Taking the Sting Out of Scorpion Venom

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/43922/title/FOR_KIDS_Taking__the_sting_out_of_scorpion_venom

The Arizona bark scorpion is quite small, about as small as a human finger, but it's sting can cause some major damage to a person, and even kill a small child. Every year, more than 200 children get seriously hurt from scorpion stings in Arizona and New Mexico.

There is no FDA approved cure for the poison in the venom of scorpions in the United States. There is, however, one in Mexico and scientists are working hard to get it approved for use above the border.

This article is good for kids because it includes "power words" like vocabulary, at the end of the article, explaining the meanings of the words to the children reading it.

How Down Syndrome Works Against Cancer

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/43950/title/How_Down_syndrome_works_against__cancer

People born with Down Syndrome have an extra chromosome # 21. Most people have only two, one from their mother and one from their father, but people with Down Syndrome are born with a third. Chromosome 21 carries 231 genes, including some that may suppress cancer. A recent study shows that people with Down Syndrome are 1/10th as likely to get a solid-tumor cancer as people without the syndrome.

How to Deal with Swine Flu

http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1894129,00.html?xid=rss-healthsci-yahoo

In February, 1976, swine flu struck Fort Dix army base in New Jersey, killing one private and infecting hundreds of soldiers. The president at the time, ordered a vaccine to be distributed amongst Americans costing approximately $135 million. Then an outbreak of Guillain-Barré syndrome broke out caused from the vaccine. This caused 30 deaths by April, 1976.

This is an example of how President Obama should NOT handle the outbreak of Swine Flu. He should not rush into things and have his "experts" come up with a miracle vaccine that will eventually cause some other disease.

Health Benefits of Tea

http://www.sciencedaily.com/articles/h/health_benefits_of_tea.htm

Some say tea can be beneficial during pregnancy and illness, while others say it can be harmful. This article suggests that consulting a doctor is a good idea before drinking large amounts of tea. This related article (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/04/080402212206.htm) suggests that drinking a lot of tea is beneficial to your health, but was only published in April, 2008, so was later proved wrong.

Engineered antibodies fight AIDS virus in monkeys

A new breakthrough may have been discovered in the fight against the AIDS virus. Scientists have created an artificial antibody that is carried into the body through a virus that fights against the spread of HIV. The synthetic immune system antibody protected monkeys against the animal version of HIV, SIV. Unfortunately, it will be years before this can be tested on humans. Nine monkeys were given this artificial antibody and than injected with SIV. Three of the monkeys never contracted SIV and the other six that did never developed into AIDS.

http://www.newsdaily.com/stories/tre54g20c-us-aids-vaccine/

New electronic ink display brings e-paper revolution a step closer

With the large mainstream success of Amazon's Kindle, there seemed to be only a matter of time before a new technology came out to surpass the Kindle and display an electronic reader in colored print. The University of Cincinnati has recently developed this technology. An electrofluidic display (EFD) creates a color and contrast ratio of 85% of what paper can display. This EFD display also allows the user to bend or roll up the display as if it was made of real paper.

http://www.gizmag.com/electrofluidic-display/11677/

Brain's Organization Switches as Children Become Adults

A new study has found that a child's brain is organized differently than an adults brain; however, the child's brain functions as capably as an adult brain. Steven E. Petersen, Ph.D., the James McDonnell Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis is studying normal brain development to further understand how developmental disorders and brain injury can affect mental capabilities. Petersen use resting-state MRI to scan the spontaneous activity that occurs in the brain. Petersen found that a child's brain's tightest connections are ones that are physically closest together as opposed to adults whose are distant from each other.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090515093228.htm

Atlantis Mission Offers One Last Lifeline to Hubble

This article is about the last maintenance mission the Hubble telescope will ever receive. The Hubble has been widely acknowledged as the defining technological instrument of our time. Continuous updates to the Hubble have made it 100 times more powerful now than it was when it was first launched in 1990. The Hubble's importance can be seen by the fact it recorded the first picture of another planet orbiting a star, giving credence to the theory of life on other planets. The astronaut crew will be replacing many of the different cameras and lenses on the Hubble and the mission is widely seen as being the most challenging Hubble mission, yet. The astronauts have only this one chance to repair the Hubble.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/science/space/12hubble.html?ref=science

Vanessa Church Glacier Melt

This article is from the New York Times and it talks about how the glaciers in Alaska are melting. Though some people thought that by them melting the land would be submerged under water it hasn't. Actually the weight of the glaciers being off the land has cause the land to rise.

www.nytimes.com/2009/05/18/science/earth/18juneau.html?_r=1&ref=science

In California, Desalination of Seawater as a Test Case

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/15/science/earth/15water.html?ref=science

A vast $320 million desalination plant was approved by San Diego Regional Water Authorties. This project ia described by the plubliisher has a test case to find out whether such a large project can meet its goal while safeguarding its Pacific environments.
The article highlighted that this project is the forst large scale desalination operation on the west coast and the largest in the hemisphere.

PBS Series Called Magic Bus on Science

NY Times, "PBS Series On Science Departs for the World of 'X-Men', Nov., 29, 1997

Clement Pisnoy - Summary

The article is about a PBS animated science show called "The Magic School Bus", which has been sold to the Fox network. Ms. Frizzle, the protagonist of the show guides children, usually under 12, with a targeted goal of preventing them from being turned off to science as they progress through elementary school. The TV series is based on the Scholastic books by the same title, which were first published in 1986. The shows are partly funded by the National Science Foundation. Deborah Forte, senior vice president of Scholastic Inc., said "After we did the books we wanted to reach a broader audience, and there were a lot of naysayers...They said, 'You can't possibly teach science animation,' but we did. PBS believed in it, and it turned out that not only kids but teachers and parents really love this show." Ms. Forte also stated that the show was addressing children's losing interest in science after the second or third grade.
All broadcast TV stations must comply with a mandatory 3 hour educational TV mandate in order for the network to receive their license for free.

"Can Happiness Be Inherited?"

The link was not posting. You can find it on sciencedaily.com. Enter the title. "Can Happiness be Inherited?", and it should just pop up. Sorry for the inconvenice.

According to sciencedaily.com and the article “Can Happiness Be Inherited?” studies have been circulating that suggest that parents psychology prior to conception can be inherited by the child conceived. Of course, we know that behavior patterns in parents are passed down to their children to affect a child’s character. It is common part of socialization that a parent’s personality post conception affects a child’s character, since the child is clearly exposed to it. Although common, this study attaches a scientific explanation to why the parent’s mood before the child is even conceived matters in terms of the child.

New Theory Of Autism Suggests Symptoms Or Disorder May Be Reversible

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090401145312.htm

The article "New Theory of Autism Suggests Symptoms or Disorder May be Reversible", suggests that since there is no structure issues with the brains of those who have autism, there is a chance that the disorder can be reversed. Since those who have autism have "dysregulated" brains, it is possible that there is a way to "fix" the disorder. Doctors began researching this theory when they realized that children who have autism seem to lack certain symptoms of the disorder when suffering from a fever. Their behavior seems to change in this situation.

Calcium May Cut Cancer Risk

Source from: http://www.webmd.com/colorectal-cancer/news/20090223/calcium-may-cut-cancer-risk
(WebMD)

Calcium is already well known to help our bone growth but what affects does it have on cancer? This study was to see whether or not higher consumption of calcium can reduce risks of digestive cancers. This study has found that calcium might be able to help reduce the risks of cancer. There are signs that the older men and women who received most of their calcium sources from both food and supplements consumption, had a sixteen percent lower risk of getting cancer in the digestive system than the people who didn’t consume as much calcium. ““Our study suggests that calcium intake is associated with a lower risk of total cancer and cancers of the digestive system, especially colorectal cancer,” write researcher Yikyung Park, ScD, of the National Cancer Institute and colleagues in the Archives of Internal Medicine.””

Health Benefits of Green Tea

Source from: http://www.webmd.com/food-recipes/features/health-benefits-of-green-tea and New Promise for Cancer Prevention and Treatment - http://www.lef.org/magazine/mag2004/jan2004_report_cancer_01.htm
(WebMD)

Green tea has long been believed and trusted to be a useful device to lose weight and fight high blood pressure and cholesterol. However, recent studies have shown that green tea has even more benefits such as containing antioxidants properties due to catechins. One of the more well known catechins or antioxidants of green tea are the epigallocatechin-3-gallate, also known as ECGC, the compound targeted by many soft drink companies. How exactly does green tea help the body lose weight or combat cancer?

Walnuts May Fight Breast Cancer

Source from: http://www.webmd.com/breast-cancer/news/20090421/walnuts-fight-breast-cancer
(WebMD)

This study was done on laboratory animals (mice) and research has found that by consuming at least two handfuls of walnuts daily can help restrain the growth of tumor, especially breast cancer. This research was conducted by W. Elaine Hardman, PhD, who’s an associate professor of biochemistry at Marshall University School of Medicine in Huntington. The omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and phytosterols in walnuts help slow down tumor growth. The phytosterols will attach to the receptors of estrogen and this help slows down the growth of tumors especially since estrogen promotes the growths of tumors in breast cancers.

Study Finds No Benefit From Daily Multivitamin

Lisa Mui
Source from: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/09/study-finds-no-benefit-from-daily-multivitamin/
(The New York Times)

The point of this article was to argue that according to new research, multivitamins intake doesn’t help prevent cancer or heart disease. Multivitamins are the most universally used supplement; about half of America’s population uses vitamins or dietary supplements. Americans invests $20 billion dollars a year on the numerous vitamin and dietary supplement products but is it all down the drain?
The study that was done to support this research involved 161,808 women and they were all part of a government-funded Women’s Health Initiative (W.H.I.) research program. After obtaining all the information, researchers were shocked to find that there is no solid evidence to verify that multivitamins providing any benefits at all.

Lyon Diet Heart Study

Source from: http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4655 (American Heart Association)

The reason behind this study is to see the effectiveness of Mediterranean diets with people who had a heart attack before. The result of the study was that by following the Mediterranean diet, it can help decrease the chances of having another heart attack. Since there isn’t a specific kind of Mediterranean diet, the diet was only described with certain factors. Which consists of, a lot of fruits, vegetables, bread, cereal, potatoes, beans, nuts, olive oil, and seeds; low amounts of dairy products, fish, poultry, red meat, eggs, and wine. The Mediterranean diet for the Lyon diet heart study was slightly different; it’s higher in alpha-linolenic acid (a type of polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acid). It also includes more bread, root and green vegetables, fish, and fruits (must eat everyday); less beef, lamb, and pork (replaced poultry). Butter and cream was also replaced with margarine with high alpha-linolenic acid. This diet had an average of 30 percent of calories from fat, 8 percent from saturated fat, 13 percent from monounsaturated fat, 5 percent from polyunsaturated fat and 203 mg/day of cholesterol.

U.S. Curbs Use of Species Act in Protecting Polar Bear

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/09/science/earth/09bear.html?hpw

This article is about how, from President Bush to President Obama, the Endangered Species Act was judged as inappropriate to curbing the greenhouse gas emissions that scientists have linked to global warming. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar mentioned global risks are generated worldwide, and that it needs comprehensive policies not a “patchwork of agency actions carried out for particular species". Lately environmental groups are arguing in legal terms about the hazardous emissions that are contributing to recent warming, and that it would be impossible for the Department of the Interior to keep an eye on the levels of emissions.

Gecko Vision: Key to Future Multifocal contact lenses?

Nocturnal Geckos are some of the only animals who are able to see colors at nighttime. Scientists hope to use the eyes of the Geckos to create better cameras and contact lenses. Geckos differ from other vertebrates in that they have only cones in their retina. They have a multifocal optical system that allows different ranges of light wavelengths to focus simultaneously on the retina. Their eyes allow them to focus on objects at different distances. According to the article, the multifocal eye would generate a sharp image for at least two different depths. This will help increase the quality of a camera lens as well as useful multifocal contact lenses
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090507164407.htm

New Robot With Artificial Skin To Improve Human Communication

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430065818.htm

A robot named “Kaspar” has been invented by Professor Kerstin Dauten as a tool to help communication skills with children who have autism. This robot is child-sized and is thought to encourage social interaction amongst the children. The idea behind using a robot is that it can have the ability to react to many different ways that children with autism play with it. Kaspar will also help the children to play in an appropriate and less aggressive way than they are possibly used to with their toys.

“Mites on Hissing Cockroach May Benefit Humans with Allergies”

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090429132243.htm

The article “Mites on Hissing Cockroach May Benefit Humans with Allergies” from Sciencedaily.com, speaks about a discovery to benefit those suffering from allergies. This is due to the mites on the backs of the Madagascar hissing cockroach. These mites decrease the amount of molds that grow on the backs of the cockroach. There were studies conducted with those who specifically work with this bug. Their allergic responses had drastically decreased.

Blue Laser Could Lead to Autism Cure

Lasers could one day cure, or at least aid in the search for drugs that treat diseases ranging from autism to schizophrenia, according to two new studies from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Stanford University and published in the online issue of the journal Nature.

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/29/brain-autism-laser.html

Hawaii's "Gentle" Volcano More Dangerous Than Thought

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/05/090506-hawaii-volcano.html

Hawaii's tourist-friendly Kilauea volcano is famous for its lazy rivers of lava. But a new report says the volcano, known as the world's most active, has a violent alter ego.

Africans Have World's Greatest Genetic Variation

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/04/30/african-genome.html

Africans have more genetic variation than anyone else on Earth, according to a new study that helps narrow the location where humans first evolved, probably near the South Africa-Namibia border.
The largest study of African genetics ever undertaken also found that nearly three-fourths of African-Americans can trace their ancestry to West Africa. "Given the fact that modern humans arose in Africa, they have had time to accumulate dramatic changes" in their genes, explained lead researcher Sarah Tishkoff, a geneticist at the University of Pennsylvania. People have been adapting to very diverse environmental niches in Africa, she explains. Over 10 years, Tishkoff and an international team of researchers trekked across Africa collecting samples to compare the genes of various peoples.

Basking Sharks' Hiding Places Found

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2009/05/07/basking-shark-track.html


For centuries, scientists have wondered where basking sharks go in the wintertime. Now, they have an answer -- and it's full of surprises.
Basking sharks have long been shrouded in mystery. These fish, which can measure 35 feet or longer, are known to live in temperate waters around the world. Yet, no one has ever examined a newborn basking shark. No one has seen a pregnant female. No one knows where the animals give birth. And until recently, no one knew where they spent much of their time, particularly in the winter.

Star crust 10 billion times stronger than steel, IU physicist finds

http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/05/06/star.crust.10.billion.times.stronger.steel.iu.physicist.finds

Research by a theoretical physicist at Indiana University shows that the crusts of neutron stars are 10 billion times stronger than steel or any other of the earth's strongest metal alloys. Charles Horowitz, a professor in the IU College of Arts and Sciences' Department of Physics, came to the conclusion after large-scale molecular dynamics computer simulations were conducted at Indiana University and Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. The research will appear Friday (May 8) in Physical Review Letters

Swine flu grows global

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20090506/Note2.asp
The article speaks on how swine flu has now become a pandemic. Also, the article tells us about what the flue is and what it is infecting

Silk’s superpowers

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20090506/Feature1.asp

The article speaks about the new uses of silk from worms and spiders that have been recently discovered and includes activities for children

Erupting Undersea Volcano Near Island Of Guam Supports Unique Ecosystem

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505111702.htm


This article speaks about a new ecosystemthat has been created due to erupting undersea volcanoes and new species that have been discovered as a result

Underwater Robot With A Sense Of Touch

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505061836.htm

This Robot has been created to assist with the fixing of boats at sea. Article talks about the many structures of this robot and how it will help the boating industry

Thirsty Plants Text For Help Interactive Telecommunications Researchers Develop A Device For Plants To Send Text Messages

http://www.sciencedaily.com/videos/2009/0101-thirsty_plants_text_for_help.htm


A new system called Botanicalls, developed by interactive telecommunications researchers, allows your plants to send "tweets," or short text messages, to your mobile phone or messages to the Internet. Botanicalls provides a method for plants to indicate when they need care. Sensors are placed in the soil with a plant, where it measures the level of moisture. The sensors send a signal to a microcontroller, which determines when moisture is low or when water has been added. Then it can send a wireless signal to an internet-connected computer that can send a prerecorded message to the owner. These messages might include a thank-you when plants are watered, or a warning if the watering is too much.

How Social Insects Recognize Dead Nestmates

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505124750.htm

The predominant understanding among entomologists – scientists who study insects – was that dead ants release chemicals created by decomposition (such as fatty acids) that signal their death to the colony's living ants. But now, entomologists working on Argentine ants provide evidence for a different mechanism for how the removal of dead nestmates from colonies works. In a recently published article, researchers reported that all ants, both living and dead have the “death chemicals” continually, but live ants have them along with the “life chemicals” When an ant dies, it’s “life chemicals” dissipate and only the death chemicals remain. “It’s because the dead ant no longer smells like a living ant that it gets carried to the graveyard, not because its body releases new, unique chemicals after death.” Understanding the exact mechanism of ant necrophoresis will help researchers develop a more environmentally friendly pest management strategy by which we can achieve results with smaller amounts of insecticide.

Dinosaur-Bird Link: Ancient Proteins Preserved In Soft Tissue From 80 Million-Year-Old Hadrosaur

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090430144528.htm

Research supports earlier results from analysis suggesting that collagen protein survived in the bones of a well preserved Tyrannosaurus rex, and offer new evidence supporting previous conclusions that birds and dinosaurs are evolutionarily related.Collagen extracted from bone fragments of a 68-million-year-old T. rex closely matched the amino acid sequences of modern day chickens.

About 200 New Species Of Amphibians In Madagascar Discovered

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/05/090505061942.htm

Between 129 and 221 new species of frogs have been identified in Madagascar, which practically doubles the amount of amphibian fauna currently known. The finding suggests that the number of amphibian species in Madagascar, one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots, has been significantly underestimated. The total biodiversity on the island could be much higher also in other groups, so the actual destruction of natural habitats may be affecting more species than previously thought.

Modified Mosquitoes May Be Anti-Malaria Allies

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/04/090421-world-malaria-day_2.html

Research is being done to try to create genetically modified mosquitoes, with immune systems that have pumped-up malaria-killing abilities. The key would be to find a genetic drive mechanism—some factor that would give the new, malaria-fighting genes a selective advantage and help them spread quickly through wild mosquito populations via breeding. Another option would be to develop antibodies that can fight the parasites' early, mosquito-dwelling forms—and "feed" the antibodies to the insects via human blood. If we vaccinate humans with antibodies that target mosquito-stage malaria, those antibodies could be passed on to the mosquitoes when they feed on treated human blood. The problem right now is that the work is being done using a model parasite—a version of malaria adapted to rodents, rather than humans—and laboratory mosquitoes, which are often genetically different from their wild cousins. Studies done this way haven’t always reflected what happens in nature.

In Mercury Images, Remarkable Features in a Crater

NASA’s messenger spacecraft sent back 1,200 pictures of Mercury from last October. These pictures reveal 30% of Mercury’s surface that has never been seen close up before. Included in these pictures is a view of the second-largest crater on Mercury. They call this the Rembrandt basin and scientists claim that the terrain inside Rembrandt is pristine from the time of the impact about 3.9 billion years ago. Usually, these are covered by volcanic flows. However, Rembrandt’s terrain has formed into ridges and troughs and is unlike any other impact basin seen before in the solar system.




http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/05/science/space/05merc.html?ref=science

Climate and Energy Plans

In a press conference on Wednesday April 29th 2009, Dr Holdren talked about the measures for ways to fight global warming by using geo-engineering. According to Dr Holden, the strategy for climate change has not been efficient in the white house. The purpose of the geo-engineering is for emergency interventions to cool the atmosphere and was opposed by the secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere.

http://dotearth.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/science-adviser-lists-goals-on-climate-energy/?scp=3&sq=science&st=cse

To Fathom a Colony’s Talk and Toil, Studying Insects One by One

A University of Arizona researcher has been studying colonies of ants and bees. She tracks each creature individually to watch their behaviors and how they contribute to the colony. She discovered that the behaviors the ants exhibited were closer to Aesop's Grasshopper, rather than industrious ants. There is a great division of labor amongst all of them. In bees, she discovered that they leave "notes" behind that other bees can see. The bumblebees are also able to communicate in a "waggle dance"-something that resembles of figure 8. The communication of a bumblebee is the closet to symbolic language from any creature-execpt for humans.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/28/science/28prof.html?pagewanted=1&ref=science