Not the "Big Bang" but a Really Large Bang

The Dark Side of Nature: the Crime was Almost Perfect - VLT Uncovers New Way to Form Black Hole | SpaceRef

"Nature has again thrown astronomers for a loop. Just when they thought they understood how gamma-ray bursts formed, they have uncovered what appears to be evidence for a new kind of cosmic explosion. These seem to arise when a newly born black hole swallows most of the matter from its doomed parent star.
Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), the most powerful explosions in the Universe, signal the formation of a new black hole and come in two flavours, long and short ones. In recent years, international efforts have shown that long gamma-ray bursts are linked with the explosive deaths of massive stars ..."

NASA and Google

NASA and Google to Bring Space Exploration Down to Earth | SpaceRef

"MOFFETT FIELD, Calif., Dec. 18 NASA Ames Research Center and Google have signed a Space Act Agreement that formally establishes a relationship to work together on a variety of challenging technical problems ranging from large-scale data management and massively distributed computing, to human-computer interfaces.
As the first in a series of joint collaborations, Google and Ames will focus on making the most useful of NASA's information available on the Internet. Real-time weather visualization and forecasting, high-resolution 3- D maps of the moon and Mars, real-time tracking of the International Space Station and the space shuttle will be explored in the future. "

"Seeing a Neurotoxin's Deadly Grip"

HHMI News

"Botulinum neurotoxins are among the most deadly natural toxins in the world. They act by first attaching themselves to receptors on the surface of neurons. The toxins then insinuate an enzyme into the neuron that degrades key proteins required for neurons to communicate with one another. The toxins principally affect muscle-controlling motor neurons activated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. They kill by paralyzing the respiratory muscles. There are seven structurally and functionally related botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), called serotypes A through G, with each acting in a slightly different manner. Botulinum neurotoxins are among the most deadly natural toxins in the world. They act by first attaching themselves to receptors on the surface of neurons. The toxins then insinuate an enzyme into the neuron that degrades key proteins required for neurons to communicate with one another. The toxins principally affect muscle-controlling motor neurons activated by the neurotransmitter acetylcholine. They kill by paralyzing the respiratory muscles. There are seven structurally and functionally related botulinum neurotoxins (BoNTs), called serotypes A through G, with each acting in a slightly different manner."

Bad Geography Leads to Trouble

peninsuladailynews.com - by DONNA BARR

"NEAH BAY -- Makah tribal members Wednesday blessed ground where they had fought Spanish explorers more than 300 years ago.
The ceremony took place on the site of the fort of Nu^pbez Gaona, which is soon to become the tribe's Veterans Park.
Honorary Spanish Consul Luiz Fernando Esteban, Washington Lt. Gov. Brad Owen and Tribal Chairman Ben Johnson represented their governments."

The Spanish were trying to hold the entrance to what they thought was the Northwest Passage. But, alas, as one proceeds east, the Strait of Juan de Fuca soon runs out and the mighty Cascades loom.

Solar "Tsunami"

Telescope spots solar tsunami | SpaceRef - Source: National Solar Observatory

"The prototype of a new solar patrol telescope in New Mexico recorded a tsunami-like shock wave rolling across the visible face of the Sun following a major flare even on Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2006, at 18:28 Universal Time (11:28 MST). The shock wave, known as a Moreton wave, also destroyed or compressed two filaments of cool gas at opposite sides of the solar hemisphere."

"Amygdala shrinks in some forms of autism"

ScienceDaily

"MADISON, Wis., Dec. 5 (UPI) -- U.S. scientists have found the brain's 'fear center' likely shrinks in autism's most severely socially impaired males with autism spectrum disorders.
The federally funded University of Wisconsin study showed teenagers and young men who were slowest at distinguishing emotional from neutral expressions and gazed at eyes least -- indicators of social impairment -- had a smaller-than-normal amygdala, an almond-shaped danger-detector deep in the brain.
The researchers also linked such amygdala shrinkage to impaired nonverbal social behavior in early childhood."