Congestion Causes Text Message Slowdown
NEW YORK (AP) – Geeta Citygirl just figured something was wrong with her phone when she realized the greetings she was sending as the ball dropped New Year’s Eve weren’t getting through. In Los Angeles, a half-dozen New Year’s text messages bounced back to Reggie Cameron on Wednesday

Virtual PCs add new layer of security
BOSTON (Reuters) – Worried about people accessing your private information whenever you use a public computer? There is a way to protect yourself: Devices as small as a keychain allow you to use any computer without leaving a trail of evidence.

Microsoft promises free game after online woes
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Microsoft Corp said on Thursday it will offer a free downloadable video game to users of its Xbox online gaming service after the network was plagued with connection troubles over the holidays.

Man using GPS drives into path of train
A man driving a rental car drove onto train tracks Wednesday using the instructions his GPS unit gave him. A train was barreling toward him, but he escaped in time.

Brain Imaging Shows If You Are Thinking Of Familiar Object
ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2008) — A team of Carnegie Mellon University computer scientists and cognitive neuroscientists, combining methods of machine learning and brain imaging, have found a way to identify where people’s thoughts and perceptions of familiar objects originate in the brain by identifying the patterns of brain activity associated with the objects.

Almost Half of Doctors Have Prescribed Placebos
Many physicians believe the mind can affect the body’s health, researchers say
We need to be studying the placebo effect.

High Altitude Soccer Teams Have Significant Advantage Over Lowland Teams
ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2008) — Soccer teams from high altitude countries have a significant advantage when playing at both low and high altitudes, finds a study in the Christmas issue of the British Medical Journal… [T]he high altitude teams also had an advantage when playing at low altitude, so benefiting from a significant advantage over their low altitude opponents at all locations.
Watch for all sports training to move to the mountains.

Stomach Flu Spread By Contaminated Computer Keyboards
Norovirus can live on surfaces for several days, experts say.

Body Abnormalities, Childhood Cancer May Share Genes
Finding could help predict which children are at risk for malignancy, experts say.

Exercise Eases Some Menopause Symptoms
It lowers stress and depression, even though it doesn’t impact on hot flashes, study finds

Elderly At Risk For Physical Disabilities Exercise, Improve Physical Function
ScienceDaily (Jan. 4, 2008) — Elderly adults at risk for physical disabilities are able to adhere to a regular program of moderate exercise for one year, a recent study of 213 men and women suggests… [T]he authors observed that improvement in physical function was related to the participants’ ability to adhere to the physical activity regimen.

Importance of teaching evolution noted
WASHINGTON – Scientific advisers to the government emphasize in a report the importance of teaching evolution in public schools.

Insect Attack May Have Been Death Knell for Dinosaurs
Asteroid impacts or massive volcanic flows might have occurred around the time dinosaurs became extinct, but a new book argues that the mightiest creatures the world has ever known may have been brought down by a tiny, much less dramatic force — biting, disease-carrying insects.

Take a walk on the wild side (video)
Jan 2 – “Walking with Dinosaurs” features incredibly lifelike robotic dinosaurs showing the course of evolution over 200 million years. 

Advanced life created in two ancient explosions
Complex life on Earth may have blossomed during two “explosions,” not one, a new study suggests.

Diamond’s Structural Secrets Revealed
Sure, diamonds are shiny and sparkly, but their beauty may ultimately come from their unique crystal structure, one mathematician says.

Shuttle Launch Date Slips as NASA Tackles Sensor Fix
NASA’s launch of the space shuttle Atlantis has slipped to late January, with a push to early February likely, as engineers work to replace a faulty fuel tank connector, a top official said Thursday.

Satellite Sheds Light on Earth’s Highest Clouds
HAMPTON, Va. (AP) – A Hampton University professor is shedding new light on night-shining clouds that might be affected by climate change. Jim Russell is the lead scientist for the NASA-funded AIM satellite, the first to study the wispy “noctilucent” clouds, which only appear above Earth’s poles. Russell, an atmospheric science professor, has found that the clouds get brighter and stretch farther as the uppermost atmosphere gets colder. He thinks that the changes might be caused by human-generated global warming.

Scientists find hot spot on Saturn’s chilly pole
LONDON (Reuters) – Saturn’s chilly north pole boasts a hot spot of compressed air, a surprising discovery that could shed light on other planets within our own solar system and beyond, researchers said on Thursday.