IBM says breakthrough heralds supercomputer on chip
FRANKFURT (Reuters) – IBM says it has made a breakthrough in converting electrical signals into light pulses that brings closer the day when supercomputing, which now requires huge machines, will be done on a single chip.

Dell to Sell Computers in Best Buy Stores
Dell built its business around selling personal computers directly to customers, but it has been cutting deals with retailers as growth of PC sales slowed.

HDTV’s clarity gives rise to new channels
It’s a fresh dawn for television. In fact, it’s Sunrise Earth, the daylight-breaking series that simply sets up cameras in some stunningly remote locale bison grazing in the prairies of Yellowstone, a canoe skimming the glossy surface of the Mother of God River in Peru, a butterfly emerging from its pupa in the Costa Rican rain forest — as the sun comes up.

Physical therapists prescribe Wii time
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Franklin Perry used to spend hours performing video game feats with his thumbs but lately he has been using the Nintendo Wii, and the rest of his body, to regain his strength after suffering a stroke.

Tail stem cells used to cure sickle cell anemia in mice
CHICAGO (AFP) – Stem cell research took another major step forward Thursday when scientists announced they had cured sickle cell anemia in mice using stem cells derived from adult skin.

Cell Transplants Hold Promise for Heart Attack Survivors
Studies in mice suggest they might prevent cardiac arrest

Diabetes Linked to Blood Vessel Inflammation
Easing the blood sugar disease may help the heart, researchers say

Green Tea, Fruit Extracts Touted as Potential Cancer Fighters
Preliminary research shows promise against colorectal, prostate and oral tumors.

Blackberries, Broccoli Sprouts Battle Cancer
Raw vegetables like broccoli also keep some malignancies at bay, research shows

Kids Eat More Fruits, Vegetables When Schools Offer Salad Bar
ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2007) — A new UCLA study has found that elementary schools can significantly increase the frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption among low-income students by providing a lunch salad bar.

It’s Not Just A Kid Thing: Fluoridated Tap Water Benefits Older Adults Even More
ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2007) —  The benefits of fluoridation in preventing tooth decay have been known for over half a century and today approximately two-thirds of Americans have access to fluoridated public water.

Ketamine Impairs Brain by Releasing Superoxide
Researchers claim finding could lead to new treatments for schizophrenia

Relatives of Parkinson’s Patients at Higher Psychiatric Risk
This suggests a link between the illness and depression, anxiety disorders, researchers say

Subliminal Smells Bias Perception About A Person’s Likeability
ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2007) — Anyone who has bonded with a puppy madly sniffing with affection gets an idea of how scents, most not apparent to humans, are critical to a dog’s appreciation of her two-legged friends. Now new research from Northwestern University suggests that humans also pick up infinitesimal scents that affect whether or not we like somebody.

Michelangelo’s ‘last sketch’ discovered
A long-lost Michelangelo sketch for the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica, possibly his last design before his death, has been found in the basilica’s offices, the Vatican newspaper said Thursday.

London artifacts reveal ancient middle class
A unique collection of pots and pans found down a well in central London has given a rare insight into the lives of the bourgeoisie in what was then a remote northern outpost of the Roman empire.

Archaeologists uncover Jerusalem mansion
JERUSALEM – Israeli archaeologists uncovered a 2,000-year-old mansion believed to have been home to Queen Helene of Adiabene, whose clan ruled a region now in Iraq.

Singing might help whales find themselves
Humpback whales may sing not to court mates but to help explore the seas around them.

Testing Time For Instrument On Hubble’s Successor
ScienceDaily (Dec. 7, 2007) — A significant milestone for the Hubble Space Telescope successor, the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), is on course to be reached before Christmas with the testing of the verification model of the Mid-InfraRed Instrument (MIRI) at the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory in Oxfordshire.

Space shuttle launch delayed for at least 2 days
CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) – NASA officials worried about tricky fuel sensor readings postponed a planned launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on Thursday, saying it could not go before Saturday at the soonest.

Mars Clouds Drier Than Thought
Clouds over Mars contain less water than previously thought, according to new research using simulated clouds in a lab here on Earth.

How to Destroy a Giant Planet
Theorists have what they think is a good handle on how rocky planets like Earth form. Leftovers of star formation collide, stick together and eventually form a ball of rock. However, the formation of gas giant planets is more mysterious.