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Friday, May 15, 2009

Science News

In Science News:

Winged submarine is Ferrari of the depths

The world’s first production “winged submersible” should prove a boon for research and movie-making – and for those that can afford it, says Peter Aldhous – thrills too

'Lone' longitude genius may have had help

While dismantling John Harrison's pioneering clock Jonathan Betts found evidence he did not work alone as is usually assumed. He also uncovered hidden features like this decorative bird deep inside the mechanism - click the gallery link in the main text (left) to see more. (Image: NMM)

The legend of John Harrison suggests he was a carpenter who single-handedly built marine clocks of unprecedented accuracy – but new evidence suggests he had assistance with the tricky bits

Molecule of life emerges from laboratory slime

Two essential elements of RNA have finally been made from scratch – under conditions similar to those that likely prevailed during the dawn of life

Climate change diagnosed as biggest global health threat

Doctors warn that global warming will worsen virtually every health problem we know of over the coming century

Space shuttle's robotic arm captures Hubble telescope

After a two-day approach to rendezvous with the Hubble Space Telescope, the space shuttle Atlantis has captured the probe and stowed it safely in its payload bay. Astronauts will begin the first of five full days of spacewalks on Thursday to refurbish the probe and extend its life until at least 2014 (Image: NASA)

After floating alone in space for years, Hubble is now ensconced in the shuttle Atlantis's payload bay – on Thursday, astronauts will begin a series of five spacewalks to fix the telescope

Lost robot crosses city by asking directions

A wheeled robot called ACE can find its way around a city without using GPS or even a map: it just asks pedestrians to give it directions

Swine flu vaccine won't be ready for next wave

The vaccine industry is waiting for a WHO decision on whether to keep making regular flu vaccine, or whether to switch to vaccines for the current swine flu outbreak

The science of voodoo: When mind attacks body

The placebo effect has an evil twin – the nocebo effect – which can make you think yourself ill, or even dead

Comet crystals created in stellar burps

An analysis of the dust surrounding the outburst of a young star suggests an explanation for how the crystals inside comets are formed

Will designer brains divide humanity?

We're on the brink of technological breakthroughs that could augment our mental powers beyond recognition – but what will this mean for the future of humanity?

The man who discovered greenhouse gases

People were debating the greenhouse effect 150 years ago – until Irish physicist John Tyndall showed conclusively that the effect is real

Experts urge caution in bringing Mars samples to Earth

If soil and rocks from Mars contain life, there is a small but non-zero chance that such life could be dangerous to terrestrial life (Illustration: Cary Bass/Wikimedia)

Since soil and rocks brought back from Mars might contain potentially dangerous life-forms, NASA should build a super-secure facility to house them, experts say

Cancer's one-way ticket to the brain

The discovery of a genetic "ticket" that grants cancer cells entry to the brain in mice could lead to drugs that would stop human cancers spreading in the same way

Nanoscale origami folds DNA into 'medicine cabinet'

Drugs could soon be delivered from minuscule lockable containers made of DNA thanks to an advance in "DNA origami".

Prairie dogs issue warnings in glorious technicolor

Not only do the rodents' alarm calls tell others about the type and size of approaching predators, but they also seem to warn of the color of an imminent threat

Mars rover may not escape sand trap for weeks

Engineers will try to recreate the terrain that Spirit is stuck in at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, where similar tests were performed in 2005 (above) to help extricate Opportunity from a sand trap (Image: NASA/JPL)

NASA's Spirit rover is stuck in the sand up to its hubcaps, and a quick escape does not look likely

Migrating blue whales rediscover 'forgotten' waters

Parts of the northern Pacific that once saw blue whales hunted out of existence seem once again to be on the migration route

Swiss find sweet way to test water purity

A common sweetener has provided a way to follow water from treatment plant out into the environment – with surprising results

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