Politics

http://news.bbc.co.uk/cbbcnews/hi/sci_tech/newsid_2266000/2266608.stm okay, first of all, my apologies for this being a link to a children's news website, but the info is the same. It appears like the Ozone layer is beginning the process of repair since CFCs were banned a few years ago. to me this says that the Environment is pretty good at repairing itself once adverse effects have been removed. could a similar thing happen with global warming, and all the pollution we pump into the plant daily?

we have...... Another door! I know it's not really science, but it's interesting anyway. shame they didn't find anything else in the pyramids though :/

CNN has an article that claims italian scientists have found evidence of water on three planetary systems. Looks like they used radio telescopes to search for water's maser emissions.

According to the latest research published in Applied Physical Letters, MTSU scientists used a setup that cost about $500 to set up a system that brteaks the speed of light (group velocity, not individual particles). Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 81, No. 11, pp. 2127–2129, 9 September 2002 http://ojps.aip.org/journals/doc/APPLAB-ft/vol_81/iss_11/2127_1.html

A new object has been located in near-Earth orbit, and it's possibly Earth's 3rd known natural satellite (yes we have two - Luna and Cruithne). More info here. (ta faf)

Physicists at the University of Wisconsin have created a way to manipulate individual silicon atoms in a lattice to express binary digits. 1 silicon atom is surrounded in a cell of 20 atoms the keep the target one from interacting with others. It is the presence or absense of this central atom that is read/written by a scanning tunneling microscope as a bit. This is compared to other means of storage: 20 atoms for a bit in this system, and 32 atoms (64 for 2bp+backbone). The replication rate for DNA at room temperature is 600bp/s, but silicon could theoretically be read at 10^7 bits/s. Density compared to conventional disks is also talked about. The highest density ever …

MSNBC has an article on the catastrophic possibilities of a super-volcano eruption. Could we possibly be worrying too much about biological terrorism, nuclear terrorism, and the threat of astroids hitting our civilization, and not enough about nature's hot coca-cola?

In this article, neuroscientists have found lumbar spinothalamic cells with neurokinin-1 receptors that relay ejaculation signals to the brain. First paragraph of the article

Suprisingly, researches have found that ice in the antarctic sea has risen since 1979. Hmm, what about this global warming mess?

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/older_earth_020828.html Earth Deemed Older, Calling Moon Formation Theory into Question. A pair of new studies has helped pin down how long it took Earth to form, breaking down the final barrier of disagreement over the precise timing but creating a problem for the leading theory of the Moon's formation. Earth reached mature size 30 million years after the Sun's birth, the two independent results show. This is in line with the leading theoretical model and most other indicators. However, this is about 70 million years quicker than what was expected by Moon formation theorists. These researchers' computer models have t…

According to this story on CNN, the liftoff for the Atlas 5 is scheduled for this evening. The rocket is designed to carry more than 4 tons into orbit, making it one of the most powerful ever built.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2199093.stm sadly it looks like this probe isn't going to get to bite the cometary dust like it was intended to. Looks like it bit it's own dust first...

from wired.com

In 2001, researches found the FOXP2 gene to be linked to many aspects of language, specifically through enabling precise orofacial control. When this gene is not functioning correctly, severe speech impairment occurs. According to a new study appearing in Nature, this gene was a mutation in humans about 200,000 years ago- around the same time cultures begin to develop. The gene, found on the 7th chromosome, contains 2 polyglutamine tracts, which contains repeats of CAG and CAA, which is conducive to elevated mutation rates. It has been found there are mutations in other primates preventing the gene from being functional, however ignoring the polyglutamine sections, there …

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/2188107.stm now if they did this, would it not be infinitely cool? I'm a little cynical about the price tag though. someone mentions $10bn .... no way ...... ten trillion maybe, I can't see them building it with such a trivially small amount of cash.

From Yahoo News:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/2166598.stm nice little atricle abuot ESA's quest to deflect an asteroid.

MSNBC is carrying a report on how The National Academy of Sciences is evaluating the advantages of witholding information when studies are published, in an attempt to keep the information from terrorists. In my opinion, it is common sense with the war on terrorism to censor any information that could be used by our "enemy". Homeland Security advisors should have considered this quite a while ago. And as the headline questions, Should scientists hold back research?

A natural chemical, known as PYY3-36, is normally released by the gut after eating in proportion to the amount of calories consumed. It sends signals to the feeding circuits in the brain that convey a sense of satiety that reduces the urge to eat. Full Story: here. Why do I keep posting about obesity? Well, considering half of America is overweight, I guess it's a "hot" topic. Plus, I always appreciate something new coming out of science.

While watching CNN Headline News the other night, I saw this interesting story on how Botox (a wrinkle-smoothing toxin) can ease movement after a stroke. One patient, a woman in her 20s, had suffered a stroke after giving birth. With one hand permanently clenched, she was reduced to changing diapers with the help of her teeth. After the toxin injections directly into the hand, she was able to handle diapers again. Source: CNN Read the full story, here.

The percentage of students using any illicit drug -- including marijuana, cocaine, heroin, hallucinogens and others -- dropped to 22.3 percent, the lowest level registered by the study since the 1993-94 school year. Source: CNN Full Story,here. This is kind of old news, but very interesting considering all the anti-drug related commercials you see on TV these days. Someone must be doing something right.

NewScientist is reporting that pairs of photons quantumly entangled can pass through sheets of metal without the entanglement being destroyed. This could lead to advances in quantum computing. Journal reference: Nature (vol 418, p 304)

BBC is reporting that scientists have broken the second law of thermodynamics. I somehow feel that this is a media distortion, as usual, but I could be very wrong. Perhaps someone more well versed in physics can explain better.

This is kind of an old story, but I just noticed it today and since I'm in the PDA market, I thought this was really cool... 80211-planet.com is reporting on a 802.11b NIC card for SD slots on most devices. SyChip projects OEM manufacturers may be producing it late this year, according to a more recent article. Also, I'd like to hear any advice/comments on high-end PDAs, reply to this thread or post in the computer science forum.

NewScientist is reporting that "Doctors in the US have detected the first Staphyloccocus aureus bacteria that are highly resistant to vancomycin, known as the antibiotic of last resort." Won't be long until none of our drugs work