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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: scientific breakthroughs

scientific breakthroughs stories: 16 news summaries

Monkeys Pass
Altered Traits
to Offspring

Genetic breakthrough
will aid disease study,
but troubles some

May 27, 09 4:55 PM CDT
(Newser) - Japanese scientists have produced the first genetically modified monkeys that can pass on their new traits to offspring, a research breakthrough mired in ethical quandaries. The technique is meant to be used to infect monkeys with diseases like Parkinson’s and then test treatments on them, but could eventually be... More »

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ethics • genetics • disease • animal rights • monkey • eugenics • lab rat • scientific breakthroughs • gene mutation

 Counting Chicks 
 Redefine Birdbrain 

Study shows chickens can do basic math

Apr 2, 09 11:35 AM CDT
(Newser) - No dumb clucks, young chickens appear capable of basic arithmetic, Discover reports. Scientists relied on two innate chick traits—an instinct to flock with the biggest group and an attachment to objects—to test the birds’ noggins. After hiding yellow balls of varying numbers behind screens, they released the chicks.... More »

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brain • scientific study • mathematics • chicken • scientific breakthroughs • animal

 Audio Stimulus Gets 
 Cheetahs to Mate 

Man-altered bioacoustics work as an aphrodisiac for cheetahs

Apr 2, 09 11:08 AM CDT
(Newser) - Man’s ingenuity has altered nature’s rhythms for the better at the San Diego Zoo, where an African cheetah cub was born after zookeepers helped her dad turn on her mom, the North Country Times reports. Park scientists used bioacoustics—human-altered animal sounds—to stimulate mating after they discovered... More »

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zoo • San Diego Zoo • scientific breakthroughs • mating • cheetah • bioacoustics

 Scientists Track Meteor 
 to Earth for First Time 

Discovery is like first clue to asteroid 'Rosetta Stone'

Mar 25, 09 5:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have accomplished a first by tracking an asteroid from space into Earth's atmosphere and down to a Sudanese desert, Wired reports. A team of searchers found about 280 small chunks of the meteor, all of a type never before collected. "This is like the first step toward a... More »

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astronomy • Sudan • asteroid • scientific discoveries • meteorites • scientific breakthroughs

Scientists Teleport Data
on Tiny Scale

Send information between atoms a meter apart

Jan 24, 09 4:17 PM CST
(Newser) - It’s not quite worthy of the Starship Enterprise, but Maryland scientists have managed to teleport data on an atomic scale, LiveScience reports. The researchers transmitted information between atoms a meter apart without the data actually crossing that space—a development that could help create speedy quantum computers and highly... More »

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University of Maryland • science • physics • quantum mechanics • atom • scientific breakthroughs

Brain Looks Beyond Eyes to Recognize Faces: Scientists

New research shows that eyebrows, noses are key to distinguishing people

Jan 19, 09 3:43 PM CST
(Newser) - Want to make yourself hard to recognize? Get a nose job and shave your eyebrows, say facial-recognition experts, who have yet to fully understand—or agree upon—how we “see” or “read” faces. Psychologists and neuroscientists, fueled by the need to quickly and correctly identify people in the... More »

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intelligence • homeland security • brain • cognitive science • academic research • security system • scientific breakthroughs • identification • facial recognition technology

 Silver Bits Boost Solar Power 

Particles allow cells to absorb more light, researchers say

Jan 9, 09 2:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Scientists believe they’ve found a way to make less expensive, more efficient solar cells: Just add silver, the Economist reports. Standard cells, which rely on a thick layer of pricey silicon, are costly. Problem is, thinner cells absorb less red light, reducing electricity output by 20%. Sprinkling a few... More »

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energy • alternative energy • electricity • solar power • solar cells • scientific breakthroughs • silver

Japanese Scientists Can Read Your Mind

They find a way
to extract images directly from the brain

Dec 12, 08 12:02 PM CST
(Newser) - The Thought Police could eventually exist in reality, if they can just figure out how to harness new technology developed by Japanese researchers, the Daily Yomuri reports. The team managed to re-create images that people were looking at—using only subjects' recorded brain activity. This is the first successful display... More »

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brain • neuroscience • fMRI • neurons • scientific breakthroughs

 Scientists  
 Map DNA 
 of Woolly 
 Mammoth  

Neanderthals, early humans could be next

Nov 19, 08 6:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Scientists have pieced together the nearly complete genome of the woolly mammoth from a hair strand found in Siberia, National Geographic reports. It's the first time scientists have decoded the nuclear DNA of an extinct species. The development makes it theoretically possible for the mammoths to roam the earth again... More »

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science • DNA • natural history • genome • woolly mammoth • scientific breakthroughs

Scaffolding Gets Scientists Closer to Growing a Heart

Biodegradable frame supports stem cells, may pave way for creating whole organs

Nov 3, 08 10:09 AM CST
(Newser) - Scientists have developed a biodegradable scaffold on which heart tissue can be grown in the lab, possibly paving the way for the creation of whole organs, the Independent reports. In the meantime, the goal is to produce living patches for mending damaged hearts. The flexible polymer matrix ensures growing cells... More »

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stem cell research • heart • scaffolding • polymer • scientific breakthroughs • muscle tissue

 Tobacco Could Treat Cancer 

Plant's virus can carry therapeutic genes into damaged cells

Sep 4, 08 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tobacco may be able to redeem itself. A modified virus from the plant can inject gene therapy into diseased cells to treat cancer, viruses, and genetic disorders, Wired reports. The virus’ tubular shape can be hollowed out and used like a tiny syringe to inject RNA molecules inside a... More »

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tobacco • medical research • scientific discoveries • scientific breakthroughs • mosaic virus • siRNA

Scientists Close In on Antidote
to Neurotoxin

Cure would block feared bioweapon that causes paralysis

May 12, 08 6:11 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are one step closer to developing an antidote to botulinum, a potentially devastating biological weapon, the BBC reports. Terrorists have tried, so far unsuccessfully, to deploy the neurotoxin, which is also the culprit in botulism and the secret behind Botox. A botulinum vaccine already exists, but the new drug... More »

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terrorism • Botox • biological weapons • scientific breakthroughs • botulinum • antidote • neurotoxin

 Cold Virus 
 Joins Cancer Fight 

Brain tumors may yield to targeted infection

Apr 7, 08 2:14 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are trying to beat some of the most untreatable forms of cancer by employing another undefeated ailment: the common cold. A research team in Seattle has "modified the viruses so they can selectively target the tumor cells, replicate inside them and kill them," says one of the... More »

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cancer • medical breakthrough • tumor • virus • common cold • clinical trials • scientific breakthroughs • measles

Sea Slugs Inspire New
Brain Implant Technology

Findings could apply to people with Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries

Mar 7, 08 7:17 AM CST
(Newser) - Sure, it’s a warty creepy-crawly that lurks at the bottom of the ocean, but the sea cucumber has inspired scientists to create a new material that could be used in implanted brain electrodes to help people with Parkinson’s disease, reports the BBC. The creature stiffens its skin when... More »

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Parkinson's disease • brain • neurological disorder • stroke • implant • spinal cord • health research • scientific breakthroughs • sea cucumber • brain implants

Scientist Makes Wonder Material from Rice Husks

Cheap 'aerogel' would slash electricity needs, bomb-proof buildings

Feb 29, 08 5:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Rice husks might be the key to lowering electricity use, bomb-proofing buildings and making products—from airplanes to tennis rackets—lighter. A Malaysian scientist says she’s found a cheap way to create aerogel, the world’s lightest solid, from discarded rice husks. The material combines incredible insulating power and... More »

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electricity • Malaysia • chemistry • airplane • aerogel • insulation • bomb-proofing • soundproofing • scientific breakthroughs • tennis rackets

Move Over, Heisenberg: Electron Caught on Film

Elusive negative charge stars in Swedish researchers' breakthrough video

Feb 26, 08 12:40 PM CST
(Newser) - Electrons are tiny, fast, and, until recently, impossible to capture on film. But a short, super-slow-mo video offers the first direct look at the wily subatomic particle. Coaxing the reclusive electron into the limelight took major maneuvering by Swedish scientists, LiveScience reports. The paparazzi of physicists caught the negative particle... More »

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Sweden • laser • electron • attosecond • quantum mechanics • atom • Johan Mauritsson • Lund University • scientific breakthroughs

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