Euthanasia is a polarizing term that confuses the debate about dying and should no longer be used by physicians, say the authors of an editorial in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"The end of life debate seems particularly burdened by confusion over the term 'euthanasia'," the authors write. "Both sides use it to further their ideological views: one side says murder, the other mercy; the right to live versus the right to die with dignity; selfishness versus compassion."

Scientists have discovered the world's smallest superconductor, a sheet of four pairs of (BETS)2GaCl4 molecules less than one nanometer wide.

Their new Nature Nanotechnology study provides the first evidence that nanoscale molecular superconducting wires can be fabricated, which could be used for nanoscale electronic devices and energy applications.

Coastal microbes may offer a smart solution for plastic contamination in the world's oceans, according to research presented at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting.

The research shows that the combination of marine microbes that can grow on plastic waste varies significantly from microbial groups that colonize surfaces in the wider environment. This raises the possibility that the plastic-associated marine microbes have different activities that could contribute to the breakdown of these plastics or the toxic chemicals associated with them.

A team of neuroscientists claim it is possible to influence people's moral judgments by disrupting a specific brain region called the the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ).

The study offers "striking evidence" that the right TPJ, located at the brain's surface above and behind the right ear, is critical for making moral judgments, the authors say.

An analysis of tree rings and archeological remains suggests that decades of drought, interspersed with intense monsoon rains, may have helped bring about the fall of Cambodia's ancient Khmer civilization at Angkor nearly 600 years ago.

The findings, published this week in PNAS,  indicate that advanced civilizations are still vulnerable to the influence of climate change.

Marine ecosystems could be radically altered by ocean acidification resulting from increasing levels of atmospheric CO2, say researchers presenting at the Society for General Microbiology's spring meeting.

As a result of it's impact on fish stocks and erosion of coral reefs, researchers say ocean acidification could also have serious socioeconomic ramifications as well. 

The team simulated ocean acidification as predicted by current trends of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and found that the decrease in ocean pH (increased acidity) resulted in a sharp decline of a biogeochemically important group of bacteria known as the Marine Roseobacter clade.

Scientists writing in BMC Ecology say the "giggle" sound made by spotted hyenas has revealed that the animals' laughter encodes information about age, dominance and identity.
 
Researchers recorded the calls of 26 hyenas in captivity and found that variations in the giggles' pitch and timbre may help hyenas to establish social hierarchies.

"The hyena's laugh gives receivers cues to assess the social rank of the emitting individual. This may allow hyenas to establish feeding rights and organize their food-gathering activities," said Frédéric Theunissen, a researcher the University of California at Berkeley.

In a study sure to delight the Lamarckian in you, and not part of our annual April Fool's Day science content, a new study by Royal Holloway, University of London, says Iraqi children born in areas affected by high levels of violence are shorter in height than children born in less violent areas.

Not factored in; whether or not the Baathists who live in the nice, less-violent areas and have money marry taller women, though look for that in a follow-up.

Understanding Climate : #4 - Calculating Sunshine


The Fire In The Sky

Marco Silva (right) is an amateur astronomer since the 1997 Hale-Bopp comet passage. He is also an amateur scientist. His studies can be found in his web site. When I knew of his interesting measurements of cataclysmic variable stars, I invited him to write about the matter for us here....

Cataclysmic Variables