Exciting news on the HIV front. Apparently humans also have this protein, but it isn’t as active…yet. Scientists hope to change that.

Peterson Space Battlelab (another straight-from-an-SF-novel-name) is planning to demonstrate itsNear Space Maneuvering Vehicle, essentially a high-tech airship that’s designed to begin the exploitation of the hitherto apparently under-exploited “near space” region, between 65,000 feet and 100 kilometres (don’t blame me for the mixed metric/non-metric scales, that’s what the press release says). Interesting!

What use is an international organization that can be driven out of a country so easily?

I’ve lost 35 pounds since November using the Weight Watchers plan, which is basically calorie counting, so I’ve got an interest in healthy dieting. Here’s a good overview of some common dietary myths.

SCIENCE Edward Willett Hydrogen from ethanol Ethanol has been in the news in Saskatchewan recently with the announcement of federal subsidies for ethanol plants in Llodyminster and Weyburn. For now, most of the ethanol produced will be blended with gasoline to produce a cleaner-burning fuel for automobiles. But soon ethanol may be even more important …

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The Washington Post reports that both members of the current two-man International Space Station crew will spacewalk together this week, leaving the station temporarily empty. Maybe the guy left inside couldn’t do anything if there was trouble anyway, but I’d be a little nervous about it if I were one of those crewmen. Of course, …

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Seems the authors of a study on autism and vaccinations had a “fatal conflict of interest”–but how many kids will go unvaccinated because of the widespread reporting on the initial results? Grrr…

Dark energy is ripping the universe apart! Another great SF headline! Except it’s happening very slowly! So we’ve still got 30 billion years! Plenty of time to use up all these excess exclamation marks I’ve acquired!

Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine has responded to this sensationalistic and inaccurate “news” report.

From The Globe and Mail: “Researchers at the University of Calgary have found that nerve cells grown on a microchip can learn and memorize information which can be communicated to the brain…” Read the whole thing.

It’s a long way from being fully developed as a treatment, but this experimental cancer vaccine shows great promise in treating lung cancer–and may encourage tests of vaccines against other common types of cancer.

No, this isn’t a story about a lost dog. The Guardian reports that archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar may have discovered the long-lost final resting place of one of the most famous ships of all time: HMS Beagle, which bore Charles Darwin on his famous voyage of biological discovery.