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Paper Raises Hundreds Of Questions About The Integrity Of German Stem Cell Research Group

Paper Raises Hundreds Of Questions About The Integrity Of German Stem Cell Research Group

Sep 04 2013 | comment(s)

Serious questions have been raised about the integrity and validity of research performed by a well-established German stem cell research group.

A paper published in the International Journal of Cardiology exhaustively details a multitude of discrepancies and contradictions in papers from the researcher’s group.

Further, the revelation of such widespread misconduct may lead to broader disturbing questions about the reliability of scientific publications and the ability of the clinical research system to police itself.
Redox Redux: Oxygen 'Sponge' Absorbs Or Sheds Oxygen Atoms, Even At Low Temperatures

Redox Redux: Oxygen 'Sponge' Absorbs Or Sheds Oxygen Atoms, Even At Low Temperatures

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

Oak Ridge National Laboratory researchers have developed a new oxygen “sponge” that can easily absorb or shed oxygen atoms at low temperatures.  Materials containing atoms that can switch back and forth between multiple oxidation states  are very rare in nature but useful in devices such as rechargeable batteries, sensors, gas converters and fuel cells.

Hawaii: Ban GMOs, Except This One We Really Like

Hawaii: Ban GMOs, Except This One We Really Like

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

Why would a bill in Hawaii ban GMOs, except for the GMO Rainbow papaya crop, which is credited by scientists and independent experts for rescuing the papaya on Hawaii from extinction threatened by the ringspot virus?
Alejandro Jodorowsky, Cult Film-Maker, Comic Book Writer And Spiritual Guru, Gets An Asteroid Named After Him

Alejandro Jodorowsky, Cult Film-Maker, Comic Book Writer And Spiritual Guru, Gets An Asteroid Named After Him

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

Alejandro Jodorowsky, a cult Franco-Chilean film-maker (an "acid western" - so think back to 1970 and picture that) and science-fiction comics writer who later became a spiritual guru (psycho-shamanism - just jumble together tarot cards, alchemy and Zen Buddhism together), has been honored by The Minor Planets Centre, a branch of the International Astronomical Union (IAU).

They have listed asteroid 261690 Jodorowsky at the request of the French astronomer who spotted the five-kilometer-wide object almost eight years ago. 261690 Jodorowsky orbits in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, at an average distance of 470 million kilometres from the sun.
Move Over CO2, Soot Was Causing Climate Change In The 1860s

Move Over CO2, Soot Was Causing Climate Change In The 1860s

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

In the zeal to promote carbon dioxide emissions as a magic bullet to stave off climate change, a lot of other factors were minimized. Soot was a big one, but a new study in PNAS suggests that the abrupt retreat of mountain glaciers in the European Alps in the 1860s was due to absorption of sunlight in snow by soot. A rapidly industrializing Europe still gets the blame, but for a different reason.
Solomon's Mines Found In Israel

Solomon's Mines Found In Israel

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

New findings from an archaeological excavation prove that copper mines in Israel thought to have been built by the ancient Egyptians in the 13th century BC actually originated three centuries later, during the reign of the legendary King Solomon, according to the dig lead.

Based on the radiocarbon dating of material unearthed at a new site in Timna Valley in Israel's Aravah Desert, the findings overturn the archaeological consensus of the last several decades. Scholarly work and materials found in the area suggest the mines were operated by the Edomites, a semi-nomadic tribal confederation that according to the Bible warred constantly with Israel.

Republican And Democratic Brains Debunked For (Hopefully) The Last Time

Republican And Democratic Brains Debunked For (Hopefully) The Last Time

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

It's easy to forget that there was once a time when a lot of hype resulted from claims that magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed biological differences between political brains - it was open season on the opposition by people who understand biology even less than psychology. 
SMOC: University Of Texas - Austin Psychology Course Could Generate Millions In Revenue

SMOC: University Of Texas - Austin Psychology Course Could Generate Millions In Revenue

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

Want to create an online video course that will be successful and make a ton of money? 

The Synchronous Massive Online Class (SMOC) by two psychologists at the University of Texas - Austin may be it. It's an introductory class in psychology so anyone can participate and they are charging $550 per viewer.  Unlike the better-known MOOC (Massive Open Online Course), you have to watch the class live. 

"We're not business people, we're not entrepreneurs, but we know we have a first-rate class that works, and now the question is how do we go out and sell this mousetrap," said Prof. James Pennebaker, the chairman of the UT psychology department.
Math Is A Gateway Drug To Science

Math Is A Gateway Drug To Science

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

This is the sort of thing that Huffington Post specializes in - a whole post of personal anecdotes used as a rationalization for getting into math.  But they're right, and we want to encourage them to maybe, at some point, discuss actual science. "Girls In STEM" is at least a start, since 50% of STEM is girls.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/for-girls-in-science/why-math-is-the-gatew...

"Do you know that the spiral in a seashell can be described by a mathematical equation? Describing the world through the lens of math has always fascinated me. When I was in high school, I took all of the math classes offered at my high school and realized that I really liked it; I was good at math and found it fun."
WC Co - New Hard Metal Developed

WC Co - New Hard Metal Developed

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

A new hard metal recently developed can be used to replace tungsten carbide (WC), the hard metal widely used in industry today and whose global availability is becoming critical.

The new material, developed over the past three years by Finnish-based Exote Ltd and the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, also possesses excellent bullet-proofing qualities.  Ballistic tests have show it has an un-equalled ability to stop armor-piercing bullets.
Trypophobia? The Most Common Phobia You Probably Never Heard Of

Trypophobia? The Most Common Phobia You Probably Never Heard Of

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

A new paper says there may be a biological reason why you are afraid of soap bubbles. An ancient evolutionary part of the brain, say psychologists Dr. Geoff Cole and Professor Arnold Wilkins  from the Centre for Brain Science at the University of Essex, is worried about poisonous animals.

If  the sight of aerated chocolate or a lotus flower seed pod bring you out in a cold sweat and make you feel panicky, you could be one of many on the Internet claiming to have one of the most common phobias you have never heard of; trypophobia, the fear of holes. For trypophobes, the sight of clusters of holes in various formations can cause intensely unpleasant reactions, from serious migraines and panic attacks to hot sweats and increased heart rate.
Genetic Testing Results In Discrimination For Life Insurance

Genetic Testing Results In Discrimination For Life Insurance

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

A case study discusses an example of life insurance discrimination due to genetic test results for cancer predisposition.

James (pseudonym), in his early 20s, was denied full life insurance coverage because he revealed that he had discussed genetic testing with a genetic counselor. He was later tested and found to carry a mutation in the MSH6 gene; after disclosing this, he was denied cover for cancer by two other life insurance companies.

He then filed a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission.

For The Laziest Dog Owners (Oh, And Rescue Workers Too) - Canine Remote Control

For The Laziest Dog Owners (Oh, And Rescue Workers Too) - Canine Remote Control

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

A new control suite with a microprocessor, wireless radio, GPS receiver, and an attitude and heading reference system gives lazy dog owners  a way to command their pets with a remote control, or a smart phone, or even with out hands at all - the new system provides autonomous guidance of the canine using an embedded command module with vibration and tone generation capabilities. Tests in a structure and non-structured environment show obedience accuracy up to almost 98%.

That old "best friend" can get a bit tiresome, all that rolling over, shaking paws, long walks and eating every crumb of food off the floor. But, what if there were a way to command your dog with a remote control, or even via your smart phone...or even without hands?

Gondwanascorpio Emzantsiensis: Oldest Land-living Animal From Godwana Discovered

Gondwanascorpio Emzantsiensis: Oldest Land-living Animal From Godwana Discovered

Sep 03 2013 | comment(s)

A new species called Gondwanascorpio emzantsiensis is now the oldest known land-living animal discovered in Gondwana. Dr. Robert Gess, from the Evolutionary Studies Institute at Wits University, discovered the 350 million year old fossilized scorpion from rocks of the Devonian Witteberg Group near Grahamstown.

Explaining his discovery, Gess said that early life was confined to the sea and the process of terrestrialization - the movement of life onto land - began during the Silurian Period roughly 420 million years ago. The first wave of life to move out from water onto land consisted of plants, which gradually increased in size and complexity throughout the Devonian Period. 

$1 Syphilis Test To Make Diagnosis Readily Available Throughout Latin America

$1 Syphilis Test To Make Diagnosis Readily Available Throughout Latin America

Sep 02 2013 | comment(s)

Syphilis has become a serious health issue (again) in Latin American countries, with 3 million cases. Every year 330,000 pregnant women with syphilis receive no treatment, resulting in 110,000 children born with congenital syphilis and a similar number of miscarriages.

Commercial kits for early syphilis detection are too expensive to use in a systematic screening of all pregnancies in Latin American countries where, in some areas, there are five new cases daily. The proteins needed for the test come from the bacterium that causes syphilis. And reducing the price of the tests requires producing high volumes of these proteins.  

Atmosphere's Emission Fingerprint Affected By How Clouds Are Stacked

Atmosphere's Emission Fingerprint Affected By How Clouds Are Stacked

Sep 02 2013 | comment(s)

Clouds, which can absorb or reflect incoming radiation and affect the amount of radiation escaping from Earth's atmosphere, remain the greatest source of uncertainty in global climate modeling.

The Search For The Genetic Secrets Of Wine's Aroma

The Search For The Genetic Secrets Of Wine's Aroma

Sep 02 2013 | comment(s)

ine making (and drinking) has long been more art than science, a subjective experience. But that is changing. In the future, you will be able to find a type of wine you like and have it consistently - all determined by science.

Unlocking the chemical processes that create a wine's aroma is the objective of scientists who recently sequenced the genome of the high-value Tannat grape, from which "the most healthy of red wines" are fermented. 

Tannat is the "national grape" of Uruguay, South America's 4th-largest wine producer with 21,000 acres of vineyards. More than a third of the grapes grown are Tannat, from which the country's signature wines are produced. 

Time To Talk About Islamophobia

Time To Talk About Islamophobia

Sep 02 2013 | comment(s)

There is almost no way I’m not going to get in trouble with this one, and my name isn’t even Carlos Danger! But I’ve been asked several times by readers to comment on accusations of “Islamophobia” aimed at prominent New Atheists (henceforth, NA) — particularly Sam Harris and Richard Dawkins — and it seems time to get down to work.
Could A Treatment For Parkinson’s Reverse The Effects Of Early Life Trauma?

Could A Treatment For Parkinson’s Reverse The Effects Of Early Life Trauma?

Sep 02 2013 | comment(s)


A stressful pregnancy might be the last thing a future mother needs, but it is to her unborn baby that this stress spells real trouble. All because stress hormones (called glucocorticoids or GCs) can disrupt foetal brain development, leading to serious behavioural and emotional problems, much in the same way that traumas early in life can result in children with serious mental problems. 
Science 2.0 For Collaboration

Science 2.0 For Collaboration

Sep 02 2013 | comment(s)

With increased regulation, the overwhelming chance of failure and lawsuits looming for each new treatment, it's little surprise that the private sector is abandoning medical research - or at least wanting to share the costs.

One of the four founding tenets of Science 2.0 since its inception, along with publication, communication and public participation, has been collaboration. In medicine, for example, the Science 2.0 vision for collaboration would drug companies and government regulators from an early stage.