Scientists have found a new pain killer based on human saliva. Apparently 1 gram of the new drug provides as much pain blocking as 3 grams of morphine. The drug blocks the breakdown of the body’s natural pain killing mechanism. Scientists say the molecule is simple and synthesis is expected to be simple — via Slashdot
A new Australian study has recommended doctors use Google to help diagnose difficult cases, despite indications it’s only 60 per cent accurate. Specialists at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Brisbane studied how effective the world’s largest and most popular search engine is for helping diagnose rare diseases. The work, published online today by the British Medical Journal, recommends specialists use Google because it is now a source of three billion journal articles, more than any specialist search engine
The dentist’s drill is the epitome of pain and discomfort in the modern world, but that could soon change. Bio-medical research and the advent of cold plasma needles could eliminate the need for drilling teeth
Neanderthals may have given the modern humans who replaced them a priceless gift — a gene that helped them develop superior brains. And the only way they could have provided that gift would have been by interbreeding. The study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides indirect evidence that modern Homo sapiens and so-called Neanderthals interbred at some point when they lived side by side in Europe
Scientists at the University of Pennsylvania have announced that they have engineered a strain of the AIDS virus that fights AIDS. This strain of AIDS works like a vaccine and improved the immune system of the test subjects. After three years on this new therapy, no side effects have been observed
The use of carbon nanotubes in ultrafast computers and other electronic devices has been stymied because batches of the material contain nanotubes with varying electronic properties. One nanotube is semiconducting, while the next is conducting. Now Northwestern University researchers have developed a reliable and potentially practical way to sort through this mess, segregating nanotubes into precisely the types needed for high-performance electronics. The advance could speed progress toward nanotube computers and has many nearer-term applications, including high-definition displays, devices for nanotoxicity testing, and solar cells
The dye in your blue jeans could soon be used to kill cancer cells, say scientists. UK researchers are employing tiny gold nanoparticles
, 1/5000th the thickness of a human hair, to deliver the chemical compound directly into cancer cells, tearing them apart instantly. The common dye found in blue jeans and ballpoint pens is called phthalocyanine and is a light-activated, or photosensitive, agent with cell-destroying properties
EO-1 is a new breed of satellite that can think for itself. EO-1 can re-organise its own priorities to study volcanic eruptions, flash-floods, forest fires, disintegrating sea-ice–in short, anything unexpected
Bill Crozier, one of Oklahoma’s nominees for state superintendent of education has proposed a unique, if incredibly moronic idea for protecting students from outbreaks of violence. If elected, he said he would put thick used textbooks under every desk for students to use, not for the purposes of education, but as body armour — Pharyngula
The Complete Work of Charles Darwin Online has officially launched, bringing 50,000 pages of searchable text and 40,000 images to the public for free. Presented by the University of Cambridge and other collaborators, the site currently contains only half of what will be available by 2009 — via Boing Boing
An invisibility cloak that works in the microwave region of the electromagnetic spectrum has been unveiled in the US. While not quite as effective as Harry Potter’s invisibility cloak, the device is the first practical version of a theoretical set-up first suggested by physicists earlier this year. About the size of a movie reel canister, the cloak works by steering microwave light around an object, making it appear to an observer as if it were not there at all
Google plans a solar-powered electricity system at its Silicon Valley headquarters that will rank as the largest US solar-powered corporate office complex. The Web search leader said it is set to begin building a rooftop solar-powered generation system at its Mountain View, California headquarters capable of generating 1.6 megawatts of electricity, or enough to power 1,000 California homes
An international team of scientists has discovered a substance to heal bleeding wounds within seconds. They’re using a solution of protein molecules that self-organises into a biodegradable gel. Until now they’ve only tested it on animals, but the tests were highly successful — via Slashdot
The 2006 Ig Nobel Prize in mathematics was awarded to Dr Piers Barnes and Ms Nic Svenson of CSIRO for figuring out how many photographs to take of a group of people to be confident of getting at least one where no-one’s blinking
Professor Eugene Polzik and his team at the Niels Bohr Institute at Copenhagen University in Denmark have teleported matter. The experiment involved for the first time a macroscopic atomic object containing thousands of billions of atoms. They also teleported the information a distance of half a meter but believe it can be extended further — via Boing Boing
In evolutionary circles, giant rats and miniature elephants have long been accepted as the products of accelerated evolution in isolated environments such as islands, but McGill paleontologist Virginie Millien has been the first to establish just how quickly these odd-shaped animals got that way. In fact, island mammals evolve about three times faster than their mainland counterparts, says Dr. Millien, who based her findings on an analysis of the documented evolutionary rates of 88 island mammal species, about half of which were rodents — via Warren Ellis
A hoop of superconducting magnets several kilometres wide and similar to a particle accelerator could hurl satellites into space — or perhaps weapons around the world — at a fraction of current launch costs, suggest the findings of a report funded by the US air force. Their interest stems from the ring’s potential to launch small, 10-kilogram satellites into orbit, though researchers were not told what kind of satellites the military had in mind. Any payload lofted with such a ring would need to withstand a staggering 2000 times the force of gravity as it accelerates to over 23 times the speed of sound — before hitting a ramp into the heavens
LiveScience is reporting out of NextFest on a Japanese-built power suit that amplifies the strength of its wearer. The onboard computer is hooked up to sensors that monitor natural movements, then it inflates cuffs to boost lifting power. The Power Assist Suit could be used by hospital workers to move heavy patients
Sir Richard Branson is to invest $3 billion to fight global warming. The Virgin boss said he would commit all profits from his travel firms, such as airline Virgin Atlantic and Virgin Trains, over the next 10 years
A section of a fortress constructed during the 1670s has been found in Norway, giving experts a rare look at something previously only seen in sketches. The find is a casemate — a vaulted chamber in a fortress. The space was created by the supports for the outside wall, which at the same time is holding up a 400mm thick layer of timber that served as the floor for a cannon site
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