Medical isotopes, used in 40,000 US procedures daily, are in short supply

October 6th, 2009 Tasered woman takes Texas county's settlement bidAUSTIN, Texas — A 72-year-old woman whose Tasering by a deputy constable was captured on video and shown nationwide has accepted a $40,000 settlement offer from a Texas county. Kathryn Winkfein was shocked with a stun gun after she dared the constable to do so during a May traffic stop.

September 10th, 2009 Medical marijuana shop raided in SpokaneSPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police on Thursday raided a medical marijuana store, shutting it down, arresting the owners and warning similar operations to close, too.

August 26th, 2009 LONDON - In a new study, a team of scientists has described how aluminium radioisotopes can now offer precise timing of events 4.5 billion years ago, and thus have been dubbed as the 'stopwatch for the solar system'. According to a report by BBC News, the study shows that the rate of decay of isotopes can now be relied upon to give accurate measures of time for that period.

August 19th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of scientists has determined that Carbonyl Sulphide gas warmed the world and saved it from freezing over during the Archean eon more than 3 billion years ago. When Planet Earth was just cooling down from its fiery creation, the sun was faint and young.

August 2nd, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new research, involving scientists from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton (NOCS), has highlighted the potential utility of iron isotopes for addressing important questions in ocean science. Pore-fluid iron isotope measurements have so far been restricted to the continental shelves where the supply of carbon is typically high and dissimilatory iron reduction is extensive, precluding comparisons with low-carbon, deep-water environments.

July 30th, 2009 Sport Supply Group acquires assets from Har-BellDALLAS — Sport Supply Group Inc. said Thursday it has bought some team sports assets from Har-Bell Athletic Goods.

July 23rd, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have found that the surface of Mars was molten for more than 100 million years after it formed, preventing any early life evolving on the planet. According to a report in Discovery News, the findings are based on an analysis of rare Martian meteorites at NASA's Johnson Space Center in the US.

July 15th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A team of researchers has discovered an unexpected concentration of a certain isotopic molecule in parts of the stratosphere that could have implications for understanding the carbon cycle and its response to climate change. By analyzing samples of air taken from the stratosphere-the layer of Earth's atmosphere that sits between six and 30 miles above the surface-the team found a much higher concentration of 16O13C18O at high latitudes than expected.

July 7th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study by an international team of researchers has suggested that fish may have become an important part of the year-round diet for early humans in China as far back as 40,000 years ago. Freshwater fish are an important part of the diet of many peoples around the world, but it has been unclear when fish became an important part of the year-round diet for early humans.

June 17th, 2009 LONDON - Reports indicate that a global network of sensors designed to verify nuclear testing has failed to pick up radioactive gases from North Korea's nuclear blast, which indicates that the country might have used conventional explosives to mimic a nuclear test. North Korea conducted what it claims was its second nuclear test on May 25 this year.

June 16th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Two geochemists have produced the first picture of how different isotopes of iron were initially distributed in the solid Earth 4.5 billion years ago, opening the door to new studies of planet's geologic history. The picture was produced by the two UC (University of California) Davis geochemists by using a super-computer to virtually squeeze and heat iron-bearing minerals under conditions that would have existed when the Earth crystallized from an ocean of magma to its solid form 4.5 billion years ago.

June 16th, 2009 VA to face lawmakers' questions on colonoscopiesWASHINGTON — Lawmakers sharply criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs on Tuesday about why a national scare over botched colonoscopies earlier this year didn't prompt stronger safeguards at the agency's medical centers. House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner said VA Secretary Eric Shinseki has pledged to take disciplinary action over the matter.

June 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists have determined that humans are disrupting the nitrogen cycle by altering the amount of nitrogen that is stored in the biosphere. The chief culprit for disruption in the nitrogen cycle is fossil fuel combustion, which releases nitric oxides into the air that combine with other elements to form smog and acid rain.

May 28th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new study, scientists have come up with a method that could be used to nab terrorists, by detecting how proportions of isotopes in a chemical like sulphur vary throughout the length of a single hair. The mid-term objective is to be able to use these methods to track the geographical movements of people, including international crime suspects and victims.

May 28th, 2009 LONDON - Variation in sulphur concentration in the hair can reveal one's recent diet and the places one has been to. A new laser tool based on this can be very handy to investigators tracking terrorists.