News Articles

The Whole Earth Telescope (WET), a worldwide network of observatories coordinated by the University of Delaware, is synchronizing its lenses to provide round-the-clock coverage of a cooling star. As the star dims in the twilight of its life, scientists hope it will shed light on the workings of our own planet and other mysteries of the galaxy.The dying star, a white dwarf identified as WDJ1524-0030, located in the constellation Ophiuchus in the southern sky, is losing its brightness as it cools, its nuclear fuel spent. It will be monitored continuously from May 15 to June 11 by WET, a global partnership of telescopes which was formed in 1986.

Scientists at South Dakota State University are exploring the mechanisms by which a substance derived ultimately from Red Sea coral could help treat skin cancer.The study built on earlier work by SDSU distinguished professor Chandradhar Dwivedi’s lab looking at the chemopreventive effects of sarcophine-diol, made from a substance called sarcophine that can be isolated from soft coral found in the Red Sea. The new study carried the work beyond looking at sarcophine-diol’s possible use in prevention of skin cancer to consider its potential as a tool in therapies to actually treat skin cancer.“We are finding that sarcophine-diol could be used both for chemoprevention and as a chemotherapeutic agent,” Dwivedi said.

Global warming isn't spiking but the global composite temperature during April revealed an increase above the 20-year average for that month. The report is issued monthly as part of an ongoing joint project between The University of Alabama in Huntsville, NOAA and NASA.As part of an ongoing joint project between The University of Alabama inHuntsville, NOAA and NASA, Dr. John Christy, director of U.A. Huntsville'sEarth System Science Center, and Dr. Roy Spencer, a principal researchscientist in the ESSC, use data gathered by microwave sounding units on NOAAand NASA satellites to get accurate temperature readings for almost allregions of the Earth. This includes remote desert, ocean and rain forest

Duplicating our organic tissue synthetically isn't as easy as it sounds.   Our bodily tissue is both soft and tough but modern implants - and replacement organs - will need to be as close to natural as possible to be effective.A team of Australian and Korean researchers led by Geoffrey M. Spinks and Seon Jeong Kim has now developed a novel, highly porous, sponge-like material whose mechanical properties closely resemble those of biological soft tissues.  It consists of a robust network of DNA strands and carbon nanotubes. 

Dartmouth Medical School geneticists say they have made new inroads into understanding the regulatory circuitry of the biological clock that synchronizes the ebb and flow of daily activities, according to two studies published May 15. Research on the relationship between clocks and temperature, reported in Cell, offers insight into a longstanding puzzle of temperature compensation: why the 24-hour circadian rhythm does not change with temperature when metabolism is so affected.  A related study, in Molecular Cell, tracks a clock protein in action, mapping hundreds of highly choreographed modifications and interactions to provide the first complete view of regulation across a day. 

Let's be honest, the one thing you worry about most when driving your Hummer and sipping corporate-farmed coffee is how much damage that Union Oyster House ("oldest restaurant in America!") refrigerator magnet in your house is doing to the environment.   You're out of luck.   The refrigerator magnets scientists are a step closer to making are for  environmentally-friendly 'magnetic' refrigerators and air conditioning systems.

The research group of Dr. Frédéric Charron, a researcher at the Institut de recherches cliniques de Montréal (IRCM), has made a discovery which could help treat spinal cord injuries and neurodegenerative diseases. This new finding has been published in the current issue of Neuron.

The American Civil Liberties Union action in filing a lawsuit yesterday against Myriad Genetics is going to lead to one of the most important legal battles in the history of biotechnology, asserts Genetic Engineering&Biotechnology News(GEN).   The ACLU charged that the patenting of two human genes linked to breast and ovarian cancer will inhibit medical research.   The organization also claims that the patents are invalid and unconstitutional, though the ACLU didn't disclose which clause of the Constitution it violates.

Should You Share  A Higher Genetic Risk?If you learned that you were at high risk of cancer because you carry the hereditary BRCA1/2 gene mutation, would you tell your children? A recent study at Fox Chase Cancer Center not only considered that question, but also took it to the next level and studied the parent perceptions of the impact of such a decision on children.   BRCA1/2 are hereditary gene mutations that indicate an increased risk of developing breast cancer.

The potential contribution to sea level rise from a collapse of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet (WAIS) have been greatly overestimated, according to a new study in Science.   These scientists estimate global sea level would rise 3.3 metres, not five or six, which were some previous estimates.

After the victory of IBM's Deep Blue against Garry Kasparov, the game of Go has replaced chess as a test bed for research in artificial intelligence (AI).Go is one of the last board games where humans are still able to easily win against AI. Although there has been quite some research in the Go domain for 40 years, the progress in Computer Go has been slow. However, researchers have discovered new performing algorithms and computers are catching up really fast. Since 2006, when a new algorithm called Monte-Carlo Tree Search was proposed, the level of Go programs has improved drastically. The application 'MoGo TITAN', developed by INRIA France and Maastricht University, runs on the Dutch national supercomputer Huygens, which is one of the PRACE prototypes.

Smoking is bad for you, but it can also help with allergies, according to a new study which says that cigarette smoke can prevent allergies by decreasing the reaction of immune cells to allergens.Smoking can cause lung cancer, pulmonary disease, and can even affect how the body fights infections but along with many harmful effects, smoking cigarettes has a surprising benefit: cigarettes can protect smokers from certain types of allergies.  The new study says that cigarette smoke decreases the allergic response by inhibiting the activity of mast cells, the major players in the immune system's response to allergens.