Ancient Scorpion Was Bigger Than Car

Nov. 21, 2007 — This was a bug you couldn’t swat and definitely couldn’t step on. British scientists have stumbled across a fossilized claw, part of an ancient sea scorpion, that is of such large proportion it would make the entire creature the biggest bug ever.

How big? Bigger than you, and at 8 feet long as big as some Smart cars.

The discovery in 390-million-year-old rocks suggests that spiders, insects, crabs and similar creatures were far larger in the past than previously thought, said Simon Braddy, a University of Bristol paleontologist and one of the study’s three authors.

Read More….Discovery News : Discovery Channel

NASA discovers fifth planet in 55 Cancri system

The universe contains vast numbers of planetary systems similar to our own, increasing the chances of there being extraterrestrial life, astronomers have announced.

Nasa scientists last night unveiled a
newly-discovered planet orbiting a star in a system which now becomes
the first known to contain at least five planets.

The
layout of the planetary system – known as 55 Cancri – is similar to
that of our own solar system, where four small rocky planets Mercury,
Venus, Earth and Mars, orbit close to the sun, and Jupiter and three
other giant planets orbiting much further out.

Read More…NASA discovers fifth planet in 55 Cancri system – Telegraph

Women’s Heart Attack Symptoms Different from Men’s

Research by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) indicates that women often experience new or different physical symptoms as long as a month or more before experiencing heart attacks.

Among the 515 women studied, 95-percent said they knew their symptoms were new or different a month or more before experiencing their heart attack, or Acute Myocardial Infarction (AMI). The symptoms most commonly reported were unusual fatigue (70.6-percent), sleep disturbance (47.8-percent), and shortness of breath (42.1-percent).

Read More…Women’s Heart Attack Symptoms Different from Men’s

Pollution blamed as China confronts surge in number of deformed babies

An alarming rise in birth defects was acknowledged by China yesterday, amid concern that heavy pollution is damaging the country’s children.

Babies born with conditions such as cleft palates and extra fingers and toes now account for up to 6 per cent of births each year, according to statistics published yesterday. And the number of babies born with disabilities has increased by 40 per cent since 2001 – a period that has coincided with China’s meteoric economic growth – to between two and three million a year. Up to 12 million more develop defects in childhood.

Read More…Pollution blamed as China confronts surge in number of deformed babies – Times Online

Supersize elements created in lab

US researchers have created exotic new versions of atomic nuclei including one previously thought to not exist.

The three new isotopes of magnesium and aluminium suggest other heavy variants of everyday elements could be created.

Read More..BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Supersize elements created in lab

In millions of Windows, the perfect Storm is gathering

In millions of Windows, the perfect Storm is gathering | Business | The Observer

A spectre is haunting the net but, outside of techie circles, nobody seems to be talking about it. The threat it represents to our security and wellbeing may be less dramatic than anything posed by global terrorism, but it has the potential to wreak much more havoc. And so far, nobody has come up with a good idea on how to counter it.