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News On December 9, 2008 - 7:50pm

The Jupiter-sized planet, called HD 189733b, is too hot for life. But new Hubble observations are a proof-of-concept demonstration that the basic chemistry for life can be measured on planets orbiting other stars. Organic compounds can also be a by-product of life processes and their detection on an Earth-like planet may someday provide the first evidence of life beyond Earth.
Previous observations of HD 189733b by Hubble and the Spitzer Space Telescope found water vapour. Earlier this year Hubble found methane in the planet's atmosphere.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 5:50pm

For the first time, structural biologists have managed to obtain the detailed three-dimensional structure of one of the proteins that form the core of the complex molecular machine, called the replisome, that plant and animal cells assemble to copy their DNA as the first step in cell reproduction.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 8:50pm
CINCINNATI—A University of Cincinnati (UC) neurosurgeon who has spent his career helping people with severe spine problems stand up straight has spearheaded the creation of a new spinal deformity classification system. The system, published this fall in the journal Neurosurgery, defines deformity in relation to the healthy, normal curve of the spine.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 8:30pm
(Santa Barbara, Calif.) –– The results of a new U.S.–U.K. study published in this week's journal Nature Nanotechnology show that ordinary people in both countries hold very positive views of nanotechnologies and what the future of these technologies might bring. Participants in both countries indicated a significantly higher comfort level with energy applications of nanotechnologies than with applications used in health treatments.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 7:30pm
In 2006, astronomer Alice Quillen of the University of Rochester predicted that a planet of a particular size and orbit must lie within the dust of a nearby star. That planet has now been photographed by the Hubble Space Telescope, making it only the second planet ever imaged after an accurate prediction. The only other planet seen after an accurate prediction was Neptune, discovered more than 160 years ago.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 6:10pm
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News On December 9, 2008 - 6:10pm
BOULDER--Contrary to earlier projections, few developing countries will be able to afford more efficient technologies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the next few decades, new research concludes. The study, by researchers at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and the University of Colorado, warns that continuing economic and technological disparities will make it more difficult than anticipated to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and it underscores the challenges that poorer nations face in trying to adapt to global warming.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 6:10pm
CLIMATE -- Spotlight on CO2 . . .
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News On December 9, 2008 - 5:50pm
UCB today announced findings from new studies of the once-daily antiepileptic drug (AED) Keppra XR™ (levetiracetam) extended-release tablets comparing tolerability vs. levetiracetam immediate release and reporting on additional dosing schedules. The data were among five studies that were presented at the 62nd annual meeting of the American Epilepsy Society in Seattle.
Keppra XR was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September 2008 for use as adjunctive treatment for people with partial-onset seizures who are 16 years of age and older.
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News On December 9, 2008 - 5:50pm
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