Featured Articles

Four Former Presidential Science Advisors On The Importance Of Science In The White House

Four Former Presidential Science Advisors On The Importance Of Science In The White House

Dec 06 2008 | comment(s)

Four living presidential science advisors, Democrats Drs. John H. Gibbons and Neal F. Lane and Republicans Drs. Edward E. David and John. P. McTague, have written an article called "Making a Critical Connection: Science Advice and the Next President", which highlights the need for the swift appointment of a science advisor whom President-elect Barack Obama trusts. 
The Sociology Of Prayer

The Sociology Of Prayer

Dec 06 2008 | comment(s)

In times of economic distress and plenty, ninety percent of Americans pray, more than half of us once a day or more. We pray for big things—to stay healthy, to keep our jobs, and to strengthen our relationships. And we pray for small things—to find parking spaces and missing items. Some of us are sure God exists and others pray simply to cover the bases. 
Don't Bet Your Heart On Apples Or Pears - Think About Liver Fat Instead

Don't Bet Your Heart On Apples Or Pears - Think About Liver Fat Instead

Dec 06 2008 | comment(s)

For years, pear-shaped people who carry weight in the thighs and backside have been told they are at lower risk for high blood pressure and heart disease than apple-shaped people who carry fat in the abdomen. But new findings from nutrition researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suggest body-shape comparisons don't completely explain risk.

In two studies, they report excess liver fat appears to be the real key to insulin resistance, cholesterol abnormalities and other problems that contribute to diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Having too much fat stored in the liver is known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease.
Mystery Chemical On Venus Gets A Better Look

Mystery Chemical On Venus Gets A Better Look

Dec 06 2008 | comment(s)

New images taken by instruments on board ESA's Venus Express provide a unique insight into the windy atmosphere of our neighbouring planet and reveal that global patterns at the Venus cloud tops are the result of variable temperatures and cloud heights.

Using the spacecraft's ultraviolet and infrared cameras, the Venus Express team, including UK scientists, have been able to compare what the planet looks like at different wavelengths, allowing them to study the physical conditions and dynamics of the planet's atmosphere. These results appear today (4th December) in the journal Nature.
Mobile Phones Damage Memory In Rats - Study

Mobile Phones Damage Memory In Rats - Study

Dec 06 2008 | comment(s)

Can radiation from cell phones affect memory?

The debate continues but in rat experiments done at the Division of Neurosurgery, Lund University, in Sweden, Henrietta Nittby studied rats that were exposed to mobile phone radiation for two hours a week for more than a year and says these rats had poorer results on a memory test than rats that had not been exposed to radiation.

The memory test consisted of releasing the rats in a box with four objects mounted in it. These objects were different on the two occasions, and the placement of the objects was different from one time to the other.
Will You Be Ghettoized By Robot Culture?

Will You Be Ghettoized By Robot Culture?

Dec 06 2008 | comment(s)

No one really feels left out if they don't have an iPod.  An MP3 player is nice to have but not essential to the human condition.   But Spanish researchers who have carried out a study looking into the potential future impact of robots on society say that the enormous automation capacity of robots and their ability to interact with humans will cause a technological imbalance over the next 12 years - between those who have them and those who do not.
IPSA International And Complinet Form Strategic Partnership To Minimize Risk For Financial Services Industry

IPSA International And Complinet Form Strategic Partnership To Minimize Risk For Financial Services Industry

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

NEW YORK, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

IPSA International, Inc. (IPSA), an international investigative consulting firm, announced today a strategic partnership with Complinet, the leading provider of dynamic and connected risk and compliance solutions to the global financial services industry. The partnership will mutually benefit both firms by offering clients an all-inclusive risk vetting and enhanced due diligence solution to minimize a company's risk exposure.

When physicists try to talk genetics...

When physicists try to talk genetics...

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

...the result is never pretty. I made this point in a comment, but I've hoisted it up here because this issue deserves more visibility.

Physics professor Steve Hsu makes this argument:
America's Future Is Not The Internal Combustion Engine

America's Future Is Not The Internal Combustion Engine

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

If there is a bailout of the Big Three, it should include alternative energy metrics against which the three companies compete for better loan repayment terms. The company that most rapidly converts its’ entire fleet to an average of 45 mpg, starts mass production of electric plug in and electric hybrid cars should have significantly better terms – including forgiveness of most of the loans – than the company that comes in second. There has been much discussion about whether America can afford to allow its’ auto industry to go down the tubes. This implies that the Big Three represent the totality of America’s automotive production.


A Fragment Theory Of Deja Vu

A Fragment Theory Of Deja Vu

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

All of us have experienced being in a new place and feeling certain that we have been there before. This mysterious feeling, commonly known as déjà vu, occurs when we feel that a new situation is familiar, even if there is evidence that the situation could not have occurred previously. For a long time, this eerie sensation has been attributed to everything from paranormal disturbances to neurological disorders. However, in recent years, as more scientists began studying this phenomenon, a number of theories about déjà vu have emerged, suggesting that it is not merely a glitch in our brain's memory system. 

Level 3 Communications Elects Jeff Storey President And Chief Operating Officer

Level 3 Communications Elects Jeff Storey President And Chief Operating Officer

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

BROOMFIELD, Colorado, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

Level 3 Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: LVLT), a leading international provider of fiber-based communications services, has elected Jeff K. Storey as president and chief operating officer effective December 8. Storey will be based at the company's headquarters in Broomfield, Colo., and will report to James Q. Crowe, chief executive officer. Storey brings more than 25 years of experience in the telecommunications industry to Level 3.

Elsevier Announces Winners Of 3rd Annual Scopus Young Indian Scientist Award

Elsevier Announces Winners Of 3rd Annual Scopus Young Indian Scientist Award

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

NEW DELHI, India, December 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Elsevier, the world's leading publisher of scientific information, announced today the winners of the third annual Scopus Young Indian Scientist Award. Prof. J J Theo Groothuizen, ST Counsellor, Embassy of Netherlands, presided over the award ceremony, held at Le Meridien in New Delhi.

Rosetta Genomics Reports Third Quarter 2008 Financial Results; Records First Revenues Of $705,000; $7.4 Million Added To Available Cash Due To Repurchase Of ARS

Rosetta Genomics Reports Third Quarter 2008 Financial Results; Records First Revenues Of $705,000; $7.4 Million Added To Available Cash Due To Repurchase Of ARS

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

REHOVOT, Israel and JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- First Tests Based on the Company's Technology Expected to be Introduced to the Market Shortly

- Initiates Research and Development of Blood-Based microRNA Tests for Various Types of Cancers Including Colon, Lung and Others

- Launches Rosetta Green, a microRNA-Based Plant Biotechnology Initiative, and Secured up to $1.5M for This Project From Private Investors Which Will be Invested as Certain Milestones are Reached

REHOVOT, Israel and JERSEY CITY, New Jersey, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

European Online Retail Traffic Picks Up In Recent Weeks But Remains Below Year-Ago Levels

European Online Retail Traffic Picks Up In Recent Weeks But Remains Below Year-Ago Levels

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- comScore Releases Review of Holiday Retail Traffic Trends in U.K., France and Germany

comScore, Inc. (Nasdaq: SCOR), a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the first in a series of reports examining visitation to online retail sites in the U.K., France and Germany during the Christmas shopping period. The study monitored the total number of visitors to online retail sites during November and compared average weekly visitor data to a pre-season base period of September and October. The study also examined traffic to the leading online retail sites in each market, comparing current weekly visitation data against the corresponding weeks of last year's shopping season.

Frost Sullivan Award Honours Global Biofuels Limited For Its Commitment To Being A Green Energy Company

Frost Sullivan Award Honours Global Biofuels Limited For Its Commitment To Being A Green Energy Company

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

LONDON, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

The 2008 Sub-Saharan Africa Biofuel Emerging Company Award is presented to Global Biofuels Limited of Nigeria in recognition of its commitment to producing biofuel, promoting the socio-economic upliftment of Nigerians and reducing greenhouse gases as set out in the Kyoto protocol.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20081117/FSLOGO)

Ultrasound Transducer Disinfection In Many Cases Insufficient

Ultrasound Transducer Disinfection In Many Cases Insufficient

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

HAMBURG, Germany, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- New `Trophon EPR' Device Offers Unique Solution

Current methods of ultrasound transducer disinfection are in many cases not sufficient for clinical practice. This is the latest alarming result issued by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the leading US public health agency, in its recently published Guideline for Disinfection and Sterilization in Healthcare Facilities.(i) The guideline is the CDC's response to the rapidly evolving epidemiology of hospital-acquired infections such as Clostridium difficile(ii) or MRSA(iii).

ConvaTec Launches New Lifestyle Magazine For People With An Ostomy

ConvaTec Launches New Lifestyle Magazine For People With An Ostomy

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

SKILLMAN, New Jersey, December 5 /PRNewswire/ --

- Free Support Magazine Helps Individuals and Families Embrace Life to the Fullest

ConvaTec, a world-leading developer and marketer of innovative medical technologies for community and hospital care, announced today the launch of ConTact(TM), the new global lifestyle magazine for people with a stoma. The free magazine is filled with practical advice and feature articles on living a healthy and active life after stoma surgery.

In response to reader feedback, ConTact(TM), formerly known as Converse, now features expanded content, including personal profiles from people around the world who are living the life they want, tips from contributing experts and readers, as well as a new look and feel.

Laying Out Options For Forestation-Related Climate Change

Laying Out Options For Forestation-Related Climate Change

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

The Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) today released a comprehensive analysis clarifying major challenges and offering an assortment of options that could help negotiators reach a global agreement on reducing carbon emissions tied to forest destruction and degradation.

The report, Moving ahead with REDD: Issues, options and implications, is set to be released as officials from around the world have gathered here under the auspices of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Negotiators are seeking to outline a new global agreement for reducing greenhouse gases, which will set the stage for final decisions scheduled for 2009 in Copenhagen.

Happiness Is Contagious - And A Collective Rather Than Individual Thing

Happiness Is Contagious - And A Collective Rather Than Individual Thing

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

If you're happy and you know it, thank your friends—and their friends. And while you're at it, their friends' friends. But if you're sad, hold the blame. Researchers from Harvard Medical School and the University of California, San Diego have found that "happiness" is not the result solely of a cloistered journey filled with individually tailored self-help techniques. Happiness is also a collective phenomenon that spreads through social networks like an emotional contagion. 
Climate Change Made (And Broke) Empires

Climate Change Made (And Broke) Empires

Dec 05 2008 | comment(s)

The decline of the Roman and Byzantine Empires in the Eastern Mediterranean more than 1,400 years ago may have been driven by unfavorable climate changes.

Based on chemical signatures in a piece of calcite from a cave near Jerusalem, a team of American and Israeli geologists pieced together a detailed record of the area's climate from roughly 200 B.C. to 1100 A.D. Their analysis, to be reported in an upcoming issue of the journal Quaternary Research, reveals increasingly dry weather from 100 A.D. to 700 A.D. that coincided with the fall of both Roman and Byzantine rule in the region.