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A puzzled

A puzzled "Charlie Brown" look

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

is all over my face when I read the following in an article on UK MSN:

Five-year-old finds dinosaur bone

A five-year-old girl has found fossilised bones from an Ice Age rhinoceros on a day out with her family at a water park.

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A case of bad science awareness among our "meejer", as we call them in England.  A case for a polite feedback letter, if only they gave us the facility.

A Good Drug Mule - Polymer Patch Is A 'Backpack' For Cells

A Good Drug Mule - Polymer Patch Is A 'Backpack' For Cells

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

MIT engineers have outfitted cells with tiny “backpacks” that could allow them to deliver chemotherapy agents, diagnose tumors or become building blocks for tissue engineering. Michael Rubner, director of MIT’s Center for Materials Science and Engineering and senior author of a paper on the work that appeared online in Nano Letters on Nov. 5, said he believes this is the first time anyone has attached such a synthetic patch to a cell. 

The polymer backpacks allow researchers to use cells to ferry tiny cargoes and manipulate their movements using magnetic fields. Since each patch covers only a small portion of the cell surface, it does not interfere with the cell’s normal functions or prevent it from interacting with the external environment. 
Pycnogenol French Pine Bark Extract Reduces Jetlag - Study

Pycnogenol French Pine Bark Extract Reduces Jetlag - Study

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

A new study published in the journal of Minerva Cardioangiologica says that Pycnogenol, pine bark extract from the French maritime pine tree, reduces jetlag in passengers by nearly 50 percent. The two-part study, consisting of a brain CT scan and a scoring system, showed Pycnogenol lowered symptoms of jetlag such as fatigue, headaches, insomnia and brain edema (swelling) in both healthy individuals and hypertensive patients. Passengers also experienced minimal lower leg edema, a common condition associated with long flights. 
Modern Gossip Magazine Culture Began With Celebrity Obituaries - In The 1700s

Modern Gossip Magazine Culture Began With Celebrity Obituaries - In The 1700s

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

Research by the University of Warwick shows how death gave birth to the modern cult of celebrity as the sudden rise in the popularity of obituaries of unusual people in the 1700s provided people with the 18th Century equivalent of a celebrity gossip magazine. 
12,000 Year Old Shaman Burial Site Discovered In Northern Israel - And It Was A Woman

12,000 Year Old Shaman Burial Site Discovered In Northern Israel - And It Was A Woman

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

The skeleton of a 12,000 year-old Natufian Shaman has been discovered in northern Israel by archaeologists at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. The burial is described as being accompanied by "exceptional" grave offerings - including 50 complete tortoise shells, the pelvis of a leopard and a human foot. The shaman burial is thought to be one of the earliest known from the archaeological record and the only shaman grave in the whole region.
Learning About Lightning - Interferometer Records Discharge In Detail To The Microsecond

Learning About Lightning - Interferometer Records Discharge In Detail To The Microsecond

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

A VHF radio interferometer system that was designed by Zhang GuangShu, et al of Cold and Arid Regions Environmental and Engineering Research Institute at Chinese Academy of Sciences was used to observe a cloud-to-ground lightning flash containing 19 strokes , revealing new characteristics of lightning.

The system in this study has five antennas that form an array in orthogonal directions, and an interactive graphic analysis procedure is used to remove the fringe ambiguities. The system error, which comes from frequency conversion, is reduced by phase detection through direct high frequency amplifying. By using the system, the whole progression process in time and space of a lightning flash can be continuously reconstructed at microsecond orders.
India To The Moon: Chandrayaan-1 Settles Into Lunar Transfer Trajectory

India To The Moon: Chandrayaan-1 Settles Into Lunar Transfer Trajectory

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

Yesterday, following a fifth orbit-raising maneuver, the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft successfully settled into a trajectory that will take it to the Moon.  After launch on 22 October, the spacecraft was first injected into an elliptical 7-hr orbit around Earth, between 255 km and 22 860 km above our planet. After five engine firings, Chandrayaan-1 spiralled outwards in increasingly elongated ellipses around Earth, until it reached its lunar transfer orbit on 4 November at 00:26 CET (04:56 Indian standard time).  

In the fifth and last orbit-raising maneuver, the spacecraft’s 440 Newton liquid-fuel propelled engine was fired for about two and a half minutes. The lunar transfer orbit’s farthest point from Earth is about 380 000 km. 
Ack ... I just heard a pundit use the term 'political physics'

Ack ... I just heard a pundit use the term 'political physics'

Nov 05 2008 | comment(s)

In case you didn't know it, there's an election happening in America and it hasn't been called or conceded by anyone but only the staunchest Republican could have gone into this expecting a win.  Well, if we get 9 people on the Supreme Court to intervene I suppose anything can happen but there is no normal scenario where Republicans expected a win.
Those Dang Transcription Factors

Those Dang Transcription Factors

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

Transcription factors do a lot of things for us, like make arms and legs in the right places.  It turns out they may also make us go bald.
 
Need something to distract you from the election?

Need something to distract you from the election?

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

If you've already voted here in the US, or if you're not from the US and just burned out on US politics, here's a distraction:

Basic Books' Feynman extravaganza - all of their products (of course), but also some great reminiscences, interviews, videos, and links. If you can't get enough of Feynman, the scientist par excellence, this site is a good place to start.
Pretty Women Make Men Shortsighted

Pretty Women Make Men Shortsighted

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

Aristotle figured out pretty early on that human beings are by their nature constantly pulled by two opposing forces: on the one hand their propensity to go after immediate rewards, even though they are often deleterious for them (akrasia, or “weakness of the will”); on the other hand the necessity to work for their long term welfare (eudaemonia, loosely translated as “happiness” but better understood as flourishing).
Blood Screening To Predict Obesity?

Blood Screening To Predict Obesity?

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

We all know that high cholesterol is associated with the possibility of diabetes, but what about a connection between triglyceride levels and obesity? It may seem far fetched, but conducting a simple test of bodily triglyceride levels may give beneficial insight to those of who that are more susceptible for becoming obese.
Frisky Squirrels At UC Davis To Go On Birth Control

Frisky Squirrels At UC Davis To Go On Birth Control

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

Awww. Isn't this squirrel just so cute? You might think that now, but stare long enough at the beady eye of this Eastern Fox Squirrel (Family Sciuridae : Sciurus niger Linnaeus), and you'll see that it's actually a reproducing nightmare overrunning a campus or orchard near you. In fact, the Eastern Fox Squirrel is reproducing so quickly that researchers at the University of California Davis are putting them on birth control.


Hyperdisease Conditions And Extinction

Hyperdisease Conditions And Extinction

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

It took less than a decade for native rats to become extinct on the Indian Ocean's previously uninhabited Christmas Island once Eurasian black rats jumped ship onto the island at the turn of the 20th century.

But this story is more than the typical tale of direct competition: according to new genetic research published in PLoS One, black rats carried a pathogen that exterminated two endemic species, Rattus macleari and R. nativitatis. This study is the first to demonstrate extinction in a mammal because of disease, supporting the hypothesis proposed a decade ago that "hyperdisease conditions"—unusually rapid mortality from which a species never recovers—can lead to extinction. 
Junk DNA? Anything But

Junk DNA? Anything But

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

Any time science  terms become colloquial, it leads to problems.    How often does someone make a speculation and call it a 'theory'?   Cars supposedly 'evolve' if their advertising is true.    And 'junk DNA' means 'useless' if you ask many outside biology.   

But 'junk' DNA does not mean 'no value' and a new paper published in Genome Research on Nov. 4 reaffirm that.  Scientists at the Genome Institute of Singapore (GIS) report that what was previously believed to be "junk" DNA is one of the important ingredients distinguishing humans from other species.
Optimizing Science Education And The Myth Of A Necessary 'Super Teacher'

Optimizing Science Education And The Myth Of A Necessary 'Super Teacher'

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

In Optimizing The University - Why We Need a New Educational Model For A New Century I laid out some of the issues facing post-secondary science education and how changing student demographics and modern faculty responsibilities have exacerbated the challenges of adapting science education to fill the educational demands of modern society. I also discussed how the new knowledge gained from advanced assessment techniques have shown us the extent of the shortcomings.  

Error-Related Negativity - The Brain's

Error-Related Negativity - The Brain's "Uh Oh" Signal When A Verbal Error Is Made

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

It seems that our brain can correct speech errors in the same way that it controls other forms of behavior, say Niels Schiller and Lesya Ganushchak, Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) researchers in Leiden who made this discovery while studying how the brain reacts to verbal errors. This research can contribute to improvements in the treatment of people who have problems with speaking or in understanding language. 
Semiconductor Nanoparticles - Could These Hybrid Materials Make Solar Power Ready For Prime Time?

Semiconductor Nanoparticles - Could These Hybrid Materials Make Solar Power Ready For Prime Time?

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

The Instituto Madrileño de Estudios Avanzados en Nanociencia (IMDEA Nanoscience) and the University of Hamburg have collaborated on the development of composite materials based on semiconductor nanoparticles and carbon nanotubes as functional materials for efficient light emitting diodes and photovoltaic devices. 

Semiconductor nanocrystals, also called quantum dots, exhibit outstanding optical properties compared to organic dyes commonly used in research today.
Nutrigenomics - Are You Ready For Genetically Customized Nutrition?

Nutrigenomics - Are You Ready For Genetically Customized Nutrition?

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

In the near future it will be possible to customize the food we eat  based on the genetic profile of the individual. Dutch researcher Amber Ronteltap suggests that the consumer market is not yet ready for this so-called nutrigenomics. Ronteltap concludes that many obstacles must be overcome before products based on nutrigenomics become a reality. 

Nutrigenomics is a discipline that investigates the correlation between nutrients and the human genome. This area of science can contribute to public health and disease prevention by providing individuals with advice on specific adaptations in their nutrient regime. This form of personalised nutrition joins the bandwagon of broader marketing trends to develop products more tailored to the individual. 
Hydrogen Alloy 'Tank' Weighs 60 Percent Less Than A Battery

Hydrogen Alloy 'Tank' Weighs 60 Percent Less Than A Battery

Nov 04 2008 | comment(s)

Hydrogen is an ideal solution for cars of the future.   The problem remains storage.   People have a range they want to go (300 miles) before an automobile enhancement can become commercially acceptable.  With hydrogen, that means carrying a tank the size of the car itself or compressing the hydrogen, which has unacceptable safety risks.

Dutch-sponsored researcher Robin Gremaud has shown that an alloy of the metals magnesium, titanium and nickel is excellent at absorbing hydrogen.   A hydrogen 'tank' using this alloy would have a relative weight that is sixty percent less than a battery pack. In order to find the best alloy Gremaud developed a method which enabled simultaneous testing of thousands of samples of different metals for their capacity to absorb hydrogen.