feedmashr.com

From the blogosphere

A misconduct survey stirs the pot. An Editorial and Commentary in the 19 June issue of Nature (Nature453, 957; 2008 and Nature453, 980–982; 2008) are hotly debated at Nature Network's News and Opinion forum (http://tinyurl.com/5onqpl).

Does the past have a future in Berlin?

Not unless a research institution's managers recognize its value.

Ecology: Drought and the lion

PLoS ONE3, e2545 (2008)Extreme weather can cause mass die-offs in the animal kingdom by altering host–pathogen relationships, according to researchers led by Craig Packer of the University of Minnesota in St Paul.They found that high lion mortality in Tanzania in 1994

Materials science: The heart of glass

Nature Mater.7, 556–561 (2008) doi:10.1038/nmat2219A glass is caught somewhere between a liquid and a crystalline solid — its atoms move, but they do so very slowly. Theorists predicted that was because the atoms arranged themselves in

Chemical biology: Anti-Alzheimer's agent

in vivo

Genetics: The genetics of anarchy

Genetics doi: 10.1534/genetics.108.087270 (2008) A study of honeybee 'anarchy' has uncovered several regions of the genome that influence cheating behaviour.Honeybee (Apis mellifera; pictured right) queens emit a pheromone to 'switch off' the ovaries of female worker bees, but

Nanotechnology: Electron windmills

Phys. Rev. Lett.100, 256802 (2008) doi:10.1103/PhysRevLett.100.256802Carbon nanotubes can be sent spinning by passing an electrical current through them, Steven Bailey and his colleagues at Lancaster University, UK, say.Their calculations show that electrons passing through a nanotube with

Acoustics: Fiddling the numbers

PLoS One3, e2554 (2008)Subtle shifts in density that occur within individual pieces of wood might help to explain why violins made in eighteenth-century Cremona, Italy, sound so special.Berend Stoel, of Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands, and Terry Borman, a

Reduce confusion by using 'design' more intelligently

SirFew scientists would dispute that evolution provides a far more satisfactory explanation for the workings of living organisms than does 'intelligent design'. But a much more subtle 'design' movement abounds that can distort how they approach their research.According to the Oxford English Dictionary

Hidden Treasures: Institute of Physiology collection

A cache of beautiful nineteenth-century German scientific devices that has survived many misfortunes now needs a new home, reports Alison Abbott.

'Gordon Gekko' trading bot profits from mood swings

By getting more aggressive when market conditions demand it, a new virtual trader can be 5% more profitable than existing programs

Cleaner fish calms predators with caresses

The parasite-eating fish turns its "cleaning stations" into reef safe havens, not only for itself, but for other species too

Making the paper: Marina Wolf

Unusual brain receptors weaken resistance to cocaine cravings.

Can the US get Beyond Einstein?

A NASA mission to study dark energy may be too expensive to begin in 2009, as planned

Californian wildfires claim life of rare condor chick

Natural fires that forced conservationists to evacuate a field site in California's Big Sur have killed one of the endangered birds