New laser technique may be used to detect microbial life forms in Martian ice

WASHINGTON - Scientists have said that an innovative new laser technique could be used to detect microbial life forms in Martian ice.

New soil tester to assess earth’s health

WASHINGTON - Our planet has a fever. But global warming’s effects on farming and water resources is still a mystery. Now an invention may provide a new diagnostic tool for assessing the health of the earth’s soil.

Natural killer cells help keep immune system in balance

WASHINGTON - Natural killer (NK) cells, part of our immune system, kill cells infected with a given virus. Researchers have now found that the cells also help keep T-cells from over-responding.

New nasal spray perks up memory

LONDON - There’s some good news for students with feeble memories. A nasal spray developed by German scientists promises to boost late night cram sessions, provided a good night’s sleep follows.

Bleaching can make corals more susceptible to disease

WASHINGTON - Scientists have found that bleaching can make corals more susceptible to disease and, in turn, coral disease can exacerbate the negative effects of bleaching.

Decline of top predators causing increase of smaller predators

WASHINGTON - A new study has determined that the catastrophic decline around the world of “apex” predators such as wolves, cougars, lions or sharks has led to a huge increase in smaller “mesopredators” that are causing major economic and ecological disruptions.

Invading ‘killer bees’ may increase food supplies for native bees

WASHINGTON - A long-term study of the Africanized bee invasion of Mexico’s Yucatan shows that invading ‘killer bees’ may actually increase food resources for native bees.

Mapping 3D structure of Universe may shed new light on dark energy

WASHINGTON - Astronomers from the University of Arizona (UA) and 41 other institutions are beginning the most ambitious project yet to map the three-dimensional structure of the universe in a quest to understand dark energy.

IIT faculty, government row resolved ‘within norms’

NEW DELHI - The long standing row between the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) and the human resource development (HRD) ministry about autonomy and allied issues had been solved but within government norms, HRD Minister Kapil Sibal said Friday, adding tht there will be no change in the salary structure of the IIT faculty.

Early humans started walking on two legs for food and sex

WASHINGTON - A new research into the life of the recently confirmed world’s oldest hominid ‘Ardi’ has suggested that the creature started walking on two legs for food and sex.

Smoking cessation drug ‘does not increase self-harm or depression risk’

LONDON - Popular smoking cessation drug varenicline doesn’t increase the risk of self-harm or depression, according to a new study.

Facts about next week’s Nobel Prize announcements

The winners of the 2009 Nobel Prizes will be announced in the next two weeks, starting with the medicine prize on Monday. Here are some brief explanations of how the award winners are picked and announced.

Nobel glory, $1.4 million check await handful of world’s top scientists

Nobel glory awaits handful of top scientists

Different learning patterns lead to different type of memory formation

WASHINGTON - McGill University researchers in Canada have shown that different patterns of training and learning lead to different types of memory formation.

Oldest hominid skeleton rewrites human evolutionary history

WASHINGTON - An international team of scientists has confirmed the discovery of the oldest hominid skeleton on Earth, which at 4.4 million years of age, would revolutionize our understanding of the earliest phase of human evolution.he female skeleton, nicknamed ‘Ardi’, is 4.4 million years old, 1.2 million years older than the skeleton of Lucy, or Australopithecus afarensis, the most famous and, until now, the earliest hominid skeleton ever found.

Prolonged stress may lead to stroke

WASHINGTON - Extended stress has been found to cause stroke, also called cerebral infarction, according to a unique patient study.

Aggression in male mice linked to ‘girl power’

WASHINGTON - “Girl Power” may be key to male aggression, according to a new study.

Experts at the University of California, San Fransisco (UCSF) say that they have identified networks of nerve cells in the brain that are associated with how male mice defend their territory, and found that these cells are controlled by the female hormone oestrogen.

Gas-mask bra designers win Ig Nobel prize

LONDON - The designers of a bra that turns into gas masks have received the 2009 Ig Nobel prize organized by the magazine Annals of Improbable Research.

German defence satellite launched

MUNICH - The first of two planned satellites for Germany’s defence forces blasted off late Thursday from the European space launch centre outside Kourou, French Guiana, officials said.

Bar brawl study, bra that converts into gas masks among winners of the 2009 Ig Nobel awards

BOSTON — Can’t get milk from a cow? Try calling her Bessie or Buttercup.

Oldest skeleton shines new light on human origins

WASHINGTON - Anthropologists took the wraps off the oldest known human ancestor Thursday - a 4.4-million-year-old Ethiopian skeleton named Ardi, which challenges many long-held assumptions about how humans and apes evolved.

Oldest hominid skeleton found, pushes back history of humankind a million years

WASHINGTON — The story of humankind is reaching back another million years as scientists learn more about “Ardi,” a hominid who lived 4.4 million years ago in what is now Ethiopia. The 110-pound, 4-foot female roamed forests a million years before the famous Lucy, long studied as the earliest skeleton of a human ancestor.

Madhya Pradesh farmers rally to demand ban on GM crop trials

JABALPUR - Thousands of farmers from 20 districts of Madhya Pradesh held a peaceful demonstration here Thursday to protest against the GM Corn field trial and demanded that the state government declare the state as a GM-free state.

Group of political scientists say US prestige declined dramatically in past decade

WASHINGTON — The United States’ standing in the world declined in the past decade to below Cold War levels, according to a leading group of political scientists.

ESA’s satellite sends data for development of best gravity map ever

PARIS - Reports indicate that the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) GOCE (Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer) has started sending data that will lead to the development of the best gravity map ever, providing a better understanding of Earth’s gravity.

Chinese weathermen on guard against bad weather on National Day

BEIJING - Nearly 400 scientists, satellites, cloud-probing lasers and a squadron of transport planes to sprinkle liquid nitrogen on clouds were deployed in Beijing with one mission - to ensure good weather over the city as China celebrated the 60th anniversary of the Peoples Republic Thursday.

New study may offer fatal polycystic kidney disease cure

WASHINGTON - Monash University researchers have found what they call ‘microscopic antennas’ that play a vital role in kidney repair process.

Strategy outlined for growing bioenergy while protecting wildlife

WASHINGTON - A new study has suggested that careful planning, together with the use of feedstocks from perennial-dominated prairie, could minimize the adverse effects of expanding bioenergy use on wildlife.

Algae and pollen grains reveal sudden spike in Antarctica’s temperature 15.7 mln yrs ago

WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has found evidence in the form of algae and pollen grains of a sudden, remarkably warm period in Antarctica that occurred about 15.7 million years ago and lasted for a few thousand years.

Laser tweezers build super-fast computers more easily

SYDNEY - Building super-fast computers has just become easier, thanks to a breakthrough that lets researchers grab hold of tiny components and probe their inner structure using only a beam of light.