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| • 2008 in science |
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| *Other Years in Sci Tech |
Events in science and technology
October 23 2008 (Thursday)
- A green fluorescence protein gene was inserted into a cat to test if it was harmless. It is a first step in curing diseases using gene therapy. (Telegraph)
- Scientists successfully erase a one-month old memory from mice. (NewScientist)
- In the Netherlands a teen is convicted of stealing virtual goods on RuneScape. (PCWorld)
The 2008 South Ossetia war becomes the first war in which Cyber-warfare is used when russian hackers deface the official website of the government of Georgia [1]
October 17 2008 (Friday)
- A new hybrid material has been created that addresses two problems with solar power, it absorbs all frequencies of sunlight instead of being selective and creates easier to capture electrons. (ScienceDaily)
- Attempts to revive Hubble using backup circuits have encountered glitches. (AP)
- Exons in junk DNA play a role in gene regulation. (Physorg)
- Re-analysis of the Miller-Urey experiment shows 22 amino acids rather than 5 were created in the volcanic apparatus. (NewScientist)
- John McCain's campaign is complaining to YouTube about their prompt removal of official campaign ads under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). YouTube responds that the DMCA requires their video content to be fair use; and checking if content follows the requirements prior to removal is simply not realistic. (BetaNews)
October 16 2008 (Thursday)
- The EPA is significantly reducing the amount of lead allowed in the air from 1.5 micrograms to 0.15. (AP)
- Four genes known to suppress cancer have been found to regulate adult stem cell function, and shut them down during aging. (Physorg)
- Samsung shows the first carbon nanotube-based color active matrix electronic paper with a size of 14.3” inches. (Physorg)
- After testing ten U.S. bottled water brands it was found they contain 38 different pollutants in varying amounts, four had bacteria and some at levels no better than tap water. (EWG)
October 15 2008 (Wednesday)
- Tiktaalik roseae a key transitional fossil is providing new evidence of how fish transitioned into land animals. (ScienceDaily)
- Transcranial magnetic stimulation has brought a patient out of a coma. (NewScientist)
- Best microscopic images of 2008 are announced. (NationalGeographic)
October 14 2008 (Tuesday)
- Searching the web doubles the brain activity of adults 55 to 78 year-old, specifically in areas associated with decision making and complex reasoning. (WebMD)
October 13 2008 (Monday)
- OpenOffice 3.0 is released by Sun Microsystems, a key feature is it can open and convert Microsoft Office 2007/2008 files. (TechSpot)
- During the 18th Loebner Prize every AI chatbot was able to fool at least one human judge into thinking they were chatting to a human. The 25% margin is edging closer to the 30% rate needed to win the prize. (ScienceDaily)
October 11 2008 (Saturday)
October 10 2008 (Friday)
- Martti Ahtisaari wins the Nobel Peace Prize. (NobelPrize)
- It's discovered that when embryonic stem cells change into various cell types there are dramatic changes in how DNA is replicated and organized. (Physorg)
- IBM builds an interactive full scale virtual Forbidden City. (Physorg)
- Confirmation that virgin birth (asexual reproduction) is possible for sharks. (AP)
- Jean-Marie Gustave Le Clézio won the Nobel Prize for literature. (NobelPrize)
- The newly discovered bacteria candidatus desulforudis audaxviator found in a gold mine may serve as a model for finding life on other planets, as it lives without light and oxygen. (NewScientist)
- Daily dose of ginkgo may prevent stroke induced brain damage. (Physorg)
- It has been determined vitamin D plays an important role for our health as 36 organ tissues responded to the vitamin. 2000 IU daily is recommended. (Physorg)
- For the first time the transmission of data secured by quantum cryptography is demonstrated within a commercial telecommunications network. (Physorg)
- Osamu Shimomura, Martin Chalfie and Roger Y. Tsien share the Nobel Prize for chemistry. (NobelPrize)
- Yoichiro Nambu, Makoto Kobayashi and Toshihide Maskawa share the Nobel Prize for physics. (NobelPrize)
- Professor Takeo Someya of the University of Tokyo starts working on the first sensitive skin for robots. (PopSci)
- Complete Genomics announces complete human gene sequencing for $5,000 next spring, which is 1/20th the price of the current marketplace. (ABC)
- Harald zur Hausen, Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier jointly win the Nobel Prize for medicine. (NobelPrize)
- Ig Nobel Prize award ceremony. (BBC)
- Sony releases its third e-reader the PRS-700, which has a built in light and will work with multiple vendors. (Physorg)
- A DNA analysis of old HIV samples places the initial infection of humans around 1908 (+/- 20 years). (Reuters)
- Lack of control has been found to increase superstitious and conspiracy theory seeking behavior. (Reuters)
- The molecule ACF7 is found which regulates extracellular matrix movement and could help explain how cancer cells metastasize. (Physorg)
- Musicians use both sides of their frontal cortex more than average people, and are better at divergent thinking. (Physorg)
- Researchers have proposed a way to train single-celled organisms using molecular circuits. It is hoped bacteria could be used to precisely deliver drugs. (TechReview)
September 30 2008 (Tuesday)
- The Hubble Space Telescope repair mission is delayed as the data control unit fails, stopping all transmissions and forcing a significant change to the repair mission. (BBC)
- A new solar cell efficiency record of 40.8 percent is achieved measured under concentrated light of 326 suns. (ScienceDaily)
- Particles 10 nanometers or less may pass right through skin and accumulate in the lymphatic system. (Physorg)
September 29 2008 (Monday)
- Two indicators of liquid water on Mars are found by Phoenix, also for the first time snow is detected in clouds. (AP)
- A possible major breakthrough in creating a commercially viable manufacturing process for carbon nanotubes at seven meters per minute. (Physorg)
September 28 2008 (Sunday)
- Shenzhou 7 taikonauts return safely to Earth. (Reuters)
September 27 2008 (Saturday)
- Researchers in Los Angeles develop and fast, inexpensive way of counting cells in a sample by using a digital camera and a simple algorithm to distinguish the shadows different types of cells have. (TechReview)
September 25 2008 (Thursday)
- China launched the Shenzhou 7 space mission that will include the first space walk for China. (AP)
- Researchers have created pluripotent stem cells from adult skin cells with an adenovirus which avoids the cancerous pitfall of a retrovirus. (TechReview)
September 24 2008 (Wednesday)
- A dark flow has been observed with galaxy clusters unexpectedly drifting towards a structure beyond the observable universe. (ScienceDaily)
September 23 2008 (Tuesday)
- The MacArthur foundation announces the twenty-five $500,000 winners of the 2008 Genius awards. (MacFound)
- Google shows its first Android handset. (CNet)
September 22 2008 (Monday)
- Gene therapy has restored the sight of two of three test patients with Leber's congenital amaurosis. (Wired)
September 20 2008 (Saturday)
- As a result of a helium leak the Large Hadron Collider will be down for two months of repairs. (CNet)
September 19 2008 (Friday)
- A quench occurred when liquid helium leaked at the Large Hadron Collider. This will further delay experiments until the damage is accessed and vacuum is restored. (BBC)
- The Space Shuttle Endeavour moves to the launch pad as a backup in case the Space Shuttle Atlantis crew needs to be rescued from their higher risk Hubble Space Telescope repair mission. (AP)
- Professor Stephen Hawking unveils the Corpus Clock, a 'terrifying' new way to read the time, at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, England. (BBC News)
- The first lab grown heart starts to beat. (PopSci)
September 18 2008 (Thursday)
- The Large Hadron Collider is down because of a faulty electrical transformer. (CNet)
September 17 2008 (Wednesday)
- A new estimate concludes 44 metric gigatons (billion tons) of greenhouse gases could be offset if 100 of the largest cities replaced dark roofs with white shingles and asphalt roads with concrete. (Physorg)
September 15 2008 (Monday)
- Scientists find a rare direct image of a likely extrasolar planet 500 light years away that is eight times the size of Jupiter and orbits a younger star similar to the Sun. (CBC)
- Mathematical biologists at Harvard University show that a form of natural selection likely played a role in a prebiotic environment, whereby self assembly reactions that were short and fast would be favored over longer chains as they would use material faster and at the expense of slower reactions. (NewScientist)
September 12 2008 (Friday)
- A low budget Discovery Channel demonstration of wireless power transmission between two Hawaiian islands 148 kilometers (92 miles) apart will be shown on Project Earth. It is a key technology to enable space solar power. (Wired) (NSS)
- A state anti-spam law is overturned in the Virginia Supreme Court as it infringes upon the First Amendment right to anonymous speech. (CNet)
September 11 2008 (Thursday)
- Research in the New England Journal of Medicine shows a small deletion in a specific section of DNA can trigger a large number of cognitive problems. (TechReview)
- 3M unveils the first pocket projector the MPro110. (Popsci)
September 10 2008 (Wednesday)
- The Large Hadron Collider went online circulating beams of protons around the 17 mile (27 km) track. (Reuters)
- A gamma ray burst originating from 7.5 billion light-years away in the constellation Boötes on March 19th became the most distant object that could be seen with the naked eye. (Reuters)
September 9 2008 (Tuesday)
- Researchers in France discover a virophage called Sputnik that infects another virus. (Ars Technica)
September 5 2008 (Friday)
- Legal challenges are launched against Cern's Large Hadron Collider, as there are ongoing concerns it could destroy Earth by creating a stable black hole. (Telegraph)
- Sony recalls 438,000 Vaio laptops because of an overheating issue that may injure users.(CNet)
September 3 2008 (Wednesday)
- A survey on DVR's shows they help the majority of relationships by permitting flexible time management and resolving television conflicts. (CNet)
September 2 2008 (Tuesday)
- Canadian ice shelves have lost almost one-quarter of their area this summer, indicating significant and irreversible changes with the present climate. (CBC)
- China has developed a new generation of scalable processor code named Godson-3 that will simulate x86 architecture and be 80 percent as fast as an Intel equivalent. (TechReview)
- Google launches the beta of its browser Chrome that is anticipated to make a significant impact on what users can do through the internet. (Reuters)
- Gene variations for the vasopressin receptor could be a factor for fidelity. (ABC)
September 1 2008 (Monday)
- Using computer simulations, North American scientists show that our solar system is likely not a typical planetary system. In most scenarios either no planets form or if they do they are brought close to the star and acquire elliptical orbits. (FutureOfThings)
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