Archive by date | September 2013

Researcher posts protected Science Curiosity papers on blog

An American scientist and noted blogger has posted copies of newly published papers about NASA’s Curiosity expedition on his personal website, potentially breaking copyright laws.  Read more

Court upholds need for export permits for risky flu research

The researcher who created mammalian-transmissible strains of the H5N1 avian flu virus, raising fears they could cause a pandemic, has failed in an attempt to overcome government restrictions on the publication of his papers. See Nature News Mutant Flu special  … Read more

MacArthur Foundation awards 2013 ‘genius grants’

Astrophysicist Sara Seager is named a 2013 MacArthur Fellow

Twelve US scientists number among the 24 MacArthur Fellows chosen this year by the philanthropic MacArthur Foundation, based in Chicago, Illinois. The designation honours creative and accomplished individuals in any field with strong potential for future achievements. Winners will receive ‘no-strings-attached’ awards—commonly called ‘genius grants’—worth US$625,000, paid over five years.  Read more

Deadly Pakistan quake may have unleashed a mud volcano

Orange marks the highest intensity shaking, and the star the epicentre, of the 2013 Pakistan earthquake.

A magnitude 7.7 earthquake that struck Pakistan today has likely killed hundreds of people, and perhaps many more. It also may have triggered the eruption of a mud volcano hundreds of kilometres away off Pakistan’s coast, generating media reports of a new island that had not existed before.  Read more

Iranian student awarded human-rights prize while in prison

Iranian student awarded human-rights prize while in prison

Omid Kokabee, a physics PhD student jailed in Iran since January 2011, was awarded yesterday the 2014 American Physical Society’s Andrei Sakharov Prize for “his courage in refusing to use his physics knowledge to work on projects that he deemed harmful to humanity, in the face of extreme physical and psychological pressure.”  … Read more

$500 million cancer pledge comes with a catch

The pressure is on for Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). On 21 September, the Portland university received a surprise pledge of US$500 million for its cancer institute – potentially the biggest donation in OHSU history. But there is one condition: OHSU will only receive the cash if it raises another $500 million in two years.  Read more