BioScholar News

Apple releases preview of new Mac operating system

BioNews — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 07:29:19 PST

Apple Thursday released a developer preview of the next version of the company’s Macintosh operating system, bringing some popular features from iPhone and iPad to its Mac computer. The new...

China to launch manned spacecraft

BioNews — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 17:28:01 PST

China will launch a manned spacecraft between June and August, an official said Friday. The Shenzhou-9 spacecraft will dock at the orbiting Tiangong-1 space lab module, a spokesman for China’s...

Can video games help people with cataract?

BioNews — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:02:16 PST

Playing video games could improve the vision of people born with cataracts, a new research has found. Surgery and contact lenses do not always work and people experience visual difficulties into...

Russian cosmonauts take a six-hour spacewalk

BioNews — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 05:00:55 PST

Two Russian cosmonauts ventured outside the International Space Station (ISS) Thursday to carry out tasks under the Russian space programme, said the Russian Mission Control. Cosmonauts Oleg...

Nuclear safety tests in Japan appropriate: IAEA

BioNews — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:16:45 PST

An International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) group has found the safety tests it had overseen at Japan’s idled nuclear reactors to be in line with international standards. The head of a...

Russia may repeat mission to Mars moon

BioNews — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 21:15:11 PST

Russia will send another sample mission to the Martian moon Phobos if the European Space Agency (ESA) decides not to include Russia in its ExoMars programme, the head of Russia’s space agency...

Carbon emissions speed up ocean acidification

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:55:43 PST

Manmade emissions over the last two centuries have already raised ocean acidity far beyond the range of natural variations, threatening important species of marine life. “In some regions, the...

Many keep smoking even after cancer diagnosis

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:45:53 PST

A large number of people, believe it or not, continue to puff away merrily even after being diagnosed with lung and colorectal (large intestine) cancer. Putting a halt to smoking after a cancer...

Scientists developing salt-resistant rice

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:44:27 PST

Scientists are developing a salt-resistant rice variety after a huge tsunami last year hit paddy fields in Japan leaving behind a salty sludge. Farmlands that accumulate salt have lower crop yields,...

Small groups can stifle individual intelligence

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:42:54 PST

Henry Fonda’s character in the classic movie ’12 Angry Men’ sways a jury with his quiet, intelligent address. The moot question is whether he would have succeeded if he had allowed...

Deflecting solar rays could improve food supply

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:41:07 PST

Deflecting solar rays from the earth could be one way of improving food output, as global warming aggravates the likelihood of crop failures in the heat-stressed tropics. One proposal for cooling the...

Genes only partially affect intelligence levels

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:40:09 PST

Genetic factors only partially affect our lifelong intelligence levels, while environmental causes seem to exert the largest influence. In a number of studies since early 2000, researchers have shown...

Sticking to values activates ‘ethics’ part of brain

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:29:24 PST

Sticking to values even in the face of temptations, including money, activates an area of the brain tied with rules-based, ethical thought processes. Simply told, decision-making over ‘sacred...

Vaccines to boost immunity where it counts

BioNews — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 06:28:28 PST

Researchers have created synthetic nanoparticles that greatly bolster vaccine responses by targeting lymph nodes, where most immune reaction occurs. Currently, all other adjuvants (compounds added to...

Plant found with built-in drought alarm

BioNews — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 09:09:40 PST

A signal found in plants could act as a drought alarm, allowing them to adapt to such extreme conditions. Scientists stumbled on the signal while trying to understand how different parts of the cell...