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Skin secrets: How computer-generated faces are looking more realistic  - BBC  It you get a close look at some of the creatures of the night in the Van Helsing movie, you might notice how realistic their skin looks. The secret in making virtual skin seem real is all to do with light. Dr Jensen found that light did not just bounce from surfaces such as marble and skin. Instead light beams penetrate below the surface and scatter at different points. Dr Jensen managed to come up with a mathematical formula that calculates how light is absorbed and dispersed beneath materials like marble or skin. "The development of the mathematical model was the most difficult aspect of the project," he told BBC News Online. "It required a number of new algorithms and techniques not previously seen in computer graphics." He also hopes that in the future it will be more widely used in architectural design and art restoration to make virtual buildings leap out of the computer screen.

Search me: Handy tools to help you find what you want online  - BBC  What I like about Web Ferret is its comprehensive toolset, which allows you to easily select which search engines and directories you want it to query, and how. But if you're looking for a very specific piece of information, less is definitely more. One search facility that offers this kind of narrow-band search is The Scannery, an investor-focused web search platform that indexes and searches the websites of public companies from around the world. It currently covers over 13,000 companies in more than 55 countries and is growing all the time.

Tiny robot walker made from DNA  - BBC  Scientists have created a microscopic walking robot using only the building blocks of life: DNA. The tiny walker is only 10 nanometres long and has been described as a major step forward in nanotechnology. A New York University team created the robot using DNA legs that move along a footpath, which is also based on DNA. The legs move by detaching themselves from the footpath, moving along it and then reattaching themselves, New Scientist reports. "What we've done is to build a sidewalk to accommodate one step and we've demonstrated quantitatively that [the robot] can take a second step."

Alzheimer's Disease: : 
5/13/2004: Researchers Identify Novel Method Of Distinguishing Alzheimer's Disease From Other Types Of Dementia - Science Daily

Biosciences:
5/13/2004: Diabetes research fuels embryo stem cell debate - Washington Post
5/13/2004: Limits on Stem-Cell Research Re-emerge as a Political Issue  - NY Times
5/13/2004: Scripps Scientists Look Deep Inside Sharks And Their High-performance Swimming System - Science Daily
5/13/2004: UNC Study Finds Protein In Male Reproductive Tract Kills Bacteria, May Improve Fertility - Science Daily
5/13/2004: China clears GM corn... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Evolutionary Teamwork... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Evolution and the Ape's Mind... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Monkey of endangered species euthanized at Washington's National Zoo... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Farmers hit out at GM seeds bungle... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Outraged about Climate Change... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: American genetic abnormality also discovered in the Netherlands... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Scientists launch first international effort to probe how genes communicate... - FirstScience

Climate, Environment:
5/13/2004: Male whales are singing fools for love - MSNBC
5/13/2004: Scorched earth reaches record temperatures - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Rising tide of micro-plastics plaguing the seas - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Hotly disputed satellite analysis makes a case for warming - Seattle Times
5/13/2004: European Space Agency's Minature Earth Observer Put To Many Uses - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Plankton May Influence Climate Change Says UCSB Scientist - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Missing Chemical Important To Air Pollution Estimates - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Evaluation of the FP6 calls Global Change and Ecosystems... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: European Air Pollution Laws Shown Not to Harm Competitiveness... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Impact of climate change is serious... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Environmentalists take on Wild Dog Estates... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Urban air pollution kills more than 5,000 people per year in France... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Marine Scientists Discover New Undersea Volcano in Antarctica... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Ground Zero Renewal Features Green Building, Open Space... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Alberta government hits electronic waste with recycling fee charges... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Simmering volcano shoots ash and steam... - FirstScience

Computers:
Devices
5/13/2004: Game Makers' Hand-to-Hand Combat  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Can a Video Game Be Too Hard?  - Wired News

Communications
5/13/2004: Cable Snaking Into Everything  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Wi-Fi Security Standard To Require New Hardware  - Wired News
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Technology
5/13/2004: ASICs at the heart of disposable computer - Silicon Strategies
5/13/2004: TSMC prepares MIM memory for the 90-nm node - Silicon Strategies
5/13/2004: Quantum entanglement demonstrated; quantum computer could be next - Silicon Strategies
5/13/2004: AMD lowers power on Athlon 64 processor (Updated) - Silicon Strategies
5/13/2004: Ultrafast Quantum Computing A Step Closer To A Superposition Dot - SpaceDaily

PC's
5/13/2004: Skin secrets: How computer-generated faces are looking more realistic  - BBC
5/13/2004: WinHEC 2004: Microsoft remodeling PCs so users feel more at home - Seattle Times
5/13/2004: Microsoft Plugs PC as Media Hub  - Wired News

Internet
5/13/2004: Search me: Handy tools to help you find what you want online   - BBC
5/13/2004: Sick of Spam: Prepare for Adware  - Wired News

Miscellaneous
5/13/2004: P2P Firms Join Child-Porn Fight  - Wired News

Energy:
5/13/2004: Sandia Polymer Electrolyte Membrane Brings Goal Of A High Temperature PEM Fuel Cell Closer - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Squeezing More Juice Out Of Solar Panels - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Africa urged to focus on renewable energy... - FirstScience

Health:
Cardiovascular

Cancer  
5/13/2004: Small Gene Changes In Some Leukemia Patients May Explain Varying Responses To Chemotherapy - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Gene-based Screen Sorts Out Cancer Cases, Say Stanford Researchers - Science Daily

Infectious
5/13/2004: Flesh-eating disease threatens Congo's pygmies - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Calls for Federal Inquiry Over Untested Cow  - NY Times
5/13/2004: Viruses go from strength to strength - PhysicsWeb
5/13/2004: Computers Combat Disease: New Modeling Grants Target Epidemics, Bioterror - Science Daily
5/13/2004: High-Tech Gloves Declare War on Germs  - Wired News

Non-Infectious
5/13/2004: World faces a 'devastating' diabetes epidemic, says WHO - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Gene Therapy Reduces Drinking In Rats With Genetic Predisposition To 'Alcoholism' - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Insulin-producing Pancreatic Cells Are Replenished By Duplication - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Insulin-Making Cells Regenerate  - Wired News

Miscellaneous
5/13/2004: Hormones converge for couples in love - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Telemedicine Research Brings Medical Care To People Living In Earth's Remote Regions, Improves Space Medicine - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Motion Sickness Alert  - Technology Review 

History, Anthropology:
5/13/2004: Fossil sheds light on hummingbird's origins - MSNBC
5/13/2004: Maya queen's tomb found in Guatemala
5/13/2004: Discovery Pushes Back Date of 'Classic' Maya  - NY Times
5/13/2004: Archaeologists Unearth Ancient Maya Masterpieces While Excavating A Sacred Ball Court In Guatemala - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Archaeologists Announce Discoveries At The Ancient Maya Site Of Waka' In Northern Guatemala - Science Daily
5/13/2004: TimeLine: 70 Years Ago in Science News... - Science News
5/13/2004: Ancient Buzzing- German site yields early hummingbird fossils... - Science News

Miscellaneous:
5/13/2004: E-voting debate goes national
5/13/2004: U.S. losing ground to foreign scientists
5/13/2004: A Top Scientist's Research Is Under Attack  - NY Times
5/13/2004: Simulated Prison in '71 Showed a Fine Line Between `Normal' and `Monster'  - NY Times
5/13/2004: Adelphia often deceived banks, witness testifies - Seattle Times
5/13/2004: North Korea Set To Test New Missile Engines: Report - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: Tuvalu premier gets sinking feeling over immigration deal with NZ - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: Philippine military as fractured as society it defends - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: After the Beep, Exit the Premises  - Wired News
5/13/2004: The Scorpions Taste Kinda Fishy  - Wired News
5/13/2004: E-Voting Commission Gets Earful  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Stem-Cell Breakthrough  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Britain's Biometric ID Cards Postponed  - Wired News
5/13/2004: U.S. Anticensorship Bureau Found Censoring  - Wired News
5/13/2004: FCC's Michael Powell: The Accidental Arbiter  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Intel Researchers Study Cultures Not Circuits  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Science, visas and America... - Economist
5/13/2004: DNA Study Sheds Light on Irish Potato Famine... - Nat'l. Geo. News
5/13/2004: Skin Science... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: How the Word Gets Around  - Wired News

Neurosciences:
5/13/2004: Trial to test link between autism and gut disorders - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Human Brain Works Heavy Statistics Learning Language - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Readers' Memories Of Crime Stories Influenced By Racial Stereotypes - Science Daily
5/13/2004: Panic Disorder's Passage From Mother To Daughter Investigated In Stanford Study - Science Daily

Physics and Astronomy:
5/13/2004: Ageing Hubble goes after biggest questions - MSNBC
5/13/2004: Big discovery redraws map of the Milky Way - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: For Aging Hubble, Basic Questions About Universe... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Quest To Unlock Universe's Missing Link  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Astronomer Finds Fastest Flashing Star... - FirstScience

Prolongevity

Robotics:

Space:
5/13/2004: Probe spots Xanadu on Saturnian moon - MSNBC
5/13/2004: NASA Genesis Spacecraft On Final Lap Toward Home - Science Daily
5/13/2004: JFK, Bush Space Plans Similar - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: Former Mexican-American farmer among NASA's astronaut candidates - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: Beyond the Moon To Mars Part III - What's the Next Step?... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: NASA to train three teachers to be astronauts... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: NASA introduces new class of 11 astronauts, including 3 teachers... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Presentation: BAA for Concept Exploration & Refinement NASA Office of Exploration Systems Presolicitation Conf... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: Space representatives say U.S.'s space plan should include other countries... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: 13 space advocacy groups to promote Bush's vision for moon, Mars mission... - FirstScience
5/13/2004: China plans two-manned space flight for 2005 - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Deep Sleep Will Give Opportunity Endurance To Cruise Round Crater - SpaceDaily
5/13/2004: Mars Express Reports In As Final Deployment Delayed - SpaceDaily
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Technology:
5/13/2004: Tiny robot walker made from DNA   - BBC 
5/13/2004: DNA robot takes its first steps - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Sports shoe adapts for optimal cushioning - New Scientist
5/13/2004: Y Switches Set Up Low-Power Logic  - Technology Review 
5/13/2004: CDs, DVDs- Human After All  - Wired News
5/13/2004: The Dream Gadgets of 2014  - Wired News
5/13/2004: Open Source 'Blending' Into Animation  - Wired News