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German Dust Analyzer Closes In On Comet Wild-2 For Friday Flyby - SpaceDaily  On January 2nd at 19.20 UTC NASA's Stardust spacecraft will finally reach its target. After a journey of nearly 5 years through the solar system, the spacecraft will encounter the comet Wild 2. Stardust's task for this day is to collect and analyse the comet's dust as the probe performs a daring flyby past the comet's nucleus and its tail. Then, for the first time ever, the spacecraft will return to Earth carrying a selection of dust samples for scientists to investigate in their laboratories. The capsule containing the precious space dust is expected to arrive back on earth on the 15th January 2006, landing in the U.S. state of Utah. Stardust is the first mission with the major focus on the dusty environment of a comet. As a secondary objective it will also collect the space dust which passes through our solar system.

Photos From Mars Show Rocky Landscape - ABC  NASA's Spirit rover has sent its first images from Mars, showing a landscape scattered with small rocks that brought cheers from scientists. Scientists quickly assembled multiple black and white images to form a sweeping panoramic of the Martian landscape, as well as a bird's-eye view of the rover with its solar panels fully deployed. Spirit's successful landing bucked a trend of failed missions to the Red Planet. Just one in three past attempts to land on Mars has succeeded. British scientists said Sunday they would keep trying to contact their probe, the Beagle 2.

Using Satellites To Automatically Direct Civil Engineering Machines - SpaceDaily  Left: "The principle of IMAGIN can be applied to any civil engineering machine, whatever its task," explains Christophe Pichot, Strategy and Business Development Manager of French lead partner, THALES-Navigation.   EUREKA project E! 2294 IMAGIN -- the "Integrated Machine Guidance Instruments" -- uses satellite navigation to automatically guide and control road and rail construction machines with incredible accuracy. Once a project is described by a civil engineer and the instructions transferred to the IMAGIN on-board computer, the motor grader, bulldozer or excavator is then automatically controlled by comparing its actual and desired positions, making corrections as required.

Alzheimer's Disease: : 
1/5/2004: UCLA Neuroscientists Pinpoint Midlife Crisis In Brain Circuitry As Key To Brain Aging And Onset Of Alzheimer's Later In Life - Science Daily

Biosciences:
1/5/2004: Genetic Master Switch Sends Bacteria Toward 'Seafood Dinner' - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Working On The 'Porsche Of Its Time': New Model For Species Determination Offered - Science Daily
1/5/2004: EGFR: A Molecular Lab Rat Let Loose In Systems Biology - Science Daily

Climate, Environment:
1/5/2004: Tree-killing beetle eats its way across US East - New Scientist
1/5/2004: Protected Plant Has Off-Roaders and Environmentalists Battling  - NY Times
1/5/2004: Trapping Carbon Dioxide In An Icy Cage: Researchers Explore The Ocean Floor With Rare Instrument - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Survivors Of Bam Earthquake Urgently Require Public Health Supplies And Medicines - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Ocean Life Depends On Single Circulation Pattern In Southern Hemisphere - Science Daily

Computers:
Devices

Communications
1/5/2004: 20 years later, Ma Bell covets markets of its growing kids - Seattle Times

Technology
1/5/2004: End Of The Line For Silicon Dioxide: Scientists Investigate New Materials For Even Smaller And More Efficient Transistors - Science Daily

PC's

Internet
1/5/2004: New worm spreads via MSN messenger - New Scientist

Miscellaneous

Energy:
1/5/2004: Renewable Energy A Smart Choice For Farmers And Ranchers - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Plasma Combustion Technology Could Dramatically Improve Fuel Efficiency - Science Daily

Health:
Cardiovascular
1/5/2004: Genomics Research- New Genetic 'Hit List' May Underlie Susceptibility To Sudden Cardiac Death - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Gene Worsens Artery Disease - Science Daily
1/5/2004: First Link Found In Humans Between Common Gene And Artery-clogging Disease - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Women Who Hold In Anger At Risk For Atherosclerosis - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Mayo Clinic Study Links Gene To Heart Disease Marker; Gene Variations May Be Early Risk Factor For Inflammatory Diseases - Science Daily
1/5/2004: First Link Found In Humans Between Common Gene And Artery-clogging Disease - Science Daily

Cancer  
1/5/2004: Annual CT Screening Detects Early-stage Lung Cancers, Saves Lives - Science Daily
1/5/2004: He found room for 'Hutch' and neighborhood to grow - Seattle Times

Infectious
1/5/2004: Half A Million Patients Suffering From Tuberculosis To Get Free Life-saving Medicines - Science Daily
1/5/2004: FDA Investigating Reports Of Unlicensed Influenza Vaccine - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Antiviral Drug, Valacyclovir, Reduces Genital Herpes Transmission - Science Daily
1/5/2004: U.S. Boosts Safeguards To Protect Against 'Mad Cow' Disease (Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy) - Science Daily
1/5/2004: New, Quicker Tests Identify E. Coli Strains - Science Daily
1/5/2004: CDC Releases New Guidelines For Infection Control In Dental Care Settings - Science Daily

Non-Infectious
1/5/2004: Gluten Intolerance No Longer Considered Rare - Science Daily

Miscellaneous
1/5/2004: Baby bug threat from formula milk - New Scientist
1/5/2004: "Ivory Crisp" Potato Makes Tasty Chips - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Cedars-Sinai Researchers Identify A Gene That Causes Insulin Resistance In Mexican Americans - Science Daily
1/5/2004: FDA Announces Plans To Prohibit Sales Of Dietary Supplements Containing Ephedra - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Placebo Effect: Harnessing Your Mind's Power To Heal - Science Daily
1/5/2004: OHSU Team Discovers Compound That Lacks Estrogen's Risks - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Hormone Replacement Therapy May Improve Breast Cancer Detection And Survival Rate - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Insights Into How Estrogen Works May Lead To Improved Stroke Treatments - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Pregnancy, Oral Contraceptives, Hormone Replacement Therapy As Risk Factors For Stroke - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Economic Impact Of Back Pain Substantial - Science Daily
1/5/2004: NICHD Alerts Parents To Winter SIDS Risk - Science Daily

History, Anthropology:
1/5/2004: Scientist Challenges Interpretation Of New Find, The Oldest Primate Fossil Ever Discovered - Science Daily

Miscellaneous:
1/5/2004: Smart Materials For A Next-gen Vehicle: Future Marine Vehicles Will Be Lighter, Tougher, And Smarter - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Anthrax Toxin Inhibitor Identified; Findings Could Lead To More Effective Therapy For Deadly Agent - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Blog, Blog, Blog: The Navy Tests Web Logging For Team Communications - Science Daily
1/5/2004: FDA Issues Final Rule And Final Order Regarding Safety And Efficacy Of Certain Licensed Biological Products Including Anthrax Vaccine - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Study Examines Issues Related To Research Involving Prisoners - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Film industry pushes states for laws against theater taping - Seattle Times
1/5/2004: Parmalat case reflects Italy's weak control over business - Seattle Times
1/5/2004: Low-carb beers make big splash in industry - Seattle Times
1/5/2004: Next chapter in Enron saga- executives' trials - Seattle Times

Neurosciences:
1/5/2004: Brain scans can harm children's intellectual development - New Scientist
1/5/2004: Kids Exposed To Violence Have More Behavioral Problems - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Unique Type Of MRI Scan Shows Promise In Treating Bipolar Disorder - Science Daily
1/5/2004: A Big Surprise: Young Nerve Cells Can Rewind Their Developmental Clocks - Science Daily

Physics and Astronomy:
1/5/2004: First Double Star Satellite Successfully Launched - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Images From Hubble's ACS Tell A Tale Of Two Record-Breaking Galaxy Clusters - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Nucleons Go Two-by-Two - Science Daily

Prolongevity
1/5/2004: MIT Helps Unlock Life-extending Secrets Of Calorie Restriction - Science Daily

Robotics:
1/5/2004: Using Satellites To Automatically Direct Civil Engineering Machines - SpaceDaily

Space:
1/7/2004: Mars probe sends back 'outstanding' images  - BBC
1/7/2004: Q&A: Nasa's Mars rovers  - BBC
1/7/2004: Nasa probe lands on Mars  - BBC
1/7/2004: Still no sign of missing Beagle  - BBC
1/7/2004: 
1/5/2004: German Dust Analyzer Closes In On Comet Wild-2 For Friday Flyby - SpaceDaily
1/5/2004: Photos From Mars Show Rocky Landscape  - ABC
1/5/2004: Major Mars Express Scheduled Orbit Change Achieved - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Bill Nye's 'Cool' Interplanetary Sundial Heads For Mars - Science Daily
1/5/2004: University Of Chicago Instruments To Reach Comet, Mars In Same Busy Week - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Bacteria Discoveries Could Resemble Mars, Other Planets - Science Daily
1/5/2004: NASA Comet Hunter Closing On Quarry - Science Daily
1/5/2004: NASA Spacecraft Has Shields Up - Science Daily

Technology:
1/5/2004: Navy Enlists Microbes To Cut Costs - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Tiny Nanotube Antennas May Yield Better Signals In Cell Phones, Televisions - Science Daily
1/5/2004: Gentler Hens For Poultry Production - Science Daily