Sir Robert Edwards,Test-tube Baby Pioneer Dies at 87

British scientist Sir Robert Edwards, who was awarded a Nobel prize for his pioneering work in developing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), died on Wednesday aged 87. The British professor spent his career making the dream of having a baby come true for millions of people worldwide, running into conflict with the Catholic Church and fellow scientists on his way.

He was awarded the Nobel prize for medicine in 2010, five decades after he began experimenting and long after the birth of the world’s first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. Sir Robert was too frail to pick up his Nobel prize in Stockholm in 2010, leaving that to his wife Ruth, with whom he had five daughters. However, he remained a fellow of Churchill College at Cambridge until his death.

Born in Yorkshire in northern England on September 27, 1925, into a working-class family, Sir Robert served in the British army during World War II before returning home to study first agricultural sciences and then animal genetics :: Read the full article »»»»

There’s GOLD in Them There Hills, Termite Hills That Is…

Those superneat boffins at Australia’s science-factory – The CSIRO –  have found that termite mounds could indicate where gold or other mineral deposits lie beneath the surface.

Researchers believe that even small termite mounds could be reliable markers, and that termites themselves may be a cost-effective and environmentally friendly means of finding new mineral deposits.

Termite mounds are abundant across Australia’s north, and the largest ones can stand up to five metres tall. The research was published in science journals PLoS ONE and Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis, found that at a test site in the West Australian goldfields termite mounds contained high concentrations of gold. This gold indicates there is a larger deposit underneath :: Read the full article »»»»

Loose Cable Behind CERN Faster-than-light Result

The controversial finding that cast a large shadow of doubt over Einstein’s belief that nothing can travel faster than the speed of light might have been caused by a loose cable, the lab behind the result said. Physicists at the CERN laboratory near Geneva appeared to contradict Albert Einstein last year when they reported that sub-atomic particles called neutrinos could travel fractions of a second faster than light. Einstein had said nothing could travel faster than light.

James Gillies, a spokesman for CERN, said the lab’s startling result was now in doubt. Earlier on Wednesday, the website ScienceInsider reported the surprising result was down to a loose fibre optic cable linking a Global Positioning System satellite receiver to a computer. ScienceInsider is run by the respected American Association for the Advancement of Science. Mr Gillies confirmed a flaw in the GPS system was now suspected as a possible cause for the surprising reading. Gillies’ says further testing was needed before any definite conclusions could be reached :: Read the full article »»»»

The Race To Find New Life Underneath East Antarctic Icesheet

Russia has set the pace, piercing through Antarctica’s icy crust to reach a freshwater lake to try to find ancient or new kinds of life that have adapted to the extremely cold, sunless climate and may shed light on the origins of evolution. The team Russian scientists announced on February 5, 2012, that they had reached Antarctica’s Lake Vostok, an ancient, fresh-water lake buried beneath more than 2 miles/3 kilometers of ice for as long as 34 million years. Sergei Lesenkov, a spokesman for Russia’s – AARI – Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, based in St. Petersburg, said that the team was still awaiting some final numbers from Antarctica. ”We are waiting for information which will allow us to confirm this result,” Lesenkov said.

The revelation comes after days of speculation on whether the years-long effort had finally achieved its goal. News of the scientific milestone was evidently on hold, as Russian headquarters waited on some measurements from Vostok Station, the tiny outpost in the middle of the East Antarctic Ice Sheet where the Russians have been drilling toward Lake Vostok since the late 1990s. Read the full article »»»»

IARPA Twitter Trending

It’s every government’s dream, a system that can predict future events such as riots, political upheaval and the outbreak of war.

With social media playing such a prevalent role in the organisation of events like The Arab Spring and Occupy Wall Street, there’s surely a way to trend upcoming events through social media, the U.S intelligence community believes this to be the case.

Research aimed at predicting future social upheaval isn’t a new thought, automating the way data is collected and analysed is a little more complicated though. Foresight and Understanding from Scientific Exposition - FUSE – has been commissioned to do just that by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence - ODNI. 

CONTINUED: Read the full article »»»»

Branson Opens Spaceport America

Our favorite  billionaire, Richard Branson has opened the world’s first commercial spaceport in the New Mexico desert, the new home for his company Virgin Galactic

Branson inaugurated the building by breaking a champagne bottle against the building, while rappelling down the side of it, hung 20 meters above the ground from the main terminal roof. Described by it’s builder as, the next chapter in space transportation. “Forward-thinking pioneers are developing both vertical and horizontal launch vehicles using the power of free-market enterprise.  As the world’s first purpose-built commercial spaceport, Spaceport America is designed with the needs of the commercial space business in mind. Unique geographic benefits, striking iconic design, and the tradition of New Mexico space leadership are coming together to create a new way to travel into space. When it comes to outer space, New Mexico is bringing it down to earth!” Read the full article »»»»

Big Thoughts For Tiny Particles: Nanomedicine

Physicist Richard Feynman in 1959 declared that we would one day learn to move individual atoms around, place them precisely where we want and bond them together. By doing this, we could build, tear apart, or modify any object made of atoms.  1959 might seem like a world away, Mr Feynman of course was spot on. Though we’re not sure his application as spelled out was of the human body, spot on by a broad sweep is however, still spot on :: Read the full article »»»»