Shoes may have been worn 40,000 years ago

The shape and bone density of toe bones from Tianyuan cave near Beijing, China suggests the person whom the toe bones belonged to ,wore shoes.

fossilied Skull found in China

Found in the Xuchang area of Henan province, the skull is believed to be 80,000-100,000 years old.

It supposedly has a fossilised brain membrane.

Repairing damaged hearts with stem cells injection

60 patients with the worst prognosis will be recruited and will be injected with stem cells extracted from their bone marrow.

230,000 people die from heart attacks in the UK.

Pregnant women and caffeine

A study has concluded that pregnant women who drunk 2 or more mugs of coffee had a 25% chance of miscarriage.

Tea, chocolate or cola drinks also have risks.

A recent study has linked caffeine intake of over 200mg a day with small babies.

It is also recommended tha mothers should abstain rom cafeine during first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

New uacari monkey species found

Found in he Pico de Neblina area in north-western Amazonia on the Brazil-Venezuala border, it has been called cacajao ayresii after Marcio Ayres,pioneer of studies on uacaris.

Longer legs considered more attractive

Legs which are 5% longer than the average leg were preferred more.

Shorter legs are associated wih heart problems and type II diabetes.

Scientists create beating heart

This involved stripping existing cells from a dead heart leaving only a protein skeleton, then live `progenitor' cells from newborn rats hearts were used which grow it into a new heart.

This takes about 8 days.

22 million people in the world are at risk of heart disease.

Statins for diabetics

Diabetics who took statins over a period of 4 years were 9% less likely to die.

Heart attacks and strokes also dropped by a fifth.

Scibx Science-Business Exchange

This new publication seeks to convert or connect scientific discoveries into a commercial success.

Published by Nature publishing Group.

Caribbean coral reefs harmed by human activity

They have suffered damage from excessive fishing and agricultural run-off as well as rising sea temperatures.

The value of these coral reefs has been put at $4billion , providing benefits such as fishing, tourism and coastal protection against storms.

Moderate drinking is healthy for you.

A 20 year study of almost 12,000 has reached the conclusion that moderate drinkers have a 30% lower risk of heart disease than nondrinkers.

Combining moderate drinking with regular exercise reduces the risk by between 40-50% compared to teetotal couch potatoes.

Energy Islands

The concept is each `island' has a ocean thermal energy conversion plant(OTEC) which would create energy from the temperature differential between surface water and deep sea water, there would also be wind turbines and solar power.

They might also grow their own food.

Health Abstracts;9 January 2008

Tiny amounts of nitrogylerine are being used to treat pre-eclampsia in pregant women at a hospital in Canada.

Honey coated dressing seem to cure MRSA infected wounds.

The risk of throat and mouth cancer is cut by eating vegetables, especially green beans and peas, so a study of 400,000 people suggests.

Science Jobs;7 January 2008

Nature are looking for editors etc

Cost are also looking for staff

details at http://www.cost.esf.org/

Traffic fumes may damage children's brains.

Researchers from Harvard university studied 200 children from Boston and found that IQ scores of children in polluted area were 3 points lower than those in cleaner areas even after allowing for socio-ecomomic factors.

It is known that in animals, particles from traffic fumes can go along the olfactory nerve from nose to brain where particles can cause brain tissue inflammation.

Damage like that seen in Alzheimer's disease patients has been seen in dogs in heavily polluted areas of Mexico City.

Deaths from flu run in the family.

A study from the university of utah looking at 5,000 deaths from flu suggests that blood relatives of flu victims were more likely to die from flu.

Siblings of flu victims were 74% more likely than unrelated persons to die from flu.

This suggests that there is a genetic reason for this.

3 new species of salamanders found in Central America

Found near the Costa Rica-Panama Border, the 3 species are only centrimetres long.

Biofuels could have greater enviremental effect

Often growing crops to make biofuels like sugar cane or soya ethanol involves destroying tropical forest, including those in the Amazon.

Not a lot of thought has gone into the problem.

Smoking may harm teenage brains

Nicotine binds to receptors in the brain concerning neural development.
This changes the white matter in the maturing brain, especially those relating to the auditory process.

Plants that lock away Carbon

One way to tackle greenhouse gases may be to grow plants that lock away carbon.
Grasses such as wheat, sugar cane or sorghum lock up large amounts of carbon in phytoliths,also known as plantstone.
Farmers could get carbon credits for growing such crops.