BBC Science/Nature

Space.com

Some Ancient Galaxies Had Wild Youth
New research pins down the epoch when galaxy clusters make the last of their stars, helping astronomers understand more about how galaxies form.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Asteroid Diversity: Mixed Bag of Space Rocks Found Near Earth
A new survey of asteroids near Earth shows these space rocks are a mixed bag, with some shiny and bright, others dark and dull.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Starburst Galaxy Unleashes Gassy 'Superwind'
A striking galaxy buzzing with energetic star formation takes center stage in a new photograph that showcases an unusual "superwind" of out-flowing gas.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Top 10 Summer Sky Objects to See Before Fall
Here's look at the top 10 summer sky objects to try and find before autumn arrives.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

NASA Aims to Plunge Car-Sized Probe Into the Sun
NASA is developing a mission to plunge a car-sized probe directly into the sun's atmosphere, exploring a region no spacecraft has ever visited.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Hawking: God Didn't Create the Universe
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Labor Day Weekend for Astronauts: Space Toilet Cleaning and Exercise
The astronauts aboard the International Space Station won't be throwing any burgers on the grill this Labor Day, but at least they'll get the holiday off.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Supernova Blast Wave Could Shape Galaxy Evolution
A new glimpse of a well-known supernova could provide new clues about how dying stars affect their surroundings.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

Airbag Designer Casts Eye on NASA's Escape Ship
New airbag technology that mimics nature's way of protecting seed embryos could take the bumps out of spacecraft landings.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

On Months-Long Missions, How Durable Is An Astronaut's Mind?
Volunteers in Russia are approaching the three-month mark in their record 520-day Mars spaceflight simulation. Meanwhile, researchers will continue to pay close attention to how the six volunteer "astronauts" physically and psychologically cope throughout the mock mission to the red planet.
3 Sep 2010 at 7:03am

ScienceDaily

Brainy worms: Scientists uncover counterpart of cerebral cortex in marine worms
Unexpectedly, scientists have now discovered a true counterpart of the cerebral cortex in an invertebrate, a marine worm. Their findings give an idea of what the most ancient higher brain centers looked like, and what our distant ancestors used them for.
3 Sep 2010 at 4:00pm

Capsaicin can act as co-carcinogen, study finds; Chili pepper component linke...
New research links capsaicin, a component of chili peppers, to skin cancer. While the molecular mechanisms of the cancer-promoting effects of capsaicin are not clear and remain controversial, the new research has shown a definite connection to formation of skin cancer through various laboratory studies.
3 Sep 2010 at 4:00pm

Cranberry juice shows promise blocking Staph infections
Expanding their scope of study on the mechanisms of bacterial infection, researchers have reported the surprise finding from a small clinical study that cranberry juice cocktail blocked a strain of Staphylococcus aureus from beginning the process of infection.
3 Sep 2010 at 4:00pm

Cancer-causing gene crucial in stem cell development, study finds
A research team has shown for the first time that a gene called Myc, which is traditionally thought of as a cancer-causing gene, may be far more important in the development and persistence of stem cells than was known before.
3 Sep 2010 at 4:00pm

Computer technique could help partially sighted 'see' better
Thousands of people who are partially sighted following stroke or brain injury could gain greater independence from a simple, cheap and accessible training course which could eventually be delivered from their mobile phones or hand-held games consoles, according to a new study.
3 Sep 2010 at 4:00pm

Science's policy clout diminished, but oil risk looms large, study finds
More people are likely to believe scientific studies claiming that oil drilling is riskier, not safer, than was previously thought, according to a new study of attitudes in California. What's more the findings show that scientists' efforts to influence public opinion have a limited effect.
3 Sep 2010 at 4:00pm

Miniature auto differential helps tiny aerial robots stay aloft
Engineers have created a millionth-scale automobile differential to govern the flight of minuscule aerial robots that could someday be used to probe environmental hazards, forest fires, and other places too perilous for people. Their new approach is the first to passively balance the aerodynamic forces encountered by these miniature flying devices, letting their wings flap asymmetrically in response to gusts of wind, wing damage, and other real-world impediments.
3 Sep 2010 at 1:00pm

Children who eat vended snack foods face chronic health problems, poor diet, ...
School children who consume foods purchased in vending machines are more likely to develop poor diet quality -- and that may be associated with being overweight, obese or at risk for chronic health problems such as diabetes and coronary artery disease, according to new research.
3 Sep 2010 at 1:00pm

Experiment records ultrafast chemical reaction with vibrational echoes
To watch a magician transform a vase of flowers into a rabbit, it's best to have a front-row seat. Likewise, for chemical transformations in solution, the best view belongs to the molecular spectators closest to the action. Those special molecules comprise the "first solvation shell," and although it has been known for decades that they can sense and dictate the fate of nearly every chemical reaction, it has been virtually impossible to watch them respond -- until now.
3 Sep 2010 at 1:00pm

Increased risk for lupus in men with certain form of immune receptor
Humans -- males in particular -- with a variant form of the immune receptor gene "Toll Like Receptor 7" are at increased risk of developing the autoimmune disease lupus. This finding offers renewed hope for developing more targeted treatments.
3 Sep 2010 at 1:00pm

Scientific American

MIND Reviews: The Art of Choosing

The Art of Choosing by Sheena Iyengar. Hachette Book Group, 2010

Digital Revolution Pathologists are traditionally seen as being detached from everyday clinical practice, which explains why we were so pleasantly surprised when we came across the interesting article “ A Better Lens on Disease ,” by Mike May. Even before the digital revolution, pathologists had developed rudimentary ways (mainly photographs) to capture histological images and submit them to one another for a second opinion. Nowadays such a procedure is adopted usefully at small hospitals in developing countries to refer unusual or difficult cases to internationally recognized European or U.S. pathology departments.

By Rhiannon Smith

As the first findings start to arrive from the Hubble Space Telescope since its repair last year, researchers are shedding new light on one of our nearest and most exciting supernova neighbours as they resume tracking its explosive history.

Supernovae form when a massive star explodes at the end of its life. [More]

By Eugenie Samuel Reich

Supersolids--bizarre quantum solids that flow effortlessly, as they have no friction--have come back into the limelight. [More]

Marine worms might seem like lowly, slow-witted creatures, but new gene mapping shows that we might share an ancient brainy ancestor with them. [More]

When Brazilian defender Roberto Carlos struck a powerful free-kick from about 30 meters out in a 1997 international match against France, he could not have known that scientists would still be discussing his feat more than a dozen years later. Indeed, he could not even have known that the ball would improbably find the back of the net . But find the net it did, swinging well wide of a wall of French defenders, hooking viciously to the left, and glancing off the inside of the goalpost. The French goalkeeper could only turn and watch in apparent disbelief as the ball came to rest in his goal. [More]

It likely comes as no surprise that many common household chemicals and medical products as well as industrial and agricultural chemicals, may irritate human skin temporarily or, worse, cause permanent, corrosive burns. In order to prevent undue harm regulators in the U.S. and beyond require safety testing of many substances to identify their potential hazards and to ensure that the appropriate warning label appears on a product. Traditionally, such skin tests have been done on live animals--although in recent decades efforts to develop humane approaches , along with ones that are more relevant to people have resulted in new models based on laboratory-grown human skin.

The most recent chapter of this ongoing effort was written on July 22 when the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)--an international group that, among other things, provides guidelines to its 32-member countries on methods to assess chemical safety--officially approved three commercially available in vitro models of human skin for use in chemical testing. Specifically, the new guideline ( OECD Test No. 439 ) stipulates that the models can serve as an alternative to animals in tests for skin irritation, one of several human health endpoints for which chemicals are tested. Similar 3-D models were approved for corrosion tests in 2004, leaving many hopeful that soon it may be possible to the assess the full spectrum of a chemical's effects on human skin--from irritation to corrosion--without using live animals.

We all know that elephants aren’t really scared of mice. But a new study shows that they’re really not crazy about something even smaller: ants. In fact, elephants dislike ants so much that they avoid acacia trees that harbor the tiny, six-legged nectar-suckers. [More]

Scientists have long sought to understand the biological basis of thought. In the second century A.D., physician and philosopher Claudius Galen held that the brain was a gland that secreted fluids to the body via the nerves--a view that went unchallenged for centuries. In the late 1800s clinical researchers tied specific brain areas to dedicated functions by correlating anatomical abnormalities in the brain after death with behavioral or cognitive impairments. French surgeon Pierre Paul Broca, for example, found that a region on the brain’s left side controls speech. In the first half of the 20th century, neurosurgeon Wilder Penfield mapped the brain’s functions by electrically stimulating different places in conscious patients during neurosurgery, triggering vivid memories, localized body sensations, or movement of an arm or toe.

In recent years new noninvasive ways of viewing the human brain in action have helped neuroscientists trace the anatomy of thought and behavior. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, for instance, researchers can see which areas of the brain “light up” when people perform simple movements such as lifting a finger or more complex mental leaps such as recognizing someone or making a moral judgment. These images reveal not only how the brain is divided functionally but also how the different areas work together while people go about their daily activities. Some investigators are using the technology in an attempt to detect lies and even to predict what kinds of items people will buy; others are seeking to understand the brain alterations that occur in disorders such as depression, schizophrenia, autism and dementia.

USGS Earthquake Activity

M 2.5, Southern California
September 03, 2010 12:32:16 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 7:32am

M 2.9, Southern California
September 03, 2010 11:24:44 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 6:24am

M 6.3, Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
September 03, 2010 11:16:08 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 6:16am

M 4.9, Flores Sea
September 03, 2010 10:58:01 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 5:58am

M 5.1, New Britain region, Papua New Guinea
September 03, 2010 10:30:17 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 5:30am

M 3.4, Southern Alaska
September 03, 2010 09:32:47 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 4:32am

M 2.5, Baja California, Mexico
September 03, 2010 08:41:15 GMT
3 Sep 2010 at 3:41am

M 5.1, Mid-Indian Ridge
September 03, 2010 04:19:14 GMT
2 Sep 2010 at 11:19pm

M 4.3, Sea of Okhotsk
September 03, 2010 04:13:18 GMT
2 Sep 2010 at 11:13pm

M 2.5, San Francisco Bay area, California
September 03, 2010 04:07:25 GMT
2 Sep 2010 at 11:07pm

LA Times Science

Animal rights groups face off with scientists over fate of chimps
Almost 200 have had a long break from testing that dates to NASA's early days, but that could end.

Ever since the first of their number arrived in New Mexico half a century ago as test subjects in the fledgling U.S. space program, nearly 200 government-owned chimpanzees were routinely injected with viruses and used to test everything from experimental vaccines to insecticides.

3 Sep 2010 at 2:00am

Earl takes swipe at North Carolina, heads up coast
The hurricane is expected to weaken and stay out to sea before grazing the Massachusetts coast Saturday.

A weakened Hurricane Earl brushed North Carolina's fragile Outer Banks with stiff winds and high waves Thursday night, striking a glancing blow before spinning offshore up the Eastern Seaboard.

3 Sep 2010 at 2:00am

Marine mammal enthusiasts getting a show from blue whales
Unusually large numbers of the gigantic creatures off the Southern California coast are a boon for charter boat operators. A biologist believes the cetaceans are following vast clouds of krill.

Unusually large numbers of blue whales dining off the Southern California coast are providing marine mammal enthusiasts a rare opportunity to see Earth's largest creatures lolling in the waves and spouting misty plumes.

3 Sep 2010 at 2:00am

Oil platform explodes off Louisiana
The crew is rescued and there are no signs of a leak, but the accident sparks new debate about wells in the gulf.

The opening scene was all too familiar. Black smoke rising from a burning oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico and workers plucked from the sea. But Thursday's fire on an oil production facility 100 miles off the Louisiana coast appears to have ended without disaster.

2 Sep 2010 at 11:51pm

Organic strawberries are better — in some ways — researchers say
They have more antioxidants and vitamin C than their conventional counterparts, a study says. But they come up short by other measures — potassium and phosphorus, for example.

Consumers who buy organic fruits and vegetables because they think they're tastier, more nutritious and better for the environment are getting at least some of what they're paying for, according to a study published online Wednesday.

2 Sep 2010 at 2:00am

Hurricane Earl approaches East Coast
Maryland, North Carolina and Virginia declare states of emergency, and the evacuation of the Outer Banks is underway.

Powerful Hurricane Earl spun toward the East Coast on Wednesday, driving tourists from North Carolina's vacation islands and threatening to bring damaging winds and waves to the Atlantic seaboard through Labor Day weekend.

2 Sep 2010 at 2:00am

Diabetes drug can reduce risk of cancer, researchers find
Metformin reduced the development of lung tumors in mice by more than 70%. Clinical trials on humans for lung, breast and prostate cancer are being organized.

A growing body of evidence suggests that the widely used diabetes drug metformin can reduce the risk of cancer, researchers said Wednesday.

1 Sep 2010 at 6:45pm

Prescription diet drug raises risk of heart attack, stroke
Sibutramine, which alters brain chemicals to suppress appetite, carries risks for users with a history of cardiovascular disease. One doctor says it should be pulled off shelves.

The prescription diet drug sibutramine, sold under the brand name Meridia, should be taken off the market because it raises the risk of heart attacks and strokes in some patients, the editor of the New England Journal of Medicine said Wednesday. Those risks, published in January on a government clinical-trials website and now in full in the journal, outweigh the modest benefits of the medication, said Dr. Gregory D. Curfman, the journal's executive editor and lead author of an editorial that accompanied the study.

1 Sep 2010 at 6:46pm

Discovery Channel hostage crisis ends with gunman's death
James J. Lee, who was protesting what he said was the network's promotion of overpopulation, was fatally shot by police after taking three people captive at the company headquarters in Maryland.

Police shot and killed a gunman after he took three people hostage Wednesday afternoon at the Discovery Channel's headquarters here, officials said.

2 Sep 2010 at 2:00am

L.A. mayor, Latino activists take on oil companies over Proposition 23
They say the ballot initiative to suspend the state's climate change law would hurt low-income communities already suffering the most from pollution.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa on Tuesday rebuked Valero Energy Corp. and Tesoro Corp., which operate refineries in Wilmington, for bankrolling a measure that would effectively scuttle the state's efforts to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

1 Sep 2010 at 2:00am