Latest News in Science (ABC Science)

Last updated: Wednesday, 7 January 2009Latest News in Science

Science year in review: 2008

The News in Science team will be taking a break during the Christmas-New Year period, but you can still enjoy the following highlights from 2008. read more 'Science year in review: 2008'

Last updated 19/12/2008Latest News In Science

The Large Hadron Collider didn't create a black hole, but it generated a lot of public interest in particle physics (Source: Christian Hartmann/Reuters)

The News in Science team will be taking a break during the Christmas-New Year period, but you can still enjoy the following highlights from 2008.more'Science year in review: 2008'
Friday, 19 December 2008Tags:

Scientist calls for robot ethics rules

Ethics guidelines are urgently needed to control the growing use of robots in caring for children and the elderly, says one UK robotics expert.more'Scientist calls for robot ethics rules'
Friday, 19 December 2008Tags: aged-care, careers, ethics, child-care, child-health-and-behaviour, computers-and-technology, robots-and-artificial-intelligence, united-kingdom

Leukaemia sirens seduce healthy cells

Leukaemia cells use powerful chemical signals to lure healthy blood-forming stem cells into their cancerous lairs, where they lose their power to make healthy blood cells, say US researchers.more'Leukaemia sirens seduce healthy cells'
Friday, 19 December 2008Tags: cancer, leukaemia, stem-cells, united-states

Wishful thinking on carbon targets?

The 5% carbon pollution target set by Australia would only help avert catastrophic global warming if the target was adopted by all countries, says one scientist.more'Wishful thinking on carbon targets?'
Thursday, 18 December 2008Tags: climate-change, greenhouse-gas, australia, canberra-2600, melbourne-3000, china

Holes in earth's cloak lets the sun in

The earth's protective magnetosphere has two large holes that are letting in disruptive solar winds, say scientists.more'Holes in earth's cloak lets the sun in'
Thursday, 18 December 2008Tags: astronomy-space, planets-and-asteroids, spacecraft, earth-sciences, united-states

Head-banging hammers the brain

Led Zeppelin's immortal song 'Dazed and Confused' might well have been a clinical observation on the state of their audience's brains, say Australian researchers who have found over-enthusiastic head-banging can cause mild brain injury.more'Head-banging hammers the brain'
Thursday, 18 December 2008Tags: metal, brain-and-nervous-system, hearing, kensington-2033

2008 cooler, but world still warming

The past 12 months have been cooler than previous years, but longer-term trends show the world is still warming due to climate change, according to a report from the World Meteorological Organisation.more'2008 cooler, but world still warming'
Wednesday, 17 December 2008Tags: environment, climate-change, weather, cyclone, phenomena, rainfall, storm, melbourne-3000, poland

Dark energy pushing universe apart

X-ray measurements of distant galaxy clusters confirm theories that dark energy is forcing the universe to expand infinitely, say scientists.more'Dark energy pushing universe apart'
Wednesday, 17 December 2008Tags: astronomy-space, the-universe, united-states

Rare tree lobster in a class of its own

When it comes to stick insects it seems you really can't judge a tree lobster by its cover, a new study finds.more'Rare tree lobster in a class of its own'
Wednesday, 17 December 2008Tags: biology, entomology, evolution, invertebrates, lord-howe-island-2898, melbourne-3000, new-caledonia, new-zealand, papua-new-guinea

Global methane levels move upward again

Methane levels in the atmosphere have started to rise after almost eight years of near-zero growth, an international study says.more'Global methane levels move upward again'
Tuesday, 16 December 2008Tags: climate-change, chemistry, aspendale-3195, united-kingdom, united-states