Primitive stars are thought to have formed from material forged shortly after the Big Bang, 13.7 billion years ago and are mainly observed in the Milky Way. But now researchers are reporting that they have uncovered more primitive stars located in neighboring dwarf galaxies. The discovery was made possible by much more detailed spectra obtained with the UVES instrument on ESO's Very Large Telescope.

"We have, in effect, found a flaw in the forensic methods used until now," says Else Starkenburg, lead researcher on the project. "Our improved approach allows us to uncover the primitive stars hidden among all the other, more common stars."

An analysis of the skeletal remains found in Carthaginian burial urns could finally lay to rest the millennia-old conjecture that the ancient empire of Carthage regularly sacrificed its youngest citizens. An examination of the remains of Carthaginian children revealed that most infants perished prenatally or very shortly after birth and were unlikely to have lived long enough to be sacrificed.

The findings, published this week in PLoS ONE, refute claims from as early as the 3rd century BCE of systematic infant sacrifice at Carthage that remain a subject of debate among biblical scholars and archaeologists. Authors of the new study say it's more likely that very young Punic children were cremated and interred in burial urns regardless of how they died.

Biologists have struggled for many years to explain how it is possible that some people who carry a mutated gene don't express the trait or condition associated with the mutation. This common but poorly understood phenomenon, known as incomplete penetrance,  may be partially due to environmental factors and the influence of other genes, but scientists say other forces are likely at work here as well.

The authors of a new study in Nature say that some cases of incomplete penetrance may be controlled by random fluctuations in gene expression.

In a study of intestinal development of C. elegans, a small worm, the team was able to pinpoint specific fluctuations that appear to determine whether the mutant trait is expressed or not.

Marc Morano - Global Superhero

In one of the most philanthropic gestures ever from a mere political journo-lobbyist, Marc Morano has taken upon his own shoulders the entire burden of global climate change.

Marc_Morano does not think global warming is anything to worry about.  He is utterly convinced that it is the greatest scam in history, a fraud, a pack of lies, etc. etc.

Markets work well when there’s a chain from wholesaler to retailer to customer…and back. If none of the customer payments makes it back to the wholesaler, soon there may be few to no wholesalers producing anything worth buying. That’s bad for wholesalers, bad for retailers, and bad for customers. That’s why, for example, Napster, Youtube and torrents upset the system. 

Now let’s consider the analog for science journalism, which aims to bring science to the public.

As sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and unwanted pregnancy rates continue to rise, the need for education about the use of condoms remains clear. Research has shown that consistent and correct use of male latex condoms can reduce the risk of STD transmission by 98 percent and is equally useful in the prevention of pregnancy when used in conjunction with a spermicide.

 A high-fat, low-carb diet used to control multiple, daily and severe seizures in current and former patients is not only effective, but  also appears to have no long-lasting side effects, say scientists at Johns Hopkins Children's Center. The findings are detailed online in Epilepsia.