Cleaning up more tech posts

[dracodraconis]

Reuters: Science

Secrets of Assassins' fort unearthed in Syria - Nestled at the foot of Syria's coastal mountains, an ancient citadel has been put on the tourist map by restoration and excavation that revealed mysteries of the medieval Assassins sect, once based here.

PopSci.com

Snot for 'Bots - The robotic schnozz can sniff for bombs and air pollution, along with other simple chemicals, but it still can't tell a smushed banana from a sprig of peppermint. Now researchers at the University of Warwick in England have hit upon a way to dramatically improve a robot's sense of smell: synthetic snot.

Science Blog -

Olive product slows spread of HIV in body - Olive oil has become part of the fight against the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) - the cause of AIDS - thanks to the research carried out by the Bionat team, from the University of Granada, headed by Prof. Andrés García-Granados, senior lecturer in Organic Chemistry. Their work shows that maslinic acid - a natural product extracted from dry olive-pomace oil in oil mills - inhibits serin-protease, an enzyme used by HIV to release itself from the infected cell into the extracellular environment and, consequently, to spread the infection into the whole body. These scientists from Granada determined that the use of olive-pomace oil can produce an 80% slowing down in AIDS spreading in the body.

Technique could confirm prion infection - Scientists have made significant advances towards the development of a technique that could be used to confirm whether someone is infected with variant CJD.

Drug fights alcoholism, study finds - A drug already approved for nicotine addiction also curbs alcohol dependence, a new animal study shows. One dose alone cut drinking in half. The finding is particularly encouraging, the researchers say, because the animals did not turn to drinking in excess after the drug was stopped, a common pattern when people take current drugs to curb alcohol consumption.

Late-night teens more prone to problems? - A propensity for activities in the evening rather than in the morning may offer clues to behavioral problems in early adolescence, according to psychologists who have found that kids who prefer evenings are more likely to exhibit antisocial behavior, rule-breaking, and attention problems.

Emotional memories can be suppressed with practice - A new University of Colorado at Boulder study shows people have the ability to suppress emotional memories with practice, which has implications for those suffering from conditions ranging from post-traumatic stress disorder to depression.

PhysOrg.com - latest science and technology news

Robot walks on water - Water striders, insects that walk on the surface of the water, may never set foot on land in their lives, and yet they’re not swimmers. Over the past million or so years, this insect - sometimes called a water skater - has optimized its use of surface tension to balance its 0.01-gram body on lakes, ponds, and even oceans.

Boosting key milk nutrients may help lower type 2 diabetes risk - Most Americans fail to get the calcium and vitamin D they need, but this shortfall could be affecting more than their bones. It may, at least in part, be one reason behind the epidemic of type 2 diabetes, suggests new research conducted at Tufts University.

The cell phone connects to the hip bone - U.S. scientists are developing a technology that allows mobile electronic devices to communicate by sending vibrations through bones.