Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Cell receptor research wins Americans chemistry Nobel
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Two American scientists won the 2012
Nobel Prize for chemistry on Wednesday for research into how
cells respond to external stimuli that is helping to develop
better drugs to fight diseases such as diabetes, cancer and
depression. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said the 8
million crown ($1.2 million) prize went to Robert Lefkowitz,
69, and Brian Kobilka, 57, for discovering the inner workings
of G-protein-coupled receptors, which allow cells to respond to
chemical messages such as adrenaline rushes.
Nobel for quantum “parlor trick” that could make super
computers
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – A French and an American scientist
won the Nobel Prize in physics on Tuesday for finding ways to
measure quantum particles without destroying them, which could
make it possible to build a new kind of computer far more
powerful than any seen before. Serge Haroche of France and
American David Wineland, both 68, found ways to manipulate the
very smallest particles of matter and light to observe strange
behavior that previously could only be imagined in equations
and thought experiments.
SpaceX rocket glitch puts satellite in wrong orbit
2012-10-09T215411Z_10_BRE8941GQ_RTROPTC_0_US-SPACE-SPACEX.XML
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A Nobel prize for being in two places at once
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – U.S. physicist David Wineland
and France’s Serge Haroche share the 2012 Nobel Prize in
physics for doing what Wineland once described as a scientific
parlour trick. What they did was apply one of the most
successful theories in physics – quantum mechanics, which for a
century has governed the micro-world where even an atom looms
large – to objects in the lab.
Nobel laureate Yamanaka warns of rogue “stemcell therapies”
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Nobel laureate Shinya Yamanaka warned
patients on Tuesday about unproven “stem cell therapies”
offered at clinics and hospitals in a growing number of
countries, saying they were highly risky. The Internet is full
of advertisements touting stem cell cures for just about any
disease — from diabetes, multiple sclerosis, arthritis, eye
problems, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to spinal cord injuries
— in countries such as China, Mexico, India, Turkey and
Russia.
Stonehenge scan shows importance of the solstice
LONDON (Reuters) – A cutting-edge laser scan of Stonehenge
has shown how Britain’s enigmatic neolithic monument was built
to enhance the dramatic passage of sunlight through the circle
of stones at midsummer and midwinter. The slabs were intended
to appear at their best in the dawn light on the longest day of
the year and at sunset on the shortest, the scan for English
Heritage found.
Scientists find blood signatures for aggressive prostate
cancer
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists have found two distinct
genetic “signatures” for prostate cancer that may help doctors
predict which patients have aggressive tumors, and designed
experimental blood tests to read those genetic signs like
barcodes. The teams, whose work was published on Tuesday in the
Lancet Oncology journal, believe tests developed from the
signatures could eventually be used to tell which patients need
immediate treatment.
