Rare Nepal rhinos mysteriously disappear

Rare Nepal rhinos mysteriously disappear

   KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Dozens of endangered Great One-horned rhinoceros have mysteriously gone missing from a nature reserve in southwest Nepal over the past few years, a wildlife official said on Wednesday.

Programmers to blame for hard-to-use software

Programmers to blame for hard-to-use software

   NEW YORK (Reuters) - Retired microbiologist Diana Westmoreland is no stranger to technology -- except when it comes to computers.

From yap to growl, Israeli device dogs intruders

From yap to growl, Israeli device dogs intruders

   BEERSHEBA, Israel (Reuters) - An Israeli firm has designed a security system to ensure jailbreakers or intruders find a guard dog's bark can indeed be worse than its bite.

Nanotech safety needs specific government risk research strategy and funding

Nanotech safety needs specific government risk research strategy and funding

   "Prioritizing nanotechnology risk research isn't rocket science," said Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies chief scientist Andrew Maynard. Dr. Maynard's remark is in his testimony today before the federal government's first public meeting focused exclusively on research needs and priorities for the environmental, health and safety risks of engineered nanoscale materials.

Two more test positive for polonium in UK probe

Two more test positive for polonium in UK probe

   LONDON (Reuters) - Two more people have tested positive for low levels of polonium 210, the radioactive poison that killed former Russian agent Alexander Litvinenko, British health authorities said on Wednesday.

Chinese drive to get pandas back into the wild (AFP)

Chinese drive to get pandas back into the wild
(AFP)


   

AFP - With a record 34 giant pandas born by way of artificial insemination in 2006, Chinese experts are now focusing on releasing the endangered animals back into natural habitats, state press said.

UD scientists discover new class of polymers

UD scientists discover new class of polymers

   For years, polymer chemistry textbooks have stated that a whole class of little molecules called 1,2-disubstituted ethylenes could not be transformed into polymers -- the stuff of which plastics and other materials are made.However, UD scientists Chris Snively and Jochen Lauterbach were determined to prove the textbooks wrong. As a result of their persistence, the researchers have discovered a new class of ultra-thin polymer films with potential applications ranging from coating tiny microelectronic devices to plastic solar cells.

European Union outpaces United States on chemical safety

European Union outpaces United States on chemical safety

   New stricter European environmental policies may force even U.S.-based electronics makers to change their ways, say policy analysts at Brown University and Boston University. Stacy D. VanDeveer, a visiting fellow at Brown University's Watson Institute for International Studies, and Henrik Selin, an assistant professor of international relations at Boston University, analyzed the controversial new policies in the December issue of the journal Environment.

McBride shows DNA detective work with paper-eating bacteria that 'glide'

McBride shows DNA detective work with paper-eating bacteria that 'glide'

   A professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has been helping the Department of Energy analyze the genome of a "paper-eating" bacterium that could have uses in producing ethanol, but also shed light on how "gliding" bacteria move. The two functions could be related.

Cheaper LEDs from breakthrough in zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire research, Nano Letters study says

Cheaper LEDs from breakthrough in zinc oxide (ZnO) nanowire research, Nano Letters study says

   Engineers at UC San Diego have synthesized a long-sought semiconducting material that may pave the way for an inexpensive new kind of light emitting diode (LED) that could compete with today's widely used gallium nitride LEDs, according to a new paper in the journal Nano Letters.

2007 set to be world's warmest year: UK Met Office (Reuters)

2007 set to be world's warmest year: UK Met Office
(Reuters)


   

Reuters - The coming year is set to be the hottest
on record worldwide due to global warming and the El Nino
weather phenomenon, Britain's Meteorological Office said on
Thursday.

2 officers' lawyers want charges dropped (AP)

2 officers' lawyers want charges dropped
(AP)


   

AP - Attorneys for two of the seven police officers charged in a deadly bridge shooting in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath asked a judge Wednesday to throw out charges against their clients, saying testimony they were forced to give a grand jury is being used against them.

Japan opens royal tombs for research (AP)

Japan opens royal tombs for research
(AP)


   AP - Japan is allowing researchers to study 11 royal tombs, the graves of ancient emperors, sealed centuries ago, in a move that may shed light on the myth-shrouded origins of Japan's imperial family, according to a news report.

2007 to be 'warmest on record'

2007 to be 'warmest on record'

   The world is likely to experience the warmest year on record in 2007, the UK's Met Office forecasts.

Parts of U.S. experience warm winter (AP)

Parts of U.S. experience warm winter
(AP)


   

AP - Crocuses are pushing out of the ground in New Jersey. Ice fishing tournaments in Minnesota are being canceled for lack of ice. And golfers are hitting the links in Chicago in January. Much of the Midwest and the East Coast are going through a remarkably warm winter, with temperatures running 10 and 20 degrees higher than normal in many places.

Upgrade makes aging Mars rovers smarter (AP)

Upgrade makes aging Mars rovers smarter
(AP)


   

AP - The twin Mars rovers are getting wiser with age. Engineers have transmitted new flight software to the rovers' onboard computers, just in time for the third anniversary of their landings. The software is aimed at boosting their intelligence and independence so that they can roll around the Red Planet with less help from humans.

Two studies: Speeding development of novel tracer for prostate cancer

Two studies: Speeding development of novel tracer for prostate cancer

   The collaborative work being performed by professionals across medical disciplines in the promising area of molecular imaging -- from research scientists to nuclear medicine physicians, urologists, radiochemists and even veterinarians -- provides encouraging news in fighting prostate cancer. This type of progressive -- or translational -- research can be seen in two papers published in the January issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

New edition of landmark textbook incorporates contemporary genome-based view of biology

New edition of landmark textbook incorporates contemporary genome-based view of biology

   The third edition of a landmark genetics textbook -- "Recombinant DNA: Genes and Genomes--A Short Course" -- has just been released. Infused with descriptions of genome sequencing technologies, biological insights from sequencing projects and practical applications of genetics and genomics research, the new edition of Recombinant DNA presents a modern, genome-centered view of biology. It is co-published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press and W.H. Freeman and Co.

Scientists uncover potential key to brain blood-flow disorders

Scientists uncover potential key to brain blood-flow disorders

   A University of Vermont study suggests that the astrocytic BK channel is an important participant in the cellular process responsible for signaling regional blood flow changes in the brain, providing a new key to understanding such disorders as stroke, migraine and Alzheimer's disease.

What memories are made of

What memories are made of

   Unraveling the differences between various kinds of memories depends on understanding changes that happen in the brain at the molecular level, says a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. To probe the exact role that genes and proteins play in the brain in response to experience, Fred Helmstetter compares fMRI in humans with gene expression in rats.

NASA seeks to reverse youth apathy (AP)

NASA seeks to reverse youth apathy
(AP)


   AP - Even though he goes to college in the shadow of the Kennedy Space Center, Adam Humphries can't name any of the astronauts who just returned home on space shuttle Discovery.

Heavy snow Mountain West, heavy rain Texas (weather.com)

Heavy snow Mountain West, heavy rain Texas
(weather.com)


   weather.com -

Heavy rain portions of South tomorrow (weather.com)

Heavy rain portions of South tomorrow
(weather.com)


   weather.com -

Woman to give birth after embryo rescue (AP)

Woman to give birth after embryo rescue
(AP)


   AP - The baby album for Rebekah Markham's soon-to-be-born child could include something extra special: photos of officers using flat-bottomed boats to rescue the youngster's frozen embryo from a sweltering hospital in the chaotic aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Group: ExxonMobil paid to mislead public (AP)

Group: ExxonMobil paid to mislead public
(AP)


   AP - ExxonMobil Corp. gave $16 million to 43 ideological groups between 1998 and 2005 in a coordinated effort to mislead the public by discrediting the science behind global warming, the Union of Concerned Scientists asserted Wednesday.

More S&E Construction - Group Study Rooms!!

More S&E Construction - Group Study Rooms!!

   To meet increasing demand for collaborative spaces in the S&E Library, two more group study rooms are under construction, just off the ACS computer lab A. The area's blocked off with plastic, and the Infostation cluster that was there has...

'PET/CT in Cancer Patient Management' examined in Journal of Nuclear Medicine Supplement

'PET/CT in Cancer Patient Management' examined in Journal of Nuclear Medicine Supplement

   "PET/CT in Cancer Patient Management" is the subject of a special supplement to the January issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine. SNM, the largest molecular imaging and nuclear medicine association, is publishing a unique collection of articles that explores the role of 18F-FDG PET/CT imaging in patient screening, cancer diagnosis, initial treatment planning, treatment monitoring and detection of early recurrence.

Scientist Andrew Maynard to testify on nanotechnology research needs

Scientist Andrew Maynard to testify on nanotechnology research needs

   Dr. Andrew Maynard, chief scientist at the Wilson Center's Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies, will testify before the federal government's first public meeting on nanotechnology environmental, health and safety research needs on Jan. 4.

JDRF forms partnership with MacroGenics

JDRF forms partnership with MacroGenics

   JDRF forms partnership with MacroGenics; supports Phase II/III Clinical Trial of Anti-CD3 Antibody for Recent-Onset Type 1 Diabetes.

Uric acid and spinal cord injury treatment

Uric acid and spinal cord injury treatment

   Uric acid is commonly associated with the excruciatingly painful joint disease known as gout, but it can also play a crucial role in the treatment of spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders, such as stroke, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease.

SNM examines molecular imaging's power to detect, treat diseases

SNM examines molecular imaging's power to detect, treat diseases

   The power of molecular imaging -- and its ability to see through layers of skin and tissue to the cell to detect -- and treat -- heart disease, brain disorders and cancer -- will be explored during SNM's Mid-Winter Educational Symposium February 15-18, 2007, at the Hyatt Regency in San Antonio, Texas.

Nanoscale cubes and spheres

Nanoscale cubes and spheres

   At the University of Minnesota, a team led by Andreas Stein has developed a new process for the production of nanoscopic cubes and spheres of silicon dioxide. The researchers report their trick in the journal Angewandte Chemie -- Instead of building their particles from smaller units, they used the controlled disassembly of larger, lattice-like structures.

PM says West is environmentally wasteful (Reuters)

PM says West is environmentally wasteful
(Reuters)


   

Reuters - Slamming the West for its "environmentally wasteful lifestyle", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh called on Wednesday for industrialised nations to look at alternative energy sources to save the environment.

Scientists may have found Medici murder (AP)

Scientists may have found Medici murder
(AP)


   

AP - Scientists in Italy believe they have uncovered a murder — 400 years after it is thought to have taken place. Historians have long suspected that Francesco de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany, and his second wife, Bianca Cappello, did not die of malaria but were poisoned — by Francesco's brother, Cardinal Ferdinando de' Medici, who was vying for the dukedom. For four centuries that theory remained just that — a theory.

7 New Orleans cops surrender amid cheers (AP)

7 New Orleans cops surrender amid cheers
(AP)


   

AP - Seven police officers charged in a deadly bridge shooting in Hurricane Katrina's aftermath waded through a roaring crowd of supporters on their way to jail, accepting hand shakes and hugs along the way. Jeers from several protesters only made the cheers grow louder.

Report: 30 pandas born in China in 2006 (AP)

Report: 30 pandas born in China in 2006
(AP)


   

AP - A mini-baby boom last year has pushed up the number of pandas bred in captivity in China to 217, state media said Wednesday.

Astronauts Fix Jammed Solar Array On Station

Astronauts Fix Jammed Solar Array On Station

    HOUSTON, Dec. 18 -- Two spacewalking astronauts finished folding up a stubborn accordion-like solar array Monday, resolving the only complication in the space shuttle Discovery's otherwise smooth mission to the international space station.

NASA Launches Google Collaboration

NASA Launches Google Collaboration

    NASA, seeking to give the public easy access to its massive trove of images and data about Earth and outer space, has entered into a formal agreement with Google to post material from the agency's many missions on the Internet. As the technology improves and the collaboration grows, officials said, viewers could one day be treated to live video from the moon, Mars and elsewhere....

Rich Donors Help Calif. Fund Stem Cell Research

Rich Donors Help Calif. Fund Stem Cell Research

    LOS ANGELES -- Two years after California voters passed a landmark $3 billion bond measure for stem cell research, not a single bond has been sold and not a penny of bond money has been spent. The fund is caught up in court challenges.

Washington Warming to Southern Plants

Washington Warming to Southern Plants

    A warming climate in the Washington area is beginning to affect the area's trees, with cold-loving species finding the weather less welcoming and southern transplants thriving, according to findings released yesterday by the National Arbor Day Foundation.

Stormy west and south (weather.com)

Stormy west and south
(weather.com)


   weather.com -

Rare rhinos disappearing in Nepal

Rare rhinos disappearing in Nepal

   Dozens of rare one-horned rhinos have gone missing in south-western Nepal in recent years, say conservationists.

After Weather Delay, Discovery Lands Safely

After Weather Delay, Discovery Lands Safely

    The space shuttle Discovery landed at Kennedy Space Center at sunset yesterday, ending a 13-day mission to further assembly of the international space station.

Climate 'benefits' for UK farming

Climate 'benefits' for UK farming

   A project highlighting opportunities, as well as threats, from climate change is launched for farmers.

FDA May Clear Cloned Food, But Public Has Little Appetite

FDA May Clear Cloned Food, But Public Has Little Appetite

    Consumer advocates and others have complained bitterly in recent years that the Food and Drug Administration has veered from its scientific roots, making decisions on controversial matters -- such as the emergency contraceptive "Plan B" -- on political rather than scientific grounds.

After Long Struggle, Whooping Crane Population Hits Milestone

After Long Struggle, Whooping Crane Population Hits Milestone

    AUSTWELL, Tex. -- One of the most beloved groups of winter Texans is back, in the largest number in a century and with a record 45 youngsters in tow, including an even rarer seven pairs of twins.

Western Australia braces ahead of "perfect storm" (AFP)

Western Australia braces ahead of "perfect storm"
(AFP)


   

AFP - Australian oil and mining companies have shut down operations as communities battened down the hatches ahead of a "perfect storm" experts feared would bring destructive winds and flooding to the country's west.