http://phys.org/ en-us Phys.org internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. Panicked villagers in a remote Indian state complained Monday of an invasion of giant venomous spiders that resemble tarantulas but are unknown to local specialists. http://phys.org/news258042333.html Biology Mon, 04 Jun 2012 15:25:40 EST news258042333 Big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) is a key foundational species in an ecosystem that is threatened by invasion of cheatgrass and the subsequent increase in fire frequency. Critical to the conservation, reestablishment, and restoration of the sagebrush steppe ecosystem (which comprises 63 million hectares of the Great Basin of North America) is understanding the dynamics of A. tridentata seeds—how long do they remain viable and are they able to persist in the seed bank for any length of time? http://phys.org/news252060765.html Biology Tue, 27 Mar 2012 09:52:58 EST news252060765 (AP) -- Facebook is warning employers not to demand the passwords of job applicants, saying that it's an invasion of privacy that opens companies to legal liabilities. http://phys.org/news251717529.html Technology Fri, 23 Mar 2012 10:32:19 EST news251717529 (AP) -- A Democratic senator from Connecticut is writing a bill that would stop the practice of employers asking job applicants for their Facebook or other social media passwords, he told The Associated Press on Thursday. http://phys.org/news251660671.html Technology Thu, 22 Mar 2012 18:44:36 EST news251660671 (PhysOrg.com) -- As if Facebook has not has enough invasion-of-privacy problems, a pair of researchers have come up with one more reason why Facebook cannot rest. Shah Mahmood and Yvo Desmedt, Chair of Information Communication Technology at University College London, want the wide world of Facebook-account users to know that there is a hole in Facebook's settings that allows stalkers, whether they are personal mischief makers or governments, to spy on accounts without the account holder aware that anything is wrong. The technique is called “cloaking” and it works when the attacker deactivates and reactivates accounts, which Facebook allows. http://phys.org/news251612356.html Technology Thu, 22 Mar 2012 06:20:01 EST news251612356 Sweden's parliament on Wednesday overwhelmingly voted through an EU-backed law obliging telecom and Internet operators to store data traffic information for at least six months. http://phys.org/news251565709.html Technology Wed, 21 Mar 2012 16:22:38 EST news251565709 A small group of US smartphone owners has filed a lawsuit demanding that Facebook, Twitter and other makers of smartphone "apps" pay dearly for mining people's contact lists. http://phys.org/news251094458.html Technology Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:27:52 EST news251094458 Most Americans are satisfied with their Internet search engines but they are not fans of targeted advertising, seeing it as an invasion of privacy, according to a survey published on Friday. http://phys.org/news250530911.html Technology Fri, 09 Mar 2012 15:56:10 EST news250530911 (AP) -- With the story of alleged invasion of privacy and bias intimidation already told, prosecutors have turned to trying to show jurors that a former Rutgers University student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man tried to cover up his actions. http://phys.org/news250339969.html Technology Wed, 07 Mar 2012 10:52:54 EST news250339969 (AP) -- A Rutgers University computer system manager told jurors on Tuesday that it appears the computer of a former student accused of using a webcam to spy on his roommate's intimate encounter with another man was used in two video chats on Sept. 21, 2010. http://phys.org/news250254864.html Technology Tue, 06 Mar 2012 11:14:31 EST news250254864 A leading US senator called Monday for a government probe into whether smartphone applications used on the Apple and Android platforms can steal private data including photos and address books. http://phys.org/news250174870.html Technology Mon, 05 Mar 2012 13:02:22 EST news250174870 No one knows how they got there. But an invasion of African giant snails has southern Florida in a panic over potential crop damage, disease and general yuckiness surrounding the slimy gastropods. http://phys.org/news248074346.html Biology Fri, 10 Feb 2012 06:00:02 EST news248074346 Researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center have discovered a protein called TAT-5 that affects the production of extracellular vesicles, small sacs of membrane released from the surface of cells, capable of sending signals to other cells. When released extracellular vesicles can affect tumor spread, blood clotting and inflammation. Their discovery gives new insight into how extracellular vesicles form, and reveals new potential strategies to manipulate diseases such as cancer. http://phys.org/news240761545.html Biology Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:12:36 EST news240761545 Sydney University biologists have discovered cane toad tadpoles (Bufo marinus) communicate using chemicals excreted into the water, a finding that may help to impede the Cane Toad invasion of the Kimberley. http://phys.org/news240488367.html Biology Mon, 14 Nov 2011 10:19:58 EST news240488367 Biological invasions, i.e. the spread of introduced, non-native species, not only serve as ecological model systems, but also bring out the importance of economic activities on ecological processes. Two recent books have shown the extent and variety of the interaction of economics with invasion science and also the variety of approaches to tackling these problems. http://phys.org/news237200181.html Biology Fri, 07 Oct 2011 09:56:29 EST news237200181 (AP) -- The OnStar automobile communication service used by 6 million Americans maintains its two-way connection with a customer even after the service is discontinued, while reserving the right to sell data from that connection. http://phys.org/news236178214.html Technology Sun, 25 Sep 2011 14:04:43 EST news236178214 Researchers have found that a protein linked to cell division and migration and tied to increased cell proliferation in ovarian tumors is also present at high levels in breast cancer specimens and cell lines. The protein, dubbed "UNC-45A," was also determined to be more active in breast cancer cells than in normal breast cells. http://phys.org/news235320908.html Biology Thu, 15 Sep 2011 15:55:52 EST news235320908 Groupers may be able to limit the invasion of lionfish on Caribbean coral reefs, according to new research conducted by The University of Queensland (UQ). http://phys.org/news229180974.html Biology Wed, 06 Jul 2011 14:23:25 EST news229180974 The recent field of invasion biology faces a new challenge as 19 eminent ecologists issue a call to "end the bias against non-native species" in the journal Nature. http://phys.org/news226763845.html Biology Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:58:45 EST news226763845 NATO wants to beef up its cyber defence capabilities with the creation of a special task force to detect and respond to Internet attacks, an alliance expert said Wednesday at a conference on cyber security here. http://phys.org/news226763369.html Technology Wed, 08 Jun 2011 14:49:44 EST news226763369 A research article May 12 in Science demonstrates the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules. http://phys.org/news224520534.html Chemistry Fri, 13 May 2011 15:49:09 EST news224520534 (AP) -- Accused of a hate crime for allegedly using a webcam to spy on his college roommate's same-sex encounter, the roommate of Tyler Clementi is now also finding that it's not just what you tweet, but also what you delete, that can get you in trouble. http://phys.org/news222792868.html Technology Sat, 23 Apr 2011 15:54:40 EST news222792868 (AP) -- A judge has rejected a request by a Connecticut man charged in a deadly home invasion to ban the use of Twitter during his trial. http://phys.org/news217608646.html Technology Tue, 22 Feb 2011 14:50:56 EST news217608646 (PhysOrg.com) -- A new study has revealed that human-induced changes in the flow of the Murray River has led to mass weed invasion and reduced biodiversity in wetlands along the riverbank, highlighting the need for a review into how we manage the river's flow. http://phys.org/news216975129.html Space & Earth Tue, 15 Feb 2011 07:40:38 EST news216975129 Australian scientists using new image and cell technologies have for the first time caught malaria parasites in the act of invading red blood cells. The researchers, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute in Melbourne, Australia, and the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS), achieved this long-held aim using a combination of electron, light and super resolution microscopy, a technology platform new to Australia. http://phys.org/news214662438.html Medicine & Health Wed, 19 Jan 2011 12:27:54 EST news214662438 (PhysOrg.com) -- The spread of cancer cells in the tongue may be reduced if a gene that regulates cancer cell migration can be controlled, according to new research at the University of Illinois at Chicago. http://phys.org/news199086172.html Medicine & Health Fri, 23 Jul 2010 07:30:01 EST news199086172 Showing movies in 3-D has produced a box-office bonanza in recent months. Could viewing cell behavior in three dimensions lead to important advances in cancer research? A new study led by Johns Hopkins University engineers indicates it may happen. Looking at cells in 3-D, the team members concluded, yields more accurate information that could help develop drugs to prevent cancer's spread. http://phys.org/news196355609.html Biology Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:13:43 EST news196355609 Kudzu, an invasive vine that is spreading across the southeastern United States and northward, is a major contributor to large-scale increases of the pollutant surface ozone, according to a study published the week of May 17 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. http://phys.org/news193336899.html Space & Earth Mon, 17 May 2010 18:20:01 EST news193336899 (PhysOrg.com) -- The face of high-elevation evergreen forests in Western Canada could be drastically altered as a combination of climate change, human and natural disturbances is making spruce and pine forests in the Rocky Mountains vulnerable to a slow but steady invasion of aspen trees. http://phys.org/news186085511.html Biology Mon, 22 Feb 2010 18:50:01 EST news186085511 An international research team has studied the distribution of plant species in mountainous environments. The study shows that mountain plant communities are not particularly resistant to invasion by exotic species. The scientists also warn that these may become more aggressive as global warming gets a grip. http://phys.org/news183299024.html Biology Thu, 21 Jan 2010 12:24:22 EST news183299024