DECEMBER
2003
This section
features key science stories from The Daily Telegraph's
online news service at www.telegraph.co.uk.
Click on the links for the full story.
Dust
chaser swoops down on to the tail of a comet
A heavily-shielded space probe is about to fly through the tail
of a comet more than 240 million miles away, capturing interstellar
particles and comet dust for eventual return to Earth
31 Dec
2003
Knighthood
for stem cell pioneer
Prof Martin Evans, an unsung stalwart of research that has potential
to treat a widespread range of diseases, is awarded a knighthood
31 Dec
2003
Hang
on a second, what's the real time?
The stakes are high because lives could be put at risk by scientists
tinkering with 'leap seconds'. Roger Highfield reports
31 Dec
2003
Orbiter
joins Beagle hunt
Europe's Mars Express spacecraft successfully entered a polar
orbit of Mars in a move that should allow it to start searching
for Beagle 2 next week
31 Dec
2003
EU-Chinese
joint satellite launched
China and the European Union launched their first joint satellite,
a symbol of growing closeness between two regional powers that
see themselves as potential counterweights to the US
31 Dec
2003
Is
Beagle 2 trapped in a Martian crater?
Beagle 2 may have been swallowed up by a giant crater as it
floated to the surface of Mars, said British scientists
30 Dec
2003
Beagle's
team pins hopes on mother ship
The latest scan for a signal from Britain's lost Beagle 2 Mars
probe by the Jodrell Bank Observatory in Cheshire ended in the
small hours of the morning without any contact
29
Dec 2003
'We
tested it all, but...'
Adam Lusher joins the brave faces at Beagle's London base
28
Dec 2003
Leicester,
we have a problem
The frenzied efforts by Beagle 2's control centre to detect
its faint electronic bark from the surface of Mars have so far
failed, but why? Robert Matthews investigates the mishaps that
dogged the project
28 Dec
2003
Beagle
silence 'not good news'
A leading member of the Beagle 2 team has described the failure
of more attempts to find Britain's lost Mars probe as "not
good news"
27 Dec
2003
Hopes
for British Mars probe receding
Hopes for the British Mars probe Beagle 2 were starting to fade
after it failed to make contact with scientists for the second
day running
27 Dec
2003
Still
no signal
Scientists still hoping for contact with Britain's missing Mars
probe Beagle 2 are tonight making another attempt to communicate
with the craft using the Lovell Telescope at Jodrell Bank
26 Dec
2003
Mission
to Mars: British probe could be first to answer the question
about alien life
The Japanese called their Mars mission Nozomi - the Japanese
for hope. The Americans went for Spirit and Opportunity. And
Britain? The UK named its probe after a dog
26 Dec
2003
The
brilliant 'yokel' who set his heart on a Journey into Space
all of his own
With his straggling greying hair, sideburns you could hide a
small puppy in and a thick Bristol accent, the saviour of British
space science cuts an unlikely figure
26 Dec
2003
Scientists
still hoping for first contact with Beagle
Scientists were left disappointed yesterday after Beagle 2,
the first UK spacecraft to voyage to another planet, failed
to make contact with home
26
Dec 2003
Beagle
off the leash
Beagle 2, the British probe that will
seek out life on Mars, was ejected from its mother ship on Friday
and started the final leg of its journey.
23 Dec
2003
Space
telescope sends images of hidden cosmos
A new window to the universe opened yesterday with the release
of the first dazzling images from Nasa's Spitzer space telescope,
formerly known as the Space Infrared Telescope Facility
19
Dec 2003
Beagle
2 prepares for the final push to Mars
Britain's mission to land a spacecraft on Mars reaches its first
nail-biting moment today when the Beagle 2 probe is ejected
and sent hurtling towards the Red Planet
19
Dec 2003
A
rough guide to the Solar System
In a Christmas lecture, Monica Grady will take a young Royal
Institution audience on a voyage through space. Here is an exclusive
extract
17
Dec 2003
Ministers
raid health research millions
Ministers were criticised for raiding millions of pounds earmarked
for medical research and using it to solve hospital funding
problems
15
Dec 2003
The
curse of Mars
The British-led Beagle 2 probe is about to enter the last, and
most risky, stage of its six-month-long, 250-million-mile journey.
Robert Matthews meets Professor Colin Pillinger, the driving
force behind the mission to the Red Planet
14
Dec 2003
Fridges
'linked to Crohn's disease'
Refrigerators may be to blame for the rise of Crohn's disease
over the last 50 years, researchers have claimed
12
Dec 2003
'People
will be put off finding help'
Sarah is 15 and has been taking the antidepressant Cipramil
since August.
11
Dec 2003
Antidepressants
do children 'more harm than good'
Doctors were told yesterday not to give some of the most common
antidepressants to children after a review found that their
risks outweighed the benefits.
11
Dec 2003
Artificial
sperm offers hope on infertility treatment
The ability to grow artificial sperm to enable men to overcome
infertility is now a step closer
11
Dec 2003
DNA
kits may force P D James to cut to the chase
Baroness James of Holland Park, the crime writer P D James,
has always had a good idea of whodunit.
10
Dec 2003
Ban
on stem cell work 'would be disastrous'
Pioneering British research that could revolutionise the treatment
of disease is being threatened by European plans to ban experiments
on cloned embryo stem cells, say leading scientists.
09
Dec 2003
Never-ending
battle to beat the 'superbugs'
Scientists are engaged in a never-ending battle to keep one
step ahead of bacteria, as the bugs develop resistance to one
antibiotic after another
06
Dec 2003
425m-year-old
penis found
A 425-million-year-old fossilised penis, the oldest ever recorded,
has been discovered by scientists
05
Dec 2003
Prehistoric
rhino fills giant gap in the
story of Africa
A new species of the rhino-like Arsinoitherium has been found
in the highlands of Ethiopia, one of a range of fossils from
27 million years ago that fill a gap in our understanding of
evolution.
04
Dec 2003
British
probe survives solar storms
on the final approach
David Derbyshire talks to Professor Colin Pillinger, head of
the Beagle 2 project, about the next delicate stage of its experiments
03
Dec 2003
Mother
Nature's eye problem
Evolution deprived our eyes of the ability to regenerate. Roger
Highfield looks at how Telegraph readers can help scientists
overcome this hurdle
03
Dec 2003
Echinacea
'useless for treating colds'
Echinacea, one of the most popular herbal remedies, is useless
at treating colds in children, a study shows
03
Dec 2003
Microbeam
can drive cancer cells to suicide
A futuristic "microbeam" that zaps individual cancer
cells with a stream of particles could revolutionise radiotherapy
02
Dec 2003
Stem
cells are used to grow new joint
The ball of a joint has been grown in a laboratory from cells,
showing how tissue engineering could help repair jaws, knees
and hips
01
Dec 2003
Working
out 'may lead to a physical addiction'
Working out at the gym every day could lead to a physical addiction
to exercise, according to a recent scientific study
01
Dec 2003
