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Health physicists are establishing safe procedures for a promising experimental brain-cancer therapy which uses radioactive scorpion venom. The venom of the yellow Israeli scorpion preferentially attaches to the cells of a type of essentially incurable brain cancers known as gliomas. This preference can be exploited to killing brain cancer cells non-invasively. Information about the study will be presented this week at the Health Physics Society meeting in Providence, RI.

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Non-Hispanic black adults in the US have on average the best hearing in the nation, a new study shows, with women hearing better than men in general. Overall, the nation's hearing health remains about the same as it was 35 years ago, despite massive changes in society and technology.

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Which US groups have the best and worst hearing? How have researchers improved cell-phone sound quality without changing the existing infrastructure? These questions and more will be answered in a web pressroom and a press luncheon for the Acoustical Society of America meeting in Providence, RI.

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1) How does the hearing health of today's adults compare to those of thirty years ago?; 2) How can echoes disrupt offensive chants at a sporting event?; 3) How does the bowing technique of expert violinists differ from that of amateurs? These and other questions will be addressed at the 151st Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

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Deadlines have been extended for two American Institute of Physics Science Writing Awards: those for journalist-written books and for broadcast media pieces in physics, astronomy and related fields.

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Researchers will announce some of the latest breakthroughs and innovations in optics-based communications at OFC/NFOEC 2006--the largest and most comprehensive international event for optical communications.

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Three Senate bills would substantially increase federal investments in physical science research and education, increase tax incentives for industry to invest in research and development, and establish a new class of student visas for doctoral candidates studying math, engineering, technology and science.

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The Acoustical Society of America sponsors two annual awards for outstanding popular works on acoustics. One is for a popular piece on acoustics composed by a journalist and the other is for a popular piece on acoustics composed by an acoustics professional.

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A decision in US federal court today ruled that the concept of "Intelligent Design" does not belong in public school science classrooms. the strong peer-reviewed science of evolution does not conflict with religious belief, many scientists assert, but science belongs in science classes, while religious concepts should be discussed elsewhere.

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A new optical device might allow astronomers to view extrasolar planets directly without the annoying glare of the parent star. By "nulling" out the light of the parent star by exploiting the light's wave nature, remaining reflected light from the planet can be observed in space-based detectors.

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A mathematical model predicting the Cy Young award yielded both of the 2005 winners, Chris Carpenter and Bartolo Colon. But the inventors made a small human error they would later regret: before the awards, they overrode the model's AL prediction, choosing Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera rather than the model's choice, Colon"”the actual winner.

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Husband-and-wife team combine love of baseball, math to predict sportswriters' voting results.

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How many people do airplanes wake up nightly? How different must two drug names sound to prevent doctors and patients from confusing them? What sound can bacteria generate to help workers monitor waste-management equipment? These questions and others will be answered at the annual meeting of the Acoustical Society of America.

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1) Lifting fingerprints without touching the surface; 2) Detecting Alzheimer's early by looking in the eye; 3) Capturing natural lighting in computer-animated movies.