Heavens

With a mass of more than 10 000 suns packed into a volume with a diameter of a mere three light-years, the massive young star cluster in the nebula NGC 3603 is one of the most compact stellar clusters in the Milky Way [1] and an ideal place to test theories for their formation.

Spanish sign language is used by over 100,000 people with hearing impairments and is made up of hundreds of signs. CVC-UAB researchers Sergio Escalera, Petia Radeva and Jordi Vitrià selected over twenty of these signs to develop a new visual interpretation system which allows deaf people to carry out consultations in the language they commonly use.

A development model of the Mars Rover, called Bridget, was on display at the University today- Friday June 4- providing invited schoolchildren as well as staff and students with an exciting glimpse into the shape of things to come.

The event coincides with celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of space research at the University of Leicester.

Community intervention can help American Indian families change behavior related to early childhood weight gain and obesity, according to a new Kaiser Permanente and Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB) study.

The study, published online in the Journal of Community Health, also finds that adding in-home visits to the community intervention has an even more profound effect on behavior change, and can reduce a child's body mass index.

GREENBELT, Md. -- The Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) reached a major milestone last week when it successfully completed its Mission Critical Design Review (CDR).

Tropical Storm Agatha was the first tropical storm of the Eastern Pacific hurricane season, and took an inland route, drenching El Salvador and Guatemala this past weekend.

CHICAGO – Early trials using targeted monoclonal antibodies in combination with existing therapies show promise in treating pancreatic cancer and metastatic breast cancer, according to research that will be presented by investigators from the University of Pennsylvania's Abramson Cancer Center at the 2010 meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology June 4 through 8.

DETROIT – Men who refuse surgery for prostate cancer and instead opt for "watchful waiting" – monitoring cancer progression without undergoing treatment – have a significantly worse long-term survival rate than those patients that choose radiotherapy, according to researchers at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit.

The study found that patients who refused any treatment for their prostate cancer had a 10-year overall survival rate of 51 percent, compared to 68 percent for those who chose radiation treatment.

(PHILADELPHIA) It is a commonly held that information on Wikipedia should not be trusted, since it is written and edited by non-experts without professional oversight. But researchers from the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson have found differently, according to data being presented at the 2010 ASCO Annual Meeting in Chicago. (Abstract #6058)

A team of planetary scientists has used radar and a high-resolution camera to reveal the subsurface geology of Mars' northern ice cap.

CHICAGO, IL. (May 28, 2010)––Of the more than 38,000 Americans diagnosed with renal cell carcinoma (RCC) each year, approximately 20 percent have non-clear cell forms of the disease. New findings shows that a non-clear cell form of kidney cancer known as papillary RCC, which accounts for 12 percent of all RCC, responds differently to sunitinib – a standard frontline treatment for RCC. In a small but decisive Phase II trial, the researchers found that sunitinib was not effective in patients with this form of the disease.

Researchers at the University of Leicester are examining extraterrestrial material from a comet to assess the origins of our Solar System.

NASA and other satellite data is helping forecasters get a bead on a tropical low that looks prime for development over the weekend in the Western Pacific Ocean. Infrared imagery from NASA's Aqua satellite showed System 93W has some high, cold thunderstorm cloud tops, indicating strong convection.

The Atmospheric Infrared Sounder instrument onboard NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of a low pressure area called "90E" in the Eastern Pacific that forecasters are watching for tropical development. If the low develops it could be named Agatha.