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Aussie meat ants may be invasive cane toad's Achilles' heel(Wiley-Blackwell) Ecologists in Australia have discovered that cane toads are far more susceptible to being killed and eaten by meat ants than native frogs. Their research -- published in the British Ecological Society's journal Functional Ecology -- reveals a chink in the cane toad's armor that could help control the spread of this alien invasive species in tropical Australia.
Eurekalert.org Monday, March 30, 2009The Forever Wait To Close WindowsBack in the old days, when TVs and radios had tubes, it took a couple minutes for a set to warm up before you could watch or listen. But even then, you could turn it off instantly. Not so with Windows PCs.
CBS News Monday, March 30, 2009New breakthrough in global warming plant production(University of Leicester) Researchers are one step closer to "Holy Grail" of plant biology research.
Eurekalert.org Monday, March 30, 2009New theory on largest known mass extinction in the history of the earth(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) The largest mass extinction in the history could have been triggered off by giant salt lakes, whose emissions of halogenated gases changed the atmospheric composition so dramatically that vegetation was irretrievably damaged. At least that is what an international team of
scientists have reported in the "Proceedings of the Russian Academy of Sciences". At the Permian/Triassic boundary, 250 million years ago about 90 percent of the animal and plant species ashore became extinct.
Eurekalert.org Monday, March 30, 2009Oxycodone effective against shingles painThe painkiller oxycodone is effective at treating the acute pain of shingles, an illness that often causes severe pain which can become long-lasting and sometimes even permanent. Good treatment is crucial. It's possible that the pain of shingles is more likely to become a long-term problem if the pain is not adequately treated initially.
Eurekalert.org Monday, March 30, 2009Microbes turn electricity directly to methane without hydrogen generationA tiny microbe can take electricity and directly convert carbon dioxide and water to methane, producing a portable
energy source with a potentially neutral carbon footprint, according to a team of Penn State engineers.
Eurekalert.org Monday, March 30, 2009Shuttle Discovery lands in Fla. after 13-day tripCAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) -- Shuttle Discovery and its crew of seven returned to Earth on Saturday and successfully wrapped up a construction mission that left the international space station with all its solar wings and extra electrical power....
The Arizona Republic Monday, March 30, 2009Skype For iPhone: It's OfficialThe free Skype for iPhone app will finally be available to download from the iTunes App Store Tuesday.
CBS News Monday, March 30, 2009Mating Rituals: Hammerhead Bats Honk To WooMale hammerhead bats are built to sing ? for sex. These bats have huge heads, fluted lips and a larynx that takes up more than half the body. It's all to amplify their mating calls.
NPR Monday, March 30, 2009All Together Now: The Universal Appeal of Moving in UnisonThere was a time when soldiers went into battle in columns and rows. They would line up and march in orderly formation toward the enemy, armed with spears, bayonets or some other weapon of close combat. The enemy would do the same thing. One of these well-oiled formations would kill more soldiers than the other--and win the battle.Advances in firearms long ago made the marching formation obsolete. It just does not work with machine guns and guerilla warfare. Yet armies all over the world still train for this archaic kind of warfare. Indeed, militaries continue to place a high value on precision and synchrony that will never be used on a battlefield. [More]
Scientific American Monday, March 30, 2009 1 2 3 4 5 6
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