Scientific American - Observations

NASA-funded monkey-radiation experiment raises hackles

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:59:00 EST

A nonprofit group that promotes animal rights in medical research has taken issue with a NASA grant funding an assessment of the long-term effects of radiation on monkeys. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), based in Washington, D.C., sent an appeal Thursday to NASA administrator Charles Bolden, urging that the radiobiology study, intended to test the effects of radiation encountered in long-range spaceflight, be suspended. [More]

What will it take to force political action on climate change?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:21:00 EST

As utilities fire up their "clean coal" machines and international negotiators haggle over the precise definition of a tree , only one entity has the courage to stand and deliver the hot air the world so desperately craves on climate change: the U.S. Senate. After a hectic couple of weeks, filled with Republican walkouts and Democratic intransigence, the Senate's Environment and Public Works committee has pushed a bill to the Senate floor that would cut carbon dioxide. [More]

Google Droid is here: Can it go toe-to-toe with Apple's iPhone?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 16:18:00 EST

The flood of Google Droid mobile phone reviews in the past week suggests that if the two devices stepped into the ring together, it would end like the first Rocky movie . Like Apollo Creed, the iPhone would still be the champ by a split decision by virtue of its status as the smooth-stepping veteran in the marketplace (not to mention its friendship with iTunes), but the Droids that debuted Friday on Motorola and HTC devices have come out swinging and win a few key rounds. [More]

Frozen Antarctic lakes yield new viruses

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 17:57:00 EST

In the chilly depths of one of Antarctica's freshwater lakes, a surprising number of novel viruses thrive. [More]

"On-pump" heart bypass surgery beats out beating-heart technique

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 15:38:00 EST

The best bypass surgery choice may be to use a heart–lung machine, after all, according to a new study published Thursday in The New England Journal of Medicine . [More]

Newborns may start honing their mother tongue with their first cries

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:33:00 EST

The cry of newborn babies may seem like nothing more than inescapable shrills, but they could be infants' first attempts to imitate the language they hear while in the womb. [More]

Al Gore advocates for gender equality, political action to slow climate change

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 16:20:00 EST

Slowing climate change is neither inevitable nor impossible, former Vice President Al Gore said in a speech Tuesday night in New York City. Gore, who was launching his new book, Our Choice: A Plan to Solve the Climate Crisis , said that he has "absolute conviction that we have all the tools to solve [several] climate crises." [More]

Stellar deal: NASA awards $2 million to X PRIZE winners for helping develop a lunar lander

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 14:13:00 EST

Less than one month after NASA crashed its Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) into the moon's surface in order to analyze the resulting plume of debris for signs of water , the U.S. space agency is handing out nearly $2 million on Thursday to engineers developing technology for a much softer landing on the lunar surface as part of the Northrop Grumman Lunar Lander X PRIZE Challenge . [More]

Wireless tech taking a toll on Earth science and astronomy

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:35:00 EST

Nearly lost amidst the breathless anticipation of all things wireless--whether it's the latest smart phone, free Internet hot spot or GPS navigation system--is the potential impact these gadgets may have on scientific instruments that likewise need access to the electromagnetic spectrum. Yet the proliferation of wireless technologies, licensed and otherwise, grabbing increasingly more spectrum bandwidth is interfering significantly with scientists' ability to monitor radio emissions from the Earth and space that "yield vital information" about our planet and its place in the universe, according to a report released Monday by the National Research Council's Scientific Use of the Radio Spectrum committee . [More]

Could we be on the verge of a new drug to treat lupus?

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 09:00:00 EST

Systemic lupus is the most common form of the autoimmune disease, lupus , which afflicts about five million people worldwide and causes a slew of symptoms including fever, pain and swelling. Now, sufferers of systemic lupus may be closer to a new drug to treat their symptoms, according to the results of a study announced yesterday. If approved for the market, the drug, which was developed by Human Genome Sciences (HGS) and GlaxoSmithKline, would be the first new treatment for lupus in nearly half a century. [More]

Obama lifts U.S. ban on foreign HIV-positive travelers

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 16:10:00 EST

People with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) will no longer be prohibited from visiting or immigrating to the U.S., the White House announced Friday. [More]

TED MED: The power of the mind over the body

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 07:36:00 EST

TED MED[www.tedmed.com] wrapped up with compelling personal stories that celebrated the power of the human mind to help the body endure or to reach physical achievements. The sold-out meeting in San Diego, held for the first time in five years, had during the past four days covered a spectrum of themes, including research on engineering life to create cures and regenerative medicine , the need to collect information about a patient’s environment , the personalization of health care , the quest to slow aging , and technologies, such as robots , to make it more practical for the elderly to extend their years at home. [More]

Is the nuclear material at Los Alamos safe from an earthquake?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 16:30:00 EST

Los Alamos National Laboratory conducts much of the nation's nuclear security research, and a new study has found that the plutonium facility may not be equipped to safely ride out an earthquake. [More]

Parachute failure before splashdown left Ares 1-X booster badly dinged

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 15:40:00 EST

NASA's launch of the Ares 1-X test rocket Wednesday was a success --but, as it turns out, a qualified one. The rocket's first booster stage, which splashed down in the ocean as planned six minutes after launch, was found to be significantly dented when divers reached the mammoth cylinder to prep it for retrieval. [More]

EPA tests porous pavement to combat contaminated rain runoff

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 07:00:00 EST

In an effort to prevent polluted parking lot rain runoff from contaminating surrounding soil and underground water, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday said it has launched decadelong test of permeable materials to find one that can filter out impurities in rainwater before it flows to its final destination. [More]

TED MED: Grandma's little robot helper

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 01:17:00 EST

For Colin Angle, the statistics make the case clear. Institutional care for the elderly costs an average of more than $10,000 per month, about equal to “the mortgage payment for a $2 million home.” At the same time, three out of four seniors want to continue living at home. To do so, many may need support from their adult children--who themselves are strapped for time while juggling the demands of work and family. “Something has to give in order for that to work,” Angle told the audience yesterday at the TED MED conference, which is being held this week in San Diego. “What am I going to do? Well, what about robots?” [More]

Flu vaccine: A shortage that didn't have to be?

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:52:00 EST