Observations from satellites now allow scientists to monitor changes to water levels in the sea, in rivers and lakes, in ice sheets and even under the ground. As the climate changes, this information will be crucial for monitoring its effects and predicting future impacts in different regions.

Sea level rise in one of the major consequences of global warming, but it is much more difficult to model and predict than temperature. It involves the oceans and their interaction with the atmosphere, the ice sheets, the land waters and even the solid Earth, which modifies the shapes of ocean basins. Measurements from tidal gauges show that for most of the twentieth century, sea levels rose by 1.8 mm per year on average.

AAAS isn't usually regarded as fans of science journalism (well, unless it's people writing for Science) but that hasn't always been the case. Since 1945 they have honored science reporting for print and radio and later expanded that to television and now online reporting.

This year, an ambitious series on memory and the brain, a look at whether research supports widespread use of anti-cholesterol medications, and a broadcast account of the contentious battle over intelligent design in Dover, Pennsylvania, are among the winners of the 2008 AAAS Science Journalism Awards.

Panels of science journalists chose the winners of the awards, which are sponsored by Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development, L.L.C.

As any good beer brewer knows, the yeast used in fermentation stick together in large clumps consisting of thousands of cells that settle out where they are easily removed. Brewers had even traced this behavior to a gene that encodes a sticky protein that sits on the surface of yeast cells. But despite the fact that yeast are a major laboratory "workhorse," any further exploration of their social lives had remained almost entirely neglected. Indeed, the "domesticated" yeast commonly studied in genetics labs have had any social tendencies bred out of them. 

Researchers at MIT's Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research have produced a report concerning key design issues of proposed "cap-and-trade" programs that are under consideration in the United States as a way of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. The first contribution of the three-part study found that, based on an examination of the European Union's system and of similar U.S. programs for other emissions, such a program can indeed be effective in reducing emissions without having a significant economic impact.

Developed more than 200 years ago and found in households around the world, chlorine bleach is among the most widely used disinfectants, yet scientists never have understood exactly how this familiar product actually kills bacteria.   New research from the University of Michigan  reveals key details in the process by which bleach works its antimicrobial magic.

In a study published in the Nov. 14 issue of Cell, a team led by molecular biologist Ursula Jakob describes a mechanism by which hypochlorite, the active ingredient of household bleach, attacks essential bacterial proteins, ultimately killing the bugs.

Humans would never agree that elections sometimes come down to looks.   Science disagrees.   Some argue that Barack Obama won because he looks younger and healthier than John McCain while others contend that having twice as much money makes any candidate more likely to win and about three people actually voted based on the issues.

A new report in the November 13th issue of Current Biology says that one species of fish picks its leaders in much the same way; most of the time they reach a consensus to go for the more attractive of two candidates. 

Two clones of highly antibiotic-resistant organism strains, which previously had only been identified in the United States, are now causing serious sickness and death in several Colombian cities including the capital Bogotá, say researchers at The University of Texas Medical School at Houston. The study, done in collaboration with Universidad El Bosque in Bogotá, is presented in a research letter published in the Nov. 13 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.

CAMBRIDGE, England, November 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Popular Commercially-Supported Linux Distribution Ubuntu to be Available on Low-Power ARM SoCs With Rich Integrated Graphics and Video Subsystems and a Proven Track Record of Low-Power Design

ARM ((LSE: ARM); (Nasdaq: ARMH)) and Canonical Ltd, the commercial sponsor of Ubuntu(R), today announced that it will bring the full Ubuntu Desktop operating system to the ARMv7 processor architecture to address demand from device manufacturers. The addition of the new operating system will enable new netbooks and hybrid computers, targeting energy-efficient ARM(R) technology-based SoCs, to deliver a rich, always-connected, mobile computing experience, without compromising battery life.

BRUSSELS, November 13 /PRNewswire/ --

- Diabetes Activists Worldwide Organize Events to Draw Attention to Growing Pandemic With the Focus on Diabetes in Children and Adolescents

November 14 is the most important day of the year for the over 250 million people with diabetes worldwide. World Diabetes Day draws attention to the global diabetes epidemic and the need for action to improve care, prevent the disease in those at risk and find a cure. People on every continent, from countries as far apart as Australia and Uruguay, have organized activities to mark the day.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081113/328253 )

LONDON, November 13 /PRNewswire/ --

Unite, the UK's largest union, is calling on IT giant HP/EDS to reverse its decision to cut a quarter of the UK's workforce and is warning the company that it should look for a business strategy for long term growth rather than looking to cut costs.