Swimming in chlorinated pools increases asthma risk five-fold

And drinking chlorinated water - much better if it is fluoridated too - is even “better” for your health._________________________________________________________________________Children who swim regularly in chlorinated pools are five times more likely to develop asthma, research has found. Swimming is recommended as a good form of exercise for asthmatics because the warm humid air is less likely [...] continue reading latest news

Phoenix Lander sees snow falling on Mars

In this artist conception, the Phoenix Mars Lander, which launched in August 2007 and the first project in NASA’s Mars Scout missions, landed on Mars on May 25, 2008. (UPI Photo/NASA)WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 (UPI) — The U.S. space agency says its Phoenix Mars Lander has detected snow falling from Martian clouds, vaporizing before reaching the [...] continue reading latest news

Eruption of 3 volcanoes has scientists asking questions

PUZZLE: Is there a common thread or were events just coincidence?How likely is it that three neighboring volcanoes would all erupt at the same time — as the Kasatochi, Okmok and Cleveland volcanoes in the Aleutians did this summer?About as likely as a storm that only appears once in a thousand years, says Anchorage volcanologist [...] continue reading latest news

Eruption of 3 volcanoes has scientists asking questions

PUZZLE: Is there a common thread or were events just coincidence?How likely is it that three neighboring volcanoes would all erupt at the same time — as the Kasatochi, Okmok and Cleveland volcanoes in the Aleutians did this summer?About as likely as a storm that only appears once in a thousand years, says Anchorage volcanologist [...] continue reading latest news

Math profs link particle actions, human free will

Math professors Simon Kochen (above) and John Conway proved the Free Will Theorem, which suggests an unexpected connection between the nature of human decisions and the behavior of microscopic particles.Scientists and philosophers have long questioned whether the future of the world is entirely a function of its past. They have wondered whether everything that happens [...] continue reading latest news

An ancient metal - copper - the new weapon against superbugs

Following research by Professor Bill Keevil at the University of Southampton showing that copper can significantly reduce the presence of MRSA, a Birmingham hospital is to launch an 18-month clinical trial next month (April 2007) to establish whether the installation of copper surfaces will kill MRSA and other hospital-acquired infections.Laboratory tests by Professor Keevil, Director [...] continue reading latest news

Can a thinking, remembering, decision-making, biologically accurate brain be built from a supercomputer?

Out of the Blue Can a thinking, remembering, decision-making, biologically accurate brain be built from a supercomputer?In the basement of a university in Lausanne, Switzerland sit four black boxes, each about the size of a refrigerator, and filled with 2,000 IBM microchips stacked in repeating rows. Together they form the processing core of a machine [...] continue reading latest news