Genetically engineered mosquito could carry vaccine for malaria Experts believe “flying vaccinators” could eventually be a radical new way of tackling malaria.  The new approach targets the salivary gland of the Anopheles mosquito.   Scientists in Japan have engineered an insect producing a natural vaccine protein in its saliva which is injected into the bloodstream when it bites. The [...]

This artist’s conception illustrates one of the most primitive supermassive black holes known (central black dot) at the core of a young, star-rich galaxy. Astronomers have come across what appear to be two of the earliest and most primitive supermassive black holes known. The discovery, based largely on observations from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope, will provide [...]

Researchers have found that the unique, specific changes among individuals in the sequence of DNA affect the ability of “control proteins” called transcription factors to bind to the regions that control gene expression. The key to human individuality may lie not in our genes, but in the sequences that surround and control them, according to new [...]

Robot teachers have been given the thumbs up in South Korea, with a government report saying they have been a hit with pupils during a pilot project The scheme saw robotic English teachers taking lessons in three elementary schools for eight weeks from last December, as well as robot-like machines teaching maths, science and art classes [...]

Dog breeds and gray wolfs come from same evolutionary tree. Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, not Asia or Europe, according to a new genetic analysis by an international team of scientists led by UCLA biologists. The research appears March 17 in the advance online edition of the journal Nature. “Dogs seem to share more genetic similarity [...]

Re-Walk ReWalkâ„¢ is a wearable, motorized quasi robotic suit. Partially concealable under clothing, ReWalk provides user-initiated mobility – leveraging  advanced motion sensors, sophisticated robotic control algorithms, on-board computers, real-time software, actuation motors, tailored rechargeable batteries and composite materials. (Pics)   ReWalkâ„¢ works with users – not just for them. Users walk with the assistance of crutches, controlling suit [...]

This natural color view from the Cassini spacecraft highlights the myriad gradations in the transparency of Saturn’s inner rings. From our vantage point on Earth, Saturn may look like a peaceful orb with rings worthy of a carefully raked Zen garden, but NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has been shadowing the gas giant long enough to see that [...]

A new infrared image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars. A new infrared image from NASA’s Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, or WISE, shows a cosmic rosebud blossoming with new stars. The stars, called the Berkeley 59 cluster, are the blue dots to the right of the [...]

YikeBike is a statement about using smart technology to solve the problems of our increasingly congested, polluted, stressful cities. It is the first commercial expression of the mini-farthing concept, created up by a bunch of successful entrepreneurs, engineers and dreamers. (Pics)   The result was the mini-farthing concept and its first expression, the YikeBike. It employs state-of-the-art [...]

Seahorses and a few related fish are the only species where the males can get pregnant. These males take eggs from females and nurture them in their brood pouches. Researchers have discovered that these males may selectively abort young resulting from mating with less attractive females. The above video, which is preceded by a commercial, [...]

People gather at the Exit-Entry Administration Office of Nanjing public security bureau  to apply for overseas trips. More mainland tourists are expected to spend money on overseas travel this year, said a report by a think tank to the national tourism authority. The Annual Report of China Outbound Tourism Development 2009-2010, released by the China Tourism Academy [...]

In a country that claims to be the land of the free, the number of people under the control of the U.S. corrections system has exploded over the last 25 years to more than 7.3 million, or 1 in every 31 U.S. adults, according to a report released by the Pew Center on the States. [...]

Chemists have developed the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight. Emory University chemists have developed the most potent homogeneous catalyst known for water oxidation, considered a crucial component for generating clean hydrogen fuel using only water and sunlight. The breakthrough, published [...]

The planet, called CoRoT-9b, was discovered by using the CoRoT space telescope satellite. An international team of scientists, including several who are affiliated with UC Santa Barbara, has discovered a new planet the size of Jupiter. The finding is published in the March 18 issue of the journal Nature. The planet, called CoRoT-9b, was discovered by using [...]

The image spans about 50° of the sky. It is a three-colour combination constructed from Planck’s two highest frequency channels. Giant filaments of cold dust stretching through our Galaxy are revealed in a new image from ESA’s Planck satellite. Analysing these structures could help to determine the forces that shape our Galaxy and trigger star formation. Planck [...]

Left: S. scovelli female. Right: Pregnant male Gulf pipefish. Male pipefishes and their seahorse cousins are the only males that actually become pregnant and give birth, but pipefishes likely will never win any Father of The Year awards — their attitude towards their offspring can range from total love to total neglect, according to new findings [...]

The brain does not predict the unpredictable: The sight of bars apparently moving from bottom left to top right (dotted line) evokes activity in the primary visual cortex (V1). It turns out that there is a striking similarity between how the human brain determines what is going on in the outside world and the job of [...]

Smog is a HUGE problem in India. Officials in Delhi have unveiled a radical solution to tackle the increasingly noxious smog hanging over the city: a giant public air freshener that scrubs the atmosphere clean. The seven-tonne Systemlife Citta costs about 25 million rupees (£357,000). It sucks in 10,000 cubic metres of dirty air [...]

We knew vaguely that Google was looking toward the living room, but the NYTimes has the details on Google TV, an ambitious platform to deliver web content to Android-based set-top boxes and TVs through partnerships with Sony, Intel, and Logitech. Google hopes that the new platform will succeed where dozens of lesser efforts have failed—to truly [...]

This mega plant even spawned it’s own festival! A wistaria vine in Sierra Madre, California has been named as the World’s Largest Flowering Plant by the Guinness Book of World Records. This vine is so big it has its own festival! William and Alice Brugman planted it in 1894 to celebrate the purchase of their new [...]

Nearly one-quarter of U.S. mortgages are “underwater,” i.e. the houses are worth less than the balance of their loans. Underwater on their mortgages and angry at banks, more borrowers are choosing to hand over the keys, even if they can afford the payments. Wynn Bloch has always dutifully paid her bills and socked away money for [...]

Why drink your coffee when you can inhale it? Thanks to creative engineering by Harvard professor David Edwards, coffee addicts can now breathe their morning cup of joe (and get their caffeine fix) using a product called Le Whif. Le Whif ‘gives us the kick of coffee without the cup,’ says Edwards. How does it work? Users place [...]

  Bigelow Aerospace advertising for experienced astronauts An American space holiday firm, Bigelow Aerospace, has become the first commercial company to advertise for professional astronauts.  The firm, founded by Bob Bigelow, the head of a budget motel chain in the US, wants experienced spacemen working in orbit and on the ground.   Only professionals with space flight experience need [...]

A drug that could give you a perfect memory Imagine if you could look at something once and remember it forever. You would never have to ask for directions again. Now a group of scientists has isolated a protein that mega-boosts your ability to remember what you see.   A group of Spanish researchers reported today in Science that [...]

Los Angeles smog Americans’ worries about environmental issues have hit a 20-year low, largely because of economic concerns, according to a Gallup Poll released Tuesday.Fewer adults worry “a great deal” about each of eight issues surveyed, including global warming, than a year ago, according to the poll of 1,014 Americans taken March 4-7. Their concerns about [...]

Cosmologists use Type Ia supernovae, like the one visible in the lower left corner of this galaxy, to explore the past and future expansion of the universe and the nature of dark energy. An international team led by Yale University has, for the first time, measured the mass of a type of supernova thought to belong [...]

“Employees should assume that they are going to be watched.”  Almost every worker has done it: gotten in a little Facebook updating, personal e-mailing, YouTube watching and friend calling while on the clock.Such indiscretions often went undetected by company management everywhere but the most secure and highly proprietary companies or governmental agencies. Not anymore.   Firms have become [...]

One week old seed of the thale cress with embryo. In the beginning is the fertilized egg cell. Following numerous cell divisions, it then develops into a complex organism with different organs and tissues. The largely unexplained process whereby the cells simply “know” the organs into which they should later develop is an astonishing phenomenon. Scientists from [...]

Injecting a simple hormone into leeches has resulted in a novel way to study how hormones and the nervous system work together to produce species-specific reproductive behavior. Researchers at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) have discovered that injecting a simple hormone into leeches creates a novel way [...]

In natural photosynthesis, plants take in solar energy and carbon dioxide and then convert it to oxygen and sugars. For decades, farmers have been trying to find ways to get more energy out of the sun. In natural photosynthesis, plants take in solar energy and carbon dioxide and then convert it to oxygen and sugars. The [...]