Moldy mammoths and Magnetic Vision

SPACE.com

Space Makes Bacteria More Dangerous - A germ that causes food poisoning and other illnesses can be three times more dangerous in space than on the ground, an experiment has shown. The researchers' experiment revealed that a genetic switch called "Hfq," which may control more than 160 genes in S. typhimurium, turns on in space and causes S. typhimurium to become three times more virulent than on the Earth's surface.

Hubble Telescope to Star in Warner Bros.' IMAX 3D Film - An IMAX 3D camera will be on-board the space shuttle when it launches its final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope in 2008. The large-format film will use the footage taken by the STS-125 crew to share the "life story" of the orbiting observatory.

'Space Mail' Experiment Fails to Deliver Goods - In an experiment combining elements of a package delivery service, the sport of kite surfing and a REALLY big fishing reel, Russian and European engineers on Tuesday sought to pioneer a technology that could be used in the future to retrieve cargo from space. The experiment involving a 19-mile, super-strength tether hit a glitch, however, when the line failed to unwind fully, but Russian Mission Control said it hopes to salvage the test by recalculating the landing capsule's orbit. (see also: Dropping a line from space

Physics Org

Giant ocean-based pipes could curb global warming: scientists - Two of Britain's best known scientists proposed Wednesday to curb global warming by sowing the world's oceans with thousands, perhaps millions, of giant vertical pipes 100-to-200 meters deep. Free-floating or tethered pipes with one-way flaps some 10 metres in diameter, they conjecture, would increase the mixing of nutrient-rich waters below the surface with the warmer -- and relatively barren -- waters at the ocean's surface. (see also: Giant Ocean Tubes Proposed as Global Warming Fix)

Research team says extraterrestrial impact to blame for Ice Age extinctions - What caused the extinction of mammoths and the decline of Stone Age people about 13,000 years ago remains hotly debated. A team of international researchers, including two Northern Arizona University geologists, reports evidence that a comet or low-density object barreling toward Earth exploded in the upper atmosphere and triggered a devastating swath of destruction that wiped out most of the large animals, their habitat and humans of that period.

news@nature

Birds may 'see' magnetic north - Previous work has suggested that the Earth's magnetic field might act on the sensitivity of a migratory bird's eye, so that sight might be involved in finding magnetic north. Now researchers have firmed that up with evidence that molecules in the eyes of migratory birds are connected to the part of the brain that guides their direction of flight.

Tiny RNAs, big problems - Researchers have implicated a tiny RNA molecule in the invasive spread of breast cancer — the factor responsible for most deaths from the disease. If the molecule can be confirmed as a key player in cancer migration, and targeted by drugs, the find may lead to a new preventative measure against the deadly spreading of tumours.

ABC News: Technology & Science

Do You Stare at Hotties? Blame Science - The fixation on a beautiful face happens so quickly that it's involuntary, meaning the poor bloke who's about to get clobbered by his wife for checking out another woman, or vice versa, had no control over that initial impulse to stare at someone else. But, that excuse expires very quickly, say, in about 100 milliseconds. After that, consciousness should take over. So, this research isn't going to get anybody off the hook.

Reuters: Science

Scientists get DNA from moldy old mammoth hair - Scientists who pulled DNA from the hair shafts of 13 Siberian woolly mammoths said on Thursday it may be possible to mine museums for genetic information about ancient and even extinct species. They were able to sequence a DNA sample taken from mammoth hair that had been "in somebody's drawer for 200 years," and one that was at least 50,000 years old, the international team of researchers said.

BBC News | Technology | World Edition

Town tries out Cybercar concept - A driverless car which is controlled by computer and uses lasers to avoid obstacles is being demonstrated in a Northamptonshire town. Cybercars are designed for short trips at low speed in an urban environment and need only a very light track to operate.