Interesting science news, research tidbits and science discussion. http://www.scienceagogo.com Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria known to be harmful to humans, a new study claims. And, according to the researchers, some of the organisms identified are resilient enough to survive the burning process... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091019221010data_trunc_sys.shtml Titanium dioxide nanoparticles - found in common household products such as cosmetics, sunscreen and vitamins - were found to cause systemic genetic damage in mice... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091018230147data_trunc_sys.shtml Human performance experts say that the artificial lower limbs of double-amputee Oscar Pistorius give him a major advantage over his competition - taking at least 10 seconds off the time for a 400-meter sprint... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091018005812data_trunc_sys.shtml Adding to an earlier investigation that linked two common phthalates to abnormal male genital development, the same researchers now say that those chemicals can also alter masculine brain development, making boys less likely to play with male-typical toys and games... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091017023900data_trunc_sys.shtml Physicists have demonstrated a "universal" programmable quantum information processor that uses two quantum bits of information to run any program allowed by quantum mechanics... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091015193716data_trunc_sys.shtml When Rosetta swings by Earth today for a critical gravity assist, orbital data will be collected that could help unravel a cosmic mystery that has stumped scientists for two decades... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091012193943data_trunc_sys.shtml A groundbreaking study into Bisphenol-A exposure amongst Chinese factory workers has found that men working in environments where the chemical was present had quadruple the risk of erectile dysfunction and seven times more risk of ejaculation difficulty... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091011181440data_trunc_sys.shtml A new paper argues that high levels of cooperation and low levels of conflict - from the genetic level on up - give a living thing its "organismality," whether it's an animal, a plant, a bacterium, or a colony... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091010020005data_trunc_sys.shtml Finger length ratio is a reliable predictor of how a primate will behave socially, say scientists who have been running the tape-measure over groups of baboons and gibbons... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091008205349data_trunc_sys.shtml New experiments suggest that regardless of sexual orientation, men's brains are wired for attraction to sexually dimorphic faces - those with facial features that are most synonymous with their gender... http://www.scienceagogo.com/news/20091005174839data_trunc_sys.shtml