science wire

AAAS Notebook: Faculty views range across natural world, human health, more
Last week's American Association for the Advancement of Science meeting in Vancouver, BC, included 11 speakers from the University of Washington on topics including marine protected areas, the myth of black progress, women's reproductive health and how undergraduates learn best.

Newly approved drug for metastatic melanoma nearly doubles median survival
Researchers from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center, together with scientists from 12 other sites in the U.S. and Australia, report for the first time that a newly approved drug for metastatic melanoma nearly doubles the median survival time for patients with a common genetic mutation - a finding that will change the way this deadly form of skin cancer is treated.

Sussex bees and blooms on BBC Two this evening
Sussex bees and blooms on BBC Two this evening Sussex researchers will be featured on national TV this evening (Wednesday 22 February).

Laser radar illuminates the way to deep space
This car was not snapped with a camera but scanned by a 3D imaging lidar, the laser equivalent of radar.

Fastest wind from stellar mass black hole discovered
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The fastest wind ever discovered blowing off a disk around a stellar-mass black hole has been observed by a team of astronomers that includes a University of Michigan doctoral student. Using NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory, an orbiting telescope, they clocked the record-breaking super wind at about 20 million mph, or about 3 percent of the speed of light.

Engineers create wireless, self-propelled medical device
For 50 years, scientists searched for the secret to making tiny implantable devices that could travel through the bloodstream.

Cantor exhibition showcases Stanford’s collection of Native American paintings
Highlights from Stanford's Native American paintings collection are showcased in Memory and Markets: Pueblo Painting in the Early 20th Century The works at the Cantor Arts Center celebrate the emergence of Native American painters in the modern art market, beginning in Santa Fe in the 1930s.

Yale’s Nelson gets $8.4 million grant to study photosynthesis
Timothy Nelson, professor of molecular, cellular & developmental biology, has been awarded an $8.4 million grant by the Plant Genome Research Program of the National Science Foundation to investigate

Researchers Build First Physical "Metatronic" Circuit
The technological world of the 21 st century owes a tremendous amount to advances in electrical engineering, specifically, the ability to finely control the flow of electrical charges using increasingly small and complicated circuits.

Planning how to manage your mood can help you succeed this Lent
Planning how to manage your mood can help you succeed this Lent Scientists at the University of Sheffield have warned fasters from allowing a foul mood to lead them to fail to abstain this Lent. Evidence suggests that bad moods can lead us to abandon our dieting goals in favour of eating something nice to cheer ourselves up.

Surprising diversity at a synapse hints at complex diversity of neural circuitry
A new study reveals a dazzling degree of biological diversity in an unexpected place — a single neural connection in the body wall of flies. The finding raises several interesting questions about the importance of structure in the nervous system and the evolution of neural wiring.

Archive Chronicling History of San Diego’s Chicano Movement to Go Digital
In 2004, the University of California, San Diego Libraries acquired one of the region's most significant archives - the papers of Chicano activist Herman Baca - documenting the struggles and achievements of the Chicano Movement in San Diego from 1964 to 2006.

Levers to cut the rate of home repossessions in the UK
Oxford University academics have produced an economic forecasting model which suggests that the rate of home repossessions in the UK in 2011 would have been at least 23 per cent higher had the government not intervened with a range of policies to protect mortgage payers in difficulties.

A faster way to catch cells
New microfluidic device could be used to diagnose and monitor cancer and other diseases. Separating complex mixtures of cells, such as those found in a blood sample, can offer valuable information for diagnosing and treating disease. However, it may be necessary to search through billions of other cells to collect rare cells such as tumor cells, stem cells or fetal cells.

A new twist on nanowires
Technology developed at MIT can control the composition and structure of these tiny wires as they grow. Nanowires - microscopic fibers that can be "grown" in the lab - are a hot research topic today, with a variety of potential applications including light-emitting diodes (LEDs) and sensors.

Familiarity breeds contempt in cleaner fish
Familiarity with your partner is usually thought to promote teamwork, but new research has found that on coral reefs at least, female cleaner fish are more cooperative with unfamiliar males than their breeding partner.

‘Picture This #17′ – Ezra Pound by Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, Kettle’s Yard
Jim Ede, creator of Kettle's Yard, acquired the estate of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska after his death and Kettle's Yard now contains one of the largest collections of his work.

Death is new design consideration in technological age
At first glance, death seems like an unlikely thesis topic for a computer scientist. But for the University of Toronto's Mike Massimi , it makes perfect sense.

Online purchasers seeking discounts exhibit herd mentality
We might like to think we're not influenced by other people, but new research from the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management indicates otherwise, especially when it comes to consumer behaviour.

Neuroscientists join major EU consortium dedicated to advancing new Alzheimer’s disease therapies
Two Bristol University neuroscientists have become the only UK-based academic members of a major European Union-funded consortium dedicated to accelerating the next generation of Alzheimer's disease research and drug discovery.

University of California to Launch YouTube’s First University-run Original Channel
University of California Television (UCTV) will launch a new YouTube original channel on March 1 called UCTV Prime.

Why Gender Matters: A Sydney Ideas forum
A leading international thinker in the field of gender and cultural studies, Professor Sara Ahmed , will feature in a Sydney Ideas panel this week that will explore the topic 'Why Gender Matters'.

Leggett at KTH: Revising How We Understand the Arrow of Time
Reception and service at central level for international students after arrival at KTH.

Learn about thermoelectronics -- and more -- via ’Material Marvels’
In this latest segment of "Material Marvels," Yale scientist Ainissa Ramirez describes how simple devices like cell phones can be powered by heat using thermoelectric materials, which convert heat to electricity.

Rare Judeo-Spanish memoir gives a voice to the people of a lost culture
Historians Aron Rodrigue and Sarah Abrevaya Stein bring the history of Ottoman Jews to life in a text published by Stanford University Press.

Injectable Gel Could Repair Tissue Damaged by Heart Attack
Tissue spins in a beaker at the end of the cleansing process that removes all of the cells. The process retains the tissue's structural proteins, a key component of the hydrogel. University of California, San Diego researchers have developed a new injectable hydrogel that could be an effective and safe treatment for tissue damage caused by heart attacks.

Jean Allard, first female vice president at UChicago, 1924-2012
Jean Allard, the first female vice president at the University of Chicago and a longtime Hyde Park resident, died Sunday, Jan.

Flesh-eating bacteria inspire superglue
A bio-inspired superglue has been developed by Oxford University researchers that can't be matched for sticking molecules together and not letting go.

Under the Microscope #10 – Mouse tail skin
Through the work that I am completing, I hope that I can also gain a perspective as to what goes wrong in disease processes such as skin cancer." —Claire Cox Claire Cox: “

Huts, artifacts in Jordanian excavation offer new perspectives on life 20,000 years ago
Excavation underway at Kharaneh IV site in eastern Jordan reveals 20,000-year-old huts and artifacts shedding new light on hunter-gatherers' lives. (Photo © by Lisa A. Maher) A  joint team of American, British, Danish and Jordanian archaeologists working in eastern Jordan has announced its discovery of 20,000-year-old hut structures, the earliest yet found in that country.

Conservation clusters: making the case
A new study reveals how the gathering together of conservation organisations in one location - a 'conservation cluster' - can work best to reap global rewards.

U-M to lead statewide Tech Transfer Talent Network to bring more inventions to market
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - To turn an invention into a marketable product that can benefit society, you need, above all else, the right people involved.

Recession increases work-related stress by 40 per cent, study finds
One in four workers experience work-related stress in times of recession — and work-related stress increases by 40 per cent overall, according to new research. A study, published in the journal Occupational Medicine , also found that the number of staff taking time off due to job stress increased by 25 per cent during an economic downturn.

King’s Health Partners proposes single organisation
King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre (AHSC) is developing a business case for the creation of a new, single academic healthcare organisation which would provide both physical and mental healthcare.

'Storm of the century' may become 'storm of the decade'
As the Earth's climate changes, the worst inundations from hurricanes and tropical storms could become far more common in low-lying coastal areas, a new study suggests. Researchers from Princeton University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found that regions such as the New York City metropolitan area that currently experience a disastrous flood every century could instead become submerged every one or two decades.

Psychology Professor Studies Science of Motivation
Forget carrots and sticks, the widely used catch phrase suggesting people are motivated by the desire to seek pleasure and avoid pain.

New Book Ponders Ethical Issues of Genetic Testing
A patient who tested positive for the gene that leads to Huntington's disease wrestled with a host of questions.

Professor Timothy M. Frye Discusses the Russian Political Scene
In the late 1980s, Timothy Frye , a recent Middlebury College graduate with a B.A. in Russian language and literature, went for the first time to the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, where Mikhail Gorbachev had just come to power.

Desert footprints reveal ancient origins of elephants’ social lives
A cluster of ancient footprints in the Arabian desert offers the clearest evidence yet for the early origins of modern elephants' social structure, according to a Yale-led research team. Roughly seven million years old, the prints represent the movements of at least 14 prehistoric elephants through the inland desert of the Arab Emirate of Abu Dhabi, anthropologists report in a paper published on Feb.

Researcher wins novel grant to study lupus
Sandra Wolin of Yale School of Medicine, is among 12 investigators to receive a 2012 Novel Research Grant from the Lupus Research Institute (LRI) to conduct innovative work in lupus.

Journal boycott gaining steam at UW-Madison
They are mad as hell, and not going to take it anymore. That describes an emerging response from more than 6,000 scientists to Elsevier , publisher of more than 2,500 scientific journals, including Cell and The Lancet. As the largest journal publisher in the world, Elsevier is able to command hefty subscription fees at university libraries.

U-M experts available to comment on Michigan primary
Media Advisory ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Michigan voters return to the polls Feb. 28 for the Republican primary, and University of Michigan experts can provide their analysis.

Hold the salt: coastal drinking water more vulnerable to water use than climate change
Human activity is likely a greater threat to coastal groundwater used for drinking water supplies than rising sea levels from climate change, according to a study conducted by geoscientists from the University of Saskatchewan and McGill University in Montreal.

Rare fungus kills endangered rattlesnakes in southern Illinois
CHAMPAIGN, lll. - A small population of rattlesnakes that already is in decline in southern Illinois faces a new and unexpected threat in the form of a fungus rarely seen in the wild, researchers report. The eastern massasauga rattlesnake ( Sistrurus catenatus catenatus ), a candidate for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, suffers from habitat loss and environmental stresses wherever it is found, said University of Illinois comparative biosciences visiting instructor and wildlife veterinarian Matthew Allender, who led the health investigation.

U. of I. program targets growing obesity rate among Midwest Hispanics
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Hispanics living in the Midwest have the highest obesity rates among Latinos in the U.S., and in Illinois, the percentage of obese Latino children 6-11 years of age has doubled since 2001, standing now at 24 percent.

Academic debates the place of faith in schools
Senior academic Professor James Conroy, Professor of Religious and Philisophical Education will be taking part in a major debate on the place of "Faith in Schools" at Wednesday 22 February 2012, 5.30-7pm at 61 Whitehall.

Lyrics without music, poetry without borders
A series of recitals organised by poet John Kinsella look at the relationship between song lyrics and poetry, inviting renowned musicians to perform their poetry and lyrics without instruments at Cambridge University.

Omega-3 linked with reduced risk for smallest babies
Omega-3 fatty acids may have a role in preventing heart attack or strokes in adults who were small at birth, according to University of Sydney researchers.

IPads show the way forward for medical imaging
Tablet computers such as the iPad are becoming more and more popular, but new research from the University of Sydney means they could soon be used in hospitals as a tool for doctors to view medical imaging. Results of the University of Sydney study, presented this month at the International Society for Optical Engineering (SPIE) Medical Imaging conference in San Diego, show tablet computers such as the iPad are as good as standard LCD computer screens when used as secondary display devices for viewing medical imaging.

Leadership tussle - constitutional doubts

Foreclosed: Architecture Center Reimagines Suburbia After Housing Crisis
Columbia faculty talk about the Foreclosed exhibit and the mission of the Temple Hoyne Buell Center for the Study of American Architecture.

Search begins for adoption expert to lead new centre
Search begins for adoption expert to lead new centre The University has this week begun its search for an expert to lead a new research centre focusing on the major challenges facing adopted children and their families.

Women’s Leadership Council provides data on women faculty at University
The University of Chicago has released an inaugural Report on the Status of Academic Women at the University of Chicago , providing detailed data on the representation of women across the faculty of the University, including leadership positions held by female faculty members.

Design eye for the science guy: Drop-in clinic helps scientists communicate data
“ A brief guide to designing effective figures for the scientific paper ” by Marco Rolandi, Karen Cheng and former UW faculty member Sarah Perez-Kriz Some of the figures scientists create are stunning.

SpaceTweetup to highlight ATV mission
SpaceTweetup to highlight ATV mission ESA and the French space agency, CNES, are inviting 60 Twitter followers to a joint European SpaceTweetup in Toulouse, France, for the docking of ATV Edoardo Amaldi to the International Space Station next month.

Pluripotent stem cells: medical dream or ethical nightmare?
Paul Fairchild, University of Oxford, to give a public seminar tomorrow, 21 February, discussing this topical issue.

Positive media portrayals of obese individuals reduce weight stigma
Presenting obese individuals in a positive, non-stereotypical manner in the media could help reduce weight-biased attitudes held by the public, finds a study from the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale. The study, published online in Health Psychology, investigates the impact on public attitudes and preferences of both stigmatizing and positive portrayals of obese individuals in the media.

Does history repeat? Using the past to improve ecological forecasting
To better predict the future, Jack Williams is looking to the past. “Environmental change is altering the composition and function of ecological communities,” says Williams, the Bryson Professor of Climate, People, and the Environment in the UW–Madison geography department. Williams also directs the Center for Climatic Research in the Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies.

Carbon storage project combines innovation and outreach
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - Geologists are hoping to learn a great deal about geologic carbon sequestration from injecting 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into sandstone 7,000 feet beneath Decatur, Ill.

Wheat varieties are being developed to resist global threat
Innovative techniques in wheat breeding are necessary to meet the needs of the world's growing population and overcome environmental challenges, said Ravi Singh at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) meeting, Feb.

Rocket launched into northern lights to reveal GPS effects
As the brilliant colors of the aurora borealis, or northern lights, delights skygazers, Cornell researchers are discovering how their physics affects satellite signals here on Earth.

Honeycomb structure responsible for bacteria’s extraordinary sense
Cornell researchers have peered into the complex molecular network of receptors that give one-celled organisms like bacteria the ability to sense their environment and respond to chemical changes as small as 1 part in 1,000. Just as humans use five senses to navigate through surroundings, bacteria employ an intricate structure of thousands of receptor molecules, associated enzymes and linking proteins straddling their cell membranes that trigger responses to external chemical changes.

New approach could more effectively diagnose personality disorders
Personality disorders could be more effectively diagnosed by identifying and targeting the disrupted neurobiological systems where the disorders originate, report Cornell researchers. The way that these mental illnesses are now classified - based on particular patterns of thought and behavior - is misguided and has little hard evidence to support it, reports Cornell neuroscientist Richard Depue and his colleague in a special issue of the Journal of International Review of Psychiatry (23:3).

Decline in proboscis monkeys
University researchers and conservationists in Sabah have shown that proboscis monkey populations throughout Borneo may experience population decline if nothing is done to stop their habitat degradation.

Four Penn Researchers Awarded Sloan Fellowships
Four University of Pennsylvania faculty members are among this year's Sloan Fellowship recipients.

Nano discs pose potential health risk
A revolutionary material that is used in computer technology could pose health risks to those involved in its manufacture.

How quickly things spread
Understanding the spread of infectious diseases in populations is the key to controlling them. If the UK was facing a flu pandemic, how could we measure where the greatest spreading risk comes from? This information could help inform decisions on whether to impose travel restrictions or close schools.

Proposed hunt poorly designed, says UW wolf expert
Legislation outlining a proposed state wolf hunt is likely to hurt wolf populations while failing to resolve existing conflicts with humans, says a UW–Madison wolf expert.

The decline of David and Mary: New inventiveness driving the diversification of popular culture
Inventiveness in the naming of babies in the United States suddenly increased in the late 1980s, having changed little during the previous hundred years. A new study from the Universities of Bristol and Durham considers what this tells us about the competing forces at work in popular culture: globalization and local innovation.

Do we needlessly fear sharks and spiders?
When and how do animals 'become' dangerous? In Australia, neither sharks nor spiders were considered serious hazards to human life until almost 100 years ago and we've been trying to quantify, control and exterminate these beasts ever since.

Surveillance in everyday life
Topics to be covered in the Surveillance and/in Everyday Life: Monitoring Pasts, Presents and Futures international conference include surveillance in the home, opinion mining on the internet, privat

Changes in generic drug costs could save $590 million, but don’t go far enough
The recently announced price cuts to generic drugs by the Australian Government do not go far enough, according to University of Melbourne health economist, Professor Philip Clarke.

New Combo of Chemo and Well-Known Malaria Drug Delivers Double Punch to Tumors
Blocking autophagy - the process of "self-eating" within cells - is turning out to be a viable way to enhance the effectiveness of a wide variety of cancer treatments.

Energy-recycling computer technology from University of Michigan goes global through semiconductor firm AMD
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - An energy-recycling computer circuit born at the University of Michigan will enable a new generation of power efficient laptop PCs and servers.

Sweden’s Best-Kept Technology Secret
At the KTH Symposium, the director of the U.S. National Science Foundation explains how scientific co-operation with Sweden benefits American research.

Gamma-ray bursts' highest power side unveiled by Fermi Telescope
Vancouver, Pa. - Detectable for only a few seconds but possessing enormous energy, gamma-ray bursts are difficult to capture because their energy does not penetrate the Earth's atmosphere.

The balancing act between protection and inflammation in MS
Scientists have discovered a molecular mechanism that could help explain how multiple sclerosis (MS) and other autoimmune diseases can be exacerbated by the onset of an infection. MS is an autoimmune disease of the central nervous system which affects approximately 100,000 people in the UK. The research, directed by Bruno Gran at The University of Nottingham , focused on a population of cells of the immune system known as regulatory'T cells, which control and regulate the behaviour of other immune cells.

Q&A: Stanford’s Morris Fiorina on Santorum’s rise and a dissatisfied Republican Party
Santorum is surging in the polls, Romney is having a hard time relating to voters and there's a real possibility the GOP could have no nominee by the time the convention rolls around, says political scientist Morris Fiorina.

Swarm constellation heads north
Swarm constellation heads north The three satellites that make up ESA's Swarm magnetic field mission were presented to the media today.

Models underestimate future temperature variability; food security at risk
Climate warming caused by greenhouse gases is very likely to increase the variability of summertime temperatures around the world by the end of this century, a University of Washington climate scientist said Friday. The findings have major implications for food production. Current climate models do not adequately reflect feedbacks from the relationship between the atmosphere and soil, which causes them to underestimate the increase of variability in summertime temperatures, said David Battisti, a UW professor of atmospheric sciences.

U-M Life Sciences Institute lab identifies potential antibiotic alternative to treat infection without resistance
U-M Life Sciences Institute lab identifies potential antibiotic alternative to treat infection without resistance ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Researchers at the University of Michigan have found a potential alternative to conventional antibiotics that could fight infection with a reduced risk of antibiotic resistance.

The fate of a thin liquid filament
Scientists have solved one of the printing industries greatest challenges - whether a liquid thread will break up into drops.

Novartis to revise product information in the European Union for high blood pressure drug Rasilez following assessment by CHMP
CHMP concluded the risk-benefit review of Rasilez* (aliskiren) and confirmed it remains positive for the treatment of essential hypertension CHMP has requested that the Rasilez (aliskiren

Despite Leadership, Maryland Higher Education Is Leaving Citizens Behind, Penn GSE Study Finds
Maryland's higher education system is leaving poor, black and Hispanic residents behind, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Higher Education Research, " Much

Despite Leadership, Maryland Higher Education Is Leaving Underserved Citizens Behind, Penn GSE Researchers Find
Maryland's higher education system is leaving poor, black and Hispanic residents behind, according to a new study from the University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Higher Education Research, " Much

Yale’s new innovation and design center to foster ’culture of engineering’
The Yale School of Engineering & Applied Science has begun construction of a versatile innovation and design studio to encourage the invention and prototyping of radically new, socially beneficial te

New analysis shows most Australians at increased risk of bowel cancer are under-screened
People who are at an increased risk of developing bowel cancer, because they have a family history of the disease, are failing to have adequate screening, a University of Melbourne study has found. Medical guidelines recommend that where the family history is strong enough, family members should be having more intensive screening than the usual faecal occult blood test that is recommended for everyone over the age of 50.

Moore Foundation Gives Caltech $6 Million for Chemistry of Cellular Signaling Center
Chemists have become extremely adept at characterizing biology's molecules—at determining structures and investigating the roles of individual membrane proteins or cell receptors, for example.

New book helps bring evidence-based explanations to science classrooms
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The National Research Council's newly released Framework for K-12 Science Education captures contemporary thinking about the role of core ideas, cross-cutting themes, and scientific practices in science learning.

Many young people still underestimate how much they drink
Many young people still underestimate how much they drink A new University of Sussex-led study reveals that many young people still lack the knowledge and skills required to follow the government's guidelines for responsible alcohol consumption.

British scientist warns AAAS of the threat posed by ocean acidification
One of the country’s leading voices on ocean acidification has addressed a prestigious conference in Canada with a warning that marine biodiversity is at risk due to the corrosive effects of carbon dioxide.

Penn's Amy Gutmann Reappointed Chair of Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues
Amy Gutmann, president of the University of Pennsylvania, has been re-appointed chair of the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues by President Obama.

The Splice of Life: Proteins Cooperate to Regulate Gene Splicing
RNAs wound in a knot and bound by hnRNP proteins illustrates the intractable problem of RNA regulation addressed by Huelga et al. Understanding how RNA binding proteins control the genetic splicing code is fundamental to human biology and disease - much like editing film can change a movie scene.

UCSD Uses Heat Energy to Fix Odd Heart Beat
UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center is now offering patients with atrial fibrillation the breakthrough benefits of heat energy, or radio frequency waves, to irreversibly alter heart tissue that triggers an abnormal heart rhythm or arrhythmia.

UCLA ranks second in nation in number of 2012 Alfred P. Sloan fellows
Six outstanding young profssors from UCLA are among 126 scientists and scholars from 51 colleges and universities in the United States and Canada to receive 2012 Sloan Research Fellowships from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.

Nanoparticles in food, vitamins could harm human health
Billions of engineered nanoparticles in foods and pharmaceuticals are ingested by humans daily, and new Cornell research warns they may be more harmful to health than previously thought. A research collaboration led by Michael Shuler, the Samuel B. Eckert Professor of Chemical Engineering and the James and Marsha McCormick Chair of Biomedical Engineering, studied how large doses of polystyrene nanoparticles - a common, FDA-approved material found in substances from food additives to vitamins - affected how well chickens absorbed iron, an essential nutrient, into their cells.

Public interest in pandemic flu vaccine faded over time
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - When a new strain of influenza began to sicken even healthy younger adults three years ago, public interest in getting the newly developed H1N1 vaccine started strong but declined over time even as more people were getting sick, a new study shows. Researchers at RAND Corp. and the University of Michigan found that the more the public learned about this new type of influenza and the longer they had to wait for the vaccine, the less interested they were in getting it.

No Evidence of Groundwater Contamination from Hydraulic Fracturing
VANCOUVER, British Columbia — Hydraulic fracturing of shale formations to extract natural gas has no direct connection to reports of groundwater contamination, based on evidence reviewed in a study released Thursday by the Energy Institute at The University of Texas at Austin.

Two U-M early-career scientists win 2012 Sloan research fellowships
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - Two University of Michigan professors are among 126 researchers from across the United States and Canada selected as 2012 Alfred P. Sloan research fellows.

Under the Microscope #9 – Skate head
Andrew Gillis shows us an embryonic skate head and explains how the red denticles dotted all over it have very similar properties to human teeth.

Making Cars Safe for Cell Phones
At the KTH Symposium, the director of the U.S. National Science Foundation explains how scientific co-operation with Sweden benefits American research. AIMday Image is a forum for knowledge exchange between academic and industrial scientists in the field of image analysis Welcome to KTH on March 7! Reception and service at central level for international students after arrival at KTH.

Cell phone hackers can track your physical location without your knowledge
Using a cheap phone, readily available equipment, and no direct help from a service provider, hackers could listen to unencrypted broadcast messages from cell phone towers MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (02/16/2012) —Cellular networks leak the locations of cell phone users, allowing a third party to easily track the location of the cell phone user without the user's knowledge, according to new research by computer scientists in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering.

Express Yourself: How Zygotes Sort Out Imprinted Genes
Writing in the February 17, 2012 issue of the journal Cell , researchers at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research, the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Toronto Western Research Institute peel away some of the enduring mystery of how zygotes or fertilized eggs determine which copies of parental genes will be used or ignored.

Reducing salt in crisps without affecting the taste
Food scientists have found a way of measuring how we register the saltiness of crisps which could lead to new ways of producing healthier crisps — without losing any of the taste. The research by scientists at The University of Nottingham could lead to significant salt reduction in all snack foods.

Fifth ATV named after Georges Lemaître
Fifth ATV named after Georges Lemaître PR 3 2012 - ESA's Automated Transfer Vehicles (ATVs) are an essential contribution by Europe to running the International Space Station.

Many babies born to immigrants incorrectly labelled underweight
For some immigrant parents, especially South Asians, questions about a baby's birthweight may be stressful, because many of their newborns are incorrectly diagnosed as being significantly underweight. Low birthweight generally means a baby could be at higher risk of developmental issues. Researchers at the University of Toronto and St. Michael's Hospital say many of these infants are in fact the correct birthweight for their ethnic group and should not be compared to those of babies of Canadian-born mothers.

Three UCLA researchers honored for bravery in face of threats from extremists
Three UCLA professors have been recognized by the American Association for the Advancement of Science for their "strong defense of the importance of the use of animals in research and their refusal to remain silent in the face of intimidation" by anti–animal research extremists.

Top researchers to lead U of T’s Institute for Human Development
Professor Stephen Lye will serve as the inaugural executive director and Professor Marla Sokolowski as the inaugural academic director of the University of Toronto's newly established Institute for Human Development.

Carnegie Mellon University and Penn Engineering Receive $3.5 Million for Innovative Transportation Research
PITTSBURGH - The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded Carnegie Mellon's College of Engineering and the University of Pennsylvania's School of Engineering and Applied Science a $3.5 mi

Mother of pearl tells a tale of ocean temperature, depth
Mother of pearl or nacre, such as this from a New Zealand Paua shell, is one of nature's wonder materials. Made by a host of mollusks, the material has proven to be an accurate barometer of environmental conditions as signatures of both water temperature and water depth reside in the material, according to new research by UW-Madison professor of physics and chemistry Pupa Gilbert.

Finding the maths on your street
A series of walking tours launched next week show how you can discover the maths hidden in our urban surroundings. Anyone can join the free tours of London and Oxford (book your place here ) which explore how cities – their buildings, roads, railways, sewers, and power systems – are all built on mathematical foundations.

Making the leap from ’theory to theatre’
A Leeds professor is one of eight of the UK's most promising leaders in medical health research to be awarded a National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) professorship.

Howard Zimmerman, pioneer in organic chemistry, dies at 85
Howard Zimmerman, a professor of chemistry from 1960 until his retirement in 2010, died on Saturday, Feb.

Indigenous Australians experience poorer mental health
Significant inequality exists in the mental health of Indigenous Australians compared with non-Indigenous Australians, and it starts from an early age, according to new analysis of data by leading youth mental health experts. In an article published in a recent edition of the Medical Journal of Australia Professor Anthony Jorm from the University of Melbourne's Youth Mental Health Research Centre, based at Orygen, and colleagues mined existing community health surveys from 2000 onward to establish an accurate picture of the state of Indigenous mental health.

Information security: weakness in popular protection system
An unexpected flaw has been detected of a system that is widely used for protection of online transactions.

Scientists discuss climate change, biochar, wheat rust
Three Cornell researchers will discuss mitigating climate change, biochar and the challenges of wheat rust, respectively, at the 2012 Association for Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada, Feb.

Soybean can grow in New York, thanks to climate change
Warmer weather across northern New York could present an opportunity for farmers: soybeans. The low-input crop is currently commanding a high price, making it increasingly attractive for local growers, according to Cornell crop and soil science professor William Cox.

BREAD grant funds research to tackle plant viral diseases
A team of international researchers is working to tackle the global problem of plant viral diseases that are spread by insects, thanks to close to $1 million from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

A neuroscientific odyssey into how we ’remember the future’
Shimon Edelman finds happiness when he hikes. He treks the canyons of the American southwest, the hills of the Negev Desert, the gorges of Ithaca.

Puzzle play helps boost learning of important math-related skills
Children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills, a study by University of Chicago researchers has found. Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of spatial skill after controlling for differences in parents' income, education and the overall amount of parent language input.

Chemists reveal why sea urchins are no easy prey
Nature invented a hi-tech composite material millions of years ago Scientists from the Electron and Scanning Probe Microscopy Unit in the University of Bristol's School of Chemistry were part of an international network of institutes specialising in materials characterisation who have helped solve a decades-long debate on the nature of the sea urchin spine.

Libyans ’would prefer one-man-rule over democracy’
The first ever National Survey of Libya suggests that Libyans would still prefer one-man-rule over alternatives like democracy. The publication of the survey of over 2,000 Libyan people coincides with the anniversary of the first protests triggered by rebel forces against Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.

In new mass-production technique, robotic insects spring to life
Production method inspired by children's pop-up books enables rapid fabrication of tiny, complex devices : Caroline Perry , (617) 496-1351 - A new technique inspired by elegant pop-up books and origami will soon allow clones of robotic insects to be mass-produced by the sheet.

Research that offers 10 ways to improve society, the economy and the environment
University of Toronto research with a direct impact on improving life on Earth – and the planet itself - got a huge boost Feb.

State-owned oil companies increase price volatility and pollution, Stanford researcher says
State-owned oil companies dominate the world's oil supplies, and politicians often cannot resist getting involved.

Plasmas Torn Apart
January saw the biggest solar storm since 2005, generating some of the most dazzling northern lights in recent memory. The source of that storm—and others like it—was the sun's magnetic field, described by invisible field lines that protrude from and loop back into the burning ball of gas.

InterDigital and Calit2 Launch InterDigital Innovation Challenge
InterDigital (NASDAQ: IDCC) and the University of California, San Diego division of the California Institute for Tele and Information Technology (Calit2) today announced the launch of the InterDigita

Pioneering South Yorkshire launches new drug for heart attack victims
Pioneering South Yorkshire launches new drug for heart attack victims Ticagrelor, a new drug that could prevent one in five heart attack deaths, has this month been launched as a new treatment for heart attack victims across South Yorkshire, replacing the standard treatment clopidogrel for many patients admitted to hospital.

Marine Scientists Awarded Grant to Study Ciguatera Fish Poisoning
AUSTIN, Texas — Marine scientist Deana Erdner is part of an international team of researchers awarded an anticipated five-year, $4 million grant to study the causes of ciguatera fish poisoning, the most common form of algal toxin-induced seafood poisoning in the world.

Lava Formations in Western U.S. Linked to Rip in Giant Slab of Earth
A new model by Scripps researchers details a rupture inside the Farallon slab that caused a magma flow now known as Columbia River flood basalt in the Western U.S. Like a stream of air shooting out of an airplane's broken window to relieve cabin pressure, scientists at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego say lava formations in eastern Oregon are the result of an outpouring of magma forced out of a breach in a massive slab of Earth.

Psychiatric diagnoses: Why no one is satisfied
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—As the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders is revised for the first time since 1994, controversy about psychiatric diagnosis is reaching a fever pitch.

£9.3 million project to improve oil refining in Russia gets the green light
For Immediate Release Wednesday 15 February 2012 Multi-million pound project to improve sustainability and efficiency of Russian oil industry is given green light A £9.3 million international consortium to make oil refining in Russia more efficient and environmentally sustainable has been given the green light this week.

Building a better trap
Fieldwork in Peru's Andes Mountains is demanding, especially when it involves hauling heavy equipment to remote sites that are accessible only by traversing the region's rugged terrain. But the task of collecting insects for the study of vector-borne diseases and other purposes has become a little less onerous since a Yale School of Public Health researcher and colleagues designed a lighter - and perhaps better - trap.

Sussex builds up expertise in modern history of the Middle East
Sussex builds up expertise in modern history of the Middle East The University of Sussex is set to develop its research base in modern Middle Eastern history, with plans for two new lectureships sitting alongside an upcoming professorial appointment.

A new book on "Remote Sensing Image Processing"
The book "Remote Sensing Image Processing", edited by Gustavo Camps-Valls (Universitat de València), Devis Tuia ( LASIG laboratory), Luis Gómez-Chova, Sandra Jiménez and Jesús Malo, is now available at Morgan and Claypool publishers. The book deals with Earth observation, which is the field of science concerned with the problem of monitoring and modeling the processes on the Earth surface and their interaction with the atmosphere.

3 UC San Diego Faculty Members Named Sloan Foundation Research Fellows
The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation today named three faculty members at the University of California, San Diego recipients of its prestigious research fellowship, given to promising young scholars at the early stage of their research careers.

Scientists report link between traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder
UCLA life scientists and their colleagues have provided the first evidence of a causal link between traumatic brain injury and an increased susceptibility to post-traumatic stress disorder. Their new study, published Feb. 15 in the in the journal Biological Psychology, also suggests that people who suffer even a mild traumatic brain injury are more likely to develop an anxiety disorder and should take precautions to avoid stressful situations for at least some period of time.

Cleaning up Earth's orbit: A Swiss satellite to tackle space debris
The proliferation of debris orbiting the Earth – primarily jettisoned rocket and satellite components – is an increasingly pressing problem for spacecraft, and it can generate huge costs.

Genes may travel from plant to plant to fuel evolution
Genes may travel from plant to plant to fuel evolution Evolutionary biologists at the University of Sheffield and Brown University have documented for the first time that plants pass genes from plant to plant to fuel their evolutionary development. The evolution of plants and animals generally has been thought to occur through the passing of genes from parent to offspring and genetic modifications that happen along the way.

U-M experts available to discuss Chinese vice president’s visit to U.S
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping, widely expected to be his country's next leader, on Tuesday meets with President Obama.

Art and Science Have a Chat in ’ANOMALIA’
In scientific research, an anomalous finding can be cast aside because it falls outside of the typical and does not fit cleanly in a normal distribution curve.

Will Anti-Arrhythmic Drug Beat Sudden Cardiac Arrest?
Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA) is the leading cause of death in the United States. This form of heart attack kills 325,000 people every year, representing one death every two minutes.

Online Archive Explores One Man’s Scrapbooks of African American Life
L.S. Alexander Gumby may be one of the most influential historians of early 20th century African American life in New York—even though he never wrote a traditional volume of history.

Start-up finds online meaning
Software developed at Oxford University that accurately assesses what people mean from what they say online will provide a valuable ‘sentiment analysis' tool for businesses, particularly finance companies.

The mathematics of a heart beat could save lives
What we perceive as the beating of our heart is actually the co-ordinated action of more than a billion muscle cells. Most of the time, only the muscle cells from the larger heart chambers contract and relax. But when the heart needs to work harder it relies on back-up from the atrial muscle cells deep within the smaller chambers (atria) of the heart.

Women leave math-intensive science fields when they decide to have kids
Women with advanced degrees in math-intensive academic fields drop out of fast-track research careers primarily because they want children - not because their performance is devalued or they are shortchanged during ing and hiring, report two Cornell professors.

Warped space lens provides zoomed-in image of faraway galaxy
ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A natural zoom lens in space has enabled astronomers to build new high-resolution images of one of the brightest distant galaxies magnified through a phenomenon called “gravitational lensing.” “I was always fascinated by beautiful images of space, but what makes an image like this so much more exciting is that you can actually see physics in action,” said Keren Sharon, a visiting scholar at the University of Michigan.

People forage for memories in the same way birds forage for berries
Humans move between ‘patches' in their memory using the same strategy as bees flitting between flowers for pollen or birds searching among bushes for berries.

Calnexin - a stable component of the ribosome-translocon complex
Palmitoylated calnexin is a key component of the ribosome-translocon complex. A third of the human genome encodes N-glycosylated proteins.

’Storm of the Century?’ Try ’Storm of the Decade’
With climate change, today's '100-year floods' may happen every three to 20 years, according to new research. Last August, Hurricane Irene spun through the Caribbean and parts of the eastern United States, leaving widespread wreckage in its wake. The Category 3 storm whipped up water levels, generating storm surges that swept over seawalls and flooded seaside and inland communities.

‘Invisibility’ cloak could protect buildings from earthquakes
University of Manchester mathematicians have developed the theory for a Harry Potter style 'cloaking' device which could protect buildings from earthquakes. William Parnell's team in the University's School of Mathematics have been working on the theory of invisibility cloaks which, until recently, have been merely the subject of science fiction.

Lecture: Bringing the Dino-Birds to Life
Some 150 million years ago lived an early intermediate form between feathered dinosaurs and birds.

Best time for a coffee break? There's an app for that
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Caffeinated drinks such as coffee and soda are the pick-me-ups of choice for many people, but too much caffeine can cause nervousness and sleep problems. Caffeine Zone software app developed by Penn State researchers, can help people determine when caffeine may give them a mental boost and when it could hurt their sleep patterns.

New Jersey Lt. Gov. Guadagno visits PPPL
New Jersey Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno visited the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL) on Monday, Feb.

Internet a boost for answers to mental-health
University of Melbourne researchers have found Wikipedia is the most highly rated website for accessing information on mental-health related topics. The researchers assessed a range of on-line and print material on mental health-related topics and found that in the majority of cases, Wikipedia was the most highly rated in most domains.

Saltwater crocodile breeders to benefit from genome sequence
The genome sequence of the saltwater crocodile has been completed by an international collaboration of scientists, including researchers from the University of Sydney.

World’s greenest supercomputer heads to Melbourne to boost health research
Victoria will be home to one of Australia's fastest supercomputers and the world's greenest supercomputer, the IBM Blue Gene/Q, which will be housed at the Victorian Life Sciences Computation Initiative (VLSCI) hosted by the University of Melbourne, and is aimed at advancing the study of human disease.

The fine art of filigree
Artist and historian Ximena Briceño has found that the twists, weaves and intricacies of finely-crafted filigree objects are every bit as complex as the art form's history. By MARTYN PEARCE. The fine art of filigree is just that - fine. Its delicately entwined silver wires have patterns and an intricacy more familiar in the natural world of vines and twines than the man-made world of silver jewellery.

Living with the city
The quiet personalities of our cities are in danger of being buried under the noise of the concrete jungle, writes TEGAN DOLSTRA.

The secret science of The Simpsons
A collaborative study involving undergraduate students and researchers has revealed that science in our favourite TV shows often slips under the radar.

Gamelan gangsta
New beats for old sounds on the island of Java are redefining and reviving local identities, writes JAMES GIGGACHER.

Perched with the parrots
The eclectus parrots of Cape York Peninsula have an unusual and gruesome habit, writes LEANNE O'ROURKES.

Less prison, better prevention of crime
Spending money on crime prevention might prove a wiser investment than building more prisons, writes Australian Research Council Federation Fellow JOHN BRAITHWAITE. Between 1910 and 1990 Australia had an imprisonment rate at approximately half what it is today. Punitive thinking led to the tragedy of massive public investment in prison building in an era when the evidence suggested this was not an effective way of reducing crime.

Casting the net
Valerie Kirk tells KATHARINE PIERCE why not knowing who you're working with shouldn't hold you back.

Drill Hall Gallery by Erin Stewart

Life sentences
The Australian Dictionary of Biography (ADB) Research Editor PAM CRICHTON explores the role of booksellers in Australia.

Liquid batteries for utilities could make renewables competitive
MIT team makes progress toward goal of inexpensive grid-scale batteries that could help make intermittent renewable energy sources viable. The biggest drawback to many real or proposed sources of clean, renewable energy is their intermittency: The wind doesn't always blow, the sun doesn't always shine, and so the power they produce may not be available at the times it's needed.

UCLA/Getty conservation program receives $1M Mellon Foundation grant
UCLA has received a $1-million challenge grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of the UCLA/Getty Interdepartmental Program on the Conservation of Archeological and Ethnographic M

UCLA brain-imaging technique predicts who will suffer cognitive decline over time
Cognitive loss and brain degeneration currently affect millions of adults, and the number will increase, given the population of aging baby boomers. Today, nearly 20 percent of people age 65 or older suffer from mild cognitive impairment and 10 percent have dementia. UCLA scientists previously developed a brain-imaging tool to help assess the neurological changes associated with these conditions.

On-site worker rescue plan urged for confined spaces
Many employers are mistakenly relying upon public fire departments to rescue workers from confined spaces, such as water and sewer pipes, manholes and tunnels, according to an analysis by University of California, Berkeley, health researchers of hundreds of deaths in the United States over 13 years.

ISS fellowships free some of Cornell’s top social scientists to pursue research
The Institute for the Social Sciences (ISS) at Cornell will sponsor 12 of the university's most promising social scientists for one semester, enabling them to pursue their research, free from teaching and most departmental duties.

Low altitude, high-flying beans to benefit Africa
Slender green beans air-freighted from Kenya to markets in Western Europe are a profitable crop for high-altitude farms across sub-Saharan Africa.

Caregiver personality traits affect mental, physical health
Taking care of an aging or disabled loved one can be hazardous to your health. But certain personality traits appear to reduce caregivers' risk for health problems, reports a new Cornell study. "Personality accounted for about a quarter of the variance in caregivers' mental health and about 10 percent of the variance in their physical health," said lead author Corinna Loeckenhoff, assistant professor of human development in Cornell's College of Human Ecology.

Low hormone response may contribute to women avoiding intimacy
“ Our findings demonstrate that, for some people, viewing emotionally intimate stimuli can increase estradiol levels, but this was not the case for women who are more detached from close relationships. ” ANN ARBOR, Mich.—University of Michigan researchers have found that women who avoid close relationships and intimacy have smaller hormone responses to emotionally intimate stimuli.

All heart: UCLA docs guide mom with heart condition through birth, operate on newborn
The 33-year-old from of Bakersfield, Calif., suffers from a congenital heart disease called Ebstein's malformation of the tricuspid valve, and from abnormal pulmonary veins.

Explosive evolution need not follow mass extinctions
In the wake of a mass extinction like the one that occurred 445 million years ago, a common assumption is that surviving species tend to proliferate quickly into new forms, having outlived many of their competitors. But new research shows that tiny marine organisms called graptoloids did not begin to rapidly develop new physical traits until about 2 million years after competing species became extinct.

Getting the measure of MRI
A method for imaging the brain that has largely been confined to neuroscience labs may now find its place as a proper tool for medical diagnosis. Oxford University scientists have come up with a new approach that turns functional magnetic resonance imaging ( fMRI ) from something that produces pictures of changes in brain activity into a full numerical measure of how the brain is working.

Under the Microscope #8 – Beetle embryo
The beetle shown in this video has been genetically modified so that the nucleus of each cell is labelled with a fluorescent protein." —Matt Benton Under the Microscope is a collection of videos that show glimpses of the natural and man-made world in stunning close-up.

Central and eastern Europe make history with small satellites
Central and eastern Europe make history with small satellites The first satellites entirely designed and built by Hungary, Poland, Romania are now orbiting Earth after today's successful maiden flight of ESA's small Vega launcher.

Stanford scholar chronicles evolution of Chinese love through texts
Stanford Professor Haiyan Lee chronicles the Chinese "love revolution" through a study of cultural changes influenced by Western ideals.

From buskins to brothel-creepers: our love affair with shoes
Tomorrow Cambridge historian Ulinka Rublack will give a public talk that will set footwear at the centre of her argument that in neglecting to explore the history of things we miss a golden opportunity to further our understanding of the past.

LHC to run at 4 TeV per beam in 2012
LHC to run at 4 TeV per beam in 2012 Geneva, 13 February 2012. CERN 1 today announced that the LHC will run with a beam energy of 4 TeV this year, 0.5 TeV higher than in 2010 and 2011.

Gas mileage of new vehicles at all-time high
ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Fuel economy of all new vehicles sold in the United States last month was at its highest mark ever, say researchers at the University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute.

Could "Love Hormone" Help Treat Depression?
Gazing into your lover's eyes isn't only romantic; it also releases a brain chemical called oxytocin that strengthens social bonds in a variety of species.

Engineers create tandem polymer solar cells that set record for energy-conversion
In the effort to convert sunlight into electricity, photovoltaic solar cells that use conductive organic polymers for light absorption and conversion have shown great potential.

ESA’s new Vega launcher scores success on maiden flight
ESA's new Vega launcher scores success on maiden flight PR 3 2012 - Vega, ESA's new launch vehicle, is ready to operate alongside the Ariane 5 and Soyuz launchers after a successful qualification flight this morning from Europe's Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.

Lovelorn liars leave linguistic leads
Online daters intent on fudging their personal information have a big advantage: most people are terrible at identifying a liar.

Men are not from Mars, women are not from Venus
UTM English professor Mari Ruti takes on the self-help industry in her book The Case for Falling in Love Professor Mari Ruti of the Department of English and Drama at the University of Toronto Mississauga has written about love for both academic and mainstream audiences.

Over-regulation of cyberspace risks infringing on human rights
In our quest to shape and regulate cyberspace, we risk subverting the global commons of information we have created, and by extension, the prospects and potential for global democracy, said Universi

Former Haverford President Stephen G. Emerson Appointed Director of the Herbert Irving Cancer Center
Stephen G. Emerson Former President of Haverford College Appointed Director of the Herbert Irving Comprehensive Cancer Center at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center NEW YORK (Feb.

University of Glasgow reaches for the stars with launch of Space Glasgow Research Cluster
The University of Glasgow unveiled an ambitious space technology research programme today (Monday 13 February) at an event attended by the Minister of State for Universities and Science, the Rt Hon David Willetts MP.

New immunotherapeutic agent for the treatment of Alzheimer's disease
Selective neutralization of APP-C99 with monoclonal antibodies reduces the production of Alzheimer's Aβ peptides.

Motivation to exercise affects behavior
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For many people, the motivation to exercise fluctuates from week to week, and these fluctuations predict whether they will be physically active, according to researchers at Penn State.