May 2008 in science

Events in science and technology

May 31, 2008 (Saturday)

• The U.S. Space Shuttle Discovery launches on STS-124 to deliver the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo) to the International Space Station along with replacement parts for the toilet system. (EDN)
• A Safari bug that permits hackers to litter a user's desktop with executable files may be a critical flaw when combined with an Internet Explorer vulnerability. Microsoft has issued a security advisory for users to limit use of Safari until patches can be issued. (PCWorld)

May 30, 2008 (Friday)

• Selectively blocking TGF beta in a mice study allowed macrophages to get into the brain and ingest unwanted compounds such as amyloid plaques that cause Alzheimer's disease. (NewScientist)
• Several countries have appealed the recent vote to make Microsoft's Office Open XML format an international standard. (CRN)

May 29, 2008 (Thursday)

• A court order has forced the Bush administration to release a climate change assessment after a four-year delay. It concludes human-induced global warming will likely create droughts in the U.S. West and stronger hurricanes. (Reuters)
• The first successful U.S. phase III clinical trial has improved survival for head and neck cancer patients by restoring the p53 gene, which halts division and kills defective cells. (EurekAlert)

May 28, 2008 (Wednesday)

• A UC Riverside-led study elevates concern that current warming could lead to significant methane releases from permafrost, changing the climate further. This was a result of investigating a dramatic shift in climate 635 million years ago which brought an end to the last hypothesized snowball ice age. (Physorg)
• Bacteroides fragilis commonly found in the human gut not only crowds out dangerous organisms but a molecule it produces "PSA" may help in the development of immune cells, assisting them in protecting against diseases such as colitis. (NewScientist)
• A Vancouver couple may be charged by police for listing their seven-day-old baby for $10,000 CDN on Craigslist. (SMH)

May 25, 2008 (Sunday)

• The Phoenix spacecraft landed successfully on Mars. (Wired)
• There are now over 3.3 billion mobile phone users worldwide with developing markets such as Africa, India and China leading the growth which is eclipsing land lines. (SMH)

May 23, 2008 (Friday)

• Children's Hospital Boston are developing a device to microfilter sepsis-causing pathogens from the blood. (TechReview)

May 22, 2008 (Thursday)

• An advanced Dutch robot named Flame mimics human walking. With this understanding of walking it could lead to improved diagnoses, training and rehabilitation equipment. (Physorg)

May 21, 2008 (Wednesday)

• BioArts is auctioning five chances to clone a dog, starting at $100,000 USD. Dogs are even more difficult to clone than humans; however BioArts has created three successful clones. (NYTimes)
• Using network coding, which sends descriptions of data across an entire network rather than raw data to the intended address, DARPA found it was five times more bandwidth efficient on a wireless network than standard protocols. (TechReview)
• University of Pennsylvania may have found a way to test blood for lung cancer. They found genetic changes in the white blood cells that was 87 percent accurate in diagnosing early-state lung cancer. If developed into a diagnostic test it would help avoid unnecessary expensive and inaccurate CT and PET screening. (EurekAlert)

May 20, 2008 (Tuesday)

• A study of U.S. science teachers found 16% believe in creationism. Of those teachers with training in evolutionary biology spent more class time teaching evolution, possibly because they were more confident in being able to answer student questions. (NewScientist)
• Project on Emerging Nanotechnologies found longer carbon nanotubes could be as toxic as asbestos. (AP)

May 19, 2008 (Monday)

• Harvard University engineers demonstrate the first room-temperature source of terahertz radiation, which can be used for security and medical screening with no side effects. (Physorg)
• Facebook is preparing a major change to its layout in response to complaints of applications cluttering profile pages. The new design will likely use tabs to separate the profile from applications. (BBC)

May 15, 2008 (Thursday)

• Using cooling techniques from high performance computer chips IBM develops efficient concentrator photovoltaics (CPV) which extract 70 watts of power per square centimeter, or five times the power density of current CPV solar farms. (Physorg)
• A Swiss pilot flew above the Alps using his homemade jet-powered wing. (Physorg)
• A 48-year-old woman is indicted for cyber-bullying 13-year-old Megan Meier in 2006 on MySpace. Megan eventually committed suicide. (NYTimes)

May 14, 2008 (Wednesday)

• Harvard researchers have developed a disposable lab-on-a-chip made of paper. Using natural capillary action removes the need for expensive tiny pumps and valves. There are plans to use cell phone cameras in developing countries to enable off-site diagnosis. (TechReview)

May 13, 2008 (Tuesday)

• The Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has demonstrated a gallium nitride transistor that promises to improve the efficiency of power electronics such as motor drives, house appliances and hybrid vehicles; and it can enable simpler designs and operate in harsher environments than silicon. (Physorg)
• MySpace wins a record judgment of $230 million against spammers using CAN-SPAM. (AP)

May 12, 2008 (Monday)

• Microsoft launches its WorldWide Telescope a free virtual telescope with access to 2 terabytes of data. It also shows the position of celestial objects from any point on Earth in the past or the future. (BBC)
• A biodegradable nanostructured material that turns into gel when it encounters blood is about to head to human trials. If it receives Food and Drug Administration approval it would be used in surgery, reducing the potential for infection and recovery times. (TechnologyReview)

May 9, 2008 (Friday)

• The FBI is leading an investigation into counterfeit Cisco Systems networking equipment originating from China, some of which was purchased by military agencies and power plants, making it a matter of national security with concerns of a Trojan horse. (NYTimes)
• A new technique combining Nuclear Magnetic Resonance and Magnetic resonance imaging with biopsy analysis promises thousands of times more resolution by using xenon gas and a ligand that attaches to specific molecules. Further research is needed to identify molecules that target disease indicators; a process greatly helped by projects like Folding@Home. (DailyTech)

May 8, 2008 (Thursday)

• Scientists at Washington University School of Medicine have conclusively shown dendritic cells do carry insulin and parts of insulin-producing beta cells to the lymphocytes; which initiates an autoimmune response that turns into type 1 diabetes. (WUSTL)
• The platypus genome is decoded revealing a history of mammal evolution. (NYTimes)
• TorrentSpy is ordered to pay the Motion Picture Association of America $110 million for copyright infringement. (BBC)

May 7, 2008 (Wednesday)

• Grand Theft Auto IV grossed $500 million (USD) in its opening week; making it the most successful entertainment launch in history. (AFP)
• Morgan Sparks who helped develop the modern transistor dies at 91 years of age. (ExtremeTech)

May 6, 2008 (Tuesday)

• Scientists are redefining diseases (nosology) by classifying them by genetic traits; resulting in a precise understanding of related diseases. This may also assist in finding new drugs by cross referencing the genes they affect. (NYTimes)
• Stephen Colbert won the top award during the Webby Awards. (Reuters)

May 5, 2008 (Monday)

• Berkeley researchers find that delaying data by milliseconds can dramatically reduce the power consumption of network devices by evening out the load of data transfers, reducing the carbon footprint of the internet. Further "load skewing" research shows that during low traffic conditions concentrating traffic on busy servers permitted other servers to shut down. (NewScientist)

May 4, 2008 (Sunday)

• A high-resolution image was made of a key protein influenza uses to hijack a host cell into making copies of itself. This may lead to new drugs to combat future influenza pandemics. (EurekAlert)
• Researchers at Princeton University have developed a way to self-correct nanostructures after fabrication. Self-perfection by liquefaction (SPEL) takes advantage of liquid behavior to achieve roughness improvement from 8.4 nm to less than 1.5 nm, which better than the 3 nm "red-zone limit" outlined by the International Technology Roadmap for Semiconductors. (Nanowerk)
• Microsoft has given up its attempt to buy Yahoo with ongoing differences on price and several other requirements. Yahoo stocks are expected to fall significantly while Microsoft should go higher. (AP)

May 3, 2008 (Saturday)

• Space Shuttle Discovery rolled out to the launch-pad in preparation of STS-124 to install the Japanese Experiment Module (Kibo), becoming the largest module for the International Space Station. (Space)

May 1, 2008 (Thursday)

• Researchers create a new generation of nanomotors that are far more powerful than existing motors; opening new possibilities for nanomachines as transport and delivery systems. (Physorg)

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