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Science in the News

Science in the News - Friday 28 September 2007

Books
Review of 'The Stuff of Thought', Steven Pinker's new book on language and the brain.
Daily Mail, p67, 1/2p

Environment
David Cameron, the Conservative leader, is preparing to abandon several of his green policies, after a backlash over taxes on flights and motoring, it is reported.
The Times, p4, 1/4 col
The Daily Telegraph, p1, 1 col

A fifth case of bluetongue has been confirmed in Suffolk.
The Times, p4, brief
The Independent, p14, brief
The Daily Telegraph, p4, brief
The Guardian, p8, brief

Hilary Benn, the Environment Secretary, has said that high-energy light bulbs will begin to be phased out from next year, as part of the Government's practical commitment to reducing carbon emissions.
The Times, p29, 1 col
The Independent, p9, 1 1/2 cols
The Daily Telegraph, p5, 1/2 col
The Guardian, p6, 1/2 col
Daily Mail, p38, 2/3 col

The Al Gore film An inconvenient truth has been accused of containing 'serious scientific inaccuracies' during a court case to challenge plans to send the DVD to schools.
The Independent, p14, brief
The Daily Telegraph, p18, 1/3 col
Daily Mail, p11, 1/3p

The rainbow-coloured Rimitara lorikeet has made a comeback on the atoll of Atiu, thanks to conservation efforts.
The Daily Telegraph, p20, 1/3 col

US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice has defended President Bush's climate change conference in Washington against accusations that it was a spoiler intended to undermine UN efforts to secure a global compromise.
The Guardian, p24, 1/2 col; editorial ("talking lots, settling little"), p38, 1/4p

Article on the Clinton Global Initiative, a group of world politicians and business leaders working together on improving education, combating global warming and alleviating poverty.
The Financial Times, p8, 1 col

It is reported that the US treasury secretary warned yesterday of the bad outcomes in the coming decades if nothing is done about global warming.
The Financial Times, p8, 1/2 col

Opinion piece by Simon Tilford, chief economist at the Centre for European Reform, on how Europe's carbon market needs policing.
The Financial Times, p15, 1 col

Pharmaceuticals
Report on how pharmaceutical giants have joined forces with the US authorities and academia in an attempt to use genetics to discover why drugs which are otherwise successful can turn out to have potentially life-threatening side effects for some patients.
The Guardian, p31, 1/3p

Public Health
A Lancet editorial has criticised new Government proposals on tackling superbugs. It has recommended more resources be directed towards doctors and patients washing their hands properly in hospitals.
The Times, p9, brief
The Guardian, p17, 1/2 col
Daily Mail, p33, 2/3 col

Research Funding
Sir Leszek Borysiewicz, the new head of the Medical Research Council, has assured academics that an increased emphasis on commercialising research will not threaten investment in basic 'blue-skies' science. Sir Leszek succeeds Sir Colin Blakemore FRS as MRC chief. He also warned that the UK's lead in stem cell research could be threatened by the US if restrictions there are eased.
The Times, p11, 2/3 col
The Guardian, p6, 1/3p

Science and the Arts
It is reported that Richard Dawkins FRS is unhappy at his appearance in a new documentary, 'Expelled', which was pitched to him (under a different title) as a debate on creationism versus Darwinism, but is in fact a film supporting intelligent design. "At no point was I given the slightest clue that these people were a creationist front", Dawkins said.
The Guardian, p21, 1/3 col

Science Coverage
Analysis of mammoth hair has enabled Danish scientists to get unprecedented access to DNA sequences from extinct creatures, Science reports.
The Times, p26, brief

India plans to send people into space by 2015, the Indian Space Research Organisation has announced.
The Times, p39, brief

A new spacecraft, Dawn, has been launched to investigate objects in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
The Times, p44, 1/3 col

Durham University research has shown that rice was being grown in China 8,000 years ago, Nature reports.
The Independent, p38, 1 col

French and Italian scientists have decoded the genome of the pinot noir grape, a breakthrough that could one day lead to the engineering of pest-resistant strains.
The Guardian, p26, brief

Crocodiles are capable of complex navigation, according to research at the University of Queensland published in PLoS One.
Daily Mail, p41, 1/3p

The FT's briefing includes (i) a study by Yale researchers offers a new insight into what causes the greatest genetic variation among individuals; (ii) a study by UK researchers has found lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, and there comes a point when too much sleep can also more than double the risk; (iii) new research by an international team of scientists suggests one or more extraterrestrial objects exploded over Earth triggering abrupt climate change that lead to the extinction of the woolly mammoth.
The Financial Times, p11, brief

Stem Cells
Trials are beginning at Frenchay hospital near Bristol to treat multiple sclerosis with stem cells.
The Daily Telegraph, p18 (also mentions Sir Leszek)

'Science in the News' is produced by the Library and Information Services team at the Royal Society.

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