World News Australia - SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Human stem cell trials closer

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:32:07 +1100

Embryonic stem cell therapy has got a step closer, after US researchers filed a request for government approval of human trials.

Google Chrome takes on Windows

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:20:00 +1100

Google Inc is opening its much-anticipated Chrome software to external developers, as the search giant prepares to expand its reach into operating systems.

Ancient crocs found in Sahara desert

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:50:07 +1100

The fossils of five bizarre-looking crocodiles which roamed the world 100 million years ago have been unearthed in the Sahara.

Hopes of reversing Down's Syndrome

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:16:39 +1100

Boosting a neurotransmitter called norepinephrine in sufferers of Down's Syndrome could help reverse the condition, a study shows.

NASA, Microsoft take Web users to Mars

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 14:40:43 +1100

NASA and Microsoft has launched an interactive website that allows Web surfers to become Mars explorers.

Annual mammogram benefit questioned

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:38:31 +1100

New US health guidelines question the benefit of annual screening for breast cancer in women aged 40-49.

Time-traveling browsers in development

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 14:25:35 +1100

Finding old versions of web pages could become far simpler thanks to a "time-traveling" web browsing technology, New Scientist's Paul Marks writes.

Longer toes give sprinters a leg up

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:36:06 +1100

Longer toes and shorter lower legs give sprinters an advantage, allowing them to run faster than others, a new scientific study suggests.

Space shuttle Atlantis blasts off

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:14:12 +1100

The space shuttle Atlantis has blasted off on a mission to carry spare parts to the International Space Station, ahead of the fleet's upcoming retirement.

'Unfriend' named word of the year

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:02:16 +1100

'Unfriend' - to delete someone as a friend on a social network such as Facebook - has been named the word of the year by US lexicographers.

Art collector finds Galileo's lost tooth, fingers

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 08:44:25 +1100

ROME (Reuters) - An art collector has found a tooth, thumb and finger of the renowned Italian scientist Galileo Galilei who died in the 17th century, Florence's History of Science museum said on Friday.

Barnes & Noble says Nook shipments will be delayed

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:05:55 +1100

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Barnes & Noble Inc said on Friday it had sold out of its first allotment of newly launched Nook electronic readers due to high demand and new shipments will not arrive in time for the holidays.

Astronaut in space while wife giving birth

Sat, 21 Nov 2009 02:17:36 +1100

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik can be forgiven if he's having a tough time focusing on work -- his wife is due to give birth on Friday to a baby girl.

Sony to launch online entertainment service in 2010

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 19:02:38 +1100

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp said on Friday that its planned entertainment content distribution service for network-compatible TVs and other devices will be launched next year.

Chinese cyber - spying grows against U.S: report

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 12:19:33 +1100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China's government appears increasingly to be piercing U.S. government and defense industry computer networks to gather useful data for its military, a congressional advisory panel said on Thursday.

New fossils reveal a world full of crocodiles

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:06:57 +1100

New fossils unearthed in what is now the Sahara desert reveal a once-swampy world divided up among a half-dozen species of unusual and perhaps intelligent crocodiles, researchers say.

Wikipedia, iPhone among decade's top 10 Internet moments

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 02:54:25 +1100

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - The launch of Wikipedia, emergence of the iPhone and the election of U.S. President Barack Obama were among the 10 most influential moments on the Internet in the past decade, according to the annual Webby awards.

Nokia sees corporate interest for netbook

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:27:59 +1100

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Top cellphone maker Nokia has seen growing interest among companies for its first netbook or mini-laptop, a company executive said on Thursday.

Mouse study points to treatment for Down syndrome

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:05:28 +1100

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Increasing the levels of a message-carrying chemical in the brain may help prevent some of the memory deficits in Down syndrome that hinder learning and make it hard for the brain to develop normally, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday.

Gene protects brain - eaters from mad cow-type disease

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:21:47 +1100

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Villagers in the highlands of Papua New Guinea who ritualistically ate human brains but did not die of a brain disease called kuru have a genetic mutation that protects them, researchers said Wednesday.