Science
Panel: Restrict Chimp Use In Research
WASHINGTON, Dec. 15 (UPI) — Chimpanzees should be subjects of biomedical research only under stringent conditions, including the absence of any other suitable model, a U.S. report says. The report by the Institute of Medicine, part of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, said use of the animals should be permissible only if forgoing their […]
California Academy Named 140 Species In '11
SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 15 (UPI) — Researchers at the California Academy of Sciences added 140 new relatives to the world family tree of life in 2011, the academy said. The new species described by more than a dozen academy scientists, working with several dozen international collaborators, include 72 arthropods, 31 sea slugs, 13 fishes, 11 […]
Astronomers Turn Eyes To Black Hole
BERKELY, Calif., Dec. 15 (UPI) — U.S. astronomers say they’ll be watching as a gas cloud approaching the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way breaks apart in the coming years. This is the first time the approach of such a cloud to a supermassive black hole has been observed, and astronomers […]
Gulf Coast Isn't Clean, NWF Says
NEW ORLEANS, Dec. 16 (UPI) — Don’t think that because BP is moving from cleanup to restoration with a $1 billion pledge that the southern U.S. coast is clean, wildlife officials said. BP, under an agreement reached in response to the April 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, agreed to commit $1 billion […]
Failed Russian Spacecraft To Fall To Earth
MOSCOW, Dec. 16 (UPI) — A Russian spacecraft that failed in its attempt to head to Mars will fall to Earth between Jan. 6-19, the country’s federal space agency said. No more than 400 pounds of the debris of the Phobos-Grunt craft will reach the Earth’s surface, and the fuel is expected to totally burn […]
Sense Of Smell Said Driver Of Evolution
MUNICH, Germany, Dec. 14 (UPI) — Modern humans have a better sense of smell than Neanderthals did and differences in brain structure suggest improved brain functions, German researchers say. Neanderthals and modern humans, two different human species, independently evolved brains of roughly the same size but with differing shapes that may indicate a difference in […]
Cellphone Driving Risks Re-Analyzed
DETROIT, Dec. 14 (UPI) — Two early influential studies on cellphone use and car crash risk may have overestimated the risk of talking on cellphones while driving, U.S. researchers say. Behavioral scientists at Wayne State University analyzed possible bias in a 1997 Canadian study and a 2005 Australian study, a university release said Wednesday. In […]
Anniversy Of South Pole Feat Celebrated
OSLO, Norway, Dec. 14 (UPI) — Norway’s prime minister observed the 100th anniversary of explorer Roald Amundsen’s expedition to the south pole with a ceremony at the pole. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg paid tribute to “one of the most outstanding achievements of mankind” as he unveiled an ice bust of Amundsen at the U.S. scientific […]
Britain OKs Badger Cull In Disease Battle
LONDON, Dec. 14 (UPI) — British authorities say a badger cull will be carried out in two areas of England next year in an attempt to tackle bovine TB in cattle. Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said a decision on whether to extend the cull across the country would be made after the trials in yet-to-be-decided […]
Astronomers Identify Source Of Supernova
SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Dec. 15 (UPI) — A supernova that exploded in August was a white dwarf star, but its companion could not have been a red giant as previously suspected, U.S. astronomers say. The new “type Ia” thermonuclear supernova exploded Aug. 24 in the Pinwheel galaxy, located in the constellation Ursa Major, also known […]
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