ScienceFictionless.com

Pox Swap: 30 Years After the End of Smallpox, Monkeypox Cases Are on the Rise

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:48 +0000

The ancient scourge smallpox was relegated to biowaste bin of history more than 30 years ago, the result of the world’s first and only successful disease eradication programs. Since then, however, cases of monkeypox–a serious, although less severe smallpoxlike illness–have substantially increased in central Africa, according to a study published August 30 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences . The authors stress that better surveillance and a thorough assessment of the public health threat posed by this once-rare viral infection are needed.

"I’m concerned about monkeypox," says Don Burke director of the Center for Vaccine Research at the University of Pittsburgh, who wasn’t involved in the study. "It isn’t going to emerge as pandemic tomorrow, but could at any time start to increase its transmission. It’s worrisome. This is the type of warning siren we need to take very seriously."

[More]

Africa – University of Pittsburgh – Smallpox – Central Africa – Public health
Original Source: Physorg.com

Shades of "Gray Literature": How Much IPCC Reform Is Needed?

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:48 +0000

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s 2007 report from the group working on global warming’s impacts contained at least one error. "Glaciers in the Himalaya are receding faster than in any other part of the world (see Table 10.9) and, if the present rate continues, the likelihood of them disappearing by the year 2035 and perhaps sooner is very high if the Earth keeps warming at the current rate," the report notes. [More]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – Climate change – Global warming – Environment – Climate Change: The Ipcc Response Strategies
Original Source: Physorg.com

Tiny Needles to Fight Cancer

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:44 +0000

Researchers inject quantum dots into the skin using plastic microneedles, potentially providing a way to diagnose and treat diseases.

Using a novel laser-based technique, researchers at North Carolina State University have made arrays of tiny, hollow plastic needles that they used to insert fluorescent quantum-dot dyes into skin. Biomedical engineering professor Roger Narayan, who leads the research, says the microneedles and quantum dots, which have been tested on pigs, could be used to diagnose and treat skin cancer, and other chronic diseases.

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Original Source: TechnologyReview.com

Blog – The Extraordinary Tale of Red Rain, Comets and Extraterrestrials

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:44 +0000

For years, claims have circulated that red rain which fell in India in 2001, contained cells unlike any found on Earth. Now new evidence that these cells can reproduce is about to set the debate alive

Panspermia is the idea that life exists throughout the universe in comets, asteroids and interstellar dust clouds and that life of Earth was seeded from one or more of these sources. Panspermia holds that we are all extraterrestrials.

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Original Source: TechnologyReview.com

Nano Switches that Store More Data Head to Market

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:44 +0000

Products featuring memristors could appear in 2013.

An electronic component that offers a new way to squeeze more data into computers and portable gadgets is set to go into production in just a couple of years. Hewlett-Packard announced today that it has entered an agreement with the Korean electronics manufacturer Hynix Semiconductor to make the components, called “memristors,” starting in 2013. Storage devices made of memristors will allow PCs, cellphones, and servers to store more and switch on instantly.

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Original Source: TechnologyReview.com

Web iTunes? Don’t Believe the Hype

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:44 +0000

Online music streaming services are altering the way people find, buy, and share songs–when will iTunes join the fun?

Dozens of startups now offer Internet-based music streaming technology, making millions of songs instantly accessible from almost any device. But the biggest digital music platform of all–Apple’s iTunes–hasn’t yet moved over to the Web.

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Original Source: TechnologyReview.com

Gentle bilby had ‘killer’ ancestor

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:41 +0000

(PhysOrg.com) — The gentle rabbit-like bilby – Australia’s stand-in for the Easter bunny – had an ancient relative that was a far more fearsome little beast, a new study has found.
Original Source: Physorg.com

‘Dark silicon’ to improve smartphone battery life

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:41 +0000

(PhysOrg.com) — A new smartphone chip prototype under development at the University of California, San Diego will improve smartphone efficiency by making use of “dark silicon” – the underused transistors in modern microprocessors. On August 23, UC San Diego computer scientists presented GreenDroid, the new smartphone chip prototype at the HotChips symposium in Palo Alto, CA.
Original Source: Physorg.com

High social status, maternal support play important role in mating success of male bonobos

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:41 +0000

(PhysOrg.com) — Success makes sexy – this does not only apply to human beings, but also to various animals. Male bonobos appear to benefit from this phenomenon as well.
Original Source: Physorg.com

Feds appeal order blocking stem cell research

ScienceFictionless.com — Wed, 01 Sep 2010 11:01:41 +0000

(AP) — The Obama administration on Tuesday asked a federal judge to lift a restraining order that it says could undercut federally funded embryonic stem cell research.
Original Source: Physorg.com