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Latest headlines
Describing soils: Calibration tool for teaching soil rupture resistance — 5 Jan 17:20
Mothers pass on disease clues to offspring — 5 Jan 17:20
Brown dwarfs do not hang out with stars — 5 Jan 17:20
Caution urged when giving kids cold and flu meds — 5 Jan 15:18
Staying healthy in a tough economy — 5 Jan 15:18
Study links obesity to elevated risk of ovarian cancer — 5 Jan 15:18
Adult-onset diabetes slows mental functioning in several ways — 5 Jan 15:18
Astrophysicist helps map the Milky Way's 4 spiral arms — 5 Jan 15:18
Evolution in action: Our antibodies take 'evolutionary leaps' to fight microbes — 5 Jan 15:18
UK astronomers gaze back in time and map the history of the Universe — 5 Jan 15:18
Studies link maternity leave with fewer C-sections and increased breastfeeding — 5 Jan 15:18
Uncultured bacteria found in amniotic fluids of women who experience preterm births — 5 Jan 15:18
The National Museum of Natural History in Sofia launches a new website — 5 Jan 00:53
Researchers at the Salk Institute develop novel glioblastoma mouse model — 4 Jan 20:36
Volcanic and Magmatic Studies Group (VMSG) annual meeting — 4 Jan 20:36
MIT develops new way to fuse cells — 4 Jan 20:36
New genetic markers for ulcerative colitis identified — 4 Jan 20:36
Genetic variation may lead to early cardiovascular disease — 3 Jan 16:38
Molecular imaging enables earlier, individualised treatment of thyroid cancer — 3 Jan 16:38
Dormant cancer cells rely on cellular self-cannibalisation to survive — 3 Jan 16:38
Toxicity mechanism identified for Parkinson's disease — 2 Jan 15:30
Researchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes — 2 Jan 15:30
Expectant brains help predict anxiety treatment success — 2 Jan 15:30
Family history of prostate cancer does not affect some treatment outcomes — 2 Jan 15:30
Aquaculture's growth seen as continuing — 2 Jan 15:30
Trying to eat less becomes more important to fend off middle-age weight gain — 2 Jan 15:30
Six North American sites hold 12900 year-old nanodiamond-rich soil — 1 Jan 19:00
New visualisation techniques yield star formation insights — 1 Jan 18:28
MRSA pre-screening effective in reducing otolaryngic surgical infection rates — 1 Jan 18:28
Arousal frequency in heart failure found to be a unique sleep problem — 1 Jan 18:28
Researchers engineer pancreatic cell transplants to evade immune response — 1 Jan 18:28
New research says academic medicine is in critical condition — 1 Jan 18:28
Editorials

— The National Museum of Natural History in Sofia launches a new website — [5 Jan] The National Museum of Natural History in Sofia (NMNHS) launched a new bilingual...

— Tycho Brahe's 1572 supernova classified — [3 Dec] One of the most famous supernovae in the history of astronomy, Tycho Brahe's supernova...

— Fomalhaut b: The first directly observed exoplanet — [13 Nov] Scientists using NASA's Hubble telescope have taken the first visible-light snapshot...

— Climate change threatens lemmings in Norway — [5 Nov] The climate change threatens lemming populations across southern Norway, according...

Videos

— Hubble telescope catches Ganymede going to the 'dark side' — [18 Dec] Hubble telescope has caught Jupiter's largest moon Ganymede playing a game of... |

— Tycho Brahe's 1572 supernova classified — [3 Dec] One of the most famous supernovae in the history of astronomy, Tycho Brahe's... |

— Fomalhaut b: The first directly observed exoplanet — [13 Nov] Scientists using NASA's Hubble telescope have taken the first visible-light snapshot... |

— 'Naked eye' gamma-ray burst was aimed almost directly at the Earth — [10 Sep] The Universe's brightest explosion ever seen was observed on 19 March this year.... |

Hubble to get last tune-up during 2009
Last updated: Monday, 5 January 2009 17:20 GMT
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2009
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Brown dwarfs do not hang out with stars

— 5 January | Astronomy

Binary Brown Dwarf Kelu-1 This pair of NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the binary brown dwarf Kelu-1 trace the orbital motion of the two stars over a seven-year span as photographed by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on Hubble. In 1998, the stars were too close together to be resolved by Hubble. By 2005, they had moved apart to a separation of 520 million miles. The projected maximum separation is 550 million miles. Binary systems allow astronomers to estimate the mass of companion objects. The brown dwarfs are 61 and 50 times the mass of Jupiter. They are therefore too small to burn as stars, but too large to have formed as planets. Based on the total estimated mass of the system, astronomers suspect there is a third brown dwarf member that has not yet been resolved, (c) NASA, ESA, and M. Stumpf (Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy)Brown dwarfs, objects that are less massive than stars but larger than planets, just got more elusive, based on a study of 233 nearby multiple-star systems by NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Hubble found only two brown dwarfs as companions to normal stars. This means the so-called 'brown dwarf desert' (the absence of brown dwarfs around solar-type stars) extends to the smallest stars in the Universe... — full story


More stories

Trying to mimic randomly occurring mutations that cause glioblastoma, Inder Verma and his team successfully used modified viruses to shuttle cancer-causing oncogenes into a handful of cells in the brains of adult mice. Individual cell nuclei are shown in blue, infected cells are shown in green, (c) Dr Tomotoshi Marumoto, Salk Institute for Biological StudiesResearchers at the Salk Institute develop novel glioblastoma mouse model

— 4 Jan | Health

Researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies have developed a versatile mouse model of glioblastoma - the most common and deadly brain cancer in humans - that closely resembles... — full story

This cartoon depicts a single nanotube formed from DNA tile arrays with gold particles attached, (c) Hao Yan, Arizona State UniversityResearchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes

— 2 Jan | Technology

Arizona State University researchers Hao Yan and Yan Liu imagine and assemble intricate structures on a scale almost unfathomably small. Their medium is the double-helical DNA molecule,... — full story

Some of the 500,000 Magellanic penguins now under protection in the new marine park in Golfo San Jorge in Argentina, (c) Graham Harris, Wildlife Conservation SocietyA Happy New Year for penguins!

— 1 Jan | Environment

The Bronx Zoo-based Wildlife Conservation Society announced today that its efforts to protect a wildlife-rich coastal region in South America have paid off in the form of a new coastal... — full story

The evolving star V838 Monocerotis, whose past flashes have illuminated material that was ejected in an early stellar wind, (c) NASA and The Hubble Heritage Team (AURA/STScI)Hubble to get last tune-up during 2009

— 31 Dec | Astronomy

From troubled beginnings nearly 18 years ago, the Hubble Space Telescope has revolutionised astronomy and its stunning images have stirred the imaginations of people around the globe.... — full story

Popular

Organic solar concentrators collect and focus different colours of sunlight. Solar cells can be attached to the edges of the plates. By collecting light over their full surface and concentrating it at their edges, these devices reduce the required area of solar cells and consequently, the cost of solar power. Stacking multiple concentrators allows the optimisation of solar cells at each wavelength, increasing the overall power output, (c) Donna CoveneyDye-coated glass to channel energy into solar cells

— 11 Jul | Technology

Can you imagine windows that not only provide a clear view and illuminate rooms, but also use sunlight to efficiently help power the building they are part of Massachusetts Institute... — full story

Topics — Physics | Chemistry | Geology and palaeontology | Biology | Environment | Astronomy | Health | Technology
Chemistry

Marina Guenza of the University of Oregon has shown that her theory explains unexpected behaviours of molecules in plastic, (c) Jim BarlowTheory may help design tomorrow's sustainable polymer


Polymers 'battered' with nanoparticles could create self healing paints
Bringing science to 'life' in the classroom
New $11 million centre to speed drug discovery process
The Nobel Prize in chemistry is going to Shimomura, Chalfie and Tsien
Physics

Construction of the experiment with ultracold neutrons, (c) Christian Plonka-SpehrPhysicists at Mainz University generate ultracold neutrons at the TRIGA Reactor


Georgia Tech physicist honored with Humboldt Award
Researcher nabs doubly magic tin isotope, a North American first
Physicists set new record for quantum memory storage
Avalanches - triggered from the valley
Biology

UMass Amherst doctoral student and co-author Helene ver Eecke collects samples of some of the deep-sea heat-loving worms that grow in porous, mineral-rich rocks near volcanic vents called 'smokers' about 1.4 miles below the Pacific Ocean, (c) UMass AmherstCould deep-sea microbes teach us about alien life?


Snails and humans use same genes to tell right from left
Just a little squeeze lets proteins assess DNA
Over 1000 species discovered in the Greater Mekong in past decade
Work with fungus uncovering keys to DNA methylation
Geology

The photo depicts the Oviraptorid dinosaur Citipati on a nest that was found in the Gobi desert of Mongolia by the American Museum of Natural History. It is one of the specimens studied by Professor Gregory M. Erickson of Florida State University for the 19 December Science paper 'Avian Paternal Care Had Dinosaur Origin', (c) Mick Ellison, American Museum of Natural History, 2008Polygamy, paternal care in birds linked to dinosaur ancestors


Geoscientists drill for secrets under Arctic lake
Palaeontologists discover new species of prehistoric giants in the Sahara
Team led by Purdue professor first to record key event that breaks continents apart
Late Neanderthals and modern human contact in Iberia
Astronomy

Binary Brown Dwarf Kelu-1 This pair of NASA Hubble Space Telescope images of the binary brown dwarf Kelu-1 trace the orbital motion of the two stars over a seven-year span as photographed by the Near Infrared Camera and Multi-Object Spectrometer (NICMOS) on Hubble. In 1998, the stars were too close together to be resolved by Hubble. By 2005, they had moved apart to a separation of 520 million miles. The projected maximum separation is 550 million miles. Binary systems allow astronomers to estimate the mass of companion objects. The brown dwarfs are 61 and 50 times the mass of Jupiter. They are therefore too small to burn as stars, but too large to have formed as planets. Based on the total estimated mass of the system, astronomers suspect there is a third brown dwarf member that has not yet been resolved, (c) NASA, ESA, and M. Stumpf (Max-Planck-Institute for Astronomy)Brown dwarfs do not hang out with stars


Hubble to get last tune-up during 2009
NASA Mars rovers near five years of science and discovery
Spain's biggest meteorite strike remembered 150 years on
Scientists find carbonate and clues to Mars mysteries
Environment

Some of the 500,000 Magellanic penguins now under protection in the new marine park in Golfo San Jorge in Argentina, (c) Graham Harris, Wildlife Conservation SocietyA Happy New Year for penguins!


Four years after tsunami, coral reefs recovering
What is powering your Christmas lights?
Scientists spend a white Christmas in Antarctica
Making coal mining safer, more efficient and greener
Technology

This cartoon depicts a single nanotube formed from DNA tile arrays with gold particles attached, (c) Hao Yan, Arizona State UniversityResearchers use nanoparticles to make 3-D DNA nanotubes


Princeton researchers discover new type of laser
Scientists create titanium-based structural metallic-glass composites
Researchers lay out vision for lighting 'revolution'
New maps a boon for Queensland mineral explorers
Health

Trying to mimic randomly occurring mutations that cause glioblastoma, Inder Verma and his team successfully used modified viruses to shuttle cancer-causing oncogenes into a handful of cells in the brains of adult mice. Individual cell nuclei are shown in blue, infected cells are shown in green, (c) Dr Tomotoshi Marumoto, Salk Institute for Biological StudiesResearchers at the Salk Institute develop novel glioblastoma mouse model


Can Nintendo Wii game consoles improve family fitness?
Caffeine has greater effect on men, and starts only ten minutes after consumption
Patient-derived induced stem cells retain disease traits
Newly discovered ooesophagus stem cells grow into transplantable tissue
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