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Debunking The Debunkers

Debunking The Debunkers

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

Why is it that so many scientific stories seem intent on debunking and end by demonstrating that they are just rehashing opinions and have no actual data?

A recent article purported to debunk the story of the Candiru, which supposedly would be attracted to urine in the water and swim up the urethra to anchor itself into a penis to suck the host's blood.
The candiru, apparently cannot get back out of a human host, and cannot be removed because of the spines – so this little fish does horrendous damage, leading to laceration, hemorrhage, bladder destruction, penis amputation, even death!
Wildlife Conservation Benefits From Nuclear Weapons Testing

Wildlife Conservation Benefits From Nuclear Weapons Testing

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

There's a new weapon to fight poachers who kill elephants, hippos, rhinos and other wildlife - nuclear bombs. 

By measuring radioactive carbon-14 deposited in tusks and teeth by open-air nuclear bomb tests, researchers can pinpoint the year an animal died, which discloses if the ivory was taken illegally. 

“Printing” Tiny Batteries The Size Of A Grain Of Sand

“Printing” Tiny Batteries The Size Of A Grain Of Sand

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

Miniaturization is in - but often the batteries that power them are as large or larger than the devices themselves, which defeats the purpose of building small.

Nowm a team of researchers has shown that 3D printing can be used to print lithium-ion microbatteries the size of a grain of sand. The printed microbatteries could supply electricity to tiny devices in fields from medicine to communications, including many that have lingered on lab benches for lack of a battery small enough to fit the device, yet provide enough stored energy to power them.
Ant Complexity - Few Rules, A Lot Of Exceptions

Ant Complexity - Few Rules, A Lot Of Exceptions

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

A new study used mathematical modeling and experiments on ants to show that a group is capable of developing flexible resource management strategies and characteristic responses of its own.

Group-living animals are led to regulate their activity and to make decisions on how to manage resources, under the action of a variety of environmental stimuli and of their intrinsic interactions. The latter are typically cooperative, in the sense that the activity of a single animal increases nonlinearly with the number of already active ones. 
New Excavation Of Richard III Resting Place Set To Begin

New Excavation Of Richard III Resting Place Set To Begin

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

Archaeologists hope to shed new light on Richard III’s final resting place, with a new dig at the site of the Grey Friars church. Experts will spend a month excavating the choir area of the church, where Richard’s body was discovered, and hope to reveal much more about the medieval friary than was possible during the initial dig.

The team from University of Leicester Archaeological Services hope the new dig may help to uncover:

- More details about Richard III’s burial and its place within the Grey Friars church
Might there be Microbes on the Surface of Mars?

Might there be Microbes on the Surface of Mars?

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

Martian micro-organisms would be of extraordinary interest for the life sciences, especially if interestingly different from Earth life. In the past Mars was much more habitable than it is now, so most of the focus was on past life, and deep habitats beyond the reach of our rovers. Recent research suggests the intriguing possibility of life in tiny micro-habitats within the top few cms of soil and in some cases, right on the surface.

Measuring Bacterial Infection Response To Antibiotics Goes From Weeks To Minutes

Measuring Bacterial Infection Response To Antibiotics Goes From Weeks To Minutes

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

It currently takes a long time to measure a bacterial infection's response to antibiotic treatment. Clinicians must culture the bacteria and then observe its growth, in the case of tuberculosis for almost a month, in order to determine if the treatment has been effective.

Using laser and optical technology, an EPFL team of physicists has reduced this time to a couple of minutes. To do so, Giovanni Dietler, Sandor Kasas and Giovanni Longo have exploited the microscopic movements of a bacterium's metabolism.

Lrh-1 Liver Protein Crucial For Pregnancy Also

Lrh-1 Liver Protein Crucial For Pregnancy Also

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

The liver receptor homolog-1 (Lrh-1) molecule first shown to function in the liver plays a crucial role in pregnancy in mice and has a key role in the human menstrual cycle, according to researchers at the University of Montreal. 

Mice that were genetically engineered not to produce Lrh-1 were unable to create the uterine conditions necessary for establishing and sustaining pregnancy, resulting in the formation of defective placentas. The researchers then showed that Lhr-1 was present in the human uterus and the essential processes related to the success of early gestation. 

The Self-referential Start Of Fundamental Description - Toward A Theory Of Everything Via Serious

The Self-referential Start Of Fundamental Description - Toward A Theory Of Everything Via Serious "Postmodern" Physics

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

What can be logically prior, what must be assumed, what is the metaphysically necessary apriori starting point? Here I present the one necessary before I can focus on understanding time in order to derive Einstein locality. These are crucial steps in rendering quantum mechanics naturally expected,[1,2] which is the only interesting aim, because Einstein’s relativity alone easily emerges from classical substrates[4], while the apparent non-locality of quantum mechanics cannot; well, except via brain-in-vat/The Matrix scenarios, but that just underlines how quantum mechanics indeed relates directly to the apriori conditions of phenomena.

Explosion Of Super Greenhouse Gases Expected From India And China Over The Next Decade

Explosion Of Super Greenhouse Gases Expected From India And China Over The Next Decade

Jul 01 2013 | comment(s)

India and China were both exempt from restrictions in the Kyoto agreements, because they were considered emerging economies. For that reason, while western nations have reduced their carbon footprints, CO2 emissions worldwide have continued upward.

It's hard to tell people in developing nations that they have to stop progress and can't have air conditioners and will not enjoy things developed nations already have.
Top-Line Results From ASSURE Clinical Trial

Top-Line Results From ASSURE Clinical Trial

Jun 30 2013 | comment(s)

Resverlogix Corp. has announced that its Phase 2b ASSURE clinical trial evaluating RVX-208 in high-risk cardiovascular patients with low high-density lipoprotein (HDL) did not meet its primary endpoint of a -0.6% change in percent atheroma volume as determined by intravascular ultrasound (IVUS). The RVX-208 treated group had -0.4% plaque regression (p= 0.08).
Theories Of Truth

Theories Of Truth

Jun 30 2013 | comment(s)

I have wanted to comment for some time about a number of available “theories of truth.” The occasion has now been presented by the fact that I am writing the fourth chapter of my new book (on whether and how philosophy makes progress, forthcoming from Chicago Press), which is about the surprisingly not-so-straightforward concept of progress (and truth) in science itself, the very discipline normally held to be the paragon of a truth seeking enterprise.
Uniform Scaling Of Temperature Dependent And Species Specific Changes In Timing Of Drosophila Development

Uniform Scaling Of Temperature Dependent And Species Specific Changes In Timing Of Drosophila Development

Jun 30 2013 | comment(s)

We posted a new preprint from the lab on arXiv and would love your comments.

Thin Epitaxial Silicon Solar Cell Milestone Completed

Thin Epitaxial Silicon Solar Cell Milestone Completed

Jun 30 2013 | comment(s)

Crystal Solar has completed a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funded Incubator project regarding technology development and manufacturing cost-effectiveness of epitaxial solar cells and modules. Thin epitaxial silicon solar cell  technology has the capability to improve the way silicon is made by eliminating many steps in the current process flow while retaining the high efficiency of mono-crystalline silicon.  

They estimate this could result in reduction of module costs by approximately 50% from today's levels to ~$0.40/W, enabling the cost of solar power to become comparable to existing energy costs in most parts of the world.  
TwingKite - Electricity For The 21st Century, Ben Franklin Style

TwingKite - Electricity For The 21st Century, Ben Franklin Style

Jun 30 2013 | comment(s)

Is kite power economically viable in the 21st century?

We'll find out. The TwingKite,  based on Empa's Tensairity technology, is set to take flight thanks to a  “Venture Kick” jury that is providing 10,000 Swiss Francs in support.

A kite, a reel and a console are the components of this new method for making electricity from wind. Rather than going up a hundred meters, like legacy wind efforts, TwingKite will go up to 300.
College Promiscuity Linked To Anxiety And Depression

College Promiscuity Linked To Anxiety And Depression

Jun 30 2013 | comment(s)

As narratives of modern “hook-up” culture in young people take center stage in popular media, behavioral researchers are starting to ask what psychological consequences, if any, may be in store for young adults who engage in casual sex.

A new survey found higher levels of general anxiety, social anxiety, and depression among students who recently had casual sex.
Methane In Drinking Water - What's The Rumpus?

Methane In Drinking Water - What's The Rumpus?

Jun 29 2013 | comment(s)

Methane has been in water since man has been able to drink water from the ground - but when environmental activists sink their teeth into a fundraising issue, it suddenly becomes a cancer epidemic (nuclear power, along with everything else) and, in the case of hydraulic fracturing - fracking - the Earth deflating and even setting water on fire.

Now, water on fire is hilarious. Pittsburgh, like every other place, has lots of chemicals in its water and most prevalent is the one that makes people ridicule Cleveland. Yet if you ask most people about when the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland was on fire, or why, they won't know. It's just...Cleveland.
Sports Data Relief: Disney Research Automates Analysis Of Field Hockey Team Behaviors

Sports Data Relief: Disney Research Automates Analysis Of Field Hockey Team Behaviors

Jun 29 2013 | comment(s)

Hockey moves fast. As efforts to track the puck visually showed, it can be dizzying to keep track of things in a small field of view like a television.

Analyzing games and plays means manual work, for that reason. But Disney Research, located in Pittsburgh and Zurich, have developed an automated technique for analyzing the patterns of play of field hockey teams, providing a new tool for coaches and commentators who must make sense of mountains of video and other game data. 

Wi-Vi: Low-Cost Ability To See You, Even Through Walls, Using Low-Power Wi-Fi Signal

Wi-Vi: Low-Cost Ability To See You, Even Through Walls, Using Low-Power Wi-Fi Signal

Jun 29 2013 | comment(s)

The current administration may be worried that the high profile of its domestic tracking and spying and punitive efforts will make it harder for them to monitor the public.  

MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory may be able to help. They may be able to help us be a little more like Superman, really. Technology to build a device capable of seeing people through walls has involved the use of expensive and bulky radar technology that uses a part of the electromagnetic spectrum only available to the military - and anyone in the  government who says monitoring citizens is a national security issue.

Anglo-Saxon King Seeking Diet Advice?

Anglo-Saxon King Seeking Diet Advice?

Jun 29 2013 | comment(s)