Science News

SANDY SPRING, Md., Dec. 31 (UPI) -- With the number of centenarians growing, scientists have been researching the secrets of living to age 100 and beyond, the Baltimore Sun says.

LONDON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Conservationists in Britain are reporting an exponential increase in the population of swans, which are currently under protection by the Royal Charter.

CHICAGO, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A magnetic resonance imaging machine at the University of Illinois at Chicago tracks neurons in a way that reveals how real-time thoughts form, a report says.

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Thinning kelp beds off Southern California are expected to flourish again after completion of one of the country's biggest artificial kelp reefs.

LONDON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Scientists say humankind will be a predominately urban species in 25 years, with roughly 60 percent living in towns or cities, a report out of Britain says.

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists is advising all pregnant women to undergo Down syndrome testing of their unborn children.

LONDON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- Britain's public health minister will announce this week that the country's legal minimum age to buy cigarettes will be raised from 16 to 18, a report says.

BARCELONA, Spain, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A 67-year-old woman has become the world's oldest mother after giving birth to twins in a Barcelona, Spain, hospital, a report says.

MOSCOW, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The director of Russia's Federal Space Agency wished the crew of the International Space station a happy New Year.

LAS VEGAS, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- A federal judge in Las Vegas has ruled that the roundup of wild horses and burros in Nevada's Spring Mountains can proceed.

LONDON, Dec. 30 (UPI) -- At least four species of bats in Britain have reversed decades of declining populations and have grown in numbers recently.

COLLEGE STATION, Texas, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Anyone listing getting in shape as a 2007 goal should start with a properly fitted pair of shoes, health experts at Texas A&M University said.

CHICAGO, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Patients seeking vision correction surgery had good results from both LASIK and LASEK procedures, a study by the University of Illinois at Chicago showed.

IOWA CITY, Iowa, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Adults living with children eat more fat than adults who don't have children in their households, a study by two U.S. universities said.

PARIS, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- A space telescope designed to seek out planets not much bigger than Earth has been launched into space from a location in Kazakhstan.