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Shale Gas - Ancient Mudstones Could Provide Alternative Energy

Shale Gas - Ancient Mudstones Could Provide Alternative Energy

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

A new study carried out at the University of Leicester reveals that an alternative to oil could be found in ancient sea deposits dating to 300 million years ago.

Shale gas sourced in mudstones in shallow water seaways could provide the future alternative to fuel modern society in the wake of demands to find new energy sources, according to the doctoral research.

These mudstones, now exposed across central and northern England, contain up to 14% carbon.
Arctic Double Whammy - Carbon Release From Thawing Permafrost Could Be Greater Than Carbon Capture Of New Greenery

Arctic Double Whammy - Carbon Release From Thawing Permafrost Could Be Greater Than Carbon Capture Of New Greenery

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

A study in Nature has helped define the potentially significant contribution of permafrost thaw to atmospheric concentrations of carbon, which have already reached unprecedented levels.

A large amount of organic carbon in the tundra is stored in the soil and permafrost. This pool of carbon, deposited over thousands of years, remains locked in the perennially frozen ground. In recent years this area began to thaw, providing increased access to plants and microbes that could shift the carbon from the land to the atmosphere.
Right Wing Love Fest - Miss California Carrie Prejean To Tour The USS Ronald Reagan

Right Wing Love Fest - Miss California Carrie Prejean To Tour The USS Ronald Reagan

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

You aren't really somebody unless you have an aircraft carrier named after you and 40th US president Ronald Reagan has just that.   Now he will have a Miss California on board too; in this case, Carrie Prejean, who's arguably the most famous beauty queen who didn't actually win, thanks to openly gay judge Perez Hilton making no secret of the fact that her personal opinions on gay marriage had no place in any contest he took part in unless they agreed with his, thus making her a darling of both Christians and conservatives in the process.
The Hidden Heart Problem - 75% In UK Know Nothing About Arrhythmia

The Hidden Heart Problem - 75% In UK Know Nothing About Arrhythmia

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

As many as 700,000 people in the UK suffer from a heart abnormality called arrhythmia, a potentially fatal condition, which the majority of Londoners have never heard of - according to a recent survey conducted by YouGov[1]. Many of the deaths associated with arrhythmias could be prevented due to advances in the identification and treatment of high risk patients.

Care About Global Warming? It's In Your Genes, Says Researcher

Care About Global Warming? It's In Your Genes, Says Researcher

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

A genetic link to caring about global warming?   Al Gore has truly jumped the shark, you may be thinking.    But humans may be programmed by evolution to care about their environment, suggests research published today, because it impacts reproduction and fitness.

Dr Peter Sozou of the University of Warwick suggests that individuals may have an innate tendency to care about the long-term future of their communities, over timescales much longer than an individual's lifespan. This in turn may help to explain people's wish to take action over long-term environmental problems.
Neural Mechanisms Of Strategic Decision Making

Neural Mechanisms Of Strategic Decision Making

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

A new study demonstrates that when faced with a difficult decision, the human brain calls upon multiple neural systems that code for different sorts of behaviors and strategies. The research in the May 28th issue of Neuron provides intriguing insight into the mechanisms that help the human brain rise to the formidable challenge of adaptive decision making in the real world.
A Smaller World For Humans Means Natural Selection Will Favor More Dangerous Parasites - Nature Study

A Smaller World For Humans Means Natural Selection Will Favor More Dangerous Parasites - Nature Study

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

Are parasites evolving to be more or less aggressive depending on whether they are closely connected to their hosts or scattered among more isolated clusters of hosts?  Research led by Geoff Wild, an NSERC-funded mathematician at the University of Western Ontario, with colleagues from the University of Edinburgh.

They decided to move the arguments from words to harder science and developed a formal mathematical model that incorporated variable patch sizes and the host parasite population dynamics. It was then run to determine the underlying evolutionary mechanisms. 
Not Your Dad's Holodeck - Really Virtual Reality

Not Your Dad's Holodeck - Really Virtual Reality

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

Far from being geeky and exotic, virtual reality could be the key to a new range of innovative products. European researchers and industrialists have come together to build a world-leading community ready to exploit that promise.

Made famous by the ‘holodeck’ in Star Trek: The Next Generation, virtual reality (VR) has long had the reputation of being slightly frivolous. Yet Europe’s VR industry is emerging as a world leader thanks to new efforts to coordinate developments on a continental scale.
Creationism Axed - Again !

Creationism Axed - Again !

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

Creationism Axed - Again !

The stone axe from 400,000 years ago which has been described as "the most important stone tool in the establishment of the geological antiquity of humankind" was mislaid for many years.  It has been  rediscovered thanks to the efforts of  Professor Clive Gamble, an archaeologist in the Department of Geography at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Missing Historical Climate Data - A New Formula Says It Can Fill In The Gaps

Missing Historical Climate Data - A New Formula Says It Can Fill In The Gaps

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

Studies of climate evolution and the ecology of past-times are often hampered by missing information – lost variables needed to complete the picture and thought untraceable have made too many assumptions necessary.   Scientists writing in in the June issue of New Journal of Physics have created a formula which they say will fill in the gaps in our knowledge and will help predict the future.

A new method of reconstructing missing data will shed new light on how and why our climate moved us on from ice ages to warmer periods as researchers will be able to calculate lost information and put together a more complete picture. 
The great thing about science is the uncertainty

The great thing about science is the uncertainty

May 27 2009 | comment(s)

Brian Greene on science as the ultimate adventure:


Science is about immersing ourselves in piercing uncertainty while struggling with the deepest of mysteries. It is the ultimate adventure. Against staggering odds, a species that has walked upright for only a few million years is trying to unravel puzzles that are billions of years in the making. How did the universe begin? How was life initiated? How did consciousness emerge? Einstein captured it best when he wrote, "the years of anxious searching in the dark for a truth that one feels but cannot express." That's what science is about.
Endeavour To Present At IPAA Oil And Gas Symposium London

Endeavour To Present At IPAA Oil And Gas Symposium London

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

HOUSTON, May 26 /PRNewswire/ --

Endeavour International Corporation (NYSE-Amex: END) (LSE: ENDV) will participate in Oil and Gas Investment Symposium London hosted by the Independent Petroleum (Association of America (IPAA) (http://www.ipaa.org/meetings/Default.asp?Meeting=2009-06OGISLondon) on Tuesday, June 2, 2009. The event will be held in conjunction with Credit Suisse's London Oil and Gas Conference (http://www.csfb.com/conferences/).

J. Michael Kirksey, executive vice president and chief financial officer, is scheduled to speak on the company's business strategies and operational plans at 9:30 a.m. British Summer Time. A web cast of the presentation will be available by accessing Endeavour's Internet home page at http://www.endeavourcorp.com.

The Daytime Astronomer on Power and Authority

The Daytime Astronomer on Power and Authority

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

A post-doc is extremely low on the totem pole of authority.  The ranking goes roughly: Principal Investigators and Branch Heads, Staff Scientists, Secretaries, Soft-Money Scientists, Technical Staff, Support Staff, Janitors, the stray cats in the garage (yes, we have them!), Post-docs, Students.

Naturally the branch head asked me to manage the pre-launch efforts to ensure our science pipeline would be ready on time and able to produce scientific results from day one.

I found the situation extremely amusing.  There I was, a newcomer to the group and a lowly post-doc to boot, assigning tasks to senior scientists, shifting people to must-do items, and chiding them for missing deadlines.  And you know what?  Everyone was fine with that.
Digging Beneath the Surface of Grammar

Digging Beneath the Surface of Grammar

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

Digging Beneath the Surface of Grammar

How does language work?
Return To The Land - Not With These Numbers

Return To The Land - Not With These Numbers

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

It is often envisioned that humans could return to a simpler, more rural way of life and thereby live a more environmentally friendly existence. This is not only unrealistic, but in examining the numbers it becomes clear just what a predicament our human population growth has put us in.

First let’s consider the raw numbers regarding human impact on the planet and see where that leaves us. There are about 57,500,000 square miles of land available on the entire surface of the earth. There are also about 6,671,226,000 people on the planet as of July 2007. A simple calculation shows that this results in about 116 people per square mile on the entire surface of the earth.
Genetic Fitness - Biological Bias, Not Societal, Explains Promiscuous Men And Chaste Women

Genetic Fitness - Biological Bias, Not Societal, Explains Promiscuous Men And Chaste Women

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

In general, science is like an episode of "LOST"; one question gets answered but that answer raises two more questions. The discovery of DNA and genes has answered many questions about who we are and why we are, but to what degree remains a mystery.

'Nature Versus Nurture' has been an argument for decades. Nature proponents state that genes are primarily responsible for everything, including our eventual personalities and behaviors, and that they can all be explained by certain sequences of DNA. The Nurture argument instead says that although genes and DNA play a part of our anatomy and other physical aspects, our environment, exposures and experiences are determines our personalities and behavior.
Facebook Receives Investment From Digital Sky Technologies

Facebook Receives Investment From Digital Sky Technologies

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

PALO ALTO, California, May 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Passive Investment Includes Stake in Preferred Stock, Common Stock and Support for Facebook's Continued Global Growth

Facebook today announced that Digital Sky Technologies (DST), one of the leading internet investment groups globally with significant stakes in Eastern European and Russian internet businesses, has made a US$200 million investment in Facebook in exchange for preferred stock, representing a 1.96 percent equity stake at a US$10 billion valuation.

RISI And Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) Announce Partnership Agreement

RISI And Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC) Announce Partnership Agreement

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

BOSTON, May 26 /PRNewswire/ --

RISI, the leading information provider for the global forest products industry, today announced the establishment of a partnership agreement with the Biomass Thermal Energy Council (BTEC), whose mission it is to advance the use of biomass for heat and other thermal energy applications. As part of this partnership, BTEC members will receive a discount on RISI's Wood Biomass Market Report, the only comprehensive source of market information and wood biomass feedstock pricing for the North American biomass market.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20080521/NEW122LOGO )

Ingate And Dialogic Team Up On Enterprise SIP Trunking Solution

Ingate And Dialogic Team Up On Enterprise SIP Trunking Solution

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

STOCKHOLM and PARSIPPANY, New Jersey, May 26 /PRNewswire/ --

- Interoperable Solution Enables Secure SIP Trunking for Legacy PBX and Contact Center Environments

Danny Wallace Joins Global Fight Against MS

Danny Wallace Joins Global Fight Against MS

May 26 2009 | comment(s)

LONDON, May 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Former Man Utd star Danny Wallace is helping to shine the spotlight on the condition that ended his career early by joining together with the MS Society to support World MS Day.

The first coordinated world-wide initiative to highlight the proliferation of multiple sclerosis (MS) is being launched tomorrow (Wednesday 27 May) with more than 200 events in 61 countries in a concerted effort to raise global awareness of the disease.

World MS Day coincides with the football Champions League final, where Danny's former team take on FC Barcelona in Rome.