science

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Leftover Fat From Lipos Is 'Liquid Gold' for Stem Cells

Siphoned off fat better than skin for producing embyo-free stem cells

(Newser) - Blubber may be the next big thing in stem cell research. Stanford scientists have found that leftover liposuction fat contains cells that can be changed into induced pluripotent stem cells—a type that doesn't require the use of an embryo, the San Jose Mercury News reports. Until now, scientists have...

In Picking Tennis Balls, Junk Science Meets OCD

(Newser) - The meticulous attention a pro tennis player gives to choosing balls ahead of a serve is a little bit of science with a healthy dose of superstition—or even stalling. Players say balls that have seen more play are fluffier and therefore have more drag, though the consensus is that...

Stress Keeps Mosquitoes Away
 Stress Keeps Mosquitoes Away 

Stress Keeps Mosquitoes Away

Scientists near bug spray derived from body chemicals

(Newser) - Mosquito magnets, take note: British scientists have identified which bodily chemical odors make some people less attractive to mosquitoes, and they may be ones related to stress, the Wall Street Journal reports. It’s thought that the insects avoid anxious people in favor of healthier prey, a finding that could...

World's First Cloned Wolf Dies
World's First
Cloned Wolf Dies

World's First Cloned Wolf Dies

Cause of death a mystery

(Newser) - One of  of the world's first two cloned wolves has died due to unknown causes, reports the Korea Times. Snuwolf, 4, was found dead at South Korea's national zoo. Her identical sister, Snuwolffy, remains healthy. "Snuwolf had been in good condition," said Prof. Shin Nam-sik, a leader of...

Scientists Capture Detailed Image of Molecule

Technique could help improve electronics, drugs

(Newser) - In a scientific first, IBM researchers have produced a detailed image of a molecule’s structure, the BBC reports. The stunning image, made with an atomic force microscope that vibrates like a tuning fork, is so finely detailed that it shows chemical bonds. Such intricate familiarity with the molecule opens...

Big Business Wants to Put Global Warming on Trial

(Newser) - Facing broad new US regulations on emissions, big business wants to put the science behind global warming before a judge, the Los Angeles Times reports. “It would be evolution versus creationism,” says an executive for the US Chamber of Commerce, which is pushing the idea of a public...

Galileo's World-Changing Telescope Turns 400

(Newser) - On August 25, 1609—400 years ago today—Galileo Galilei introduced Venice to the telescope, and the discoveries it enabled were every bit as revolutionary as Darwinism, writes Peter Walker of the Guardian. With his telescope, a brown stick weaker than today's store-bought models, Galileo detected moon-like phases of Venus,...

High-Tech Mug Keeps Coffee Just Right

Mug absorbs heat, then releases it to maintain perfect temperature

(Newser) - German scientists have developed a coffee mug that gets your joe to the right temperature and keeps it there, Der Spiegel reports. The secret is phase-change material, waxy stuff used in home-building to maintain temperatures indoors. It's also stuffed inside winter jackets, and if these scientists have their way, it...

Hold Music Improves, But Slowly

(Newser) - We may have Erik Satie to blame for hold music—the composer “developed a very cynical attitude” toward a distracted listening public and decided modern music would be more like a chair than an intellectual pursuit—but the science behind it is state-of-the-art, Newsweek reports. Studies on the intrusion...

NASA's $19M Mission: Simulating Messy Moon Dust

(Newser) - With NASA hoping to set up a lunar outpost by 2020, an unlikely nuisance has become a hot commodity: moon dust. With only 227 pounds of the equipment-clogging stuff available for tests, NASA is pouring $19 million into faking it, the Wall Street Journal reports. "So many people need...

Shy Scientists Dropped Ball on Climate Change

(Newser) - The Senate will soon debate the climate bill passed by the House, but “even if we do get a global-warming law for the first time in 2009, in a sense we’ve already failed,” write Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum on BuzzFlash. The issue’s 20 years old,...

Why Cancer Researchers Are Playing it Safe

Long-shots are risky to fund, so grants go to less ambitious studies

(Newser) - If you're a cancer researcher, it's harder to get money to investigate a potentially field-changing question than to find out whether a food's tastiness affects dieting. The reason is simple but problematic: With limited funding available and lots of research to do, grant-givers don't want to lose money on a...

Owner Gets Clones of Hero 9/11 Dog

(Newser) - The owner of hero 9/11 sniffer dog Trakr has been presented with four new bouncing baby ... Trakrs, reports TMZ. The four black puppies with piercing blue eyes are all clones of their hero pop. Just in time, too—the original Trakr died in April at the age of 15. He...

Forecast: 'Astonishing' New Cloud Type

If recognized, new variety would be first since 1951

(Newser) - A photo taken by an Iowa paralegal may help secure the recognition of a new cloud type, USA Today reports. Meteorologists are analyzing the cloud's characteristics to determine whether it's an example of an unrecognized type. If the move to recognize the cloud type succeeds, undulus asperatus, whose Latin name...

New Element Joins Periodic Table

Experiments confirm existence of super-heavy Element 112

(Newser) - The periodic table of elements will soon gain a new—and the heaviest known—element, the BBC reports. Element 112 was first discovered over a decade ago and its existence has now been confirmed after extensive experiments. Authorities have temporarily named it "ununbium," and its German discoverers have...

Revolted? You May Be Conservative

Studies suggest those on right have weaker stomachs

(Newser) - Those easily repulsed by a creepy bug or bloody scene may lean to the right, new studies suggest. People who are easily grossed out are particularly likely to take conservative stances on homosexuality, LiveScience reports. Surveys using scales for “Disgust Sensitivity” and political ideology helped researchers draw the conclusions;...

Scientists Name Beetle After Colbert

Researchers honor comedian on his birthday

(Newser) - Scientists who bestowed names of Bush administration officials on a trio of bugs have named a new Venezuelan beetle after Stephen Colbert, the Washington Times reports. "Last year, Stephen shamelessly asked the science community to name something cooler than a spider to honor him," said one of the...

Scientists Bet There's a Gambling Gene

Study suggests genetics behind taking money risks

(Newser) - Genetics might be behind your betting habits, researchers have found. People with a “short” type of a certain gene were more likely to take risks than those with the “long” type, the Daily Telegraph reports. In a study, 30 volunteers were, for example, given cash and allowed to...

Tsunami 'Hit NYC' 2,300 Years Ago

(Newser) - Strange debris strewn around Long Island proves that a tsunami slammed into the New York City region some 2,300 years ago, one scientist says. The balls of gravel he discovered, which match the dates of ancient fossils in the area, needed a powerful aquatic push to send them where...

Genome Whiz Aims to Reunite God, Science

Geneticist seeks to reconcile conflicts between faith, science

(Newser) - Young Christians inevitably experience a crisis when they realize how deeply religion clashes with science, but an evangelical geneticist is aiming to restore their faith, Time reports. Unveiling the BioLogos Foundation this week, Francis Collins seeks to resolve questions over Adam and Eve’s creation and evolution. “We cannot...

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