Astronomers use ultra-sensitive camera to measure size of planet orbiting star

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A team of astronomers led by John Johnson of the University of Hawaii's Institute for Astronomy has used a new technique to measure the precise size of a planet around a distant star. They used a camera so sensitive that it could detect the passage of a moth in front of a lit window from a distance of 1,000 miles.

Women's magazines downplay emotional health risks of cosmetic surgery: UBC study

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While the emotional health implications of cosmetic surgery are still up for scientific debate, articles in women's magazines such as The Oprah Magazine and Cosmopolitan portray cosmetic surgery as a physically risky, but overall worthwhile option for enhancing physical appearance and emotional health, a UBC study has found.

Orangutan's spontaneous whistling opens new chapter in study of evolution of speech

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Des Moines, Iowa – December 11, 2008 – Throughout history, human beings have used the whistle for everything from hailing a cab to carrying a tune. Now, an orangutan's spontaneous whistling is providing scientists at Great Ape Trust of Iowa new insights into the evolution of speech and learning.

Oregon theory may help design tomorrow's sustainable polymer

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Tomorrow's specialty plastics may be produced more precisely and cheaply thanks to the apparently tight merger of a theory by a University of Oregon chemist and years of unexplained data from real world experiments involving polymers in Europe.

UC San Diego researchers use metagene 'portraits' to reveal distinct stages of kidney formation

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In the art world, the most successful portraits are often those that reveal the true essence of the subject – a subject that on canvas, at least, will never age. In the science world, researchers are relying on portraits of gene expression patterns – but, in this case, the images are helping to reveal how various tissues form.

Climate change effects on imperiled Sierra frog examined

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Climate change can have significant impacts on high-elevation lakes and imperiled Sierra Nevada Yellow-legged frogs that depend upon them, according to U.S. Forest Service and University of California, Berkeley, scientists.

Their findings appear in the current issue of the journal "Herpetological Conservation and Biology" where they show how a combination of the shallow lakes drying up in summer and predation by introduced trout in larger lakes severely limits the amphibian's breeding habitat, and can cause its extinction.

Study shows major pain research funding decline at NIH

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GLENVIEW, IL, Dec. 11, 2008 – Federal funding for pain research is declining sharply, more than 9 percent a year since 2003, according to a new study published in The Journal of Pain. Pain research, as a result, now accounts for only 0.6 percent of all grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), despite the high prevalence of chronic pain in the U.S.

Light shines for potential early cancer diagnosis technique

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A team led by a Northwestern University biomedical engineer has developed a new optical technique that holds promise for minimally invasive screening methods for the early diagnosis of cancer.

The researchers have shown for the first time that nanoscale changes are present in cells extremely early on in carcinogenesis. Their technique, partial-wave spectroscopy (PWS), can detect subtle abnormal changes in human colon cancer cells even when those same cells appear normal using conventional microscopy.

NASA scientists report on new technology to help protect US troops from infectious diseases

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Dec. 10, New Orleans, LA – Representatives from NASA convened in New Orleans today to report at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene Annual Meeting the results from a NASA-enhanced computerized system to assess environmental and health concerns for deployed U.S. forces. The Global Situational Awareness Tool (GSAT), developed and operated by the Air Force Special Operations Command, is a computerized set of linkable databases that characterizes and predicts health risks and other dangers to U.S. troops and multi-national forces in Afghanistan and other areas.

San Diego Supercomputer Center director offers tips on data preservation in the information age

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The world has gone digital in just about everything we do. Almost every iota of information we access these days is stored in some kind of digital form and accessed electronically -- text, charts, images, video, music, you name it. The key questions are: Will your data be there when you need it? And who's going to preserve it?