science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Κυριακή 10 Φεβρουαρίου 2013

Science News SciGuru.com

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample‏
New evidence comet or asteroid impact was last straw for dinosaurs
Tiny capsule effectively kills cancer cells
Social network use reflects East-West disparity
Genetic Variation Doubles Risk of Aortic Valve Calcification

NASA Curiosity Rover Collects First Martian Bedrock Sample‏

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 07:12 PM PST

NASA's Curiosity rover has, for the first time, used a drill carried at the end of its robotic arm to bore into a
flat, veiny rock on Mars and collect a sample from its interior. This is the first time any robot has drilled into a rock to collect a sample on Mars.

New evidence comet or asteroid impact was last straw for dinosaurs

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 06:56 PM PST

The demise of the dinosaurs is the world’s ultimate whodunit. Was it a comet or asteroid impact? Volcanic eruptions? Climate change?

Team leader Paul Renne in Montana collecting a volcanic ash sample from a coal bed within a few centimeters of the dinosaur extinction horizon. Photo by Courtney Sprain.

Tiny capsule effectively kills cancer cells

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 01:56 PM PST

A tiny capsule invented at a UCLA lab could go a long way toward improving cancer treatment.

Devising a method for more precise and less invasive treatment of cancer tumors, a team led by researchers from the UCLA Henry Samueli School of Engineering and Applied Science has developed a degradable nanoscale shell to carry proteins to cancer cells and stunt the growth of tumors without damaging healthy cells.

Social network use reflects East-West disparity

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 01:45 PM PST

The stark contrast between America’s “me-first” culture and the “collective-good” mentality in China is reflected in the two countries’ use of social networking sites, according to a new study led by a Michigan State University scholar.

U.S. citizens spend more time on the networking sites, consider them to be more important and have more “friends” on the sites, the research found. The most popular social networking site in the United States is Facebook; in China, two of the most popular sites are RenRen and Qzone.

Genetic Variation Doubles Risk of Aortic Valve Calcification

Posted: 09 Feb 2013 01:35 PM PST

Study described in The New England Journal of Medicine is the first to show cause-and-effect relationship between a gene variant and calcium deposits on the aortic valve.