Amazon Launches Text-Message Shopping
SEATTLE (AP) – Amazon.com Inc.’s brick-and-mortar competitors have yet another reason to fear the Web: a new service that lets shoppers compare prices and buy things with a few quick taps on their cell phones.

Techniques To Help Retired People Feel Comfortable Using Computers
ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — How can pensioners (retired people) with little if any computer skills successfully cope with a digital information system? According to Dutch researcher Henk Herman Nap, the design of an accessible system needs to incorporate large letter types and keys, the mother language, and a touch screen and ABCDE keyboard as input devices. Furthermore, positive feedback is important to reduce the stress experienced by pensioners whilst using the computer.

Australia plans laser crackdown after aircraft targeted
SYDNEY (AFP) – Laser pointers could be declared prohibited weapons in Australia after a series of “attacks” on pilots of airliners coming in to land at Sydney airport, officials said Wednesday.

Japan to study safety of cloned animals for food
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan will study the safety of cloned animals for food, after a report concluded there is no biological difference in the meat and milk of cloned and non-cloned cattle, officials said on Wednesday.

TV Watching–The Top Environmental Hazard for Children
When parents think about their children’s exposure to environmental risks, they might think of lead, pesticides or grass pollens. In fact, the greatest environmental exposure for most children is television. They spend more time watching television than in any other wakeful activity, and it affects their health and well-being in significant ways.

Report Claims Clinical Trials Miss Many Populations
Women, elderly, minorities among those routinely excluded or under-represented, researchers say

Very Premature Babies Show Raised Risk for Autism
Second study finds having autistic child shrinks family income by 14%.

Nanomachine Kills Cancer Cells
ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — Researchers from the Nano Machine Center at the California NanoSystems Institute at UCLA have developed a novel type of nanomachine that can capture and store anticancer drugs inside tiny pores and release them into cancer cells in response to light.

Fasting Before Chemo Protects Healthy Cells
Two days without food primed them for chemical onslaught and exposed cancer cells, study finds

Obesity Drug Shows Mixed Success Against Atherosclerosis
Hope is that Acomplia might help fight coronary disease

Could Changing The Bacteria In Your Digestive System Be An Obesity Treatment?
According to [Mayo Clinic researchers], several animal studies suggest that gut microbiota are involved in regulating weight and that modifying these bacteria could one day be a treatment option for obesity.

The Lean Gene: Thinness Is An Inheritable Trait
ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — Your friend can eat whatever she wants and still fit into her prom dress, but you gain five pounds if you just look at that chocolate cake. Before you sign up for Weight Watchers and that gym membership, though, you may want to look at some recent research from Tel Aviv University and save yourself a few hundred dollars.
Grrrr… However, there’s a new series on TLC, “I can make you thin” that seems to work, helping people lose weight and keep it off.  It’s on Sunday nights and is about half over.  But you can visit the website.  I don’t know how much of the program they give away without charge.

Tai Chi Exercises Improve Type 2 Diabetes Control, Study Suggests
ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — Tai Chi exercises can improve the control of type 2 diabetes, suggests a small study, published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.

Ancient Bones Found in Wisconsin Cave 
MANITOWOC, Wis. (AP) – Excavators have unearthed what are believed to be some of the oldest prehistoric bones discovered in a cave in Wisconsin, according to a University of Wisconsin-Green Bay professor. The bones have been dated to between 5,600 and 5,800 years old

Scientists Discover 356 Animal Inclusions Trapped In Opaque Amber 100 Million Years Old
[S]cientists imaged 640 pieces of amber from the Charentes region in southwestern France. They discovered 356 fossil animals, going from wasps and flies, to ants or even spiders and acarians. The team was able to identify the family of 53% of the inclusions.

Shooting Star Shower Spotted on Mars
A shower of shooting stars has been recorded by instruments on Mars for the first time, astronomers say.

Solar Tsunamis Move at Astronomical Speeds
Images of a tsunami blasting its way through the sun’s lower atmosphere have been taken for the first time.

New Planet Search Methods Push Tally Near 300
Astronomers have struggled for centuries to find our solar system’s planets, let alone any outside of our relatively puny cosmic neighborhood.