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Is That A Squid on Your Face?

Is That A Squid on Your Face?

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

It was the year 2000, I think, and I was on a college field trip to the tidepools. The class was Invertebrate Zoology, so we were flipping rocks over and listing off the phyla as fast as we could identify them. Then someone lifted a big slab and gasped: there was a red octopus, chowing down on a shore crab.

I remember this scene so vividly in part because I love octopuses, but also because of a comment the professor made: "This is remarkable, because it's really quite rare to see an act of predation in the wild."

Surprising perhaps, but true. Predation events tend to happen very quickly. Predators are vulnerable while they're eating, so they snarf down their food at lightening speeds and/or hide while they're eating--like the octopus.
Misperception And Weight Loss: If You Don't Think You Are Fat, You Won't Lose Weight

Misperception And Weight Loss: If You Don't Think You Are Fat, You Won't Lose Weight

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

Self-esteem programs have worked.  Of 3,500 college applicants, more than a third couldn't report their weight accurately. The heavier they were, the less accurate their estimates. Overweight and obese men were even more likely to underestimate their weight than overweight and obese women.

The results were part of the Up Amigos project, a collaboration between collaborators at the University of Illinois and the Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potos in Mexico. In physical exams, the height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) of 3,622 18- to 20-year-old applicants to the Mexican university were recorded; the aspiring students also completed surveys in which they reported their weight status.
Next-Generation Vaccines: Tricking The Immune System

Next-Generation Vaccines: Tricking The Immune System

Apr 06 2012 | comment(s)

A protein found on the surface of immune cells called dendritic cells recognizes dangerous damage and trauma that could signify infection. Dendritic cells are critical for raising the alarm about the presence of foreign invaders in the body such as viruses, bacteria and parasites as well as tumor cells and other dead or damaged cells. Also known as antigen-presenting cells, they digest and present molecules from damaged cells to other immune cells that recognize foreign invaders and launch an immune response.
Visual Spatial Attention: Treating Dyslexia Before Reading Age

Visual Spatial Attention: Treating Dyslexia Before Reading Age

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

A new study says it has ended the long-lasting debate on the causes of dyslexia and also opened the way to a new approach for early identification and interventions for the 10 percent of children for whom reading is extremely difficult. 

For children with dyslexia, the trouble begins even before they start reading and for reasons that don't necessarily reflect other language skills. Researchers say their new report reveals a causal connection between early problems with visual attention and a later diagnosis of dyslexia.
Microarray Meets Mammography - Detecting Breast Cancer In A Drop Of Blood

Microarray Meets Mammography - Detecting Breast Cancer In A Drop Of Blood

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

Early cancer diagnosis is vital for treating breast cancer - and one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer, according to an article in Molecular&Cellular Proteomics - but early detection is still challenging as testing by mammography remains cumbersome, costly, and in many cases, cancer can only be detected at an advanced stage.

A team based in the Dept. of Biomedical Engineering at McGill University's Faculty of Medicine has developed a new microfluidics-based microarray that could change how and when cancer is diagnosed.
Robocopters Versus Pirates - Coming This Summer To A Theater Of War Near You

Robocopters Versus Pirates - Coming This Summer To A Theater Of War Near You

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

The Multi-Mode Sensor Seeker (MMSS), a sensor which is a mix of high-definition cameras, mid-wave infrared sensors and laser-radar (LADAR) technology, will start airborne tests this summer. It will be placed on a robotic helicopter called Fire Scout and carry advanced automatic target recognition software, so sensor prototype will allow Fire Scout to autonomously identify small boats on the water, reducing the workload of sailors operating it from control stations aboard Navy ships.

Look out pirates. You're now that much easier to find. 
Black People Blog More Than Whites, Hispanics

Black People Blog More Than Whites, Hispanics

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

Despite claims that there is not enough diversity in anonymous, voluntary efforts, it often comes down to choice.  Women are not discriminated against on Wikipedia, though more men do it, and white people are not prevented from blogging just because more black people do it.  

Black people, nee African-Americans in American sociology papers, are more likely to blog than their white and Hispanic counterparts, according to surveys analyzed by a researcher at the University of California, Berkeley - one and a half times to nearly twice as much as whites.
Celebrating Space! Solar Tornadoes, Exoplanets & Micro-Black Holes

Celebrating Space! Solar Tornadoes, Exoplanets & Micro-Black Holes

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)


Vote on Student Ideas for Saving the World Through Science

Vote on Student Ideas for Saving the World Through Science

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

The Kavli Foundation, which gives awards to science writers annually with the American Association for the Advancement of Science, also sponsors a video contest for middle and high school students. It was launched as part of the first USA Science&Engineering Festival in 2010 and round two is now available for voting online. The "Peoples' Choice" finalists are posted and the work shows just how creative the next generation of scientists and engineers can be. It will also make you smile.

The topics addressed? How to Save the World Though Science. The 20 finalists are primarily high school students from a wide range of public and private schools. There are videos that examine: 
Aging Stoners Tend To Remain Stoners

Aging Stoners Tend To Remain Stoners

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

Illicit drug use is more common in older people than ever before - but that's because they did it the most when they were younger and they are more likely than ever to survive into old age.

New research published in Age and Ageing found that the lifetime use of cannabis, amphetamine, cocaine and LSD in 50-64 year olds has significantly increased since 1993 and is much higher than lifetime use in adults aged over 65. The study also found that drug use in inner London was higher than the overall UK average.

The study analyzed data on illicit drug use from two household surveys*. The most recent national survey included 2,009 people aged 65 and 1,827 people aged 55-65. The inner London survey included 284 and 176 people in these respective age groups

Did Your Easter Egg Come From A Bunny Or A Dinosaur?

Did Your Easter Egg Come From A Bunny Or A Dinosaur?

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

Palaeontologists have found that not all Easter eggs come from the same “parent” species -  some could be from dinosaurs, including a new species from the Pyrenees. An international group of researchers has helped to determine that dinosaurs have shaped the Easter eggs we buy.

Scientists were investigating whether 70 million-year-old fossil eggs found in the Pyrenees were laid by birds, or their dinosaur ancestors - researchers from the University of Leicester extended the study further by comparing Easter egg shapes to those of birds’ and dino eggs.
Solved: The Mystery Of Human Consciousness (Almost)

Solved: The Mystery Of Human Consciousness (Almost)

Apr 05 2012 | comment(s)

Researchers have gotten some clues to primitive consciousness - thanks to anesthesia.

People are often groggy when waking from anesthesia, and sometimes struggle. A group of  scientists believe they now know why this may occur: primitive consciousness emerges first.

 Using brain imaging techniques in healthy volunteers, a team of scientists have now imaged the process of returning consciousness after general anesthesia. The emergence of consciousness was found to be associated with activations of deep, primitive brain structures rather than the evolutionary younger neocortex. They hope these results may represent an important step forward in the scientific explanation of human consciousness. 
Can Cartoons Be Sell Outs? Final Fantasy Characters Wear Prada

Can Cartoons Be Sell Outs? Final Fantasy Characters Wear Prada

Apr 04 2012 | comment(s)

It's the team-up no one ever expected to see; video game characters and...fashion. 

But it has. The latest issue of Arena Homme+, a men's fashion magazine, has a CGI photo shoot of Final Fantasy video game characters showing off the Prada 2012 Men's Spring/Summer Collection. So much for continuity.  What's next, medieval knights driving tanks? Cylons fighting Jedi?

Whatever.  If you want to see Lightning, Noel, Snow, Sazh and Hope styled for action in Prada, your wish has come true.  If you ever thought models looked unrealistically unattainable before, it's only getting worse.

Most of the characters look something like this in the game:

Let science drive regulation, not fear

Let science drive regulation, not fear

Apr 04 2012 | comment(s)

I have long argued that while the kooky, anti-science conservative is a new phenomenon, the kooky, anti-science progressive has a decades-old history.  And it basically came into existence due to Rachel Carson's anti-science screed "Silent Spring"(1) - unless you really want to believe someone sprayed DDT, got cancer and died 6 months later.
Yutyrannus Huali: Tyrannosaurus Had A Softer Side

Yutyrannus Huali: Tyrannosaurus Had A Softer Side

Apr 04 2012 | comment(s)

A previously unknown species of giant, feathered tyrannosaur has been discovered in China, making it the largest-known feathered animal, living or extinct.

Tyrannosaurus rex and its cousins lived until around 65 million years ago and earlier relatives are thought to have been much smaller than the T-Rex we have come to know, but this notion has been challenged by the discovery of three specimens of a new species of tyrannosauroid from the Lower Cretaceous, 125 million years ago. The dinosaur, Yutyrannus huali, whose name translates from Latin and Mandarin as ‘beautiful feathered tyrant’, shares some features with derived tyrannosaurs, but has three-fingered forelimbs and a typical theropod foot, like other early tyrannosaur relatives.
Baseball Pitcher's Elbow - The Science

Baseball Pitcher's Elbow - The Science

Apr 04 2012 | comment(s)

A recent discovery regarding injuries to baseball pitchers’ elbows can be described, in round terms, thus : the faster the pitch, the more likely the injury.

Brandon (Brad) Bushnell M.D. (pictured) and colleagues at the Harbin Clinic Orthop(a)edics and Sports Medicine, Rome, GA. explain the background:

Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment Denied By Department Of Energy

Long-Baseline Neutrino Experiment Denied By Department Of Energy

Apr 04 2012 | comment(s)

Neutrinos come in three "flavors", electron, muon and tau, but they are able to 'morph' between the different types, a change called neutrino oscillation.  

Indigofera tinctoria Linn. ‘Neel’ and other important plants of Fabaceae.

Indigofera tinctoria Linn. ‘Neel’ and other important plants of Fabaceae.

Apr 04 2012 | comment(s)

50. Indigofera tinctoria Linn. ‘Neel’ ( Indigo ) :- Leaf yields a valuable vegetable blue dye indigo ; it is fast both to light and water ; it is used for dyeing textiles and for painting. 51. Kingiodendron pinnatun Harms. ‘ Enne , Kolavu’ ( Piney ) :- The wood is strong ,hard , heavy, and fairly durable even in contacts with water. It takes a high polish, it is suitable for beams, rafters, battens, ceiling boards, flooring, furniture, billiard tables, ornamentals veneers, ship building, cordite cases, bowls, etc. An oleoresin is obtained by tapping the stem . It can be used as wood varnish. It yields on distillation a volatile oil which can be used as a substitute for clove oil. 52. Moghania macrophylla Kuntze.
First Phase Of Oxitec's Brazil Trial Successfully Completed

First Phase Of Oxitec's Brazil Trial Successfully Completed

Apr 03 2012 | comment(s)