Science News

Artificial jellyfish built from rat cells http://www.nature.com/news/artificial-jellyfish-built-from-rat-cells-1.11046 Fascinating.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120720103543.htm ScienceDaily (July 20, 2012) — New findings suggest the surface of Saturn's largest moon may have undergone a recent transformation. For many years, Titan's thick, methane- and nitrogen-rich atmosphere kept astronomers from seeing what lies beneath. Saturn's largest moon appeared through telescopes as a hazy orange orb, in contrast to other heavily cratered moons in the solar system. Images from the Cassini mission show river networks draining into lakes in Titan's north polar region. (Credit: NASA/JPL/USGS)

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120718131348.htm Neanderthals in Northern Spain Had Knowledge of Plants' Healing Qualities, Study Reveals ScienceDaily (July 17, 2012) — An international team of researchers, led by the Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona and the University of York, has provided the first molecular evidence that Neanderthals not only ate a range of cooked plant foods, but also understood its nutritional and medicinal qualities. A researcher at work in El Sidrón Cave. (Credit: CSIC Comunicación)

-So if we are able to break down particles, could we essentially replicate particles out of nowhere using a device that esentialy clones these particles? Like a particle data bank? -Also what is the exact break down of a particle?

Although Big Bang neucleosynthesis theory is considered successful in explaining the observed abundance of helium in the universe, it has had problems explaining other elements and isotopes such as deuterium and Lithium. This new study seems to indicated that new Lithium is being created by stellar black holes which would additionally confound the observed lithium shortfall with theory. http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/342395/title/Black_hole_theory_deepens_lithium_crisis

http://the-scientist.com/2012/07/20/rights-for-cetaceans/ Rights for Cetaceans An animal rights law group plans to renew law group plans to renew the fight for recognizing certain species as persons. The Nonhuman Rights Project, a nonprofit organization advocating for legal rights for animals, is planning on filing two lawsuits on behalf of captive animals in the United States by the end of next year, according to Wired Science. Although the group has not yet decided which species will be targeted, highly intelligent social animals such as bonobos, chimpanzees, elephants, and dolphins are strong contenders. The head of the organization, animal law sch…

Religion May Have Evolved Because Of Its Ability To Help People Exercise Self-Control ScienceDaily (Jan. 1, 2009) — Self-control is critical for success in life, and a new study by University of Miami professor of Psychology Michael McCullough finds that religious people have more self-control than do their less religious counterparts. Rural church. Religion may have evolved because of its ability to help people exercise self-control. (Credit: iStockphoto/Philip Dyer) http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081231005355.htm

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/07/120718143917.htm Enhanced Royal Jelly Produces Jumbo Queen Bee Larvae ScienceDaily (July 18, 2012) — Scientists have discovered a way to make worker bees produce an enhanced version of royal jelly (RJ) -- the super-nutritious substance that dictates whether larvae become workers or queens, and that is also renowned as a health supplement for people. Scientists have discovered a way to make worker bees produce an enhanced version of royal jelly (RJ) -- the super-nutritious substance that dictates whether larvae become workers or queens, and that is also renowned as a health supplement for people. (Credit: © koi8…

On 2012 July 1, a man wearing computer-assisted spectacles was assaulted by staff in a Parisian McDonald's, who tried to pull the glasses off his head then threw him out of the restaurant, according to a blog post written by the victim. The McDonald's staff seemed angered by the high-tech vision-ware worn by Dr Steve Mann who is an academic at the University of Toronto and an expert in wearable computing. Mann has worn the computer-assisted spectacles, known as the EyeTap Digital Eye Glass, pictured below, for 13 years. Okay, being a geek is no reason for the rough treatment, but maybe they didn't like having their picture taken. Any other thoughts, com…

Scientists 'will say they are 99.99% certain' the particle has been found http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2167188/God-particle-Scientists-Cern-expected-announce-Higgs-boson-particle-discovered-Wednesday.html

"Internet addiction has for the first time been linked with changes in the brain similar to those seen in people addicted to alcohol, cocaine and cannabis. In a groundbreaking study, researchers used MRI scanners to reveal abnormalities in the brains of adolescents who spent many hours on the internet, to the detriment of their social and personal lives. The finding could throw light on other behavioural problems and lead to the development of new approaches to treatment, researchers said." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/addicted-scientists-show-how-internet-dependency-alters-the-human-brain-6288344.html Bizarre. Coupled with this foul nugget: "…

This topic has been on many people's minds for years now. The dream of flying a car off the highway to avoid traffic, then lightly touching down at your destination. As this thread seems to indicate, that is still a ways off, though the company that makes the Terrafugia Transition seems to hope it is sooner than we expect. http://slashdot.org/submission/2007837/traffic-jam-ahead-no-problem-take-to-the-skies-in-your-terrafugia For about $279,000 though and sooner than we may think. I still think the vehicle of the future would take off vertically and land anywhere, not just on dedicated runways. But the whole concept brings up 200 other questions on safety a…

It appears this may have been circulating for some time, but there is an image from the HiRISE camera from NASA that "suggests" the object in the image is alien in nature. To me it could be anything, but is one of the more interesting images I've seen that seem to fool your eyes into seeing (perhaps) something that is not there.

Yesterday was a sad day for science, as Lonesome George, the last known member of Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni - The Pinta Island giant tortoise dies, marking the extinction of the species. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-18574279

Every one knows about which will be the first experiments and expected results from LHC-CERN. And when the most important results?...Existence of Higgs bosón (?) It seems that the next 4 July will be some news...about Higgs boson...Do you know anything? Do you know any important result till now?

Someone is finally picking up on the idea that maybe we should know about near Earth asteroids a little earlier than a few days to a month before they get here. You go B612. Telescope aims to head off asteroids' impact on Earth

In September I am off to traverse a rainforest in Mozambique that was only discovered by scientists from Kew Gardens, London in 2005 and as far as they were concerned no one new anything about what was in the forest. When they went in 2008 they discovered some species of snake, bird, butterfly and a number of other species completely new to science. Thinking its fantastic that the world still has places to explore (in a responsible manner of course). Anyone out there have any places on the planet they would love to explore?

With all the hype, it's refreshing to see 3D-Printing's application to the "hard-sciences". A research team from University of Glasgow has used arudimentary 3d-printer to create their own customized labware --what they call 'reactionware' I can imagine this taking off in Academica, and maybe even in the industrial sector. Check out the full article at Glasgow-3D-Printer.

From Ed Yong: "... Pinheiro ended up with enzymes that could copy information between XNA and DNA, with an accuracy of 95 per cent or more. With more work, it should be possible to cut DNA out of the loop altogether, so that XNAs can be directly built from XNAs. If this is possible, Szostak adds, “In the longer run, it may be possible to design and build new forms of life that are based on one or more of these non-natural genetic polymers." ..." Synthetic XNA molecules can evolve and store genetic information, just like DNA More Info Synthetic heredity molecules emulate DNA Polymers perform non-DNA evolution Synthetic Genetic Polymers Capable of He…

SLAC claims that BaBar Data Hint at Cracks in the Standard Model. The excess decays have to be still confirmed, but they claim that data already rules out the Two Higgs Doublet Model.

So, this post should have started in this area of the forum. It's a new topic in science. I hope to generate discussion on the articles I read on the internet, and read about what you have to say in response. I don't know much about about the people who respond on this forum, but I assume you are all intelligent. If you would, could you tell me after your response if you are a student, graduate, or professional. Thank you. After reading some fairly recent articles in science, I have been inspired to learn more about the research being done to fight what seems like a whole range of diseases. The articles I read are from MIT news. I would provide you with link …

I read this interesting article on Scientific American from the RSS feed of my blog. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=is-space-digital Can any physicist give me a picture of how the results of that experiment is going the change the way we think about what fundamental reality is and what will be the consequences or the new physics and possibilities that is going to emerge if space is indeed found to be digital? I read the article and the comments and I am not really getting any picture at all and it has confused me even more. Thanks.

Pharyngula (PZ Myers) has a really interesting post about a recent paper in Bioessays concerning the evolution of menstruation. My favourite line: "I suppose we could blame The Curse on The Fall, but then this phylogeny would suggest that Adam and Eve were part of a population of squirrel-like proto-primates living in the early Paleocene. That's rather unbiblical, though, and what did the bats and elephant shrews do to deserve this?" http://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2011/12/why_do_women_menstruate.php?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+PeerReviewOnScienceBlogs+%28Peer+Review+on+Science+Blogs%29&utm_content=Google+Reader

You know I invented a little thing I call the water cell. Basically its pure magnesium as a negative electrode wrapped in a sponge and copper around that as your positive electrode. Set it in water and you got your water cell which equates to say a single AA battery. I run things like quartz wall clocks, digital clocks, led lights, certain types or motors and so forth on water cells. They basically last forever with minor wear or require minor maintenance even since they sit in just pure water. I dont use salts, acids or any added chemicals. So I tried to get some news coverage on this. I run a live cam that displays things powered on water which is usually up 24/7 at liv…

I have created and just released an iPad study package with the intention to generate interest and fun in studying science for young high school students (first year). I believe there would be a vast amount of interesting and fun facts you guys have, so if you have some time please take a look at our webpage, where you can find a link to my facebook page. Check it out and please add an interesting true fact! link removed Thanks for your time. Prof. Eggtop