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Why (And How) Some Daisies Got Their Spots

Why (And How) Some Daisies Got Their Spots

Dec 18 2009 | comment(s)

Dark spots on flower petals are common across many angiosperm plant families and occur on some flowers such as lilies, orchids, and considerable research has been done on the physiological and behavioral mechanisms for how these spots attract pollinators, but what these spots are composed of, how they develop, and how they only appear on some but not all of the ray florets has long been a puzzle. 

Dr. Meredith Thomas from the University of Cambridge and associates from England and South Africa focused on the South African endemic beetle daisy Gorteria diffusa (Asteraceae), which has a unique, raised, dark spot at the base of some of its ray florets to help find deeper answers.  The American Journal of Botany published the results of the study.
The first few hundred thousand years of existence. From the Big Bang. To the Cosmic Microwave Background.

The first few hundred thousand years of existence. From the Big Bang. To the Cosmic Microwave Background.

Dec 18 2009 | comment(s)

Today mankind has a pretty good understanding of what physical processes followed the big bang, and lead to the universe we see  today. This understanding is based on the solid foundation of  direct observations of the first light to travel through a  transparent universe. We also have data gathered by experiments in nuclear and particle physics labs on Earth. From these pieces of data a picture can be drawn of how the universe evolved in the first half million years of existence.
Holographic Horizons Get Hotter

Holographic Horizons Get Hotter

Dec 18 2009 | comment(s)

Three days ago I wrote a blog about a new theory that seems to lead to the conclusion that gravity is an effect emerging from quantum mechanical principles.
Last-minute crumbs at Copenhagen

Last-minute crumbs at Copenhagen

Dec 18 2009 | comment(s)

Last-minute crumbs at Copenhagen With 24 hours to go, a minor US concession and a truce between squabbling nation blocs on Thursday allowed some crumbs to be salvaged from the Copenhagen climate summit. For India, in the months ahead, even this weak statement may imply more concessions from its stated position.Those crumbs will allow a political statement — short on specifics and long on generalities — to be crafted for 113 heads of states to sign off on Friday, last day of the conference, leaving the much harder task of a legally binding treaty to Mexico in November 2010. For India, in the months ahead, even this weak statement may imply more concessions from its stated position.

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

This is me in front of an old-style constant-volume fume hood. This species of hood is endemic to academic chemistry labs.
Cephalopodifying Trees

Cephalopodifying Trees

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

I have a few cephalopod ornaments to hang on the boughs, but nothing like these ninety-nine beautiful hand-sewn octopuses!

Esty has a number of options when it comes to festive cephalopods. This is my favorite:

James Randi, Global Warming And The Meaning Of Skepticism

James Randi, Global Warming And The Meaning Of Skepticism

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

James “the Amazing” Randi is an icon of skepticism. The man has done more — over a span of several decades — to further the cause of critical thinking and to expose flimflammery of all sorts than arguably anyone else in the world, ever. That is why I was struck with incredulity and sadness yesterday when I read Randi’s latest take on global warming.
Why Danes are keeping political statement secret

Why Danes are keeping political statement secret

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

India attacks Danes for keeping political statement secret Press Trust Of India Copenhagen, December 17, 2009 First Published: 20:58 IST(17/12/2009) Last Updated: 21:12 IST(17/12/2009) Print As prospects of a deal to combat global warming appeared bleak at marathon talks here, India today attacked host Denmark for keeping the political statement under wraps even as the US accused emerging nations of "backing away" from scrutiny of their climate actions.
Biodiversity Informatics: the emergence of a field

Biodiversity Informatics: the emergence of a field

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

Biodiversity Informatics: the emergence of a field Indra Neil Sarkar1,2,3 1 Center for Clinical and Translational Science, University of Vermont, Burlington, VT, USA 2 Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, College of Medicine, University of Vermont, VT, USA 3 Department of Computer Science, College of Engineering and Mathematical Science, University of Vermont, VT, USA author email corresponding author email BMC Bioinformatics 2009, 10(Suppl 14):S1doi:10.1186/1471-2105-10-S14-S1 The electronic version of this article is the complete one and can be found online at: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2105/10/S14/S1 Published: 10 November 2009 © 2009 Sarkar; licensee BioMed Central Ltd.
World leaders address fraught climate summit

World leaders address fraught climate summit

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

World leaders address fraught climate summit Buzz Up Share Twitter Delicious Myspace Digg Stumble Upon Facebook Thu, Dec 17 04:15 PM Copenhagen, Dec. 17 -- Persistently deep divisions threatened to scupper a climate change deal in Copenhagen on Wednesday, but Africa offered a glimmer of hope by asking for less money from rich nations. "I know my proposal today will disappoint those Africans who, from the point of justice, have asked for full compensation of the damage done to our development prospects," said Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi on behalf of African nations present in Copenhagen. Addressing the plenary, Zenawi endorsed UN proposals for fast-start aid of $10 billion per year between 2010 and 2012.
Geek Logik Goes Mobile

Geek Logik Goes Mobile

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

Geek Logik LiteDon't be embarrassed, it happens to everyone: One day you wake up to find you've been apped. Remember: it's not your fault. You're still the same person, capable of independent thought and even mild-to-modest calculations. This, despite the fact that calculations are no longer necessary. See? The app does it for you.
Video Gaming Builds Cognitive Skills

Video Gaming Builds Cognitive Skills

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

If your kids want a Wii, PlayStation or Xbox 360 this holiday season, you may actually have good reason to give them one; it turns out there is some redeeming value in the hours that kids spend transfixed by these video game systems.  A new study in Current Directions in Psychological Science reports that regular gamers are fast and accurate information processors, not only during game play, but in real-life situations as well.
Time To Reassess Salmonella's Infection Strategy

Time To Reassess Salmonella's Infection Strategy

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

With the publication of a new study in Cellular Microbiology, an international team of researchers has shed new light on the infection strategy of Salmonella, suggesting that scientists will have to reassess their understanding of how the pathogens invade host cells.

Although Salmonella are long-known pathogens, the precise mechanisms they use to infect are incompletely understood. The bacteria inject a protein cocktail into host cells using a molecular syringe, leading to dramatic rearrangements of cytoskeletal filaments below the cell membrane.
Pot Smoking Could Leave Lasting Neurological Impression On Teenagers

Pot Smoking Could Leave Lasting Neurological Impression On Teenagers

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

The potentially damaging effects of marijuana on young brains may be even worse than previously thought, according to new research conducted by scientists from McGill University. Their new study, published in Neurobiology of Disease, suggests that teenagers who consume marijuana daily face a higher risk of depression and anxiety, and may suffer irreversible neurological effects.

"We wanted to know what happens in the brains of teenagers when they use cannabis and whether they are more susceptible to its neurological effects than adults," explained McGill University researcher Gabriella Gobbi.
Supernova Remnants Retain Memory Of Original Explosions

Supernova Remnants Retain Memory Of Original Explosions

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

New images from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory show that the symmetry of supernova remnants, or lack thereof, reveal how the original stars exploded. Astronomers say the discovery is important because it will help them better classify supernovas that exploded hundreds or thousands of years ago. The discovery is reported in a new Astrophysical Journal Letters study.

Astronomers sort supernovas into several categories, or "types", based on properties observed days after the explosion and which reflect very different physical mechanisms that cause stars to explode.  But, since observed remnants of supernovas are leftover from explosions that
occurred long ago, other methods are needed to accurately classify the original supernovas.
TV Influences Our Racial Tendencies Without Words

TV Influences Our Racial Tendencies Without Words

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

In the Dec. 18 issue of Science, Researchers from Tufts University say popular television programs are spreading racial messages to their viewers through biased facial expressions and body language, and it's happening without the audience even knowing it.

The Tufts team studied the prevalence, subtlety and impact of nonverbal race bias in 11 popular weekly scripted television shows. They found that characters on the shows exhibited more negative nonverbal behavior toward black characters than to white characters of the same status. Exposure to "pro-white" (vs. "pro-black") nonverbal bias also increased viewers' race bias, as assessed with reaction-time and self-report measures.
Scientists Record Deepest Erupting Volcano Yet Discovered

Scientists Record Deepest Erupting Volcano Yet Discovered

Dec 17 2009 | comment(s)

Scientists have recorded the deepest erupting volcano yet discovered--West Mata Volcano--located 4,000 feet below the surface of the Pacific Ocean, in an area bounded by Fiji,Tonga and Samoa.

The imagery includes large molten lava bubbles three feet across bursting into cold seawater, glowing red vents exploding lava into the sea, and the first-observed advance of lava flows across the deep-ocean floor. Sounds of the eruption were recorded by a hydrophone and later matched with the video footage.

Missing Energy Kicks New Physics Models Off The Board

Missing Energy Kicks New Physics Models Off The Board

Dec 16 2009 | comment(s)

The signature of large missing energy and jets is arguably one of the most important avenues for the study of potential new physics signatures at today's hadron colliders.

The above concept marks an interesting turn of events: the years of the glorification of charged leptons as the single most important tools for the discovery of rare production processes appears behind us. The W and Z discovery in 1983 by UA1 at CERN, or the top quark discovery by CDF and DZERO in 1995 at Fermilab, would have been impossible without the precise and clean detection of electrons and muons. However, with time we have understood that missing energy may be a more powerful tool for new discoveries.
Is Sex with the Mistress Better than Sex with the Wife?

Is Sex with the Mistress Better than Sex with the Wife?

Dec 16 2009 | comment(s)


In his book on infidelity, “The Truth about Cheating: Why Men Stray and What you can do to Prevent it,” M. Gary Neuman asked the men he surveyed the following two questions.

a)    Was Sex much different (physically) than sex with the wife?
b)    Was Sex not much different (physically) than sex with the wife?   

The answer:
a) Sex was much different than sex with the wife -68%

Of course the question is why?
Biofuels status today

Biofuels status today

Dec 16 2009 | comment(s)

Biofuels