December 29, 2006

• Satellite
  Satellite
  In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an object which has been placed into orbit by human endeavour. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
  
   images show that a large ice shelf
  Ice shelf
  An ice shelf is a thick, floating platform of ice that forms where a glacier or ice sheet flows down to a coastline and onto the ocean surface. Ice shelves are only found in Antarctica, Greenland and Canada. The boundary between the floating ice shelf and the grounded ice that feeds it is called...
  
   broke free from the Canadian coast at Ellesmere Island
  Ellesmere Island
  Ellesmere Island is part of the Qikiqtaaluk Region of the Canadian territory of Nunavut. Lying within the Canadian Arctic Archipelago, it is considered part of the Queen Elizabeth Islands, with Cape Columbia being the most northerly point of land in Canada...
  
   around the summer of 2005. (Reuters)

December 28, 2006

• The United States Food and Drug Administration
  Food and Drug Administration
  The Food and Drug Administration is an agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, one of the United States federal executive departments...
  
   publishes its assessment that meat and milk from cloned
  Cloning
  Cloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
  
   cattle, pigs and sheep is safe for human consumption. (BBCnews)

December 22, 2006

• An analysis of marine sediments
  Pelagic sediments
  Pelagic sediment or pelagite is a fine-grained sediment that has accumulated by the settling of particles through the water column to the ocean floor beneath the open ocean far from land. These particles consist primarily of either the microscopic, calcareous or siliceous shells of phytoplankton or...
  
   dating from 21 to 34 million years
  Year
  A year is the orbital period of the Earth moving around the Sun. For an observer on Earth, this corresponds to the period it takes the Sun to complete one course throughout the zodiac along the ecliptic....
  
   is published in Science
  Science (journal)
  Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
  
  . It shows statistically significant oscillations matching the Milankovitch cycles
  Milankovitch cycles
  Milankovitch theory describes the collective effects of changes in the Earth's movements upon its climate, named after Serbian civil engineer and mathematician Milutin Milanković, who worked on it during First World War internment...
  
   with periods of 96,000, 127,000, 405,000 (all are orbital eccentricity
  Orbital eccentricity
  The orbital eccentricity of an astronomical body is the amount by which its orbit deviates from a perfect circle, where 0 is perfectly circular, and 1.0 is a parabola, and no longer a closed orbit...
  
   cycles), and 1,2 million year (obliquity
  Axial tilt
  In astronomy, axial tilt is the angle between an object's rotational axis, and a line perpendicular to its orbital plane...
  
   cycle). (SpaceRef.com)
• Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
  
  lands at the Kennedy Space Center
  Kennedy Space Center
  The John F. Kennedy Space Center is the NASA installation that has been the launch site for every United States human space flight since 1968. Although such flights are currently on hiatus, KSC continues to manage and operate unmanned rocket launch facilities for America's civilian space program...
  
   after various weather related delays. (Reuters)

December 19, 2006

• The shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
  
  undocks from the International Space Station
  International Space Station
  The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
  
   after completing a complex mission, that was extended by one day due to difficulties with a solar panel "wing". (BBCNews)
• A new approach to eradicate the malaria
  Malaria
  Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
  
  -causing parasite
  Parasitism
  Parasitism is a type of symbiotic relationship between organisms of different species where one organism, the parasite, benefits at the expense of the other, the host. Traditionally parasite referred to organisms with lifestages that needed more than one host . These are now called macroparasites...
  
  , from the population of mosquito
  Mosquito
  Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
  
  s that carries it, completes a test phase in mice
  Mouse
  A mouse is a small mammal belonging to the order of rodents. The best known mouse species is the common house mouse . It is also a popular pet. In some places, certain kinds of field mice are also common. This rodent is eaten by large birds such as hawks and eagles...
  
  . The goal of the "vaccine" is to kill the organism in the gut
  Gastrointestinal tract
  The human gastrointestinal tract refers to the stomach and intestine, and sometimes to all the structures from the mouth to the anus. ....
  
   of the mosquito after it has taken up blood. (Reuters)

December 14, 2006

• A research expedition concludes that the Chinese River Dolphin is now likely extinct, directly due to human action. (Globe & Mail)
• The Molecules of the Year 2006 are the hsa-mir-155 and hsa-let-7a-2 for their unique molecular expressions as miRNAs which supported their roles as the new diagnostic and prognostic markers in lung cancer. This announcement was made by Isidro T. Savillo, President of ISMCBPR (International Society for Molecular and Cell Biology Protocols and Researches, Inc.).(Hum-MolGen)

December 12, 2006

• Trends in climate data presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union
  American Geophysical Union
  The American Geophysical Union is a nonprofit organization of geophysicists, consisting of over 50,000 members from over 135 countries. AGU's activities are focused on the organization and dissemination of scientific information in the interdisciplinary and international field of geophysics...
  
   indicate that the Arctic Ocean
  Arctic Ocean
  The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
  
   will be free of ice over the summer season by 2040. (BBCNews)

December 10, 2006

• Space shuttle
  Space Shuttle
  The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
  
   Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
  
  launches from Cape Canaveral
  Cape Canaveral
  Cape Canaveral, from the Spanish Cabo Cañaveral, is a headland in Brevard County, Florida, United States, near the center of the state's Atlantic coast. Known as Cape Kennedy from 1963 to 1973, it lies east of Merritt Island, separated from it by the Banana River.It is part of a region known as the...
  
   on its mission
  STS-116
  -Crew notes:Originally this mission was to carry the Expedition 8 crew to the ISS. The original crew was to be:-Mission highlights:* The STS-116 mission delivered and attached the International Space Station's third port truss segment, the P5 truss....
  
   to the International Space Station
  International Space Station
  The International Space Station is a habitable, artificial satellite in low Earth orbit. The ISS follows the Salyut, Almaz, Cosmos, Skylab, and Mir space stations, as the 11th space station launched, not including the Genesis I and II prototypes...
  
   (BBCNews)

December 8, 2006

• A reinforcing linkage between Malaria
  Malaria
  Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
  
   and HIV
  HIV
  Human immunodeficiency virus is a lentivirus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome , a condition in humans in which progressive failure of the immune system allows life-threatening opportunistic infections and cancers to thrive...
  
   infections is proposed as an explanation for the fast spread of both diseases in Africa. The study is published in Science
  Science (journal)
  Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
  
  . (BBCNews)

December 7, 2006

• The launch of space shuttle
  Space Shuttle
  The Space Shuttle was a manned orbital rocket and spacecraft system operated by NASA on 135 missions from 1981 to 2011. The system combined rocket launch, orbital spacecraft, and re-entry spaceplane with modular add-ons...
  
   Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery
  Space Shuttle Discovery is one of the retired orbiters of the Space Shuttle program of NASA, the space agency of the United States, and was operational from its maiden flight, STS-41-D on August 30, 1984, until its final landing during STS-133 on March 9, 2011...
  
  is scrubbed due to low clouds and rescheduled for December 10 (local time: December 9). (Spaceflight Now)

December 6, 2006

• A study by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Denmark does not produce any statistically significant link between cancer
  Cancer
  Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
  
   and cell phone use. It is based on about 400,000 cell phone users. (Reuters)
• Scientist working for the Malin Space Science Systems
  Malin Space Science Systems
  Malin Space Science Systems is a San Diego, California company that designs, develops, and operates instruments to fly on unmanned spacecraft. MSSS is headed by chief scientist and CEO Michael C. Malin....
  
   present pictures of newly formed features on Mars
  Mars
  Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun in the Solar System. The planet is named after the Roman god of war, Mars. It is often described as the "Red Planet", as the iron oxide prevalent on its surface gives it a reddish appearance...
  
   that indicate erosion
  Erosion
  Erosion is when materials are removed from the surface and changed into something else. It only works by hydraulic actions and transport of solids in the natural environment, and leads to the deposition of these materials elsewhere...
  
   by liquids in recent years. NASA
  NASA
  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
  
   members interpret these features as being created by liquid water
  Water
  Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
  
  . (BBCNews)

December 5, 2006

• NASA
  NASA
  The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
  
   announces that it plans to build a permanently occupied station on the Moon
  Moon
  The Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
  
  , and shuttle persons to it regularly by 2020. (BBCNews) (Reuters)

December 1, 2006

• Science
  Science (journal)
  Science is the academic journal of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and is one of the world's top scientific journals....
  
  publishes a study of a meteorite
  Meteorite
  A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
  
   found at Tagish Lake
  Tagish Lake
  Tagish Lake is a lake in the Yukon Territory and northern British Columbia, Canada. The lake is more than long and about 2 km wide.It has two arms, the Taku Arm in the east which is very long and mostly in British Columbia and Windy Arm in the west, mostly in the Yukon. The Klondike Highway runs...
  
  . It describes small cavities that have organic molecule on their surfaces. (BBCNews)