Culture

The hidden secrets of some of the world's most famous paintings have been revealed thanks to a partnership between EPSRC (Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council) and the National Gallery.

Culminating in the first major exhibition of its kind in summer 2010, scientists at the Gallery have been using the latest equipment to shed new light on the history behind some of the Gallery's priceless works of art.

After 10 years of careful breeding and research, scientists have developed what could be the world's most perfect prawn.CSIRO scientists and the prawn industry have bred an improved Black Tiger prawn which is producing record yields in aquaculture farms and winning awards.

So good are these prawns that they have won five gold medals at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in the past two years, including 'Champion of Show', the highest award possible.

An intervention in middle schools lowered the obesity rate in students at highest risk for type 2 diabetes, those who started out overweight or obese in sixth grade, an NIH-funded study has found. However, schools that implemented the program did not differ from comparison schools in the study's primary outcome—the prevalence of overweight and obesity combined—which had declined 4 percent in both groups of schools by the end of the three-year study.

In Norway, the category of “servant” was abolished in the 1950s due to industrialization and changes in the labor market, the movement towards gender equality and a greater concern for egalitarianism and democracy.

The small number of scientists who are unconvinced that human beings have contributed significantly to climate change have far less expertise and prominence in climate research compared with scientists who are convinced, according to a study led by Stanford researchers.

In a quantitative assessment – the first of its kind to address this issue – the team analyzed the number of research papers published by more than 900 climate researchers and the number of times their work was cited by other scientists.

Edmontonians love their cars. In fact, 77 percent of us make all our trips by car. So if we know that it's healthier to walk, will developing more walkable neighbourhoods help to break the habit and get us walking to the store instead?

The University of Southampton has played a key role in a major new piece of research that challenges the belief that the biggest charities are becoming increasingly dominant in financial terms – a development sometimes known as 'Tescoisation'.

The research was conducted by the Third Sector Research Centre, led by the Universities of Southampton and Birmingham, and the Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy, a consortium which includes the University of Southampton.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Price spikes for gasoline, grain and other commodities could be magnified if lawmakers curb speculative trading in futures markets, according to a new study released today in conjunction with this weekend's G20 summit.

Congress is considering proposals to restrict a growing surge of speculation in commodity futures that some blame for a 2008 spike that netted record corn, rice and wheat prices and pushed gasoline over $4 a gallon.

Since the second world war, the use of rape as a weapon of war has assumed strategic importance, and is now a deliberate military strategy, argue researchers in an editorial published on bmj.com today.

The effects of rape and sexual violence during war also extend beyond individual victims and are economically, physically, psychologically, and culturally devastating for families and communities, say authors Coleen Kivlahan, volunteer forensic physician for HealthRight International, and Nate Ewigman from the University of Florida.

MADISON, WI, June, 2010 – The approach the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) uses to estimate greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural anaerobic lagoons that treat manure contains errors and may underestimate methane emissions by up to 65%, according to scientists from the University of Missouri.

Anaerobic lagoons treat manure on some animal feeding operations prior to application to crops as a fertilizer. Methane, one byproduct of the treatment process, has 21 times the warming potential of carbon dioxide.

PROVIDENCE, RI – Routine, jail-based HIV testing of inmates can successfully identify a substantial proportion of people unknowingly infected with HIV and could play a critical role in preventing the spread of the disease, according to a new report in this week's U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.