Experts: Chatter key to fight superbugs (AP)

   AP - Do germs communicate? Many scientists think so and are betting the chatter may hold the key to developing the next generation of drugs to fight killer superbugs.
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Nero's Golden Palace to partly reopen (AP)

   

AP - Nero's Golden Palace will partly reopen to visitors next week, offering rare insight into archaeologists' efforts to preserve the first-century imperial residence from decay and humidity.

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Stonehenge houses found

   Archaeologists say they have found a huge ancient settlement used by the people who built Stonehenge.
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Warning over deadly fish parasite

   River anglers are being warned about a deadly parasite which could wipe out Scotland's salmon stocks.
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Taxes 'fail to curb travel CO2'

   Current UK tax plans are unlikely to curb the growth in greenhouse gas emissions from travel, a study says.
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Astronauts take 1st of 3 spacewalks (AP)

   

AP - Four or five flakes of toxic ammonia fell from a cooling line cap Wednesday but apparently didn't touch two U.S. astronauts conducting the first of three spacewalks planned outside the international space station over the next nine days.

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Books on Vista and Office 2007

   The first Vista/Office 2007 books from O'Reilly's Safari collection are now online. (Note: Safari titles have limited simultaneous user access; try again later if the book is unavailable). You can also subscribe to their RSS feed to keep up with...
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Changes to Journal of Physical Chemistry

   ACS's Journal of Physical Chemistry titles have been revamped for 2007, with the launch of a third journal and a reorganization of the journals' scopes. Journal of Physical Chemistry A - Dynamics, Kinetics, Environmental Chemistry, Spectroscopy, Structure, Theory Dynamics, Clusters,...
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Fla. gov OKs some stem cell research (AP)

   

AP - Gov. Charlie Crist said Wednesday he planned to recommend that lawmakers spend state money for stem cell research, but only the kind that doesn't require the destruction of embryos.

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Blood or urine? HGH testing feud simmers (AP)

   

AP - Olympic athletes soon will have their blood tested for human growth hormone, but the NFL and baseball officials instead are embracing the unproven concept of urine testing in their bid to stop use of the performance-enhancing drug.

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Biogen Idec acquires Brandeis spin-out

   Syntonix Pharmaceuticals, a spin-out company formed by Brandeis University, Brigham and Women's Hospital, and Children's Hospital Boston announced today that it was acquired by biotech giant Biogen Idec. Syntonix was founded in 1997 based on breakthrough discoveries from the laboratories of Neil Simister, Ph.D. (Brandeis), Wayne Lencer, M.D. (Children's), and Richard S. Blumberg, M.D. (Brigham). Their research harnesses the human body's natural immunological pathways for novel methods of drug delivery.
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Physicist to be recognized for helping 'revolutionize astronomy'

   Studying stars has never been so easy, thanks to Washington University's Ernst Zinner. For the past 30-plus years, Zinner has helped develop and fine-tune increasingly sophisticated instruments that allow researchers to get details about circumstellar and interstellar dust right in their own labs. These precision instruments use a measurement technique called secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). A symposium will be held Feb. 3-4 to recognize Zinner's contributions to SIMS' development and applications in earth and space sciences.
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UK criticised over illegal timber

   A WWF report claims that the UK is the world's third largest importer of illegal timber and calls for a Europe-wide ban.
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Fake drugs caught inside the pack

   A UK government laboratory says it has shown how to detect counterfeit medicines through their packaging.
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Brussels presses for greener fuel

   The European Commission announces plans to force energy companies to produce greener fuels.
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Natural fibre may take extra pounds away

   A natural fibre already found in many food products could be an important new weapon in the war against obesity, according to University of Calgary researchers beginning the first human study of the product.
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Australia temperatures to soar in 65 years (AP)

   

AP - Average temperatures in Sydney will rise by about 9 degrees during the next 65 years, with devastating consequences including 1,300 more heat-related deaths per year, according to a government study released Wednesday.

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'Terror birds' never met humans

   Humans never encountered the giant carnivorous "terror bird" Titanis walleri, research suggests.
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Sydney climate change warning

   A report warns that life in the Australian city of Sydney could be made unsustainable by climate change.
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Killer whale pod spotted in Forth

   Wildlife experts express surprise after a pod of killer whales is seen in the Firth of Forth.
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CEOs, Retired Generals Push to Curb Oil Reliance (U.S. News & World Report)

   U.S. News & World Report - An influential private group of corporate chief executives and retired generals is telling lawmakers on Capitol Hill to "think big" on energy.
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3 spacewalks in 9 days for astronauts (AP)

   

AP - Let the spacewalks begin. U.S. astronauts Michael Lopez-Alegria and Sunita Williams on Wednesday were expected to make the first of three spacewalks over a nine-day period outside the international space station.

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