Physorg

A ladybird's colour indicates how well-fed and how toxic it is, according to an international team of scientists. Research led by the Universities of Exeter and Liverpool directly shows that differences between animals' warning signals reveal how poisonous individuals are to predators.

Teen school drop-outs are almost three times as likely to be on benefits in later life as their peers who complete their schooling, indicates research published online in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

A drug that has been shown to prevent breast cancer in postmenopausal women at high risk of developing the disease, and is poised for widespread use, appears to significantly worsen age-related bone loss, according to an Article published Online First in The Lancet Oncology.

Frequent house moves during childhood seem to increase the risk of poor health in later life, suggests research published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.

Infants allowed to feed themselves with finger foods from the start of weaning (baby led weaning) are likely to eat more healthily and be an appropriate weight as they get older than infants spoon-fed purees, indicates a small study published in BMJ Open.

(AP) -- Coinstar's fourth-quarter earnings nearly tripled as its Redbox kiosks for renting DVDs picked up customers who stopped getting their discs through Netflix's rival service.

(PhysOrg.com) -- For the past four years, founders of the start-up company Nicira have been developing cutting-edge software that they predict will transform the networking technology underlying the Internet. Today Nicira has debuted the software, called the Network Virtualization Platform (NVP). As its name implies, the NVP software acts as a virtual network by simulating the routers, switches, and other physical hardware used in data center networks. Yet the virtual network is completely independent of the physical network hardware. This software-defined networking means that operators can reconfigure any piece of a network programmatically rather than having to manually reconfigure the physical hardware.

Taiwan's leading smartphone maker HTC forecast Monday that its revenue in the three months to March may plunge 30 percent from a year ago, as competitors Apple and Samsung take their grip on the market.

Tropical Storm 11P has formed in the South Pacific Ocean, and NASA's Aqua satellite captured an infrared image of its cloud temperatures, revealing power in the cyclone.

Hurricane season in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico doesn't begin until June 1, 2012, but a low pressure area in the Gulf called System 90L, is being watched on February 5 and 6 for possible development into sub-tropical depression although the chances are now slim to none. Data from the GOES-13 satellite was created into an image at NASA, and it showed System 90L raining on south Florida today.

NASA's Aqua satellite passed over strengthening Tropical Storm Jasmine and noticed bands of thunderstorms wrapping into its center as it heads toward Vanuatu and New Caledonia.

In a study of the harsh but beautiful White Sands National Monument in New Mexico, University of Pennsylvania researchers have uncovered a unifying mechanism to explain dune patterns. The new work represents a contribution to basic science, but the findings may also hold implications for identifying when dune landscapes like those in Nebraska's Sand Hills may reach a "tipping point" under climate change, going from valuable grazing land to barren desert.

Researchers at Yale School of Medicine have, for the first time, described the genetic basis of endometriosis, a condition affecting millions of women that is marked by chronic pelvic pain and infertility. The researchers' discovery of a new gene mutation provides hope for new screening methods.

Preventing violent outbreaks of "spectator rage", similar to the deadly riots that broke out following a soccer game in Egypt, requires assessment and action by sports team owners and stadium managers, according to a report in the forthcoming issue of the Journal of Service Research.

Closing elementary and secondary schools can help slow the spread of infectious disease and should be considered as a control measure during pandemic outbreaks, according to a McMaster University led study.

The American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that clinicians add metformin as the initial drug treatment for most patients with type 2 diabetes when lifestyle modifications such as diet, exercise, and weight loss have failed to adequately improve high blood sugar.

A new UCSF analysis has found that a state ballot initiative to increase the cigarette tax would create about 12,000 jobs and nearly $2 billion in new economic activity in California.

Scientists at the Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have investigated the strategies used by people who suffer from dental fear to cope with dental treatment. Some of the most important factors in managing stress during a visit to the dentist include optimism on the part of the patient and an atmosphere of humour in the interaction with the dental staff.

(AP) -- A new Internet streaming venture built around Redbox's DVD-rental kiosks adds to a crowded field of online video-viewing services dominated by Netflix.

As researchers work to eliminate malaria worldwide, new strategies are needed to find and treat individuals who have malaria, but show no signs of the disease. The prevalence of asymptomatic or minimally symptomatic malaria can be as high as 35 percent in populations with malaria and these asymptomatic individuals can serve as a reservoir for spreading malaria even in areas where disease transmission has declined.