Science in the News Weekly

Biomedicine: Tracking Cancers Through Rapid Sequencing

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:40:00 EST

The New York Times reported last week that researchers at Johns Hopkins University have developed a new technique to monitor the progress of cancer treatment by rapidly sequencing large amounts of a patient's DNA. ...

Extinct Birds, Living Hobbits?

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:38:00 EST

Scientists reported last week that they have recovered DNA from the fossil eggshells of ancient birds that could eventually yield clues about the species' physiology, diet and extinction. ...

Gas Flows May Explain Sunspot Reductions

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:36:00 EST

Data from the orbiting Solar and Heliospheric Observatory suggest that magnetic flows on the sun may explain the recent lack of sunspots, flares and other storms—and could also suggest a better way to forecast the intensity and duration of future solar cycles. ...

Shopper Data Pinpoints Salmonella Source

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:35:00 EST

In tracking down the source of the latest salmonella outbreak, the CDC for the first time used the frequent-shopper cards that millions of Americans swipe when they buy groceries. Investigators followed the trail of grocery purchases to a Rhode Island company that makes salami. ...

United Nations Plans Review of IPCC Errors

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:31:00 EST

Last week the United Nations announced that an international team of leading scientists will conduct an independent review of errors made by its climate change advisory body, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, in an attempt to restore its credibility. ...

Science at the Top of the News for March 8-12

Mon, 15 Mar 2010 15:29:00 EST

An article on how women faculty are faring at Harvard University five years after then-president Lawrence Summers made some disparaging remarks was the most viewed news item last week by subscribers to Science in the News Daily. The other top items looked at the evolutionary basis for crying and the connection between art and mathematics. Subscribe now for free daily updates.

Biomedicine: Food-borne Disease, Gut Bacteria and Real-Time Protein Folding

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:25:00 EST

A former Food and Drug Administration economist last week estimated that food-borne illnesses in the U.S. cost $152 billion annually, or an average of $1,850 each time someone gets sick from food. ...

Global Warming, Evolution and Science Education

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 15:17:00 EST

The New York Times reported last week that the foes of evolution are linking the topic to global warming, arguing that dissenting views on both subjects should be taught in public schools. ...

Internet Data Carving New Channels

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 14:49:00 EST

Last week the New York Times looked at whether the practice known as peering could change the fundamental shape of the Internet. ...

On the Moon, 600 Million Tonnes of Ice

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:44:00 EST

It was reported last week that India's Chandrayaan-1 lunar spacecraft detected thick deposits of water-ice near the moon's north pole in more than 40 small craters. ...

Family Portraits, an Ancient Polar Bear, the Dinosaurs' End

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:43:00 EST

Smithsonian Magazine featured the work of "paleo-artist" John Gurche, who has re-created the faces of our early ancestors for a new exhibit opening this month at the National Museum of Natural History. ...

Science at the Top of the News for March 1-5

Mon, 08 Mar 2010 13:39:00 EST

The most viewed news item last week by subscribers to Science in the News Daily was about a study that looked at whether liberals are more intelligent than conservatives. The other top items involved a new book about how the hidden brain controls our lives and whether depression bestows some evolutionary advantages. Subscribe now for free daily updates.

FDA, NIH Cooperate to Speed Regulatory Decisions

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 16:07:00 EST

A new partnership between the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, announced last week, is designed to promote faster development of testing and other tools that FDA regulators need to assess drugs and other products. ...

Climate Scientists Consider Offering Open Data on Global Temps

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 15:33:00 EST

The World Meteorological Organization last week approved a proposal that climate scientists around the world measure land surface temperatures several times a day and allow independent scrutiny of the data. The move could help answer demands by skeptics for access to the raw figures used to predict climate change. ...

Technology: Gecko Feet, Google and Einstein

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:54:00 EST

They say it's better than duct tape and coming soon to a store near you. A new kind of adhesive tape, based on research at Lewis and Clark College and the University of California, Berkeley, was inspired by the super-sticky feet of the gecko. ...

A Utah Dinosaur, a Kansas Shark and an English Battlefield

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:52:00 EST

Dinosaurs were much in the news last week. National Geographic reported that a new species of giant herbivore has been identified from four skulls found between the late 1990s and 2003 in a sandstone quarry in eastern Utah's Dinosaur National Monument. ...

Science at the Top of the News for February 22-26

Mon, 01 Mar 2010 14:50:00 EST

An article that featured the winning photos from the 2009 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge was the most viewed item last week by subscribers to Science in the News Daily. The other top news items involved the unveiling by Bloom Energy of its long-awaited "power plant in a box" and a piece in the Boston Globe on how sounds can stimulate different parts of the brain to combat insomnia and other maladies. Subscribe now for free daily updates.

Genetic Technique Promises Personalized Cancer Treatment

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:16:00 EST

Scientists reported at the AAAS meeting in San Diego last week that they are developing a blood test that uses DNA to monitor cancer in the body and detect when it has returned after treatment. ...

Technology: Botnets and Cyber Preparedness

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:14:00 EST

PC World provided some perspective on the latest botnet invasion of computers, plus some advice to those worried about it. And a war game revealed that the U.S. government lacks answers to some key questions regarding cyber attacks. ...

Ancient Meteorite Rich in Organic Compounds

Mon, 22 Feb 2010 16:13:00 EST

It turns out that the Murchison meteorite, which fell to Earth 40 years ago, contains millions of carbon-containing molecules, according to a German research team. The space rock is thought to be older than the sun. ...