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1. Distant planet judged possibly habitable
2. Human evolution, radically reappraised 
3. Drastic diet may extend human life, study finds
4. "King" of star explosions seen 
5. Mom's junk food could put babies at risk 
6. On African Island, women choose the spouses
7. “Youth” pills, hawked online, win over top scientists
8. Chimps found using spears
9. Science gives beauty some of its mystery back
10. Brain stimulation "awakens" near-unconscious patient


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* Mystery world a merged planet?:
A strange object "needs a strange explanation," an
astronomer says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080110_merger.htm


* "Unprecedented" results after new 
Alzheimer's treatment:
Researchers say an already approved drug reverses
symptoms of a devastating illness.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080109_alzheimer.htm


* Death by flowers: giant, suicidal palm has
botanists stumped
Scientists are wondering how a self-destructing
plant got to Madagascar and eluded discovery
before now.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080116_palm.htm


* Four healthy habits may give 14 more years: 
study
Researchers see a remarkable combined benefit in
following four basic healthy practices.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080207_health.htm


* Did Columbus lead syphilis to Europe?
A study sug­gests as much, but some re­search­ers say
it’s far from the last word.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080114_columbus.htm


MORE NEWS IN HEALTH:

* Clone food safe, FDA says; no sales foreseen yet:
    http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080116_clones.htm
* Pollution found to shrink fetuses:
    http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080208_fetus.htm
* Researchers recreate rat heart:
    http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080113_heart.htm
* "Micro-needle" would spare patients the sting:
    http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080207_needle.htm


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* Claim of alien cells in rain may fit historical
accounts: study
A controversial theory concerning recent strange,
red rains hasn't died. In fact, things might be
getting weirder.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080122_red-rain.htm


* Researchers report blackest black yet made:
A new material could one day improve solar energy 
technology by increasing light absorption, 
scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080223_black.htm


* "Largest" ever fossil rodent found:
A rodent as big as a bull once roamed South America,
researchers report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080117_rodent.htm


* Do rich nations "owe" poor ones for eco-
abuse?:
It would seem they do -- more than $1.8 trillion, if
a new appraisal is to be believed.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080121_environment.htm



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* Get lazy, age faster:
People who are physically active in their spare time
seem biologically younger than their couch-bound
peers, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080228_exercise.htm


* A new geologic age -- started by us:
A radical proposal is gaining ground among
geologists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080225_anthropocene.htm


* Girl changes blood type, immune system:
Doctors are describing a teenage Australian as
something of a medical miracle.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080225_immune.htm


* Science in Images:
It looks like a strange cross between a computer
mouse and, well, a mouse. But it's actually a single-
celled parasite.

http://www.world-science.net


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* Communing with nature less and less:
People are losing interest in the outdoors, and it
bodes ill for health and the environment,
researchers warn.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080204_nature


* Particle smasher may reveal extra 
dimensions:
Physicists have big hopes for the world's most
powerful particle accelerator, to start up this
summer.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080201_dimensions


* Severe stress in pregnancy may be tied to
children's schizophrenia:
The popular notion that a your state of mind can
affect your unborn baby seems to have some truth,
scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080204_schizophrenia


* A common ancestor for all blue-eyed people:
Everyone with blue eyes can trace their lineage to
one person who lived around the late Stone Age,
researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080131_blueeyes


* Surprises from the smallest planet:
A spacecraft has given scientists a totally new look
at Mercury, NASA reports.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080129_mercury



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* Probe would swim into alien seas:
Scientists hope to send a robotic submarine into
oceans that may lurk within a moon of Jupiter.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080209_europa


* A function for "gay genes" after all?:
Studies of some unusual men in the remote Pacific
have led scientists to surprising conclusions.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080208_gaygene


* A machine with a taste -- for espresso:
Can a machine taste coffee? The question has plagued
scientists who study the bracing beverage.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080207_espresso


* "Sounds" of individual molecules captured:
Physicists claim to have made tiny atomic
vibrations -- sounds, by some definitions -- audible.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080206_molecule-sounds



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* Two strange dinos, one dark hunger:
Newfound fossil reports highlight the unusual 
dinosaurs that prowled southern lands in search of 
fresh meat.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080213_dinos


* People feeling powerful don't listen, study
finds:
Don't bother trying to feed your boss a new idea
while he's feeling important, new research suggests.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080215_power


* Why anyone can make a sandcastle:
The precise amount of water in the sand doesn't
matter much. Scientists now think they know why.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080212_sand


* Simple recipe for ad success: art
Seeing almost any painting on a product or product
pitch makes people rate the item more highly,
studies indicate.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080213_ad-art


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* Moon systems, not planets, may be place to 
find life:
Alien life might be both easier and more interesting
to discover through a new strategy, a study suggests.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080219_jupiters


* Brain cells tied to consciousness reported 
found:
Trying to understand what causes consciousness is
one of the most exasperating problems in all science.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080219_conscious


* Music may aid stroke recovery:
New findings suggest music helps stimulate repair
of brain wiring, researchers report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080219_stroke-music


* Study links heavy cell phone use to cancer:
Increased risk of salivary gland tumors might be
avoidable by using hands-free devices, scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080216_cellphone


* Salt might have thwarted Martian life:
New research may narrow the possibilities for where
and when microbes could have lived on the red planet.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080215_mars-salt


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* Robot arms race seen underway:
Proponents of robot weapons say they could keep
soldiers out of harm's way. Critics say the machines
raise troubling questions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_robots


* "Noah's Ark" seed vault opens:
A remote chamber designed to protect seeds for 
posterity took in its first shipments.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_vault


* Pirates had "democratic" ways:
The pirates of old produced impressive examples of
self-rule and mutual fairness -- largely because
they had no choice, a researcher says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080222_pirates


* Expert: obesity, global warming could be 
fought together
Redesigning cities to curb excess driving could
reduce both warming and waistlines, a physician
claims.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_obesity-warming


* Computers learn "regret":
New programs imitate human decision-making in
strategy games by looking backwards.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080221_regret


* SCIENCE IN IMAGES:
Among the disguises in the animal kingdom, the
swallowtail caterpillar's is surely one of the most
unappetizing.

http://www.world-science.net



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* Pollution may make birds change their tune:
Nothing like a birdsong to remind you of nature's
glory, right? Maybe not quite, according to rather
creepy new findings.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080228_birdsong


* After jeers, some recognition for "reverse
evolution" theorist:
A leading scientific journal is set to publish work
by a controversial researcher of people who walk on
all fours.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080303_unertan


* Study: media misconstrues blues as 
"chemical imbalance"
An ancient, but unsupported notion about depression
still finds its way into many news reports, a study
has found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080304_depression


* Dark energy, or just dust? Findings raise 
questions:
Tiny whiskers of carbon in space may explain
puzzling observations usually attributed to a
mysterious force, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080301_graphite


* Brain workings linked to parental instinct:
Infant faces spark a flurry of activity in a key
brain region, researchers have found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080228_parent



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* Estimates for peopling of Americas getting earlier:
Humans appear to have first entered the Americas
some 22,000 years ago, according to some archaeologists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080313_americas


* More "little people" fossils found:
A finding may renew and complicate a debate over
whether miniature, island-dwelling people once
evolved.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080310_micronesia


* That habitable planet might not be so far:
We just might have neighbors among the closest stars
to our sun, scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080310_planet


* Butterflies may keep memories of caterpillar youth:
Scientists have wondered for over a century whether
memory survives metamorphosis.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080306_butterfly


* Grand Canyon 20 million years old, study says:
The canyon's "incision history" has been disputed
for more than a century.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080306_canyon

* The evolution of drug abuse:
New research challenges traditional explanations of
why we wallow in chemical gratification.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080321_drug-evolution


* Blast called furthest thing visible to naked eye:
Halfway across the known cosmos, scientists say, a
massive stellar explosion March 19 was briefly
visible to unaided eyes.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080320_grb


* Distant moon may have hidden ocean:
Scientists are reporting evidence of a vast body of
water and ammonia inside Saturn's moon Titan.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080320_titan


* Money might buy happiness -- when you spend 
on others:
People report greater happiness if they spend money
on gifts or charity, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080320_happiness


* Drive to complexity seen in animal evolution:
A study claims to clarify a longtime debate: does
evolution have long-term trends?

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080317_evolution


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* Hunting was just final straw for mammoth, 
study finds:
Does the human species have mammoth blood on its
hands? Scientists have long debated it.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080331_mammoth


* Scientist: "superbugs" resist all drugs, portend
pandemic:
Doctors are resorting to drugs once abandoned due to
harsh side effects -- and even that has stopped
working in some cases.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080331_superbug


* Paranoia rife among us, researchers say:
Exaggerated fears of others afflict as many as one
in three people, scientists claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080331_paranoia


* Organic chemicals detected at Saturn moon:
A surprising "brew" is erupting like a geyser from
Saturn's moon Enceladus, according to researchers.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080326_enceladus


* Preterm birth tied to lifelong problems:
Premature birth leads to health issues more varied
and lasting than was known, scientists report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080325_preterm


* Uniqueness in human brain's language zone:
Human cells have more complex interconnections in
and around language-linked brain areas, researchers
say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080324_language



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* Dinosaurs along the Grand Canyon?:
Arizona's giant gorge may be 55 million years
old or more, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080410_canyon


* Drug may limit radiation damage:
A newly developed drug is reported to protect
animals' bone marrow and gastrointestinal cells from
destructive radiation.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080410_cblb502


* Understanding of superconductivity may be
nearing:
A strange effect called superconductivity offers
hopes of a new electrical golden age. But scientists
don't quite know how to get there.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080410_superconductivity


* Nuke exchange would shred ozone layer:
study
The atmosphere's ozone layer blocks cancer-causing
ultraviolet rays from the sun.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080407_nuke-ozone

ADDITIONAL NEWS:

* Unproven genetic tests called health threat
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080409_genetic-tests

* Strange animal finds: Lungless frogs, crawling fish
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080407_species

* Meteorites left "seeds" of Earth's left-handed life
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080406_chirality



****************************************************



Invite friends to join World Science for free!
Just click here to open an invitation email that you can 
send your friend or colleagues. Feel free to change the 
text of the invitation (although you might want to leave 
the subscription instructions unchanged.)

* The inbred -- betrayed by scent?
Female mice can sniff out inbred males, and the same
might be true of other species, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080417_inbred


* Step toward man-made lightning reported:
Scientists say they have touched off electric
discharges in thunderclouds by shooting powerful
lasers.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080414_lightning


* Brain found to prepare decisions in advance:
New research casts fresh doubt on whether we have
free will.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080415_brain


* SCIENCE IN IMAGES:
A colorful new photo gives a striking view of a
galaxy's rarely-seen outlying regions, and the
starbith unfolding there.

http://www.world-science.net


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* Musical genes may be coming to light:
Musical ability seems to share genetic roots with
language, scientists report.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080429_music-genes


* Mega-storm continues on Saturn:
Saturnian electrical storms resemble Earth
thunderstorms, but much larger, with lightning
10,000 times stronger.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080430_saturn-storm


* Training may boost type of intelligence:
General problem-solving ability may be improved
through a series of exercises, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080429_fluid


* Fateful signature may haunt unsuspecting
patients:
When you tell your doctors to cut life support --
then forget you did and change your mind -- there
may be a problem.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080428_directives


* Gene therapy success reported in blindness
cases:
Clinical trial results are being called one of the
first clear successes for gene therapy.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080428_genetherapy



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