Top 10 science stories: Mars water evidence leads list

[papau]

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/health_science/articles/2004/12/28/top_10_science_stories_mars_water_evidence_leads_list/

Top 10 science stories: Mars water evidence leads list (by editors of Science)
By Paul Recer, Associated Press | December 28, 2004

The conclusive discovery by a pair of wheeled robots that Mars once had vast pools of water and possibly could have harbored life was chosen by the editors of the journal Science as the most important scientific achievement of 2004.<snip>

2. LITTLE PEOPLE: The discovery on the Indonesian island of Flores of fossils from a species of tiny humans who stood about 3 feet tall and had a brain less than a third the size of modern humans. <snip>

3. CLONED EMBRYOS: The cloning of human embryos by South Korean researcher Woo San Hwang and his colleagues....first to demonstrate that cloning techniques would work with human cells.

4. NEW GAS: US and Austrian scientists created a new form of condensate, an ultracold gas (fermions) that slips into a quantum state where a group of atoms act as a single superatom. <snip>

5. THE VALUE OF TRASH: Scientists discovered that "junk DNA," the base pairs between known genes in the human genetic structure, aren't junk after all...determine how vigorously and often the genes are activated, and shapes the coding for protein production.

6. STELLAR DENSITY: Astronomers discovered a pair of neutron stars locked in orbit of each other....

7. AMPHIBIANS AT RISK: ...about 30 percent, were at risk of extinction.

8. THE SKINNY ON WATER: Several teams of researchers made new discoveries about how water molecules bind together and how electrons and protons dissolve in water. Some of the findings are questioned and Science noted: "Water still gives researchers much to scratch their heads about."

9. PUBLIC HEALTH REVOLUTION:...drugs are developed, tested and distributed to the poorest nations on Earth...<snip>

10. EXTREME GENES: Researchers have developed techniques to identify genes in ocean water or in specimens recovered from deep underground. Thousands of new genes have been found.<snip>

[Tace]

1. What A Fascinating Age!

[SariesNightly]

2. Some nickels

1. According to Gaea theory, life is the flux that turns a dead planet alive. Mars is a dead planet now. There's no flux. If there was life, what made the flux stop?

2. Why did this species die out? Or did they? Interspecies copulation?

3. A precusor to whole-body-rejuvenation tourism?

4. Is it weaponable? Asks some pentagon brass.

5. This ranks next to the discovery that most of space is hitherto unknown black matter. We should start giving what we're ignorant about better sounding names.

6. Just like how Shrbby and Osama has attained symbiosis.

7. This is so sad. The cascading effect will be horrendous

8. Is it weaponable yet? Asks some pentagon stiffy.

9. Merck, Aventis and co are multisizing their legal and lobby depts accordingly.

10. Make a weaponable combo, please. You have 13 months.

[damntexdem]

3. Well, why not the REAL 10 science stories in the U.S.?

1. Conservative ideology trumps science as source of knowledge.

2. The Bible is a better source for science than are facts.

3. Global warming is no threat because low-lying areas could never be threatened by sea water.

4. Exit polls systematically understate fake vote counts.

5. Economists prove that government deficits, a falling currency, and governmental inability to meet obligations is good for the economy.

6. Detector developed for invisible, intangible WMDs.

7. Scrap iron shown to be effective as armor against roadside bombs.

8. Flooding the ecosphere with pollutants is good for human health.

9. Faith-based child abuse is effective way to reform incorrigible youth.

10. Remote intercessory prayer is an effective missile-defense shield.

[soothsayer]

4. Well, DUH. Science is so freakin' slow.