilda.
Climate change is shrinking sheep
Climate change is causing a breed of wild sheep in Scotland to shrink, according to research in the journal Science.
Planck achieves ultra-cold state
Europe's Planck telescope reaches its operating temperature, making it the coldest object in space.
Amur tigers on 'genetic brink'
The world's largest cat is down to an effective wild population of fewer than 35 individuals, new research has found.
Science Daily News
Triggering Muscle Development: A Therapeutic Cure For Muscle Wastage?
Scientists have shown that if elderly men who were given growth hormone and exercised their legs showed an appreciable muscle mass increase. Researchers say, "This raises the question: Can age-related loss of muscle strength and increased fragility be ameliorated by the therapeutic application of mechano growth factor?"
Police Work Undermines Cardiovascular Health, Comparison To General Population Shows
It is well documented that police officers have a higher risk of developing heart disease: The question is why. In the most recent results coming out of one of the few long-term studies being conducted within this tightly knit society, researchers have determined that underlying the higher incidence of subclinical atherosclerosis -- arterial thickening that precedes a heart attack or stroke -- may be the stress of police work.
Risk Of Liver Cancer In Women With Hepatitis B Virus Infection Varies With Number Of Pregnancies
Risk for hepatocellular carcinoma, a primary malignancy of the liver, was statistically significantly higher among women with hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection than among women without the virus, according to a new study.
Methane-producing Molecule Can Also Repair DNA
The Archaea are single-celled organisms and a domain unto themselves, quite apart from the so called eukaryotes (bacteria and higher organisms). Many species live under extreme conditions, and carry out unique biochemical processes shared neither with bacteria nor with eukaryotes. Methanogenic archaeans, for example, can produce methane gas out of carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
Overweight Kids Experience More Loneliness, Anxiety
As childhood obesity rates continue to increase, experts agree that more information is needed about the implications of being overweight as a step toward reversing current trends. A new study has found that overweight children, especially girls, show signs of the negative consequences of being overweight as early as kindergarten.
Science Magazine News Summaries
[News of the Week] Pandemic Influenza: Ferrets Shed Light on New Virus's Severity and Spread
Two groups have infected ferrets with the new pandemic A(H1N1) influenza strain, and their papers, published online by Science this week, confirm that the new virus is a bit more pathogenic than seasonal influenza but nowhere near as dangerous as the 1918 pandemic virus or H5N1 avian influenza.
Author: Martin Enserink
[News of the Week] SBIR Program: Researchers Fight Against Bigger Slice to Small Business
A coalition of U.S. scientific societies and university organizations is urging Congress not to expand a $2.3 billion research program for small businesses. To succeed, however, the coalition must overcome one of the most influential interest groups in Washington and mend fences with legislators still smarting from a recent tweak to the program.
Author: Jeffrey Mervis
[News of the Week] Budget Cuts: Proposal to Slash Salaries Riles California Researchers
Proposed salary cuts and/or furloughs for all faculty and staff members are causing consternation at the University of California, one of the nation's largest public universities, with approximately 170,000 employees.
Author: Greg Miller
[News of the Week] ScienceNOW.org: From Science's Online Daily News Site
Highlights from Science's online daily news site, ScienceNOW, this week include a device that lets researchers record brain activity while homing pigeons fly, more evidence of liquid water on Saturn's moon Enceladus, faster evolution in the tropics, and the oldest musical instruments ever found.
[News of the Week] NSF Antarctic Logistics: A Hot Competition for a Cold Contract
The usually low-key competition for the nearly $2 billion contract to provide logistical support for the National Science Foundation's $300-million-a-year Antarctic research program is heating up this year, with bidders running ads in cars and stations in the Washington, D.C., Metro system.
Author: Jeffrey Mervis
Science Magazine This Week in Science
Most of us believe that our daily actions occur because we exert conscious effort to make them happen; nevertheless, we sometimes seem to end up doing the precise thing we … [Read more]
The most energetic and well-known quasi-periodic, air-sea temperature disturbance is ENSO, the mother of the warming of equatorial eastern Pacific surface waters known as El Niño. El Niño, and its … [Read more]
Single-neuron studies in primates help to establish a detailed understanding of cognitive processing and to provide an experimental base for understanding the cognitive deficits incurred by patients who have suffered … [Read more]
The Phoenix mission landed on Mars in March 2008 with the goal of studying the ice-rich soil of the planet's northern arctic region. Phoenix included a robotic arm, with a … [Read more]
Quantum dots can behave as artificial atoms, exhibiting a ladder of quantized energy levels with the number of electrons added to the dot being controllable. They are thus being extensively … [Read more]
