Gresham College : Audio and Video
[Sigh. Long ages stuff]
Ancient Insect Hails From Sunken Island -- Coelho 2008 (1217): 2 -- ScienceNOW
The Lord Howe tree lobster appears to be harboring even more surprises. As part of an analysis of the evolutionary origin of stick insects, biologist Thomas Buckley of Landcare Research, New Zealand's main research institute for environmental science, and colleagues collected DNA from three tree lobster groups, including D. australis, and about 70 other stick insect species. The team found that D. australis was more than 20 million years old, 13 million years older than the rocks on Lord Howe Island. [Rock on, radiometric dating!]
Blame the Sun for a Cloudy Day? -- Berardelli 2008 (1217): 1 -- ScienceNOW
Now geographer Robert Baker of the University of New England, Armidale, in Australia, has linked solar magnetic activity to Earth's climate--at least regionally. Using sunspot counts and Australian meteorological data, as well as NASA satellite data for more recent years, he tracked sunspots and rainfall in Australia from 1876 to 2006. In this month's issue of Geographical Research, Baker reports that the amount of rainfall in most regions of the country tracked the 22-year magnetic cycle almost exactly. "It was unbelievable," Baker says. At the height of magnetic activity, rainfall across most of the country was plentiful. At the other end of the cycle, many of those same regions experienced severe droughts. The findings are particularly compelling, Baker says, because even though the lengths of the magnetic cycles are not precise and can vary by several years, the rainfall patterns followed them.
Galaxy Clusters Throttled by Dark Energy -- Bhattacharjee 2008 (1216): 1 -- ScienceNOW
"What we saw was an unmistakable effect of dark energy," says Vikhlinin, whose team is publishing the results in two papers in the 10 February 2009 issue of The Astrophysical Journal. The timing of dark energy's dampening effect on cluster growth coincides with findings by supernovae researchers showing that the universe's expansion had been decelerating before beginning to accelerate 5.5 billion years ago.
First cases of touch-emotion synaesthesia discovered - health - 18 December 2008 - New Scientist
For a 22-year-old woman known as AW, denim evokes feelings of depression, disgust and worthlessness. Corduroy causes confusion, and silk provides utter contentment. She is one of two people known to experience a newly discovered form of synaesthesia, where textures give rise to strong emotions.
Advanced Lithium-Ion Technology to Make Commercial Debut In 2009 : CleanTechnica
Imara Corp. has announced a new generation of lithium-ion (li-ion) batteries made specifically for high power devices such as lawnmowers, power tools, hybrid vehicles and even grid storage. The company uses unique materials science technology to provide high-power, high-energy and extended cycle-life batteries and battery packs.
Designers Create Solar Power Generating Sunglasses : CleanTechnica
The SIG, or ’self-energy converting sunglasses,’ contain integrated dye-solar cells and can be simply connected to the power jack in an iPod or PSP, allowing devices to be charged without the need to hook up to the mains supply.
Giant Austroraptor discovered in Argentina - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The Austroraptor was found in rock formations dating to 70 million years' ago, making it one of the last dinosaurs to walk in Patagonia before they became extinct at the end of the Cretaceous period 145 to 65 million years' ago.
Hawaiian drillers hit magma chamber - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Geologists normally have to study such rock when it has been exposed by millions of years of erosion and is cold and dead.
BREAKTHROUGH OF THE YEAR: Reprogramming Cells -- Vogel 322 (5909): 1766 -- Science
By inserting genes that turn back a cell's developmental clock, researchers are gaining insights into disease and the biology of how a cell decides its fate.
Carbon cycling and snowball Earth : Abstract : Nature
The possibility that Earth witnessed episodes of global glaciation during the latest Precambrian challenges our understanding of the physical processes controlling the Earth's climate. Peltier et al. 1 suggest that a 'hard snowball Earth' state may have been prevented owing to the release of CO2 from the oxidation of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the ocean as the temperature decreased. Here we show that the model of Peltier et al. is not self-consistent as it implies large fluctuations of the ocean alkalinity content without providing any processes to account for it. Our findings suggest that the hard snowball Earth hypothesis is still valid.
Saturn Moon Revealed as Watery World: Discovery News
Evidence is mounting that Saturn's moon Enceladus has water somewhere beneath its frozen surface, analysis of recent flybys by the Cassini spacecraft shows.
Earth's Magnetic Field Flawed : Discovery News
Scientists have learned that it's not just the size and the strength of the sun's eruptions that threaten power grids, disable satellites and scramble radio signals on Earth. In a startling reversal of generally accepted theory, researchers using a fleet of solar-watching satellites have learned that thick gobs of solar plasma have easy and regular access into Earth's magnetosphere, thanks to a trick of nature.
NASA Scientists Ask: Is Life Possibile on Saturn's Moon, Enceladus?
NASA's Cassini spacecraft discovered a surprising organic brew erupting in geyser-like fashion from Saturn's moon Enceladus during a close flyby on March 12, 2008. Scientists were stunned that this tiny moon is so active, "hot" and teeming with water vapor and organic chemicals.
Has Evolution Hidden Post-hypnotic Suggestions in Our Behaviour
Evolution has hidden post-hypnotic suggestions in your behavior. You may think you're the absolute master of your emotions, but that whole "consciousness" thing is just a thin scraping of self-awareness over a huge network of evolved drives and compulsions.
Polygamy, Paternal Care In Birds Linked To Dinosaur Ancestors
Scientists had long wondered about the origins of polygamy and paternal care patterns among modern-day Paleognathes -- an ancient avian lineage that branched off soon after birds evolved from dinosaurs and includes ostriches, emus and tinamous. No such reproductive behavior exists among the vast majority of other vertebrates. Males contribute to parental care in less than 5 percent of mammal and non-avian reptile species, and while more than 90 percent of bird species co-parent to some degree, it is only among the Paleognathes that both polygamy and paternal care rule.
Snowball prevention questioned : Abstract : Nature
The 'snowball Earth' hypothesis1 interprets geological evidence as indicating multi-million-year episodes of global glaciation near the beginning and end of the Proterozoic eon. On the basis of a coupled carbon cycle–climate model, Peltier et al. 2 propose that temperature-dependent remineralization of organic carbon in a Neoproterozoic ocean with 100–1,000times more dissolved organic carbon than today3 could create a negative climate feedback, thereby preventing a snowball Earth. Their results are sensitive to initial conditions and model parameters4; moreover, important geological observations and components of the carbon cycle are not considered—notably the absence of sources or sinks of carbon. Their model results2 fall short of explaining the geological evidence in the absence of global glaciation.
Clean Break » Blog Archive » GE suspends development of “high-efficiency incandescent”
The century-old bulb that anchored the GE brand and made GE a global leader in lighting is, after one last gasp in 2007, officially dead.
World’s Largest CIGS Thin-Film Solar Array Goes Live : CleanTechnica
Global Solar Energy announced Wednesday the full operation of the largest solar electric array worldwide using CIGS photovoltaic technology. CIGS, or copper indium gallium diselenide thin-film solar cells are not dependent on silicon and instead use highly-available raw materials that are easily integrated into a wide range of applications.
Tokyo Train Station Testing Power-Generating Floor : CleanTechnica
East Japan Railway Company (JR East) has announced that it is installing piezoelectric elements in the floors of its Tokyo station in an attempt to generate power from passengers passing through ticket gates.
Seafloor Discovery Casts Doubt on Views of How Life Evolved
"Our paper gives the precedent of a protozoan that is motile, produces macroscopic traces, and has a large hydrostatically supported body," said Mikhail Matz of the University of Texas at Austin. "With these possibilities demonstrated, pretty much anything within the Precambrian fossil record can in principle be attributed to large protozoans, from the earliest traces and fossils of the Stirling formation that are 1.8 billion years old to the weird Ediacaran biota with which the Precambrian culminated."
Complex dance of embryo cells filmed in new detail - tech - 04 December 2008 - New Scientist
Growing up from embryo to finished animal is a complex business, even for the simplest of creatures. New movies capture the complex dance of migrating cells involved in new, beautiful detail.
'Rhythms' in Martian rocks mark out past climate swings - space - 04 December 2008 - New Scientist
The tilt of Mars's axis affected the planet's climate, changing patterns of snowfall, atmospheric pressure and winds, for example. But the exact process that led to the deposition of the steps is still unknown.
Cleaner air to turn iconic buildings green - environment - 04 December 2008 - New Scientist
Cities will become more colourful as pollution patterns change and wind-swept rain washes away the black coal soot typical of the 20th century. What's more, legal requirements to use clean fuels are likely to mean lichens and mosses will grow more easily, turning buildings green in parts.
Quantum Trick Makes Metals Become Insulators
The physicists succeeded in simulating one of the most dramatic electronic phenomena with the aid of this quantum simulator: when the interactions between the electrons become too strong, a metal can suddenly become insulating. The resulting so-called Mott insulator is probably the most important example of a state of strong electronic interactions in condensed matter physics, as it is a starting point for the investigation of quantum magnetism. In addition, high-temperature superconductivity is found to arise in close proximity to this insulator.
Opening Up The Last Part Of Electromagnetic Spectrum
New European research on THz waves could enable applications that include detecting tumours beneath the skin, a new and powerful kind of microscope for biological research, and quality control in semiconductor and pharmaceutical factories, as well as smart security scanners.
A Little Wine Boosts Omega-3 In The Body: Novel Mechanism For A Healthier Heart Found
Moderate alcohol intake is associated with higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids in plasma and red blood cells. This is the major finding of the European study IMMIDIET that will be published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
Lasers Uncover Craters -- Berardelli 2008 (1201): 2 -- ScienceNOW
Researchers have uncovered a pond-sized crater in the woods of central Alberta, Canada, carved out by a meteor that slammed into Earth about 1100 years ago. The technique they used to pinpoint the pit--a laser take on radar--figures to help scientists find evidence of hundreds of similar impacts that have remained hidden until now.
Revisiting the Psychological Toll of Abortion: Scientific American
In 2006 the American Psychological Association (APA) assembled a task force of researchers with wide-ranging expertise to evaluate all peer-reviewed studies published in English since 1989 (when the last such review was conducted) that compared the mental health of women who had an abortion with that of other women. It is clear that after an abortion some women experience sadness and grief and, in some cases, clinically significant disorders such as depression or anxiety. But the task force concluded in August that “among women who have a single, legal, first-trimester abortion of an unplanned pregnancy for nontherapeutic reasons, the relative risks of mental health problems are no greater than the risks among women who deliver an unplanned pregnancy.” The evidence for the risk associated with multiple abortions is more equivocal.
Warning: A little water can hurt babies -- so don't dilute infant formula: Scientific American Blog
Parents beware: diluting infant formula can be deadly. Just ask a cash-strapped Tampa, Fla., woman who, in an attempt to save money and stretch out meals for her hungry five-month-old son, watered down his formula, unwittingly causing a potentially fatal condition known as water intoxication.
BBC NEWS : Technology : A step closer to self-powered kit
"self-powered" devices, such as phones that charge when you speak into them, are one step closer to reality.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Ancient supernova mystery solved
In 1572, a "new star" appeared in the sky which stunned astronomers and exploded ancient theories of the universe. Now the supernova recorded by Tycho Brahe has been glimpsed again, by Max Planck Institute scientists.
BBC NEWS : England : Hampshire : New flying reptile species found
A new fossil species of flying reptile with a wingspan the size of a family car has been uncovered by scientists.
Red (Planet) Alert: Massive Subsurface Glaciers Discovered on Mars: Scientific American
SHARAD indicated that two long-visible mid-latitude features, one of which is roughly three times the size of Los Angeles, are almost completely composed of water ice.
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Monday, November 17, 2008
#18
DNA: Too Much--or Too Little--Can Be a Bad Thing -- Couzin 2008 (1114): 4 -- ScienceNOW
There's more variety to DNA than you might think: Deletions or additions of genetic material between individuals, called copy number variations (CNVs), are a common source of genetic diversity. Now, preliminary work reported here today at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting suggests that men who have more CNVs than average may be more likely to sire children with the eye cancer retinoblastoma. The research reflects growing enthusiasm among geneticists for CNVs, a type of genetic variation that hadn't gotten much attention until recently but that's now being linked to a number of diseases.
BBC NEWS : South Asia : India sends probe on to the Moon
The probe, painted with the Indian flag, crashed into the Moon's surface at 2034 (1504 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. During its controlled plunge, it took readings including measurements of the composition of the Moon's atmosphere.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Exoplanets finally come into view
Visible and infrared images have been snapped of a planet orbiting a star 25 light-years away.
BBC NEWS : Health : Ovary transplant baby 'a miracle'
The first woman in the world to have a whole ovary transplant has spoken of her delight at giving birth to a healthy baby girl. ... She gave birth to Maja, who is genetically her niece, at the Portland Hospital in London on Tuesday.
The origin of hydrogen around HD 209458b : Abstract : Nature
Using numerical simulation, Holmström et al. 1 proposed a plausible alternative explanation of the observed Lyman-alpha absorption that was seen during the transit of HD 209458b (ref. 2). They conclude that radiation pressure alone cannot explain the observations and that a peculiar stellar wind is needed. Here we show that radiation pressure alone can in fact produce the observed high-velocity hydrogen atoms.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Human ancestors born big brained
A new Homo erectus fossil suggests that females had large, wide pelvises in order to deliver large-brained babies. ... The new finding, published in Science magazine, conflicts with earlier ideas that suggest they had a tall, thin body shape adapted for running.
Four Dams to Come Down -- Service 2008 (1113): 3 -- ScienceNOW
A tentative agreement has been reached to begin decommissioning four dams on the Klamath River, an issue that has been a hotbed of controversy in recent years. The news was announced today by top officials with the U.S. Department of Interior, the states of California and Oregon, and the utility company PacifiCorp. If the deal goes through, it's expected to mark the largest dam-removal project ever undertaken.
Earth's Minerals Evolved, Too -- Berardelli 2008 (1114): 2 -- ScienceNOW
From the copper-stained rocks of the Grand Canyon to the newly discovered 10-meter-long crystals of calcium sulfate under Naica Mountain in Mexico, the vast majority of Earth's minerals owe their existence to life, say researchers who have put together the first comprehensive chronology of what they call mineral evolution. Biological and mineral evolution have been inseparable since the planet's beginnings, the scientists argue, and understanding that connection should provide new insights in both fields and critical clues in the search for life on other planets.
Why Shar Pei Dogs Have So Many Wrinkles
A group of researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have discovered the origin of the mucinosis present in Shar Pei dogs, a hereditary disorder responsible for the characteristic wrinkles found in this breed.
Physicists Test Theory That Explains Why Universe Is Made Of Matter
"The central focus of the BaBar experiment is to study the differences between matter and antimatter," Prell said. "One of the big questions of the universe is, "Why is it made out of matter?" At the time of the big bang, physicists say the explosion of energy should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. And they say whenever particles of matter and antimatter would have met they would have annihilated each other. But the universe wasn't annihilated and it's full of matter. So how did matter come out so far ahead?
Dirty Brown Clouds Impact Glaciers, Agriculture And The Monsoon
Cities from Beijing to New Delhi are getting darker, glaciers in ranges like the Himalayas are melting faster and weather systems becoming more extreme, in part, due to the combined effects of man-made Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABCs) and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These are among the conclusions of scientists studying a more than three km-thick layer of soot and other manmade particles that stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China and the western Pacific Ocean.
Parallel Universes: Are They More than a Figment of Our Imagination?
The Hollywood blockbuster, The Golden Compass, adapted from the first volume of Pullman's classic sci-fi trilogy, "His Dark Materials" portrays various universes as only one reality among many, but how realistic is this kind of classic sci-fi plot? While it hasn’t been proven yet, many highly respected and credible scientists are now saying there’s reason to believe that parallel dimensions could very well be more than figments of our imaginations. "The idea of multiple universes is more than a fantastic invention—it appears naturally within several scientific theories, and deserves to be taken seriously," stated Aurelien Barrau, a French particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
"Super Cells" that Eat Radiation, Generate Electricity & Cure Cancer -A Galaxy Classic
five organisms that would be called the Super-Cells
NASA's Remote Sensing Technology Predicts Future Global Pandemics
"NASA satellite remote sensing technology has been an important tool in the last few years to not only provide scientists with the data needed to respond to epidemic threats quickly, but to also help predict the future of infectious diseases in areas where diseases were never a main concern ..."
Big Noise From Little Tubes -- Service 2008 (1114): 3 -- ScienceNOW
Last year brought news of Lilliputian radios made from whiskerlike carbon nanotubes. Now, researchers in China have added ultrathin loudspeakers to go with them. The devices, made from transparent and flexible carbon nanotube films, don't require any of the bulky magnets and sound cones of conventional speakers. So they could lead to a new generation of nearly invisible, flat speakers that can be integrated into everything from ceilings and walls to clothing and curtains. ... In a study that will be published in the 10 December issue of Nano Letters, the scientists report that changes in the current cause the air surrounding the nanotubes to rapidly heat and cool, which in turn produces pressure waves and sound--no magnets or diaphragm required. This "thermoacoustic" effect was first reported more than 100 years ago by researchers experimenting with thin metal foils. But early efforts to make use of it never went anywhere because it was so weak. Sound from the carbon nanotubes is 260 times louder, because the nanotubes are better at converting electricity to heat, Kaili says.
Planet outside solar system photographed : thewest.com.au
Likely similar in mass to Jupiter, the planet is orbiting the star Fomalhaut in the southern constellation Piscus austrinus at a distance of about four times the distance between Neptune and our sun, said the study's lead author Kalas, with the University of California, Berkeley.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Octopuses share 'living ancestor'
Many of the world's deep-sea octopuses evolved from a common ancestor that still exists in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean
Fridge-sized tape recorder could crack lunar mysteries - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
An archiving error by NASA has meant 173 data tapes have sat in Perth for almost 40 years, holding information about lunar dust that could be vital in expanding science's understanding of the moon.
Pimped up T-cells seek out and destroy HIV - health - 09 November 2008 - New Scientist
The pimped up T-cell boasts a molecular receptor evolved in the lab to give the body the edge against a virus that has so far flummoxed our immune systems.
Science Of Origami -- Mathematicians And Artists Use Algorithms To Make Complicated Paper Sculptures
Algorithms developed for use in origami have been applied to several other fields. Engineers use the algorithms to design the best way to fold an airbag for optimum deployment and astronomers use them to compute the optimum configuration of space telescope lenses. People use the techniques of origami to design games, puzzles, and even magic tricks.
Gene ethicist calls for tougher research restrictions - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Flinders University in Adelaide has temporarily closed one of its research facilities while the federal gene technology regulator investigates one researcher who cross-bred genetically modified mice without approval.
Pakistan proposes death penalty for 'cyber-terrorists' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
An ordinance issued by President Asif Ali Zardari, released by state media, said: "Whoever commits the offence of cyber-terrorism and causes death of any person shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life."
Gene implants 'turn sugar cane to plastic' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation ... has successfully inserted genes into cane that make the plant produce a form of biodegradable plastic in its leaves.
EU considers ban on great ape experiments - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Under the proposed EU law, great apes could be used only when the research would help the survival of the species or help fight the outbreak of a disease life-threatening to humans. [Considering Alex's recent research on the genetic differences between man and ape, it may be worth going back to experiments on mice.]
Whale carcass arrives at Qld Museum - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The carcass of a 14-metre baby blue whale that died off the coast of Townsville last month has been delivered to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane. The whale's remains have been driven more than 1,300 kilometres from Townsville to Brisbane on the back of a tow truck.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Darwin's specimens go on display
Two mockingbirds, which are said to have helped Charles Darwin develop his theory on evolution, are to go on public display for the first time.
BBC NEWS : Health : Cancer genetic blueprint revealed
The researchers suspect that the mutations occurred one after another, with each pushing the cell closer to malignancy.
BBC NEWS : Health : Safety fears over nanocosmetics
Sue Davies of Which? said: "We're not saying the use of nanotechnology in cosmetics is a bad thing, far from it. Many of its applications could lead to exciting and revolutionary developments in a wide range of products, but until all the necessary safety tests are carried out, the simple fact is we just don't know enough.
'Anti-Aging' Pill Makes Mice Mighty : Discovery News
Eat more than you should. Stay skinny. Run twice as far. Those are the big claims coming from a new drug study from Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass. This latest study clears the way for human clinical trials of SRT1720, often touted as an "anti-aging pill."
Warming Trend Is Steepest in 5,000 Years : Discovery News
Research on Arctic and North Atlantic ecosystems shows the recent warming trend counts as the most dramatic climate change since the onset of human civilization 5,000 years ago, according to studies published Thursday.
Document Found Older Than Dead Sea Scrolls: Scientific American Podcast
One of the most important archaeological finds in history was the Dead Sea Scrolls. These documents include some of the earliest written records of the Bible. Now archaeologists say they've found what they claim is the most significant archaeological discovery in Israel since those documents. They found a shard of pottery that's about 3,000 years old—a thousand years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. This would have been about the time of the legendary King David.
Sea Snakes Seek Out Freshwater To Slake Thirst
Harvey Lillywhite says it has been the “long-standing dogma” that the roughly 60 species of venomous sea snakes worldwide satisfy their drinking needs by drinking seawater, with internal salt glands filtering and excreting the salt. Experiments with three species of captive sea kraits captured near Taiwan, however, found that the snakes refused to drink saltwater even if thirsty — and then would drink only freshwater or heavily diluted saltwater.
Tale Of Two Snails Reveals Secrets About The Biochemistry Of Evolution
Researchers in Spain are reporting deep new insights into how evolution changes the biochemistry of living things, helping them to adapt to new environments. Their study, based on an analysis of proteins produced by two populations of marine snails, reveals chemical differences that give one population a survival-of-the fittest edge for life in its cold, wave-exposed environment.
Pool Of Distant Galaxies: Deepest Ultraviolet Image Of The Universe Yet
The newly released U-band image – the result of 40 hours of staring at the same region of the sky and just made ready by the GOODS team – is the deepest image ever taken from the ground in this wavelength domain. At these depths, the sky is almost completely covered by galaxies, each one, like our own galaxy, the Milky Way, home of hundreds of billions of stars. Galaxies were detected that are a billion times fainter than the unaided eye can see and over a range of colours not directly observable by the eye. This deep image has been essential to the discovery of a large number of new galaxies that are so far away that they are seen as they were when the Universe was only 2 billion years old.
In search of the missing Stone Age tribes - being-human - 08 November 2008 - New Scientist
HUMAN adaptability was really put to the test during the last major episode of global warming. It was the Mesolithic era, or Middle Stone Age, and Europe was inhabited throughout, yet evidence of the people who lived there is thin on the ground, and nowhere more so than in what is now Britain. Just a single burial site, containing two dozen bodies, has been found there from the period that began around 15,000 years ago and lasted nearly 10,000 years - five times as long the period that separates us from the birth of Christ. It is one of the enduring mysteries of archaeology. Without graves, archaeologists can say very little about how these people confronted some of the most taxing environmental changes in history, which saw them cut off from mainland Europe by rising sea levels. Burials would provide clues about what they were eating, how their diets changed ...
Does rainfall vary with sunspot activity? - earth - 08 November 2008 - New Scientist Environment
Though scientists reject the climate sceptics' assertion that the sun's activity can explain global warming, many have wondered whether it can affect rainfall. No one has been able to test this, though, as it has proved difficult to collate rainfall measurements over long timescales and areas large enough to rule out local variations.
Why a speeding shark is like a golf ball - life - 07 November 2008 - New Scientist
Shortfin mako sharks can shoot through the ocean at up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometres an hour). Now a trick that helps them to reach such speeds has been discovered – the sharks can raise their scales to create tiny wells across the surface of their skin, reducing drag like the dimples on a golf ball.
Morphing mirror could clear the skies for astronomers - tech - 07 November 2008 - New Scientist Tech
The new morphing mirror developed at Laval University in Quebec is made from a magnetic liquid – a ferrofluid – that can be easily reshaped using magnetic fields.
Beyond Human Evolution -A Galaxy Insight
"As I tapped and chiseled there in the foundations of the world, I had ample time to consider the cunning manipulability of the human fingers. Experimentally, I crooked one of the long slender bones. It might have been silica, I thought, or aluminum, or iron -the cells would have made it possible. But no, it is calcium, carbonate of lime. Why? Only because of its history. Elements more numerous than calcium in the earth's crust could have been used to build the skeleton. Our history is the reason -we came from the water. It was there that the cells took the lime habit, and they kept it after we came ashore." -- Loren Eiseley -American paleontologist and author of Darwin's Century, The Unexpected Universe, and the haunting Immense Journey.
NASA, Harvard and U of Colorado: "We May be on Brink of Finding a Habitable Second Earth"
Astronomers may be on the brink of discovering a second Earth-like planet, a find that would add fresh impetus to the search for extraterrestrial life, according to the US journal Science. Astronomers from six major centers, including NASA, Harvard and the University of Colorado, outline how advances in technology suggest scientists are on the verge of being able to detect the presence of small, rocky planets, much like our own, around distant stars for the first time. The planets are considered the most likely habitats for extraterrestrial life.
The production of myco-diesel hydrocarbons and their derivatives by the endophytic fungus
An endophytic fungus, Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072), produced a series of volatile hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives on an oatmeal-based agar under microaerophilic conditions as analysed by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME)-GC/MS. As an example, this organism produced an extensive series of the acetic acid esters of straight-chained alkanes including those of pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, sec-octyl and decyl alcohols. Other hydrocarbons were also produced by this organism, including undecane, 2,6-dimethyl; decane, 3,3,5-trimethyl; cyclohexene, 4-methyl; decane, 3,3,6-trimethyl; and undecane, 4,4-dimethyl. Volatile hydrocarbons were also produced on a cellulose-based medium, including heptane, octane, benzene, and some branched hydrocarbons.
Rocks could be harnessed to sponge vast amounts of CO2 from air, says study
Scientists say that a type of rock found at or near the surface in the Mideast nation of Oman and other areas around the world could be harnessed to soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide. Their studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at surprisingly high rates with CO2 to form solid minerals—and that the process could be speeded a million times or more with simple drilling and injection methods. The study appears in this week's early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
China Commissions Gigantic Telescope For 3-D Galaxy Mapping - Space - redOrbit
... has an effective aperture of more than four meters and 4,000 optical fibers -- the most of any telescope in the world -- that can simultaneously track and decode starlight into spectrographic data.
My genome. So what? : Article : Nature
The age of personal genomes is here
There's more variety to DNA than you might think: Deletions or additions of genetic material between individuals, called copy number variations (CNVs), are a common source of genetic diversity. Now, preliminary work reported here today at the American Society of Human Genetics meeting suggests that men who have more CNVs than average may be more likely to sire children with the eye cancer retinoblastoma. The research reflects growing enthusiasm among geneticists for CNVs, a type of genetic variation that hadn't gotten much attention until recently but that's now being linked to a number of diseases.
BBC NEWS : South Asia : India sends probe on to the Moon
The probe, painted with the Indian flag, crashed into the Moon's surface at 2034 (1504 GMT), the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) said. During its controlled plunge, it took readings including measurements of the composition of the Moon's atmosphere.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Exoplanets finally come into view
Visible and infrared images have been snapped of a planet orbiting a star 25 light-years away.
BBC NEWS : Health : Ovary transplant baby 'a miracle'
The first woman in the world to have a whole ovary transplant has spoken of her delight at giving birth to a healthy baby girl. ... She gave birth to Maja, who is genetically her niece, at the Portland Hospital in London on Tuesday.
The origin of hydrogen around HD 209458b : Abstract : Nature
Using numerical simulation, Holmström et al. 1 proposed a plausible alternative explanation of the observed Lyman-alpha absorption that was seen during the transit of HD 209458b (ref. 2). They conclude that radiation pressure alone cannot explain the observations and that a peculiar stellar wind is needed. Here we show that radiation pressure alone can in fact produce the observed high-velocity hydrogen atoms.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Human ancestors born big brained
A new Homo erectus fossil suggests that females had large, wide pelvises in order to deliver large-brained babies. ... The new finding, published in Science magazine, conflicts with earlier ideas that suggest they had a tall, thin body shape adapted for running.
Four Dams to Come Down -- Service 2008 (1113): 3 -- ScienceNOW
A tentative agreement has been reached to begin decommissioning four dams on the Klamath River, an issue that has been a hotbed of controversy in recent years. The news was announced today by top officials with the U.S. Department of Interior, the states of California and Oregon, and the utility company PacifiCorp. If the deal goes through, it's expected to mark the largest dam-removal project ever undertaken.
Earth's Minerals Evolved, Too -- Berardelli 2008 (1114): 2 -- ScienceNOW
From the copper-stained rocks of the Grand Canyon to the newly discovered 10-meter-long crystals of calcium sulfate under Naica Mountain in Mexico, the vast majority of Earth's minerals owe their existence to life, say researchers who have put together the first comprehensive chronology of what they call mineral evolution. Biological and mineral evolution have been inseparable since the planet's beginnings, the scientists argue, and understanding that connection should provide new insights in both fields and critical clues in the search for life on other planets.
Why Shar Pei Dogs Have So Many Wrinkles
A group of researchers at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB) have discovered the origin of the mucinosis present in Shar Pei dogs, a hereditary disorder responsible for the characteristic wrinkles found in this breed.
Physicists Test Theory That Explains Why Universe Is Made Of Matter
"The central focus of the BaBar experiment is to study the differences between matter and antimatter," Prell said. "One of the big questions of the universe is, "Why is it made out of matter?" At the time of the big bang, physicists say the explosion of energy should have created equal amounts of matter and antimatter. And they say whenever particles of matter and antimatter would have met they would have annihilated each other. But the universe wasn't annihilated and it's full of matter. So how did matter come out so far ahead?
Dirty Brown Clouds Impact Glaciers, Agriculture And The Monsoon
Cities from Beijing to New Delhi are getting darker, glaciers in ranges like the Himalayas are melting faster and weather systems becoming more extreme, in part, due to the combined effects of man-made Atmospheric Brown Clouds (ABCs) and greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. These are among the conclusions of scientists studying a more than three km-thick layer of soot and other manmade particles that stretches from the Arabian Peninsula to China and the western Pacific Ocean.
Parallel Universes: Are They More than a Figment of Our Imagination?
The Hollywood blockbuster, The Golden Compass, adapted from the first volume of Pullman's classic sci-fi trilogy, "His Dark Materials" portrays various universes as only one reality among many, but how realistic is this kind of classic sci-fi plot? While it hasn’t been proven yet, many highly respected and credible scientists are now saying there’s reason to believe that parallel dimensions could very well be more than figments of our imaginations. "The idea of multiple universes is more than a fantastic invention—it appears naturally within several scientific theories, and deserves to be taken seriously," stated Aurelien Barrau, a French particle physicist at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN).
"Super Cells" that Eat Radiation, Generate Electricity & Cure Cancer -A Galaxy Classic
five organisms that would be called the Super-Cells
NASA's Remote Sensing Technology Predicts Future Global Pandemics
"NASA satellite remote sensing technology has been an important tool in the last few years to not only provide scientists with the data needed to respond to epidemic threats quickly, but to also help predict the future of infectious diseases in areas where diseases were never a main concern ..."
Big Noise From Little Tubes -- Service 2008 (1114): 3 -- ScienceNOW
Last year brought news of Lilliputian radios made from whiskerlike carbon nanotubes. Now, researchers in China have added ultrathin loudspeakers to go with them. The devices, made from transparent and flexible carbon nanotube films, don't require any of the bulky magnets and sound cones of conventional speakers. So they could lead to a new generation of nearly invisible, flat speakers that can be integrated into everything from ceilings and walls to clothing and curtains. ... In a study that will be published in the 10 December issue of Nano Letters, the scientists report that changes in the current cause the air surrounding the nanotubes to rapidly heat and cool, which in turn produces pressure waves and sound--no magnets or diaphragm required. This "thermoacoustic" effect was first reported more than 100 years ago by researchers experimenting with thin metal foils. But early efforts to make use of it never went anywhere because it was so weak. Sound from the carbon nanotubes is 260 times louder, because the nanotubes are better at converting electricity to heat, Kaili says.
Planet outside solar system photographed : thewest.com.au
Likely similar in mass to Jupiter, the planet is orbiting the star Fomalhaut in the southern constellation Piscus austrinus at a distance of about four times the distance between Neptune and our sun, said the study's lead author Kalas, with the University of California, Berkeley.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Octopuses share 'living ancestor'
Many of the world's deep-sea octopuses evolved from a common ancestor that still exists in the icy waters of the Southern Ocean
Fridge-sized tape recorder could crack lunar mysteries - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
An archiving error by NASA has meant 173 data tapes have sat in Perth for almost 40 years, holding information about lunar dust that could be vital in expanding science's understanding of the moon.
Pimped up T-cells seek out and destroy HIV - health - 09 November 2008 - New Scientist
The pimped up T-cell boasts a molecular receptor evolved in the lab to give the body the edge against a virus that has so far flummoxed our immune systems.
Science Of Origami -- Mathematicians And Artists Use Algorithms To Make Complicated Paper Sculptures
Algorithms developed for use in origami have been applied to several other fields. Engineers use the algorithms to design the best way to fold an airbag for optimum deployment and astronomers use them to compute the optimum configuration of space telescope lenses. People use the techniques of origami to design games, puzzles, and even magic tricks.
Gene ethicist calls for tougher research restrictions - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Flinders University in Adelaide has temporarily closed one of its research facilities while the federal gene technology regulator investigates one researcher who cross-bred genetically modified mice without approval.
Pakistan proposes death penalty for 'cyber-terrorists' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
An ordinance issued by President Asif Ali Zardari, released by state media, said: "Whoever commits the offence of cyber-terrorism and causes death of any person shall be punishable with death or imprisonment for life."
Gene implants 'turn sugar cane to plastic' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The Cooperative Research Centre for Sugar Industry Innovation ... has successfully inserted genes into cane that make the plant produce a form of biodegradable plastic in its leaves.
EU considers ban on great ape experiments - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Under the proposed EU law, great apes could be used only when the research would help the survival of the species or help fight the outbreak of a disease life-threatening to humans. [Considering Alex's recent research on the genetic differences between man and ape, it may be worth going back to experiments on mice.]
Whale carcass arrives at Qld Museum - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The carcass of a 14-metre baby blue whale that died off the coast of Townsville last month has been delivered to the Queensland Museum in Brisbane. The whale's remains have been driven more than 1,300 kilometres from Townsville to Brisbane on the back of a tow truck.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Darwin's specimens go on display
Two mockingbirds, which are said to have helped Charles Darwin develop his theory on evolution, are to go on public display for the first time.
BBC NEWS : Health : Cancer genetic blueprint revealed
The researchers suspect that the mutations occurred one after another, with each pushing the cell closer to malignancy.
BBC NEWS : Health : Safety fears over nanocosmetics
Sue Davies of Which? said: "We're not saying the use of nanotechnology in cosmetics is a bad thing, far from it. Many of its applications could lead to exciting and revolutionary developments in a wide range of products, but until all the necessary safety tests are carried out, the simple fact is we just don't know enough.
'Anti-Aging' Pill Makes Mice Mighty : Discovery News
Eat more than you should. Stay skinny. Run twice as far. Those are the big claims coming from a new drug study from Sirtris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., based in Cambridge, Mass. This latest study clears the way for human clinical trials of SRT1720, often touted as an "anti-aging pill."
Warming Trend Is Steepest in 5,000 Years : Discovery News
Research on Arctic and North Atlantic ecosystems shows the recent warming trend counts as the most dramatic climate change since the onset of human civilization 5,000 years ago, according to studies published Thursday.
Document Found Older Than Dead Sea Scrolls: Scientific American Podcast
One of the most important archaeological finds in history was the Dead Sea Scrolls. These documents include some of the earliest written records of the Bible. Now archaeologists say they've found what they claim is the most significant archaeological discovery in Israel since those documents. They found a shard of pottery that's about 3,000 years old—a thousand years older than the Dead Sea Scrolls. This would have been about the time of the legendary King David.
Sea Snakes Seek Out Freshwater To Slake Thirst
Harvey Lillywhite says it has been the “long-standing dogma” that the roughly 60 species of venomous sea snakes worldwide satisfy their drinking needs by drinking seawater, with internal salt glands filtering and excreting the salt. Experiments with three species of captive sea kraits captured near Taiwan, however, found that the snakes refused to drink saltwater even if thirsty — and then would drink only freshwater or heavily diluted saltwater.
Tale Of Two Snails Reveals Secrets About The Biochemistry Of Evolution
Researchers in Spain are reporting deep new insights into how evolution changes the biochemistry of living things, helping them to adapt to new environments. Their study, based on an analysis of proteins produced by two populations of marine snails, reveals chemical differences that give one population a survival-of-the fittest edge for life in its cold, wave-exposed environment.
Pool Of Distant Galaxies: Deepest Ultraviolet Image Of The Universe Yet
The newly released U-band image – the result of 40 hours of staring at the same region of the sky and just made ready by the GOODS team – is the deepest image ever taken from the ground in this wavelength domain. At these depths, the sky is almost completely covered by galaxies, each one, like our own galaxy, the Milky Way, home of hundreds of billions of stars. Galaxies were detected that are a billion times fainter than the unaided eye can see and over a range of colours not directly observable by the eye. This deep image has been essential to the discovery of a large number of new galaxies that are so far away that they are seen as they were when the Universe was only 2 billion years old.
In search of the missing Stone Age tribes - being-human - 08 November 2008 - New Scientist
HUMAN adaptability was really put to the test during the last major episode of global warming. It was the Mesolithic era, or Middle Stone Age, and Europe was inhabited throughout, yet evidence of the people who lived there is thin on the ground, and nowhere more so than in what is now Britain. Just a single burial site, containing two dozen bodies, has been found there from the period that began around 15,000 years ago and lasted nearly 10,000 years - five times as long the period that separates us from the birth of Christ. It is one of the enduring mysteries of archaeology. Without graves, archaeologists can say very little about how these people confronted some of the most taxing environmental changes in history, which saw them cut off from mainland Europe by rising sea levels. Burials would provide clues about what they were eating, how their diets changed ...
Does rainfall vary with sunspot activity? - earth - 08 November 2008 - New Scientist Environment
Though scientists reject the climate sceptics' assertion that the sun's activity can explain global warming, many have wondered whether it can affect rainfall. No one has been able to test this, though, as it has proved difficult to collate rainfall measurements over long timescales and areas large enough to rule out local variations.
Why a speeding shark is like a golf ball - life - 07 November 2008 - New Scientist
Shortfin mako sharks can shoot through the ocean at up to 50 miles per hour (80 kilometres an hour). Now a trick that helps them to reach such speeds has been discovered – the sharks can raise their scales to create tiny wells across the surface of their skin, reducing drag like the dimples on a golf ball.
Morphing mirror could clear the skies for astronomers - tech - 07 November 2008 - New Scientist Tech
The new morphing mirror developed at Laval University in Quebec is made from a magnetic liquid – a ferrofluid – that can be easily reshaped using magnetic fields.
Beyond Human Evolution -A Galaxy Insight
"As I tapped and chiseled there in the foundations of the world, I had ample time to consider the cunning manipulability of the human fingers. Experimentally, I crooked one of the long slender bones. It might have been silica, I thought, or aluminum, or iron -the cells would have made it possible. But no, it is calcium, carbonate of lime. Why? Only because of its history. Elements more numerous than calcium in the earth's crust could have been used to build the skeleton. Our history is the reason -we came from the water. It was there that the cells took the lime habit, and they kept it after we came ashore." -- Loren Eiseley -American paleontologist and author of Darwin's Century, The Unexpected Universe, and the haunting Immense Journey.
NASA, Harvard and U of Colorado: "We May be on Brink of Finding a Habitable Second Earth"
Astronomers may be on the brink of discovering a second Earth-like planet, a find that would add fresh impetus to the search for extraterrestrial life, according to the US journal Science. Astronomers from six major centers, including NASA, Harvard and the University of Colorado, outline how advances in technology suggest scientists are on the verge of being able to detect the presence of small, rocky planets, much like our own, around distant stars for the first time. The planets are considered the most likely habitats for extraterrestrial life.
The production of myco-diesel hydrocarbons and their derivatives by the endophytic fungus
An endophytic fungus, Gliocladium roseum (NRRL 50072), produced a series of volatile hydrocarbons and hydrocarbon derivatives on an oatmeal-based agar under microaerophilic conditions as analysed by solid-phase micro-extraction (SPME)-GC/MS. As an example, this organism produced an extensive series of the acetic acid esters of straight-chained alkanes including those of pentyl, hexyl, heptyl, octyl, sec-octyl and decyl alcohols. Other hydrocarbons were also produced by this organism, including undecane, 2,6-dimethyl; decane, 3,3,5-trimethyl; cyclohexene, 4-methyl; decane, 3,3,6-trimethyl; and undecane, 4,4-dimethyl. Volatile hydrocarbons were also produced on a cellulose-based medium, including heptane, octane, benzene, and some branched hydrocarbons.
Rocks could be harnessed to sponge vast amounts of CO2 from air, says study
Scientists say that a type of rock found at or near the surface in the Mideast nation of Oman and other areas around the world could be harnessed to soak up huge quantities of globe-warming carbon dioxide. Their studies show that the rock, known as peridotite, reacts naturally at surprisingly high rates with CO2 to form solid minerals—and that the process could be speeded a million times or more with simple drilling and injection methods. The study appears in this week's early edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
China Commissions Gigantic Telescope For 3-D Galaxy Mapping - Space - redOrbit
... has an effective aperture of more than four meters and 4,000 optical fibers -- the most of any telescope in the world -- that can simultaneously track and decode starlight into spectrographic data.
My genome. So what? : Article : Nature
The age of personal genomes is here
Sunday, November 2, 2008
#17
Blood-Sucking Vampire Bats Sing Duets: Discovery News
white-winged vampire bats enjoy such close and cuddly relationships with other members of their roost that they sing well-coordinated duets with each other, according to new research.
Eight-Armed Animal Preceded Dinosaurs: Discovery News
An eight-armed creature that looked more like a modern party favor than a living animal colonized a large section of the world's oceans over 300 million years before the first dinosaurs emerged, suggests a new study.
Biologists Discover Motor Protein That Rewinds DNA
Two biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered the first of a new class of cellular motor proteins that “rewind” sections of the double-stranded DNA molecule that become unwound, like the tangled ribbons from a cassette tape, in “bubbles” that prevent critical genes from being expressed.
Transplantation: 'Molecular Miscegenation' Blurs The Boundary Between Self And Non-self
A new discovery by London biologists may yield new ways of handling the problem of transplant rejection. In a research article published in the November 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal the scientists confirm the two-way transfer of a molecule (called "MHC") that instructs the immune system to tell "self" from "non-self."
Researcher Grows Roots On Upper Part Of Plant
Molecular cell biologist Pankaj Dhonukshe from Utrecht University has succeeded in growing roots on plants at places where normally leaves would grow. This important step in plant modification can be highly beneficial for improving crop yields and efficiency in agriculture.
Magnetic Portals Connect Sun And Earth
During the time it takes you to read this article, something will happen high overhead that until recently many scientists didn't believe in. A magnetic portal will open, linking Earth to the sun 93 million miles away. Tons of high-energy particles may flow through the opening before it closes again, around the time you reach the end of the page. "It's called a flux transfer event or 'FTE,'" says space physicist David Sibeck of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn't exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible."
Molecular Motor Tied to Memory -- Cahoon 2008 (1031): 1 -- ScienceNOW
How does the brain record a memory? Somehow our experiences and interactions can be imprinted in the mind, but exactly how neurons alter their connections to enable memory has been murky. Now scientists say they have identified the molecular machinery that links experience with learning--and it all comes down to one microscopic motor.
Space Colonization -Our Future or Fantasy?
In a futuristic mode similar to Hawking, both Steven Dick, chief NASA historian and Carnegie-Mellon robotics pundit, Hans Moravec, believe that human biological evolution is but a passing phase: the future of mankind will be as vastly evolved sentient machines capable of self-replicating and exploring the farthest reaches of the Universe programmed with instructions on how to recreate earth life and humans to target stars.
Meat can increase gastro susceptibility: research - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Eating red meat and unpasteurised dairy products could make people more susceptible to bacteria that cause severe gastroenteritis and, in rare cases, fatal kidney failure, Australian research suggests.
Can Cloning Save Earth's Biological Heritage?
“Modern life” is killing off the animal kingdom, but there are no easy solutions for the crisis. Some scientists believe that cloning may offer a partial solution. While it may make only a tiny dent in the problem, scientists argue that at least it would preserve the world’s biological heritage from total annihilation.
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is back in business
30-Oct-2008: The Hubble Space Telescope is back in business with a snapshot of the fascinating galaxy pair Arp 147.
Dark matter may shine with invisible 'dark light' - space - 31 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
This "dark radiation" would be invisible to us, but could still have visible effects.
Geologists blame drilling for Indonesian mud volcano - earth - 31 October 2008 - New Scientist
At an international conference of petroleum geologists in Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday, most said they believed that a well made by drilling company Lapindo Brantas was to blame.
Ancient Mummy, The Tyrolean Iceman, Has No Modern Children
"Our analysis confirms that Oetzi belonged to a previously unidentified lineage of K1 that has not been seen to date in modern European populations. The frequency of genetic lineages tends to change over time, due to random variations in the number of children people have - a process known as 'genetic drift' - and as a result, some variants die out. Our research suggests that Oetzi's lineage may indeed have become extinct," says Prof Richards.
Chlorophyll Organic Battery Runs on Any Liquid - GoodCleanTech
A Taiwanese professor by the name of Chungpin Hovering Liao developed what he claims is the world's first chlorophyll organic battery. Since it's called that, the battery's technology most probably works like photosynthesis. Chlorophyll might already be contained within the battery, light is collected from the environment, and users manually supply liquid. And by liquid, I don't mean just water - the chlorophyll organic battery reportedly works with any kind of beverage and even, yep, urine. You just wet the battery like you can see on the pic and within 10 seconds, it starts working.
Mysterious dark patches dot Mercury's surface - space - 29 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
The Messenger probe's second flyby of Mercury earlier this month has provided the first global view of the pockmarked planet, hinting at a complicated mineral structure beneath the surface and more glimpses of the planet's volcanic history.
TG Daily - NASA scientists discover more evidence of water on Mars
The orbiter’s “Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer” has found wide-spread evidence hydrated silica, commonly known as opal. NASA said that these minerals formed where liquid water altered materials created by volcanic activity or meteorite impact on the Martian surface. The mineral was found in the Martian canyon system called Valles Marineris.
First Planets Lived Fast and Died Young -- Berardelli 2008 (1030): 2 -- ScienceNOW
Some 4.568 billion years ago, our sun and solar system condensed out of a primordial cloud of dust and gas. Within about 3 million years, small, rocky objects called planetesimals were circulating in the nascent solar system. Fragments of these planetesimals remain today as meteorites called achondrites, which scientists have pored over for clues to how planets formed. Oddly, the meteorites are magnetic, which is strange because the planetesimals were supposed to be just large agglomerations of rubble.
The most extreme life-forms in the universe - space - 26 June 2008 - New Scientist Space
"Life on Earth has radiated into every conceivable – and in some cases almost inconceivable – ecological niche," says Chris Impey of the University of Arizona in Tucson, US. The very existence of these hardy organisms hints that life might be able to eke out an existence in the cold, dry climate of Mars, the icy, acidic conditions of Jupiter's moon Europa, or in countless other spots beyond our solar system.
Intelligent Robo Probes to Explore Alien Worlds
This isn't the harbinger of robot-dominated alien worlds that would then return to exterminate the human race. The only "intelligence" the probes display is limited to image interpretation and response. It could still be an important step on the way to Artificial Intelligence though. After all, evolution never set out to make us self-aware; survival simply encouraged better and better interpretation abilities until one of the things we could analyze was ourselves. As robot minds get more sophisticated, it might make sense to start building a Battlestar just in case.
Helmet to Convey Messages by Thought : Discovery News
The idea of communicating by thought alone is not a new one. In the 1960s, a researcher strapped an EEG to his head and, with some training, could stop and start his brain's alpha waves to compose Morse code messages.
Probe to Examine Our Space in Space: Discovery News
The spacecraft is known as the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX. It works by detecting particles that were stripped of electric charges in the outer regions of the heliosphere, the solar wind-filled bubble that delineates our solar system from intergalactic space. The particles are called energetic neutral atoms and they were discovered accidentally about 20 years ago during a mission that studied the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind. Instruments on the satellites to measure what should have been low background levels of energetic particles sometimes detected extra counts.
Is there an optimum speed of life? - life - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
Previous studies had shown that, within many groups of organisms, smaller species generally produce more energy within each cell than larger species. But according to Anastassia Makarieva from Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute in St Petersburg, Russia, no studies had compared resting metabolic rates across the whole range of life on Earth.
'Devils' trails' are world's oldest human footprints - earth - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
It's official: the oldest human footprints ever found are 345,000 years old, give or take 6000. Known as the "devils' trails", they have been preserved in volcanic ash atop the Roccamonfina volcano in Italy.
New sunspots may signal end of solar dry spell - space - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
New spots are beginning to break out on the face of the Sun and may signal the end of a dry spell in solar activity. Watching for more spots in the coming months could help determine how severe – and potentially damaging to Earth's satellites and power grids – the next solar cycle will be.
Haemorrhagic virus carried by common African mouse - health - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
Three people have died and another is seriously ill with a previously unknown strain of a virus carried by a common African rodent. The virus requires close contact to spread, but experts warn that more like it could be circulating.
Loving bonobos have a carnivorous dark side - life - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
Fruit makes up much of their diet, but the primates aren't herbivores. Small ungulates called forest antelopes, or duikers, often fall prey to the apes. These hunts tend to be fairly simple, with a single bonobo cornering a duiker then quickly feasting on the still-living animal as more apes hurried to the scene. Hohmann says he has witnessed a duiker "still vocally blurting as the bonobos opened the stomach and intestines."
Is a Death Star Aimed at Earth?
Australian astronomers have been studying an intergalactic assassin poised to wipe out life on Earth. Maybe. Observations indicate that cosmological curiosity WR104 may be a killer - and we might be the victim.
Telescope Tech Will Speed Search for Extraterrestrial Life : Wired Science from Wired.com
The hunt for extraterrestrial life is getting a major boost from revolutionary new technology that will give some of the world's largest telescopes the capability to detect Earth-size planets outside of our solar system, a feat not equaled even by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Super Cells to Power Cyborgs
Researchers at Yale University have come up with blueprints for a bio-battery, organic cells which can work together to produce an electrical voltage. These cells are optimised versions of electric eel electrocytes, the results of millions of years of evolution plus a few more of scientists going "We can do better than that!" The upgraded electro-cells will produce 30% higher voltages than the original organics, and 30% more efficiently.
Where Have All the Little Plutos Gone? : Discovery News
An ambitious project to track down small, icy bodies circling in the far reaches of the solar system has gone cold. Apparently, Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) between two and 17 miles in diameter don't exist.
Second 'Virgin Birth' Documented in Shark : Discovery News
"Parthenogenesis may not have evolved in sharks," Demian Chapman, who led the research, told Discovery News. "It may just be an occasional mistake that sometimes occurs when eggs are left unfertilized."
Mapping the Spine, Gene by Gene: Scientific American
Spinal cord injuries and disorders afflict millions worldwide, from disabled veterans to people with neurodegenerative disorders such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, yet there is currently no way to repair a damaged spine. Geneticists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle are hoping to change that by developing the first genetic encyclopedia of the spinal cord.
Visiting dwarfs put home-grown galaxies in the shade - space - 12 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
HOME-GROWN dwarf galaxies keep a low profile, while recent arrivals show off. This claim, if true, could explain the long-standing puzzle of why we have spotted so few dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way.
Scientists stumble upon footprint dating back 570 million years - Telegraph
The fossilised trails, thought to belong to a centipede or worm-type creature with legs, suggest animals walked at least 30 million years earlier than previously thought.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY: Lights! Camera! Action! Zebrafish Embryos Caught on Film -- Vogel 322 (5899):
A set of unusual movies, described online this week in Science and available on the Web, shows all the movements and divisions of cells in a zebrafish embryo during its first day of development.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Predators could be superweed fix
A superweed spreading throughout the UK could be brought under control by introducing plant-eating predators from Japan, scientists believe.
India unveils solar-powered rickshaw - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The "soleckshaw," unveiled this month in New Delhi, is a motorised cycle rickshaw that can be pedalled normally or run on a 36-volt solar battery.
‘Black Silicon’ Could Revolutionize Solar Cell Technology : CleanTechnica
The substance has since been found to be incredibly sensitive to light, leading to a range of exciting plans for commercialization, including night-vision and infra-red imaging systems. According to James Carey, co-founder of Harvard spin-off company SiOnyx, “We have seen a 100 to 500 times increase in sensitivity to light compared to conventional silicon detectors.”
white-winged vampire bats enjoy such close and cuddly relationships with other members of their roost that they sing well-coordinated duets with each other, according to new research.
Eight-Armed Animal Preceded Dinosaurs: Discovery News
An eight-armed creature that looked more like a modern party favor than a living animal colonized a large section of the world's oceans over 300 million years before the first dinosaurs emerged, suggests a new study.
Biologists Discover Motor Protein That Rewinds DNA
Two biologists at the University of California, San Diego have discovered the first of a new class of cellular motor proteins that “rewind” sections of the double-stranded DNA molecule that become unwound, like the tangled ribbons from a cassette tape, in “bubbles” that prevent critical genes from being expressed.
Transplantation: 'Molecular Miscegenation' Blurs The Boundary Between Self And Non-self
A new discovery by London biologists may yield new ways of handling the problem of transplant rejection. In a research article published in the November 2008 print issue of The FASEB Journal the scientists confirm the two-way transfer of a molecule (called "MHC") that instructs the immune system to tell "self" from "non-self."
Researcher Grows Roots On Upper Part Of Plant
Molecular cell biologist Pankaj Dhonukshe from Utrecht University has succeeded in growing roots on plants at places where normally leaves would grow. This important step in plant modification can be highly beneficial for improving crop yields and efficiency in agriculture.
Magnetic Portals Connect Sun And Earth
During the time it takes you to read this article, something will happen high overhead that until recently many scientists didn't believe in. A magnetic portal will open, linking Earth to the sun 93 million miles away. Tons of high-energy particles may flow through the opening before it closes again, around the time you reach the end of the page. "It's called a flux transfer event or 'FTE,'" says space physicist David Sibeck of the Goddard Space Flight Center. "Ten years ago I was pretty sure they didn't exist, but now the evidence is incontrovertible."
Molecular Motor Tied to Memory -- Cahoon 2008 (1031): 1 -- ScienceNOW
How does the brain record a memory? Somehow our experiences and interactions can be imprinted in the mind, but exactly how neurons alter their connections to enable memory has been murky. Now scientists say they have identified the molecular machinery that links experience with learning--and it all comes down to one microscopic motor.
Space Colonization -Our Future or Fantasy?
In a futuristic mode similar to Hawking, both Steven Dick, chief NASA historian and Carnegie-Mellon robotics pundit, Hans Moravec, believe that human biological evolution is but a passing phase: the future of mankind will be as vastly evolved sentient machines capable of self-replicating and exploring the farthest reaches of the Universe programmed with instructions on how to recreate earth life and humans to target stars.
Meat can increase gastro susceptibility: research - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Eating red meat and unpasteurised dairy products could make people more susceptible to bacteria that cause severe gastroenteritis and, in rare cases, fatal kidney failure, Australian research suggests.
Can Cloning Save Earth's Biological Heritage?
“Modern life” is killing off the animal kingdom, but there are no easy solutions for the crisis. Some scientists believe that cloning may offer a partial solution. While it may make only a tiny dent in the problem, scientists argue that at least it would preserve the world’s biological heritage from total annihilation.
The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope is back in business
30-Oct-2008: The Hubble Space Telescope is back in business with a snapshot of the fascinating galaxy pair Arp 147.
Dark matter may shine with invisible 'dark light' - space - 31 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
This "dark radiation" would be invisible to us, but could still have visible effects.
Geologists blame drilling for Indonesian mud volcano - earth - 31 October 2008 - New Scientist
At an international conference of petroleum geologists in Cape Town, South Africa, on Thursday, most said they believed that a well made by drilling company Lapindo Brantas was to blame.
Ancient Mummy, The Tyrolean Iceman, Has No Modern Children
"Our analysis confirms that Oetzi belonged to a previously unidentified lineage of K1 that has not been seen to date in modern European populations. The frequency of genetic lineages tends to change over time, due to random variations in the number of children people have - a process known as 'genetic drift' - and as a result, some variants die out. Our research suggests that Oetzi's lineage may indeed have become extinct," says Prof Richards.
Chlorophyll Organic Battery Runs on Any Liquid - GoodCleanTech
A Taiwanese professor by the name of Chungpin Hovering Liao developed what he claims is the world's first chlorophyll organic battery. Since it's called that, the battery's technology most probably works like photosynthesis. Chlorophyll might already be contained within the battery, light is collected from the environment, and users manually supply liquid. And by liquid, I don't mean just water - the chlorophyll organic battery reportedly works with any kind of beverage and even, yep, urine. You just wet the battery like you can see on the pic and within 10 seconds, it starts working.
Mysterious dark patches dot Mercury's surface - space - 29 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
The Messenger probe's second flyby of Mercury earlier this month has provided the first global view of the pockmarked planet, hinting at a complicated mineral structure beneath the surface and more glimpses of the planet's volcanic history.
TG Daily - NASA scientists discover more evidence of water on Mars
The orbiter’s “Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer” has found wide-spread evidence hydrated silica, commonly known as opal. NASA said that these minerals formed where liquid water altered materials created by volcanic activity or meteorite impact on the Martian surface. The mineral was found in the Martian canyon system called Valles Marineris.
First Planets Lived Fast and Died Young -- Berardelli 2008 (1030): 2 -- ScienceNOW
Some 4.568 billion years ago, our sun and solar system condensed out of a primordial cloud of dust and gas. Within about 3 million years, small, rocky objects called planetesimals were circulating in the nascent solar system. Fragments of these planetesimals remain today as meteorites called achondrites, which scientists have pored over for clues to how planets formed. Oddly, the meteorites are magnetic, which is strange because the planetesimals were supposed to be just large agglomerations of rubble.
The most extreme life-forms in the universe - space - 26 June 2008 - New Scientist Space
"Life on Earth has radiated into every conceivable – and in some cases almost inconceivable – ecological niche," says Chris Impey of the University of Arizona in Tucson, US. The very existence of these hardy organisms hints that life might be able to eke out an existence in the cold, dry climate of Mars, the icy, acidic conditions of Jupiter's moon Europa, or in countless other spots beyond our solar system.
Intelligent Robo Probes to Explore Alien Worlds
This isn't the harbinger of robot-dominated alien worlds that would then return to exterminate the human race. The only "intelligence" the probes display is limited to image interpretation and response. It could still be an important step on the way to Artificial Intelligence though. After all, evolution never set out to make us self-aware; survival simply encouraged better and better interpretation abilities until one of the things we could analyze was ourselves. As robot minds get more sophisticated, it might make sense to start building a Battlestar just in case.
Helmet to Convey Messages by Thought : Discovery News
The idea of communicating by thought alone is not a new one. In the 1960s, a researcher strapped an EEG to his head and, with some training, could stop and start his brain's alpha waves to compose Morse code messages.
Probe to Examine Our Space in Space: Discovery News
The spacecraft is known as the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX. It works by detecting particles that were stripped of electric charges in the outer regions of the heliosphere, the solar wind-filled bubble that delineates our solar system from intergalactic space. The particles are called energetic neutral atoms and they were discovered accidentally about 20 years ago during a mission that studied the Earth's magnetosphere and the solar wind. Instruments on the satellites to measure what should have been low background levels of energetic particles sometimes detected extra counts.
Is there an optimum speed of life? - life - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
Previous studies had shown that, within many groups of organisms, smaller species generally produce more energy within each cell than larger species. But according to Anastassia Makarieva from Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute in St Petersburg, Russia, no studies had compared resting metabolic rates across the whole range of life on Earth.
'Devils' trails' are world's oldest human footprints - earth - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
It's official: the oldest human footprints ever found are 345,000 years old, give or take 6000. Known as the "devils' trails", they have been preserved in volcanic ash atop the Roccamonfina volcano in Italy.
New sunspots may signal end of solar dry spell - space - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
New spots are beginning to break out on the face of the Sun and may signal the end of a dry spell in solar activity. Watching for more spots in the coming months could help determine how severe – and potentially damaging to Earth's satellites and power grids – the next solar cycle will be.
Haemorrhagic virus carried by common African mouse - health - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
Three people have died and another is seriously ill with a previously unknown strain of a virus carried by a common African rodent. The virus requires close contact to spread, but experts warn that more like it could be circulating.
Loving bonobos have a carnivorous dark side - life - 13 October 2008 - New Scientist
Fruit makes up much of their diet, but the primates aren't herbivores. Small ungulates called forest antelopes, or duikers, often fall prey to the apes. These hunts tend to be fairly simple, with a single bonobo cornering a duiker then quickly feasting on the still-living animal as more apes hurried to the scene. Hohmann says he has witnessed a duiker "still vocally blurting as the bonobos opened the stomach and intestines."
Is a Death Star Aimed at Earth?
Australian astronomers have been studying an intergalactic assassin poised to wipe out life on Earth. Maybe. Observations indicate that cosmological curiosity WR104 may be a killer - and we might be the victim.
Telescope Tech Will Speed Search for Extraterrestrial Life : Wired Science from Wired.com
The hunt for extraterrestrial life is getting a major boost from revolutionary new technology that will give some of the world's largest telescopes the capability to detect Earth-size planets outside of our solar system, a feat not equaled even by the Hubble Space Telescope.
Super Cells to Power Cyborgs
Researchers at Yale University have come up with blueprints for a bio-battery, organic cells which can work together to produce an electrical voltage. These cells are optimised versions of electric eel electrocytes, the results of millions of years of evolution plus a few more of scientists going "We can do better than that!" The upgraded electro-cells will produce 30% higher voltages than the original organics, and 30% more efficiently.
Where Have All the Little Plutos Gone? : Discovery News
An ambitious project to track down small, icy bodies circling in the far reaches of the solar system has gone cold. Apparently, Kuiper Belt objects (KBOs) between two and 17 miles in diameter don't exist.
Second 'Virgin Birth' Documented in Shark : Discovery News
"Parthenogenesis may not have evolved in sharks," Demian Chapman, who led the research, told Discovery News. "It may just be an occasional mistake that sometimes occurs when eggs are left unfertilized."
Mapping the Spine, Gene by Gene: Scientific American
Spinal cord injuries and disorders afflict millions worldwide, from disabled veterans to people with neurodegenerative disorders such as Lou Gehrig’s disease, yet there is currently no way to repair a damaged spine. Geneticists at the Allen Institute for Brain Science in Seattle are hoping to change that by developing the first genetic encyclopedia of the spinal cord.
Visiting dwarfs put home-grown galaxies in the shade - space - 12 October 2008 - New Scientist Space
HOME-GROWN dwarf galaxies keep a low profile, while recent arrivals show off. This claim, if true, could explain the long-standing puzzle of why we have spotted so few dwarf galaxies near the Milky Way.
Scientists stumble upon footprint dating back 570 million years - Telegraph
The fossilised trails, thought to belong to a centipede or worm-type creature with legs, suggest animals walked at least 30 million years earlier than previously thought.
DEVELOPMENTAL BIOLOGY: Lights! Camera! Action! Zebrafish Embryos Caught on Film -- Vogel 322 (5899):
A set of unusual movies, described online this week in Science and available on the Web, shows all the movements and divisions of cells in a zebrafish embryo during its first day of development.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : Predators could be superweed fix
A superweed spreading throughout the UK could be brought under control by introducing plant-eating predators from Japan, scientists believe.
India unveils solar-powered rickshaw - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The "soleckshaw," unveiled this month in New Delhi, is a motorised cycle rickshaw that can be pedalled normally or run on a 36-volt solar battery.
‘Black Silicon’ Could Revolutionize Solar Cell Technology : CleanTechnica
The substance has since been found to be incredibly sensitive to light, leading to a range of exciting plans for commercialization, including night-vision and infra-red imaging systems. According to James Carey, co-founder of Harvard spin-off company SiOnyx, “We have seen a 100 to 500 times increase in sensitivity to light compared to conventional silicon detectors.”
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
#16
Fossil reveals how the turtle got its shell - life - 08 October 2008 - New Scientist
Bone fragments from a 210-million year-old, land-dwelling reptile from New Mexico suggest that the earliest turtles didn't have much of a shell at all.
Video game for flies may unlock secrets of insect flight - tech - 08 October 2008 - New Scientist
HOW does a fly fly? Exactly how the insects control their flight, using only a few hundred neurons, is a bit of a mystery. But now roboticists are hoping to work out how they do it - using a system that lets fruit flies "drive" a remote-controlled car.
Blood Test for Mom Picks Up Down Syndrome in Fetus -- Kaiser 2008 (1006): 3 -- ScienceNOW
A technology guru may have solved a problem that has long vexed obstetricians: how to test for Down syndrome without poking a needle into the womb. By sequencing the fetal DNA floating in a mother's blood, bioengineer Stephen Quake's team at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, detected nine cases of the disease with 100% accuracy. If this small study holds up in larger trials, the test could become routine for expectant mothers.
The Price of Words Unspoken -- Zelkowitz 2008 (1007): 2 -- ScienceNOW
Humans are hard-wired to notice race. The average person registers the race of another human face in less than 100 milliseconds, according to past studies. This instantaneous perception clashes sharply with the American cultural taboo against using race to identify someone. Watch people at a party trying to describe another person, says Michael Norton, a marketing researcher at Harvard Business School. "They'll launch into these long explanations until someone in the group might eventually say, 'Oh, you mean the Asian guy?'"
Scientists Discover Fish in Act of Evolution in Africa’s Greatest Lake : EcoWorldly
In what could be a first in the world, a fish species in the cichlid family has been observed by scientists in the act of splitting into two distinct species in Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and one of the world’s biggest fresh water bodies.
Researchers Say Ancient Tibetan Practice May Improve Health & Happiness
The thousand-year-old Tibetan Buddhist mind-training practice "lojong" utilizes a cognitive, analytic approach to challenge an individual's unexamined thoughts and emotions toward other people, with the long-term goal of developing altruistic emotions and behavior towards all people. Each meditation class session combined teaching, discussion and meditation practice.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : 'Deepest ever' living fish filmed
The fish, known as Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis, can be seen darting about in the darkness of the depths, scooping up shrimps.
Ultra-sweet plant has soft drink companies licking their lips - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
The approval of a natural alternative to sugar could have the potential to provide thousands of sweet-toothed Australians with an alternative to artificial sweeteners.
Asteroid near-miss prompts calls for astronomy funding - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Astronomers have calling for more funding to watch southern skies, after an asteroid took sky-gazers by surprise and entered the earth's atmosphere over Africa yesterday.
CSIRO discovers biological treasure trove in Southern Ocean - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Scientists are preparing to rewrite the textbooks after hundreds of massive deep sea mountains and new marine species were discovered in the Southern Ocean near Tasmania.
Forest Fire Warning System Derives Power from Trees : CleanTechnica
Scientists only recently discovered that trees produce energy generated from an imbalance in pH between a tree and its surrounding soil. The forest fire warning sensor is the first real-world application of this knowledge.
Gandhi-Inspired Spinning Wheel Generates Electricity : CleanTechnica
The e-charkha, which was designed by a follower of Gandhi’s Ekambar Nath philosophy, can generate enough electricity in its attached battery for 6-7 hours of power in rural homes. Two hours of operation can light up the e-charkha’s specially designed LED light for eight hours— so the spinning wheel provides enough light for its continued use as an instrument of clothing production.
The Solar Cube: A Solar and Wind Powered Water Source for Remote Areas : CleanTechnica
The Cube (AKA the Spectra Solar Brackish Water System) is a portable solar and wind powered desalination unit that can produce 950 to 1500 gallons of fresh water each day. Attached photovoltaic cells generate up to 1240 watts, while the wind generator can produce up to 1000 watts. The Cube generates more power than is necessary for water production, so excess energy can be used for other things—such as the operation of emergency equipment.
Ancient reef find 'may push back evolution' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The discovery of an ancient reef north of Adelaide by Australian scientists may push back the evolution of the earliest animals by 80 million years. ...The researchers say they have uncovered complex organisms that in some ways resemble multicellular life in a large reef located in the Northern Flinders Ranges, 700 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia.
Grain stubble could power a greener future - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Australian researchers say biofuels made from the stubble left over from harvesting grains could replace around one fifth of the volume of petrol used in Australia.
Aussie finds new iguana species in Fiji - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Dig pinpoints Stonehenge origins
Archaeologists have pinpointed the construction of Stonehenge to 2300BC - a key step to discovering how and why the mysterious edifice was built. The radiocarbon date is said to be the most accurate yet and means the ring's original bluestones were put up 300 years later than previously thought.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Observatory detects record burst
Because light moves at finite speed, looking farther into the Universe means looking back in time. The distance this flash has had to travel means Swift is seeing the event less than 825 million years after the Universe came into being; and some 70 million years further back in time than the previous record holder, a burst detected in 2005.
Pinning down the Milky Way's spin
Artist's impression of the local neighbourhood of the Sun and its setting within our galaxy, the Milky Way (see insert above). The figure shows the positions of some bright stars (in white) in the sky as well as the eight Cepheids used in the investigation (in blue). After the rotation of the Milky Way had been accounted for (red arrow), it seemed that the Cepheids were all "falling" towards the Sun (blue arrows; these are not to scale: in reality the blue velocities are typically a factor one hundred smaller than the velocity around the Milky Way). New, very precise measurements with the HARPS instrument have shown that this apparent "fall" is due to effects within the Cepheids themselves and is not related to the way the Milky Way rotates. The motion indicated by the blue arrows is thus an illusion. The scale of the image is given in light-years (ly).
Like a Rolling Sun? -- Berardelli 2008 (917): 2 -- ScienceNOW
The idea sounds perfectly logical: Life evolved on Earth partly because our entire solar system happened to coalesce within a relatively quiet corner of the Milky Way. This "habitable zone" is far from the lethal radiation, fast-flying supernova debris, and black holes that afflict other parts of the galaxy. The problem is that the theory may not be true, according to new research. The sun and all its planets may have been born in a far more dangerous corner of the galaxy and only later migrated to the suburbs.
Invention: Infrared lie detector - tech - 22 September 2008 - New Scientist Tech
The amount of reflected light is dependent on the levels of oxygen in the blood, which in turn depends on how active the brain is at that point.This, he says, gives a detailed picture of real-time activity within the brain that can be used to determine whether the subject is lying. The technique is both cheaper and easier to apply than fMRI and gives a higher resolution than an EEG.
Self-steering Vehicle Designed To Mimic Movements Of Ants
... the “Verdino”, a self-steering vehicle that can sense the road surface using a technique called Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO). This method is based on the behaviour used by ants to find the shortest way between their ant hill and sources of food.
Craig Venter on Creating Artificial Life
Can Sunshine Power the U.S.?
With few clouds, the American Southwest sun pours more than eight kilowatt-hours* per square meter of its energy onto the landscape. Vast parabolic mirrors in the heart of California's Mojave Desert concentrate this solar energy to heat a specialized oil to around 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). This hot oil then transfers its heat to water, vaporizing it. The resulting steam turns a turbine to produce electricity. In all, nine such mirror fields, known as concentrating solar power plants, can supply more than 350 megawatts of electricity yearly.
Planet's strange orbit points to planetary billiards - space - 22 September 2008 - New Scientist
Guillame Hebrard of the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris and colleagues detected an unusual colour shift as XO-3b passed in front of its star. The pattern suggests that its 3.2-day orbit is tilted by 70 degrees (see diagram). "If confirmed, this might be the first planet of this type," says Hebrard.
Great Barrier Reef Expeditions Yields 100's New Species & Clues to Biodiversity Threats
Hundreds of new animal species have been discovered by a team of international researchers affiliated with the global Census of Marine Life exploring waters off Lizard and Heron Islands on the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef off northwestern Australia. The marine expedition was the first scientific inventory of spectacular soft corals, named octocorals for the eight tentacles that fringe each polyp.
Raiders of the Lost Codex: Scholars Piece Together Ancient Bible - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE -
Parts of the 1,600-year-old Codex Sinaiticus -- which includes the world's earliest complete New Testament -- are scattered between Leipzig, London and St. Petersburg. Now researchers want to digitize the fragments and publish the whole volume on the Internet. But controversy still rages over the proper ownership of the relic.
Dark Matter Disk In Our Galaxy, Supercomputer Simulation Shows
An international team of scientists predict that our Galaxy, the Milky Way, contains a disk of ‘dark matter’. Astronomers Dr Justin Read, Professor George Lake and Oscar Agertz of the University of Zurich, and Dr Victor Debattista of the University of Central Lancashire use the results of a supercomputer simulation to deduce the presence of this disk.
Moo North: Cattle and Deer May Sense Earth's Magnetic Field: Scientific American
Researchers have found that when grazing or resting, cattle and deer tend to point their bodies toward Earth's magnetic poles, which suggests they are able to sense magnetic fields in the same way as many smaller animals.
Hurricane Ike's Sprawl a Meteorological Mystery : Discovery News
Considering the vastly different dangers posed by these storms, it's natural to wonder just why some storms get so big while others stay small, despite having the same hurricane-force winds. Why, in other words, is Ike such a titan?
Did evolution come before life? - life - 15 September 2008 - New Scientist
A rudimentary form of natural selection likely existed in the primordial soup even before life arose on Earth. If so, the complex "ecosystem" of prebiotic molecules may have made the eventual arrival of life much more probable.
Space 'firefly' resembles no known object - space - 16 September 2008 - New Scientist Space
An object that brightened intensely and then faded back into obscurity over a period of about seven months is unlike anything astronomers have seen before, a new study reports.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Exoplanet circles 'normal star'
The new planet is huge, with a mass about eight times that of Jupiter.
Bone fragments from a 210-million year-old, land-dwelling reptile from New Mexico suggest that the earliest turtles didn't have much of a shell at all.
Video game for flies may unlock secrets of insect flight - tech - 08 October 2008 - New Scientist
HOW does a fly fly? Exactly how the insects control their flight, using only a few hundred neurons, is a bit of a mystery. But now roboticists are hoping to work out how they do it - using a system that lets fruit flies "drive" a remote-controlled car.
Blood Test for Mom Picks Up Down Syndrome in Fetus -- Kaiser 2008 (1006): 3 -- ScienceNOW
A technology guru may have solved a problem that has long vexed obstetricians: how to test for Down syndrome without poking a needle into the womb. By sequencing the fetal DNA floating in a mother's blood, bioengineer Stephen Quake's team at Stanford University in Palo Alto, California, detected nine cases of the disease with 100% accuracy. If this small study holds up in larger trials, the test could become routine for expectant mothers.
The Price of Words Unspoken -- Zelkowitz 2008 (1007): 2 -- ScienceNOW
Humans are hard-wired to notice race. The average person registers the race of another human face in less than 100 milliseconds, according to past studies. This instantaneous perception clashes sharply with the American cultural taboo against using race to identify someone. Watch people at a party trying to describe another person, says Michael Norton, a marketing researcher at Harvard Business School. "They'll launch into these long explanations until someone in the group might eventually say, 'Oh, you mean the Asian guy?'"
Scientists Discover Fish in Act of Evolution in Africa’s Greatest Lake : EcoWorldly
In what could be a first in the world, a fish species in the cichlid family has been observed by scientists in the act of splitting into two distinct species in Lake Victoria, Africa’s largest lake and one of the world’s biggest fresh water bodies.
Researchers Say Ancient Tibetan Practice May Improve Health & Happiness
The thousand-year-old Tibetan Buddhist mind-training practice "lojong" utilizes a cognitive, analytic approach to challenge an individual's unexamined thoughts and emotions toward other people, with the long-term goal of developing altruistic emotions and behavior towards all people. Each meditation class session combined teaching, discussion and meditation practice.
BBC NEWS : Science & Environment : 'Deepest ever' living fish filmed
The fish, known as Pseudoliparis amblystomopsis, can be seen darting about in the darkness of the depths, scooping up shrimps.
Ultra-sweet plant has soft drink companies licking their lips - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
The approval of a natural alternative to sugar could have the potential to provide thousands of sweet-toothed Australians with an alternative to artificial sweeteners.
Asteroid near-miss prompts calls for astronomy funding - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Astronomers have calling for more funding to watch southern skies, after an asteroid took sky-gazers by surprise and entered the earth's atmosphere over Africa yesterday.
CSIRO discovers biological treasure trove in Southern Ocean - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Scientists are preparing to rewrite the textbooks after hundreds of massive deep sea mountains and new marine species were discovered in the Southern Ocean near Tasmania.
Forest Fire Warning System Derives Power from Trees : CleanTechnica
Scientists only recently discovered that trees produce energy generated from an imbalance in pH between a tree and its surrounding soil. The forest fire warning sensor is the first real-world application of this knowledge.
Gandhi-Inspired Spinning Wheel Generates Electricity : CleanTechnica
The e-charkha, which was designed by a follower of Gandhi’s Ekambar Nath philosophy, can generate enough electricity in its attached battery for 6-7 hours of power in rural homes. Two hours of operation can light up the e-charkha’s specially designed LED light for eight hours— so the spinning wheel provides enough light for its continued use as an instrument of clothing production.
The Solar Cube: A Solar and Wind Powered Water Source for Remote Areas : CleanTechnica
The Cube (AKA the Spectra Solar Brackish Water System) is a portable solar and wind powered desalination unit that can produce 950 to 1500 gallons of fresh water each day. Attached photovoltaic cells generate up to 1240 watts, while the wind generator can produce up to 1000 watts. The Cube generates more power than is necessary for water production, so excess energy can be used for other things—such as the operation of emergency equipment.
Ancient reef find 'may push back evolution' - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
The discovery of an ancient reef north of Adelaide by Australian scientists may push back the evolution of the earliest animals by 80 million years. ...The researchers say they have uncovered complex organisms that in some ways resemble multicellular life in a large reef located in the Northern Flinders Ranges, 700 kilometres north of Adelaide in South Australia.
Grain stubble could power a greener future - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Australian researchers say biofuels made from the stubble left over from harvesting grains could replace around one fifth of the volume of petrol used in Australia.
Aussie finds new iguana species in Fiji - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Dig pinpoints Stonehenge origins
Archaeologists have pinpointed the construction of Stonehenge to 2300BC - a key step to discovering how and why the mysterious edifice was built. The radiocarbon date is said to be the most accurate yet and means the ring's original bluestones were put up 300 years later than previously thought.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Observatory detects record burst
Because light moves at finite speed, looking farther into the Universe means looking back in time. The distance this flash has had to travel means Swift is seeing the event less than 825 million years after the Universe came into being; and some 70 million years further back in time than the previous record holder, a burst detected in 2005.
Pinning down the Milky Way's spin
Artist's impression of the local neighbourhood of the Sun and its setting within our galaxy, the Milky Way (see insert above). The figure shows the positions of some bright stars (in white) in the sky as well as the eight Cepheids used in the investigation (in blue). After the rotation of the Milky Way had been accounted for (red arrow), it seemed that the Cepheids were all "falling" towards the Sun (blue arrows; these are not to scale: in reality the blue velocities are typically a factor one hundred smaller than the velocity around the Milky Way). New, very precise measurements with the HARPS instrument have shown that this apparent "fall" is due to effects within the Cepheids themselves and is not related to the way the Milky Way rotates. The motion indicated by the blue arrows is thus an illusion. The scale of the image is given in light-years (ly).
Like a Rolling Sun? -- Berardelli 2008 (917): 2 -- ScienceNOW
The idea sounds perfectly logical: Life evolved on Earth partly because our entire solar system happened to coalesce within a relatively quiet corner of the Milky Way. This "habitable zone" is far from the lethal radiation, fast-flying supernova debris, and black holes that afflict other parts of the galaxy. The problem is that the theory may not be true, according to new research. The sun and all its planets may have been born in a far more dangerous corner of the galaxy and only later migrated to the suburbs.
Invention: Infrared lie detector - tech - 22 September 2008 - New Scientist Tech
The amount of reflected light is dependent on the levels of oxygen in the blood, which in turn depends on how active the brain is at that point.This, he says, gives a detailed picture of real-time activity within the brain that can be used to determine whether the subject is lying. The technique is both cheaper and easier to apply than fMRI and gives a higher resolution than an EEG.
Self-steering Vehicle Designed To Mimic Movements Of Ants
... the “Verdino”, a self-steering vehicle that can sense the road surface using a technique called Ant Colony Optimisation (ACO). This method is based on the behaviour used by ants to find the shortest way between their ant hill and sources of food.
Craig Venter on Creating Artificial Life
Can Sunshine Power the U.S.?
With few clouds, the American Southwest sun pours more than eight kilowatt-hours* per square meter of its energy onto the landscape. Vast parabolic mirrors in the heart of California's Mojave Desert concentrate this solar energy to heat a specialized oil to around 750 degrees Fahrenheit (400 degrees Celsius). This hot oil then transfers its heat to water, vaporizing it. The resulting steam turns a turbine to produce electricity. In all, nine such mirror fields, known as concentrating solar power plants, can supply more than 350 megawatts of electricity yearly.
Planet's strange orbit points to planetary billiards - space - 22 September 2008 - New Scientist
Guillame Hebrard of the Institute of Astrophysics in Paris and colleagues detected an unusual colour shift as XO-3b passed in front of its star. The pattern suggests that its 3.2-day orbit is tilted by 70 degrees (see diagram). "If confirmed, this might be the first planet of this type," says Hebrard.
Great Barrier Reef Expeditions Yields 100's New Species & Clues to Biodiversity Threats
Hundreds of new animal species have been discovered by a team of international researchers affiliated with the global Census of Marine Life exploring waters off Lizard and Heron Islands on the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef off northwestern Australia. The marine expedition was the first scientific inventory of spectacular soft corals, named octocorals for the eight tentacles that fringe each polyp.
Raiders of the Lost Codex: Scholars Piece Together Ancient Bible - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE -
Parts of the 1,600-year-old Codex Sinaiticus -- which includes the world's earliest complete New Testament -- are scattered between Leipzig, London and St. Petersburg. Now researchers want to digitize the fragments and publish the whole volume on the Internet. But controversy still rages over the proper ownership of the relic.
Dark Matter Disk In Our Galaxy, Supercomputer Simulation Shows
An international team of scientists predict that our Galaxy, the Milky Way, contains a disk of ‘dark matter’. Astronomers Dr Justin Read, Professor George Lake and Oscar Agertz of the University of Zurich, and Dr Victor Debattista of the University of Central Lancashire use the results of a supercomputer simulation to deduce the presence of this disk.
Moo North: Cattle and Deer May Sense Earth's Magnetic Field: Scientific American
Researchers have found that when grazing or resting, cattle and deer tend to point their bodies toward Earth's magnetic poles, which suggests they are able to sense magnetic fields in the same way as many smaller animals.
Hurricane Ike's Sprawl a Meteorological Mystery : Discovery News
Considering the vastly different dangers posed by these storms, it's natural to wonder just why some storms get so big while others stay small, despite having the same hurricane-force winds. Why, in other words, is Ike such a titan?
Did evolution come before life? - life - 15 September 2008 - New Scientist
A rudimentary form of natural selection likely existed in the primordial soup even before life arose on Earth. If so, the complex "ecosystem" of prebiotic molecules may have made the eventual arrival of life much more probable.
Space 'firefly' resembles no known object - space - 16 September 2008 - New Scientist Space
An object that brightened intensely and then faded back into obscurity over a period of about seven months is unlike anything astronomers have seen before, a new study reports.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Exoplanet circles 'normal star'
The new planet is huge, with a mass about eight times that of Jupiter.
Monday, September 15, 2008
#15
Harvard Evolutionary Biologist Asks: Are There Hidden Benefits to Superstitions?
Superstitions have long been a part of human culture. From the extreme ones, like never crossing a black cat, shattering a mirror, or walking under a ladder, to the minor ones, like my necessity to wear my special beanie when I need help writing. There are superstitions for everything. But could superstition be linked to Charles Darwin’s famous theory of natural selection? Could there be a hidden benefit to superstition?
Deaf people feel their way to speech - health - 14 September 2008 - New Scientist
"One of the real mysteries of human language is that people who become deaf as adults remain capable of producing intelligible speech for years in the complete absence of any auditory input," says David Ostry, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who led the new study along with colleague Sazzad Nasir.
Faux Superconductors Pass a Key Milestone -- Cho 2008 (912): 1 -- ScienceNOW
Twenty-two years ago, physicists discovered that certain materials containing copper and oxygen could carry electricity without any resistance at inexplicably high temperatures--well above absolute zero although still far colder than winter in Fargo, North Dakota. Such "high-temperature superconductivity" remains the biggest mystery in the physics of materials, and some scientists are trying to solve it in an unusual way, by simulating the crystals with patterns of laser light and puffs of ultracold atoms. Now, a team in Switzerland has taken a key step in that effort by replicating the basic starting point from which the superconductivity is thought to emerge--a sort of traffic jam in which nothing moves.
Physicists Harness Effects Of Disorder In Magnetic Sensors
University of Chicago scientists have discovered how to make magnetic sensors capable of operating at the high temperatures that ceramic engines in cars and aircraft of the future will require.
Accurate Speedometer For Astronomy: Determining Velocities Of Stars And Other Celestial Bodies
Events on a cosmic scale are often barely discernable on Earth. This explains why astronomers are currently not able to prove directly that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate, nor can they search for planets that are roughly the same size as Earth and revolve around a sun-like star.
Seeing Through The Skin: Optic-less Imaging Technology Could Beat Lens-based Imaging Devices
Skin vision is not uncommon in nature. Plants orient themselves to light, and some animals -- such as pit vipers, who use infrared vision, and reptiles, who possess skin sensors -- can “see” without the use of eyes. Skin vision in humans is likely a natural atavistic ability involving light-sensitive cells in our skin connected to neuro-machinery in the body and in the brain, explains Prof. Yaroslavsky.
1843 Eta Carinae Stellar Show Could Have Been Mini-Supernova
... University of California, Berkeley, astronomer Nathan Smith puts forth a new idea; that Eta Carinae did in fact explode, but managed to survive.
BBC NEWS : UK : Education : Call for creationism in science
"Some of my comments about the teaching of creationism have been misinterpreted as suggesting that creationism should be taught in science classes. Creationism has no scientific basis. However, when young people ask questions about creationism in science classes, teachers need to be able to explain to them why evolution and the Big Bang are scientific theories but they should also take the time to explain how science works and why creationism has no scientific basis. I have referred to science teachers discussing creationism as a worldview'; this is not the same as lending it any scientific credibility."
The premier of a SoladieselTM powered vehicle at the Sundance Film
Soladiesel exceeds both the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) biodiesel standard D6751 and EN 14214, the European standard, which ensures that biodiesel can safely run any existing diesel engine.
Hawking vs Higgs: Heavyweight Bout at CERN's LHC
Professor Hawking's comments are entirely valid from a scientific point of view - the true mission of science is not to be right, but to find out what we don't know. Discovering a lack of Higgs boson will be just as exciting as its presence - solid information about a previously untapped region and further evidence for theories. Just different theories from the ones currently favored.
The Way S/he Moves -- Zelkowitz 2008 (909): 1 -- ScienceNOW
How someone walks can reveal their feelings.
Mammoths: Made in America -- Gibbons 2008 (904): 2 -- ScienceNOW
mammoths sorted into three main groups: one that was exclusively Asian, one that was exclusively American, and one that lived in both places.
Jet fuel from algae passes first test: Scientific American Blog
Solazyme—the mavericks who make their algal oil in the dark—have produced a jet fuel that passes the ASTM's standards for "Aviation Turbine Fuel," otherwise known as jet fuel.
Upper Mass Limit For Black Holes?
even the biggest of these gravitational monsters can't keep growing forever. Instead, they appear to curb their own growth - once they accumulate about 10 billion times the mass of the Sun.
[0808.3268] Minimal Energy Transfer of Solid Material Between Planetary Systems
The exchange of meteorites among the terrestrial planets of our Solar System is a well established phenomenon that has triggered discussion of lithopanspermia within the Solar System. Similarly, could solid material be transferred across planetary systems?
NASA - NASA to Explore "Secret Layer" of the Sun
"Early next year, we're going to launch an experimental telescope that can measure vector magnetic fields in the transition region," explains Jonathan Cirtain of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Previous studies have measured these fields above and below the transition region—but never inside it. "We hope to be the first."
UK digs deep for secrets of cosmos : Science : The Observer
At the bottom of Britain's deepest mine, scientists are putting their finishing touches to a device that could solve one of astronomy's most baffling mysteries: the location of the universe's missing matter. If they succeed, the group will snatch some of the glory from one of the most prestigious scientific projects undertaken in recent years: the ?3.5bn Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is to be opened officially in Geneva this week.
Interstellar 'slowball' could have carried seeds of life - space - 04 September 2008 - New Scientist
Now Edward Belbruno and colleagues at Princeton University have shown that planetary systems in young, densely packed star clusters could throw out rocks at a slower pace. They showed that for rocks in certain orbital positions, the gravitational pull of the central star is equal to the pull of other stars in the cluster. This sends the rocks into chaotic orbits that eventually allow them to wander off at about 0.1 kilometres per second - slow enough for other stars to catch them
ET could 'tickle' stars to create galactic internet - space - 08 September 2008 - New Scientist
"But I'm inclined to think that positing the Cepheid scheme is like someone in Marconi's time predicting future radio broadcasters will use giant spark-gap transmitters to reach audiences in large cities," he says. "Better technology means higher efficiency, so using an entire star as the 'carrier' seems unlikely to me."
'Water bears' are first animal to survive vacuum of space - space - 08 September 2008 - New
Tiny invertebrates called 'water bears' can survive in the vacuum of space, a European Space Agency experiment has shown. They are the first animals known to be able to survive the harsh combination of low pressure and intense radiation found in space.
Did we out-breed slow-maturing Neanderthals? - being-human - 08 September 2008 - New Scientist
Neanderthal women had just as much trouble in childbirth as modern women – and their kids took just as long to grow up.
Melting Swiss Glacier Yields Neolithic Trove
Some 5,000 years ago, a prehistoric person trod high up in what is now the Swiss Alps, wearing goat leather pants, leather shoes and armed with a bow and arrows.
Hubble Mission Faces Higher Risk From Space Debris : Discovery News
Next month's shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope faces an increased risk of getting hit by space junk because it will be in a higher, more littered orbit than usual, NASA said Monday.
Giant sleeping Buddha found in Afghanistan - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Archaeologists in Afghanistan have discovered a giant Buddha statue buried near the site where the world-famous Bamiyan Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
Cool philosophies : Article : Nature
For the LHC, some of these foundational issues are raised by the role of aesthetics as a guide to physical theory, in particular arguments based on symmetry. At the pragmatic level, symmetry has been an immensely fertile tool, and it underpins the notion of a Higgs mechanism for mass. But there is no rigorous justification for relying on it, and it is possible that the LHC might point the way to a new physics that discards it as a ruling principle.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Ancient trees recorded in mines
The forests grew just a few million years apart some 300 million years ago; and are now stacked one on top of another. It appears the ancient land experienced repeated periods of subsidence and flooding which buried the forests in a vertical sequence.
Russian archaeologists find long-lost Jewish capital - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Russian archaeologists say they have found the long-lost capital of the Khazar kingdom in southern Russia, a breakthrough for research on the ancient Jewish state.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Rosetta probe makes asteroid pass
The Rosetta space probe has made a close pass of asteroid Steins.
Saturn Moons Sport Rings, Too : Discovery News
New findings from the Cassini science probe confirm ring arcs ahead and behind the small moons Anthe and Methone, a discovery that is giving physicists new insights into the sculpting prowess of gravity.
On Mars, Does Fire Plus Ice Equal Life? : Discovery News
"It's possible that volcanic activity on Mars is much more widespread and recent than people on the whole thought," Hovius said. "This is a flood bigger than anything we've seen on Earth."
Protective Skin Could Herald in Tiny Satellite Fleet : Discovery News
In what could be a big breakthrough for tiny satellites, a team of researchers has created a thin plastic-like coating that can switch from cooling to warming with a quick pulse of electricity.
Incoming MIT Freshman Creates New Vehicle: Scientific American Podcast
Next Stop: The Fourth Dimension, With Large Hadron Collider Experiments
Is "ElectroSmog" Destroying the Planet's Bee Population?
Mobile phones, Wi-Fi networks, electric power lines are sources of "electrosmog" disrupting nature on an unprecedented, massive scale causing birds and bees to lose their bearings, fail to reproduce and die
Lunar Location Scout: Why Finding a Parking Spot on the Moon is not Easy
great big rocks, lots of them, and if you bounce your lunar lander off one of those on your way down you'll lose more than your no claims bonus.
Tiny Gold Clusters Are Top-notch Catalysts
exploiting gold's exceptional ability to catalyze a wide variety of chemical reactions, including the oxidation of poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) into harmless carbon dioxide at room temperatures.
Chauvinists less unnerving than ambiguous men - being-human - 07 September 2008 - New Scientist
CHAUVINISTIC men can be petty and infuriating, but that might be as far as it goes. Women are more unnerved by not knowing a man's views than by overt sexism - so much so that they perform worse in exams.
Superstitions have long been a part of human culture. From the extreme ones, like never crossing a black cat, shattering a mirror, or walking under a ladder, to the minor ones, like my necessity to wear my special beanie when I need help writing. There are superstitions for everything. But could superstition be linked to Charles Darwin’s famous theory of natural selection? Could there be a hidden benefit to superstition?
Deaf people feel their way to speech - health - 14 September 2008 - New Scientist
"One of the real mysteries of human language is that people who become deaf as adults remain capable of producing intelligible speech for years in the complete absence of any auditory input," says David Ostry, a neuroscientist at McGill University in Montreal, Canada, who led the new study along with colleague Sazzad Nasir.
Faux Superconductors Pass a Key Milestone -- Cho 2008 (912): 1 -- ScienceNOW
Twenty-two years ago, physicists discovered that certain materials containing copper and oxygen could carry electricity without any resistance at inexplicably high temperatures--well above absolute zero although still far colder than winter in Fargo, North Dakota. Such "high-temperature superconductivity" remains the biggest mystery in the physics of materials, and some scientists are trying to solve it in an unusual way, by simulating the crystals with patterns of laser light and puffs of ultracold atoms. Now, a team in Switzerland has taken a key step in that effort by replicating the basic starting point from which the superconductivity is thought to emerge--a sort of traffic jam in which nothing moves.
Physicists Harness Effects Of Disorder In Magnetic Sensors
University of Chicago scientists have discovered how to make magnetic sensors capable of operating at the high temperatures that ceramic engines in cars and aircraft of the future will require.
Accurate Speedometer For Astronomy: Determining Velocities Of Stars And Other Celestial Bodies
Events on a cosmic scale are often barely discernable on Earth. This explains why astronomers are currently not able to prove directly that the universe is expanding at an ever increasing rate, nor can they search for planets that are roughly the same size as Earth and revolve around a sun-like star.
Seeing Through The Skin: Optic-less Imaging Technology Could Beat Lens-based Imaging Devices
Skin vision is not uncommon in nature. Plants orient themselves to light, and some animals -- such as pit vipers, who use infrared vision, and reptiles, who possess skin sensors -- can “see” without the use of eyes. Skin vision in humans is likely a natural atavistic ability involving light-sensitive cells in our skin connected to neuro-machinery in the body and in the brain, explains Prof. Yaroslavsky.
1843 Eta Carinae Stellar Show Could Have Been Mini-Supernova
... University of California, Berkeley, astronomer Nathan Smith puts forth a new idea; that Eta Carinae did in fact explode, but managed to survive.
BBC NEWS : UK : Education : Call for creationism in science
"Some of my comments about the teaching of creationism have been misinterpreted as suggesting that creationism should be taught in science classes. Creationism has no scientific basis. However, when young people ask questions about creationism in science classes, teachers need to be able to explain to them why evolution and the Big Bang are scientific theories but they should also take the time to explain how science works and why creationism has no scientific basis. I have referred to science teachers discussing creationism as a worldview'; this is not the same as lending it any scientific credibility."
The premier of a SoladieselTM powered vehicle at the Sundance Film
Soladiesel exceeds both the requirements of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) biodiesel standard D6751 and EN 14214, the European standard, which ensures that biodiesel can safely run any existing diesel engine.
Hawking vs Higgs: Heavyweight Bout at CERN's LHC
Professor Hawking's comments are entirely valid from a scientific point of view - the true mission of science is not to be right, but to find out what we don't know. Discovering a lack of Higgs boson will be just as exciting as its presence - solid information about a previously untapped region and further evidence for theories. Just different theories from the ones currently favored.
The Way S/he Moves -- Zelkowitz 2008 (909): 1 -- ScienceNOW
How someone walks can reveal their feelings.
Mammoths: Made in America -- Gibbons 2008 (904): 2 -- ScienceNOW
mammoths sorted into three main groups: one that was exclusively Asian, one that was exclusively American, and one that lived in both places.
Jet fuel from algae passes first test: Scientific American Blog
Solazyme—the mavericks who make their algal oil in the dark—have produced a jet fuel that passes the ASTM's standards for "Aviation Turbine Fuel," otherwise known as jet fuel.
Upper Mass Limit For Black Holes?
even the biggest of these gravitational monsters can't keep growing forever. Instead, they appear to curb their own growth - once they accumulate about 10 billion times the mass of the Sun.
[0808.3268] Minimal Energy Transfer of Solid Material Between Planetary Systems
The exchange of meteorites among the terrestrial planets of our Solar System is a well established phenomenon that has triggered discussion of lithopanspermia within the Solar System. Similarly, could solid material be transferred across planetary systems?
NASA - NASA to Explore "Secret Layer" of the Sun
"Early next year, we're going to launch an experimental telescope that can measure vector magnetic fields in the transition region," explains Jonathan Cirtain of the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Previous studies have measured these fields above and below the transition region—but never inside it. "We hope to be the first."
UK digs deep for secrets of cosmos : Science : The Observer
At the bottom of Britain's deepest mine, scientists are putting their finishing touches to a device that could solve one of astronomy's most baffling mysteries: the location of the universe's missing matter. If they succeed, the group will snatch some of the glory from one of the most prestigious scientific projects undertaken in recent years: the ?3.5bn Large Hadron Collider (LHC), which is to be opened officially in Geneva this week.
Interstellar 'slowball' could have carried seeds of life - space - 04 September 2008 - New Scientist
Now Edward Belbruno and colleagues at Princeton University have shown that planetary systems in young, densely packed star clusters could throw out rocks at a slower pace. They showed that for rocks in certain orbital positions, the gravitational pull of the central star is equal to the pull of other stars in the cluster. This sends the rocks into chaotic orbits that eventually allow them to wander off at about 0.1 kilometres per second - slow enough for other stars to catch them
ET could 'tickle' stars to create galactic internet - space - 08 September 2008 - New Scientist
"But I'm inclined to think that positing the Cepheid scheme is like someone in Marconi's time predicting future radio broadcasters will use giant spark-gap transmitters to reach audiences in large cities," he says. "Better technology means higher efficiency, so using an entire star as the 'carrier' seems unlikely to me."
'Water bears' are first animal to survive vacuum of space - space - 08 September 2008 - New
Tiny invertebrates called 'water bears' can survive in the vacuum of space, a European Space Agency experiment has shown. They are the first animals known to be able to survive the harsh combination of low pressure and intense radiation found in space.
Did we out-breed slow-maturing Neanderthals? - being-human - 08 September 2008 - New Scientist
Neanderthal women had just as much trouble in childbirth as modern women – and their kids took just as long to grow up.
Melting Swiss Glacier Yields Neolithic Trove
Some 5,000 years ago, a prehistoric person trod high up in what is now the Swiss Alps, wearing goat leather pants, leather shoes and armed with a bow and arrows.
Hubble Mission Faces Higher Risk From Space Debris : Discovery News
Next month's shuttle flight to the Hubble Space Telescope faces an increased risk of getting hit by space junk because it will be in a higher, more littered orbit than usual, NASA said Monday.
Giant sleeping Buddha found in Afghanistan - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
Archaeologists in Afghanistan have discovered a giant Buddha statue buried near the site where the world-famous Bamiyan Buddhas were destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.
Cool philosophies : Article : Nature
For the LHC, some of these foundational issues are raised by the role of aesthetics as a guide to physical theory, in particular arguments based on symmetry. At the pragmatic level, symmetry has been an immensely fertile tool, and it underpins the notion of a Higgs mechanism for mass. But there is no rigorous justification for relying on it, and it is possible that the LHC might point the way to a new physics that discards it as a ruling principle.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Ancient trees recorded in mines
The forests grew just a few million years apart some 300 million years ago; and are now stacked one on top of another. It appears the ancient land experienced repeated periods of subsidence and flooding which buried the forests in a vertical sequence.
Russian archaeologists find long-lost Jewish capital - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting
Russian archaeologists say they have found the long-lost capital of the Khazar kingdom in southern Russia, a breakthrough for research on the ancient Jewish state.
BBC NEWS : Science/Nature : Rosetta probe makes asteroid pass
The Rosetta space probe has made a close pass of asteroid Steins.
Saturn Moons Sport Rings, Too : Discovery News
New findings from the Cassini science probe confirm ring arcs ahead and behind the small moons Anthe and Methone, a discovery that is giving physicists new insights into the sculpting prowess of gravity.
On Mars, Does Fire Plus Ice Equal Life? : Discovery News
"It's possible that volcanic activity on Mars is much more widespread and recent than people on the whole thought," Hovius said. "This is a flood bigger than anything we've seen on Earth."
Protective Skin Could Herald in Tiny Satellite Fleet : Discovery News
In what could be a big breakthrough for tiny satellites, a team of researchers has created a thin plastic-like coating that can switch from cooling to warming with a quick pulse of electricity.
Incoming MIT Freshman Creates New Vehicle: Scientific American Podcast
Next Stop: The Fourth Dimension, With Large Hadron Collider Experiments
Is "ElectroSmog" Destroying the Planet's Bee Population?
Mobile phones, Wi-Fi networks, electric power lines are sources of "electrosmog" disrupting nature on an unprecedented, massive scale causing birds and bees to lose their bearings, fail to reproduce and die
Lunar Location Scout: Why Finding a Parking Spot on the Moon is not Easy
great big rocks, lots of them, and if you bounce your lunar lander off one of those on your way down you'll lose more than your no claims bonus.
Tiny Gold Clusters Are Top-notch Catalysts
exploiting gold's exceptional ability to catalyze a wide variety of chemical reactions, including the oxidation of poisonous carbon monoxide (CO) into harmless carbon dioxide at room temperatures.
Chauvinists less unnerving than ambiguous men - being-human - 07 September 2008 - New Scientist
CHAUVINISTIC men can be petty and infuriating, but that might be as far as it goes. Women are more unnerved by not knowing a man's views than by overt sexism - so much so that they perform worse in exams.
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