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Archive: 12/12/2006

Cassini's infrared camera sees tall mountains on Saturn's moon Titan

The infrared-sensitive camera on NASA's Cassini spacecraft has photographed the tallest mountains ever seen on Saturn's moon, Titan.

Space & Earth / Astronomy

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4.5 / 5 (24) | comments 0

Mars rocks could provide vital clue to how life began on Earth

Studying rocks on Mars, which are among the oldest rocks in the Solar System, could provide scientists with key evidence of how the earliest forms of life arose on Earth, say researchers writing in this month’s ...

Space & Earth / Earth Sciences

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 3.4 / 5 (14) | comments 0

Mandarin language is music to the brain

It’s been shown that the left side of the brain processes language and the right side processes music; but what about a language like Mandarin Chinese, which is musical in nature with wide tonal ranges"

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 3.9 / 5 (12) | comments 0

Obesity linked to acid reflux disease

According to a new article in The American Journal of Gastroenterology, gastroesophageal reflux disease (GRD), more commonly known as, acid reflux, is linked to obesity. Since (GRD) is strongly associated with more seriou ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Researchers discover a gene that causes familial pancreatic cancer

An international group of researchers has discovered that the mutated form of a gene called Palladin causes familial pancreatic cancer. The findings, published online today (Dec. 12) in the peer-reviewed journal PLoS-Medicine, ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 5 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Drop in acid rain altering Appalachian stream water

Appalachian hardwood forests may be getting a respite from acid rain but data from a long-term ecological study of stream chemistry suggests that the drop in acid rain may be changing biological activity in the ecosystem ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4.8 / 5 (12) | comments 0

'Asian haze' impacts on Australian rainfall

Elevated particle emissions resulting from increased economic activity in Asia may have increased Australia’s tropical rainfall, according to new research on the way pollution influences our climate.

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Frankincense trees overexploited for Christmas scent

Current rates of tapping frankincense - which according to the Bible was given to the baby Jesus by the three wise men at Christmas and which will feature in thousands of Nativity plays in coming days - are endangering the ...

Biology /

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity not rated yet | comments 0

Combination of technologies works best against E. coli

No one weapon in the food-safety arsenal will take out E. coli 0157:H7, a nasty little pathogen that’s becoming far too familiar to Americans, say University of Illinois scientists Scott Martin and Hao Feng.

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 3 / 5 (1) | comments 0

A window on the environment from Tahoe to the ocean

If there is a big idea in environmental science, it is interconnectedness. Air, water, land and the living things on or in them are connected in ways obvious and subtle. But actually seeing and understanding all those connections ...

Space & Earth / Environment

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4 / 5 (4) | comments 0

Squid-inspired design could mean better handling of underwater vehicles

Inspired by the sleek and efficient propulsion of squid, jellyfish and other cephalopods, a University of Colorado at Boulder researcher has designed a new generation of compact vortex generators that could ...

Technology / Engineering

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 3.8 / 5 (14) | comments 0

Hairpins for switches

How does an organism know when it must produce a protein and in what amount? Clever control mechanisms are responsible for the regulation of protein biosynthesis. One such type of mechanism, discovered only a few years ago, ...

Chemistry /

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4 / 5 (1) | comments 0

Stem cells found in adult hair follicles may provide alternative to embryonic stem cells

Having recently identified the molecular signature of these epidermal neural crest stem cells in the mouse, their research resolves conflicting scientific opinions by showing that these cells are distinctly different from ...

Medicine & Health / Research

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4.9 / 5 (8) | comments 0

Even slight holiday weight gain can set stage for obesity, health risks

Although some Americans gain five to seven pounds with a diet of big meals and sweets between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day, most people only gain a pound or two during the holidays, according to a UT Southwestern Medical ...

Medicine & Health / Health

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 3.3 / 5 (3) | comments 0

A molecular condom against AIDS

University of Utah scientists designed a "molecular condom" women could use daily to prevent AIDS by vaginally inserting a liquid that would turn into a gel-like coating and then, when exposed to semen, return to liquid form ...

Medicine & Health / HIV & AIDS

created Dec 12, 2006 | popularity 4 / 5 (6) | comments 0