April - 2008 Articles
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Insider: Biotechnology under the spotlight
30 April 2008
What is it like to work in an area such as genetic modification, stem cells or cloning, where your findings can make front-page news?
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Review: What is Life? by Ed Regis
30 April 2008
Is synthetic biology bringing scientists any closer to understanding what life really is?
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Commentary: Our mirror on morality
30 April 2008
The existence of mirror neurons proves that morality is hard-wired, says A C Grayling
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Review: Titan Unveiled by Ralph Lorenz and Jacqueline Mitton
30 April 2008
An insider's look into the exploration of Titan
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Heroes for hard times
30 April 2008
After the second world war, and inspired by superhero Dan Dare, the UK looked to science to kick-start an industrial renaissance and bring prosperity and social justice. In the vanguard was Theo Williamson, engineer of the future...
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Review: Mirroring People by Marco Iacoboni
30 April 2008
Mirror neurons provide hot new territory for investigation, as this account of the field shows
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How stem-cell advances will transform medicine
30 April 2008
The breakthrough in creating stem cells could be a step towards regenerating organs and limbs, as Peter Aldhous reports
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Make or break
30 April 2008
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No more screech
30 April 2008
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For the record
30 April 2008
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A fly in your ear
30 April 2008
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Equal way
30 April 2008
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Voters' choice
30 April 2008
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Creating grief
30 April 2008
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Zeta malfunction
30 April 2008
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The chips will go down
30 April 2008
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Sun and air
30 April 2008
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Boléro: 'Beautiful symptom of a terrible disease'
30 April 2008
A painting that mirrors Ravel's Boléro by a woman who shared a brain disease with the composer, provides a window into the creative mind
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Klingon technology
30 April 2008
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Chain gang
30 April 2008
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Feedback
30 April 2008
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Editorial: Still no substitute for embryonic stem cells
30 April 2008
Even though we can now reprogramme skin cells to become versatile stem cells, it is not yet time to abandon research with human embryonic stem cells
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Gene therapy 'reverses' blindness
30 April 2008
Experimental gene therapy trials have improved the vision of four people who suffer from a rare form of hereditary blindness
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Editorial: Even climate models have their limits
30 April 2008
While the science of climate change is robust, we may have to live with uncertainty about the local impacts of a warming planet
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60 Seconds
30 April 2008
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'Missing link' of electronics makes an appearance
30 April 2008
A basic electronic component called the memristor, that was predicted mathematically almost 40 years ago, has finally turned up
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Gizmo
30 April 2008
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Cellphone scanner could screen for cancer
30 April 2008
Cellphones have been touted as a way to bridge the developing world's digital divide, now doctors in remote areas might be able to use them to spot tumours
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Google ranks images for better picture searches
30 April 2008
Researchers at the famous web search company hope to improve on text-based image searches currently in use
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Slow movers opt for a single sex
30 April 2008
Slow-moving animals are more likely to be hermaphrodites to maximise their mating opportunities, say biologists
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Comment: What lies beneath the makeup?
30 April 2008
We spend a fortune on cosmetics that promise to keep our skin youthful, so surely we deserve some evidence that they work, says Richard Weller
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First sunflower farms uncovered in Mexican dig
30 April 2008
Farmers in ancient Mexico were not only clued up on cultivating maize, peppers and cotton – it seems they were the first to grow sunflowers too
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Finger clickin' good
30 April 2008
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Blood-pressure pill may also aid weight loss
30 April 2008
Mice lacking the gene for an enzyme blocked by certain blood-pressure-lowering drugs had less body fat than normal mice
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Solar shield would damage the ozone layer
30 April 2008
A "sulphur sunshade" would punch huge holes through the ozone layer, according to a new computer model of the atmopshere
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Quantum effects may explain water's weirdness
30 April 2008
Water's properties still defy explanation - now it seems some of the uncertainty about H2O can be addressed by considering uncertainty of the quantum kind
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Genetic rights are enshrined in US law
30 April 2008
The US Senate has passed a law preventing health insurers from setting premiums or denying coverage based on the results of genetic tests
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Soundbites
30 April 2008
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Martian air creates monster sand dunes
30 April 2008
Low gravity and thin air mean sand grains on the Red Planet leap around 100 times higher and further than those on Earth
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Birds can 'see' the Earth's magnetic field
30 April 2008
A chemical found in birds' retinas could help them detect magnetic fields and explain the mystery of migration
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Sin cities: The geometry of crime
30 April 2008
What makes some city districts so dangerous? It's not just the criminals, says Mark Buchanan
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Interview: The man who found Mars on Earth
30 April 2008
By studying Earth's extreme environments, Chris McKay hopes to get a better idea of where to look for evidence of life on Mars
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Engineers find 'missing link' of electronics
30 April 2008
A device called a "memristor" that was predicted in 1971 could provide new kinds of computer memory or electronics that work like brain cells
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Artifical blood deaths cause trial concerns
30 April 2008
Poor results coming in from clinical trials of blood substitutes are prompting calls for ongoing trials to be suspended
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Intelligence can be improved with training
30 April 2008
A task has been found that can seemingly add to your "fluid intelligence" – and the harder you train, the more you gain
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Fetal cells could help fight off breast cancer
30 April 2008
After pregnancy, some fetal stem cells survive within the mother – could they be responsible for the lower cancer rates in women with children?
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Saturn storm is longest ever seen
30 April 2008
A powerful, five-month-long storm continues to rage on Saturn, making it the planet's longest continuously observed tempest
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London congestion charge did not improve air quality
30 April 2008
The policy of charging drivers to enter London city centre has cut traffic, but air quality has changed little, with some pollutants actually rising
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Gene discoveries could crack bone disease
30 April 2008
Mutations linked to osteoporosis have been conclusively identified, raising the possibility of screening programmes
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Meerkats attend scorpion-hunting kindergarten
30 April 2008
The social mammals teach pups how to forage for dangerous prey, challenging the idea that teaching is built on intelligence
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UK science looks 'incompetent' after funding fiasco
30 April 2008
A government report blames the huge cuts to UK science funding on the head of the research council that took the decision
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Robotic wheelchair docks like a spaceship
30 April 2008
An automated wheelchair that guides itself into the back of a vehicle using lasers could give disabled drivers more freedom
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Indian vultures circling towards extinction
30 April 2008
Despite bans, a cattle drug could render the scavengers extinct in 10 years, and the birds' disappearance is having serious ecological consequences
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Smart gel sifts out the smallest signs of cancer
30 April 2008
Smart particles of polymer gel that can sieve rare proteins from the blood could allow cancer to be diagnosed at an earlier stage.
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Bat squeaks louder than a rock concert
30 April 2008
In order to echolocate prey insects, bat calls need to be high-frequency and very loud – now a Panamanian species has revealed just how loud
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Monster black hole found escaping home galaxy
29 April 2008
A mammoth black hole has been discovered fleeing its host galaxy at high speed, a team of astronomers says
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Is there a hidden order to the Northern Lights?
29 April 2008
Contrary to expectations, some auroras appear to be polarised, with their electromagnetic waves lined up in a common orientation
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World food price crisis blamed on government neglect
29 April 2008
Leading agricultural research scientists say the worldwide surge in food prices is the direct result of government neglect of research
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Cheap diamonds are a biologist's best friend
29 April 2008
A low-cost supply of tiny diamond fragments could see them used to track the movement of cells around the body or even deliver genes
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Testosterone turns birds into bad parents
29 April 2008
Female starlings with a testosterone top-up are better defenders of the nest, but skimp on parental care
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Comment: We need a Nobel prize for kids
29 April 2008
To foster a new generation of great scientists, we should reward children for asking truly great questions says Andreas Mershin
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Dog's bark means more than its bite
29 April 2008
Dogs bark for different reasons and heart rates show that other dogs can tell the difference
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English village to be invaded in spybot competition
29 April 2008
Aircraft and ground vehicles will work together without human help to seek out hazards in the UK's answer to the Pentagon's Grand Challenge
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Mirrors on the Moon could catch alien eyes
29 April 2008
Angle mirrors to catch the Sun's rays and you could flash a sequence that would be recognisable to aliens
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Simple brain exercise can boost IQ
28 April 2008
Scientists say they have found a task that can add points to a person's IQ – and the harder you train, the more you gain
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Pill burns fat without dieting or exercise
28 April 2008
A drug used to treat high blood pressure might also reduce fat accumulation by turning off a key enzyme
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Heated debate over who planted first sunflower
28 April 2008
Finding out where the sunflower was first domesticated could help boost future crop yields, but that may not be such an easy task
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'Bouncing' sand grains explain Martian dust storms
28 April 2008
Mars's low gravity allows sand grains to leap around 100 times higher and farther than those on Earth, accounting for huge dunes and dust storms
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Glass chip spins silk just like a spider
28 April 2008
An artificial version of a spider's silk duct could soon let humans make use of the material's amazing properties
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Cosmic time warp revealed in slow-motion supernovae
28 April 2008
Supernovae in the early universe appear to age more slowly than they do today – the expansion of space is to blame
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Where did all the mini-galaxies go?
28 April 2008
Galaxies 10 times smaller than the Milky Way were common 3 billion years after the big bang, but their absence today is a puzzle
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GPS rival's second satellite launches
28 April 2008
The European Union's Galileo global positioning system now has two test satellites – in five years, it should be operational with a network of 30
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Biodiversity linked to human health
28 April 2008
The impacts on health from loss of biodiversity can be complex and unexpected, claim the authors of a new book on the subject
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US outlaws genetic discrimination
28 April 2008
The US Senate has passed an act that is aimed to prevent insurers or employers making decisions based on the results of genetic tests
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Invention: Plastic red blood cells
28 April 2008
This week's patent applications include flexible polymer blood cells, a microwave to soften rocks for tunnelling, and a vaccine for genital herpes
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Space war would leave destructive legacy
28 April 2008
Although the immediate impact of a space war on the US would be limited, the space debris produced could damage satellites for decades
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Gene therapy success 'reverses' blindness
28 April 2008
Experimental gene therapy trials have improved the vision of four people who suffer from a rare form of hereditary blindness
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Life expectancy dropping in some parts of US
28 April 2008
Life expectancy is declining among some groups of US citizens, a new study shows – smoking, obesity and high blood pressure may be the cause
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Religion a figment of human imagination
28 April 2008
Only humans have religion, because only humans have the brain architecture to imagine things that don't exist
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Fruit flies trade lifespan for brain power
27 April 2008
Brainier flies live shorter lives than dumb ones, in some of the clearest evidence yet that intelligence comes at a cost
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Protein test predicts invasive breast cancer
27 April 2008
Thousands of women could be spared surgery for breast cancer with a test that can predict the likelihood of developing an invasive tumour
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Megaquake set to strike within a decade
26 April 2008
Seismic events prior to previous large earthquakes suggests we are in line for a huge quake soon – but where?
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How an email address can reveal your character
26 April 2008
Openness, conscientiousness and narcissism are the easiest personality traits to guess from a person's email address, say researchers
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'Ballistic re-entry' raises questions over Soyuz safety
26 April 2008
A Soyuz capsule has had to revert to backup mode on a journey back to Earth for the third time since 2003
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Early life could have relied on 'arsenic DNA'
26 April 2008
Arsenic is best known for snuffing out life, but could it have played a key role in the origins of life on Earth?
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Blood transfusions found to harm some patients
26 April 2008
A number of studies have found that blood transfusions can actually harm and even kill – could blood recycling provide an alternative?
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Comment: Let's take cancer clusters seriously this time
26 April 2008
New evidence linking nuclear power plants and cancer clusters caused a storm in Germany, but it has been all but ignored elsewhere, says Ian Fairlie
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Magnetic killer cells zero in on cancers
26 April 2008
A promising way to tackle some diseases is to deliver cells with modified genes to diseased tissue – and tiny magnets might guide them there
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Editorial: Surgeons should face up to the evidence
26 April 2008
The finding that some blood transfusions may be doing more harm than good should serve as a wake-up call to the medical profession
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New tools make rogue genes easier to map
26 April 2008
Mapping genetic mutations and analysing their effects could become easier with improved sequencing methods and software
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Big breakfasts make boy births more likely
26 April 2008
Women who want baby boys should eat a bowl of cereals daily before they conceive, suggests a new survey
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Review: Archimedes to Hawking by Clifford Pickover
26 April 2008
A look at the men and women behind eponymous scientific laws, from Boyle to Ohm
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Personal genome tests under fire in New York
26 April 2008
The state's Department of Health has warned more than 20 genetic testing companies that they may be operating illegally
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Captive tigers roar ahead in stud potential
26 April 2008
Captive tigers have greater genetic diversity than their wild counterparts, a finding that could have important implications for conservation
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Editorial: Somebody's watching your clicks
26 April 2008
Internet service providers are sitting on a treasure-trove of data about people's browsing habits – we need a proper debate about how it should be used
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Soundbites
26 April 2008
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60 Seconds
26 April 2008
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Study reveals the health secrets in your pee
26 April 2008
Urine from 4000 people across the globe has been screened, providing new insights into a range of diseases
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Dizzy dogs
26 April 2008
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Rising nations face 'back door' emissions limits
26 April 2008
Governments of rich nations plan to push developing nations into accepting global technology standards for dirty industries
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Colourful warnings cause confusion for mates
26 April 2008
Poisonous butterflies that mimic each other's colouring to deter predators may end up confusing themselves when seeking a mate
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Shapely pear
26 April 2008
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Cranberry ice
26 April 2008
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Review: Beautiful Minds by Maddalena Bearzi and Craig Stanford
26 April 2008
The first book to investigate the lives of apes and dolphins in parallel explains why both have big brains and what it must be like to be them
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Review: Earth: The Sequel. The race to reinvent energy and stop global warming by Fred Krupp and Miriam Horn
26 April 2008
Will the solutions to climate change offered in the latest batch of books on the topic really fix the problems, asks Fred Pearce
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Oracle tape
26 April 2008
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For the record
26 April 2008
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The secret language of cuttlefish
26 April 2008
Not content with being masters of camouflage, cuttlefish have a sophisticated system for communicating on the sly, reveals Michael Brooks
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One in the eye
26 April 2008
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We will survive!
26 April 2008
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Over the coals
26 April 2008
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Vowel play
26 April 2008
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Unnecessary need
26 April 2008
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Struggling to find an appetite for cloned meat
26 April 2008
Who wouldn't want cloned food if it was guaranteed to be the best you ever tasted? Sharon Oosthoek finds plenty of opposition
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Occam's causality
26 April 2008
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Tricky marketing
26 April 2008
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Commentary: Meet the real April fools
26 April 2008
Unfortunately, the rising energy springtime brings or the fun of April Fool's Day is no excuse for three new crusades against science, says Lawrence Krauss
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Feedback
26 April 2008
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Review: The Spy in the Coffee Machine by Kieron O'Hara and Nigel Shadbolt
26 April 2008
Timely and balanced, this book is a scary treatise about the way technology has eroded privacy and continues to do so, says A C Grayling
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Illegal drug labs leave toxic legacy
26 April 2008
Buying a new property? Double-check its past, or you could be in for a nasty surprise, warns Peter Aldhous
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Mongoose-robot duo sniffs out landmines
26 April 2008
A partnership between an affordable robot and a carnivore with an exquisite sense of smell could aid the hunt for buried landmines
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Review: Bonk by Mary Roach
26 April 2008
In a fun new book about sex research, the author gets down and dirty in the name of science
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Interview: The complementary medicine detective
26 April 2008
How Edzard Ernst, the UK's first professor of complementary medicine, became alternative therapists' public enemy number one
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Gizmo
26 April 2008
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Shape-shifting robots take form
25 April 2008
If you want a material that will morph into any shape you like, try making it out of millions of tiny robots, says Jeff Hecht
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Salamanders formed new species despite interbreeding
25 April 2008
The argument that isolation is necessary for the origin of new species is weakened following a DNA study of two salamanders
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North Pole could be ice free in 2008
25 April 2008
This year, Arctic scientists are preparing for that possibility that ice loss will make it possible to swim at the top of the world
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Happy spamiversary! Spam reaches 30
25 April 2008
A bulk advertising message sent on the precursor to the internet 30 years ago spawned a phenomenon that now accounts for 90% of all email
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Taking probiotics could prevent allergies
25 April 2008
A daily dose of beneficial bacteria may help children buck the growing trend for developing allergies, suggests a study in pregnant women and babies
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Food dyes may protect against cancer
25 April 2008
Synthetic food dyes – long blamed for causing hyperactivity in children – have been shown to have anti-cancer properties
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Were Mesopotamians the first brand addicts?
25 April 2008
Bottle stops stamped with symbols some 5000 years ago are evidence of the first branded goods
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Physicists respond to dark matter 'discovery'
25 April 2008
A group says it has seen dark matter deep beneath an Italian mountain, but experts remain cautious about the result
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Space 'spiderwebs' could propel future probes
25 April 2008
Future spacecraft could tack back and forth through the asteroid belt, propelled by an electrically charged, web-like solar sail
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T. rex kinship with chickens confirmed
24 April 2008
A new family tree based on protein recovered from a well-preserved fossil firms up the dinosaur's avian lineage
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'Planetary sunshade' could strip ozone layer by 76%
24 April 2008
Pumping sulphate particles into the atmosphere to cool the planet could backfire quite spectacularly, say researchers
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Simple 'superlens' sharpens focusing power
24 April 2008
A lens able to focus 10 times more intensely than any conventional design could help transmit power without wires
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Mars rover's robotic arm seizes up
24 April 2008
Problems with a motor controlling the sideways motion of the rover Opportunity's robotic arm are worsening – bad news for the mission
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Female lizards desire males of many colours
24 April 2008
Promiscuous female painted dragon lizards use the head colours of males to ensure they mate with different individuals – but there is a cost
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Arctic currents may be warming the world
24 April 2008
Natural changes in the warm ocean currents travelling to the icy north may be helping to heat up the entire northern hemisphere
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Insects left disfigured by nuclear radiation
24 April 2008
Scientific illustrator Cornelia Hesse-Honegger documents her claims that insects exposed to low-level radiation are more prone to being deformed
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High-tech armband puts your fingers in control
24 April 2008
A muscle-sensing cuff could soon let users control gadgets by merely lifting a finger and might one day allow keyboard-free typing
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Does the Earth's magnetic field cause suicides?
24 April 2008
A growing number of studies have found a link between peaks in geomagnetism and either suicide rates or depression
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Ad men are homing in on your clicks
24 April 2008
Internet providers have woken up to the value of the data they hold and are selling it on to advertisers, often without customers' knowledge
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'Unnatural' contaminant to blame for heparin deaths
24 April 2008
A harmful compound in batches of the blood-thinning drug imported from China is probably responsible, says the US Food and Drug Administration
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Sexual harassment at school 'worse than bullying'
24 April 2008
Taunts and aggression related to sexuality are less common than bullying, but have more adverse effects, say researchers
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Memories of your last meal can help you stay thin
24 April 2008
Concentrating on your last meal significantly reduces the desire to snack, say researchers
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China down to 12 days of coal stocks
23 April 2008
Supplies are shrinking and the world's fastest growing economy faces electricity shortages
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Black hole plasma jet reveals twisted magnetic fields
23 April 2008
The first images of the huge jets of gas fired from a "blazar" reveal the spiralling magnetic fields that propel them outwards
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Be still my beating stem cell heart
23 April 2008
The types of muscle making up the human heart have been made from embryonic stem cells for the first time, and used to treat mice
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Brain region lights up for power and profit
23 April 2008
Research suggests that money and social status are linked in part of the brain involved in sensing rewards
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Weather control claims put to the test
23 April 2008
Despite a history of unproven techniques, better ways to track weather patterns now make it possible to properly test schemes for making and diverting rain
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Some ozone to go with your flight, sir?
23 April 2008
Illegally high levels of the harmful gas found on some US flights suggest that all aircraft should be fitted with ozone converters
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Hubble telescope reveals a zoo of galaxy mergers
23 April 2008
Colliding galaxies resemble a toothbrush, an owl, a grasshopper and other forms as they smash into and dismember one another
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City road networks grow like biological systems
23 April 2008
A new analysis explains why different cities' road networks look similar – uncovering the relationship may help predict urban sprawl
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'Flammable ice' could be mined for fuel
23 April 2008
A test in the Canadian tundra shows that extracting methane hydrates to burn as fuel may soon be possible on industrial scales
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Solar system could go haywire before the Sun dies
23 April 2008
A collision with Mercury or Mars could doom life on Earth long before the Sun bakes the planet to a crisp, new computer simulations suggest
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Breakfast cereals boost chances of conceiving boys
23 April 2008
Paint the nursery blue if you regularly eat porridge for breakfast – a survey finds that cereals boost women's chances of producing male babies
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Germanic invaders may not have ruled by apartheid
23 April 2008
Rather than enslave native Britons, Saxon conquerors in the 5th century ran a more integrated society, suggests a new genetic analysis
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Did a short circuit cause spacecraft's steep descent?
22 April 2008
Investigators suspect an electrical short circuit may have caused the steep, 'ballistic' re-entry of a Soyuz spacecraft on Saturday
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Mysterious 'bright young things' found in solar system
22 April 2008
A family of icy objects orbiting beyond Neptune looks much younger than their years, and astronomers can't explain why
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To defeat a malicious botnet, build a friendly one
22 April 2008
Swarms of zombie computers used by hackers to attack websites could be defeated by borrowing their tactics, say researchers
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Stomach-proof gel hints at jab-free diabetes treatment
22 April 2008
A material able to protect insulin from being digested and deliver it to the blood stream could remove the need for diabetics to have daily injections
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Chemo drug attacks brain cell insulation
22 April 2008
The subtle decline in mental ability suffered by some patients following chemotherapy seems to be caused by damage to neuron insulation
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Tanzania leads the world in tackling child deaths
22 April 2008
Despite being one of the world's poorest nations, Tanzania is now on course to reach global targets for reducing deaths of children and mothers
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US to end controversial shark 'finning'
22 April 2008
New legislation means US fishermen must not remove the fins of sharks at sea – a move that should protect some vulnerable species until 2012
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No southern comfort as life expectancy falls
22 April 2008
Average US life expectancy continues to rise, but some groups in the south have seen their lifespans cut by preventable diseases
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Stephen Hawking calls for Moon and Mars colonies
21 April 2008
At a lecture honouring NASA, the eminent physicist calls for a big investment in human spaceflight and ponders intelligent life in the universe
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Rescue robots compete to save dolls in distress
21 April 2008
Robots competing to sniff out dolls hidden in a maze may lead to new companions for firefighters and other emergency responders
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Worm-on-a-chip boosts understanding of nerves
21 April 2008
The new glass chip restrains a popular research worm during surgery, allowing scientists to study nerves as they recover from damage
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Mysterious striped currents revealed in the oceans
21 April 2008
Oceanographers have uncovered a striped pattern of east-west currents flowing across every ocean, but are mystified as to what causes it
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Russian spacecraft made steep, bumpy return to Earth
21 April 2008
Flames licked a Soyuz spaceship on Saturday as it re-entered Earth's atmosphere more steeply than usual, producing twice the normal g forces
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Complete 'cookbook' for running a genome published
21 April 2008
A major part of the epigenome of a plant has been sequenced, allowing geneticists to study how organisms control their genes
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Vietnam's first satellite blasts into orbit
21 April 2008
VINASAT-1, Vietnam's first telecommunications satellite, will boost coverage in the country's forests and mountains
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Invention: Biodegradable hypodermics
21 April 2008
This week's new patents include hypodermic needles that dissolve inside the body, a gadget to spot lame horses and a way to image testicles using glowing dyes
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Canada to release trial drugs to patients
21 April 2008
The new system will widen access to drugs and could detect rare adverse reactions, but critics say it turns the population into guinea pigs
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WHO considers global war on alcohol abuse
20 April 2008
The new initiative is driven by the large numbers of people who, while not drunk themselves, suffer at the hands of those who are
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Law targeting patent 'trolls' looks set to fail
20 April 2008
Proponents say the controversial bill will discourage people from filing patents without developing them, but inventors fear that it will encourage companies to infringe patents
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Algal sex could spawn malaria vaccine
20 April 2008
Pond algae and the malaria parasite use the same protein to fuse their male and female sex cells, raising hopes of a vaccine
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Hothouse Earth would halt plate tectonics
20 April 2008
A huge rise in atmospheric temperatures would stop a planet from losing internal heat, making everything grind to a halt
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Housework helps combat anxiety and depression
19 April 2008
Just 20 minutes of housework per day reduces the risk of mental distress by 20%, but sport works even better
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Moon's birth changed the length of days on Earth
19 April 2008
A computer simulation of the collision thought to have formed the moon suggests the Earth originally rotated faster and in the opposite direction
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Sensitive military items for sale on eBay
19 April 2008
Undercover investigators were able to easily purchase items such as spare parts for F-14 fighter jets and military body armour
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Fake concrete bat roosts reclaim rainforest
19 April 2008
Artificial bat roosts may kick-start forest renewal, as the bats' droppings spread seeds for 'pioneer' plants
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Capturing carbon
19 April 2008
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Two legs good
19 April 2008
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Hunting for neutrinos under the South Pole
19 April 2008
The massive IceCube detector fills a cubic kilometre of Antarctic ice and will try to pick up particles from distant corners of the universe
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Carbon trading: dirty, sexy money
19 April 2008
Carbon is the hot new commodity, but can trading it like a currency really save the planet? Fred Pearce investigates a new economy
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Interview: The stroke survivor who trained her own brain
19 April 2008
Jill Bolte Taylor recovered from a devastating stroke by retraining her brain from the inside, and says the stroke was the best thing that ever happened to her
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Water bomb
19 April 2008
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Feedback
19 April 2008
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Commentary: Medical research is still biased
19 April 2008
Research bias is alive and well everywhere, affecting both poor countries and less powerful groups in the rich west, says A C Grayling
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Milk white
19 April 2008
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Evolution myths: Natural selection leads to ever greater complexity
19 April 2008
Actually natural selection can lead to ever greater simplicity, and complexity may initially arise when selection is weak or absent
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Norfolk the nation
19 April 2008
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Bubble trouble
19 April 2008
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Testing animal tests
19 April 2008
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Here be humans
19 April 2008
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60 Seconds
19 April 2008
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English will survive
19 April 2008
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WIMP force
19 April 2008
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Silent dawn
19 April 2008
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For the record
19 April 2008
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Turn up the volume
19 April 2008
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Black hole quandary
19 April 2008
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Closed for repairs
19 April 2008
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Histories: Welcome to Fort Plague
19 April 2008
At the turn of the 20th century, a lonely fortress was home to Russian scientists running the country's official plague laboratory
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Evolution: A guide for the not-yet perplexed
19 April 2008
If you think you understand it, you don't know nearly enough about it. Michael Le Page tackles some myths and misconceptions
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Do you have it in green?
19 April 2008
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Gizmo
19 April 2008
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'Racetrack' memory could replace hard drives and RAM
19 April 2008
Using the technology, magnetic domains "race" in one direction past a magnetic memory writer, then race back in the opposite direction past a reader
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Orchid sex trick fools male wasps
19 April 2008
Presented with certain species of orchid, male orchid dupe wasps can become so enamoured that they ejaculate, making them unwitting but extremely effective pollinators
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Websites evolve like living organisms to suit users
19 April 2008
Being able to evolve allows sites to keep up with changes in their users' preferences and become more usable than "designed" sites
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DNA test needs an international 'yes'
19 April 2008
UK experts have backed the controversial "low-template DNA" fingerprinting technique but say it needs international backing
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Suicide risks from drugs may be exaggerated
19 April 2008
Studies suggesting that drugs are putting people at risk of suicide aren't always what they seem, as measuring "suicidality" is fraught with problems
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Machine detects our decisions before we know them
19 April 2008
Part of the brain lights up several seconds before we take actions, casting more doubt on the notion of conscious free will
-
Fossil teeth hint at elephants' watery past
19 April 2008
Elephants may have evolved from aquatic mammals that changed their minds about living in the water
-
Mighty microbe pulls 100,000 times its bodyweight
19 April 2008
The bacterium that causes gonorrhea is the strongest organism on earth, thanks to its ability to combine its pulling organs into bundles
-
Atmospheres modelled in soap bubbles
19 April 2008
Turbulent swirling patterns in a soap bubble can mimic Jupiter's Great Red Spot and hurricanes on Earth
-
Financial markets driven wild by hormones
19 April 2008
Swings in the stock market are linked to changes in male traders' hormone levels, but more female traders could help restore balance
-
Hunting the elusive Higgs
19 April 2008
Finding the Higgs particle would be great, but not finding it could be even better
-
Solar system 'bounce' may send comets our way
19 April 2008
The up-and-down motion of the solar system as it orbits the Milky Way may trigger periodic comet showers that strike the Earth
-
Soundbites
19 April 2008
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Wiki lets users create the perfect US president
19 April 2008
The WikiCandidate website could throw up a candidate unlike anyone who has actually run for office
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Evolution myths: Evolution is limitlessly creative
19 April 2008
It might seem as though there is no end to nature's inventiveness, but there are probably some features that could never evolve, at least on Earth
-
Evolution myths: Evolution can't be disproved
19 April 2008
There are all sorts of findings and experiments that could have falsified evolution, but in the century-and-a-half since Darwin published his theory, not a single one has
-
Evolution myths: Everything is an adaptation
19 April 2008
Contrary to popular belief, not all characteristics of plants and animals are adaptations or the result of natural selection
-
Editorial: Can carbon capitalism save the world?
19 April 2008
The trade in pollution permits, made possible by the Kyoto protocol, is growing rapidly, but its ability to cut global carbon emissions is still in doubt
-
Evolution myths: Natural selection is the only means of evolution
19 April 2008
Much change is due to random genetic drift rather than positive selection. It could be called the survival of the luckiest
-
Evolution myths: Evolutionary science is not predictive
19 April 2008
We cannot say exactly what life will look like in a billion years, but that does not mean evolutionary theory has no predictions to make
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Evolution myths: It doesn't matter if people don't grasp evolution
19 April 2008
At an individual level, it might not matter very much. However, any modern society that bases major decisions on superstition rather than reality is heading for disaster
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Acronymism
19 April 2008
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Evolution myths: Evolution produces perfect organisms
19 April 2008
You don't have to be perfectly adapted to survive, you just have to be as well adapted as your competitors
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New Alzheimer's drug takes new approach
19 April 2008
Reports of patients "waking up" within minutes of receiving a drug called etanercept have created a stir, but the research has yet to be published
-
Climate change could save endangered salmon
19 April 2008
Last week US fisheries regulators cancelled the entire salmon season for this year in the face of collapsing stocks – but global warming models hint they might recover
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Californian quake before 2037 almost inevitable
19 April 2008
The first state-wide prediction of earthquakes in California also shows those living in the south are more vulnerable to a major rumble than the north
-
Genes may raise cancer risk for blacks
19 April 2008
Studies show gene differences between blacks and whites in cancer tissues, suggesting that healthcare inequalities are not the sole cause of the extra cancer risk to blacks
-
Food miles don't feed climate change – meat does
18 April 2008
Eating locally-produced food has little impact on your carbon footprint, but going veggie for one day a week makes a big difference
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Clearing smog reveals true extent of global warming
18 April 2008
Atmospheric pollution confuses temperature measurements, so now it is clearing we can measure global warming more accurately
-
Universal 'babelfish' could translate alien tongues
18 April 2008
If all languages have a universal structure, we could understand the speech and mathematical ideas of extraterrestrial civilisations
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Brainwave-reading headphones need no batteries
18 April 2008
The headset converts body heat and sunlight into energy to continuously monitor a person's brain – an approach that could boost gaming and medicine
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Protein test is a crystal ball for breast cancer
18 April 2008
Test can pick out which women will suffer an invasive tumor, reducing unnecessary treatments – but it only works for some women
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Earthquake sensors track rise in ocean storms
18 April 2008
Properly analysing data once discarded as "noise" reveals vibrations from storm waves up to 1000 miles away – and that oceans are getting stormier
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Acidic oceans may be water of life for plankton
18 April 2008
Tiny sea-dwelling organisms called coccolithophores do well in higher levels of dissolved CO2, prompting hopes that they might lock away carbon
-
Ghost of genetics past shows up in bonobos
18 April 2008
Unexpected patterns of gene relatedness among humans, chimps and bonobos allow glimpses of the common ancestor
-
New kind of killer virus discovered in Bolivia
18 April 2008
Deadly virus has claimed one life but could spread through urbanisation and climate change
-
Atom-thick material runs rings around silicon
17 April 2008
A few carbon rings is enough to make a version of the transistors at the heart of all computers
-
Greenland ice lakes drain at speed of Niagara Falls
17 April 2008
A 3-kilometre-wide lake on Greenland's ice sheet was swallowed up in under an hour and a half
-
Captive tigers roar ahead in stud potential
17 April 2008
Tigers in zoos and private homes have greater genetic diversity than their equivalents in the wild, boosting hopes for conservation projects
-
Female flies lose their heads to sing like a male
17 April 2008
Gene switch and decapitation make female fruit flies "sing" like a male
-
NASA must look beyond the Moon
17 April 2008
A hard-hitting report says the space agency is playing too safe with technologies and should focus on sending astronauts to Mars
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Dark matter may have been found on Earth
17 April 2008
An Italian team claim to have observed dark matter particles in a detector, replicating an earlier finding, but physicists remain sceptical
-
Tiny robotic hand has the gentlest touch
17 April 2008
Computer-controlled tweezers have a rudimentary sense of touch that helps them grasp delicate objects such as living cells
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Revealed: the Asian source of the annual flu epidemic
17 April 2008
The biggest ever analysis of flu strains shows the world's annual epidemic comes from the constant reservoir of bugs that follow the rainy season around East Asia
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No truth to claims that 13-year-old found NASA error
17 April 2008
Claims that a German teen discovered that NASA had underestimated the risk of an asteroid impact by 100 times are false, say scientists
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On the Origin of Muffin Pudding, by Emma Darwin
17 April 2008
The private notes of Charles Darwin, including his wife's recipe book, are released online
-
Red blood cells impenetrable to malaria parasite
16 April 2008
A genetic mutation that leads to a devastating red blood cell disease offers protection against malaria
-
Terahertz speed circuits get closer
16 April 2008
New devices to steer the high-frequency waves could set them free for data processing – just as wires did for electricity
-
Sea levels 'will rise 1.5 metres by 2100'
16 April 2008
Better models of melting glaciers suggest oceans will swell significantly more than previously predicted
-
Evolution myths: Evolution cannot be disproved
16 April 2008
There are all sorts of findings and experiments that could have falsified evolution. In the century-and-a-half since Darwin published his theory, not one has
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Evolution myths: Evolution is just so unlikely
16 April 2008
By weeding out harmful mutations and assembling beneficial ones, natural selection can, given enough time, produce results that appear utterly impossible at first glance
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Evolution myths: Yet more misconceptions
16 April 2008
More popular creationist myths: why evolution is a fact not a theory, Darwin on his deathbed, and the significance of transitional fossils and modern apes
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Evolution myths: Evolution is limitlessly creative
16 April 2008
It might seem like there is no end to nature's inventiveness but there are some features that could probably never evolve, at least on Earth
-
Evolution myths: All biologists are Darwinists
16 April 2008
Modern evolutionary theory is built on some - but not all - of Darwin's ideas, but has gone far beyond them
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Evolution myths: Evolution violates the second law of thermodynamics
16 April 2008
The second law of thermodynamics states that entropy, a measure of randomness, cannot decrease in a isolated system. Our planet is not a isolated system
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Evolution myths: Religion and evolution are incompatible
16 April 2008
There are various ways in which evolution can be reconciled with theistic religions. Some of these might be illogical and irrational, but no more so than other aspects of religion
-
Advertising feature: Clinical research
16 April 2008
Pharmaceutical and biotech companies are increasingly outsourcing clinical trials to clinical research organizations. Roshan McArthur finds out what this means for job prospects
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Evolution: 24 myths and misconceptions
16 April 2008
If you think you understand it, you don't know nearly enough about it. Our special issue looks at the biggest myths about evolution
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Evolution myths: It doesn't matter if people do not understand evolution
16 April 2008
Any modern society which bases major decisions on superstition rather than reality is heading for disaster
-
Evolution myths: Natural selection leads to ever greater complexity
16 April 2008
In fact, natural selection often leads to ever greater simplicity. And, in many cases, complexity may initially arise when selection is weak or absent
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Evolution myths: Everything is an adaptation
16 April 2008
We tend to assume that all characteristics of plants and animals are adaptations that have arisen through natural selection, but many are not
-
Evolution myths: Natural selection is the only means of evolution
16 April 2008
Much change is due to random genetic drift rather than positive selection - it could be called the survival of the luckiest
-
Evolution myths: Evolution is not predictive
16 April 2008
It might not be possible to predict exactly what life will look like in a billion years but what counts are the predictions that can be made
-
Evolution myths: Evolution is random
16 April 2008
No and yes. Natural selection is a rigorous testing process that filters out what works from what doesn't, but chance events play a big role too
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Evolution myths: Mutations can only destroy information
16 April 2008
Biologists are uncovering thousands of examples of how mutations lead to new traits and even new species. This claim not only flies in the face of the evidence, it is also a logical impossibility
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Evolution myths: The bacterial flagellum is irreducibly complex
16 April 2008
Actually, flagella vary widely from one species to another, and some of the components can perform useful functions by themselves. They are anything but irreducibly complex
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Evolution myths: Half a wing is no use
16 April 2008
Just as objects designed for one purpose can be used for another, so genes, structures and behaviours that evolve for one purpose can be adapted to do another
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Evolution myths: Accepting evolution undermines morality
16 April 2008
Actually people in more secular countries appear to behave more morally. And even if this claim was true, that would not alter the facts or justify their suppression
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Evolution myths: 'Survival of the fittest' justifies 'everyone for themselves'
16 April 2008
The "fittest" can be the most loving and selfless, not the most aggressive and violent. In any case, what happens in nature does not justify people behaving in the same way
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Evolution myths: Natural selection cannot explain homosexuality
16 April 2008
There are numerous evolutionary mechanisms that might explain homosexual behaviour, which is common in many species of animals
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Evolution myths: Evolution promotes the survival of species
16 April 2008
Not always. In some circumstances, evolution can reduce an individual or population's chances of surviving and even lead to a species' extinction
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Evolution myths: Evolutionary theory leads to racism and genocide
16 April 2008
Darwin's ideas have been invoked as justification for all sorts of policies, including some very unpleasant ones. But evolutionary theory cannot tell us what is right and wrong
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Evolution myths: The theory is wrong because the Bible is 'inerrant'
16 April 2008
This argument is undermined by the hundreds of errors and inaccuracies and contradictions found in Bible. It is anything but "inerrant"
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Evolution myths: Creationism is a coherent alternative to evolution
16 April 2008
The only thing that creationists agree on is that they don't like evolution. Even Genesis gives two contradictory accounts of creation
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Life-changing books: King Solomon's Ring
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: Catch-22 / The First Three Minutes
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: The Naked Ape
16 April 2008
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Life-chainging books: William James, Writings 1878-1910
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: Darwin and the Emergence of Evolutionary Theories of Mind and Behavior
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: The Leopard
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: A Mathematician's Apology
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: The Mind of a Mnemonist
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: Handbook of Mathematical Functions
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: The Idea of a Social Science
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: One, Two, Three... Infinity
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: Alice in Wonderland
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: The Foundation trilogy
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: Animal Liberation
16 April 2008
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Life-changing books: The Art of the Soluble
16 April 2008
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Life changing books: Farthest North
16 April 2008
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Economic crises can have health benefits
16 April 2008
Food and fuel shortages may have made life miserable in the short-term, but they led to long-term improvements in Cubans' health
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Shape-shifting skin to reduce drag on planes and subs
16 April 2008
Giving craft skin that can wrinkle its surface can make travelling through water or air less of a drag
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Flores 'hobbit' walked more like a clown than Frodo
16 April 2008
The long left foot of H. floresiensis indicates that it walked with a slow, high-stepped gait, says an anthropologist
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NASA extends Cassini's tour of Saturn's realm
16 April 2008
For at least two more years, the Cassini spacecraft will continue to explore Saturn and its ragbag of enigmatic, diverse moons
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Prion disease spreads through sheep milk
16 April 2008
Lambs have been found to contract the prion disease scrapie when suckling, so should we be concerned about vCJD spreading to breastfeeding babies?
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Tennis line judges fluff one in ten close calls
16 April 2008
Errors are inevitable, say researchers, when balls blast across the court at over 50 metres per second
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Drug giant Merck accused of deaths cover-up
15 April 2008
Internal company documents suggest Merck hid fatality rates during trials of the withdrawn painkiller Vioxx
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Gene activity may explain cancer's racial divide
15 April 2008
African Americans are at more risk from cancer than white people – it could be because immune system genes are responding differently
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Spacewalking microbes may reveal life's origins
15 April 2008
The Japanese 'dandelion' project will investigate the panspermia theory that says microorganisms riding comets can seed barren worlds with life
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Laser beams to the brain reveal seizures in real time
15 April 2008
Vibrating the brain with a laser beam provides a way to find the focus of epileptic seizures without surgery
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Giant quake will trash Los Angeles, say forecasters
15 April 2008
Southern Californians braced for higher insurance premiums as first quake forecast suggests huge temblor is almost inevitable
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Bamboo 'silk' protects against UV and bugs
15 April 2008
Fibres formed from pulped bamboo can be woven into strong, silky fabrics that wick away sweat, absorb harmful UV rays and kill bacteria
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Neanderthals speak out after 30,000 years
15 April 2008
Researchers synthesise a Neanderthal's voice and find it lacks the nuances of modern human speech
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Pioneer spacecraft mystery may be laid to rest
15 April 2008
Ordinary heat emissions, rather than exotic physics, help explain why two NASA spacecraft have strayed in the outer solar system
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Victorian pistons to cool space-age electronics
15 April 2008
Shrinking a 19th century design provides near-instant cooling for circuits and sensors
-
Ozone smog spoils bracing seaside air
15 April 2008
The mix of sea salt, ship fumes and city smoke leads to a chemical reaction that encourages the formation of harmful pollution around ports
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Sexually transmitted bug is the strongest organism
14 April 2008
Gonorrhea bacteria pull with a force equal to 100,000 times their body weight
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Traders' raging hormones cause stock market swings
14 April 2008
Surges in male traders' hormones could explain market volatility and more women traders might calm things down, say neuroscientists
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Dumbo didn't fly – he swam
14 April 2008
Teeth analysis suggests that the ancestors of elephants were aquatic – and supports the theory that the trunk evolved as a snorkel
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Nuked coral reef bounces back
14 April 2008
Half a century after being subjected to more than 20 nuclear tests, Bikini Atoll boasts a flourishing coral reef – but the coconuts are radioactive
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Shooting clouds with lasers triggers electrical discharge
14 April 2008
Pulsing a laser into the skies of New Mexico stimulates electrical activity inside storm clouds – a step towards thunderbolts on demand
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US bulldozing green laws to build border fence
14 April 2008
The Bush administration aims to build 750 kilometres of fence along the US-Mexico border and is waiving environmental laws to do it
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Piloted rocket planes set for first race
14 April 2008
With safety concerns dealt with, spectators will watch the Rocket Racing League's planes roar through the sky in August
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Invention: Fan-assisted trucks
14 April 2008
This week's new patents include fan-assisted trucks for reduced air resistance, edible packaging that's waterproof too and cement that breaks less suddenly
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Nuclear super-fuel gets too hot to handle
14 April 2008
As the nuclear industry tries to squeeze the most possible energy out of uranium, safety fears are emerging and a waste-disposal problem looms
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Hayabusa asteroid probe may never return to Earth
14 April 2008
The troubled spacecraft's last reaction wheel, which helps point the craft, has failed – it may not be able to limp back to Earth as planned
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Brain scanner predicts your future moves
13 April 2008
Scans reveal that part of the brain lights up seconds before we make a conscious decision – the discovery has implications for free will
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Why a baseball 'pop-up' is tricky to catch
13 April 2008
The fielders' nightmare – a simple-looking vertical ball that somehow eludes capture – has been found to be more complex than it looks
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Getting to the bottom of irritable bowels
13 April 2008
The high levels of specific enzymes found in the colonic tissue of IBS patients may be to blame for the disorder
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Pig cell transplants help people with diabetes
12 April 2008
Transplants of insulin-producing cells from new-born piglets have shown early promise as a treatment for diabetes
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Asthma drug can restore lost sense of smell
12 April 2008
Losing your ability to smell is a frightening prospect, and there are few treatments for the condition – now it seems an established asthma treatment could help
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Algebra of the universe
12 April 2008
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Review: Treasures of the Arctic
12 April 2008
Subhankar Banerjee's sweeping images have made a political impact as well as an artistic one, says Andrew Robinson
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Could stem-cell implants 'catch' Parkinson's?
12 April 2008
Researchers trying to develop advanced therapies based on neurons grown from stem cells hit a fresh complication
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Pulling power
12 April 2008
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Why first-past-the-post voting is fundamentally flawed
12 April 2008
No voting system is perfect, but why do countries such as the US and UK put up with one of the worst, asks Phil McKenna
-
Bird flu case raises fears of undiagnosed infections
12 April 2008
Findings hint there could be many H5N1 infections going undetected in China, but plasma treatments raise hope of a vaccine
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Double-blind reviewing
12 April 2008
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See saw
12 April 2008
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Minorities and elderly ignored by drug trials
12 April 2008
If a drug is not tested on a range of different people, you cannot be sure how widely it will work, warns a 300-strong team of researchers
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On the blink
12 April 2008
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Editorial : Born into a life of crime
12 April 2008
Now we know that an abusive upbringing can turn some children into criminals, governments must work to improve parenting in at-risk families
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Sweat ducts could bounce emotions to remote device
12 April 2008
The intensity of electromagnetic waves reflected by skin varies according to sweat levels and could lead to remote lie detectors
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Soundbites
12 April 2008
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Time's up
12 April 2008
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Comment: Climate shocks that come out of the blue
12 April 2008
Some of the worst impacts on the environment come as complete surprises - what can we do about it, asks William Laurance
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Grammar underlined
12 April 2008
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Melting ice caps may trigger more volcanic eruptions
12 April 2008
As the world's ice melts with global warming, pressure changes in the crust could cause a significant increase in magma production
-
Faeces clue IDs early Americans
12 April 2008
Fossilised faeces from a cave in Oregeon is linked to early Native Americans of east-Asian ancestry
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Strategic offence
12 April 2008
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Software generates chords to back any melody
12 April 2008
Amateurs songwriters can quickly add backing music to their creations by singing into a new computer program
-
San Andreas fault pushed around by big cousin
12 April 2008
Quakes along the Californian fault may be the knock-on result of huge quakes to the north – if so, a big one may be overdue
-
Carbon TV
12 April 2008
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Compulsion will fail
12 April 2008
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Ultra-bugs thrive on antibiotics
12 April 2008
Bacteria found in dirt are not only immune to, but able to feed on some of our most important drugs – and they could pass their resistance on
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On the cards
12 April 2008
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Gizmo
12 April 2008
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Editorial: Nuclear industry must not forget past lessons
12 April 2008
The UK and US are ploughing ahead with new nuclear plants, yet questions remain over safety and how to deal with radioactive waste
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CSI effect gives no comfort to criminals
12 April 2008
The popularity of crime-lab TV shows mean jurors expect more forensic evidence in court, but are they more likely to acquit in its absence?
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Mirror, mirror...
12 April 2008
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For the record
12 April 2008
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Unhappy anniversary
12 April 2008
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Landlubbers
12 April 2008
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Lacquer jitter
12 April 2008
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Ocean biodiversity: Depths of ignorance
12 April 2008
How can protect marine life if we don't know what is down there? A rash of new projects aim to help
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Film review: Expelled: No intelligence allowed
12 April 2008
There are plenty of reasons to worry about the way a new film sells intelligent design, including Nazi references, says Amanda Gefter
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Review: The Coming Convergence by Stanley Schmidt
12 April 2008
The convergence of new technologies could be said to have led to the 9/11 tragedy. Should we be worried about the future?
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Review: Tree of Rivers by John Hemming
12 April 2008
The British explorer and Amazon aficionado steers the reader through a history of the world's greatest river basin
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Interview: How a hacker became a freedom fighter
12 April 2008
Richard Stallman, the esteemed elder of hacking culture, explains why his efforts to defend freedom extend far beyond free software
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Feedback
12 April 2008
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Review: The Music of Pythagoras by Kitty Ferguson
12 April 2008
This detailed biography of Pythagoras is an account both of the man and his legacy – and that's not just triangles
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60 Seconds
12 April 2008
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Commentary: Why we don't need 'scientism' and 'religionism'
12 April 2008
Lawrence Krauss argues putting either science or religion at the centre of all reality fails to capture the true relations between the two
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Act responsibly
12 April 2008
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Making the right choices in climate change
12 April 2008
Fred Pearce finds out where a scientist can best use their skills in the ever-expanding world of climate-change research
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Nuclear war would punch a hole in the atmosphere
12 April 2008
Apart from the human devastation, even a small-scale nuclear war could destroy much of the atmosphere's ozone, creating a massive health risk
-
Mars lander aims for touchdown in 'Green Valley'
11 April 2008
With less than two months to go before it is due to land on Mars, NASA's Phoenix probe aims for an icy spot with an idyllic nickname
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Why is the universe's brightest blast still blazing?
11 April 2008
Several weeks after a record-setting gamma-ray burst occurred, it is still outshining its host galaxy – a 'serious problem' for theorists
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The great antimatter mystery
11 April 2008
When the universe was born antimatter was just as plentiful as matter. What happened to change that? Physicists Helen Quinn and Yossi Nir investigate
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Ten weirdest computers
11 April 2008
From DNA strands to rippling water, New Scientist takes a look at the oddest ways to crunch logic
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Is this the beginning of water wars?
11 April 2008
The severe drought in Barcelona means Spain may buy water from France
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Ten weirdest computers – part 2
11 April 2008
Today's computers use pulses of electricity and flipping magnets to manipulate and store data. But information can be processed in many other, weirder, ways…
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Harnessing river whirlpools puts energy on tap
11 April 2008
Whirlpools created by rivers as they flow around obstacles are capable of tearing bridges apart – now scientists are attempting to harness that power
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Madagascan wildlife map reveals species hotspots
11 April 2008
A huge wildlife survey will help preserve the island's biodiversity – from the popular lemurs to less cuddly creepy crawlies
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Controversial forensic DNA test gets the green light
11 April 2008
UK experts back the controversial "low-template DNA" fingerprinting technique to recover tiny traces of DNA from crime scenes
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Bacteria tails could protect against 'dirty' bomb
11 April 2008
A drug made out of Salmonella flagella can protect mice and monkeys from high doses of radiation by preventing cell death
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Coat of armour creates hardy 'super-cells'
11 April 2008
Giving living cells a tough outer shell lets them live longer in harsh environments and can give them useful new properties
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How the placenta adapts to make mammals a success
11 April 2008
From bats to elephants to whales, mammals have the mix of ancient and modern genes in the placenta to thank for their diversity
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Curious cloud formations linked to quakes
11 April 2008
Distinctive cloud formations were spotted above an active fault in Iran before each of two large earthquakes occurred
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'Crash-tested' skulls throw light on extinctions
11 April 2008
Sophisticated computer models of animal skulls offer new explanations for why some animals died out, and how hard they could bite
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Ocean mud yields secrets of past Earth impacts
10 April 2008
Traces of vaporised asteroids have been found in ocean mud, providing a new way to study impacts whose scars have long since vanished
-
Merging bacteria species reverse evolution
10 April 2008
Two bacterial species found in farm animals have been observed apparently in the process of merging back into one
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IBM creates working racetrack memory device
10 April 2008
A much anticipated approach to creating fast but cheap computer memory finally produces a working prototype
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Nanoscale freighter hauls its first load
10 April 2008
A tiny "monorail" that can creep along a nanotube track has shifted its first load, hauling a gold nugget a distance of 0.5 micrometres
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Soap bubbles recreate Jupiter's turbulent storms
10 April 2008
A small soap bubble can contain swirling patterns that mimic Jupiter's Great Red Spot and hurricanes on Earth
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Life-changing books: Recommendations from 17 leading scientists
10 April 2008
A great book has the power to move, inspire or even change lives. Here are 17 reading recommendations from some of the world's leading scientists
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Smallest exoplanet may have been found
10 April 2008
A planet weighing just 5 Earths may have been detected with a controversial new technique
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Orchid's sexual deception triggers ejaculation
10 April 2008
An Australian orchid provides the first known instance of insect ejaculation in response to floral stimulation – and gets boosted pollination in return
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Yahoo flirts with Google to avoid Microsoft deal
10 April 2008
The search company announces plans to work closely with Google – drawing accusations of anti-competitive practice from Microsoft
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Evolution myths: Evolution produces perfectly adapted creatures
10 April 2008
You don't have to be perfectly adapted to survive, you just have to be as well adapted as your competitors
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Hurricane simulator to bring the house down
10 April 2008
The device will use many points of pressure to mimic buffeting winds and is aimed to improve methods of house construction
-
Tibetans in exile show high rates of depression
10 April 2008
Both refugees that have fled Tibet and those born and raised in exile have high levels of depression and anxiety, finds a study
-
Did pre-big bang universe leave its mark on the sky?
10 April 2008
According to a model based on "loop quantum gravity" theory, a parent universe that existed before ours may have left an imprint
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Early neglect can trigger childhood aggression
10 April 2008
Failing to care properly for a young child can be as damaging as physical or sexual abuse when it comes to triggering aggression in later childhood
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Nipping teen crime in the bud
10 April 2008
Are some children destined to become lifelong violent criminals? Not if you catch them early, says Anna Gosline
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'Doomed' Mars moon imaged in stunning detail
09 April 2008
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has taken the highest quality images yet of Phobos – the tiny moon will one day be destroyed by the Red Planet
-
Three black holes merge in best simulation yet
09 April 2008
Close encounters between three black holes have been modelled for the first time with general relativity – they tend to end in violence
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Powerful laser is 'brightest light in the universe'
09 April 2008
The world's most powerful laser is now operating – it might create supernova-like shock waves and possibly even antimatter
-
Advertising feature: Top cancer labs
09 April 2008
Becky Oskin speaks to some of the US's top cancer research labs to find out what makes them so successful – and how to join them
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Web 'art' may help keep spiders fit
09 April 2008
Arachnid web decorations may help to exercise the silk glands needed to wrap up prey, suggest researchers
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'Big brother' buildings offer less invasive security
09 April 2008
Buildings that track people using movement sensors are more secure and invade privacy less than CCTV cameras, say researchers
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'Drug binge' mice reveal why cravings linger
09 April 2008
Cravings can persist long after a drug addict is "clean" – now researchers think they know why
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Early humans died in Pompeii-like eruption
09 April 2008
Five humans, whose remains were unearthed in Georgia, were probably suffocated by volcanic ash 1.8 millon years ago
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Are drugs trials stopped early to exaggerate benefits?
09 April 2008
Halting the trial of a drug early may mean more patients will be able to reap the benefits, but it may overlook long-term risks
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Did sound once travel at light speed?
09 April 2008
If the speed of sound was greater just after the big bang, it could solve a longstanding mystery over the universe's background temperature
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CSI: Rainforest – Police skills help jungle life
09 April 2008
Forensic DNA analysis techniques developed to collar criminals could help preserve vulnerable wildlife from invasive baddies
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Social networking sites to go 3D
09 April 2008
Rather than filling a web page with photos, a personal profile and their favourite widgets, users of start-up Vivaty will get access to a virtual room
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CSI: Rainforest – Police skills help jungle life
09 April 2008
Forensic DNA analysis techniques developed to collar criminals could help preserve vulnerable wildlife from invasive baddies
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Galaxies' spiral arms may betray black holes' weight
08 April 2008
Galaxies may 'hug' heavier black holes more tightly than lighter ones, letting researchers weigh the objects at greater distances than now possible
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Losing one gene brings out a mouse's wild side
08 April 2008
Mice engineered in the lab to lack a key protein associated with vulnerability to drug addiction in humans turned out to be unusually impulsive
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Gunshot residue test fingers lead-free bullets
08 April 2008
CSI teams could soon be using a new technique to identify residue from non-toxic bullets that would be missed by conventional tests
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Biofuel corn makes cow bug enzyme to digest itself
08 April 2008
A genetically modified corn given genes from a microbe found in cows could help biofuel production by breaking down its own cellulose
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Invention: Huntington's treatment
08 April 2008
This week's patents include an RNA treatment for Huntington's disease, novel ways to sweeten sour foods, and lighting effects for your bathtub
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First South Korean astronaut blasts into orbit
08 April 2008
Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old nanotechnology engineer, launches on an 11-day mission to the International Space Station
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Bird flu may spread within families
08 April 2008
A case of H5N1 bird flu passed between a father and son in China points to a genetic predisposition to the virus, meanwhile hopes raise for a vaccine
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'Darwin chip' brings evolution into the classroom
08 April 2008
An automated chip filled with hundreds of tiny chambers can rapidly evolve a biological molecule - it could make evolution "as easy as pressing play"
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Underwater ears warn of hurricane strength
08 April 2008
Hurricanes make themselves heard – even under water. Scientists hope to use that sound to gauge how destructive a storm will be when it hits land
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Seahorses discovered in the River Thames
07 April 2008
A handful of short-snouted seahorses have been spotted in recent months, suggesting the creatures are breeding as the river becomes cleaner
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Limited nuclear war would damage ozone layer
07 April 2008
Apart from the human devastation, a small-scale nuclear war could destroy much of the atmosphere's ozone, creating a massive health risk
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Transplanted cells could 'catch' Parkinson's
07 April 2008
A string of new studies suggest that grafted brain tissue starts to show signs of Parkinson's, posing another problem for stem cell therapies
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Genes trigger phobias in kids and teens
07 April 2008
The genes controlling which phobias we develop get turned on at different stages of life, possibly because the risks we face change
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First South Korean astronaut set for launch
07 April 2008
Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old nanotechnology engineer, will blast off for the space station on Tuesday
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Giant telescope project begins with a spin
07 April 2008
Expert technicians have melted and spun 24 tonnes of glass to make an 8.4-metre mirror for the ambitious Large Synoptic Survey Telescope
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World's only lungless frog leaves scientists gasping
07 April 2008
A frog recently rediscovered in Borneo has been found to breathe solely through its skin – but the creature's habitat is under threat from mining
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People power dents cosmic 'axis of evil'
07 April 2008
The bias of thousands of volunteers may have knocked a hole in a theory that threatens to bring down standard cosmology
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Boy crabs boogie to bring females out of hiding
07 April 2008
The wild dance of male blue crabs propels a jet of pheromones to attract would-be lovers, say biologists
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Smelly sock treatment leaks silver nanoparticles
07 April 2008
Toxic nanoparticles added to socks to kill the bacteria associated with whiffy feet can leak into waste water during washing, a study reveals
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Microsoft creates 'instant backing band' for singers
07 April 2008
Whether you're a frustrated songwriter or a shower-time warbler, new software provides instant musical accompaniment to go with your singing
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Sea breezes carry unhealthy whiff of ozone
07 April 2008
A new mass spectrometer has detected high levels of an ozone-creating chemical in the air along the south-east coast of the US
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Boléro: 'Beautiful symptom of a terrible disease'
07 April 2008
A painting of Ravel's Boléro, by a woman who shared a brain condition with the composer, provides a scientific window into the creative mind
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Software kills squealing gig feedback
07 April 2008
A new program can prevent the dreaded howls of feedback and frees up sound engineers to concentrate on the music
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Genetic mutation is behind cystic fibrosis
06 April 2008
A faulty gene has been found to disrupt the enzyme balance in lung cells, resulting in mucus deposits and inflammation
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How to kickstart an agricultural revolution
06 April 2008
If farming can save the world, a report being finalised in South Africa next week will tell us how
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Plug-in hybrid cars ready to roll in California
05 April 2008
The state is encouraging car manufacturers to produce thousands of plug-in hybrid cars with batteries that can be charged via the domestic supply
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NASA slammed over handling of air safety survey
05 April 2008
A government watchdog has criticised the space agency's bosses over their handling of a flawed and costly survey
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The rise of the emotional robot
05 April 2008
How far are people prepared to go in accepting robots as social partners? That all depends on the robot
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Catholics fighting pain
05 April 2008
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Creationism in decline
05 April 2008
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Comment: Why I had to walk out of farming talks
05 April 2008
The input of plant science to sustainable agriculture was not fairly represented in world food assessment, says Syngenta researcher Deborah Keith
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Back to the A-bomb
05 April 2008
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Fossil help
05 April 2008
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On the telepathophone
05 April 2008
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Musical discrimination
05 April 2008
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Seeds of hunger
05 April 2008
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Forestall not forecast
05 April 2008
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60 Seconds
05 April 2008
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Jaw-jaw, not war-war
05 April 2008
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Comment: Bridging gulfs to feed the world
05 April 2008
Social scientist Janice Jiggins asks why it is so hard to create agricultural partnerships to help the world's poor farmers
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Will a pandemic bring down civilisation?
05 April 2008
We believe our global, technological society is immune to collapse. If only that were true, says Debora MacKenzie
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Still unpredictable
05 April 2008
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Editorial: Forewarned is forearmed
05 April 2008
Predicting the end of civilisation isn't just an exercise for doom-mongers, it could help us save ourselves
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Editorial: Gambling on the rainforests
05 April 2008
A venture capital company's investment in a Guyanan rainforest may be a long shot but it is a good sign for global conservation
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I left my heart...
05 April 2008
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Australia pressed to take lead on carbon capture
05 April 2008
The country should delay new coal-fired power plants until the technology to capture and store CO2 is ready, says influential climate scientist
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No danger of particle collider triggering doomsday
05 April 2008
A lawsuit aiming to delay the Large Hadron Collider from starting up is "complete nonsense"
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Ads for ineffective drugs reel in the dollars
05 April 2008
The US wasted $1.5 billion on the extra cost of a drug that doesn't seem to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease
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War takes its toll on civilian mental health
05 April 2008
Three-quarters of Lebanese adults have been exposed to traumatic events related to the country's ongoing conflict, putting them at increased risk of mental illness
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EU bans GM-contaminated rice from China
05 April 2008
Random checks are introduced after the discovery of Chinese rice contaminated with a genetically modified strain
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Effects of botox are more than skin deep
05 April 2008
The botulinum toxin can travel down nerve fibres and into the brain within days of being injected, say researchers
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Nd game
05 April 2008
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Feedback
05 April 2008
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Commentary: What is this thing called religion?
05 April 2008
Understanding why people believe in deities will require a historical analysis as well as a scientific one, says A C Grayling
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When luck's got nothing to do with it
05 April 2008
From Dublin to Cork and Galway, all the signs are that Ireland is beginning to reap the fruit of its major investment in science and technology, writes Helen Thomson
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CO2 is not the only gas
05 April 2008
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How error takes flight
05 April 2008
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Do we live in a fractal?
05 April 2008
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Nautilus: Chambers of secrets
05 April 2008
Once seen as a living fossil, the chambered nautilus turns out to be on a voyage of evolutionary discovery. Peter Ward explains
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Impossible physics: Never say never
05 April 2008
Time travel, teleportation, telepathy... Physicist Michio Kaku explores the outer limits of what is possible
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Interview: Science's man in Whitehall
05 April 2008
It is John Denham's job to make sure the UK government listens to scientists. Jeremy Webb asks him how he plans to do it
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Review: The Sexual Paradox: Troubled boys, gifted girls & the real difference between the sexes by Susan Pinker
05 April 2008
Can a complicated comparison between extreme men and women teach us much about the sex differences in average people? Anne Campbell is sceptical
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Histories: How cowboys choked the American West
05 April 2008
America's Southwest was always dry, but there were no dust clouds until cattle arrived and carved up the crust with their hoofs
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Review: The Thief at the End of the World by Joe Jackson
05 April 2008
The illuminating and shocking story of how Britain came to dominate the rubber trade
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Review: The Ten Most Beautiful Experiments by George Johnson
05 April 2008
George Johnson looks back to the 10 most elegant experiments ever performed – from Newton's prisms to Pavlov's drooling dogs
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Soundbites
05 April 2008
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Gadget recycling may be poisoning China's children
05 April 2008
E-waste exported from Western countries is often recycled in family-run workshops in China, releasing fumes loaded with toxic metals
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Eavesdropping monkeys spy on copulating neighbours
05 April 2008
Male Barbary macaques eavesdrop on their colleagues having sex to make sure they don't miss out on the fun
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Preserved cellulose could reveal past alien life
05 April 2008
Salt can keep cellulose in perfect condition for millions of years and could indicate previous life in deposits on Mars
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How Earth's poles went walkabout
05 April 2008
The clumping of ancient continents in one hemisphere would have unbalanced the Earth, causing its axis to slowly migrate, geologists suggest
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Gizmo
05 April 2008
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Wound licking
05 April 2008
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Stretchy chips to monitor the brain
05 April 2008
The first flexible silicon microchips could be used in seizure-detection circuitry attached to the brain
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Computerised toothbrush makes oral hygiene a game
04 April 2008
A toothbrush that acts like a low-tech Wii remote can turn the chore of cleaning the teeth into a fun game for kids
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NASA says spaceship's violent vibrations under control
04 April 2008
A new report lists a litany of problems with the space shuttle's successor; NASA says it can solve at least one – potentially fatal vibrations
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Male monkeys prefer boys' toys
04 April 2008
It's a sexual stereotype: boys tend to play with toy cars, while girls like dolls. But male rhesus monkeys seem to have the same preferences
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Dead-end streets encourage recycling
04 April 2008
People living in big cities are only influenced by their neighbours' recycling habits if they live on short streets or cul-de-sacs
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Robotic pen guides the hand of the blind
04 April 2008
For the visually impaired or blind, learning to sign your name can be difficult, but a new "haptic" pen could help by providing physical feedback and sound
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Single virus gene may cause obesity
04 April 2008
If obesity seems to be spreading like a virus, that could be because it is. And understanding the adenovirus responsible could help fight the flab
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Giant robots could carry lunar bases on their backs
04 April 2008
Future lunar colonists could live nomadic lives with gargantuan, turtle-like robots that could drive – or walk – across the Moon's surface
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Sick mice put their babies' health first
04 April 2008
Most mammals put much of their energy into recovering when they fall ill, but deer mice invest in their offsprings' future
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Intelligent paint turns roads pink in icy conditions
04 April 2008
Roads could soon be giving drivers clear warning of dangerous conditions – thanks to a polymer that changes colour in low temperatures
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San Andreas fault pushed around by big cousin
04 April 2008
Quakes along the Californian fault may be the knock-on result of huge quakes to the north – and if so, a big one may be overdue
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To strengthen bones, suck out the marrow
04 April 2008
It may sound counterintuitive, but removing the marrow from weakened or fractured bones may kick-start a rapid self-healing process
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Sweat ducts may act as giveaway 'antennas'
04 April 2008
Signals produced by bouncing electromagnetic waves off the skin-deep tubes might reveal a person's physical and emotional state from a distance
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First Americans left fossil stools in cave latrine
03 April 2008
Ancient faeces are the earliest traces yet found of humans in North America – DNA analysis suggests that the settlers crossed from Asia
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Soil 'ultra-bugs' thrive on a diet of antibiotics
03 April 2008
Bacteria found in dirt are not only immune to, but able to feed on some of our most important drugs – and they could pass their resistance on
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Robotic cargo ship docks flawlessly with space station
03 April 2008
Europe's Automated Transfer Vehicle reels itself towards the station for a perfect – and completely autonomous – docking
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Matrix-style virtual worlds 'a few years away'
03 April 2008
Supercomputers powerful enough to render artificial environments that humans see as real are just around the corner, says a US expert
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10 impossibilities conquered by science
03 April 2008
From heavier-than-air flight to black holes and teleportation, we round up 10 things that were once believed to be physically impossible – but have now become reality
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UV vision reveals chicks' healthy glow
03 April 2008
The ability of great tit mums to detect ultraviolet light reflecting off the feathers of their young means they can favour the strongest chicks
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Melting ice caps may trigger more volcanic eruptions
03 April 2008
As the world's ice melts with global warming, pressure changes in the crust could cause a significant increase in magma production
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Bumper harvests get endangered parrots laying
03 April 2008
Understanding how New Zealand's flightless parrot, the kakapo, predicts unusually large harvests could help save the bird
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'Emotion genes' make mice squeal during sex
03 April 2008
Genes that mediate emotions in humans are also responsible for male mice squeaking before and during mating
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Monkeys eavesdrop on neighbours' orgasmic cries
02 April 2008
The ejaculation-inducing cries of promiscuous female macaques during sex are found to arouse other local males as well as their current mate
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Cargo ship set for precision docking with space station
02 April 2008
On Thursday, Europe's first Automated Transfer Vehicle will attempt the most autonomous manoeuvre in space to date
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Double-whammy gene keeps smokers hooked
02 April 2008
A genetic mutation may make it harder for smokers to kick their habit and raise their chances of developing lung cancer
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Has the youngest known planet been spotted?
02 April 2008
A team reports finding what may be a planet only a few thousand years old, but others say it may instead be a 'failed star'
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Bill Gates boosts fight against killer wheat fungus
02 April 2008
The Gates Foundation announces that it will donate millions into research to combat a disease that threatens starvation in the developing world
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Gravitational wave detectors to get major upgrade
02 April 2008
The US LIGO detectors will get a $205 million facelift, improving their sensitivity so they may find the elusive waves as often as once a week
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Internet addiction is a psychiatric disorder
02 April 2008
A US psychiatrist says internet addiction should be included in a handbook of recognised psychiatric conditions, which is currently being drawn up
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Fears grow over Botox safety
02 April 2008
The deadly toxin is hailed as the "new aspirin", but the assumption it does not spread in the body looks increasingly unsound
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Comment: Who are the real climate experts?
02 April 2008
As the focus shifts from preventing global warming to coping with it, researchers must start engaging with those in developing countries, says Saleemul Huq
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Bugs provoke the immune system into fighting cancer
02 April 2008
Deliberately infecting people with the bacterium that causes listeria could increase their ability to fight cancer
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Why the demise of civilisation may be inevitable
02 April 2008
Every civilisation in history has collapsed. Why should ours be any different, asks Debora MacKenzie
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'Peanut' stars may explain strange supernovae
01 April 2008
Two stars orbit each other so closely that they share material and resemble a peanut – they could shed light on puzzling supernovae
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Japan recruits new astronauts for first time since 1999
01 April 2008
Following the launch of a key Japanese component to the space station, the country has begun a search for up to three new astronauts
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Universe's tiniest black hole discovered
01 April 2008
The puny black hole weighs just 3.8 times the Sun's mass – the previous record holder is nearly twice as massive
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Wings with 'elbows' allow more acrobatic aircraft
01 April 2008
Planes with wing tips that temporarily hinge upwards could result in aircraft that are more efficient and manoeuvrable than fixed-wing craft
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China's boom sparks mass species invasion
01 April 2008
Open borders have meant a flood of alien species invading China at a huge cost to its economy – and the West may pay an environmental price too
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Dinosaur killer found in volcanic bubbles
01 April 2008
Sulphur and chlorine preserved in rare lava inclusions confirm that a volcanic surge could have caused a mass extinction 65 million years ago
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Heavy stars may go out with a whimper, not a bang
01 April 2008
Rather than exploding as supernovae, stars between 18 and 30 times the Sun's mass may collapse quietly to form black holes
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Mutant monkeys get hooked on a drug called mum
01 April 2008
A gene mutation determines whether or not macaque infants make a fuss when their mothers are missing and may be linked to drug addiction
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Humans in the clear over mammoth extinction?
01 April 2008
In the debate over whether a warmer climate or hunting did for the woolly mammoth, it seems humans have little blood on their hands
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'Artificial cell' can make its own genes
01 April 2008
A device able to synthesise genes and translate them into proteins performs a living cell's main functions and could help design custom proteins
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Statistics can predict Oscars winners
01 April 2008
A statistical model picks out best picture, director and actors at the Academy Awards with surprising accuracy
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'They're here': The mechanism of poltergeist activity
01 April 2008
Two physicists say they can explain poltergeist phenomena – and pubescent kids are getting the blame
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How to transform your arm into a wing
01 April 2008
Fancy yourself as a modern-day Daedalus? A reconstructive surgeon outlines the steps needed to convert human arms into wings
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How to be reincarnated as a queen
01 April 2008
After a life of hard labour – ending in death – it would be great to be reincarnated as royalty. Now we know what to do to make it happen
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War exacts heavy toll on civilian mental health
01 April 2008
People exposed to events associated with war are much more likely to develop mental disorders, finds a study in Lebanon