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Mouse Study Discovers DNA That Controls Behavior

Scientists have identified four regions of DNA that play a major role in controlling animal behavior: telling a mouse how long a burrow to dig and whether to add an escape tunnel.

 

Astronomers Find The Largest Known Spiral Galaxy

Based on information from the GALEX program, astronomers have crowned spiral galaxy NGC 6872 the largest known galaxy in the universe.

 

Whew! Big asteroid no longer threat to Earth

Armageddon

Upon further review, a big scary-sounding asteroid is no longer even a remote threat to smash into Earth in about 20 years, NASA says....

 

Supreme Court lets embryonic stem cell research proceed

The Supreme Court refused to step into the emotionally charged debate over embryonic stem cell research Monday, declining to hear a case that sought to stop government funding on ethical grounds.

 

Nobel biologist Rita Levi-Montalcini dies at 103

Rita Levi-Montalcini, a biologist who conducted underground research in defiance of Fascist persecution and went on to win a Nobel Prize for helping unlock the mysteries of the cell, died in Rome at the age of 103.

 

As a stepping stone to Mars, Nasa plans to lasso asteroid; turn it into a moon-orbiting space station

Asteroids

Nasa scientists are planning to capture a 500 ton asteroid , relocate it and turn it into a space station for astronauts on their way to Mars. The White House's Office of Science and technology will consider the £1.6bn plan in the coming weeks as it prepares to set its space exploration agenda for the next decade.

 

Nearest Sun-like star has planets

Planets

Astronomers trawling through a mess of stellar data discover that Tau Ceti, our nearest single Sun-like star, hosts five planets - one in its "habitable zone".

 

Mind-controlled robotic arm has skill and speed of human limb

Mind-Controlled Robotic Arm

A paralyzed woman has been able to feed herself chocolate and move everyday items using a robotic arm directly controlled by thought, showing a level of agility and control approaching that of a human limb.

 

Ask Science: Probes Will Crash Into the Moon’s Dark (Not Far) Side Today

At 5:28 p.m. Monday, NASA’s Grail spacecraft will crash into the Moon’s shadows. (What would you call the half of the Moon facing away from the Sun?)

 

Virus rebuilds heart's own pacemaker

Heart

A pacemaker has been built inside a heart by converting beating muscle into cells which can control the organ's rhythm, US researchers report. The heartbeat is controlled by electrical signals and if these go awry the consequences can be fatal. Scientists injected a genetically-modified virus into guinea pigs to turn part of their heart into a new, working pacemaker.

 

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