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Can texting be permanently harming our culture?

Can texting be permanently harming our culture?

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Teenage youngsters around the world are rapidly evolving their communication habits with peers. This modern form of communications bypasses the 70,000 years of gene-culture coevolution that developed our syntatic cultural innovations from early man. Recent evidence has shown that the brain goes through a remodelling process during adolescence. It is possible that neural plasticity facilitates the development of social cognitive skills required during the period of adolescence. Human communication is informed by gestures, voice intonation, and significantly by facial expression. Non-verbal communication signals enable important aspects of trust between those in a dialog. Without these feedback signals the only basis for trust is previous interactions that proved to be reliable.
Astronomers: Paparazzi With Brains

Astronomers: Paparazzi With Brains

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Stars live for a long time - millions of years - but near the end of their lives, some massive stars go through what astronomers call the yellow supergiant phase.

Because the timeframe is so short, cosmically, witnessing a yellow supergiant phase is rare - almost as rare as a Kardashian staying married when ratings slip.  Like with celebrity relationships, if you want to witness the big meltdown you have to stay vigilant in astronomy. And keep your camera running.
'World's Highest Whisky Tasting' Broadcast Live From Mt. Everest Base Camp

'World's Highest Whisky Tasting' Broadcast Live From Mt. Everest Base Camp

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

On Thursday 10th May 2012 at 7PM (BST), the "Walking with the Wounded" Mt. Everest team will take part in the world's highest ever Whisky Tasting event. 

 The broadcast will take place live from Everest Base Camp at 5,364 meters, where the team will 'nose' and 'taste' a selection of Glenfiddich's finest single malt reserves. They will be joined by a  panel of guests live from The London Stock Exchange for no reason I can figure out, other than that stockbrokers love free booze. 
Rebellatrix: Ancient Canadian Killer Coelacanth

Rebellatrix: Ancient Canadian Killer Coelacanth

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

The iconic Coelacanth are fish well-known as ‘living fossils’. Coelacanths were thought to have died out with the dinosaurs and then a living one was caught off the coast of South Africa in 1938, sending waves of excitement throughout the scientific world. 
Update : Psychoacoustics Of Mongolian Gerbils

Update : Psychoacoustics Of Mongolian Gerbils

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

There are new clues in the quest for a fully coherent theory of the perception and neural representation of size-variant human vowels in the Mongolian gerbil.

Previous investigations in the US (see: Science 2.0, Beachcombing in Academia, February 15th 2012) found that Mongolian gerbils can easily be trained to recognise vowel sounds in human speech.
ClinicalTrials.gov Registered Trials Weak When It Comes To Size And Methodology

ClinicalTrials.gov Registered Trials Weak When It Comes To Size And Methodology

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Clinical studies, the central means by which preventive, diagnostic, and therapeutic strategies are evaluated,  that were registered between 2007-2010 were dominated by small, single-center trials and contained significant heterogeneity (different in nature, difficult to compare) in methodological approaches, including the use of randomization, blinding, and data monitoring committees, according to an analysis in JAMA. 
Pseudopulex Jurassicus: Giant Insects Annoyed Dinosaurs Also

Pseudopulex Jurassicus: Giant Insects Annoyed Dinosaurs Also

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

Giant flea-like animals, possibly the oldest of their type ever discovered, bit creatures much larger than they are 165 million years ago - and lived to talk about it.

These flea-like animals, were similar to modern fleas but 10 times the size of a flea you might find crawling on your family dog – with a proboscis and an extra-painful bite to match.  Dinosaurs were likely not amused.
Scientists Thought Clovis Hunters Were First To Cross From The Arctic To America. They Were Wrong.

Scientists Thought Clovis Hunters Were First To Cross From The Arctic To America. They Were Wrong.

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

For most of the past 50 years, archaeologists thought they knew how humans arrived in the New World. At the end of the last ice age, sea levels dropped and big-game hunters living in eastern Siberia followed their prey across the Bering land bridge and into Alaska. Then they swept across the unpopulated continent. Archaeologists called these presumed pioneers the Clovis culture, after distinctive stone tools were found at sites near Clovis, New Mexico, in the 1920s and 1930s.

Any evidence of humans in the New World before the Clovis time was dismissed, sometimes harshly. That was the case with a Washington-state mastodon kill first described around 30 years ago but then largely ignored.
Red Brains, Blue Brains: Republicans Are Stupid - The Stupid Premise Of A Stupid Book

Red Brains, Blue Brains: Republicans Are Stupid - The Stupid Premise Of A Stupid Book

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

“Let’s play “Jeopardy.” Round One: Science Literacy. Category: Evolution. For $500: Which is the largest demographic group to reject Darwin’s theory of evolution?”

Embryo Brains Can Wake Earlier Than Previously Thought

Embryo Brains Can Wake Earlier Than Previously Thought

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

A new imaging study shows the brains of embryonic chicks can 'wake' long before chicks are ready to hatch out of their eggs - but it took loud, meaningful sounds. Playing meaningless sounds wasn't enough to rouse their brains.

As modern medicine continues to push back the gestational age at which prematurely born infants can reliably survive, pediatricians have worried about the effects of stimulating brains that are still 'under construction'. It turns out that,like adult brains, embryo brains also have neural circuitry that monitors the environment to selectively wake the brain up during important events.
The Tiniest Squid Is Also The Winningest Squid

The Tiniest Squid Is Also The Winningest Squid

May 04 2012 | comment(s)

I love four things about this story.

First: there is an All England squid catching championship. Did you know that? I did not know that.

Second: the weather this year was so bad the competitors were almost completely skunked. Almost.

Third: This is the cutest trophy shot I have EVER SEEN.


Photo: Robin Howard/BNPS
Ron Paul, Libertarians And...Scientists?

Ron Paul, Libertarians And...Scientists?

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

A surprising number of scientists defy the 'liberal' stereotype and are more libertarian than they are given credit for (including by conservatives and liberals) - no surprise there, liberal and libertarian derive from the same root word for freedom and freedom is essential to quality science.

Writing on PolicyMic.com, Cameron English interviews RealClearScience editor Dr. Alex Berezow, who argues that scientists and Ron Paul have a lot in common.  Not a shock, Paul had a good showing among academics.  
Being An Unruly Kid May Be A Mental Disorder

Being An Unruly Kid May Be A Mental Disorder

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

It's been said that science fiction can sometimes turn into science fact.

In that same vein, it may be that stories from The Onion (More U.S. Children Being Diagnosed With Youthful Tendency Disorder) may one day become part of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM).
Find The Winning Move

Find The Winning Move

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

To the couple of positions I posted yesterday from the Chess Tournament I played this weekend, let me add one I played on round II, when I was white against Fausto Scali, the blind player. The position arose from the Advance variation of the French defense (1.e4 e6 2.d4 d5 3.e5), which however we reached with a transposed move-order (1.e4 c5 2.c3 d5 3.e5). In the position below, black has just played an inaccuracy in an already slightly worse queenless middlegame:


Should You Read Science Press Releases Or Science Papers?

Should You Read Science Press Releases Or Science Papers?

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

We carry some press releases on Science 2.0 and of course that is what Science Codex in our sidebar is. It's been an intentional effort since the communications arm of Science 2.0 began in 2006. The first, and most important reason, for that is because we think the audience is smart and don't need journalists putting context to most stories. Our audience just wants to know first so if something looks interesting, it will hit this page on the minute the embargo lifts. Everything else is written by scientists or at least (mostly) knowledgeable people(1).
Business Clusters And The Transportation Squeeze

Business Clusters And The Transportation Squeeze

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

ST. HELENA, CA – It’s a fine Saturday, and the traffic lines up on Highway 29 as the day’s crop of tourists meander from vineyard to vineyard along the road that bisects Napa Valley. 

By year’s end, 4.5 million people will have passed through, sampling vintages from the state that grows 92% of the nation’s grapes and supplies 60% of its wine. More than 200 million cases of California wine are sold within the United States each year; a further 250 million find their homes abroad. California is the world’s fourth largest wine exporter, after Italy, France, and Spain.

And Napa Valley is at the heart of it all.
Ecoterrorists Plan Attack On Research Institute And Advertise The Date

Ecoterrorists Plan Attack On Research Institute And Advertise The Date

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

Anti-science hippies are getting bolder; not only will they announce what they plan to do, they will issue the time and date to meet to carry out their next attack. And ask for help from the public.

Take The Flour Back is planning a "mass action against genetically modified wheat" at Rothamsted Research in Harpenden, Hertfordshire, on May 27th. This attack is over genetically modified food - and England in the birthplace of genetically modified anti-science hysteria so no surprise, but their boldness is.  Imagine if BP announced plans to attack a climate research group. It just wouldn't happen.
Is Our Time In Outer Space Finally At-Hand?

Is Our Time In Outer Space Finally At-Hand?

May 03 2012 | comment(s)

Last week it was asteroid mining, as Peter Diamandis and his partners showed us their bold new venture, Planetary Resources, aiming eventually to start harvesting trillions of dollars worth of materials that would then no longer have to be ripped out of Mother Earth.

Teaching Climate In The Classroom

Teaching Climate In The Classroom

May 02 2012 | comment(s)

The National Academies Press will roll out some new national science standards for K-12 educators and for the first time, those standards will include guidelines on teaching climate change.

Good luck with that.  As No Child Left Behind showed, positive results and the welfare of kids will not matter in a political fight - any attempts to create an education standard and accountability are going to flop unless education unions buy into it and any attempts to create a science standard for climate education will flop unless teachers do.  And a lot of them don't.
Activists Greenmail The People Of Malibu

Activists Greenmail The People Of Malibu

May 02 2012 | comment(s)

Did an environmental issue disappear because activist groups got a check?  It would seem so.  The Natural Resources Defenses Council and Santa Monica Baykeeper sued the city of Malibu in 2008 for 'groundwater' pollution.

The settlement they reached?  Malibu has to 'fix' 17 drains, easy enough to rationalize since water can pick up garbage as it falls due to that nature thing that happens  - but then they also have to donate $750,000 to the two groups that filed the lawsuit.  How is that helping the environment?  It isn't, but it keeps those environmental corporations in business so they can hire more lawyers to raise more money.