Harvard scientists say they have created stem cells for 10 genetic disorders, which will allow researchers to watch the diseases develop in a lab dish.This early step, using a new technique, could help speed efforts to find treatments for some of the most confounding ailments, the scientists said.The new work was reported online Thursday in the journal Cell, and the researchers said they plan to make the cell lines readily available to other scientists.Dr George Daley and his colleagues at the H...

Researchers have come up with a cheap and easy process for storing solar energy, in a finding that could provide one of the final elements for efficient solar power systems: the ability to store excess energy in a battery for use later when the sun isn"t shining. Researchers are euphoric about their invention, which could mark a great leap forward in solar technology; previous experimental batteries used to store solar energy have been bulky, expensive and inefficient. "This is the nirvana of wh...

The last ice age 13,000 years ago took hold in just one year, more than ten times quicker than previously believed, scientists have warned. Rather than a gradual cooling over a decade, the ice age plunged Europe into the deep freeze, German Research Centre for Geosciences at Potsdam said. Cold, stormy conditions caused by an abrupt shift in atmospheric circulation froze the continent almost instantly during the Younger Dryas less than 13,000 years ago – a very recent period on a geological scale...

A new, highly efficient material that converts heat into electricity may one day help cars get the most out of a gallon of gas, U.S. researchers said on Thursday. Only about 25 percent of the energy produced by a typical gasoline engine is used to move the vehicle or run accessories like the radio or windshield wipers, they said. Much of the rest escapes through the exhaust pipe. Researchers at Ohio State University in Columbus and Caltech in Pasadena, California, think they can recycle some of ...

European Union officials say they’re considering an ambitious plan to draw energy from the sun that beats down relentlessly on the Sahara. By building a solar power plant the size of Wales (a small area, compared to the vastness of the Sahara) and laying down high-voltage transmission cables, the EU could potentially capture enough clean energy to power the entire continent. Speaking at the Euroscience Open Forum in Barcelona, Arnulf Jaeger-Walden of the European commission’s Institute for Energ...

Scientists have exposed some of the mystery behind the northern lights. On Thursday, NASA released findings that indicate magnetic explosions about one-third of the way to the moon cause the northern lights, or aurora borealis, to burst in spectacular shapes and colors, and dance across the sky.The findings should help scientists better understand the more powerful but less common geomagnetic storms that can knock out satellites, harm astronauts in orbit and disrupt power and communications on E...

As common as lightning is, it still sparks considerable confusion among scientists. Many of the basics are understood, but researchers admit they don"t really understand how lightning gets from there to here. And they"re totally baffled by lightning"s link to X-rays, a discovery made back in 2001. "Nobody understands how lightning makes X-rays," says Martin Uman, a professor of electrical and computer engineering at the University of Florida. "Despite reaching temperatures five times hotter than...

In an attempt to understand the extent of cow flatulence on global warming, scientists in Argentina are strapping plastic bags to the backs of cows to capture their emissions. Argentina has more than 55 million cows, making it a leading producer of beef. In the study, the scientists were surprised to discover that a standard 550-kg cow produces between 800 to 1,000 liters of emissions, including methane, each day. Further, methane - which is also released from landfills, coal mines and leaking g...

In the peculiar neurological condition known as synesthesia, a person"s senses meld together, so that a synesthete might "hear" colors or "taste" shapes. Now scientists have stumbled on a previously unknown form of synesthesia in which visual flashes or movements trigger perceptions of sound. California Institute of Technology neuroscientists Melissa Saenz and Christof Koch confirmed the existence of hearing-motion synesthesia, as they dubbed it, by creating a task at which the synesthetes would...

With winds that rip apart buildings and can produce more power than a nuclear bomb, it would seem humans can do little against the devastating force of a hurricane. The United States government, however, has other ideas and is now attempting to pit some of the world"s best minds against these indomitable forces of nature. The Department of Homeland Security has asked scientists to draw up new plans on how hurricanes and other tropical storms can be weakened before they hit land. Three years afte...

It"s the stuff of science fiction, but could mirrors in space or sea water sprayed in the air be shortcuts to halt global warming? "It"s Dr Strangelove. But it"s the kind of Dr Strangelove you could see governments really using." That"s how one expert describes geo-engineering - the idea that we can use a kind of technical quick fix to cool the planet if global warming accelerates. Plans for geo-engineering can sound bizarre. They range from placing millions of tiny mirrors in space to reflect b...

Before Nasa astronauts rocket to Mars, they"re supposed to return to the moon in a sweet new ride to test-drive everything from high-tech maps and buggies to new spacesuits and next-generation power sources. "We"re going to use the moon as a proving ground to go on to Mars and other destinations," said Stephen N. Simons, associate director of Lunar Systems at NASA Glenn Research Center, which is working on a host of projects with scientists from universities in Ohio and across the country. "It"s...

Submitted by Waspie Dwarf: The news that the number of prescriptions for homeopathic medicines written by GPs in England has nearly halved in just two years coincides with the 20th anniversary of a seminal scientific paper on the subject. Twenty years ago, in the summer of 1988, the science world was rocked by one of the most controversial research papers ever published in the highly-respected journal Nature. According to a charismatic French scientist named Jacques Benveniste, pure water could ...

A transition to hydrogen vehicles could greatly reduce U.S. oil dependence and carbon dioxide emissions, says a new congressionally mandated report from the National Research Council, but making hydrogen vehicles competitive in the automotive market will not be easy. While the development of fuel cell and hydrogen production technology over the past several years has been impressive, challenges remain. Vehicle costs are high, and the U.S. currently lacks the infrastructure to produce and widely ...

Submitted by Waspie Dwarf: Undersea volcanic activity has been blamed for a mass extinction in the seas 93 million years ago. In the so-called "anoxic event" of the late Cretaceous Period, the ocean depths became starved of oxygen, wiping out swathes of marine organisms. Researchers from the University of Alberta, Canada, found a tell-tale signature of underwater volcanism in rocks dating to the period. Their findings have been published in the journal Nature. At the time of the anoxic event, th...

A new mathematical model indicates that dust devils, water spouts, tornadoes, hurricanes and cyclones are all born of the same mechanism and will intensify as climate change warms the Earth"s surface. The new equation, developed by University of Michigan atmospheric and planetary scientist Nilton Renno, could allow scientists to more accurately calculate the maximum expected intensity of a spiraling storm based on the depth of the troposphere and the temperature and humidity of the air in the st...