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Siberian Altai Ice Cores Say Sun Drove Pre-Industrial Temperature Changes

Siberian Altai Ice Cores Say Sun Drove Pre-Industrial Temperature Changes

Dec 23 2008 | comment(s)

An ice core drilled at the Belukha glacier in the Siberian Altai by a Swiss-Russian research team under the leadership of the Paul Scherrer Institute (PSI) in 2001 has now provided new findings in climate research. Oxygen isotopes in the ice were used to reconstruct the temperatures in the Altai over the past 750 years. The scientists discovered a strong link between regional temperatures and the solar activity in the period 1250-1850, concluding that the sun was an important driver of preindustrial temperature changes in the Altai.
In Men, Caffeine Is More Effective And Starts Working In 10 Minutes

In Men, Caffeine Is More Effective And Starts Working In 10 Minutes

Dec 23 2008 | comment(s)

A study headed by researchers from the University of Barcelona (UB) shows that caffeine has a greater effect on men than women, and that these effects start just 10 minutes after it is drunk. In addition, contrary to what was previously thought, it has also been shown that decaffeinated coffee also produces an increased state of alertness. 

“Numerous studies have demonstrated the stimulant effects of caffeine, but none of these have looked at their effects in terms of the consumer’s gender,” Ana Adan, lead author of the study and a researcher in the Psychiatry and Clinical Psychobiology Department of the UB, tells SINC. 
CoRoTExo-2a: Young Active Star Resembling The Young Sun

CoRoTExo-2a: Young Active Star Resembling The Young Sun

Dec 23 2008 | comment(s)

The CoRoT satellite, a space mission led by the French Space Agency CNES with the participation of Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Spain and the European Space Agency, ESA (RSSD and Science programme, that includes an Italian contribution), has recently observed a star analogous to the young Sun at an age of approximately 500 million years, named CoRoTExo-2a.
Kissing Cousins? Let Them Marry, Say Zoologists

Kissing Cousins? Let Them Marry, Say Zoologists

Dec 23 2008 | comment(s)

Laws banning marriage between first cousins are based on outdated assumptions about a high degree of genetic risk for offspring and should be repealed, according to a population genetics expert.

In an opinion article published in the US open-access journal PLoS Biology, University of Otago Department of Zoology Professor Hamish Spencer and Professor Diane Paul, a Research Associate at Harvard's Museum of Comparative Zoology, argue that laws against cousin marriage are ill-advised.

"Neither the scientific nor social assumptions behind such legislation stand up to close scrutiny," says Professor Spencer. For example, a 2002 expert review of studies regarding birth defects in offspring of cousins found that the risk was much smaller than generally assumed, he says.
The Evolutionary Bursts That Made Us Big

The Evolutionary Bursts That Made Us Big

Dec 23 2008 | comment(s)

In 3.5 billion years, life on earth went from single microscopic cells to giant sequoias and blue whales. Scientists have now documented quantitatively that the increase in maximum size of organisms was not gradual, but happened in two distinct bursts "tied to the geological evolution of the planet," said Michal Kowalewski, professor of geosciences at Virginia Tech.
Science Blogs And Shock Value

Science Blogs And Shock Value

Dec 23 2008 | comment(s)

Coturnix at ScienceBlogs.com had an interesting post yesterday on part of the reason they (Science Blogs)  do things the way they do them and the way he says more science writers should - shock value and, at the end of it all, maybe a shot at a greater science democracy.  
Taste of Green Wine in a Box

Taste of Green Wine in a Box

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Beware: green chemistry is soon to serve you green wines. And in boxes, too.

Once I read in Chemical and Engineering News a list of the chemicals in either red or white wines. I remember thinking "generic wines" to start with: Let's see the difference in the young and the old wines!

A Computer Inside A Molecule

A Computer Inside A Molecule

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Over the last 60 years, ever-smaller generations of transistors have driven exponential growth in computing power. Could molecules, each turned into miniscule computer components, trigger even greater growth in computing over the next 60?

Atomic-scale computing, in which computer processes are carried out in a single molecule or using a surface atomic-scale circuit, holds vast promise for the microelectronics industry. It allows computers to continue to increase in processing power through the development of components in the nano- and pico scale. In theory, atomic-scale computing could put computers more powerful than today’s supercomputers in everyone’s pocket.
Cure Global Warming By Putting Plastic Over Deserts, Say Climate Scientists

Cure Global Warming By Putting Plastic Over Deserts, Say Climate Scientists

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

The heat created by human activities does not even amount to 1/10,000th of the heat that the Earth receives from the sun, say a group of researchers, and it may not be possible to get people to agree to burn fewer fossil fuels but covering parts of the Earth would offset that.

This radical plan to curb global warming and so reverse the climate change caused by burning of fossil fuels since the industrial revolution would involve covering parts of the world's deserts with reflective sheeting and they write about it in the January issue of the International Journal of Global Environmental Issues.
Is Popularity Genetic?

Is Popularity Genetic?

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

A groundbreaking study of popularity by a Michigan State University scientist has found that genes elicit not only specific behaviors but also the social consequences of those behaviors.  According to the investigation by behavioral geneticist S. Alexandra Burt, male college students who had a gene associated with rule-breaking behavior were rated most popular by a group of previously unacquainted peers.

It's not unusual for adolescent rule-breakers to be well-liked – previous research has made that link – but Burt is the first to provide meaningful evidence for the role of a specific gene in this process. The study appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
Gene Mutations In Yeast Cells Predict Severity Of Batten Disease

Gene Mutations In Yeast Cells Predict Severity Of Batten Disease

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Scientists report that human gene mutations expressed in yeast cells can predict the severity of Batten Disease, a fatal nervous system disorder that begins during childhood. The new study published in Disease Models&Mechanisms (DMM) describes how the extent of changes in mutated cells paralleled the severity of symptoms seen in humans. 
Used Coffee Grounds Equals Biofuel?

Used Coffee Grounds Equals Biofuel?

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Researchers in Nevada are reporting that waste coffee grounds can provide a cheap, abundant, and environmentally friendly source of biodiesel fuel for powering cars and trucks. Their study appears in the current online issue of ACS' Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, a bi-weekly publication.

In the new study, Mano Misra, Susanta Mohapatra, and Narasimharao Kondamudi note that the major barrier to wider use of biodiesel fuel is lack of a low-cost, high quality source, or feedstock, for producing that new energy source. Spent coffee grounds contain between 11 and 20 percent oil by weight. That's about as much as traditional biodiesel feedstocks such as rapeseed, palm, and soybean oil.
Quantum Cascade Laser Discovery Yields New Lower Power Version

Quantum Cascade Laser Discovery Yields New Lower Power Version

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Researchers say they have discovered an entirely new mechanism for making common electronic materials emit laser beams. The finding could lead to lasers that operate more efficiently and at higher temperatures than existing devices, and find applications in environmental monitoring and medical diagnostics. 
Some Premature Babies Less Aware Of Heat And Cold Later In Life

Some Premature Babies Less Aware Of Heat And Cold Later In Life

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

Premature infants who need intensive care or surgery are less sensitive to thermal (hot and cold) sensations later in life, according to research conducted at UCL (University College London). The study, published in the journal Pain, suggests that pain and injury related to major medical interventions in early development may alter how children respond to painful stimuli much later in life. 
Who's More Charitable - Liberals or Conservatives?

Who's More Charitable - Liberals or Conservatives?

Dec 22 2008 | comment(s)

To be honest, I don't really care about the answer to this question. But read this Kristof NY Times column, and see if you're convinced of the answer. It's time to practice your critical thinking skills - questions you should ask about the claims presented in this column are exactly the sorts of questions you should ask when you read a press report about any statistics-based study, especially medical research.

Here is the basic result Kristof is talking about:

Arthur Brooks, the author of a book on donors to charity, “Who Really Cares,” cites data that households headed by conservatives give 30 percent more to charity than households headed by liberals. A study by Google found an even greater disproportion: average annual contributions reported by conservatives were almost double those of liberals.
Ancient African Exodus 60,000 Years Ago Mostly Men

Ancient African Exodus 60,000 Years Ago Mostly Men

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

Even 60,000 years ago men had the wanderlust more than women.   Or they left families behind until they knew what they would find.

For one reason or another, the modern humans left Africa in a migration that many believe was responsible for nearly all of the human population that exist outside Africa today didn't have men and women as equal equal partners in that exodus. By tracing variations in the X chromosome and in the non-sex chromosomes, researchers from Harvard say they have found evidence that men outnumbered women in that migration.
Feynman Meets YouTube

Feynman Meets YouTube

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

A friend was telling me the other day about a class he plans on taking on the philosophy of science. When I hear philosophy of science, I immediately think Richard Feynman. Feynman was, of course, not a philosopher, but a scientist par excellence. His lectures are filled with insights like these:

There is always the possibility of proving any definite [well-defined] theory wrong; but notice that we can never proce it right. Suppose that you invent a good guess, calculate the consequences, and discover every time that the consequences you have calculated agree with experiment. The theory is then right? No, it is simple not proved wrong. In the future you could compute a wider range of consequences, there could be a wider range of experiments, and you might then discover that the thing is wrong... We never are definitely right, we can only be sure we are wrong.


Carbon Nanotubes - 'Smart' Material For The Brain?

Carbon Nanotubes - 'Smart' Material For The Brain?

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

Research done by scientists in Italy and Switzerland has shown that carbon nanotubes may be the ideal “smart” brain material. Their results in Nature Nanotechnology are a promising step forward in the search to find ways to “bypass” faulty brain wiring.

The research shows that carbon nanotubes, which, like neurons, are highly electrically conductive, form extremely tight contacts with neuronal cell membranes. Unlike the metal electrodes that are currently used in research and clinical applications, the nanotubes can create shortcuts between the distal and proximal compartments of the neuron, resulting in enhanced neuronal excitability. 
Species and diversity

Species and diversity

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

In my recent post on Mexican dry forest, I mentioned the fact that about 80% of the species in the genus Bursera were endemic to Mexico.  Things like that tend to jump out at you.  Why are there so many species in one area, relative to the rest of its range?
Discovery - G9a Gene Triggers Differentiation Of Embryonic Cells

Discovery - G9a Gene Triggers Differentiation Of Embryonic Cells

Dec 21 2008 | comment(s)

At a very early stage of human development, all cells of the embryo are identical, but unlike adult cells are very flexible and carry within them the potential to become any tissue type, whether it be muscle, skin, liver or brain. 

This cell differentiation process begins at about the time that the embryo settles into the uterus. In terms of the inner workings of the cell, this involves two main control mechanisms. On the one hand, the genes that keep the embryo in their fully potent state are turned off, and at the same time, tissue-specific genes are turned on. By activating a certain set of genes, the embryo can make muscle cells. By turning on a different set, these same immature cells can become liver. Other gene sets are responsible for additional tissues.