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Healthy School Food Still Gets Eaten

admin — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

According to results of a recent study, people underestimate children’s willingness to eat healthy foods. While previous studies have shown that students prefer fatty foods and that healthy meals cost schools more, a group of economists from the University of Minnesota found that schools serving healthier lunches did not see a falloff in demand. In addition, the higher labor costs associated with preparing the healthy meals was offset by the lower cost of healthy ingredients like fresh fruits and vegetables. Childhood obesity is considered a growing “epidemic” in Western countries.

Babies Can Tell Friend from Foe

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

When babies as young as 6 months old were presented with naughty, neutral, and nice toys, they overwhelmingly chose to play with the nice one. Researchers showed the infants a googly-eyed wooden toy repeatedly trying to climb a hill. They then brought in another googly-eyed toy to either help the first puppet over the hill or push it backward. After seeing the interaction, nearly every baby chose to play with the helpful toy. This suggests that even at a very young age, infants are able to make social judgments that distinguish between helping and hurting and that these distinctions may serve as the foundation for moral evaluations as children develop and grow.

Ancient Sea Scorpion Was Bigger than Man

admin — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Scientists have uncovered the fossilized claw of a 390 million year old sea scorpion in a German quarry. They estimate that the cannibalistic creature, which has been named Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, was nearly 8 ft (2.5 m) long, making it at least 1.5 ft (46 cm) longer than any previously known eurypterid, or prehistoric sea scorpion. While fossil record has long shown that ancient arthropods were much bigger than they are now, this discovery suggests that prehistoric spiders, insects, and crabs were significantly larger than previously thought.

Earth’s Moon Created in Rare Collision

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

The giant impact theory explains that billions of years ago, an object the size of Mars collided with the Earth. The resulting debris, which was hurled into orbit, consolidated to create the Moon. New observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that moons like Earth's—that formed out of catastrophic collisions—are uncommon in the universe, arising at most in only 5 to 10 percent of planetary systems. The scientists calculated this probability from their observations of about 400 stars, all about 30 million years old.

Scientists Create Stem Cells from Skin

admin — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

In a pair of landmark studies, two groups of scientists announced that they have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells, cells that have the potential to mature into any type of tissue in the body. Stem cells have long been the source of ethical, legal, and political debate; and while their cultivation could lead to cures for numerous diseases, harvesting of these vital cells often requires the destruction of fertilized embryos. The new embryo-free technique involves the use of a retrovirus to introduce new genes into the skin cells and sidesteps the long-running ethics debate.

Can Cannabis Combat Breast Cancer?

admin — Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

According to a group of American scientists, cannabidiol (CBD), a compound found in the hemp plant Cannabis sativa, may be useful as a non-toxic alternative to chemotherapy in the treatment of breast cancer. Earlier studies have found that CBD, which inhibits the activity of a gene that leads tumors to metastasize, curtails the growth of aggressive brain cancers. CBD does not have any psychoactive properties, so its use would not violate drug laws. Researchers are hopeful that this compound will lead to a viable treatment for metastatic forms of breast cancer while avoiding the unpleasant side-effects associated with chemotherapy.

Doomsday Cult Threatens Suicide in Bunker

admin — Tue, 20 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Twenty nine people, including four children, are holed up in an underground bunker near Russia's Volga River as they await the end of the world. Pyotr Kuznetsov ordered the members of his True Russian Orthodox Church, a doomsday cult, to enter the bunker last month and remain there until the world ends in May. Kuznetsov, who had not yet entered the underground hideout, was arrested and placed in a psychiatric hospital for evaluation; his followers remain in the bunker and are threatening to commit mass suicide if forced to leave.

Roaches Accept Robotic Relative

admin — Mon, 19 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Cockroaches are gregarious insects; they tend to group together with others of their species. Generally, they prefer darker shelters and settle together in a single area. Using a cockroach pheromone coating, European scientists were able to introduce robotsinto the cockroach community, and the machines were then able to lead the cockroaches to seek shelter in lighter areas. Ultimately, these mechanical cockroaches may be utilized in pest control or serve as the blueprint for larger robots that could be used to herd livestock.

Deep Freeze Begins in Doomsday Vault

admin — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Engineers have started the two-month process of cooling down the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, a "doomsday vault" that will house seeds from all types of major food crops. The Norwegian government is funding the project, which aims to safeguard the world's crops from disasters such as nuclear wars and dangerous climate change. The vault's design utilizes the surrounding rock and permafrost as a "cold store" that will allow it to preserve the seeds at 0F (-18C) while remaining energy efficient.

Bangladesh Cyclone Kills Hundreds

admin — Sat, 17 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

A severe cyclone, packing winds of 155 mph (250 kph), has struck Bangladesh, killing more than 1000 people and leaving tens of thousands homeless. The storm triggered 15 ft (5 m) high tidal surges that swept over 3 coastal towns and forced millions to evacuate. The death toll is expected to rise as search operations continue and the extent of the damage is more accurately assessed. Bangladesh is often subject to severe weather events; in 1970, the Bhola cyclone claimed up to 500,000 lives.