Science In The News Daily

Limbs Regrow Without Pluripotency

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:26:00 EST

The cells responsible for the salamander's famed ability to regenerate amputated limbs aren't pluripotent, as scientists have thought, a study published online in Nature reports.

from the Scientist (Registration Required)

Treat Killing Like a Disease to Slash Shootings

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:24:00 EST

Shootings and killings in deprived areas of Chicago and Baltimore have plummeted by between 41 and 73 percent thanks to a programme that treats violence as if it is an infectious disease. Pioneers of the programme, called CeaseFire, say it relies on simultaneously changing attitudes and behaviour and will work anywhere.

from New Scientist

Myanmar Fossil May Shed Light on Evolution

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:22:00 EST

BANGKOK, Thailand (Associated Press) — Fossils recently discovered in Myanmar could prove that the common ancestors of humans, monkeys and apes evolved from primates in Asia, rather than Africa, researchers contend in a study released Wednesday.

from the San Diego Union-Tribune (Registration Required)

Solar Orbiter Ulysses Ends Mission After 18 Years

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:17:00 EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The interplanetary space probe Ulysses officially ceased operations on Tuesday after an 18-year voyage of roughly 5.5 billion miles and nearly three complete orbits around the sun, NASA said.

from the Boston Globe (Registration Required)

EPA to Let California Set Own Auto Emissions Limits

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:16:00 EST

The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday granted California's request to set its own limits on greenhouse gases from autos -- a long-sought victory with limited impact now that the federal government has pledged to impose national limits.

from the Washington Post (Registration Required)

Ant Mega-Colony Takes Over World

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:13:00 EST

A single mega-colony of ants has colonised much of the world, scientists have discovered. Argentine ants living in vast numbers across Europe, the US and Japan belong to the same interrelated colony, and will refuse to fight one another.

from BBC News Online

How the Piranha Got Its Teeth

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:09:00 EST

Piranhas have long been a staple of horror movies, and it's no wonder. Their razor-sharp teeth can tear chunks of flesh from creatures many times their size. Now scientists have rediscovered a fossil piranha jaw that shows how the fish got those choppers.

from ScienceNOW Daily News

Scientist Tries to Connect Migration Dots of Ancient Southwest

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:06:00 EST

CASAS GRANDES, Mexico — From the sky, the Mound of the Cross at Paquimé, a 14th-century ruin in the Mexican state of Chihuahua, looks like a compass rose — the roundish emblem indicating the cardinal directions on a map.

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

How to Build a Better Tree of Life

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 09:01:00 EST

Organizing the world's species into branches on a phylogenetic tree is a major goal of biologists trying to understand how life evolved.

from Seed

"Dinosaur Mummy" Has Skin Like Birds' and Crocodiles'

Thu, 02 Jul 2009 08:58:00 EST

There's no evidence of goosebumps just yet, but a remarkably preserved dinosaur reveals that the prehistoric reptile had skin like that of birds and crocodiles, a new study says.

from National Geographic News

Calculating Consumer Happiness at Any Price

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:06:00 EST

Could it be that humans are not quite as gullible as advertised? For a couple of decades now, social psychologists and behavioral economists have been amusing themselves manipulating consumers into doing odd things.

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

Dirty Snow May Bring Green Burst to Mountain Peaks

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:04:00 EST

Kicking up more dust in deserts may bring unnaturally synchronized spring greening to mountain peaks.

from Science News

Why Microbes Are Smarter Than You Thought

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 10:01:00 EST

The vast majority of species on Earth are single-celled. Most of these languish in obscurity – many have never even been named – but some of the relatively few species that have been studied exhibit remarkable abilities.

from New Scientist

Nut-Size Ancient Skull Explains Our Brains' Bigness?

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:59:00 EST

By scanning a 54-million-year-old skull roughly the size of a walnut, scientists have created the first virtual 3-D model of an early primate brain, a new study says.

from National Geographic News

Study Dismisses Protein's Role in Heart Disease

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:57:00 EST

A blood protein that only a short time ago was thought by some to be more important than cholesterol in heart disease now appears to be little more than a bystander.

from the New York Times (Registration Required)

Most Complete Earth Map Published

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:53:00 EST

The most complete terrain map of the Earth's surface has been published. The data, comprising 1.3 million images, come from a collaboration between the US space agency NASA and the Japanese trade ministry.

from BBC News Online

The Science Behind the Healing Powers of Art

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:51:00 EST

Julia Strecher was 9 years old when she had her second heart transplant. Her body had rejected the first heart she received with particular vehemence: She went into cardiac arrest six times in two hours. As doctors struggled to revive her, she recalls, she could hear them debating whether to give up.

from the Wall Street Journal

Lack of Twisters Aside, VORTEX2 Gets Useful Data

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:49:00 EST

Meteorologist Patrick Marsh huddles over a computer screen at NOAA's Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Oklahoma, anxiously tracking the progress of the armada of researchers taking part in the largest tornado research project in history, known as "VORTEX2."

from the Washington Post (Registration Required)

The FDA's Tobacco Road

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:47:00 EST

For most of the last 15 years, the Food and Drug Administration's authority to regulate tobacco has been either a thwarted promise or a fitful threat, depending on your point of view.

It has been pressed by anti-smoking crusaders and public health groups, put on hold by the Supreme Court and beaten back repeatedly by the tobacco industry and its political allies.

from the Los Angeles Times (Registration Required)

FDA Panel Recommends Vicodin, Percocet Ban

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 09:44:00 EST

ADELPHI, Md. (Associated Press) — Government experts say prescription drugs like Vicodin and Percocet that combine a popular painkiller with stronger narcotics should be eliminated because of their role in deadly overdoses.

from USA Today