September 2008 in science

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September 30 2008 (Tuesday)

*The Hubble Space Telescope repair mission is delayed as the data control unit fails, stopping all transmissions and forcing a significant change to the repair mission. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7642988.stm (BBC)]

September 29 2008 (Monday)

*Two indicators of liquid water on Mars are found by Phoenix, also for the first time snow is detected in clouds. [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5j1hvRUNc9W-3lupLU6TLQtR0gdRAD93GM79G2 (AP)]

September 28 2008 (Sunday)

*Shenzhou 7 taikonauts return safely to Earth. [http://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSTRE48Q0RY20080928 (Reuters)]

September 25 2008 (Thursday)

*China launched the Shenzhou 7 space mission that will include the first space walk for China. [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5ig_kaxVkOSnGAZwKb9JC6z6RyTNwD93DPSS00 (AP)]
*Researchers have created pluripotent stem cells from adult skin cells with an adenovirus which avoids the cancerous pitfall of a retrovirus. [http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/21430/ (TechReview)]

September 24 2008 (Wednesday)

*A dark flow has been observed with galaxy clusters unexpectedly drifting towards a structure beyond the observable universe. [http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080923104410.htm (ScienceDaily)]

September 23 2008 (Tuesday)

*The MacArthur foundation announces the twenty-five $500,000 winners of the 2008 Genius awards. [http://www.macfound.org/site/c.lkLXJ8MQKrH/b.4536877/ (MacFound)]
*Google shows its first Android handset. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-1035_3-10049163-94.html (CNet)]

September 22 2008 (Monday)

*Gene therapy has restored the sight of two of three test patients with Leber's congenital amaurosis. [http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/gene-therapy-bl.html (Wired)]

September 20 2008 (Saturday)

*As a result of a helium leak the Large Hadron Collider will be down for two months of repairs. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10047185-76.html (CNet)]

September 19 2008 (Friday)

*A quench occurred when liquid helium leaked at the Large Hadron Collider. This will further delay experiments until the damage is accessed and vacuum is restored. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7626256.stm (BBC)]
*The Space Shuttle Endeavour moves to the launch pad as a backup in case the Space Shuttle Atlantis crew needs to be rescued from their higher risk Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. [http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5h1W8dcUP9H70AmlSfDSenPteDT9gD939UTJG0 (AP)]
*Professor Stephen Hawking unveils the Corpus Clock, a 'terrifying' new way to read the time, at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, England. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/7625815.stm (BBC News)]
* The first lab grown heart starts to beat. [http://www.popsci.com/elizabeth-svoboda/article/2008-09/ghost-heart (PopSci)]

September 18 2008 (Thursday)

*The Large Hadron Collider is down because of a faulty electrical transformer. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-11386_3-10046156-76.html (CNet)]

September 17 2008 (Wednesday)

*A new estimate concludes 44 metric gigatons (billion tons) of greenhouse gases could be offset if 100 of the largest cities replaced dark roofs with white shingles and asphalt roads with concrete. [http://www.physorg.com/news140875649.html (Physorg)]

September 15 2008 (Monday)

*Scientists find a rare direct image of a likely extrasolar planet 500 light years away that is eight times the size of Jupiter and orbits a younger star similar to the Sun. [http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/15/exoplanet-image.html (CBC)]
*Mathematical biologists at Harvard University show that a form of natural selection likely played a role in a prebiotic environment, whereby self assembly reactions that were short and fast would be favored over longer chains as they would use material faster and at the expense of slower reactions. [http://www.newscientist.com/channel/life/dn14726-did-evolution-come-before-life.html? (NewScientist)]

September 12 2008 (Friday)

*A low budget Discovery Channel demonstration of wireless power transmission between two Hawaiian islands 148 kilometers (92 miles) apart will be shown on Project Earth. It is a key technology to enable space solar power. [http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/09/visionary-beams.html (Wired)] [http://www.nss.org/news/releases/pr20080909.html (NSS)]
*A state anti-spam law is overturned in the Virginia Supreme Court as it infringes upon the First Amendment right to anonymous speech. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-13578_3-10040522-38.html (CNet)]

September 11 2008 (Thursday)

*Research in the New England Journal of Medicine shows a small deletion in a specific section of DNA can trigger a large number of cognitive problems. [http://www.technologyreview.com/Biotech/21362/?a=f (TechReview)]
*3M unveils the first pocket projector the MPro110. [http://www.popsci.com/gear-%2526-gadgets/article/2008-09/3m-launches-first-pocket-projector (Popsci)]

September 10 2008 (Wednesday)

*The Large Hadron Collider went online circulating beams of protons around the 17 mile (27 km) track. [http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSN1046636620080910 (Reuters)]
*A gamma ray burst originating from 7.5 billion light-years away in the constellation Boötes on March 19th became the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. [http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSN1047861720080910?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=10284 (Reuters)]

September 9 2008 (Tuesday)

* Researchers in France discover a virophage called "Sputnik" that infects another virus. [http://arstechnica.com/journals/science.ars/2008/09/08/sputnik-the-virophage-the-parasite-of-a-giant-virus (Ars Technica)]

September 5 2008 (Friday)

*Legal challenges are launched against Cern's Large Hadron Collider, as there are ongoing concerns it could destroy Earth by creating a stable black hole. [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/2650665/Legal-bid-to-stop-CERN-atom-smasher-from-destroying-the-world.html (Telegraph)]
*Sony recalls 438,000 Vaio laptops because of an overheating issue that may injure users. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10032489-92.html (CNet)]

September 3 2008 (Wednesday)

*A survey on DVR's shows they help the majority of relationships by permitting flexible time management and resolving television conflicts. [http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10030452-1.html (CNet)]

September 2 2008 (Tuesday)

*Canadian ice shelves have lost almost one-quarter of their area this summer, indicating significant and irreversible changes with the present climate. [http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2008/09/02/science-ice.html?ref=rss (CBC)]
*China has developed a new generation of scalable processor code named Godson-3 that will simulate x86 architecture and be 80 percent as fast as an Intel equivalent. [http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=21322&ch=specialsections&sc=storage&pg=1 (TechReview)]
*Google launches the beta of its browser Chrome that is anticipated to make a significant impact on what users can do through the internet. [http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0232438620080903 (Reuters)]
*Gene variations for the vasopressin receptor could be a factor for fidelity. [http://www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=5702390&page=1 (ABC)]

September 1 2008 (Monday)

*Using computer simulations, North American scientists show that our solar system is likely not a typical planetary system. In most scenarios either no planets form or if they do they are brought close to the star and acquire elliptical orbits. [http://thefutureofthings.com/news/1295/new-study-shows-solar-system-is-unique.html (FutureOfThings)]