Environmentalists insist that we can do something to prevent – even reverse – global warming, while skeptics say that the current global warming trend is a natural process.

Although numerous other studies have supported environmentalists, one study by the Earth System Science Center (ESSC) of the University of Alabama lends some degree of strength to the voices of the skeptics.

Lead researcher Roy Spencer and his colleague William Braswell wrote in the geography journal Remote Sensing that cloud variations are more of a cause of global warming than an effect – concluding that the role of these clouds is an “unresolved problem” with regards to global warming.

The critique of other scientists and Spencer’s own undisclosed background, however, serve to weaken his argument.

Scientists point out that the large and growing set of scientific insights on global warming cannot be empirically refuted by a single set of satellite data.

Kevin Trenberth and John Fasullo of the National Center for Atmospheric Research’s Climate Analysis Section say that “It is evident that this paper did not get an adequate peer review. It should not have been published.”

And while Spencer says that he has “never been asked by an oil company to perform any kind of service” in his blog, he does fail to disclose that he has a hand in leading climate skeptic groups funded by Exxon Mobil – a noted oil company.

To most people, the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is some random machine that nobody knows what the heck it’s for.

To the people that do know what the world’s largest particle accelerator is for, it is the answer to questions that have been burning the scientific community – and the LHC is performing far better than expected.

The LHC is scheduled to collect 5 inverse femtobarns (350,000,000,000,000 or 350,000 billion collisions) by the end of 2012. It has now collected 2.5 inverse femtobarns.

The current run of collision tests to detect the Higgs Boson (a.k.a. “God”) particle is estimated to be completed by October should nothing go wrong.

The problem, however, is that the Higgs Boson has been ruled out in broad areas of the mass-energy spectrum. This simply means that the Higgs, if it exists at all, is in a range that makes it harder to detect.

“If the Higgs exists, the LHC experiments will soon find it. If it does not, its absence will point the way to new physics,” says CERN research director Sergio Bertolucci.

The presence or absence of the Higgs Boson plays a pivotal role in particle physics – a branch of science that exists to give us a better picture of matter around us, which in turn will allow us to manipulate matter in ways we have yet to imagine.

Sunscreen lotion works relatively well – for a few hours, at least. Then you have the messy affair of applying it all over your body in a rather awkward fashion.

If one British research team gets its way, however, then we could see a pill that can provide weeks of cream-free, sunglass-free protection against cancer and solar-aggravated skin conditions.

British scientists have discovered how corals shield themselves from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. It all starts with compounds created by algae found on the corals. The corals then pick up these compounds and modify them to form a sunscreen-like substance that protects both coral and algae.

Even the fish that feed on the corals pick up the UV-resistant properties of the compounds; showing proof that it can be passed “up the food chain.”

Researcher Dr. Paul Long says that the team is very close to recreating the compound in the laboratory.

“There would have to be a lot of toxicology tests done first but I imagine a sunscreen tablet might be developed in five years or so,” says Dr. Long. “Nothing like it exists at the moment.”

There is one potential downside though: the pill does nothing to tan the skin, meaning those seeking to bronze their skin need to find alternate ways to ‘fake’ their tans.

A lot of science fiction authors have unofficially been inspired by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) program, but it’s NASA’s turn to inspire them this time ‘round.

NASA has partnered up with Tor-Forge – a publisher specializing in the science fiction genre – in order to release the “NASA Insipired Works of Fiction”.

NASA hopes to reach out to the youth and spark interest in mathematics, engineering, technology and science by partnering its Subject Matter Experts (SME’s aka “space geeks) with various sci-fi authors.

An article in Tor-Forge’s blog goes on to explain that “a select group of Tor/Forge authors – some of whom already write science based fiction – to learn more about science and space exploration.”

NASA will even be kind enough to provide access to data, facilities and experts on educational design and evaluation; adding even more scientific clout to whatever the authors will have in mind.

What’s NASA’s take on all this? Simple: the prospect of future brains to fuel the agency’s needs.

“Ultimately this agreement will benefit taxpayers as we look for innovative ways to train students for the science challenges of the future,” says Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) IPP chief Nona Cheeks.

That certainly has a more concrete sense of purpose than, say, glorifying sparkling vampires.

Political correctness aside, it is very hard for a most women to score a date when they publicize the fact that they are smart – especially in traditionally masculine fields like science, technology, engineering and math (STEM).

And it looks like a study from research news site Futirity.com makes it difficult to get that politically incorrect belief out from most people’s minds.

The study went like this: participants in one study would fill out a questionnaire assessing their STEM interest after “overhearing” a conversation about a date. This makes them the “romantic goal condition” group. Other participants in the same study will fill out the same questionnaire, except this time they will do so after “overhearing” a conversation about a test. This makes them the “intelligence goal condition” group.

The same study was repeated in another batch, with a “romantic goal condition” group and “friendship goal condition” groups this time around.

The results? The women in the romantic goal condition group would have a more negative view of STEM and less interest in pursuing STEM-related careers. The various condition groups had no effect on the men’s interest and views of STEM at all.

The study did not go so far as to explain why women appear to dumb themselves down when faced with romantic goals, but society and the way women are expected to behave in society definitely have a role to play here.

Bone marrow transplant used to be the only solution that leukemia patients could turn to – along with the pain, risk of infection, lengthy process and 50/50 chance of failure involved.

A new procedure involving modified white blood cells could forever change all that.

Doctors at the University of Pennsylvania targeted the most common form of leukemia, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), in their studies. They extracted certain white blood cells from a patient’s body, inserted a series of genes via a harmless version of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and injected the blood cells back into the patient.

Initial tests on three patients show a complete wipeout of all leukemia cells in two patients and a 70% drop in the third – an unprecedented feat considering that each patient received only one treatment of the modified white blood cells.

Abramson Cancer Center immunologist Dr. Carl June says that the results “exceeded our wildest expectations,” especially since the patients had lost as much as five pounds of cancerous tissue that seemed to just melt away after the treatment.

Limited funding has prevented the researchers from testing the treatment on a wider base, but the results of these tests could mean both government and private funding will inevitably start pouring in for the team behind the treatment.