Scientists have used data from scans of 183 subjects to identify brain areas that consistently become active in a variety of cognitive tasks. If the brain in action can be compared to a symphony, with specialized sections required to pitch in at the right time to produce the desired melody, then the regions highlighted by the new study may be likened to conductors, researchers at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis assert.
- Article Source

Caribbean spiny lobsters are able to detect illness in others of their kind, and employ avoidance tactics to keep their population healthy, according to a paper in this week’s issue of the journal Nature. The research results show that the usually social animals avoid contact with other lobsters that carry viruses–even before those lobsters become infectious.
- Article Source

Using small molecules containing platinum, Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center researchers have created a process to inhibit a class of proteins important in HIV and cancer.
- Article Source

Nearly 30 years after launch, the two Voyager spacecraft are still operational and returning useful data. In their early years they produced some of the first close up images of the large outer planets. Now as the two vehicles, flying in slightly different directions, near the edge of the solar system, they are providing clues on the shape of heliosphere, and quite possibly, the direction of the solar system through local space.
- Article Source

Researcher Zafira Castaño has discovered that the loss of a protein in the early phases of lung cancer favors tumor growth.
- Article Source

Oxford University biologists have found a striking example of apparent on-going extinction in a European plant species. This confirms that biodiversity can be threatened when one type of plant species eradicates its relative by swamping it with incompatible pollen.
- Article Source

If a deadly bird flu reaches the US, which would you choose: To get a risky vaccine now, or face an even greater risk of dying in the epidemic? What would you choose for your child, or your community? A new study probes how we make such tricky decisions, and how our decisions might change dramatically if we put ourselves in the shoes of others.
- Article Source

Discovery of eight previously unknown, ancient animal species within “a new and unique underground ecosystem” in Israel was revealed today by Hebrew University of Jerusalem researchers.
- Article Source

Two new Mayo Clinic studies draw attention to the risk factors and possible genetic basis for Barrett’s esophagus and esophageal cancer (adenocarcinoma). These studies will be presented Monday, May 22, and Tuesday, May 23, in Los Angeles at Digestive Disease Week® 2006.
- Article Source

New funding, to extend the mission of the European Space Agency’s venerable solar watchdog SOHO, will ensure it plays a leading part in the fleet of solar spacecraft scheduled to be launched over the next few years.
- Article Source