March 2008 in science

Events in science and technology

March 31, 2008 (Monday)

• Fasting for two days protects healthy cells against chemotherapy. This may allow higher doses of radiation and improved recovery times for patients. (Physorg)
• Phase-change memory: Numonyx is shipping samples of phase change memory (PCM) with commercialization later this year. PCM provides the best attributes memory in fast write/read times, increased longevity and potentially use much less power. (CNet)

March 30, 2008 (Saturday)

• Office Open XML: Voting is over for the International Organization for Standardization on whether Office Open XML (OOXML) a Microsoft standard will be given ISO approval, which would help in marketing software to businesses and governments. The main competitor is OpenDocument (ODF) by Sun Microsystems. (IHT)

March 27, 2008 (Thursday)

• Phonautograph: An 1860 recording of Au Clair de la Lune on a phonautograph has become the earliest known audio recording in history after scientists used computers to recreate the sound. Predating Edison's first recording by nearly three decades. (NYTimes)
• An MIT researcher has improved multicrystalline silicon solar cell efficiency by 27 percent with no price increase, making them equivalent to single-crystal cells. (TechReview)
• TorrentSpy shuts down in the midst of legal battles launched by the MPAA for copyright infringement. (CNet)

March 26, 2008 (Wednesday)

• A 160-square-mile (410 km²) portion of the Wilkins Ice Shelf is nearly broken off. Scientists believe it is a result of rapid warming in the Antarctic over the last 50 years. (CNet)
• Using a microRNA treatment that has been used successfully in primates, scientist hope to treat a variety of diseases. The first focus is on miR-122 which is key for hepatitis C replication. (NewScientist)

March 24, 2008 (Monday)

• XM/Sirius merger: The United States Department of Justice approves the merger of Sirius Satellite Radio and XM Satellite Radio. (Wall Street Journal)

March 21, 2008 (Friday)

• United States 2008 wireless spectrum auction: Verizon Wireless and AT&T won most of the wireless licenses in the FCC spectrum auction which totaled $20 billion, outbidding Google. The 700 MHz spectrum block will become available when television broadcasts transition to digital. (Inquirer)
• The U.S. International Trade Commission is investigating the patent infringement claim by Columbia University Professor Emeritus Gertrude Neumark Rothschild on short-wavelength light-emitting diodes. This effects 30 companies including Sony and their blu-ray disc players. (Reuters)
• Scientists believe Saturn's moon Titan contains a vast underground ocean with ammonia, based on observations that surface features have moved 19 miles (31 km) over several years. If confirmed it would be the fourth moon suspected to have an internal ocean of water. (SciAm)
• GRB 080319B: A gamma ray burst 7.5 billion light years away sets a record for the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye, previously the record was held by an object 2.5 million light years away. The explosion from a star which was 40-times larger than the sun reached Earth early Wednesday morning. (AP)

March 20, 2008 (Thursday)

• Automotive X Prize: The X PRIZE Foundation launched a $10 million prize for teams to build a marketable vehicle that will achieve 100 MPG (2.35 liter/100 kilometer). (PopMech)
• Researchers at MIT and Boston College have made thermoelectric materials using a simple and inexpensive technique while increasing efficiency by 40 percent. This could be used for solar panels and car exhausts to turn waste heat into power. (TechReview)
• Stanford University School of Medicine researchers have found two new proteins within the telomerase complex, making it the most significant step in understanding telomerase composition since 1999. This opens the door for creating new cancer treatments. (EurekAlert)
• Scientists at the Washington University School of Medicine have corrected a genetic disorder in a zebrafish embryo. The technique has the potential to prevent one-fifth of genetic birth defects in humans. (EurekAlert)

March 19, 2008 (Wednesday)

• For the first time an organic compound methane along with water has been discovered on a planet outside our Solar System 63 light-years away. However, scientists have concluded the planet cannot support life because it is too hot. (BBC)

March 18, 2008 (Tuesday)

• Dextre the International Space Station robot is fully assembled. It will perform service and construction tasks and can be controlled from the ground, freeing astronaut time for other tasks. (BBC)
• Acclaimed science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke dies at the age of 90 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. (AP)

March 17, 2008 (Monday)

• IBM scientists have created the smallest and most robust nanophotonic switch that will enable light to communicate large amounts of data between processors; while using 10 times less power and generating less heat. (Nanowerk)
• German and Canadian scientists have created a super-compressed material made from adding hydrogen to a compound with silicon. It is hoped it will act as a superconductor at room temperatures. (EETimes)
• The Molecular Libraries Initiative (MLI) has found a new treatment for schistosomiasis (flatworms laying eggs in the liver, gut or bladder) which kills 280,000 a year, mostly in Africa. The MLI is a new system which screens many chemicals for their effectiveness on neglected diseases. (NewScientist)

March 14, 2008 (Friday)

• Cassini–Huygens Cosmic Dust Analyzer malfunctioned as it flew through a geyser from Saturn's moon Enceladus. Scientists are trying to assess if there is liquid water under the surface which could support life. (Reuters)

March 13, 2008 (Thursday)

• A Japanese satellite launching in October will be one of first applications of MRAM, which permits fast write times, reliable low energy storage and unlimited rewrites. (SCIAM)

March 12, 2008 (Wednesday)

• University of Washington scientists find 25 genes regulating lifespan that are conserved between primitive yeast, caenorhabditis elegans 15 of which have similar human equivalents. This lends key evidence that ageing is genetically controlled, contrary to earlier theories. (Physorg)
• A neckband is demonstrated which converts nerve signals to the vocal cords to words without the person needing to speak. It has been previously used to let people control wheelchairs using their thoughts. (NewScientist)
• NIST researchers have found that brittle materials like silica are far more bendable and durable at nanoscales. (Nanowerk)
• Fraunhofer Society researchers in Duisburg, Germany, have created a wireless eye implant to enable the blind to see which receives the optical signal through radio waves; and its energy from electromagnetical fields. (EETimes)
• Professor/priest Michael Heller is awarded the $1.6 million Templeton Prize for his work on reconciling cutting-edge science with theology. (AP)

March 11, 2008 (Tuesday)

• Movie studios have agreed to carry out a 3-year $700-million upgrade of 10,000 more theaters by Cinedigm (formerly Access Integrated Technologies, Inc) to accommodate digital 3-D movies and remove the need for expensive celluloid film. (Physorg)
• Intel Science Talent Search awards Shivani Sud the top prize of a $100,000 college scholarship for her work on identifying colon cancer patients who are at a higher risk of recurrence. (AP)

March 10, 2008 (Monday)

• Using computational protein design scientists have for the first time built from scratch enzymes that breaks down a man-made chemical, which had no natural catalyst. (TechnologyReview)
• South Korea replaces its first astronaut Ko San with backup Yi So-yeon after Ko was reprimanded for reading unauthorized cosmonaut training material. (AP)

March 9, 2008 (Sunday)

• An Associated Press investigation shows trace amounts of many pharmaceuticals in American drinking water. (AP)
• Two additional years of data from the Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe has reduced the uncertainty on the Age of the Universe by millions of years. Now the estimate is 13.73 billion years old with an error margin of 120 million years. (NYTimes)

March 7, 2008 (Friday)

• University of New Mexico have concluded the Grand Canyon is 17 rather than 6 million years old based on uranium-lead isotope testing in caves. (USAToday)
• Intel was awarded a patent in December 2007 for a cosmic ray detector in computer chips. With chip components becoming smaller "soft errors" caused by cosmic rays may significantly impact electronic reliability. (NewScientist)

March 6, 2008 (Thursday)

• Albert Einstein College of Medicine researchers have inserted two genes into immune cells making them destroy cells infected with HIV. The genes were taken from elite controllers. (EurekAlert)
• Astronomers at the Large Binocular Telescope release the first images captured using both mirrors. It is now the world's most powerful optical telescope and has 10 times the resolution of the Hubble Space Telescope. (BBC)
• The iPhone releases a software development kit to enable third party programmers to create new programs for the iPhone. Key new features announced include Exchange ActiveSync which will permit the iPhone to compete with BlackBerry for business customers. (PCMag)
• The Wikileaks lawsuit is dropped by the Julius Baer Group. (Reuters)

March 5, 2008 (Wednesday)

• A new survey shows 58 percent of Americans consider their cell phone to be more important than the Internet and television. Landline telephone came in fourth, just above e-mail. (AP)

March 4, 2008 (Tuesday)

• Carnegie Mellon University researchers develop a new haptic technology using a magnetic levitation joystick providing six degrees of freedom and accurate sensation of friction and hard surfaces. (NewScientist)
• Northwestern University discover an embryonic stem cell protein (Lefty) can slow the growth of breast cancer and malignant melanoma. (NewScientist)
• Internet Explorer 8 (IE8) default setting will now render according to open web standards used by other browsers. This is a change in policy from the previously stated position that IE8 would default to Internet Explorer 7 rendering. (TheRegister)

March 3, 2008 (Monday)

• Scientist uncover Teilhardina magnoliana, the oldest known mammal fossil in North America (55.8 million years old). (Reuters)
• Intel announces the new Atom brand for targeting very energy efficient and portable x86 microprocessors for Internet centric devices.(CRN)
• The Virginia Supreme Court in a 4–3 decision upholds the conviction of spammer Jeremy Jaynes; concluding state anti-spam laws do not violate the First Amendment by being too broadly defined. (CRN)

References