http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Spinal cord disorders like spina bifida arise during early development when future spinal cord cells growing in a flat layer fail to roll up into a tube. In the Dec. 6 issue of Nature Cell Biology, researchers from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine team with colleagues at the University of California, Berkeley to report a never-before known link between protein transport and mouse spinal cord development, a discovery that opens new doors for research on all spinal defects. http://www.physorg.com/news181213580.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:07:49 EST news181213580 Like a spotlight that illuminates an otherwise dark scene, attention brings to mind specific details of our environment while shutting others out. A new study by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies shows that the superior colliculus, a brain structure that primarily had been known for its role in the control of eye and head movements, is crucial for moving the mind's spotlight. http://www.physorg.com/news181213605.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:07:17 EST news181213605 (PhysOrg.com) -- "Terra firma." It's Latin for "solid Earth." Most of the time, at least from our perspective here on the ground, Earth seems to be just that: solid. Yet the Earth beneath our feet is actually in constant motion. It moves through time and space, of course, along with the other objects in the universe, but it moves internally as well. http://www.physorg.com/news181194545.html Space & Earth Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:50:49 EST news181194545 A sudden worldwide increase in an antibiotic-resistant bacterium is cause for concern, according to a review in f1000 Medicine Reports. http://www.physorg.com/news180933360.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:50:05 EST news180933360 The premise that hunger makes food look more appealing is a widely held belief - just ask those who cruise grocery store aisles on an empty stomach, only to go home with a full basket and an empty wallet. http://www.physorg.com/news181194023.html Medicine & Health Mon, 28 Dec 2009 03:41:16 EST news181194023 Using disinfectants could cause bacteria to become resistant to antibiotics as well as the disinfectant itself, according to research published in the January issue of Microbiology. The findings could have important implications for how the spread of infection is managed in hospital settings. http://www.physorg.com/news180849472.html Medicine & Health Sun, 27 Dec 2009 19:00:02 EST news180849472 Ben W. Strowbridge, PhD, associate professor of neuroscience and physiology/biophysics, and Phillip Larimer, PhD, a MD/PhD student in the neurosciences graduate program at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine, are the first to create stimulus-specific sustained activity patterns in brain circuits maintained in vitro. http://www.physorg.com/news180848772.html Medicine & Health Sun, 27 Dec 2009 13:00:01 EST news180848772 The sea was heaving, the skies gray. The captain of the research ship was worried about the weather. About 120 miles off the coast of Spain, three Rutgers University scientists had a narrow window of opportunity to find and retrieve their prize -- an 8-foot, torpedo-shaped yellow robot that they had launched seven months earlier off the coast of New Jersey. http://www.physorg.com/news181123469.html Space & Earth Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:30:01 EST news181123469 While it got off to a rocky start with the overhyped Y2K bug and dotcom bubble, the era dubbed the "Digital Decade" by Microsoft's Bill Gates has turned out to be a dizzying period of innovation. http://www.physorg.com/news181122264.html Technology Sun, 27 Dec 2009 08:20:04 EST news181122264 On Christmas Day customers bought more electronic books than hard-copy books on Internet retail giant Amazon.com, the company said in a statement Saturday. http://www.physorg.com/news181111752.html Technology Sun, 27 Dec 2009 05:20:04 EST news181111752 (AP) -- It started with a cough, an autumn hack that refused to go away. http://www.physorg.com/news181109851.html Medicine & Health Sun, 27 Dec 2009 04:18:27 EST news181109851 The solar system is passing through an interstellar cloud that physics says should not exist. In the Dec. 24th issue of Nature, a team of scientists reveal how NASA's Voyager spacecraft have solved the mystery. http://www.physorg.com/news181052057.html Space & Earth Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:15:41 EST news181052057 Half a protein is better than none, and in this case, it's way better than a whole one. A Rice University lab has discovered that dividing a particular fluorescent protein and using it as a tag is handy for analyzing the workings of live cells, particularly in the way they employ iron-sulfur clusters. http://www.physorg.com/news181051743.html Medicine & Health Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:09:18 EST news181051743 Panasonic Corporation announced it has developed a direct methanol fuel cell system which can produce an average power output of 20 W by increasing the output per cubic centimeter twice that of its previous prototype. Using this technology, Panasonic aims to develop a 100 W-class portable generator and start field testing in fiscal 2012 ending in March 2012. http://www.physorg.com/news181051490.html Technology Sat, 26 Dec 2009 12:05:33 EST news181051490 NASA heads into 2010 with the bittersweet assignment of retiring the space shuttle after nearly three decades. But that's not all the agency has planned: There are also launches of three new satellites aimed at better understanding the Earth's climate and oceans, and the sun. http://www.physorg.com/news181026854.html Space & Earth Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:15:34 EST news181026854 A Nevada energy developer says it has developed an environmentally clean way of using animal waste from chicken farms across the state to light up homes and offices. Green Energy Solutions wants to convert the bird droppings into methane and use the clean-burning gas as a renewable fuel to generate electricity. http://www.physorg.com/news181026529.html Technology Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:11:09 EST news181026529 (AP) -- Fewer earthquakes have been recorded in the Philippines' lava-spilling Mayon volcano, but magma continues to build up inside and any lull in activity could be followed by a bigger eruption, scientists said Saturday. http://www.physorg.com/news181026251.html Space & Earth Sat, 26 Dec 2009 05:04:43 EST news181026251 Apple Inc. shares hit a record high on Wall Street on Thursday following reports that the California company may unveil a long-awaited portable tablet computer next month. http://www.physorg.com/news180888712.html Electronics Thu, 24 Dec 2009 14:52:11 EST news180888712 Earlier this year, researchers showed that they could cut the lives of disease-carrying mosquitoes in half by infecting them with a bacterium they took from fruit flies. Now, a new report in the December 24th issue of Cell, a Cell Press publication, suggests that their strategy might do one better: The Wolbachia bacteria also makes the mosquitoes more resistant to infection by viruses that are a growing threat to humans, including those responsible for dengue fever and Chikungunya. http://www.physorg.com/news180845514.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Dec 2009 13:00:02 EST news180845514 A new study establishes a molecular link that bridges two rare inherited disorders and explains why these diseases result in genetic instability. The research, published by Cell Press in the December 24th issue of the journal Molecular Cell, may lead to a better understanding of the complex mechanisms that enable cells to repair damaged DNA. http://www.physorg.com/news180845857.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:30:03 EST news180845857 Cancer progression is commonly thought of as a process involving the growth of a primary tumor followed by metastasis, in which cancer cells leave the primary tumor and spread to distant organs. A new study by researchers at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center shows that circulating tumor cells - cancer cells that break away from a primary tumor and disseminate to other areas of the body - can also return to and grow in their tumor of origin, a newly discovered process called "self-seeding." http://www.physorg.com/news180845255.html Medicine & Health Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:00:14 EST news180845255 Famous for its antioxidant properties and role in tissue repair, vitamin C is touted as beneficial for illnesses ranging from the common cold to cancer and perhaps even for slowing the aging process. Now, a study published online on December 24th by Cell Press in the journal Cell Stem Cell uncovers an unexpected new role for this natural compound: facilitating the generation of embryonic-like stem cells from adult cells. http://www.physorg.com/news180845703.html Biology Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:00:11 EST news180845703 Scientists have shown for the first time that insects, like mammals, use vision rather than touch to find footholds. They made the discovery thanks to high-speed video cameras - technology the BBC uses to capture its stunning wildlife footage - that they used to film desert locusts stepping along the rungs of a miniature ladder. http://www.physorg.com/news180791439.html Biology Thu, 24 Dec 2009 12:00:03 EST news180791439 Santa Claus is coming to your town -- and NORAD is tracking him as he drops off presents around the world. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which monitors the North American airspace, on Thursday set up an official "Santa Tracker" on its website (www.noradsanta.org) in seven languages to find the current location and upcoming stops of Santa and his storied reindeer. http://www.physorg.com/news180877905.html Technology Thu, 24 Dec 2009 11:52:13 EST news180877905 Iran will unveil a new home-built satellite in February, a newspaper reported Thursday, amid Western concerns that Tehran is using its nuclear and space industries to develop atomic and ballistic weapons. http://www.physorg.com/news180853256.html Space & Earth Thu, 24 Dec 2009 05:01:34 EST news180853256 New Yorkers are used to fighting each other for space, but there may be a new contender in town according to a Rockefeller study that appears to have uncovered a new species of cockroach. http://www.physorg.com/news180844499.html Biology Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:35:24 EST news180844499 University of Queensland researchers are testing new materials to withstand the extreme heat experienced by hypersonic vehicles in flight so they can fly for substantially longer. http://www.physorg.com/news180844091.html Physics Thu, 24 Dec 2009 02:28:41 EST news180844091 Genomic switches can predispose an individual to one set of autoimmune disorders but protect the same person against another set of them, scientists at Stanford University School of Medicine have found. http://www.physorg.com/news180787044.html Medicine & Health Wed, 23 Dec 2009 20:00:03 EST news180787044 (PhysOrg.com) -- It is not only people who feel the effects of short winter days - new research by the University of Edinburgh and the University of Warwick has shed light on how plants calculate their own winter solstice. http://www.physorg.com/news180810791.html Biology Wed, 23 Dec 2009 17:20:02 EST news180810791 Web search and advertising giant Google said Wednesday that the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking more information about its proposed purchase of mobile advertising company AdMob. http://www.physorg.com/news180808819.html Technology Wed, 23 Dec 2009 16:40:55 EST news180808819