Everyone has fears of their own, but have you were wondered why our fears tend to change as we grow older? According to a study conducted by Virginia Commonwealth University, the answer lies in human genes. More on the human genome in the full article after the jump.

According to a study conducted by researchers from West Virginia, the game Dance Dance Revolution, has been able to affect children in positive ways. It cuts down the fat in the body and at the same time, it is able to raise their confidence levels. Find out the details of their study in the full article.

Apparently, a zero-G flight isn't enough for Richard Garriott. The well-known game developer has just shelled out about US$ 30 million to become the sixth paying visitor to the International Space Station. Read more in the full article.

A strain of Staph infection has been reportedly spreading across schools nationwide, coupled with reports of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) type infections diagnosed in recent patients. The infection touched Staunton River High School in Moneta, Virginia and Ashton Bonds, a 17-year old student in that school, died on Monday after being diagnosed with MRSA.

Students at Staunton River High organized a protest over SMS waves and popular social Internet sites, and a day after they took Bedford County district superintendent James Blevins for a tour of the school's state of sanitation. Soon, Staunton River High and all other schools in the county were closed down for thorough sanitation measures. The county officials chose a commercial cleaning company to clean out Staunton High with the 21 other schools will be handled by their janitors.

MSRA is a strain of Staphylococcus bacteria that can be passed simply by skin contact or through passing of material was touched by infected people. It doesn't respond to antibiotics or penicillin but does respond to other drug treatments. Back in 2005 when a major MRSA outbreak occurred, 19,000 people had died from the strain. This may be no eye-eater, but its worse than you would think.

One of the most popular childhood dreams would be to fly outside the earth and see up close the beautiful wonders we can only see from the ground. Up to now, technological advances have been making that out-of-the world trip easier and more accessible. Finally, it's possible for tourists to break through the atmosphere and circle the moon - thing is, a seat costs US$ 100 million.

Russia's Soyuz spacecraft will be taking a couple of passengers and a pilot to a private circumlunar expedition thanks to Space Adventures from Vienna, Virginia. The ride is yet to see the big blue world from beyond the clouds, but there's no need to worry. Eric Anderson, Space Adventures President and CEO said:

The Soyuz was originally designed as a circumlunar spacecraft. It hasn't flown with people around the Moon, of course. But the Soyuz would fly a free-return trajectory - a boomerang course - around the Moon. So there's not a lot that needs to be done to the Soyuz to accommodate for that...it could probably fly around the Moon right now. There will be some upgrades to the communications systems...and we would make the window bigger too.

A test drive in unpiloted mode is likely, but Anderson doesn't see it as necessary. Seats are booked until 2009 and no problems are foreseen. The plan is two to four flights a year, but talks about increasing the numbers are ongoing according to Anderson. Flights are going to be a two-passenger mission, thus amounting to US$200 million.

Success of these private expeditions can "change the way the whole world thinks about private spaceflight," he added. The big man also said something promising for those who can't afford so much to walk outside the reaches of gravity. "It is definitely doable for under the $200 million price tag."

So, empty those pockets and fly away! Just make sure you don't burn, and make it back safe.

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine  Science Center keeps a myriad of species in its tanks and takes good care of them. One way to make sure that all's well with the fish is by having an annual checkup where the critters are sedated and examined. A blacktip shark named Tidbit reacted badly to the chemicals and died shortly after. Upon examining the body, veterinarian Bob George was petrified.

What he found bulging in Tidbit's abdomen was not her stomach but a full pup which was apparently near birth. The pregnancy would explain the bad effect of the sedatives to the shark. What was more strange was that there were no males in the tank that could have been her mate.

Though there were other male sharks in the same tank, Blacktips only breed with sharks of the same species, so there has to be something unnatural about the scenario. Scientists suggest only two possibilities: There was cross-breeding in the equation or more amazingly, Tidbit conceived on her own.

Parts of Tidbit and her pup have already been sent to labs for DNA testing. If there are no traces of males coming into play, we may have the second official case of parthenogenesis, or asexual reproduction in sexual animals. The first incident of this kind happening was recorded in a Nebraska zoo.

If parthenogenesis is rare, cross-breeding is even more unlikely. No documented cases have ever been recorded, and as aquarist Heather Thomas puts it, "It's not natural."

"If you've got a shark that needs to swim to breathe and cross it with a shark that can lay on the bottom to breathe, what are you going to get? Are you going to get these weird mutations?" Thomas comments.

Our solar system is not static, it travels through space at about 62 MPH (100,000 KPH). Merav Opher and her research team from Virginia's George Mason University has found that our system has a "bullet like" shape because of the said movement.

Our system travels "within a bubble of solar wind" which is composed of charged particles from the sun. This is known as the Heliosphere. Opher has said that the solar system's magnetic field is inclined at a 60 degree angle relative to the plane of the Galaxy">Milky Way. Now, when this bubble meets with the Milky Way galaxy's magnetic field, our system takes on a "bullet shape" or as Opher puts it - a "streamlined shape."

She added that "The shape of the solar system, this bullet, is really shaped by what lies ahead of us—the interstellar magnetic field. The [prevailing] idea is that the environment just outside our solar system is patchy and turbulent." Now, you may wonder what causes this turbulence? Opher explained that "there are lots of stars exploding and dying outside our solar system."

This news shouldn't surprise a lot of our budding scientists out there since it's a given fact that objects tend to go into the most stable state. If our solar system is moving at a relatively constant speed, wouldn't it be logical to assume that it would take a streamlined form to help facilitate its movement?

Just as there is a weird "Sneak A Zucchini Into Your Neighbor's Porch" day (August 8), there is also an official "Pi Day", where Pi fanatics pay their respects to Pi. Yes, we're talking about Pi, the relationship between a circle's circumference and diameter, and no, we're not kidding. March 14 (3.14) is known all over the world as the official Pi day.

Pi has always fascinated lots of people. It's a string of numbers one trillion digits long (and still counting). For decades, Pi has weirded out lots of scientists because there seems to be no relationship between the digits. Many have also followed the Pi Cult, memorizing and accurately predicting Pi digits up to thousands of places.

Pi fanatics say that they're hooked on predicting Pi digits because each step took you closer to the answer. A software engineer in Virginia named Mike Keith even wrote a poem to Pi. The poem, 4,000 words long, is his personal love letter to the number. The length in letters of each word corresponds to Pi's digits.

All around the world on March 14, Pi fanatics would be celebrating their love for Pi by eating Pi-themed food (we guess: pie), wearing Pi-themed jewelry and clothing, holding Pi recitation contests, composing even more ditties for Pi, and gathering at the Pi Shrine, a brass plaque engraved with Pi's first 100 digits. We wish everyone a happy Pi Day on March 14!

The crisis of today's kids facing obesity is a daily issue some of us have to contend with. As you're reading this, maybe your own kid or sibling is down in the living room, with butt firmly glued to the sofa, and staring right at the TV set. We don't need Captain Obvious to tell us that kids these days (that includes kids of all ages, 1 to 92) need exercise in their lives.

With this, the exergaming project was launched. The results of the 24-week gaming-exercise project have finally been revealed by Konami. Surprise of all surprises, you do lose weight with exercise-friendly games, more specifically something like Dance Dance Revolution.

Test subjects in the project were required to play DDR for at least 30 minutes each day, five times a week. The factors that West Virginia University (the guys administering the tests) monitored weight, blood pressure, body mass index, arterial function, fitness levels and attitudes towards exercise among the kids.

Results? The found out that the DDR workout had improved their general health and reduced risks for lifestyle-related diseases. They now have evidence that, if kept consistent, playing the game improves arterial function and blood flow among the overweight children. Not that all the test subjects they had lost weight, however, what's important is that none of them gained any.

What's interesting here, though, is what some would call the "non-quantifiable" results (data that can't be measured in numbers and figures). They've observed that, after the testing period, some of the participants which have felt awkward about exercising before now actually have confidence in continuing their battle against obesity. They've exhibited a new desire to maintain their health regiment.

"No pain, no gain," or so they say. Get the dance mat out, and time to bust a groove!

The X-Files may have been cancelled, but real-life mysteries worthy of Agent Fox Mulder's attention continue.

The town of Achilles in Gloucester County, Virginia is being terrorized by an unknown animal that has savagely killed pets, livestock and poultry.

The attacks started right after wildfires burned through much of the town last spring. The mystery creature's first victims were mostly small animals such as rabbits, cats and a puppy. But just a few weeks ago, the creature moved up from bite-size snacks to full-course prey - goats.

Last week a full-grown, 80-pound, pregnant Angora goat was found ripped apart near a pile of wood. Eyewitness accounts say it wasn't a pretty picture. "It had been torn to shreds, the whole backside had been torn to shreds," said its owner. The mystery killer is known to jump five-foot-high fences and wrestle animals to the ground.

The series of attacks has frightened the rural community. Parents are keeping their children close, hoping the next target won't be a little boy or girl. One parent said the part of the goat that was eaten was half the size of her daughter. "If it were to get a child, they would have no hope," another resident with five children said.

Although the main suspect is a coyote, no one knows for sure because the live animal traps set by the Gloucester County Animal Control have come up empty so far.