AScribe Science News Service articles from August 2003

AScribe Science News Service archives from August 2003

Scientists Find Gene for Eye Disease That Mimics Macular Degeneration; Discovery May Aid Research on Leading Cause of Blindness in Older People.
August 4, 2003... Byline: University of Michigan Health System ANN ARBOR, Mich., Aug. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center scientists have been studying a family whose members have an eye disease that looks like age-related...

75' Ferris Wheel Rolls in to Golden Gate Park for California Academy of Science's 150th Anniversary Festival September 6 and September 7.
August 4, 2003... Byline: California Academy of Sciences SAN FRANCISCO, Aug. 4 (AScribe Newswire) -- How does the oldest scientific institution in the west celebrate its 150th Anniversary? With an outdoor street festival in historic Golden Gate Park. On...

Star Trak: Mars, Perseids Light Up Sky.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Indiana University BLOOMINGTON, Ind., Aug. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- Mars will completely dominate the night sky during August as it comes closer to Earth than it ever has in recorded history. Its only competition will be the annual...

Solving Mystery of Musical Harmony: Insights From Study of Speech.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Duke University DURHAM, N.C., August 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- For over two thousand years, musicians and scientists have puzzled over why some combinations of musical tones played together sound more harmonious than others. Now,...

Purdue Scientists Discover Why We're All Lefties Deep Down.
August 5, 2003... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 5 (AScribe Newswire) -- It may be a right-handed world, but recent Purdue University research indicates that the first building blocks of life were lefties - and suggests why, on a...

Asteroids Dedicated to Space Shuttle Columbia Crew.
August 6, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 6 (AScribe Newswire) -- The final crew of the Space Shuttle Columbia was memorialized in the cosmos as seven asteroids orbiting the sun between Mars and Jupiter were named in their...

INEEL Researchers Develop Medical Imagery Breakthrough; System Detects Tissue Changes.
August 7, 2003... Byline: Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory IDAHO FALLS, Idaho, Aug. 7 (AScribe News) -- Mammograms, X-rays and other pricey medical scans do little good if doctors can't see the tiny changes that signal early stages of...

False Memories, Failing Recall are not an Inevitable Consequence of Aging, Research Suggests.
August 8, 2003... Byline: Washington University, St. Louis TORONTO, Aug. 8 (AScribe Newswire) -- In his old age, American humorist Mark Twain once mused that his mental faculties had decayed such that he could remember only things that never happened. ...

NASA Funds Colorado University at Boulder Study of Changes in Earth's Glacier Systems.
August 11, 2003... Byline: University of Colorado, Boulder BOULDER, Colo., Aug. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at the National Snow and Ice Data Center at the University of Colorado at Boulder will receive $1.8 million from NASA to compile an online...

Press Briefing Planned for Autonomous Ocean Sampling Network Project.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute MONTEREY, Calif., Aug. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- Oceanographers from more than a dozen prestigious research institutions have converged on Monterey Bay this month to examine the bay as never...

Martian Meteorite Makes Rare Appearance at Chabot Space & Science Center; Closest Approach of Red Planet Since Age of Dinosaurs Celebrated With Special Telescope Viewing 'Costume Party' August 26, Special Lecture Series August 27 & 28.
August 11, 2003... Byline: Chabot Space & Science Center OAKLAND, Calif., Aug. 11 (AScribe Newswire) -- This summer, the planet Mars is closer to earth than it's been in over 100,000 years, and closer than it will be for another 15,000. As a matter of fact,...

Long-Term Decline of Coral Reef Ecosystems Reported.
August 14, 2003... Byline: University of California, Santa Barbara SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Aug. 14 (AScribe Newswire) -- An article in the August 15 issue of the journal Science warns against the human exploitation of coral reef ecosystems around the world,...

San Diego State University, Collaborators Get $2.4 Million Grant to Study Evolutionary History of Snakes, Lizards; Project's Potential Benefits Include Ability to Better Treat Snake Bites.
August 18, 2003... Byline: San Diego State University ahoskins@mail.sdsu.edu SAN DIEGO, Aug. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Researchers at San Diego State University and other institutions will utilize data from previous landmark genome projects to unlock the...

Mayo Clinic Proceedings Releases West Nile Virus Manuscript Early to Aid Clinicians, Public.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Mayo Clinic ROCHESTER, Minn., Aug. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- As the peak transmission season of the West Nile virus reaches its midpoint, Mayo Clinic Proceedings has released via the Web a manuscript prior to publication, so...

Sandia Researchers Create Nanocrystals Nature's Way; Diatoms, Seashells Provide Lessons for Development of Complex Nanomaterials.
August 18, 2003... Byline: Sandia National Laboratories ALBUQUERQUE, N.M., Aug. 18 (AScribe Newswire) -- Sandia researchers are developing complex nanomaterials that look strikingly similar to the microstructures of diatoms and seashells. The materials may...

Media Briefing for Upcoming Launch of NASA'S Space Infrared Telescope Facility.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- The launch of NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility aboard a Boeing Delta II Heavy expendable launch vehicle is scheduled for Friday, August 22, at the...

Launch Advisory: Space Infrared Telescope Facility Launch Retargeted for New Date.
August 19, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, CALIF., Aug. 19 (AScribe Newswire) -- The launch of NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., has been rescheduled to no earlier than Sunday, Aug. 24,...

Washington University in St. Louis, Monsanto Co., Awarded Patent for Technology That Creates Disease-Resistant Crops.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Washington University, St. Louis ST. LOUIS, Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Washington University in St. Louis and Monsanto Co., Creve Coeur, Mo., have been issued patent 6,608, 241 by the United States Patent Office. The patent is...

National Science Foundation: News Tips.
August 20, 2003... Byline: National Science Foundation Science and Technology Tips From the National Science Foundation ARLINGTON, Va., Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- The National Science Foundation today released the following science and technology tips....

Pasadena Programs From NASA Will Share Inside Story of Mars-Bound Robots.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Two free public programs in Pasadena this week will offer an introduction to the challenges and excitement of NASA's project to examine two areas of Mars...

Tipping the Balance of Prion Infectivity.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Howard Hughes Medical Institute CHEVY CHASE, Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Two important questions face biologists studying the infectious proteins called prions: What stops prions that infect one species from infecting another...

NASA Seeks Public Suggestions for Mars Photos.
August 20, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 20 (AScribe Newswire) -- Earth comes closer to Mars this month than it has in nearly 60,000 years, but one new opportunity for seeing details on the red planet comes from a vantage...

Research Offers Promising Solution to Worsening Mercury Pollution.
August 21, 2003... Byline: University of Florida GAINESVILLE, Fla., Aug. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- Efforts to reduce mercury pollution from coal-fired power plants and other industrial sources may benefit from a new approach to removing the deadly metal --...

New York Academy of Sciences Examines DNA Forensic Techniques Emerging From World Trade Center Tragedy.
August 21, 2003... Byline: New York Academy of Sciences NEW YORK, Aug. 21 (AScribe Newswire) -- New techniques and approaches in DNA forensics developed in the wake of the World Trade Center tragedy have forever altered the field of DNA analysis, according...

NASA: Earth Has a New Look.
August 22, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 22 (AScribe Newswire) -- A brand new look and understanding of the place we call home. That's what you'll get in a complete global topographic data set generated by NASA and the...

NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility Lifts Off.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- NASA's Space Infrared Telescope Facility successfully launched from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 1:35:39 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time...

University of Georgia Faculty of Engineering Researchers Awarded $1 Million NSF Grant to Develop Nanoscale Biosensors.
August 25, 2003... Byline: University of Georgia ATHENS, Ga., Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- The National Science Foundation has awarded $1 million to a team of University of Georgia researchers to study and develop 3-D nanoscale structures to address...

UC San Diego Chemists Develop Self-Assembling Silicon Particles; A First Step Toward Robots the Size of a Grain of Sand.
August 25, 2003... Byline: University of California, San Diego LA JOLLA, Calif., Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- Chemists at the University of California, San Diego have developed minute grains of silicon that spontaneously assemble, orient and sense their...

Using Science to Determine Guilt or Innocence: DNA Profiling Is Subject of Two-Day Expert Forum at Wright State.
August 25, 2003... Byline: Wright State University DAYTON, Ohio, Aug. 25 (AScribe Newswire) -- As an accepted forensic tool for determining guilt or innocence, using DNA evidence to exonerate defendants has found its way into headlines and pop culture. From...

NASA Administrator Addresses Initial Findings of Columbia Accident Investigation Board.(Brief Article)
August 26, 2003... Byline: Jet Propulsion Laboratory PASADENA, Calif., Aug. 26 (AScribe Newswire) -- NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe will discuss the initial findings of the Columbia Accident Investigation Board with the media on Wednesday, August 27 from...

Study Provides New Insights Into Emerging Theory of Gene Regulation.
August 28, 2003... Byline: The Wistar Institute PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 28 (AScribe Newswire) -- With the full sequence of the human genome now in hand, scientists are turning renewed attention to the molecular processes that regulate the genes encoded by DNA....

Purdue University Research Plots New Field in Plant Genomics.
August 31, 2003... Byline: Purdue University WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind., Aug. 31 (AScribe Newswire) -- First, there was genomics, or the study of all the genes found in an organism. Then there was proteomics - the study of all the proteins produced by these genes....