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. (PhysOrg.com) -- The first large black holes in the universe likely formed and grew deep inside gigantic, starlike cocoons that smothered their powerful x-ray radiation and prevented surrounding gases from being blown away, says a new study led by the University of Colorado at Boulder. http://www.physorg.com/news178293451.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:58:28 EST news178293451 Scientists have crystallised a protein that may help gut bacteria bind to the gastrointestinal tract. The protein could be used by probiotic producers to identify strains that are likely to be of real benefit to people. http://www.physorg.com/news178285643.html Chemistry Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:00:01 EST news178285643 Stents that keep weakened and flabby arteries from collapsing have been true life-savers. But after six months, those stents are no longer needed -- once the arteries are strengthened, they become unnecessary. Previously, doctors had no choice but to leave them in place. http://www.physorg.com/news178284711.html Biology Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:48:28 EST news178284711 (PhysOrg.com) -- New research on bacterial communities throughout six large Arctic river ecosystems reveals predictable temporal patterns, suggesting that scientists could use these communities as markers for monitoring climate change in the polar regions. The study, published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition, shows that bacterial communities in the six rivers shifted synchronously over time, correlating with seasonal shifts in hydrology and biogeochemistry. http://www.physorg.com/news178280399.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Nov 2009 11:20:01 EST news178280399 (PhysOrg.com) -- What constitutes fish food is a matter of debate. A high-profile study a few years ago suggested that fish get almost 50 percent of their carbon from trees and leaves, evidence for a very close link between the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. http://www.physorg.com/news178280069.html Biology Tue, 24 Nov 2009 10:15:44 EST news178280069 (PhysOrg.com) -- Clinical trials comparing a spray-on skin product with skin grafts will start in the US in December. The trials, which are partly funded by a US army grant of $1.4 million, will last about a year and will involve 106 patients with second degree burns. The product, ReCell, has been available for some time in Europe, Australia, Malaysia and elsewhere, and was approved for use in China earlier this year. http://www.physorg.com/news178271249.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:50:02 EST news178271249 (PhysOrg.com) -- That California and Texas still lead the United States in generating renewable energy probably is no surprise. But, NREL's 2009 State of the States report shows that several smaller states from Maine to Louisiana to Utah are closing the clean energy gap, confirming that every state has renewable energy potential. http://www.physorg.com/news178272077.html Technology Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:50:01 EST news178272077 A new study that reconstructed ocean temperatures from millions of years ago could provide new insight into how the Earth responds to climate change. http://www.physorg.com/news178272697.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:12:24 EST news178272697 (PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists are learning that the dynamic regulation of genes -- as much as the genes themselves -- shapes the fate of organisms. Now the discovery of a new epigenetic mechanism regulating genes in the brain under stress is helping change the way scientists think about psychiatric disorders and could open new avenues to treatment. http://www.physorg.com/news178271825.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:57:44 EST news178271825 (PhysOrg.com) -- The web browser Opera 10.10 has been released as a stable version, and it has a number of new features to enhance the browsing experience, including "Unite", which is a group of applications for sharing music, photos and other files. http://www.physorg.com/news178270915.html Technology Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:46:17 EST news178270915 An unusual number of severe allergic reactions to swine flu vaccinations have been recorded in Canada, where a batch of the vaccine from GlaxoSmithKline has been recalled, the WHO said on Tuesday. http://www.physorg.com/news178269887.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:25:09 EST news178269887 Outrageous prices may not be the only thing causing anger at the petrol pumps. A new study, published in the open access journal BMC Physiology, has shown that rats exposed to fumes from leaded and unleaded gasoline become more aggressive. http://www.physorg.com/news178264764.html Medicine & Health Tue, 24 Nov 2009 06:02:11 EST news178264764 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new website will give everyone the chance to contribute to science by playing a 'cosmic fruit machine' and compare images of colliding galaxies with millions of simulated images of galactic pile-ups. http://www.physorg.com/news178264605.html Space & Earth Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:57:19 EST news178264605 (PhysOrg.com) -- Comparing prices over the Internet has become a common practice for consumers. Now, just in time for Black Friday, a group of Missouri University of Science and Technology students is putting that ability to comparison-shop in the palm of your hand. http://www.physorg.com/news178227892.html Technology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 20:10:02 EST news178227892 (PhysOrg.com) -- Hepatitis C, a formidable virus that affects 130 million people worldwide, is nursing some pretty impressive bruises. By knocking out sections and subsections of one of its proteins, scientists reveal weak spots in the virus's armor and gain new momentum for developing drug targets for sufferers of the disease. http://www.physorg.com/news178227669.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Nov 2009 19:41:59 EST news178227669 German scientist Paul Ehrlich found what he coined the "magic bullet" in the early 20th century upon developing the world`s first effective treatment of syphilis. http://www.physorg.com/news178221774.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:50:03 EST news178221774 (PhysOrg.com) -- UCSF scientists have shown for the first time that the rigidity of a tissue can induce cancer. The research team identified an enzyme that is crucial for regulating tissue stiffness and demonstrated that the enzyme can turn abnormal but non-malignant breast tissue into tumors, according to a study published in Cell online. http://www.physorg.com/news178221935.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:40:01 EST news178221935 A Boeing 747, one of four engines powered by a 50-percent biokerosene mix, circled the Netherlands for an hour on Monday for what airline KLM called the world's first passenger flight using biofuel. http://www.physorg.com/news178223585.html Technology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:37:29 EST news178223585 IBM Researchers are helping to break the language barrier with the advent of technology dubbed "n.Fluent" -- smart software that translates text between English and 11 other languages. IBM employees use it to instantaneously translate electronic documents and Web pages -- even live, instant messages exchanged on smartphones. http://www.physorg.com/news178221164.html Technology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:10:03 EST news178221164 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has contributed to the discovery of the youngest brown dwarf ever observed -- a finding that, if confirmed, may solve an astronomical mystery about how these cosmic misfits are formed. http://www.physorg.com/news178221292.html Space & Earth Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:55:42 EST news178221292 Having a tough time recalling a phone number someone spoke a few minutes ago or forgetting items from a mental grocery list is not a sign of mental decline; in fact, it's natural. http://www.physorg.com/news178220995.html Physics Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:51:01 EST news178220995 (PhysOrg.com) -- They already detect and defuse bombs, control traffic patterns and do some basic household chores. And scientists predict that pretty soon, robots will be using artificial intelligence to play a larger role on the battlefield, operate our vehicles and take care of us in old age. http://www.physorg.com/news178220683.html Other Sciences Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:45:27 EST news178220683 (PhysOrg.com) -- The time it takes for our brains to search for and retrieve the word we want to say has been measured for the first time. The discovery is reported in a paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA today. http://www.physorg.com/news178216686.html Medicine & Health Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:38:53 EST news178216686 New research adds to the growing body of evidence suggesting the Red Planet once had an ocean. http://www.physorg.com/news178216318.html Space & Earth Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:33:14 EST news178216318 You can think of it as origami - very high-tech origami. Researchers at the University of Illinois have developed a technique for fabricating three-dimensional, single-crystalline silicon structures from thin films by coupling photolithography and a self-folding process driven by capillary interactions. http://www.physorg.com/news178212895.html Nanotechnology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:10:13 EST news178212895 Applied mathematicians dissected the morphology of the plantain lily (Hosta lancifolia), a characteristic long leaf with a saddle-like arc midsection and closely packed ripples along the edges. The simple cause of the lily's fan-like shape -- elastic relaxation resulting from bending during differential growth -- was revealed by using an equally simple technique, stretching foam ribbons. http://www.physorg.com/news178212759.html Other Sciences Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:33:58 EST news178212759 Climate change could increase the likelihood of civil war in sub-Saharan Africa by over 50 percent within the next two decades, according to a new study led by a team of researchers at University of California, Berkeley, and published in today's online issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). http://www.physorg.com/news178212673.html Other Sciences Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:33:03 EST news178212673 (PhysOrg.com) -- By producing some of the highest resolution images of peptides attaching to mineral surfaces, scientists have a deeper understanding how biomolecules manipulate the growth crystals. This research may lead to a new treatment for kidney stones using biomolecules. http://www.physorg.com/news178212559.html Nanotechnology Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:29:56 EST news178212559 Two circulating beams on Monday produced the first particle collisions in the world's biggest atom smasher, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), three days after its restart, scientists announced. http://www.physorg.com/news178212182.html Physics Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:23:26 EST news178212182 Quantum computing promises ultra-fast communication, computation and more powerful ways to encrypt sensitive information. But trying to use quantum states as carriers of information is an extremely delicate business. Now two physicists have shown, mathematically, how to gently tease out unwanted knots in quantum communication, while keeping the information intact. Their work is reported in the current issue of Physical Review Letters and highlighted with a Viewpoint in Physics. http://www.physorg.com/news178211021.html Physics Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:20:01 EST news178211021