Science & the Public: How medicine is ‘barely managing’ the isotope crisis

Medicine is managing a prolonged and record shortfall in the principal diagnostic-imaging isotope by triaging the most urgent patients, substituting less effective procedures and working longer hours.
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Statistics could help decode ancient scripts

A branch of mathematics called information theory could help computers pick out the most significant words in a text


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Dean Calls 'Public Option' Essential

After the White House signaled it might be willing to drop a "public option" from any overhaul of health care, ex-Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean urges the Obama administration to stand behind a government-run insurance program.
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Mother's immune system may block fetal treatments for blood diseases

Pediatric researchers have resolved an apparent contradiction in the field of prenatal cell transplantation - a medical approach that holds future promise in correcting sickle cell disease and other serious congenital blood disorders. In a new study in animals, the researchers showed that the mother's immune response interferes with the offspring's earlier ability to tolerate transplanted donor cells.
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Claudette Dumps Heavy Rain on Florida

After getting off to a slow start, the Atlantic hurricane season got busy Sunday as a tropical depression formed off the northern Gulf Coast of Florida, threatening to bring heavy rain and possible flooding to the area.
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New 'biofactories' produce rare healing substances in the endangered Devil's claw plant

Deep in Africa's Kalahari Desert lies the "Devil's claw," a plant that may hold the key to effective treatments for arthritis, tendonitis and other illnesses that affect millions each year. ...
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New Judiciary Chief Appointed in Iran

Iran's supreme leader appointed a hard-line cleric as the country's new judiciary chief following the end of his predecessor's term, state television reported Saturday.
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1,200 new cars hit Beijing every day: state media

More than 1,200 new cars hit the roads of China's capital Beijing every day on average in the first seven months of the year, state media reported Sunday.
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Tribal effort to fix broken world hinges on condor

(AP) -- The tribes of the lower Klamath River have since ancient times decorated themselves with condor feathers when they performed the dances designed to heal a world gone wrong.
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The buzz on an amazing new mosquito repellent: Will it fly?

After searching for more than 50 years, scientists finally have discovered a number of new mosquito repellents that beat DEET, the gold standard for warding off those pesky, sometimes disease-carrying insects. The stuff seems like a dream come true. It makes mosquitoes buzz off three times longer than DEET, the active ingredient in many of today's bug repellents. It does not have the unpleasant odor of DEET. And it does not cause DEET's sticky-skin sensation.

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We have a 'right to starlight,' astronomers say

The public's "right to starlight" is steadily being eroded by urban illumination that is the bane of astronomers everywhere, the International Astronomical Union said on Friday.
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Ancient toolmakers discovered fire treatment (AP)

AP - Maybe it was an accident or perhaps an ancient experiment. Many thousands of years ago, early humans somehow figured out they could make better stone tools by treating the rocks with fire. Evidence of that, dating 72,000 years ago, has been found on the southeastern tip of Africa, researchers report in Friday's edition of the journal Science.
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China trade ruling helps US, but piracy a problem

(AP) -- American companies counting on a favorable trade ruling against China to boost sales of CDs, DVDs, books and video games will need a crackdown on rampant piracy before they can reap big benefits.
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New computer techniques to analyze historic Hebrew, Arabic documents under development

Researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU) will combine the scientific and scholarly expertise of their humanities and computer science experts in a new project to analyze degraded Hebrew documents.
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The sky is not falling: Pollution in eastern China cuts light, useful rainfall

New research shows that air pollution in eastern China has reduced the amount of light rainfall over the past 50 years and decreased by 23 percent the number of days of light rain in the eastern half of the country. The results suggest that bad air quality might be affecting the country's ability to raise crops as well as contributing to health and environmental problems.

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Polio surge in Nigeria after vaccine virus mutates

(AP) -- Polio, the dreaded paralyzing disease stamped out in the industrialized world, is spreading in Nigeria. And health officials say in some cases, it's caused by the vaccine used to fight it.
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Comment: Balancing gains and threats in cardiovascular care

Clyde W. Yancy, a cardiologist and medical director of the Baylor Heart and Vascular Institute in Dallas, became national president of the American Heart Association on July 1. He recently spoke with ...
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Early human hunters had fewer meat-sharing rituals

A University of Arizona anthropologist has discovered that humans living at a Paleolithic cave site in central Israel between 400,000 and 250,000 years ago were as successful at big-game hunting ...
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Wildfires Scorch Calif. as Thousands Flee

Thousands of firefighters battled wildfires across California on Thursday, including a growing blaze that forced about 2,400 people to evacuate their homes in the Santa Cruz Mountains.
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Disabled Woman Wins Case Against Store

A disabled woman won her suit for wrongful dismissal Thursday against Abercrombie & Fitch after she was sent to work in the London store's stockroom. A British employment tribunal said the teen apparel merchant unlawfully harassed 22-year-old Riam Dean when it refused to allow her to wear a cardigan to cover her prosthetic arm, saying the sweater violated the store's "look policy."
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Washable keyboard, mouse are easy to clean but not very functional

Your toilet is probably cleaner than your computer keyboard. Sad (and disgusting) but true. One researcher at the University of Arizona found that the average desk has 100 times more bacteria than a kitchen and 400 times more bacteria than the average toilet.
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Hover no bother for flapping 'nano' aircraft

The smallest ever free-flying aircraft to hover with flapping wings gets off the ground


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West Nile virus researchers focus on neighborhood birds

On a warm, breezy day in Oak Lawn, Ill., veterinary graduate student Jessica Girard of the University of Wisconsin-Madison removed a robin from a finely threaded net hidden in the shadows of a tree-lined meadow.
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Low-income kids report first sexual intercourse at 12 years old in new study

(PhysOrg.com) -- As a new mother herself, Brenda Lohman admits to being shocked by the results of a new study she co-authored. It found that among nearly 1,000 low-income families in three major cities, one in four children between the ages of 11 and 16 reported having sex, with their first sexual intercourse experience occurring at the average age of 12.77.
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New study reveals unexpected relationship between climate warming and advancing treelines

A new study reveals that treelines are not responding to climate warming as expected. The research, the first global quantitative assessment of the relationship between climate warming and treeline advance, is published in Ecology Letters and tests the premise that treelines are globally advancing in response to climate warming since 1900.

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Lobbyists elbow for influence on U.S. climate bill (Reuters)

Reuters - Manufacturers and energy companies sent squads of lobbyists to the U.S. Congress earlier this year to influence the climate bill, an indication the U.S. Senate will face pressure to adjust the legislation ahead of its vote, a nonprofit investigative group said.
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Beyond the looking glass...

While the researchers can't promise delivery to a parallel universe or a school for wizards, books like Pullman's Dark Materials and JK Rowling's Harry Potter are steps closer to reality now that researchers in China have created the first tunable electromagnetic gateway.
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NASA Budget Too Slim to Reach Moon by 2020, Panel Says (SPACE.com)

SPACE.com - A White House panel charged with reviewing NASA's exploration plans has dropped any hope of sending astronauts directly to Mars and found the space agency's budget too slim to accomplish its goal of returning humans to the moon by 2020.
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Video conferencing allows companies to cut travel plans

Just a few years ago, Advanced Micro Devices executive Linda Starr racked up a million air miles a year in business travel. Now she logs a mere 100,000 miles per year, thanks to sophisticated video conferencing technology.
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Sprint to pay $17.5 million to settle fee suit

(AP) -- Sprint Nextel Corp. has agreed to pay $17.5 million to settle a lawsuit claiming the fees it has charged customers who end their wireless contracts early are illegal.
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Hamster balls and lunar hoppers: meet the X Prize teams

More than a dozen teams are racing to claim a $30 million prize for landing a robot rover on the moon – see the most advanced prototypes so far


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G.E. Resumes Hudson Dredging, With Limits by E.P.A.

The agency, which had halted the cleanup on the Hudson River, said operations could restart in stages.


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Fungus found in humans shown to be nimble in mating game

Brown University researchers have discovered that Candida albicans, a human fungal pathogen that causes thrush and other diseases, pursues same-sex mating in addition to conventional opposite-sex mating.
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Keeping our sights on big breakers with radar

Scientists of the Geesthacht GKSS Research Centre have developed a radar system with which it is possible to study the behaviour of sea waves. This technology will be used immediately on the North Sea on the FINO3 research platform in order to determine the interactions between offshore wind power machines and swells.

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FBI expert testifies at Mumbai terror attack trial (AP)

AP - The gunmen who laid siege to the Indian city of Mumbai carried GPS devices and a satellite phone that shows they traveled from Pakistan to India, an FBI expert testified Wednesday at the trial of the lone surviving suspect.
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US Marines Storm Taliban-Held Town

U.S. Marines descend on a Taliban stronghold in Afghanistan, setting off an eight-hour battle with militants. The troops hope to wrest the town of Dahaneh from the Taliban so residents can vote in the country's Aug. 20 presidential election.
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Sex, videos, friends, games hot with kids online: Norton

Children are searching online for videos, social networks, games and, yes, porn as they grow up in an Internet Age, according to computer security firm Symantec.
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Stowaway mosquitoes threaten Galapagos wildlife (Reuters)

LONDON, Aug. 12, 2009 (Reuters) -- The unique wildlife of the Galapagos Islandsis under threat from disease-carrying mosquitoes arriving on board growing numbers of aircraft and tourist boats, researchers said on Wednesday. ... > read full story
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Skywatchers to see streaking meteors (AP)

FILE - In this Aug. 12, 1997 file picture, a bright Perseid Meteor cuts across Orion's Belt during the peak of the annual Perseid Meteor Shower seen from Joshua Tree National Park, Calif. The annual Perseid meteor shower is promising to put on a dazzling sky show. Astronomers say up to 100 meteors per hour are expected to streak across the sky during the shower's peak. In North America, the best time to watch is before dawn Wednesday Aug. 12, 2009. (AP Photo/Wally Pacholka, File)AP - The annual Perseid meteor shower is expected to put on a dazzling sky show.



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Swastika Painted at Congressman's Office

Someone spray-painted a large swastika on a sign outside the office of a Georgia congressman who was involved in a contentious argument over health care at a recent community meeting.
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Discovery to aid study of biological structures, molecules

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in the United States and Spain have discovered that a tool widely used in nanoscale imaging works differently in watery environments, a step toward better using the instrument to study biological molecules and structures.
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Multi-laboratory study sizes up nanoparticle sizing

As a result of a major inter-laboratory study, the standards body ASTM International has been able to update its guidelines for a commonly used technique for measuring the size of nanoparticles in solutions. The study, which was organized principally by researchers from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and the Nanotechnology Characterization Laboratory of the National Cancer Institute, enabled updated guidelines that now include statistically evaluated data on the measurement precisions achieved by a wide variety of laboratories applying the ASTM guide.

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Where science feeds action, leopards win

New York, NY (August 11, 2009) Researchers from the field in South Africa demonstrate that threatened big cats truly can be saved through strategic and science-based conservation practices, according to a study published this week in the scientific journal Biological Conservation.

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Comment: Translate the medical 'bibles' into plain English ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Medical journals need to stop acting like the medieval church and give the masses access to research on health issues, argues Stephen Strauss


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Obama Braces for 'Vigorous' Health Talk ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A day before facing a potentially boisterous town hall in New Hampshire, President Barack Obama praised the spirited debate over his health care plans on Monday and predicted "sensible and reasoned arguments" would ultimately prevail in Congress.
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What science says about beach sand and stomach aches ((send by free-web-host.me user))

By washing your hands after digging in beach sand, you could greatly reduce your risk of ingesting bacteria that could make you sick. In new research, scientists have determined that, although beach sand is a potential source of bacteria and viruses, hand rinsing may effectively reduce exposure to microbes that cause gastrointestinal illnesses.
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White tea could keep you healthy and looking young ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Next time you`re making a cuppa, new research shows it might be wise to opt for a white tea if you want to reduce your risk of cancer, rheumatoid arthritis or even just age-associated wrinkles. Researchers from Kingston University teamed up with Neal`s Yard Remedies to test the health properties of 21 plant and herb extracts. They discovered all of the plants tested had some potential benefits, but were intrigued to find white tea considerably outperformed all of them.
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Bipedal humans came down from the trees, not up from the ground (w/ Video) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A detailed examination of the wrist bones of several primate species challenges the notion that humans evolved their two-legged upright walking style from a knuckle-walking ancestor.
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Family Vigil for Eunice Kennedy Shriver ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Relatives of Eunice Kennedy Shriver, sister of President Kennedy, were summoned to a Massachusetts hospital Monday, a source close to the family told CNN.
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Bringing bipolar into the light ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Chances are, we all know someone like Marya Hornbacher. We just don't realize that we do because, like Hornbacher, these someones are charming, smart, well-spoken and prosperous -- not at all like people who are (cough) bipolar.
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New gene linked to muscular dystrophy ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Muscular dystrophy, a group of inherited diseases characterized by progressive skeletal muscle weakness, can be caused by mutations in any one of a number of genes. Another gene can now be added to this list, as Yukiko Hayashi and colleagues, at the National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Japan, have now identified mutations in a gene not previously linked to muscular dystrophy as causative of a form of the disease in five nonconsanguineous Japanese patients.
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MRI simulation of blood flow helps plan child's delicate heart surgery (w/ Video) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology, collaborating with pediatric cardiologists and surgeons at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, have developed a tool for virtual surgery that allows heart surgeons to view the predicted effects of different surgical approaches. By manipulating three-dimensional cardiac magnetic resonance images of a patient's specific anatomy, physicians can compare how alternative approaches affect blood flow and expected outcomes, and can select the best approach for each patient before entering the operating room.
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Hundreds of new species discovered in eastern Himalayas ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Over 350 new species including the world's smallest deer, a "flying frog" and a 100 million-year old gecko have been discovered in the Eastern Himalayas, a biological treasure trove now threatened by climate change.

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Over-confidence leads us into temptation ((send by free-web-host.me user))

People who think they are vulnerable to temptation are least likely to give into it, because they are more vigilant about keeping it at bay


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Divers Suspend Search for Last 2 Bodies ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Treacherous Hudson River waters forced divers to suspend their search Monday for two remaining bodies and the wreckage of a small plane that collided over the weekend with a sightseeing helicopter, killing nine people.
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Perseid shower to produce 'shooting stars' ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A bright moon may obscure the faintest meteors, but the annual Perseid shower should still put on a show


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Saturn to Pull Celestial Houdini on August 11 ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- In 1918, magician extraordinaire Harry Houdini created a sensation when he made a 10,000 pound elephant disappear before a mystified audience of over 5,200 at New York's famed Hippodrome theatre. But a vanishing pachyderm is nothing compared to the magnificent illusion to be performed by our solar system's own sixth rock from the sun on Aug. 11. On that day, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, the planet Saturn, with no help from either Jupiter or Uranus, will make its 170,000-mile-wide ring system disappear.
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New light-emitting biomaterial could improve tumor imaging, study shows ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A new material developed at the University of Virginia - an oxygen nanosensor that couples a light-emitting dye with a biopolymer - simplifies the imaging of oxygen-deficient regions of tumors. Such tumors are associated with increased cancer aggressiveness and are particularly difficult to treat.
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Mini Gradiometer Could Map Other Planets' Gravity Fields ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- Although it may seem like gravity is the same everywhere on the Earth, it actually varies a small amount from place to place. Factors such as mountains, ocean trenches, and interior density variations can all cause gravity differences. By measuring the gravity field of Earth or another planet, scientists can gain insight into that planet's otherwise hidden geological features.
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Computer scientists take over electronic voting machine with new programming technique ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Computer scientists demonstrated that criminals could hack an electronic voting machine and steal votes using a malicious programming approach that had not been invented when the voting machine was designed. The team of scientists from University of California, San Diego, the University of Michigan, and Princeton University employed “return-oriented programming” to force a Sequoia AVC Advantage electronic voting machine to turn against itself and steal votes.

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Life and death in the living brain ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Like clockwork, brain regions in many songbird species expand and shrink seasonally in response to hormones. Now, for the first time, University of Washington neurobiologists have interrupted this natural "annual remodeling" of the brain and have shown that there is a direct link between the death of old neurons and their replacement by newly born ones in a living vertebrate.

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Researchers explore how power influences interpretation ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A newly completed New York University study of public reaction to the 9/11 attacks concludes that people in positions of power, from government officials to managers working on Wall Street to ...
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Limb-sparing surgery may not provide better quality of life than amputation for bone cancer patients ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Limb-sparing surgery, which has been taking the place of amputation for bone and soft tissue sarcomas of the lower limb in recent years, may not provide much or even any additional benefit to patients according to a new review. The analysis, published in the September 15, 2009 issue of Cancer indicates that patients and physicians should rethink the pros and cons of limb-sparing surgery and amputation.
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Physical inactivity poses greatest health risk to Americans, research shows ((send by free-web-host.me user))

As many as 50 million Americans are living sedentary lives, putting them at increased risk of health problems and even early death, a leading expert in exercise science told the American Psychological Association today.
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Vast expanses of Arctic ice melt in summer heat (AP) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

The shore line from Tuktoyaktuk, in the Northwest Territories, Canada, is shown on Saturday Aug. 8, 2009. The Arctic Ocean has given up tens of thousands more square miles of ice in a relentless summer of melt, as scientists watched through satellite eyes for a possible record low polar ice cap. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP - The Arctic Ocean has given up tens of thousands more square miles (square kilometers) of ice on Sunday in a relentless summer of melt, with scientists watching through satellite eyes for a possible record low polar ice cap.



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Saudi Arabia closes TV station after sex talk (AP) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

AP - Authorities have closed the offices of the Lebanese-based LBC satellite TV station in Jiddah after it broadcast an interview with a Saudi man speaking frankly about sex and showed off erotic toys, a Saudi official said Sunday.
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Christian Band's Tour Bus in Deadly Crash ((send by free-web-host.me user))

The Christian rock band MercyMe canceled a show Saturday in the St. Louis area after its tour bus collided with a car in northeastern Indiana, killing two passengers in the car and the pregnant car driver's unborn baby.
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Marriage, family on the decline for highly educated black women ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Fewer black women with postgraduate degrees are getting married and having children, according to research to be presented at the 104th annual meeting of the American Sociological Association.
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Attacks on lone blogger reverberate across Web ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(AP) -- The outage that knocked Twitter offline for hours was traced to an attack on a lone blogger in the former Soviet republic of Georgia - but the collateral damage that left millions around the world tweetless showed just how much havoc an isolated cyberdispute can cause.
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Review: Unscientific America by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Scientific illiteracy is a real problem in the US, but its roots run deeper than science itself


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Cost-effectiveness of cetuximab in metastatic colorectal cancer ((send by free-web-host.me user))

From a health-care system perspective, it may be more efficient to use the drug cetuximab only in colorectal cancer patients whose tumors have a wild-type KRAS gene, according to a study published online August 7 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Powerful Mars Orbiter Switches to Backup Computer (SPACE.com) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

SPACE.com - A NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars has inexplicably switched to its backup computer, temporarily stalling science operations until it can be fixed, the space agency said late Friday.
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Chemists Rationally Design Inhibitors Against an RNA Molecule that Causes Myotonic Muscular Dystrophy ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- Chemists at the University at Buffalo have used rational drug design to synthesize small, cell-permeable molecules that are effective in vitro against two common types of myotonic muscular dystrophy, a result that has implications for potentially curing muscular dystrophy, as well as other diseases.
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Expert panel urges NASA to revive futuristic think tank ((send by free-web-host.me user))

NASA should revive its Institute for Advanced Concepts, an idea mill that closed in 2007, says a panel – but it says the new incarnation should have its feet a little closer to the ground


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Perseid Meteor Shower Peaks Tuesday, Aug. 12 ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- It's time once again for nature to put on its late-summer fireworks show: the Perseid meteor shower. This year's best viewing will be before dawn on Aug. 12, with a second chance after sunset that night, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.
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Data From Newest Ocean Satellite Ready for Their 'Close-up' ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Following a year of calibration and validation by an international team of scientists, fully-validated, research-quality sea surface height data from the NASA/French Space Agency Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 satellite are now available to the public. These "geophysical data record" products, as they are known, will be used primarily by climate researchers for climate monitoring and modeling.
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Perseid Meteor Shower Might Dazzle (SPACE.com) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

SPACE.com - For Northern Hemisphere observers, August is usually regarded as "meteor month," with one of the best displays of the year reaching its peak near midmonth.
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Scientists discover new Alzheimer's gene ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A UC Irvine study has found that a gene called TOMM40 appears twice as often in people with Alzheimer's disease than in those without it. Alzheimer's, for which there is no cure, is the leading cause of elderly dementia.
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Congress OKs $2B for 'Clunkers' Refill ((send by free-web-host.me user))

The Senate reached a deal on saving the dwindling "cash for clunkers" program late Wednesday, agreeing to vote on a plan that would add $2 billion to the popular rebate program and give car shoppers until Labor Day to trade in their gas-guzzlers for a new ride.
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Triple Asteroid System Triples Observers' Interest ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- Radar imaging at NASA's Goldstone Solar System Radar on June 12 and 14, 2009, revealed that near-Earth asteroid 1994 CC is a triple system. Asteroid 1994 CC encountered Earth within 2.52 million kilometers (1.56 million miles) on June 10.
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No need to tighten your belt -- credit crunch will worsen obesity epidemic ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Levels of debt have been associated with an increased risk of being fat. Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health blame the trend on the high price of healthy food, and a tendency for people worried by debt to comfort eat.

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Twitter Access Restored, but Service Remains Slow ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Hackers this morning attacked some of the Web's most popular social networking sites, silencing the microblogging service Twitter for two hours and affecting service on Facebook and LiveNation.
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Telescope could see other Earths, if they are there (Reuters) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

WASHINGTON, Aug. 6, 2009 (Reuters) -- The orbiting Kepler telescope has spotted a Jupiter-sized planet around another star -- a sighting that demonstrates it can see Earth-like planets if they are out there, scientists reported on Thursday. ... > read full story
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Researchers make stem cells from developing sperm ((send by free-web-host.me user))

The promise of stem cell therapy may lie in uncovering how adult cells revert back into a primordial, stem cell state, whose fate is yet to be determined. Now, cell scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified key molecular players responsible for this reversion in fruit fly sperm cells. Reporting online this week in Cell Stem Cell, researchers show that two proteins are responsible redirecting cells on the way to becoming sperm back to stem cells.
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Researchers uncover potential mechanisms to protect against genetic alterations, diseases ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Peering into the DNA of tiny yeast, researchers at the Moores Cancer Center at the University of California, San Diego and the San Diego Branch of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research have pinpointed a large number of genes that can prevent a type of genetic rearrangement that may lead to cancer and other diseases.
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Caltech researchers show how organic carbon compounds emitted by trees affect air quality ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A previously unrecognized player in the process by which gases produced by trees and other plants become aerosolsâ€"microscopically small particles in the atmosphereâ€"has been discovered by a research team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

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South Africa reaching to space to boost economy (Reuters) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Reuters - South Africa aims to become a regional center for space technology, investing in satellite and telescope projects to support its ailing economy, the science and technology minister said on Thursday.
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NASA Narrows Options for Post-Shuttle Future ((send by free-web-host.me user))

President Obama’s blue-ribbon panel considered new targets for the nation’s human spaceflight program, from returning to the moon to a wider exploration of deep space.


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Aussie koala that survived fires dies in surgery (AP) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

FILE - In this Feb. 9, 2009 file photo firefighter David Tree shares his water with an injured koala, later nicked named Sam, at Mirboo North after wildfires swept through the regioN. Sam, made famous when this image was widely publish, is about to undergo a risky surgery for a life-threatening disease, animal shelter officials said Wednesday, Aug. 5, 2009.  (AP Photo/Mark Parden, File)AP - Sam the koala, who gained worldwide fame and sympathy when she was rescued during Australia's devastating wildfires this year, was euthanized Thursday after a veterinarian found the cysts that threatened her life were inoperable.



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Considering combination versus sequential chemotherapy in metastatic breast cancer ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Both combination and sequential single-agent chemotherapy are reasonable options to treat metastatic breast cancer, but the choice between the two should ultimately be based on patient- and disease-related factors, according to a new commentary published online August 5 in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.
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Health-care reform must respect patient autonomy ((send by free-web-host.me user))

As President Obama and Congress weigh changes in the nation's health care system they must avoid creating a system where physicians are financially motivated to pressure patients into mandated treatments that conflict with their values and needs, two Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center physicians warn.
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New clues about a hydrogen fuel catalyst ((send by free-web-host.me user))

To use hydrogen as a clean energy source, some engineers want to pack hydrogen into a larger molecule, rather than compressing the gas into a tank. A gas flows easily out of a tank, but getting hydrogen out of a molecule requires a catalyst. Now, researchers reveal new details about one such catalyst. The results are a step toward designing catalysts for use in hydrogen energy applications such as fuel cells.

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Iraq to impose controls on Internet ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(AP) -- The Iraqi government has decided to crack down on Internet service providers and ban sites that incite violence or carry pornography, officials said Tuesday, a move that has been strongly ...
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Found: A pocket guide to prehistoric Spain ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Engravings on a 14,000-year-old chunk of rock may be the oldest map in western Europe


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New technique gives big picture of AIDS gene map (Reuters) ((send by free-web-host.me user))

WASHINGTON, Aug. 5, 2009 (Reuters) -- A new technique has given researchers a "big picture" look at the genome of the AIDS virus, the first time its entire gene map has been decoded. ... > read full story
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Obama Touts Electric Car Plan, Stimulus ((send by free-web-host.me user))

President Barack Obama says Indiana factories "are coming back to life," earning cheers as he returned to an economically struggling region to sell his costly stimulus plan.
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Researchers learn how blood cells 'talk' ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Toronto have developed a new model that explains how cells communicate and specifically reveals how blood cells "talk" to each other. The result could help transform treatments for diseases such as leukemia.
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Seeing the Cosmos Through 'Warm' Infrared Eyes ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has taken its first shots of the cosmos since warming up and starting its second career. The infrared telescope ran out of coolant on May 15, 2009, more than five-and-half-years after launch, and has since warmed to a still-frosty 30 Kelvin (about minus 406 Fahrenheit).
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Healthcare, the road to robotic helpers ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(PhysOrg.com) -- Robots are whirring away in factories all over the world, building cars, phones and cookers. Yet they can do so much more. Robotics for healthcare has been tipped as the next big wave, and Europe should be poised to ride it, according to a European road-mapping study.
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Gut hormone has 'remote control' on blood sugar ((send by free-web-host.me user))

A gut hormone first described in 1928 plays an unanticipated and important role in the remote control of blood sugar production in the liver, according to a report in the August 6th Cell Metabolism, a Cell Press publication. What's more, the researchers show that rats fed a high-fat diet for a few days become resistant to the glucose-lowering hormone known as cholecystokinin (CCK).
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New angle on gecko research ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Geckos are very adept at climbing through difficult terrain using an intricate adhesive system. Until now it has not been known when and how they switch on their unique system of traction.

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Cosy social networks 'are stifling innovation' ((send by free-web-host.me user))

The tight links among software developers on the internet is stifling the development of new ideas, a social scientist argues


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Plague patient 'near death' in remote Chinese town ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(AP) -- Public buses were ordered off the roads of a remote Chinese town to control the possible spread of deadly pneumonic plague that has killed three people and seemed poised to claim a fourth victim Wednesday, residents and authorities said.
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John Quincy Adams tweeting thanks to Mass. society ((send by free-web-host.me user))

(AP) -- It seems John Quincy Adams was way ahead of his time. A high school student touring the sixth U.S. president's archives recently noticed his bite-sized diary entries looked a lot like tweets.
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Google invites US soldiers to Voice telephone service ((send by free-web-host.me user))

Google on Tuesday set out to recruit US soldiers as users of its Voice online telephone service, promising it would help military families stay connected.
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Goddard-led GEMS mission to explore the polarized universe ((send by free-web-host.me user))

An exciting new astrophysics mission led by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will provide a revolutionary window into the universe. Named the Gravity and Extreme Magnetism Small Explorer (GEMS), the satellite will be the first to systematically measure the polarization of cosmic X-ray sources.

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Bored drivers could get a prod from their car

A car's judgement on the driver's levels of alertness could be more reliable than the driver's own perception of it, a study by a car maker shows


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Lovers Take Revenge on Man, Cops Say

The three girlfriends and wife of a man with a complicated love life take revenge by allegedly tying him up and assaulting him -- including gluing his penis to his stomach -- in a motel room in eastern Wisconsin. The man apparently thought he was meeting one of his lovers for a romantic interlude. The four women were arrested on charges that could get them up to six years in prison if convicted.
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Stem cell hierarchy offers potential for isolating, growing cells

Researchers at the University of Toronto Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) and Princess Margaret Hospital (PMH), led by U of T's Professor J.E. Davies, have made important progress in stem cell research that will allow for numerous applications of multi-faceted stem cells known as mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs). This research will advance the selection of specific cells to target specific diseases, ultimately enabling clinicians to "personalize" treatment for patients.
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LaHood calls summit on distracted driving

(AP) -- Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said Tuesday he will convene a summit of experts to figure out what to do about driver cell phone use and texting, practices that studies - and a growing number of accidents - show can be deadly.
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National ads urged enthusiastic consumers to visit copper mines

Today's tourists may stop by the Berkeley Pit in Butte, Mont., to see how large-scale mining resulted in a Superfund site, but Americans in the 1950s had different reasons for visiting the mine, says Montana State University historian Tim LeCain.
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Computers unlock more secrets of the mysterious Indus Valley script

Four-thousand years ago, an urban civilization lived and traded on what is now the border between Pakistan and India. During the past century, thousands of artifacts bearing hieroglyphics left by this prehistoric people have been discovered. Today, a team of Indian and American researchers are using mathematics and computer science to try to piece together information about the still-unknown script.

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Scientists study huge plastic patch in Pacific (Reuters)

photoLOS ANGELES, Aug. 4, 2009 (Reuters) -- Marine scientists from California are venturing this week to the middle of the North Pacific for a study of plastic debris accumulating across hundreds of miles (km) of open sea dubbed the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch." ... > read full story



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Google woos IT managers with old-tech billboards

Google on Monday resorted to old-time outdoor billboards in its quest to convince business IT managers to use software applications that the Internet titan offers as services online.
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Malaria may have come from chimps: study (Reuters)

WASHINGTON, Aug. 3, 2009 (Reuters) -- Malaria may have jumped to humans from chimpanzees much as AIDS did, U.S. researchers reported on Monday in a study they hope could help in developing a vaccine against the infection. ... > read full story
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Asperger’s Syndrome, on Screen and in Life

Three upcoming movies focus on people living with Asperger’s syndrome.


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Personal Health: The Fog That Follows Chemotherapy

Nearly every chemotherapy patient experiences short-term problems with memory and concentration, but for some the problems are more prolonged.


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