Science in the News Weekly

'A Long, Long Steady Climb Back ... From the Brink of Extinction'

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 15:09:00 EST

Last week brought good news in the field of conservation. In the U.S., the brown pelican was removed from the endangered species list, and scallops appear to be making a comeback in the waters off Long Island. Meanwhile, giraffes have made a surprising comeback in West Africa. ...

The Role of Judgment in Medical Decision-Making

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:58:00 EST

Once science determines whether a medical treatment works, the next questions—when to use it and on which patients—become matters of judgment, not measurement. Some doctors are trying to inject more science into the decision-making process. ...

Higgs Meditations, the Semantic Web, Nanoparticles

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:40:00 EST

New Scientist looked at what detection of the Higgs boson, the so-called "God particle," by the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) would mean for the standard model of particle physics. The LHC is expected to be operational "any day now." ...

Astronomy: Lunar Water, the Origin of Life, Sailing on Light

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:38:00 EST

There is more water on the moon than many scientists suspected, according to a report last week from NASA on results from a mission in October that sent a probe crashing into a crater near the moon's south pole. ...

2012 Doomsday Myth Sparks Widespread Fear

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:37:00 EST

Many people are worried about an apocalypse in 2012 purportedly predicted by the Mayan calendar, according to a report by National Geographic News. Survival kits, documentaries, a movie and nearly 200 books are helping to fuel the anxiety. ...

Science at the Top of the News for November 9-13

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:07:00 EST

Diet and nutrition were at the top of the news last week. A report on the unhealthy aspects of fruit juice was the most viewed article last week by subscribers to Science in the News Daily. The other top news items concerned the role that bacteria play in weight gain and a study on the effects of a low-carb diet on mood. Subscribe now for free daily updates.

Gene Therapy 'Gets Better Every Year'

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:19:00 EST

Scientists say gene therapy may be on the verge of a resurgence following reports of three recent successes involving a childhood brain disease, an eye disease and a childhood immune disorder. ...

Killer Waves, A Tyrannosaur Cousin, Nazca Catastrophe

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:11:00 EST

Researchers reported last week that new evidence suggests that giant tsunamis from the eruption of Thera volcano in the Aegean Sea more than 3,000 years ago inundated coastal sites across the Eastern Mediterranean. ...

Technology: The Lure of the Electric SUV

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:07:00 EST

The Christian Science Monitor reported that converting SUVs to all-electric vehicles could be an idea whose time has come, particularly if gas prices ever again soar to $4 a gallon, as they did last year. ...

New Satellite to Study Moisture, Salinity

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:04:00 EST

A European satellite was launched from Russia last week on a mission to map how water is cycled around the Earth. The Soil Moisture and Ocean Salinity (Smos) satellite is one of a number of European spacecraft being sent into orbit over the next few years to study the planet. ...

Biodiversity Survey Shows 'Serious Extinction Crisis'

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:03:00 EST

In a major international study, scientists have found that more than a third of 47,677 species assessed are threatened with extinction, according to a report by the BBC. ...

Science at the Top of the News for November 2-6

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:01:00 EST

A report on why leaves change color in the fall was the most viewed article last week by subscribers to Science in the News Daily. The other top news items concerned the true death toll of 1898 lion attacks in Kenya, the evolution of the light bulb and the new science of temptation. Subscribe now for free daily updates.

Happy Birthday Internet, Caring Robots, Forensic Art

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:13:00 EST

In the aftermath of the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression, it's natural for people to question the economic principles that got us into such a pickle. What may be surprising, however, is that physicists have joined in to point out that economists ignore the concept of net energy return on investment at our peril. At the same time, some people are taking energy conservation personally and seriously, especially a Massachusetts family who plan to leave the furnace off this winter. And across the continent, a pair of Canadians are planning to open a desalination business that uses solar heat to dramatically reduce the energy required. ...

A Toddler Gets an Artificial Arm Bone

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:51:00 EST

In what they called a medical first, surgeons implanted an artificial bone in the arm of a 3-year-old to replace his humerus, which was lost during cancer treatment. Nearly a year later, the boy is thriving and cancer-free. ...

An Asteroid Blast and a Russian Trip to Mars

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:50:00 EST

As if there weren't enough natural disasters to worry about, now there's evidence that we're not always aware when asteroids will strike from space. An asteroid exploded high above Indonesia last month, NASA reported weeks later. This one did no harm but released about three times more energy than the atomic bomb that leveled Hiroshima. ...

Environment: Climate, Bears and Bugs

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:43:00 EST

At the Indigenous Uranium Forum in Acoma, N.M., attendees opposed renewed uranium mining for nuclear energy. They recalled health problems that mining caused to their communities in the past and objected to mining on sacred land. Meanwhile, on the East Coast, two tribes are opposing Cape Wind, an offshore wind farm proposed for Nantucket Sound. Desecrating the site with wind turbines would be detrimental to the tribes' spiritual well-being, they say. ...

Science at the Top of the News for October 26-30

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:41:00 EST

The most viewed article last week by subscribers to Science in the News Daily described a new bladeless fan produced by Dyson Inc. The other top two news items included a portrait of the renewal of the Aral Sea in Central Asia and a criticism of organic food by Maywa Montenegro. Subscribe now for free daily updates.

Is Gender a Continuum?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:29:00 EST

Science answers some questions only to raise new ones, such as how do we define the difference between women and men? In unusual cases, the usual indicators of male and female contradict each other in the same body. The best-known recent example is South African runner Caster Semenya. ...

Astronomy: Moon Debris and Manned Spaceflight

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:27:00 EST

NASA's recent lunar-crash project may not have been a flop after all. Despite disappointing visuals at the time of impact, pictures now in circulation now tell a different story. They show that the high-speed collision of Cabeus on the moon's surface generated the debris plume needed for the sampling and imaging critical to the mission. ...

Ancient Past: Tiny Dinosaur, Surgery on a Mummy

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 14:25:00 EST

North America's smallest dinosaur weighed less than two pounds and scampered about eating a mixture of plants, eggs and insects. Researchers described the species, Fruitadens haagarorum, based on fossils that were collected in Colorado in 1979 and have been stored in a museum ever since. ...