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Humans might not be walking the face of the Earth were it not for the ancient fusing of two prokaryotes â€" tiny life forms that do not have a cellular nucleus. UCLA molecular biologist James A. Lake reports important new insights about prokaryotes and the evolution of life in the Aug. 20 advance online edition of the journal Nature.

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Posted in: on Sunday, September 6, 2009 at at 8:26 AM 0 comments  

(AP) -- Microsoft Corp. is asking the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to allow it to keep selling Word software as it fights an unfavorable patent ruling.
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One day, spacecraft may use inflatable shields, rather than heavy, solid ones, to protect themselves as they plunge into the atmosphere


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Posted in: on Saturday, September 5, 2009 at at 8:26 PM 0 comments  

HONG KONG, Aug. 19, 2009 (Reuters) -- Researchers in Japan have identified two genes that make rice plants grow longer stems and survive floods, and hope this will enable farmers to grow high-yielding rice species in flood-prone areas. ... > read full story

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Google has developed a formula to predict hot online search topics in what promises to be a boon for businesses eager to target ads that accompany Internet search results.
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There is no known cure for neurodegenerative diseases such as Huntington's, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. But new hope, in the form of stem cells created from the patient's own bone marrow, can be found ― and literally seen ― in laboratories at Tel Aviv University.
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AFP - The space shuttle Discovery will blast off next Tuesday on a mission to the International Space Station, NASA said, clearing the launch after days of debate over safety issues.

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In an advance toward the first portable device for detecting human bodies buried in disasters and at crime scenes, scientists today report early results from a project to establish the chemical fingerprint of death. Speaking here at the 238th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society (ACS), they said a profile of the chemicals released from decomposing bodies could also lead to a valuable new addition to the forensic toolkit: An electronic device that could determine the time elapsed since death quickly, accurately and onsite.
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Posted in: on Monday, August 31, 2009 at at 8:26 AM 0 comments  

SPACE.com - NASA has finished building the first of its new Ares I rockets slated to replace the aging space shuttle fleet and return astronauts to the moon - a gleaming white booster due to blast off this fall.
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Posted in: on Saturday, August 29, 2009 at at 8:26 PM 0 comments  

Satellite images of artificial lighting could help provide more accurate measurements of economic growth for developing countries


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Members of 'sexual minorities' are around twice as likely as heterosexuals to seek help for mental health issues or substance abuse treatment. A model of treatment-seeking behavior, described in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry supports the idea that lesbian, gay and bisexual people may have specific treatment needs.
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Posted in: on Friday, August 28, 2009 at at 4:26 AM 0 comments  

Researchers have found another reason to eat well: a healthy diet helps prevent kidney stones. Loading up on fruits, vegetables, nuts, low-fat dairy products, and whole grains, while limiting salt, red and processed meats, and sweetened beverages is an effective way to ward off kidney stones, according to a study appearing in an upcoming issue of the Journal of the American Society Nephrology (JASN). Because kidney stones are linked to higher rates of hypertension, diabetes, increased body weight, and other risk factors for heart disease, the findings have considerable health implications.
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Posted in: on Thursday, August 27, 2009 at at 4:26 PM 0 comments  

In what might be an unprecedented act of banditry in European waters, a cargo ship disappears shortly after passing through the English Channel. An international search is underway for the Russian-crewed Arctic Sea, which was carrying timber.
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The man who killed three people before taking his own life at a Pennsylvania gym was stopped by authorities a week before the attack. Police questioned George Sodini because he had fit the description of someone who appeared to be handling a grenade on a bus. He was let go because officials couldn't verify it was him at the time.
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Posted in: on Saturday, August 22, 2009 at at 12:26 AM 0 comments  

Heavy thunderstorms fed floods in Kentucky and Indiana on Tuesday, shutting down a university campus in Louisville, closing highways and cutting power to thousands of people.
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Posted in: on Thursday, August 13, 2009 at at 12:26 PM 0 comments  

(AP) -- Federal regulators on Tuesday added stronger warnings to a group of best-selling drugs used to treat arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, saying they can increase the risk of cancer in children and adolescents.
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Posted in: on Wednesday, August 12, 2009 at at 7:26 AM 0 comments  

Despite major costs to taxpayers in the U.S. and Canada, government programs that offer rebates to hybrid vehicle buyers are failing to produce environmental benefits, a new UBC study says.

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SPACE.com - An American astronaut has brought social networking to new heights aboard the International Space Station, where he is "tweeting" about the ups and downs of life onboard a $100 billion laboratory that flies 220 miles above Earth.
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Posted in: on Tuesday, August 11, 2009 at at 11:26 PM 0 comments  

The Atlantic hurricane season could not be off to a slower start with zero named storms through July. However, as the Miami Herald points out in this article it is not unusual. We are only just now heading into the most active part of the season. "Yes, it seems slow compared to the last couple of years, but this is nothing out of the ordinary," said Dennis Feltgen, spokesman for the National Hurricane Center in West Miami-Dade County.

Many a hurricane season has started slowly, only to accelerate right about now. In 2004, for instance, the first named storm didn't pop up until the last day of July.

"That was the same year that had Charlie, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne," Feltgen said. "We ended up with 15 named storms."

Think back to 1992, when the first tropical storm formed Aug. 17. In a week's time, it morphed into Hurricane Andrew and steamrolled across South Miami-Dade as the last Category 5 storm to hit the United States. Even with the slow start it would not be unlikely to have seven storms by the end of October. That in fact is the average. The seasonal averages of named storms per month for the upcoming months - according to Wikipedia - are 2.2 for August, 3.0 for September and 1.8 for October. The chart below from NOAA shows that the bulk of tropical storms occur in August, September and October.



Posted in Hurricanes

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WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2009 (Reuters) -- Researchers said on Monday they had found primitive bladder cancer cells that cloak themselves with a "don't eat me" signal that scares off immune system cells, allowing them to mature into tumors later on. ... > read full story
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