- Top Science News for 2007 from Firstscience.com

'Dutch Nobel Prize' for 4 top Dutch researchers
4 Jun 2007
NWO Spinoza Prize for archaeology, entomology, physics and law On 4 June, the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) announced which four researchers will receive the NWO Spinoza prize for 2007. The prize is the biggest Dutch...

Hybrid solar lighting earns national technology transfer award
1 Jun 2007
OAK RIDGE, Tenn., June 1, 2007 -- An Oak Ridge National Laboratory-developed technology collecting sunlight connected to special indoor light fixtures has earned an Excellence in Technology Transfer Award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium...

Universe's stringy birth revealed by young Czech scientist in EURYI winning project
2 Aug 2007
Unravelling the random fluctuations of nothing The dream of theoretical physics is to unite behind a common theory that explains everything, but that goal has remained highly elusive. String theory emerged 40 years ago as one of the most...

February Geology and GSA Today media highlights
26 Jan 2007
Boulder, CO - Topics include: a new technique for analyzing the relationship between climate and hurricane activity; discovery of fossilized embryos in advanced stages of development from South China; revised dispersal and extinction dating of...

The Cochrane Library, 2007, Issue 1
24 Jan 2007
Subcutaneous injection of pollen-extract can ward off symptoms of hayfever Injecting small amounts of pollen-extract just below the skin in people who have hayfever can desensitize them to the pollen and reduce their symptoms. A Cochrane...

ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- January 10, 2007
15 Jan 2007
ACS News Service Click here for more information. Here is the latest American Chemical Society (ACS) News Service Weekly press package (PressPac) with reports selected from 35 major peer-reviewed journals and...

August GEOLOGY and GSA TODAY Media Highlights
23 Jul 2007
Boulder, CO, USA - Topics include: first images of an active oceanic detachment fault; new theory of Transantarctic Mountains formation; why western Siberian rivers flow into the Arctic Ocean via estuaries rather than coastal deltas; and cause...

March/April Geological Society of America Bulletin media highlights
2 Feb 2007
Boulder, CO – Articles are now posted in the GSA BULLETIN "In Press" area of the journal Web site (http://www.gsajournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-toc-aop&issn=0016-7606). Geology topics of interest include: evidence from New...

AGU Journal Highlights -- February 23, 2007
23 Feb 2007
1. Ground rising again at volcano near Naples, Italy Ground deformation data indicates that the Campi Flegrei caldera, near Naples, Italy, is undergoing renewed uplift. Troise et al. report that the volcanic area, which had its last eruption...

JCI table of contents: Feb. 1, 2007
1 Feb 2007
EDITOR'S PICK: New role in asthma for old drug The results of a study in mice by researchers from Erasmus University, The Netherlands, have indicated that an inhaled drug currently used to treat individuals with pulmonary arterial...

Call for greater use of comparative effectiveness studies to help advance disease management
3 Apr 2007
Porto [March, 31st 2007]. The largest retrospective, observational study comparing two osteoporosis therapies on the basis of fracture reduction was presented today at the Seventh European Congress on Clinical and Economic Aspects of...

The Real X-Files: the Inside Story of the MoD's UFO Project
28 Sep 2007
SCI Liverpool & North West Lecture The Ministry of Defence receives more Freedom of Information Act requests relating to UFOs than on any other subject, including the war in Iraq. The MoD is shortly to begin releasing some of its most...

AGU journal highlights -- Aug. 1, 2007
1 Aug 2007
1. Surface warming and the solar cycle To accurately assess the effects of human-induced climate change, scientists must be able to quantify the contribution of natural variation in solar irradiance to temperature changes. The existence of a...

Learning center in southeast San Diego housing project joins new partnership with UCSD/SDSC
20 Aug 2007
In Southeast San Diego, the “digital divide” separating the haves and the have-nots in computer literacy just narrowed a bit. Thanks to a new partnership with UC San Diego and the San Diego Supercomputer Center, kids and young...

UF to lead research on life-threatening fungus
31 Jul 2007
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - Hear the word fungus, and mushrooms and mold might leap to mind. But the University of Florida is about to house the nation's first research repository for one species that has nothing to do with pizza toppings or marbling...

ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- January 3, 2007
8 Jan 2007
ACS News Service Click here for more information. Here is the latest American Chemical Society (ACS) News Service Weekly press package (PressPac) with reports selected from 35 major peer-reviewed journals and...

Pre-Columbian ruin discovered in Peru
17 Jan 2007
Find to be featured in Discovery Channel's new series Chasing Mummies Silver Spring, Md. -- Explorer Keith Muscutt has announced the existence of a previously unknown pre-Columbian ruin in Peru: the Huaca La Penitenciaría de la Meseta,...

ACS News Service Weekly PressPac -- Dec. 20, 2006
1 Jan 2007
ACS News Service Click here for more information. Here is the latest American Chemical Society (ACS) News Service Weekly press package (PressPac) with reports selected from 35 major peer-reviewed journals and...

JCI table of contents: January 2, 2007
2 Jan 2007
EDITOR'S PICK Genetic mutation alters response to heart failure drugs The group of drugs known as beta blockers help slow nerve impulses traveling through the heart in order to reduce the heart's workload. This effect is achieved via their...

DFG approves 11 new Collaborative Research Centers
5 Jun 2007
Changes to the program simplify the funding of independent junior research groups The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish eleven new Collaborative Research Centres (SFBs) on 1 July 2007. They will...

AGU Journal Highlights -- June 29, 2007
29 Jun 2007
{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak} A twenty year reversal in water mass trends in the subtropical North Atlantic Three cruises have been conducted to the same area in...

New analyses reinforce efficacy of Remicade in treatment of severe psoriasis
2 Feb 2007
Data show patients with severe psoriasis affecting the nails experienced significant improvements with Remicade therapy WASHINGTON, DC, February 2, 2007 -- Findings from an integrated analysis of data from three pivotal, randomized,...

Nobel scientists Craig Mello and John Mather to speak on origins of life and universe
19 Jun 2007
Event is July 26 at Library of Congress WASHINGTON, D.C. -- A free and public event, "On the origins of life and the universe: An afternoon with 2006 Nobel Laureates Craig Mello and John Mather," will be held at the Library of Congress on 26...

Other highlights in the Jan. 17 JNCI
16 Jan 2007
Calcium Supplements Offer Prolonged Protection Against Colorectal Adenomas in High-Risk Patients Previous studies have shown that people with noncancerous colorectal tumors called adenomas who take calcium supplements for 4 years can reduce...

AGU Journal Highlights -- June 7, 2007
8 Jun 2007
{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak}{autopagebreak} Climate change could transform Venice Lagoon A new model that couples biotic and abiotic processes in intertidal zones predicts that...

AGU Journal Highlights -- Aug. 14, 2007
14 Aug 2007
1. Concurrent arrival of the 2004 Sumatra tsunami and storm-generated waves on North America's Atlantic coast The Sumatra-Andaman earthquake generated a catastrophic tsunami that caused heavy damage and fatalities in coastal areas around the...

Study finds role of mid-brain in integrating heart and respiratory response to exercise
29 Apr 2007
WASHINGTON -- For almost one hundred years the brain’s “central command” system – whose charge includes controlling the body’s cardiorespiratory response to exercise – has been pursued. Animal experiments...

Hotter is better for removing allergens in laundry
20 May 2007
ATS 2007, SAN FRANCISCO -- A new study finds that the heat setting you choose when doing laundry makes all the difference when it comes to killing dust mites. The researchers found that washing laundry in hot water--140 degrees Fahrenheit (60...

A recently licensed nicotine receptor stimulant trebles the odds of stopping smoking
24 Jan 2007
A recently licensed nicotine receptor stimulant trebles the odds of stopping smoking The new anti-smoking drug varenicline was first licensed for use in the UK on 5th December 2006. An early Cochrane Review of its effectiveness shows that...

SDSC, NCAR, LLNL, IBM Team Sets US records in weather simulation
10 Dec 2007
Collaborative effort results in new US records for speed, scale, detail and parallelism A team of researchers from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR), the San Diego Supercomputer Center (SDSC) at UC San Diego, Lawrence...

'Kissing cousins'
25 Sep 2007
Among Bedouins, first-cousin marriages affect infant mortality -- but not as much as short birth intervals Understanding whether inbreeding accounts for early mortality is a long-standing concern in demographic research. Analyzing Bedouin...

CNSE and New Energy New York present the 2nd Annual New Energy Symposium
31 Jul 2007
First-ever NY Hydrogen Expo is part of expanded two-day event that attracts 450 (ALBANY, NY) More than 450 attendees, including high-level energy industry executives, top state and federal government officials and leading university...

Nursing home placement associated with accelerated cognitive decline in Alzheimer's disease
1 Jun 2007
Study by Rush Alzheimer's Disease Center finds adult day care may help the transition into a nursing home (CHICAGO) – People with Alzheimer's disease experience an acceleration in the rate of cognitive decline after being placed in a...

Remicade therapy shown to improve productivity in patients treated for chronic plaque psoriasis
2 Feb 2007
Analysis from Pivotal Phase 3 Trial underscores impact of psoriasis on work and daily activities WASHINGTON, D.C., February 2, 2007 -- Investigators reported today at the American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting that patients with...

Worcester Polytechnic Institute to host national forum on locating first responders inside buildings
26 Jul 2007
The annual workshop on Precision Indoor Personnel Location and Tracking for Emergency Responders is the only national forum for researchers, corporate R&D leaders, national policy makers and public safety departments on this critical...

Global warming, Antarctic ice is focus of multinational workshop
25 Apr 2007
Map of Antarctica Click here for more information. TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- As the national repository for geological material from the Southern Ocean, the Antarctic Marine Geology Research Facility at Florida State...

Other highlights in the January 3 JNCI
2 Jan 2007
Statin Use Not Associated With Colorectal Cancer Risk Regular use of cholesterol-lowering drugs called statins is not associated with a reduced risk of colorectal cancer, according to a population-based case-control study. Laboratory tests...

Study uncovers a lethal secret of 1918 influenza virus
17 Jan 2007
MADISON -- In a study of non-human primates infected with the influenza virus that killed 50 million people in 1918, an international team of scientists has found a critical clue to how the virus killed so quickly and efficiently. Writing...

Cutting greenhouse gases: wood chips in, alcohol out
12 Jun 2007
California researchers plan to make biofuels in a novel way that doesn’t involve food crops or microbial fermentation California researchers plan to make biofuels in a novel way that doesn’t involve food crops or microbial...

AGU journal highlights -- Jan. 2, 2007
2 Jan 2007
1. Perturbations to the radiative energy balance following the Mt. Pinatubo eruption Natural aerosols are known to have a cooling effect on Earth's climate, because they scatter incoming solar radiation. Volcanic eruptions provide a natural...

Earliest evidence of modern humans in Europe discovered by international team
11 Jan 2007
Stone, bone and ivory artifacts may date back 45,000 years A research team works at the Kostenki site on the Don River located about 250 miles south of Moscow. Click here for more information. Modern humans who first...

New book sheds light on conflicts of politics and science
26 Dec 2007
'Truth, Lies, and Public Health' authored by Weill Cornell's Dr. Madelon Finkel NEW YORK (Dec. 26, 2007) -- From stem cell research to needle exchanges to medical marijuana and HIV/AIDS prevention, politics is getting in the way of science,...

University of Arizona's 70-year-old tree-ring laboratory to get new home
29 Nov 2007
A $9M gift from the widow of one of the lab's founders will fund a climate-controlled archive for millions of samples used in research ranging from archaeology to climate change Over the last three-quarters of a century, The University of...

Scientists reconstruct the prehistoric behavior and ecology of northern fur seals
21 May 2007
SANTA CRUZ, CA--A team of researchers has documented major changes in the behavior, ecology, and geographic range of the northern fur seal over the past 1,500 years using a combination of techniques from archaeology, biochemistry, and ecology....

Potent possibilities for parasite attack
17 Jun 2007
New Leishmania genome sequences highlight gene targets for treatment development A comparison of three parasite species that cause Leishmaniasis has identified a small number of genes, many new to biology, that will provide a framework to...

DFG to establish 10 new collaborative research centers
4 Dec 2007
The topics range from inflammation of the brain, to the distribution of oxygen in the oceans, to nanoscopic structures in the macroscopic world On 1 January 2008 the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will...

E-governance practitioners, researchers to meet next week in Macao
5 Dec 2007
UNU-IIST co-organizes 1st international conference on theory and practice of electronic governance The concept of “Electronic Government” — the application of modern information and communications technologies to facilitate...

San Diego Supercomputing Center stands ready to respond to emergencies with OnDemand research
19 Jul 2007
The National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded Supercomputing Center (SDSC) at the University of California San Diego will soon support on-demand, event-driven, scientific research. In the event of an emergency--an earthquake, tornado or...

First international conference on self-healing materials
13 Apr 2007
Scientific research into self-healing materials has taken off significantly worldwide in recent years. The Delft Centre for Materials of Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands has therefore taken the initiative to mount the first...

Hofmeyr skull supports the 'Out of Africa' theory
12 Jan 2007
The Hofmeyr skull. Scientists have now dated the skull as being 36,000 years old. The great similarity of this skull to skulls of the same age from Eurasian finds confirms... Click here for more information. This...