Liberal Media News

BBC Science/Nature

Third of EU emissions 'imported' Research shows some EU countries "import" about a third of their carbon emissions from developing countries.
9 Mar 2010 at 6:46am

Nanotech 'fuse' for novel battery A never-before-seen reaction in nanotubes could make for batteries that pack a mighty punch, say researchers.
9 Mar 2010 at 11:17am

Superweed predator to be released A plant-eating predator that preys on aggressive superweed Japanese knotweed is to be given a trial release in England.
8 Mar 2010 at 6:25pm

Skynet satellite system extended Skynet 5, the UK's single biggest space project, is to get a fourth satellite to up the bandwidth available to British forces.
9 Mar 2010 at 4:17am

Lords in science investment call Former Labour and Conservative science ministers challenge the next UK government to maintain investment in science.
8 Mar 2010 at 6:29pm

Tory review urges science boost A Tory-backed report urges incentives for schools and tax breaks for researchers to raise the profile of science.
8 Mar 2010 at 5:47pm

Lough eel numbers 'on the brink' There are growing concerns about the future of the Lough Neagh eel fishery and the hundreds of jobs it supports.
9 Mar 2010 at 1:53am

Probe may have found cosmic dust Scientists may have identified the first specks of interstellar dust in material collected by the Nasa Stardust spacecraft.
5 Mar 2010 at 3:28pm

Tongue-lashing: Chameleon's weapon unmatched in the cold Chameleon have a hidden advantage as hunters, a ballistic tongue that works well in the cold.
9 Mar 2010 at 5:20am

Legal beagles: Swiss reject plan to give animals their own lawyers The Swiss vote by a large majority against a proposal to give animals the constitutional right to be represented in court.
7 Mar 2010 at 11:22am

Guardian Unlimited Science

We need GM plants that benefit consumers and not just farmers

Despite the decision by the European Union last week to approve the cultivation of a GM potato, plant scientist Eoin Lettice argues that consumers will only accept the technology when it provides tangible benefits for them

Last week's decision by the European Commission to allow genetically modified potato varieties to be grown in some European Union countries concludes a 13-year campaign by the German chemical company BASF.

Ordinary potatoes produce two kinds of starch, but the GM potato Amflo...

9 Mar 2010 at 6:04am

The psychology of heroism

How can normal people be made to act heroically?

In paying tribute to Michael Foot last week, David Cameron used an intriguingly double-edged phrase. He described the former Labour leader as "almost the last link to a more heroic age in politics" ? a duly respectful compliment, but one that also hinted that Foot was from a bygone era where politics was done in brash primary colours rather than the thoughtful shades used today.

Of all the virtues, heroism is now the most remote. Heroes are eithe...

by Aditya Chakrabortty
8 Mar 2010 at 6:45pm

Alien v predator: The moth on a mission to kill Japanese knotweed

Chosen insect feeds on invasive species but not other closely related plants and crops

Biological warfare is to be declared on an alien invader, Japanese knotweed, that swamps gardens and rivers, with the release of an insect to eat the virulent weed.

The decision by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs is the first allowing one non-native species, a flying insect resembling a miniature moth, to control the seemingly unstoppable spread of an alien plant.

However, it is likely t...

by Juliette Jowit
8 Mar 2010 at 6:05pm

Science Weekly: Scientists gagged

Science writer Simon Singh and Tracey Brown from Sense About Science tell us about Libel Reform Week and the campaign to change Britain's libel laws and protect scientific freedom of expression.

Simon is currently locked in a legal battle over a comment piece published in the Guardian.

Matthew Applegate, aka Pixelh8, is performing an audiovisual study as part of Cambridge Science Festival. We went along to the Institute of Astronomy to hear the telescopes he used as his musical instruments.

I...

by Alok Jha, Andy Duckworth, Nell Boase, Simon Singh, Ian Sample
7 Mar 2010 at 6:01pm

Lack of trust in complex science

There is no simple way to battle public hostility to climate research. As the psychologists show, facts barely sway us anyway

There is one question that no one who denies manmade climate change wants to answer: what would it take to persuade you? In most cases the answer seems to be nothing. No level of evidence can shake the growing belief that climate science is a giant conspiracy codded up by boffins and governments to tax and control us. The new study by the Met Office, which paints an eve...

by George Monbiot
8 Mar 2010 at 2:30pm

'We don't know what 96% of the universe is made of'

Pop star-turned-physicist Brian Cox speaks about his new TV series on the solar system

It's big space, isn't it?

It's 93 million miles to the Sun: that's a long way. It takes light eight minutes to do that. There are 100bn galaxies in the observable universe. If you take a 5p coin and hold it 75 feet away, the space in the sky it would obscure would hold 10,000 galaxies. It's mindblowing. I don't think anyone has a grasp of that other than to say: it's big.

You recently answered claims that expe...

by Caspar Llewellyn Smith
6 Mar 2010 at 6:08pm

Ghost orchid back from dead

Three species thought extinct, including a caddisfly and yellow-spotted bell frog, have been sighted in the UK and Australia

? Humans driving extinction faster than species can evolve, say experts

Three species thought to be extinct have been found again, to the delight of conservationists.

In the UK, the rare ghost orchid, declared extinct in this country just last year, has been found in England, and a caddisfly ? a small flying insect ? last seen more than a century ago has been discovered ag...

by Juliette Jowit
8 Mar 2010 at 11:10am

China picks mums for astronaut training

Officials concerned space flight might affect fertility of first Chinese women to go into orbit

They are, of course, in peak physical condition, with the flying skills required of any air force ace. But China's first female astronauts have faced an extra challenge: they had to be mothers to qualify for the country's prestigious space programme.

Two women and five men have been selected as the next generation to go into space, a Hong Kong newspaper reported today, citing an unnamed military sour...

by Tania Branigan
8 Mar 2010 at 6:41am

Humans drive extinction faster than species evolve

Conservationists say rate of new species slower than diversity loss caused by the destruction of habitats and climate change

? Ghost orchid comes back from extinction

For the first time since the dinosaurs disappeared, humans are driving animals and plants to extinction faster than new species can evolve, one of the world's experts on biodiversity has warned.

Conservation experts have already signalled that the world is in the grip of the "sixth great extinction" of species, driven by the destru...

by Juliette Jowit
7 Mar 2010 at 4:59pm

Working outdoors reduces cancer risk

Research shows vitamin D, produced by skin when exposed to ultraviolet light, associated with reduced rate of renal cancer

Men who work outdoors, enabling their bodies to create vitamins through exposure to sunlight, have a reduced risk of kidney cancer, researchers said today.

In the largest study of its kind, scientists found that vitamin D ? produced by the skin when exposed to ultraviolet light ? was associated with a reduced rate of renal cancer of up to 73% among men.

However, the study, p...

by James Sturcke
8 Mar 2010 at 3:11am

ScienceDaily

Cancer mortality has declined since initiation of 'war on cancer' A new American Cancer Society study finds progress in reducing cancer death rates is evident whether measured against baseline rates in 1970 or in 1990. The study finds a downturn in cancer death rates since 1990 results mostly from reductions in tobacco use, increased screening allowing early detection of several cancers, and modest to large improvements in treatment for specific cancers.
9 Mar 2010 at 10:00pm

Infectious virus hidden in chromosomes can be passed from parents to children In some individuals the common herpes virus HHV-6 can integrate into structures at the end of chromosomes and be reactivated to an infectious form.
9 Mar 2010 at 10:00pm

Earthquake in Chile: A complicated fracture The extremely strong earthquake that struck Chile Feb. 27 was a complicated rupture process, scientists say. Quakes with such magnitude virtually penetrate the entire Earth's crust. After closer analysis of the seismic waves radiated by this earthquake during the first 134 seconds after start of the rupture, the researchers came to the conclusion that only the region around the actual epicentre was active during the first minutes.
9 Mar 2010 at 10:00pm

Lacosamide validated as promising therapy for uncontrolled partial-onset seiz... A recent multi-center study has confirmed earlier study results that 400 mg/day of lacosamide provides a good balance of efficacy and tolerability for patients with uncontrolled partial-onset seizures, and doses of 600mg/day may provide additional benefit for some patients.
9 Mar 2010 at 10:00pm

Mathematical model may offer better understanding of embryonic development A mathematical model can predict complex signaling patterns that could help scientists determine how stem cells in an embryo later become specific tissues, knowledge that could be used to understand and treat developmental disorders and some diseases.
9 Mar 2010 at 10:00pm

Researcher presents risk-free treatment for low female sexual desire Researchers are currently testing a new drug, flibanserin, which was developed as an antidepressant and affects neurotransmitters in the brain, to treat women with low sexual desire. However, experts are concerned about the side effects of this possible treatment. Now, a researcher has found evidence that a low-cost, risk-free psychological treatment is effective and may be a better alternative to drugs that have adverse side effects.
9 Mar 2010 at 10:00pm

Snake venom charms science world: Novel protein from king cobra as drug disco... The king cobra continues to weave its charm with researchers identifying a protein in its venom with the potential for new drug discovery and to advance understanding of disease mechanisms.
9 Mar 2010 at 7:00pm

Mathematical approach to immune cell analysis seen as first step to better di... Researchers have developed a new mathematical approach to analyze molecular data derived from complex mixtures of immune cells. This approach, when combined with well-established techniques, readily identifies changes in small samples of human whole blood, and has the potential to distinguish between health and disease states.
9 Mar 2010 at 7:00pm

How ATP, molecule bearing 'the fuel of life,' is broken down in cells Researchers have figured out how ATP is broken down in cells, providing for the first time a clear picture of the key reaction that allows cells in all living things to function and flourish. Discovered some 80 years ago, adenosine triphosphate is said to be second in biological importance only to DNA.
9 Mar 2010 at 7:00pm

Preventing or reversing inflammation after heart attack, stroke may require t... Researchers are releasing results of a study this week that they say will help refocus the search for new drug targets aimed at preventing or reversing the devastating tissue inflammation that results after heart attack and stroke.
9 Mar 2010 at 7:00pm

New Scientist

Singalong-a sulcus: How brains hear music and lyrics We may finally have some answers to the hotly debated question of whether the brain processes lyrics and melody separately or as one


9 Mar 2010 at 4:00pm

Sushi restaurant raided after Hollywood sting The producers of the Oscar-winning documentary The Cove teamed up with government agents to investigate a California restaurant rumoured to be selling whale meat


9 Mar 2010 at 2:21pm

Today on New Scientist: 9 March 2010 All today's stories on newscientist.com at a glance, including: extermination in paradise, the "midwife molecule" that could have assembled Earth's first life, and why chameleons can eat breakfast


9 Mar 2010 at 12:00pm

Mars glacier lubricant could fuel rockets The ice at the planet's north pole may be moving on a bed of salty sludge, which one day could be handy for fuel


9 Mar 2010 at 10:41am

Decision-makers betrayed by their wide eyes When people make a decision, their pupils dilate ? a cue that could betray intentions, or even converse with people with locked-in syndrome


9 Mar 2010 at 10:27am

Dyson helps to fill Tory policy vacuum At last we have a glimpse of what is going through the mind of the Conservative party, thanks to a report from the industrial designer James Dyson


9 Mar 2010 at 9:10am

How could boozing help you lose weight? A report suggests that women who drink moderately are less likely to pile on the pounds – what does the study really mean, asks Jessica Hamzelou


9 Mar 2010 at 9:07am

Extermination in paradise Rats have long wreaked bloody devastation in the wildlife haven of South Georgia ? now conservationists are planning brutal retaliation


9 Mar 2010 at 7:00am

Nanotube cuff is 'solar cell' for exhaust pipes A new material based on nanotubes matches the efficiency of solar cells – but scavenges power from heat leaking from hot pipes, not sunlight


9 Mar 2010 at 6:54am

Why chameleons are the only lizards that eat breakfast High-speed video images show the lizards can catch prey with their rubber band-like tongues equally well whether their body temperature is a cool 15 °C or a warmer 35 °C


9 Mar 2010 at 6:28am

Scientific American

PET project: Using organic catalysts to make more biodegradable plastics

Whereas most discarded plastic water and beverage bottles (those imprinted with a number 1 within a triangular arrow) can be recycled , the resulting second-generation plastic is generally unusable for making new plastic bottles. This is because the polyethylene terephthalate (PET) thermoplastic polymer used to make the original bottles is often made with the help of metal oxide or metal hydroxide catalysts that linger in the recycled material and weaken it over time. [More]

9 Mar 2010 at 4:30pm

Storing Megawatts: Liquid metal batteries and electricity

Making aluminum requires a lot of electricity. That's because the metal bonds tightly to oxygen and it takes a lot of energy to break that bond. In essence, the process of making aluminum is a giant battery with the silvery metal being reduced to purity at the cathode while oxygen bonds with the carbon anode to make, you guessed it, CO2. It takes roughly 15 kilowatt-hours of electricity to make just one kilogram of aluminum via electrolysis. [More]

9 Mar 2010 at 3:31pm

Smokestash Industry: ARPA-E Seeks Breakthroughs in Carbon Capture Technology

WASHINGTON--Every second, our bodies capture carbon dioxide in our tissues, transport it via the blood, and dump it in the lungs from where it is exhaled. This unconscious process is yet another way humans contribute to the accumulation of the greenhouse gas in the atmosphere--albeit in a miniscule volume compared with burning fossil fuels . The key to this metabolic process is an enzyme called carbonic anhydrase and it's efficiency at capturing and releasing CO2 is what human engineers want...

9 Mar 2010 at 2:01pm

Seeking Transformational Energy Technologies

[ This special issue podcast is longer than the usual 60 seconds. ]

Last week, the new Advanced Research Projects Agency for energy held its inaugural conference in Washington, D.C.--a direct response to a growing sense that the U.S. is losing its technology lead when it comes to the race for cleaner ways to produce and use energy. "We have a Sputnik moment right now. We are losing our technology leadership and we are falling behind."

[More]
9 Mar 2010 at 11:01am

Trichodesmium : The world's most famous nitrogen fixer

Editor's Note: Journalist and crew member Kathryn Eident and scientist Jeremy Jacquot are traveling on board the RV Atlantis on a monthlong voyage to sample and study nitrogen fixation in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, among other research projects. This is the sixth blog post detailing this ongoing voyage of discovery for ScientificAmerican.com .

Imagine you’re in space, floating high above the Earth. Picture the world’s oceans, glimmering sapphire under the heat of the sun and the...

9 Mar 2010 at 10:42am

Can Aging Nuclear Reactors Be Safe?

On Nov. 4, 2008, two divers were cleaning sludge and silt from an entry bay for water pumps that serve Constellation Energy Nuclear Group's Nine Mile Point nuclear power plant near Oswego, N.Y.

In the midst of the operation, the diver and the hose tender shifted their positions and the diver lost control of a plastic suction hose, leaving its trailing section in front of one of the water pipe entries. The force of the water flow, at 9,000 gallons a minute, severed a section of hose and sucke...

9 Mar 2010 at 9:30am

Belief in the Brain

Religious belief may seem to be a unique psychological experience, but a growing body of research shows that thinking about religion is no different from thinking about secular things­--at least from the standpoint of the brain. In the first imaging study to compare religious and nonreligious thoughts, evaluating the truth of either type of statement was found to involve the same regions of the brain.

Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, used functional MRI to evaluate bra...

9 Mar 2010 at 8:00am

Does Getting Fat Protect against Fat?

Everyone knows that obesity is bad for your health. Packing on the pounds, we’re told, leads to all sorts of medical problems: high cholesterol, insulin resistance, greater risk of diabetes and heart disease. But researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center see things a little differently. In a paper in the journal Trends in Endocrinology and Metabolism [see http://bit.ly/bKaP33 ], they argue that being fat can actually protect us from these disorders. [More]

9 Mar 2010 at 7:10am

Scooting toward Oblivion

There’s a story about a truck driver who passed the long, lonely hours in his big rig knitting sweaters. His hands thus otherwise occupied, he steered with his knees. A highway patrol officer noted this behavior and set out after the truck driver. As the cop got close, he commanded via his vehicle’s loudspeaker, “Pull over.” To which the trucker shouted back, “No, it’s a cardigan.”

Though not a bona fide law-enforcement officer myself, I sometimes act in loco centurion while on the road. I d...

9 Mar 2010 at 7:00am

The Psychology of the Taboo Trade-Off

Consider the classic hypothetical scenario: Your house is on fire and you can take only three things with you before the entire structure becomes engulfed in flames. What would you take? Laptops and external hard drives aside, people’s responses to this question differ wildly. This diversity results from people’s flexibility in ascribing unique value to objects ranging from a hand-scrawled note from a loved one to a threadbare t-shirt that others might consider worthless.

[More]
8 Mar 2010 at 11:00pm

ScienCentral News

Hawaiian Heat With climate change forecasts calling for tough times in tropical climates, scientists in America?s tropical paradise of Hawaii are carefully monitoring nature for signs of change, and citizen scientists are helping them find those signs in the ocean?s coral reefs.

by ScienCentral
12 Oct 2009 at 7:00pm

2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal Winner: Lotfi A. Zadeh The 2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Electrical Engineering is presented to Lotfi Zadeh for his invention and development of the field of fuzzy logic, a mathematical system that captures aspects of the ambiguity of human language and thought, which has solved problems in areas such as artificial intelligence and the automated control of machines.

by ScienCentral
6 Oct 2009 at 7:00pm

Naps and Creativity Telling your boss you need a nap might not be the smartest thing to do at work, but scientific evidence is now on your side. As this ScienCentral News video explains, sleep researchers just released a new study that says naps over an hour long may boost creative problem solving.

by ScienCentral
29 Sep 2009 at 7:00pm

Street Corner Science with Stephen Benkovic ScienCentral is taking science back to the people with our second installment of "Street Corner Science," the radical yet-simple concept in which a film crew and a renowned scientist are plunked down amidst a busy city center, and an impromptu Q&A session with the public ensues.

by ScienCentral
22 Sep 2009 at 7:00pm

Girls Vs. Boys at Math Are men naturally better at math than women or is that just an out-dated stereotype? When former Harvard president Larry Summers said publicly in 2005 that men are innately better at math, many women were outraged. So a couple of women scientists decided to research it. This ScienCentral News video explains their report published this week.

by ScienCentral
10 Sep 2009 at 7:00pm

Unfiltered: Girls Vs. Boys At Math "Unfiltered" is a recurring series where ScienCentral reporters give their personal thoughts on the stories they produce. This installment is based on the news story "Girls Vs. Boys At Math."

by ScienCentral
9 Sep 2009 at 7:00pm

2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal Winner: Stephen Benkovic The 2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Science is presented to Stephen Benkovic for his groundbreaking contributions to our mechanistic understanding of enzymes, and for helping to unravel the complexities of the enzymes involved in DNA replication. This ScienCentral Video Profile explains.

by ScienCentral
30 Aug 2009 at 7:00pm

As Goes GM I know a woman who is relentlessly, ridiculously optimistic. Everything is always for the best.

by ScienCentral
1 Jun 2009 at 2:23pm

Reports From the River A new blog just debuted that we thought was worth sharing.

by ScienCentral
29 May 2009 at 12:55pm

Thin Brains and Depression It's well known that depression in your family puts you at high risk of depression. Now researchers have found a structural difference in the brain that could explain why. Animation: 3-D brain scan, the cortex layer peels away, courtesy Bradley Peterson

by ScienCentral
28 May 2009 at 12:26pm

PhysOrg

Physician calls for more rigorous standards for drugs up for FDA approval A hospitalist at the University of Rochester Medical Center calls for more stringent Federal guidelines governing the approval of potential new drugs, in a commentary in the March 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
9 Mar 2010 at 4:30pm

Sources of pollution in waterways Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are components of petroleum products such as gasoline, coal, and oil. They are also produced as by-products of the combustion of fuels including petroleum and fire wood. PAHs can cause cancer and other health effects. Because they are produced during combustion, they are ubiquitous, and their levels are high enough to be a concern in all urban waterways. However, because there are so many potential sources of PAHs in the environment, it is not clear whi...
9 Mar 2010 at 4:00pm

Studies that compare effectiveness of medications often do not include nonpha... An analysis of comparative effectiveness studies finds that few compare medications with nonpharmacologic interventions, and few examine safety or cost-effectiveness, according to a study in the March 10 issue of JAMA.
9 Mar 2010 at 4:00pm

Vaccinating children against flu helps protect wider community: study Results of a clinical trial conducted in a largely self-contained religious community during the 2008-09 influenza season show that immunizing children against seasonal influenza can significantly protect unvaccinated community members against influenza as well. The study was conducted to determine if immunized children could act as a barrier to limit the spread of influenza to the wider, unvaccinated community, a concept known as herd immunity.
9 Mar 2010 at 3:50pm

Patients with Irritable Bowel Syndrome not more likely to develop polyps, col... Patients with irritable bowel syndrome are at no greater risk of having polyps, colon cancer or inflammatory bowel diseases than healthy people undergoing colonoscopies, according to new research published in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.
9 Mar 2010 at 3:50pm

Kidney donors suffer few ill effects from life-giving act, landmark study finds In a landmark study of more than 80,000 live kidney donors from across the United States, Johns Hopkins researchers have found the procedure carries very little medical risk and that, in the long term, people who donate one of their kidneys are likely to live just as long as those who have two healthy ones.
9 Mar 2010 at 3:40pm

Critical recommendations unveiled: Deep-vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism Three critical recommendations from a national workshop have been released to address deep-vein thrombosis (DVT) and pulmonary embolism (PE), a growing public health problem estimated to affect nearly 1 million Americans each year. The recommendations - developed by a diverse group of representatives from federal health agencies and patient groups, as well as experts from the medical and public health communities - appear in the March 9, 2010, Supplement to American Journal of Preventive Med...
9 Mar 2010 at 3:40pm

Study finds cancer mortality has declined since initiation of 'war on cancer' A new American Cancer Society study finds progress in reducing cancer death rates is evident whether measured against baseline rates in 1970 or in 1990. The study appears in the open access journal PLos ONE, and finds a downturn in cancer death rates since 1990 results mostly from reductions in tobacco use, increased screening allowing early detection of several cancers, and modest to large improvements in treatment for specific cancers.
9 Mar 2010 at 3:40pm

'Nobel of computing' goes to early PC designer (AP) -- A Microsoft Corp. researcher won the $250,000 Turing Award, one of technology's most coveted prizes, on Tuesday for his work helping design and build what is widely considered the first modern personal computer.
9 Mar 2010 at 3:37pm

Company to sell 'world's first practical jetpack' for $75,000 (w/ Video) Taking a leap into the future, the New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Company plans to start selling commercial jetpacks to anyone with an interest and $75,000.
9 Mar 2010 at 3:33pm

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