- January 2006 in science
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2006 : ← - January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - →Events in Science
January 30 2006 *
Prion s may play an important role instem cell function. [http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn8652&print=true (NewScientist)]January 27 2006 * Researchers working on
bubble fusion publish results inPhysical Review Letters obtained from new experiments that try to avoid problems and criticisms with previous experiments. They still report positive indications ofdeuterium fusion throughinertial confinement . [http://www.physorg.com/news10336.html (PhysOrg.com)]
*Tokyo University announces thatRNA researcher Kazunari Taira and his team have failed to prove that results published in their papers are reproducible. The team are also unable to provide the raw data. [http://www.nature.com/news/2006/060123/full/060123-14.html (Nature)]January 26 2006 * Plans are announced to jettison a Russian
spacesuit from the ISS onFebruary 3 and follow its fate fromEarth viaamateur radio . The project is called "SuitSat ". [http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2006/26jan_suitsat.htm (NASA)]January 25 2006 * Researchers at
NASA 'sGoddard Institute for Space Studies announce their current estimate that the year2005 was the warmest year since the start of instrumented record keeping in the late 1800. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060125/ap_on_sc/warmest_year (AP/YahooNews)]
* The smallestfish yet discovered is announced to the public. "Paedocypris progenetica " was found in itspeat swamp habitat onSumatra . [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4645708.stm (BBC)]
* An OGLE collaboration's microlensing event (OGLE-2005-BLG-390) turns out to be caused by astar and its planet, the smallest exoplanet discovered to this date, now called "OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb ". The findings of an international investigation are published in "Nature". [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4647142.stm (BBC)] [http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18839 (SpaceRef.com)]January 24 2006 * The analysis of a
computer simulation of Titan's atmosphere is published in "Science". An important result is the explanation forcloud s observed at 40° southernlatitude by the edge of aHadley cell in this area. [http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18826 (SpaceRef.com)]
* An American citizen admits to running abotnet of about 500,000 hijacked computers and leasing it out for creating pop-up advertising. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4642566.stm (BBC)]January 22 2006 * Canadian scientists publish a study in "Science" in which they tested 480 different
soil bacteria and found "some resistance" to a major class ofantibiotic s in each strain. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4632390.stm (BBC)]January 21 2006 *
NASA suspends work on Dawnasteroid mission and indefinitely postpones its launch due to cost overruns and technical issues. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060122/ap_on_sc/asteroid_mission (AP/YahooNews)]
* TheIMAGE spacecraft stops operating after six years of providing data onEarth 'smagnetic field . Mission engineers discovered a brokenpower supply in December 2005. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060121/ap_on_sc/image_satellite (AP/YahooNews)]January 20 2006 * The "
New England Journal of Medicine " sends a "letter of concern" to Norway's Radium Hospital in regard tooral cancer research published in that journal in 2001. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060121/ap_on_sc/norway_research_fraud (AP/YahooNews)]January 19 2006 *The
NASA spacecraft "New Horizons " launches successfully fromCape Canaveral Air Force Station at 2:00pm EST (19:00 UTC) and leavesEarth 's orbit shortly afterwards on its journey toPluto . [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060119/ap_on_sc/pluto_mission_38 (AP/YahooNews)] [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4629486.stm (BBC)]January 17 2006 * From nanobatteries which charge to 80% in a minute to
Internet TV (IPTV ); there is a lot to look forward to intechnology for 2006. [http://www.popularmechanics.com/specials/features/2076876.html (Popular Mechanics)]
* The editor of medical science journal "The Lancet ", Richard Horton, calls the fabrication of cancer research data done by a doctor at Norway's Radium Hospital, and published in a "Lancet" article, "the worst [fraud] the research world has seen." [http://www.aftenposten.no/english/local/article1200016.ece (Aftenposten)]January 16 2006 * The Norwegian Radium Hospital halts a research study into
oral cancer after it is alleged that patient data used for a publication in "The Lancet " were falsified. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/4617372.stm (BBC)]January 15 2006 * The Stardust
spacecraft touches down safely inside its intended landing area inUtah , close to the Army Dugway Proving Ground. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4614222.stm (BBC)]January 14 2006 * The CDC warns doctors to no longer prescribe the drugs
rimantadine andamantadine to people withinfluenza . This recommendation is based on a recent study that shows about 91 percent of the currently circulatingH3N2 virus has resistance to both drugs. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060115/ap_on_he_me/flu_drugs_resistance (AP/YahooNews)]January 13 2006 * The GIOVE-A satellite sends test signals from an altitude of 23,000 km to a ground station for the first time. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4610452.stm (BBC)]
January 12 2006 * Astronomers at the Greenbank Radio Telescope, West Virginia, USA, have discovered the most rapidly rotating
pulsar that rotates at 716 times per second (hertz ), easily beating the previously known record of one rotating at 642 hertz. [http://www.nrao.edu/pr/2006/mspulsar/]
* US Districtjudge Naomi Reice tentatively approves a settlement betweenSony andplaintiff s over theXCP CD copy protection software. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4602840.stm (BBC)]
* A study by the WHO shows that the recentH5N1 virus infecting humans inTurkey most likely carries a slightmutation to allow it to pass easier frombird s to humans. [http://www.boston.com/news/world/articles/2006/01/12/mutation_of_bird_flu_virus_in_turkey_stirs_concerns (Washington Post via Boston Globe)]January 11 2006 * A German research team publishes results of a study that shows ordinary
plant s produce thegreenhouse gas Methane , possibly accounting for 10 to 30 percent of the world's total methane gas production. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4604332.stm (BBC)]January 10 2006 *A group of parents sue "Frazier Mountain High" in
Lebec, California over the teaching ofIntelligent design in aphilosophy class. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060111/ap_on_re_us/evolution_debate_3 (AP/YahooNews)]
*Members of the Stardust mission announce their intention to askvolunteer s to find collected dust grains by using theInternet . The project will be calledStardust@home . [http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060110/sc_space/stardusthomeprojectbringscosmicdusttoyourdesktop (space.com/YahooNews)]January 9 2006 * A panel of scientists conclude that all
human cloning research byHwang Woo-suk was faked. It also found that "Snuppy " is indeed the first cloned dog. [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4597416.stm (BBC)]January 6 2006 *
Microsoft releases a fix for the WMF vulnerability, ahead of schedule. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060106/tc_nm/microsoft_security_dc (Reuters/YahooNews)]January 5 2006 * The
TOPEX/Poseidon satellite ceases operations after a 13 year mission (it was designed for a lifetime of five years) due to problems with its reaction wheel. [http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=18659 (SpaceRef.com)]January 4 2006 * Astronomers announce new data on
Pluto 's moon Charon obtained during anoccultation of astar in July 2005. They conclude that Charon has no atmosphere and find its size to lie between 1,206 and 1,212 km. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20060104/sc_afp/spaceastronomypluto (AFP/YahooNews)]January 3 2006 *The largest prime
Mersenne number currently known is announced by researchers atCentral Missouri State University as "M30402457". A computer program discovered it in December 2005. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060104/ap_on_sc/largest_prime_number (AP/YahooNews)]
*Microsoft announces it plans to deliver a patch for the WMF vulnerability byJanuary 10 , and discourages the use of third party fixes. [http://news.yahoo.com/s/pcworld/20060103/tc_pcworld/124149 (PCWorld/YahooNews)]
*Iran 's Atomic Energy Organization announces the resumption of research and development of its nuclear program byJanuary 9 . [http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060103/ts_nm/nuclear_iran_iaea_dc (Reuters/YahooNews)]January 2 2006 * Several exploits of a severe Windows security vulnerability are spreading over the Internet, permitting compromise of any Windows computer merely by viewing a maliciously crafted image on a
website or ine-mail orinstant messaging . No patch from Microsoft is available. The vulnerability affects every version of Windows, potentially affecting more computers than any prior computer security vulnerability in history. [http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/advisory/912840.mspx (Microsoft.com)] [http://www.kb.cert.org/vuls/id/181038/ (CERT)] [http://it.slashdot.org/it/06/01/01/1550258.shtml (Slashdot)] [http://isc.sans.org/diary.php?storyid=991 (Sans.org)] [http://www.f-secure.com/weblog/archives/archive-122005.html#00000757 (F-Secure.com)]
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