December 2006 in science

Events in Science and Technology

December 29, 2006

• Satellite images show that a large ice shelf broke free from the Canadian coast at Ellesmere Island around the summer of 2005. (Reuters)

December 28, 2006

• The United States Food and Drug Administration publishes its assessment that meat and milk from cloned cattle, pigs and sheep is safe for human consumption. (BBCnews)

December 22, 2006

• An analysis of marine sediments dating from 21 to 34 million years is published in Science. It shows statistically significant oscillations matching the Milankovitch cycles with periods of 96,000, 127,000, 405,000 (all are orbital eccentricity cycles), and 1,2 million year (obliquity cycle). (SpaceRef.com)
• Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space Center after various weather-related delays. (Reuters)

December 19, 2006

• The shuttle Discovery undocks from the International Space Station after completing a complex mission, that was extended by one day due to difficulties with a solar panel "wing". (BBCNews)
• A new approach to eradicate the malaria-causing parasite, from the population of mosquitos that carries it, completes a test phase in mice. The goal of the "vaccine" is to kill the organism in the gut of the mosquito after it has taken up blood. (Reuters)

December 14, 2006

• A research expedition concludes that the Chinese River Dolphin is now likely extinct, directly due to human action. (Globe & Mail)
• The Molecules of the Year 2006 are the hsa-mir-155 and hsa-let-7a-2 for their unique molecular expressions as miRNAs which supported their roles as the new diagnostic and prognostic markers in lung cancer. This announcement was made by Isidro A. T. Savillo, President of ISMCBPR (International Society for Molecular and Cell Biology Protocols and Researches, Inc.).(Hum-MolGen)

December 12, 2006

• Trends in climate data presented at a meeting of the American Geophysical Union indicate that the Arctic Ocean will be free of ice over the summer season by 2040. (BBCNews)

December 10, 2006

• Space shuttle Discovery launches from Cape Canaveral on its mission to the International Space Station (BBCNews)

December 8, 2006

• A reinforcing linkage between Malaria and HIV infections is proposed as an explanation for the fast spread of both diseases in Africa. The study is published in Science. (BBCNews)

December 7, 2006

• The launch of space shuttle Discovery is scrubbed due to low clouds and rescheduled for December 10 (local time: December 9). (Spaceflight Now)

December 6, 2006

• A study by the Institute of Cancer Epidemiology in Denmark does not produce any statistically significant link between cancer and cell phone use. It is based on about 400,000 cell phone users. (Reuters)
• Scientist working for the Malin Space Science Systems present pictures of newly formed features on Mars that indicate erosion by liquids in recent years. NASA members interpret these features as being created by liquid water. (BBCNews)

December 5, 2006

• NASA announces that it plans to build a permanently occupied station on the Moon, and shuttle persons to it regularly by 2020. (BBCNews) (Reuters)

December 1, 2006

• Science publishes a study of a meteorite found at Tagish Lake. It describes small cavities that have organic molecule on their surfaces. (BBCNews)

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