science / Top Stories
Rare sheep could be key to better diagnostic tests in developing world, says Stanford studyThe newest revolution in microbiology testing walks on four legs and says "baa". It's the hair sheep, a less-hirsute version of the familiar woolly barnyard resident. A new study from the Stanford
university School of Medicine, which is to be published July 3 in PLoS ONE, finds that not only are these ruminants low-maintenance and parasite-resistant, they're also perfect blood donors for the microbiology tests necessary to diagnose infectious disease in the developing world.
Eurekalert.org Friday, July 03, 2009Sydney welcomes first elephant calfThe first baby elephant to be delivered in Australia has been born at Taronga Zoo.
ABC.net.au Friday, July 03, 2009Scientists risk becoming 'PR hacks'Calls for
scientists to do a better job at framing research for public consumption threaten to turn scientists into spin merchants, according to one expert.
ABC.net.au Friday, July 03, 2009El Niņo Variant Is Linked to Hurricanes in AtlanticThe discovery that a periodic warming pattern in the central Pacific Ocean is linked to more frequent hurricanes in the Atlantic may help improve forecasts.
New York Times Friday, July 03, 2009The man who fell to EarthForty years ago Buzz Aldrin became the second man to walk on the moon. He was there for two and a half hours, but the breakdown which followed lasted a decade. He tells Stephen Moss how he has finally managed to fill the space left by spaceBuzz Aldrin has been on many journeys in his remarkable life, and in some respects the one to the moon was the least challenging. Being the second man to walk on the moon in July 1969, stepping down from the landing craft 20 minutes after Neil Armstrong, gave him eternal name recognition, but it also brought a heap of problems in the decade that followed - alcoholism, depression, two divorces. He was on the moon for two and a half hours; his post-Nasa breakdown lasted for a decade as he looked for something to fill the space left by ... space.But now, praise the Lord and Alcoholics Anonymous, 79-year-old Buzz is sitting in front of me, tanned, alert, as sharp as the Apollo 11 badge pinned to his colourful tie, chiding me for waving the mic around car
Guardian Friday, July 03, 2009Neil Armstrong: I want to be aloneNeil Armstrong was the first man on the moon. Pretty impressive. So impressive that 40 years later, people still make documentaries wondering what that must've been like. Being Neil Armstrong (Sun, 9pm, BBC4) is the latest.Its premise is this: Neil Armstrong has become a recluse. He never signs autographs and doesn't speak to the press. Why? Why don't you want to come out and talk to us, Neil? Why Neil? Why? Why? Why? What's the matter with you Neil? What's your problem? OI, NEIL! WHY?Since we're repeatedly told that Neil Armstrong effectively now lives a hermit-like existence in which he scarcely acknowledges the existence of humankind, an interview seems unlikely, so presenter Andrew Smith has to find different ways of discovering what makes him tick. He goes to Neil's home town and talks to a woman who used to be friends with his sister. She reveals that he wasn't a particularly unusual or talkative character. The woman now runs a model airplane shop, so Smith buys one, goes back to
Guardian Friday, July 03, 2009Honour given to 'UK astronauts'The five British-born individuals who have flown in space are being honoured with a commemorative pin.
BBC Friday, July 03, 2009Honeybee mobs overpower hornetsBees smother hornets in a "bee ball" that kills the giant predators with heat and carbon dioxide.
BBC Friday, July 03, 2009First Asian elephant born in Australian zooSYDNEY (AP) -- A 265-pound (120-kilogram), big-eared and long-nosed bundle of joy was welcomed in Australia as an important step in helping to save the endangered Asian elephant....
The Arizona Republic Friday, July 03, 2009Student engineers chasing the right formulaA Sydney father's guilt over the fact he hadn't done more to help at his daughters' school has led to an Australia-wide program encouraging school students to get into engineering.
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