Gargantuan whales and hefty cephalopods are typically thought of as the classic marine mammoths, but they might have to make way for the mighty microbes, which constitute 50 to 90 percent of the oceans’ total biomass, according to newly released data. These tiny creatures can join together to create some of the largest masses of life on the planet, and researchers working on the decade-long Census of Marine Life project found one such seafloor mat off the Pacific coast of South America that is roughly the size of Greece
The British Chiropractic Association dropped its libel action against the science writer Simon Singh today, filing a notice of discontinuation in the high court. The case had become a cause celebre, with scientists, celebrities and freedom of speech campaigners lining up to condemn the British libel laws and argue that Singh had a right to express his opinion in print. The sudden end to the case will strengthen the campaign for reform of the libel laws, which Jack Straw, the justice secretary, is considering. It is also a specific pledge in the Liberal Democrat manifesto
A simple cotton T-shirt may one day be converted into tougher, more comfortable body armour for soldiers or police officers. Researchers at the University of South Carolina, collaborating with others from China and Switzerland, drastically increased the toughness of a T-shirt by combining the carbon in the shirt’s cotton with boron — the third hardest material on earth. The result is a lightweight shirt reinforced with boron carbide, the same material used to protect tanks
Earthworms form herds and make group decisions
, scientists have discovered. The earthworms use touch to communicate and influence each other’s behaviour
Inspired by a standard office inkjet printer, US researchers have rigged up a device that can spray skin cells directly onto burn victims, quickly protecting and healing their wounds as an alternative to skin grafts. They have mounted the device, which has so far only been tested on mice, in a frame that can be wheeled over a patient in a hospital bed
A new species of giant lizard has been discovered in the Philippines. The 2m-long reptile is a monitor lizard, the group to which the world’s longest and largest lizards belong. The monitor, described as spectacular by the scientists who found it, lives in forests covering the Sierra Madre mountains in the north of the country. The striking reptile has bright yellow, blue and green skin, and survives on a diet of just fruit, yet until now it has escaped the eyes of biologists
The giggling sounds of a hyena contain important information about the animal’s status, say scientists. In the first study to decipher the hyena’s so-called laugh
, they have shown that the pitch of the giggle reveals a hyena’s age. What is more, variations in the frequency of notes used when a hyena makes a noise convey information about the animal’s social rank
Weak magnetic fields are roaming
across the universe, according to a new study that may have solved the mystery of where the huge magnetic fields around galaxies come from. Galaxies such as our Milky Way have their own large-scale magnetic fields. Although these fields are weak compared to planetary fields, scientists think the galactic versions help establish rates of star formation, guide cosmic rays, and regulate the dynamics of interstellar gas. Most scientists believe the stronger magnetic fields of today’s adult galaxies grew from weaker seed
fields. But it’s unclear where these older fields originated
A police investigation into the theft of £10,000 of watches has been scuppered after DNA evidence was found to belong to identical twins. Blood containing DNA matching that of James and John Parr, 25, was found on glass at the scene. However, the Crime Prosecution Service (CPS) has decided not to press charges against the Manchester twins — who both deny responsibility — as it would be impossible to determine if one or the other of them was responsible
Only clinics in big cities can afford the blood work equipment that allows doctors to monitor the disease’s progression and treat it early and effectively. Doctors in rural areas often prescribe treatment based only on the visible symptoms their patients show. Responding to this need, researchers at California company Palo Alto Research Centre have shrunk the laser technology inside large laboratory machines down to about the size of an iPod. Their cheap, handheld device promises to provide an immune system check-up on the spot and in less than 10 minutes
When the science writer Simon Singh sat down to write an opinion piece on chiropractors two years ago, he could have had little inkling of the nightmare that lay ahead. Yesterday, after a court of appeal ruling hailed as a resounding victory
for Singh, he has been spared having to stand up in court and prove that the comments that sparked a libel suit from the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) were factually correct — an experience that the three appeal judges compared to an Orwellian ministry of truth
. The landmark ruling will allow the writer, whose battle has become a catalyst for demands for libel law reform, to rely on a fair comment
defence of his statements about chiropractors. It will also strengthen the position of others — from science writers and medical professionals to bloggers — who face libel suits, as the judges made clear the court was not the place to settle scientific controversies
Toad Last spring, a group of biologists were studying the mating habits of the common toad (Bufo bufo) in the L’Aquila province of Italy. As temperatures warm each year, male toads gather en masse at small ponds to compete for the affections of females. As part of their study, the scientists ventured out to one particular pond every evening to count the toads and note whether they had laid any new eggs. A few days into their work, something strange happened: the toads scattered. Spawning had only just begun, and where there had been between 80 and 90 male toads for the last few days of March, the first few days of April turned up fewer than ten. Then on 6 April, a magnitude 6.3 earthquake hit, ravaging L’Aquila province and its capital city of the same name. Hundred of people were killed and thousands injured as buildings that dated to the middle ages crumbled. In a new paper out this evening in Journal of Zoology, the researchers claim this sequence of events is more than just a coincidence. Toads stayed away from the pond for several more days following the quake, before finally returning in force around 15 April. No word on where the toads went, exactly, to flee the disaster. But did the toads sense the coming quake and head for the hills? That’s what the researchers are arguing
The ancestors of modern Scottish people left behind mysterious, carved stones that new research has just determined contain the written language of the Picts, an Iron Age society that existed in Scotland from 300 to 843. The highly stylised rock engravings, found on what are known as the Pictish Stones, had once been thought to be rock art or tied to heraldry. The new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society A, instead concludes that the engravings represent the long lost language of the Picts, a confederation of Celtic tribes that lived in modern-day eastern and northern Scotland
Patents on genes associated with hereditary breast and ovarian cancer are invalid, ruled a New York federal court today. The precedent-setting ruling marks the first time a court has found patents on genes unlawful and calls into question the validity of patents now held on approximately 2,000 human genes. The ruling follows a lawsuit brought by a group of patients and scientists represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Public Patent Foundation (PUBPAT), a not-for-profit organization affiliated with Benjamin N Cardozo School of Law
Video cameras on your mobile phone could soon be good enough to record a jazz concert, a nighttime street scene, or a candlelit dinner. A Swedish start-up has created an algorithm, inspired by dung beetles, that can be integrated into camera modules to offer high-quality video in extremely low light situations
Researchers in Japan have designed a super-elastic iron alloy which they hope can be used in sophisticated heart and brain surgeries and even buildings in earthquake zones. The researchers said the metal’s super-elasticity allows it to return to its original form and gives it additional properties, such as ductility and a change in magnetisation. The iron alloy’s stress level is about twice that of nickel titanium and it can be used to deliver stents, which are tubes placed in blood vessels to stop them from collapsing
Scientists have identified a previously unknown type of ancient human through analysis of DNA from a finger bone unearthed in a Siberian cave. The extinct hominin
(human-like creature) lived in Central Asia between 48,000 and 30,000 years ago. An international team has sequenced genetic material from the fossil showing that it is distinct from that of Neanderthals and modern humans
California Institute of Technology (Caltech)-led team of researchers and clinicians has published the first proof that a targeted nanoparticle — used as an experimental therapeutic and injected directly into a patient’s bloodstream — can traffic into tumours, deliver double-stranded small interfering RNAs (siRNAs), and turn off an important cancer gene using a mechanism known as RNA interference (RNAi). Moreover, the team provided the first demonstration that this new type of therapy, infused into the bloodstream, can make its way to human tumours in a dose-dependent fashion — i.e., a higher number of nanoparticles sent into the body leads to a higher number of nanoparticles in the tumour cells
The new UK Space Agency (UKSA) will take over responsibility for government policy and the key budgets for space, according to ministers. The agency, which comes into being on 1 April, will also represent Britain on space matters in all negotiations with international partners. The UKSA’s name, logo and remit were announced at a conference in London
The military in India is looking to weaponise the world’s hottest chilli, the bhut jolokia or ghost pepper
. The Bhut Jolokia chili pepper from Assam, India is no ordinary pepper. In tests first conducted by the New Mexico State University in 2008 and subsequently confirmed by Guinness World records and others, the Bhut Jolokia reached over one million Scoville heat units (SHUs), while the next hottest, the Red Savina Habenero clocks in at a mere 577,000. Scoville units are a universally accepted measure of chilli hotness
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