| NIH to resume funding stem cell research for now By LAURAN NEERGAARD 2010-09-10T17:08:59ZWASHINGTON (AP) -- The government said Friday it's back in the business of funding embryonic stem cell research - at least for now - after an appeals court temporarily lifted a judge's ban.... hosted.ap.org |
Six to watch: science shows Some TV science series set off a chemical reaction to capture the public's imagination, so which are your favourites?The study of physics and science might be sadly declining, but television has a noble history of creating science shows that have a spirit of adventure and sense of wonder – and importantly don't make viewers cringe. So which science shows have proved to be the best televisual experiments? Here are six of our favourites – for grown-ups and kids. Let us know whether they'd have been your choices and which shows you'd add to the list.The Men in White: 2006Channel 4's much mourned and often very funny kids show where three funky scientists (Adam Rutherford, Basil Singer, and Jem Stansfield, the latter popping up later on bang Goes The Theory – see below) tried to solve average, everyday problems, consequently creating a fart detector and "pimping" a false leg.Horizon: 1964 –Popular wisdom insists that Horizon has gone downhill, but it was still water-cooler TV before offices had water coolers. Complex ideas were explained to audiences willing to understand, and scrolling down the list of titles reveals an innovative social conscience – such as the 1989 episode Black Schizophrenia. The moving 1991 episode Inside The Chernobyl Sarcophagus meanwhile, was terrifying, informative and beautiful. Richard Hammond's Blast Lab: 2009 –Yes I know – it stars Richard Hammond, but what could be better than persuading his "Ninja Nan" to help blow stuff up (or in this case to lie down peacefully as she gets splattered with eggs)? Add in the competitive element and miniaturised former science teacher Mini Miss, and you have informative chaos – although frankly, shouldn't these kids be in detention?Tomorrow's World: 1965 – 2003It could be a bit worthy, but featured Kraftwerk more than once, including an enthusiastic Maggie Philbin next to their dancing robots. Never embarrassingly hip and always informative, the guilty pleasure was waiting for the Heath Robinson-esque demonstrations to fail, epically. Presenter and cult-hero Raymond Baxter was a former second world war fighter pilot. (Brilliantly, there's a huge collection of Tomorrow's World programmes that you can watch via the BBC Archive.)Wonders of the Solar System: 2010Brian Cox is the new hero of getting "the kids" involved in science, and has had some endearingly human moments where even a boffin such as he struggles to explain quantum physics, making it all the more engaging. Cox is watchable, passionate, and you can imagine that younger viewers want to hang around with similar people. But in a good way.Bang Goes The Theory: 2009 -BGTT has shown magnetic cows, non-lethal weapons, and this latest series has already investigated Deepwater Horizon (described accurately as an engineering disaster) and the way "gloopy" crude oil especially has an impact on wildlife. A highpoint is 2009's sobering "Human Power Station", where a team of cyclists pedal-powered the energy consumption of an average home.TelevisionPenny Andersonguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Bull ants have right eye for the job Worker bull ants have military-style night vision, while their higher status winged nest mates see best during the day, Australian researchers have discovered. abc.net.au |
Swiss unearth 5,000-year-old door Archeologists find 'remarkable' Neolithic wooden door as old as Stonehenge at site of planned car park in ZurichArchaeologists in Zurich have unearthed a 5,000-year-old door that may be one of the oldest ever found in Europe.The ancient poplar wood door is "solid and elegant" with well-preserved hinges and a "remarkable" design for holding the boards together, archaeologist Niels Bleicher said today.Using tree rings to determine its age, Bleicher believes the door could have been made in 3,063BC, just as construction on Stonehenge began."The door is very remarkable because of the way the planks were held together," he told the Associated Press.Harsh climatic conditions at the time meant people had to build solid houses that would keep out much of the cold wind that blew across Lake Zurich, and the door would have helped, Bleicher said. "It's a clever design that even looks good."The door was part of a settlement of so-called "stilt houses" frequently found near lakes about a thousand years after agriculture and animal husbandry were first introduced to the pre-Alpine region.It is similar to a door found in nearby Pfaeffikon, while a third – made from one solid piece of wood – is believed to be even older, possibly 3,700BC, said Bleicher.The latest door was found at the dig for what is intended to be a new underground car park for Zurich's opera house.Archaeologists have found traces of at least five Neolithic villages believed to have existed at the site between 3,700 and 2,500 years BC, including objects such as a flint dagger from what is now Italy and an elaborate hunting bow.SwitzerlandArchaeologyguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Cloned meat safe to eat: scientists An independent panel of British scientists has suggested that meat and milk from cloned cattle is safe to eat. abc.net.au |