Science
Surgeons carry out first synthetic windpipe transplant Surgeons in Sweden ...
Surgeons carry out first synthetic windpipe transplant
Surgeons in Sweden have carried out the world's first synthetic organ transplant.
Scientists in London created an artificial windpipe which was then coated in stem cells from the patient.
Crucially, the technique does not need a donor, and there is no risk of the organ being rejected. The surgeons stress a windpipe can also be made within days.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-14047670
MRI brain imaging pinpoints deception Our ability to project a picture of ou...
MRI brain imaging pinpoints deception
Our ability to project a picture of ourselves in other people's minds may be down to a distinct form of brain activity, according to a report.
The report says this could help shed light into what goes on in the minds of people with mental disorders.
"The study is a way to probe the way that we think how other people think about us," Read Montague of the Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, US, a co-author of the paper, told BBC News.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11668840
Virus breakthrough raises hope over ending common cold
Scientists say they have made a landmark discovery which could pave the way for new drugs to beat illnesses like the common cold.
Until now experts had thought that antibodies could only tackle viral infections by blocking or attacking viruses outside cells.
But work done by the Medical Research Council shows antibodies can pass into cells and fight viruses from within.
PNAS journal said the finding held promise for a new antiviral drugs.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-11673034
Dream recording device 'possible' researcher claims A US researcher says h...
Dream recording device 'possible' researcher claims
A US researcher says he plans to electronically record and interpret dreams.
Writing in the journal Nature, scientists say they have developed a system capable of recording higher level brain activity.
"We would like to read people's dreams," says the lead scientist Dr Moran Cerf.
The aim is not to interlope, but to extend our understanding of how and why people dream.
For centuries, people have been fascinated by dreams and what they might mean. In Ancient Egypt they were thought to be messages from God.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11635625
Stone tools 'change migration story' A research team reports new findings o...
Stone tools 'change migration story'
A research team reports new findings of stone age tools that suggest humans came "out of Africa" by land earlier than has been thought.
Geneticists estimate that migration from Africa to South-East Asia and Australia took place as recently as 60,000 years ago.
But Dr Michael Petraglia, of Oxford University, and colleagues say stone artefacts found in the Arabian Peninsula and India point to an exodus starting about 70,000 to 80,000 years ago - and perhaps even earlier.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11327442
Science needs a 'better dialogue with public' The scientific community shou...
Science needs a 'better dialogue with public'
The scientific community should have a more grown up dialogue with the public, according to former UK Science Minister Lord Sainsbury.
He said that distrust of scientific ideas was not due to a failure by the public to understand the issues.
Instead, it was because they felt they were being forced to accept changes they had not been consulted over and seemed to offer them no benefit.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11292286
Court delays ban on federal funds for US stem cell work An appeals court in ...
Court delays ban on federal funds for US stem cell work
An appeals court in the United States has suspended a ban imposed last month on federally-funded research involving embryonic stem cells.
Judge Lamberth ruled that the research violated US law because it involved destroying human embryos.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-11254108
Universe is self-created: Hawking ...
Universe is self-created: Hawking
UK scientist writes in new book that "it is not necessary to invoke God to ... get the Universe going".
God did not create the universe and the "Big Bang" was an inevitable consequence of the laws of physics, Britain's award-winning physicist has said.
In his new book, The Grand Design, to be released this month, Stephen Hawking argues that "because there is a law such as gravity, the universe can and will create itself from nothing".
The book, written with Leonard Mlodinow, a US physicist, is to be published on September 9.
In an extract published in the British newspaper The Times on Thursday, Hawking says that spontaneous creation is the reason there is something - as opposed to nothing, and that unravelling a complex series of theories will explain the universe.
Hawking reportedly argues "it is not necessary to invoke God to ... get the Universe going".
In his previous book, A Brief History of Time, Hawking had appeared to accept the possibility of a creator, saying the discovery of a complete theory would allow humans to "know the mind of God".
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/09/201092133442782977.html
Vibration packs aim to replace batteries for gadgets A Japanese electronics...
Vibration packs aim to replace batteries for gadgets
A Japanese electronics firm has shown off a vibration-harvesting generator that could replace standard batteries.
The Vibration Energy Cell batteries deliver power after a vigorous shake
Brother Industries, better known for its line of printers, claims the devices could be used in place of AA or AAA batteries for some applications.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-10711202
Solar lamp wins award for helping developing countries The developers of a ...
Solar lamp wins award for helping developing countries
The developers of a solar lamp that aims to replace kerosene-burning lights in developing countries have won a prestigious environmental award.
D Light Design says its lanterns, which sell for around $10 (£7), contribute to the reduction of carbon emissions.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/africa/10486605.stm
Scientists create 'artificial life' Scientists, for the first time, have crea...
Scientists create 'artificial life'
Scientists, for the first time, have created an organism controlled by man-made DNA.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/05/201052153540508758.html
'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists
Scientists in the US have succeeded in developing the first living cell to be controlled entirely by synthetic DNA.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10132762.stm
'Artificial life' breakthrough announced by scientists
Researchers in the US have developed the first synthetic living cell. Their work, which many scientists have called a landmark study, is a key step towards the design and creation of new living things. BBC News examines the issues raised by this controversial breakthrough.
Have these scientists created synthetic life?
hey are calling this a synthetic living cell. But they did use an existing cell as a template and as a recipient for their home-made DNA. Strictly speaking, it is only the genome - the DNA in the cell - that is entirely synthetic.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science_and_environment/10134341.stm
Collider proves a smashing success The aim is to see if ce...
Collider proves a smashing success
The aim is to see if certain particles can be recreated, in an effort to understand the moment after the Big Bang - believed to be the explosive event some 14 billion years ago which created the Universe - in part by explaining how elementary particles acquire mass.
As the tests continue scientists around the world will sift through and process the data, searching for evidence of a theorised missing link called the Higgs Boson, also known as the "God Particle".
Despiona Hatzifotiadu, a Cern scientist, said the experiment would "give us a clue of how we were created in the beginning".
It also aims to shed light on "dark matter" and subsequently "dark energy", invisible matter or forces that are thought to account together for some 96 per cent of the cosmos.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/europe/2010/03/201033012213217329.html
Obama unveils nuclear power plan The US president has turned to nuclear power...
Obama unveils nuclear power plan
The US president has turned to nuclear power as he attempts to cut greenhouse gases, making about $8bn in federal loan guarantees available for building the country's first new nuclear power plants in almost 30 years.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/02/2010216185539168789.html
UN announces ozone-killing sprays now completely banned worldwide Yesterday, ...
UN announces ozone-killing sprays now completely banned worldwide
Yesterday, the annual International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer, the United Nations announced that the ban on using materials harmful to the ozone layer is the first ecological treaty to be ratified by every country in the world.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/1115223.html
Russia 'to save its ISS modules' According to the plans, the remaining ...
Russia 'to save its ISS modules'
According to the plans, the remaining Russian modules will form the core of a new orbital outpost, which would serve as a haven and assembly shop for deep space missions heading to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
However, the idea of turning the Russian segment of the ISS into an independent space station carries major political, legal and financial pitfalls, Russian officials admitted
"Our position is that the primary integrator of the station (Nasa) is responsible for a civilized end to the flight after the conclusion of the mission," a Russian official said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8064060.stm
Africa's genetic secrets unlocked A genetic map of Africa - the contine...
Africa's genetic secrets unlocked
A genetic map of Africa - the continent from which all modern humans originate - has provided information about its huge diversity of language and culture.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8027269.stm
Giant laser experiment powers up The US National Ignition Facility is d...
Giant laser experiment powers up
The US National Ignition Facility is designed to demonstrate the feasibility of nuclear fusion, a process that could offer abundant clean energy.
To work, it must show that more energy can be extracted from the process than is required to initiate it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7972865.stm
Russia mulls rocket power 'first' If accepted, it would be the first ...
Russia mulls rocket power 'first'
If accepted, it would be the first time in history that a manned vehicle relied solely on rocket engines for touchdown.
Previous manned missions have landed on Earth using a parachute or, in the case of space shuttles, a pair of wings.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8024590.stm
Global crisis 'to strike by 2030' Growing world population will cause a "per...
Global crisis 'to strike by 2030'
Growing world population will cause a "perfect storm" of food, energy and water shortages by 2030, the UK government chief scientist has warned.