Taiwan breeds green-glowing pigsScientists in Taiwan say they have bred three pigs that glow in the dark.
They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through.
The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo.
The researchers hope the pigs will boost the island's stem cell research, as well as helping with the study of human disease.
... (more)
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Beam weapons almost ready for battle: Directed energy could revolutionize warfare, expert saysLOS ALAMOS, N.M. - There is a new breed of weaponry fast approaching — and at the speed of light, no less. They are labeled "directed-energy weapons," and they may well signal a revolution in military hardware — perhaps more so than the atomic bomb.
Directed-energy weapons take the form of lasers, high-powered microwaves and particle beams. Their adoption for ground, air, sea, and space warfare depends not only on using the electromagnetic spectrum, but also upon favor... (more)
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Bird flu might be less deadly than fearedH5N1 bird flu may be less deadly to people than feared, suggests a study in Vietnam, although the results will require more work to confirm.
This might be good news if H5N1 ever starts spreading more readily among humans. But it is bad news if it means there are far more human infections with the virus, as it means more opportunities for the virus to adapt to humans.
To date, about half the people confirmed to have H5N1 have died – a terrifying fatality rate.... (more)
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Military Sensor Hears Through WallsA new handheld radar scope from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) can provide troops with an ability that was formerly the province of science fictional superheroes alone—the ability to sense through up to 12 inches of concrete whether someone is in the next room.
The ... (more)
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Toxic waste creates hermaphrodite Arctic polar bears Wildlife researchers have found new evidence that Arctic polar bears, already gravely threatened by the melting of their habitat because of global warming, are being poisoned by chemical compounds commonly used in Europe and North America to reduce the flammability of household furnishings like sofas, clothing and carpets.
A team of scientists from Canada, Alaska, Denmark and Norway is sounding the alarm about the flame retardants, known as polybrominated diphenyls, or PBDEs, say... (more)
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Buyer beware as electronics giants launch rival DVDsIt has been described as the worst, and potentially most confusing, format war since the days of Betamax vs VHS video 30 years ago.
Over the next few months the world's leading electronics companies will unleash the long-awaited replacement for the DVD - a new type of disc that can store 23 hours' worth of films or nine hours of new high definition video.
But the rival camps are battling it out with two completely incompatible types of disc.
Most of t... (more)
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New Device Will Sense Through Concrete Walls WASHINGTON: Troops conducting urban operations soon will have the capabilities of superheroes, being able to sense through 12 inches of concrete to determine if someone is inside a building.
The new "Radar Scope" will give warfighters searching a building the ability to tell within seconds if someone is in the next room, Edward Baranoski from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Special Projects Office, told the American Forces Press Service.
By simp... (more)
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Air Force Wants Space War GameBlasting pixilated space ships can be mighty fun, as anyone who's ever played Galaga can tell you. The Air Force thinks it can put all that joystick time to good use, too -- by using games to help airmen prepare for real-life outer space combat.
The service is looking for game maker to build a sim for what it calls “counterspace operations” -- military-speak for stopping enemy satellites.
Right now, it’s hard to train folks to handle these kind... (more)
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Why this brain flies on rat cunningIt sounds like science fiction: a brain nurtured in a Petri dish learns to pilot a fighter plane as scientists develop a new breed of "living" computer. But in groundbreaking experiments in a Florida laboratory that is exactly what is happening.
The "brain", grown from 25,000 neural cells extracted from a single rat embryo, has been taught to fly an F-22 jet simulator by scientists at the University of Florida.
They hope their research into neural computation will h... (more)
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Stomach Bug Mutates Into Medical Mystery: Antibiotics, Heartburn Drugs SuspectedFirst came stomach cramps, which left Christina Shultz doubled over and weeping in pain. Then came nausea and fatigue -- so overwhelming she couldn't get out of bed for days. Just when she thought things couldn't get worse, the nastiest diarrhea of her life hit -- repeatedly forcing her into the hospital.
Doctors finally discovered that the 35-year-old Hilliard, Ohio, woman had an intestinal bug that used to be found almost exclusively among older, sicker patients in hospitals and... (more)
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Russia seeks to end America’s GPS dominanceRussia on Wednesday successfully launched the first satellite for the Galileo navigation system, Europe’s ambitious $ 4 billion programme which seeks to end its dependence on US-controlled global positioning system (GPS) and put the use of the technology in civilian hands.
A Russian Soyuz carrier rocket with European GIOVE A satellite lifted off from the Baikonur space centre in Kazakhstan around 10.30 IST and successfully placed it in the circular orbit at the altitude of 2... (more)
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Record bad year for tech security: Paper says 2005 saw the most computer security breaches ever; more than 55M Americans exposed.NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) - 2005 saw the most computer security breaches ever, subjecting millions of Americans to potential identity fraud, according to a report published Thursday.
Over 130 major intrusions exposed more than 55 million Americans to the growing variety of fraud as personal data like Social Security and credit card numbers were left unprotected, according to USA Today.
The Treasury Department says that cyber crime has now outgrown illegal drug sales i... (more)
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Critical Flaw Detected in Windows MetafileA vulnerability has been discovered in Microsoft Windows that allows hackers to remotely access PCs and install malware through an imaging-handling technology in the operating system.
Microsoft acknowledged the release of exploit code that could allow an attacker to execute arbitrary code when someone visits a Web site that contains a specially crafted Windows Metafile (WMF) image. Security authority Secunia labeled the vulnerability "extremely critical."
Malicious ... (more)
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Fresh blow for S Korea clone work South Korea's disgraced human cloning scientist did not produce any stem cells tailored to individual patients as claimed, a panel has concluded.
A Seoul National University panel said it believed that Hwang Woo-suk never had the data he said he had.
Dr Hwang quit last week after the panel said some research was fabricated.
Correspondents say the finding is important as individually-tailored stem cells were seen as a key to treating diseases like ... (more)
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Adult Brain Cells Do Keep GrowingThe apocryphal tale that you can't grow new brain cells just isn't true.
Neurons continue to grow and change beyond the first years of development and well into adulthood, according to a new study.
The finding challenges the traditional belief that adult brain cells, or neurons, are largely static and unable to change their structures in response to new experiences.
The study, performed in adult mice, found that the branch-like projections on some neu... (more)
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Alleged cloned dog cavorts in snowWhile South Korea's most famous scientist was resigning on Friday in scandal after his university said key research was faked, one of his greatest purported breakthroughs was cavorting in the snow.
Snuppy, an Afghan hound that researcher Hwang Woo-suk said he cloned, was shown in photographs by South Korean media being led by a handler on a leash through the grounds of Seoul National University's animal hospital, where the dog is now kept.
"Lonely Snuppy after Profe... (more)
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S Korea cloning research was fakeResearch by South Korea's top human cloning scientist - hailed as a breakthrough earlier this year - was fabricated, colleagues have concluded.
A Seoul National University panel said the research by world-renowned Hwang Woo-suk was "intentionally fabricated", and he would be disciplined.
Dr Hwang said he would resign, but he did not admit his research was faked.
"I sincerely apologise to the people for creating shock and disappointment," he said after... (more)
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Robot Demonstrates Self AwarenessA new robot can recognize the difference between a mirror image of itself and another robot that looks just like it.
This so-called mirror image cognition is based on artificial nerve cell groups built into the robot's computer brain that give it the ability to recognize itself and acknowledge others.
The ground-breaking technology could eventually lead to robots able to express emotions.
Under development by Junichi Takeno and a team of researchers a... (more)
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'Frightening' Tamiflu reportA new report has cast doubt over the drug used to combat bird flu, after two people died despite receiving the treatment.
A study of 13 Vietnamese patients infected with the H5N1 strain of bird flu found that two developed a rapid resistance to the anti-viral drug Tamiflu.
The report published in the New England Journal of Medicine came as the World Health Organisation (WHO) confirmed that a 39-year-old man and an eight-year-old boy died earlier this month of bird f... (more)
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New Study Says Two Million Americans Harbor Drug-Resistant SuperbugALEXANDRIA, VA -- December 21, 2005 -- New research estimates that about 2 million people carry a strain of drug-resistant bacteria in their noses. The research, conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is the first reliable nationwide estimate of colonization with Staphylococcus aureus, including methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA). It is published in the Jan. 15 issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, now available online.
Those colonized with n... (more)
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Testing Drugs on India's Poor India has been the focus of medical research since the time when sunburned men with pith helmets and degrees from prestigious European medical schools came to catalog tropical illnesses.
The days of the Raj are long gone, but multinational corporations are riding high on the trend toward globalization by taking advantage of India's educated work force and deep poverty to turn South Asia into the world's largest clinical-testing petri dish.
The sudden influx of drug ... (more)
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Double X-rays give 'speedy scan'A hi-tech scanner has been developed which takes images in less time than it takes the human heart to beat.
The Somatom Definition machine contains two X-ray scanners so full body images can be taken twice as fast.
Manufacturer Siemens said the scanner, which will be available in the UK next autumn, is ideal for diagnosing heart problems because of its speed.
Scanning experts said such technology might reduce the need for more invasive diagnostic tech... (more)
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Nobel laureate admits string theory is in trouble"WE DON'T know what we are talking about." That was Nobel laureate David Gross at the 23rd Solvay Conference in Physics in Brussels, Belgium, during his concluding remarks on Saturday. He was referring to string theory - the attempt to unify the otherwise incompatible theories of relativity and quantum mechanics to provide a theory of everything.
Gross - who received a Nobel for his work on the strong nuclear force, bringing physics closer to a theory of everything - has been a st... (more)
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S Korea stem cell success 'faked'A South Korean cloning pioneer has admitted fabricating results in key stem cell research, a colleague claims.
At least nine of 11 stem cell colonies used in a landmark research paper by Dr Hwang Woo-suk were faked, said Roh Sung-il, who collaborated on the paper.
Dr Hwang wants the US journal Science to withdraw his paper on stem cell cloning, Mr Roh said.
Dr Hwang, who is reported to be receiving hospital treatment for stress, was not available f... (more)
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Biotech-Crop Battle Heats Up as Strains Mix With OthersNations Seek Rules to Attempt To Keep Varieties Separate; Fears Hurt U.S. Farmers
Mr. Ballarin's Tainted Corn
HUESCA, Spain -- For 15 years Felix Ballarin labored to perfect a strain of organically grown red corn. He figured the crop could fetch twice the price of traditional yellow corn because local chicken farmers say it gives their meat and eggs a rosy color.
But when the ears first emerged late last year, the farmer made a horrifying discovery: Y... (more)
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Violent video games alter brain's response to violenceA brain mechanism that may link violent computer games with aggression has been discovered by researchers in the US. The work goes some way towards demonstrating a causal link between the two - rather than a simple association.
Many studies have concluded that people who play violent video games are more aggressive, more likely to commit violent crimes, and less likely to help others. But critics argue these correlations merely prove that violent people gravitate towards violent g... (more)
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