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Sun Jan 24 11:54:00 EST 2010
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15 whales die beached in NZ, 33 coaxed to sea - (AP) -- Rescuers in New Zealand managed to coax 33 beached whales back out into deep waters Sunday, but another 15 of the pod died, a conservation official said.

Save the tiger: Pressure mounts for tougher action - (AP) -- After trudging through the wilds of western Thailand for several hours, the forest rangers thought they were finally onto something: the distant sound of crunching leaves.

Spotlight turns to Apple's 'latest creation' - The technology rumor mill is busy grinding speculation regarding an Apple event Wednesday at which the culture-changing firm will unveil its "latest creation."

Ship collision off Texas produces 450,000-gallon oil spill - A shipping accident off the coast of Texas on Saturday spilled an estimated 450,000 gallons of oil into the ocean, the US Coast Guard said.

Glacier alarm 'regrettable error': UN climate head - The head of the UN's climate science panel said Saturday a doomsday prediction about the fate of Himalayan glaciers was "a regrettable error" but that he would not resign over the blunder.

Pope to priests: Go forth and blog - (AP) -- Pope Benedict XVI has a new commandment for priests struggling to get their message across: Go forth and blog.

Trauma patients safe from mortality risks associated with so-called 'weekend effect' - People who are in car crashes or suffer serious falls, gunshot or knife wounds and other injuries at nights or on weekends do not appear to be affected by the same medical care disparities as patients who suffer heart attacks, strokes, cardiac arrests and other time-sensitive illnesses during those "off hours," according to new research from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. In contrast to previous, multi-hospital studies showing that patients treated for cardiac or neurological emergencies overnight and on weekends are more likely to experience complications and even die than those who come to the hospital on weekdays, the new pilot findings suggest that trauma patients are insulated from this so-called "weekend effect" tied to the time of day in which they're brought to the hospital.

Researchers welcome new multiple sclerosis drug - The Food and Drug Administration has approved the drug fampridine-SR for the treatment of multiple sclerosis. Researchers at the University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) have been evaluating the effects of the drug in MS for more than 10 years- it is the first medication shown to enhance some neurological functions in people with the disease - and their efforts helped pave the way for today's action by the FDA.

Google courts smartphone game makers - Google is courting folks that make games people love to play on smartphones.

Google co-founders to sell $5.5B combined in stock - (AP) -- Google Inc. co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin are relinquishing some of their control over the Internet search leader with the sale of 10 million shares worth $5.5 billion at current prices.

Motorola files US complaint against BlackBerry maker RIM - US mobile phone maker Motorola filed a complaint Friday with the US government alleging patent infringement and unfair trade practices against the Canadian maker of the BlackBerry device.

Driven to distraction: New study shows driving hinders talking - It is well known that having a conversation (for example on a cell phone) impairs one's driving. A new study indicates the reverse is also true: Driving reduces one's ability to comprehend and use language.

Judge cuts $2M penalty in MN song-sharing case - (AP) -- A federal judge has drastically reduced a nearly $2 million verdict against a Minnesota woman found guilty last year of sharing 24 songs over the Internet.

Biofuel crop diversity adds value, researchers say - (PhysOrg.com) -- Diverse biofuel plantings such as native prairie attract more beneficial insects than do single crops such as corn, Michigan State University scientists find. Therefore, biofuel policies should take such added value into account, they urge, based on their pioneering studies of beneficial insects in biofuel crops.

RIT captures Haiti disaster with high-tech imaging system - In the aftermath of the Jan. 12 earthquake that struck Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, scientists from Rochester Institute of Technology are sweeping the leveled city with high-tech imaging integrated into a small aircraft.

Terra satellite captures cyclone Magda's Australian landfall - When Cyclone Magda made landfall from Collier Bay at around 5 a.m. local time on January 22 in northern Australia, NASA's Terra satellite captured an image of the storm. Magda is now dissipating rapidly over land in northern West Australia.

Playful minds: Gorillas play games just like we do - (PhysOrg.com) -- Gorillas play competitive games like we do, helping to keep games going and even giving younger friends a fair chance, according to the latest research. The study, by psychologists at the University of St Andrews, helps trace the evolutionary origins of how humans understand each other.

Berlusconi moves to impose Internet regulation - (AP) -- Silvio Berlusconi is moving to extend his grip on Italy's media to the freewheeling Internet world of Google and YouTube.

Next generation devices get boost from graphene research - (PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers in the Electro-Optics Center (EOC) Materials Division at Penn State have produced 100 mm diameter graphene wafers, a key milestone in the development of graphene for next generation high-power, high-frequency electronic devices.

Public school teacher absenteeism declines when principals have more control - (PhysOrg.com) -- Public school teachers took less time off when principals had more flexibility to dismiss them without completing elaborate documentation or attending a hearing, one of two new University of Michigan studies shows.

First evidence that the brain`s native dendritic cells can muster an immune response - (PhysOrg.com) -- Since their initial discovery in 1973, dendritic cells, the sentinels of the immune system, have turned up in a number of places other than the immune organs. They stand guard in the heart, for instance, and in 2008, the first population native to the brain was identified. New research shows that dendritic cells are not only present in the brain, but active, too. They confront foreign substances and seem to form a barrier between healthy and stricken brain tissue following a stroke.

Study identifies potential way to reverse cancer cell metabolism and tumor growth - A team of scientists led by Professor Adrian Krainer, Ph.D., of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory has discovered molecular factors in cancer cells that boost the production of an enzyme that helps alter the cells' glucose metabolism. The altered metabolic state, called the Warburg effect, promotes extremely rapid cell proliferation and tumor growth.Adrian Krainer, Ph.D.

TRMM satellite doesn't need 3-D glasses for Magda - People may need 3-D glasses to see life-like images, but rainfall and cloud data from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission or TRMM satellite gives scientists a three-dimensional look at tropical cyclones without the glasses.

Spirit Rover Switches to Backward Drives - (PhysOrg.com) -- The rover team has begun driving Spirit backward as next technique for attempting to extricate the rover from the sand trap where it is embedded. The first two backward drives produced about 6.5 centimeters (2.6 inches) of horizontal motion and lifted the rover slightly.

Dry printing of nanotube patterns to any surface could revolutionize microelectronics - (PhysOrg.com) -- Watch a gecko walk up a wall. It defies gravity as it sticks to the surface no matter how smooth it appears to be.

West Virginia Student Discovers New Pulsar - (PhysOrg.com) -- A West Virginia high-school student has discovered a new pulsar, using data from the giant Robert C. Byrd Green Bank Telescope (GBT).

Water Planets - Of the roughly 420 extra-solar planets now known, about a dozen are in the newly named category of "super-earths," planets whose masses are in between of two and about fifteen earth-masses.

Research findings may help online marketing campaigns achieve more success - (PhysOrg.com) -- Why do some online ad campaigns go viral while other online marketing messages gather "cyber-dust" on the information superhighway? The key may lie in the motivation of Internet users to email that content to their social network, say researchers from Ryerson University and Simon Fraser University.

New 5-Day 'Morning-After' Pill Tested For U.S. Approval - (PhysOrg.com) -- Currently, women who seek emergency contraception within 72 hours of intercourse can receive copper intrauterine devices. Though the devices are very effective at preventing pregnancy, they must be administered by a highly trained clinician and are not universally accepted by patients, as they have a higher risk of complications than oral applications. These factors stand as deterrents to some women obtaining emergency contraception after a 3-day period.

Do these genes make me look fat? Researchers study whether survival of the fattest is genetic - (PhysOrg.com) -- Fat may not be where it's at, but controversial new research from University of Alberta researchers say you don't have to be thin to win, either.