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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: experiments

experiments stories: 12 news summaries

 Paralyzed Rats Run in 
 Breakthrough Experiment 

Application for humans with spinal injuries not far off

Sep 21, 09 1:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists have made paralyzed rats run again by using a new technique that could one day have wheelchair-bound people walking, reports AFP. Rats, whose spinal cords had been severed, ran when scientists applied electrical charges and drugs. "In some cases they actually walked with more consistent locomotive patterns than... More »

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rats • experiments • spine • paralyze • paralysis • spinal cord • wheelchair • treadmill

 Hadron Collider Hits New Snags 

CERN may run experiments through the winter to make up lost time

Jul 21, 09 2:10 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Large Hadron Collider has hit more delays, ZDNet reports, with experiments using the machine unlikely to restart until at least mid-November due to the discovery of two vacuum leaks. The agency overseeing the 17-mile atom-smasher buried under the French-Swiss border may take the unorthodox step of running its “... More »

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Switzerland • Big Bang • experiments • Alps • CERN • Large Hadron Collider • particle physics • God particle

Positive Thinking Can Make You Feel Worse: Study

Affirmations don't help low self-esteem

Jun 22, 09 10:10 AM CDT
(Newser) - It turns out the Little Engine That Could had it all wrong. Repeating positive statements to yourself doesn’t appear to help people with low self-esteem, according to a new study. Researchers asked students to repeat statements like “I am a lovable person” to themselves, then measured their mood.... More »

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study • psychology • experiments • self-help • positive thinking • self-improvement • Norman Vincent Peale

 Mock Mars Mission Blasts Off 

Experimenters will spend 105 days locked in fake spaceship

Mar 31, 09 12:26 PM CDT
(Newser) - Europe launched its first shot at a manned mission to the Red Planet today—by locking six scientists in a tiny capsule in Moscow for 105 days to simulate the voyage, the BBC reports. The volunteers, who can leave the experiment but score $20000 if they make it, will perform... More »

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Russia • Mars • Moscow • astronauts • experiments • spaceflight • simulation

(Newser) - A Chicago family is trying to use its household spending to invest in the black community by buying exclusively from black-owned businesses for 1 year, the Tribune reports. The Andersons’ ambitious “Ebony Experiment” has them driving 14 miles for groceries (and farther for other stuff) and has earned hate... More »

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race • Chicago • African Americans • economics • business • black • experiments • African-Americans • Northwestern University

 Dogs Get Jealous: Study 

But canine envy is simpler than that felt by primates

Dec 8, 08 2:32 PM CST
(Newser) - Dogs can indeed get jealous, a new study shows. While it’s known that other primates feel envy, the report offers the first evidence of the green-eyed monster in canines. Dogs were paired up and commanded to put their paw in an experimenter’s hand, and then given unequal rewards:... More »

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experiments • canine behavior • science experiment • primates • dog • canines • envy

OPINION

 Anti-'Frankenfood' Activists
 Should Modify Stance

Opposition to genetically souped-up crops has run its course

Aug 4, 08 5:48 PM CDT
(Newser) - The recent destruction of a research crop of genetically modified potatoes in England highlights how attitudes towards altered crops have changed, the Economist writes. A decade ago, Greenpeace activists caught in the act of destroying food crops were acquitted because of popular fear of the consequences of “Frankenfoods.”... More »

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food • hunger • genetically modified crops • famine • crops • experiments • academic research • environmentalists

 10 Who Were
 Blinded
 (or Worse)
 by Science 

Their work lead to big discoveries...and unfortunate death and injury

Jun 12, 08 7:45 AM CDT
(Newser) - Knowledge may be power, but finding that knowledge can get you killed. List Universe ranks the top scientists killed or injured by their experiments.
  1. Galileo Galilei: The “father of modern physics” refined the telescope by staring at the sun for hours, resulting in near-blindness.
  2. Michael Faraday: A
... More »

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science • list • death • Galileo • radiation • experiments • invention

Old Columbia Test Sheds Light on Ketchup

Recovered shuttle experiment reveals nature of viscosity

May 4, 08 6:27 PM CDT
(Newser) - A hard drive recovered from the Columbia shuttle disaster confirms an old theory about why people shake ketchup before pouring it, LiveScience reports. Astronauts on the craft were conducting a zero-gravity experiment with xenon, a gas, to study viscosity, but scientists feared the results were lost after Columbia burned up... More »

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astronauts • zero gravity • experiments • Columbia Space Shuttle • shuttle Columbia • Columbia disaster • xenon

Substitutes Not All Sweetness and Light

Zero-calorie sugar stand-ins may cause weight gain, study says

Feb 15, 08 7:42 PM CST
(Newser) - Cutting back on sugary calories could make you gain weight instead of lose it, a study suggests. Scientists at Purdue University compared rats fed either zero-calorie saccharin or sugar, and found that those on artificial sweetener gained more weight—mostly in fat, Time reports. Animals appear conditioned to respond to... More »

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diabetes • weight loss • medical research • experiments • sugar substitutes • health study • saccharin

Genes Make Mouse That Roared

Genetically altered Mickey has no fear of cats

Dec 13, 07 10:25 AM CST
(Newser) - Japanese scientists have modified mouse genes to make rodents unafraid of cats in a dramatic experiment that offers insight into the origins of terror. The breakthrough shows that fear is largely genetically hardwired rather than learned through painful experience, researchers say. Some of the mice, whose nasal cells were altered... More »

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genetics • genes • experiments • fear • mouse • University of Tokyo • cat

Victims of Stuttering Study Get $1M Each

Orphans harassed in 1939 'Monster Study'

Aug 18, 07 3:56 PM CDT
(Newser) - Five orphans who suffered months of harassment in a stuttering study have been awarded almost $1 million each, the BBC reports. Dubbed “The Monster Study,” it involved Iowa University researchers harassing children to make them develop speech impediments in 1939. None became stutterers, but they filed suit a... More »

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science • child abuse • lawsuit • stutter • experiments

12 Stories


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