Today's Reuters Science News Headlines - Yahoo! News:
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"Speed of light" experiment professor resigns
Fri,30 Mar 2012 04:22 AM PDT
Reuters - ROME (Reuters) - The Italian professor who led an experiment which initially appeared to challenge one of the fundaments of modern physics by showing particles moving faster than the speed of light, has resigned after the finding was overturned earlier this month. Italy's national institute of nuclear physics INFN said on Friday that Antonio Ereditato had stepped down as coordinator of the so-called OPERA experiment but had no comment beyond saying it "took note" of his decision. It was not immediately possible to reach Ereditato for a comment. ... Full Story | Top |
Studies show how pesticides make bees lose their way
Thu,29 Mar 2012 11:04 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Scientists have discovered ways in which even low doses of widely used pesticides can harm bumblebees and honeybees, interfering with their homing abilities and making them lose their way. In two studies published in the journal Science on Thursday, British and French researchers looked at bees and neonicotinoid insecticides - a class introduced in the 1990s now among the most commonly used crop pesticides in the world. In recent years, bee populations have been dropping rapidly, partly due to a phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder. ...
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Maths and Olympics: How fast could Usain Bolt run?
Thu,29 Mar 2012 03:48 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - Usain Bolt, already the world's fastest man, could lop another 0.18 seconds off his 100 meter sprint world record even without running any faster. It's just a question of getting a few conditions right - and doing the maths. Luckily for the top Jamaican sprinter, John Barrow, a professor of mathematical sciences at Britain's Cambridge University, has done the calculations for him. ...
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Japan bees cook enemy in 'hot defensive bee ball'
Thu,29 Mar 2012 01:25 AM PDT
Reuters - TOKYO (Reuters) - Don't mess with Japanese honeybees. Not only do they cooperate to attack their enemies, researchers now say their brains may actually be processing and responding to the threat. When confronted with their arch-enemy, the aggressive giant Asian hornet, the honeybees will attack it by swarming en masse around the hornet and forming what scientists call a "hot defensive bee ball" - a move unique to their species. With up to 500 bees all vibrating their flight muscles at once, the bee ball cooks the hornet to death. ... Full Story | Top |
Scientists pin down historic sea level rise
Thu,29 Mar 2012 01:20 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - The collapse of an ice sheet in Antarctica up to 14,650 years ago might have caused sea levels to rise between 14 and 18 meters (46-60 feet), a study showed on Wednesday, data which could help make more accurate climate change predictions. The melting of polar ice could contribute to long-term sea level rise, threatening the lives of millions, scientists say. ...
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European cargo vessel docks with space station
Wed,28 Mar 2012 05:44 PM PDT
Reuters - PARIS (Reuters) - An unmanned European supply vessel carrying more than six tonnes of freight docked with the International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday reinforcing Europe's role in the functioning of the ISS, space officials said. European Space Agency (ESA) officials said the docking of Europe's third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was flawless when it eased into place without any intervention from astronauts in the space station. They put the official docking time with the ISS at 2233 GMT and approximately 30 minutes later initial electrical connections to the ISS were confirmed. ... Full Story | Top |
In cancer science, many "discoveries" don't hold up
Wed,28 Mar 2012 11:09 AM PDT
Reuters -  NEW YORK (Reuters) - A former researcher at Amgen Inc has found that many basic studies on cancer -- a high proportion of them from university labs -- are unreliable, with grim consequences for producing new medicines in the future. During a decade as head of global cancer research at Amgen, C. Glenn Begley identified 53 "landmark" publications -- papers in top journals, from reputable labs -- for his team to reproduce. Begley sought to double-check the findings before trying to build on them for drug development. Result: 47 of the 53 could not be replicated. ...
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Scientists pin down historic sea level rise
Wed,28 Mar 2012 10:13 AM PDT
Reuters - LONDON (Reuters) - The collapse of an ice sheet in Antarctica up to 14,650 years ago might have caused sea levels to rise between 14 and 18 metres (46-60 feet), a study showed on Wednesday, data which could help make more accurate climate change predictions. The melting of polar ice could contribute to long-term sea level rise, threatening the lives of millions, scientists say. ...
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Slices of Einstein's brain show "the mind as matter"
Tue,27 Mar 2012 07:06 AM PDT
Reuters -  LONDON (Reuters) - We've pickled it, desiccated it, drilled it, mummified it, chopped it and sliced it over centuries, yet as the most complex entity in the known universe, the human brain remains a mysterious fascination. With samples of Albert Einstein's preserved brain on slides, and specimens from other famous and infamous heads such as the English mathematician Charles Babbage and notorious mass murderer William Burke, an exhibition opening in London this week is seeking to tap into that intrigue. ...
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Director James Cameron awestruck at ocean's deepest spot
Mon,26 Mar 2012 11:24 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Returning from humankind's first solo dive to the deepest spot in the ocean, filmmaker James Cameron said he saw no obvious signs of life that might inspire creatures in his next "Avatar" movie but was awestruck by the "complete isolation." The Oscar-winning director and undersea explorer said his record-setting expedition to the bottom of the Mariana Trench, 7 miles beneath the surface of the western Pacific, not only capped seven years of painstaking preparation but was the "culmination of a lifelong dream. ...
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Weight-loss surgery cut blood sugar more than drugs
Mon,26 Mar 2012 02:06 PM PDT
Reuters - CHICAGO (Reuters) - Weight-loss surgery did a better job of controlling type 2 diabetes in overweight and moderately obese patients than the most advanced medical treatment for the disease, researchers said on Monday. The study, conducted at the Cleveland Clinic and presented at the annual scientific sessions of the American College of Cardiology in Chicago, showed that patients who underwent surgery were more than three times more likely to gain control over their diabetes after one year than the group that was treated with drugs. ... Full Story | Top |
"Titanic" director makes first solo dive to Earth's deepest point
Mon,26 Mar 2012 12:36 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - "Titanic" film director James Cameron has completed the world's first solo dive to the deepest-known point on Earth, reaching the bottom of the Pacific Ocean's Mariana Trench southwest of Guam in a specially designed submarine. The filmmaker arrived at the site known as "Challenger Deep" shortly before 8 a.m. local time on Monday (2200 GMT on Sunday), reaching a depth of 35,756 feet, or roughly 7 miles beneath the ocean's surface, said the National Geographic Society, which is overseeing the expedition. ...
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Debris prompts space station crew to seek shelter
Sat,24 Mar 2012 09:08 AM PDT
Reuters -  A passing piece of potentially dangerous space debris forced astronauts at the International Space Station to temporarily seek refuge in escape ships early on Saturday, U.S. officials said. The debris, a fragment from an old Russian satellite named Cosmos 2251 that smashed into an Iridium Communications spacecraft in 2009, passed harmlessly by the $100 billion orbital outpost at 2:38 a.m. EDT (0638 GMT), NASA said. ...
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Ariane rocket heads for International Space Station
Thu,22 Mar 2012 09:50 PM PDT
Reuters - KOUROU, French Guiana (Reuters) - A European Ariane rocket blasted off from French Guiana on Friday carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS), space officials said. Built by an industrial consortium led by EADS ASTRIUM, a division of European industrial giant EADS, the unmanned vessel is designed to deliver fuel, food, clothing and oxygen to the ISS crew as well as spare parts. The cargo vessel is scheduled to dock with the ISS on March 28 and remain attached until August. (Reporting by Franck Leconte in Kourou, French Guiana; Additional reporting by Alexander Miles) Full Story | Top |
Paul Allen gives $300 million to expand brain research
Wed,21 Mar 2012 03:45 PM PDT
Reuters -  (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp co-founder Paul Allen has donated an additional $300 million to a foundation aimed at expanding research into how the brain works and how best to treat brain-related disorders. The Allen Institute for Brain Science, based in Seattle, was established with a 2003 contribution of $100 million from the former Microsoft executive, who then donated another $100 million. The latest contribution of $300 million will support the first four years of a 10-year plan to address critical questions about how the brain works. ...
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