BBC Science/Nature
Birds 'off the pace' with warming
French birds are moving northwards in response to climate change, but not fast enough, a study suggests.
20 Aug 2008 at 6:03am
Call to tackle UK business waste
The government should do more to curb waste using tax as an incentive, a House of Lords committee has said.
19 Aug 2008 at 6:00pm
eBay insect fossil is new species
A scientist who bought a fossilised insect on the web auction site eBay finds that it belongs to a new species.
20 Aug 2008 at 6:17am
Bid for world land-speed record
Two British men prepare to try and break the world land-speed record for a wind-powered vehicle.
20 Aug 2008 at 5:46am
Hopes fade for Sydney whale calf
A humpback whale calf separated from its mother and trying to suckle from boats off Sydney, Australia, is weakening, observers say.
20 Aug 2008 at 6:44am
Stellar result in MoD challenge
The Ministry of Defence has concluded a contest to identify robots best suited to battlefield conditions.
19 Aug 2008 at 11:52am
Wild dolphins tail-walk on water
In what is thought to be a world first, a wild dolphin is apparently teaching others to tail-walk.
19 Aug 2008 at 6:57am
A thermostat for mini-spacecraft
A new technology has been demonstrated that can regulate the temperature of miniature satellites and spacecraft
19 Aug 2008 at 9:41am
Magpie 'recognises its reflection'
Magpies can recognise themselves in a mirror, scientists find, making them the first non-mammal known to do so.
19 Aug 2008 at 8:00am
Monkey business - US 'Bigfoot' turns out to be gorilla suit in ice
The claimed recent discovery of Bigfoot in the US state of Georgia has turned out to be a gorilla suit in a block of ice.
19 Aug 2008 at 8:38pm
Live Science
More Shareholders Supporting Climate Resolutions
Stockholders increasingly supporting resolutions for companies to act on climate change.
20 Aug 2008 at 9:01am
79 Million Americans Struggle to Pay Medical Bills
New numbers show the problem is getting worse, not better, even for middle class
20 Aug 2008 at 8:43am
I'm Not a Pig!
Javelinas are hoofed mammals related to the European boar.
They're common in the U.S. Southwest. Credit: AZ Game & Fish
20 Aug 2008 at 8:40am
How Bubble Wrap Could Power the Future
The outer structure of the stunning "Water Cube" at the Beijing Olympics is made of air-filled polymer cushions that require 200 times less energy than glass.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:55am
Beetles Decimate Canadian Forests
Hordes of mountain pine beetles are decimating British Columbian forests.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:51am
Bigfoot Hoax Could Get Cop Fired
Turns out Bigfoot was just a rubber suit.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:41am
New Clues to Where Salmon Go
New tracking devices could answer questions about salmon survival.
20 Aug 2008 at 7:10am
How to Mine Martian Water
Microwave beams could help extract water ice from the moon and Mars.
20 Aug 2008 at 6:02am
Face Recognition Varies by Culture
The way people recognize faces might say a lot about what culture they come from.
19 Aug 2008 at 7:19pm
Wide-Faced Men More Aggressive
Men with big mugs are more aggressive, a new study of hockey players suggests.
19 Aug 2008 at 6:04pm
ScienceDaily
Key Advance Toward 'Micro-spacecraft'
Fleets of inexpensive, pint-sized spacecraft are one giant leap closer to lift off. Researchers describe a new, razor thin temperature-regulating film that brings this sci-fi vision of "micro-spacecraft" weighing barely 50 pounds and 10-pound "nano-spacecraft" closer to reality.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm
Critical Protein Complex In Formation Of Cell Cilia Identified
Scientists have identified a protein complex that regulates the formation of cilia, which are found on virtually all mature human cells and are essential to normal cell function.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm
Researchers Uncover Attack Mechanism Of Illness-inducing Bacterium
An infectious ocean-dwelling bacterium found in oysters and other shellfish kills its host's cells by causing them to burst, providing the invader with a nutrient-rich meal, researchers have found.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm
Silver Is Key To Reducing Pneumonia Associated With Breathing Tubes
People have long prized silver as a precious metal. Now, silver-coated endotracheal tubes are giving critically ill patients another reason to value the lustrous metal. Researchers now report that the silver-coated tubes led to a 36 percent reduction of ventilator-associated pneumonia.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm
Can Biofuels Be Sustainable?
With oil prices skyrocketing, the search is on for efficient and sustainable biofuels. Research published this month in Agronomy Journal examines one biofuel crop contender: corn stover. Corn stover is made up of the leaves and stalks of corn plants that are left in the field after harvesting the edible corn grain. Corn stover could supply as much as 25 percent of the biofuel crop needed by 2030.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm
Calculators Okay In Math Class, If Students Know The Facts First, Study Finds
Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found. The findings shed light on the debate about whether and when calculators should be used in the classroom.
20 Aug 2008 at 1:00pm
Greenland Ice Core Reveals History Of Pollution In The Arctic
New research, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, finds that coal burning, primarily in North America and Europe, contaminated the Arctic and potentially affected human health and ecosystems in and around Earth's polar regions.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am
Bacterial Pneumonia Caused Most Deaths In 1918 Influenza Pandemic
The majority of deaths during the influenza pandemic of 1918-1919 were not caused by the influenza virus acting alone, report researchers. Instead, most victims succumbed to bacterial pneumonia following influenza virus infection. The pneumonia was caused when bacteria that normally inhabit the nose and throat invaded the lungs along a pathway created when the virus destroyed the cells that line the bronchial tubes and lungs.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am
Heads-up Study Of Hair Dynamics May Lead To Better Hair-care Products
From frizzy perms to over-bleached waves, "bad hair days" could soon become a less frequent occurrence. Chemists report the first detailed microscopic analysis of what happens to individual hair fibers when they interact with each other, an advance in knowledge key to the development of improved shampoos, conditioners and other products for repairing damaged hair, the researchers say. Their research will be presented in August at the American Chemical Society national meeting in Philadelphia.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am
'Point Of Care Diagnostics' In The Starting Blocks
Tracking down cancer at a very early stage, studying cell growth, developing new medicines: future lab-on-a-chip systems will use nanoscale electrical fields to enable the detection and manipulation of cells and biomolecules.
20 Aug 2008 at 10:00am
New Scientist
'Coreless' planets may be bad for life
Rocky planets can form without metallic cores, a new study suggests – they would lack magnetic fields, which are crucial for life as we know it
20 Aug 2008 at 9:07am
Google buries $10m in underground power
The company is backing a technology that uses heat from underground rocks to generate green electricity
20 Aug 2008 at 6:56am
Watson vs Venter: the loser is race-based medicine
Comparison of the genomes of James Watson and Craig Venter shows how minor genetic differences make them respond to drugs differently
20 Aug 2008 at 5:46am
Aggression written in the shape of a man's face
The width-height proportions of a man's face could reveal how aggressive he is
19 Aug 2008 at 6:01pm
Shipwreck fuels invasion of unwanted species
Aggressive invaders wipe out any organisms that get in their way as they spread through a coral reef in Hawaii
19 Aug 2008 at 7:00pm
Shock absorbers to quell NASA rocket's vibrations
Astronauts on NASA's future Ares I rocket should get a smooth ride to space thanks to a two-tiered system of shock-absorbing springs
19 Aug 2008 at 5:30pm
First red blood cells grown in the lab
Blood donations may one day be a thing of the past thanks to the creation of functional red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells
19 Aug 2008 at 1:30pm
Polygamy is the key to a long life
Comparison of the lifespans of men from polygamous countries with those from monogamous ones helps explain why men live so long
19 Aug 2008 at 11:26am
FBI admits missteps, but defends anthrax probe
FBI officials defended the scientific evidence linking a US Army scientist who committed suicide to the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks
19 Aug 2008 at 10:50am
Personalised maps show the view from the street
Software generates personalised maps with distorted 3D depictions of buildings to make navigating using landmarks easier
19 Aug 2008 at 10:30am
Scientific American
Fewer April Showers for U.S. Southwest as Climate Changes
The already parched U.S. Southwest is drying up even more, at least in early spring, because of climate change. A new study in Geophysical Research Letters shows that since 1978, the jet stream that brings rainstorms from the Pacific over the western U.S. has been shifting northward--and so has the rain and snow. [More]
20 Aug 2008 at 7:01am
EcoTourism: How Community Tourism Safeguards Pristine Places
Dear EarthTalk: What is “community based tourism” and how does it purport to safeguard pristine places? -- Erin O’Neill, Tukwila, WA [More]
20 Aug 2008 at 7:00am
Fruit Juices Block Some Drugs
[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.] [More]
20 Aug 2008 at 12:01am
Data Fusion: The Ups and Downs of All-Encompassing Digital Profiles
A few years ago I bought a latte at Starbucks on the way to the airport, parked my car and got on a flight for the U.K. Eight hours later I got off at Heathrow, bought a prepay chip for my cell phone and went to buy a ticket for the train into London, when my credit card gave up the ghost and refused to work anymore. Not until I got back to the U.S. did I find out what had happened. Apparently, the small purchase at Starbucks, followed by the overseas purchase of the cell phone card, had tripped some kind of antifraud data-mining algorithm in my credit-card company’s computer. It tried to call me, got my voice mail and proceeded to blacklist my credit card. What I found so exasperating about the entire experience was that the computer should have known that the person using my card in England was me. After all, I had bought my plane ticket with that same card and had flown with a major U.S. carrier. Aren’t all those databases supposed to be tied together? [More]
20 Aug 2008 at 12:00am
Cryptography: How to Keep Your Secrets Safe
Zack has decided to try out the online dating service Chix-n-Studz.com. He signs up for an account at the Web site and fills in several screens of forms detailing his personal profile and what he is looking for in a potential partner. In no time at all, the service offers him a number of possible soul mates, among them the very exciting-sounding Wendy. He sends her his e-mail address and what he hopes is an engaging opening message. She replies directly to him, and a whirlwind e-romance begins. Poor Zack. Soon he is also getting numerous unsolicited phone calls from political action groups and salespeople who seem to know things about him, and his health insurance company is questioning him about his extreme-adventure vacations; the unscrupulous owners of Chix-n-Studz have been selling client information. Then there is Ivan, a mischievous co-worker to whom Zack foolishly showed one of Wendy’s e-mails. Zack does not know that several subsequent recent messages supposedly from Wendy are fakes from Ivan. [More]
20 Aug 2008 at 12:00am
The Hidden Power of Scent
A tangle of tubes and polyurethane pouches binds a naked man and woman--he, paunchy and unperturbed, she, slim and similarly unself-conscious. This setup is not some esoteric sex game; it’s “Smell Blind Date,” an installation created by artist James Auger on display this past spring in New York City as part of the Museum of Modern Art’s exhibition Design and the Elastic Mind. The PVC tubes--which run between the subjects’ chests, with outlets extending to pouches attached to their noses, armpits and genitals--allow the man and woman to inhale each other’s body odor through a wall that divides them. In theory, they are on a truly blind date, each undistracted by the other’s looks, assessing the other’s potential as a mating partner by his or her smell alone. The human sense of smell is often seen as insignificant, dismissed as a distant also-ran to our keen eyesight or sensitive hearing. But this sense is keener and more influential on our species than many people realize. In particular, as Auger’s fanciful art project illustrates, smell facilitates a variety of human social interactions, both casual and intimate. Indeed, people who lose their sense of smell often gain a new appreciation for its importance [see “When the Nose Doesn’t Know,” by Eleonore von Bothmer; Scientific American Mind, October/November 2006]. [More]
20 Aug 2008 at 12:00am
Could stem cells make blood donation unnecessary?
Scientists have created red blood cells from human embryonic stem cells, in a step that they say could mean an infinite source of blood for transfusions. [More]
19 Aug 2008 at 11:03pm
Bigfoot finding turns out to be a hoax - surprised?
The jig is up for the two hikers from Georgia who said they happened upon a body of a Sasquatch. It didn’t exactly take a crack team of forensics investigators to identify the "cadaver." [More]
19 Aug 2008 at 7:55pm
Three Months, 3,000 Miles Or Longer?: The Truth about Oil Changes
Dear EarthTalk: How often do I really need to change my car’s oil? Conventional wisdom has always put it at every 3,000 miles to prevent engine wear, but isn’t changing oil that frequently wasteful and unnecessary? Also, what is the "greenest" and longest-lasting oil I should use? -- Vic Roberts, Lincoln, MA [More]
19 Aug 2008 at 6:00pm
If You Use the Web, You May Have Already Been Enlisted as a Human Scanner
You're just about ready to buy a pair of tickets on Ticketmaster, but before you can take the next step, an annoying box with wavy letters and numbers shows up on your screen. You dutifully enter in what you see--and what a bot presumably can't--in the name of security. But what you may not know is that you also have helped archivists decipher distorted characters in old books and newspapers so that they can be posted on the Web. [More]
19 Aug 2008 at 5:00pm
USGS Earthquake Activity
M 5.2, Samar, Philippines
August 20, 2008 13:18:05 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 8:18am
M 2.8, Southern Alaska
August 20, 2008 11:03:51 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 6:03am
M 4.9, Luzon, Philippines
August 20, 2008 09:37:30 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 4:37am
M 2.7, Baja California, Mexico
August 20, 2008 08:59:50 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 3:59am
M 3.1, Unimak Island region, Alaska
August 20, 2008 06:51:38 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 1:51am
M 2.8, Andreanof Islands, Aleutian Islands, Alaska
August 20, 2008 06:48:24 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 1:48am
M 4.8, Costa Rica
August 20, 2008 06:21:04 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 1:21am
M 4.7, eastern Honshu, Japan
August 20, 2008 06:13:28 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 1:13am
M 3.3, Dominican Republic region
August 20, 2008 06:07:59 GMT
20 Aug 2008 at 1:07am
M 3.7, Central Alaska
August 20, 2008 04:39:07 GMT
19 Aug 2008 at 11:39pm
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