Rutgers AIDS researchers Gail Ferstandig Arnold and Eddy Arnold and colleagues say they may have turned a corner in their search for a HIV vaccine.

The researchers say they have been able to take a piece of HIV that is involved with helping the virus enter cells, put it on the surface of a common cold virus, and then immunize animals with it. They found that the animals made antibodies that can stop an unusually diverse set of HIV isolates or varieties. 

The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope says a look into the heart of the Perseus galaxy has provided evidence that galaxies are embedded in halos of dark matter.   Small galaxies have remained intact while larger galaxies around them are being ripped apart by the gravitational tug of other galaxies.

The explanation?   The undisturbed galaxies are enshrouded by a "cushion" of dark matter that protects them.

Dark matter is a theoretical invisible form of matter that accounts for most of the Universe's mass. Astronomers have deduced the existence of dark matter by gravitational influences on normal matter, such as stars, gas and dust.

Are Americans bad at science?  If so, are they worse than anywhere else?   We know the answer to one of those questions.  A new national survey commissioned by the California Academy of Sciences and conducted by Harris Interactive  says that the U.S. public is unable to pass even a basic scientific literacy test. 

The good news; U.S. adults do believe that scientific research and education are important. About 4 in 5 adults think science education is "absolutely essential" or "very important" to the U.S. healthcare system (86%), the U.S. global reputation (79%), and the U.S. economy (77%). 

When a single female antbird is nearby, those with male partners will sing over the songs of their betrothed in an apparent attempt to keep their messages from getting through, according to a new report in Current Biology.

Males, of course, then change their tune.

This may be the first evidence that such "signal jamming" and "jamming avoidance" (literal cock-blocking) occurs between mates, according to the researchers. 

New interactive features on NASA's Global Climate Change Web site give the public the opportunity to "fly along" with NASA's fleet of Earth science missions and observe Earth from a global perspective in an immersive, 3-D environment. 

Developed using a state-of-the-art, browser-based visualization technology, "Eyes on the Earth 3-D" displays the location of all of NASA's 15 currently operating Earth-observing missions in real time. These missions constantly monitor our planet's vital signs, such as sea level height, concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, global temperatures and extent of sea ice in the Arctic, to name a few.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Production down 900,000 barrels per day

Platts -- The 12 members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) (http://www.opec.platts.com/) pumped an average 28.07 million barrels per day (b/d) in February, as the oil producer club continued its efforts to slash oversupply and prevent oil prices falling further, according to a Platts survey of OPEC, oil industry officials and analysts just released. This is down 900,000 b/d down from January's 28.97 million b/d.

Show Me The Science Month Day 23 Installment 23



Thanks to your parents, you have two copies of each chromosome, which means that you have maternal and paternal copies of every gene. In most cases, having two copies of a gene is no problem, but in some cases, two is too much, and your cells have to shut one copy down. How does a cell do it?

Shutting down one copy of a gene (or an entire section of a chromosome) is called genomic imprinting. (This is not the same thing as the newly hatched duckling that latches on to the first thing it sees, obviously). Genomic imprinting is a critical process used by placental and marsupial mammals to control the dosage of many genes, but how did this process evolve?

The answer, in part, has been discovered by an analysis of the platypus genome. Genomic imprinting appears to have evolved from a defense mechanism used by cells to knock down parasitic DNA.

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- Digital Realty Trust Turn-Key Datacenters(SM) Provide Highly Reliable Environment for Mission Critical IT Infrastructure

Digital Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: DLR), the world's largest wholesale datacenter provider, has achieved five 9s of uptime in its Turn-Key Datacenters(SM) once again with a another year of 99.999% availability across its portfolio of facilities in North America and Europe in 2008. These uptime metrics are based on a comprehensive evaluation of the company's Turn-Key Datacenter(SM) facilities in the US and Europe using standard industry methodology.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) announced that its air traffic management systems subsidiary, Park Air Systems, will be showcasing its latest air traffic control systems products and capabilities at the ATC Global 2009 exhibition.

ATC Global 2009 is the world's leading air navigation services exhibition and conference and takes place from 17-19 March at the RAI exhibition centre, Amsterdam. Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems will be exhibiting at Stand H600 in Hall 11.

LONDON, March 11 /PRNewswire/ --

- With Photo

To mark this year's No Smoking Day, three 'mini' entrepreneurs today went head-to-head to win a GBP2,000 investment from TV Dragon Duncan Bannatyne. In a re-enactment of the TV challenge, the school children faced their toughest challenge yet when they presented their big ideas on how they could encourage parents to give up smoking.

Shannon Stokes, 9, from Neith, South Wales, won with her proposal to support parents who want to quit. Shannon's Sweet Success reminds parents of the reasons they are giving up and rewards their quit attempts using sweets.