Growing Up Near Livestock Tied to Blood Cancers

Children raised on livestock farms are at significantly greater risk of developing blood cancers -- such as leukemia, multiple myeloma and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma -- later in life, a new study contends.

The researchers pointed out that further studies will be needed before a definitive cause and effect can be established, but they suggested that exposure to particular viruses during childhood may modify the immune system response and result in a higher risk for blood cancer in adulthood.

Growing Up Near Livestock Tied to Blood Cancers - Yahoo! News

'Super antibody' fights off flu

The first antibody which can fight all types of the influenza A virus has been discovered, researchers claim.

Experiments on flu-infected mice, published in Science Express, showed the antibody could be used as an "emergency treatment".

It is hoped the development will lead to a "universal vaccine" - currently a new jab has to be made for each winter as viruses change.

BBC News - 'Super antibody' fights off flu

A talking plant? This one calls out to lure bats

Just as some flowers use bright colors to attract insect pollinators, other plants may use sound to lure in nectar-eating bats.

One rain forest vine has a dish-shaped leaf located above a cluster of flowers that appears to help bats find them (and the plant's tasty nectar) by reflecting back the calls the flying mammals send out, new research indicates.

A talking plant? This one calls out to lure bats - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com

Most accurate weight of antimatter taken yet

A new measurement provides the most accurate weight yet of antimatter, revealing the mass of the antiproton (the proton's antiparticle) down to one part in a billion, researchers announced Thursday.

To give a sense of just how accurate their measurement was, researcher Masaki Hori said: "Imagine measuring the weight of the Eiffel Tower. The accuracy we've achieved here is roughly equivalent to making that measurement to within less than the weight of a sparrow perched on top. Next time it will be a feather."

Most accurate weight of antimatter taken yet - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com

Giant solar tower could power the future

A new energy concept called a solar tower could generate enough electricity for 200,000 homes. Looking like a giant smokestack, it would release no noxious fumes — just sun-heated air.

Demonstrated more than 20 years ago, the basic design calls for solar collectors to warm the air near Earth's surface and then channel it up the tall central tower. Turbines placed at the bottom make electricity from the updraft.

Giant solar tower could power the future - Technology & science - Science - LiveScience - msnbc.com

Melting Arctic ice releasing banned toxins, warn scientists

The warming of the Arctic is releasing a new wave of banned toxic chemicals that had been trapped in the ice and cold water, scientists have discovered.

The researchers warn that the amount of the poisons stockpiled in the polar region is unknown and their release could "undermine global efforts to reduce environmental and human exposure to them."

The chemicals seeping out as temperatures rise include the pesticides DDT, lindane and chlordane, made infamous in Rachel Carson's 1962 book Silent Spring, as well as the industrial chemicals PCBs and the fungicide hexachlorobenzine (HCB). All of these persistent organic pollutants (Pops) are banned under the 2004 Stockholm Convention.

Melting Arctic ice releasing banned toxins, warn scientists | Environment | The Guardian

Brain Waves Make A Fast Brake

In a fast-moving car, the brain can hit the brakes faster than the foot. By relying on brain waves that signal the intent to jam on the brakes, a new technology could shave critical milliseconds off the reaction time, researchers report online July 28 in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

The work adds to a growing trend in car technology that assists drivers. Though it may eventually lead to improvements in emergency braking, the new brain signal technology isn’t ready for the road.

Brain Waves Make A Fast Brake - Science News: "Drivers could sto"

‘Stoner Stupid’ Myth Goes Up In Smoke

The consumption of cannabis, even long-term, poses few adverse effects on cognitive performance, according to clinical trial data to be published in the scientific journal Addiction.

Investigators at the University of Melbourne and the Australian National University, Center for Mental Health Research assessed the impact of cannabis use on various measures of memory and intelligence in over 2,000 self-identified marijuana consumers and non-users over an eight-year period. Among cannabis consumers, subjects were grouped into the following categories: ‘heavy’ (once a week or more) users, ‘light’ users, ‘former heavy’ users, ‘former light’ users, and ‘always former’ — a category that consisted of respondents who had ceased using marijuana prior to their entry into the study.

‘Stoner Stupid’ Myth Goes Up In Smoke | NORML Blog, Marijuana Law Reform

Existence: Why is there a universe?

AS DOUGLAS ADAMS once wrote: "The universe is big. Really big." And yet if our theory of the big bang is right, the universe was once a lot smaller. Indeed, at one point it was non-existent. Around 13.7 billion years ago time and space spontaneously sprang from the void. How did that happen?

Or to put it another way: why does anything exist at all? It's a big question, perhaps the biggest. The idea that the universe simply appeared out of nothing is difficult enough; trying to conceive of nothingness is perhaps even harder.

Existence: Why is there a universe? - space - 26 July 2011 - New Scientist

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hold In Global Warming Alarmism

NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed.

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hold In Global Warming Alarmism - Yahoo! News

In Test Tube, Hint of Chemicals Coming Alive

Here in a laboratory perched on the edge of the continent, researchers are trying to construct Life As We Don’t Know It in a thimbleful of liquid.

Generations of scientists, children and science fiction fans have grown up presuming that humanity’s first encounter with alien life will happen in a red sand dune on Mars, or in an enigmatic radio signal from some obscure star.

In Test Tube, Hint of Chemicals Coming Alive - NYTimes.com

DNA test developed in Glasgow links ageing and poverty

Scientists in Glasgow have developed a new test of the ageing process based on DNA evidence.

They have said it could provide faster feedback on public health measures.

Until now, evidence of health improvement has involved waiting a generation or more to measure how many people become ill.

BBC News - DNA test developed in Glasgow links ageing and poverty

South Korean Scientists Create Glowing Dog: Report

South Korean scientists said on Wednesday they have created a glowing dog using a cloning technique that could help find cures for human diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, Yonhap news agency reported.

A research team from Seoul National University (SNU) said the genetically modified female beagle, named Tegon and born in 2009, has been found to glow fluorescent green under ultraviolet light if given a doxycycline antibiotic, the report said.

South Korean Scientists Create Glowing Dog: Report

Want a Big Brain? Head North

Brains are larger in those who live farther from the equator — in order to help them see better, researchers now suspect.

Scientists have long known that brain volume increases with latitude — that is, the closer one gets to the poles.

"That might be mistaken for implying that intelligence increases with latitude," said researcher Robin Dunbar, an evolutionary anthropologist at the University of Oxford. "Our data suggests that this isn't so."

Want a Big Brain? Head North - Yahoo! News

Nicotine May Be Used to Treat Obesity

A new study suggests Nicotine-based drugs may be useful in controlling obesity and other metabolic disorders in addition to helping people stop smoking, The Wall Street Journal reported.

Smokers often cite depressed appetite and weight control as reasons for not quitting, but the anorexic effects of nicotine have not traditionally been well understood, according to a study in Science.

Nicotine May Be Used to Treat Obesity, Study Says - FoxNews.com

Scheduling 'worry time' may help you fret less

For those concerned with shedding some of their anxieties, it seems planning a certain time every day to worry may help stop the stress-out cycle.

When people with adjustment disorders, burnout or severe work problems used techniques to confine their worrying a single, scheduled 30- minute period each day, they were better able to cope with their problems, a new study by researchers in the Netherlands finds.

Scheduling 'worry time' may help you fret less - Health - Behavior - msnbc.com

Third of world's people infected with hepatitis: WHO

Around one third of the global population, or 2 billion people, have been infected with the liver disease hepatitis which kills about a million victims annually, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

And although most of those carrying hepatitis do not know they have it, they can unknowingly transmit it to others and at any time in their lives it can develop to kill or disable them, the United Nations agency warned.

Third of world's people infected with hepatitis: WHO | Reuters

Psychologists Concerned About Smartphone 'Obsession'

You gave it a pet name. It knows more about you than your mother does. Sometimes you even sleep with it. In fact, you're so attached to it that being separated for only a few minutes could send you into a panic.

While smartphone users worry about mobile hacking and other security threats that are making news these days, psychologists and others are concerned about another equally troubling issue: the growing obsession among people who would much rather interact with their smartphones than with other human beings.

Psychologists Concerned About Smartphone 'Obsession'

Vitamin D deficiency linked to diabetes

VITAMIN D deficiency is putting Australians at risk of developing diabetes, a landmark study has shown.

The largest study of its kind found that people with higher levels of vitamin D in their blood were less likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those with lower levels. It could lead to at-risk patients using vitamin D supplements along with diet and exercise to stop the development of the potentially deadly condition.

Vitamin linked to diabetes

Minority rules: Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas

Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer, used computational and analytical methods to discover the tipping point where a minority belief becomes the majority opinion. The finding has implications for the study and influence of societal interactions ranging from the spread of innovations to the movement of political ideals.

Minority rules: Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideas