Science News

Smile while you eat a few nuts, and you will be happier, too. They did not report a causal relationship, merely a correlation that is consistent with other similar studies. They did not report any specific nut as superior in this study.

http://www.ted.com/talks/ramesh_raskar_a_camera_that_takes_one_trillion_frames_per_second.html Some researchers may find this high speed photography useful for their own projects. It makes possible some things that otherwise would be impossible, including seeing around corners...really. Watch the Ted Talk above.

The double Nobel Prize winner, Frederick Sanger, best known for the technique of Sanger sequencing, has died aged 95. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-25020112 The scientific community will be forever indebted to you, Sanger, for the knowledge and technologies resulting from your "messing about in the Lab" and will remember you fondly.

Several groups have now repeated the feat of the Japanese group working at the insitute headed by Nobel Prize winning stem cell researcher Shinya Yamanaka. That is, they have created functioning oocytes from adult female mouse cells. The groups are now trying to repeat the feat with monkey and human cells. The below story contains links to the academic papers in Nature Protocols, and Nature: link removed

Does the visible photon have a counterpart, a dark photon, that interacts with the components of dark matter? http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/november-2013/connecting-the-visible-universe-with-dark-matter

Thorium powered car could run for a century with out refueling! Nuclear power car runs on thorium!

US physicists have studied the fluid dynamics of urine "splashback" - and found tips to help men and women with their accuracy and hygiene. Using high-speed cameras, the team filmed jets of liquid striking toilet walls and studied the resulting spray. Splashback was low when the jets were used close up with a narrow "angle of attack", said the Brigham Young University team. They will present their research at an American Physical Society meeting. "In response to harsh and repeated criticisms from our mothers and several failed relationships with women, we present the splash dynamics of a simulated human male urine stream," reads their conference abstract Read…

This research is consistent with my belief (speculation) that abiogenesis is inevitable because chemicals will self assemble and create life. And, if the chemicals still exist in the right conditions, abiogenesis continues. But, whatever spontaneous life is created will have little chance of survival, because evolved forms are be much more capable of surviving and thriving.

The KNAW (Royal Dutch Science Academy) hosts this initiative that I wholeheartedly support: http://www.scienceintransition.nl/nieuws/position-paper-available-in-english 1. the myth of science being un-corrupatble 2. the wrong publish or perish culture 3 the sense of science: to much production of unnecessary research

http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2013/11/the-man-who-would-teach-machines-to-think/309529/ A nice article in the Atlantic on Douglas Hofstadter and his counter mainstream approach to life the universe and everything. And an interesting comparison via a book review from 30 years ago in the NYT http://www.nytimes.com/books/97/07/20/reviews/hofstadter-magazine.html

Artificial neurons and networks of them are far simpler than their biological counterparts, and brainpower is more distributed and complex than previously thought. It also suggests that at least some single cell organisms may have some computing power, as well as individual cells within multicellular organisms.

From: SciTechDaily If it is so easy, why hasn't someone done it such that we would know about it. Sandberg thinks the reason is that intelligent life in the universe is very rare. Perhaps the chances of an Earth sized planet in the right orbit around a star, with a large moon to stabilize its rotation, is a very unlikely event, and it is required for an intelligent life form to develop technology. Most of the alternatives are poor outcomes for humanity.

It seems to be a step in the right direction for CO2 production and the economy. Unfortunately the reason for reduced CO2 is less heating required due to a warm winter.

Hi, I am a grade 12 student studying in Dubai Modern High School and i believe that i have found the maximum number of elements possible. Please reply to thread if interested.

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/physics/laureates/2013/

This research seems to be a step toward understanding abiogenesis, and one that points in a direction not previously investigated. Will this information lead to further progress, or to another difficult road block?

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2013/announcement.html http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/2013/press.html

In the article it was noted that apes are bad at learning the meaning of pointing, however other research contradict this notion. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2151757/

There has to be more to this but I am not familiar enough to figure it out. Does anyone have info? http://www.sciencemag.org/content/342/6154/60.full

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/ Basic Summary http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/press.html Advanced Ideas http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/2013/advanced.html

http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/ Explanation for Chemistry Dunces like me http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/popular-chemistryprize2013.pdf Explanation for Chemistry Delias that I can only worship from afar in wonder http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/chemistry/laureates/2013/advanced-chemistryprize2013.pdf

Apparently they are storing the cooling water in leaking tanks at or near the plant. Doubtless the leaking is bad enough, but lets hope there isn't another disturbance similar to the one that preceded the current situation, resulting in all that apparently highly radioactive water being dumped into and onto who knows where. Yes, you've guessed correctly, I'm of the view that nuclear power is the most dangerous method of power generation.

Planck Space Telescope data: geometry of universe may be open. http://www.nature.com/news/universe-may-be-curved-not-flat-1.13776

New theory about 1/2 spin particles suggest black holes do not contain a singularity. http://www.technologyreview.com/view/419827/why-our-universe-must-have-been-born-inside-a-black-hole/

The obvious question is, "What about this year?" I hope everyone gets the grants they need to continue their work.