Science News

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

We recently interviewed a mathematician who is attempting to solve the Riemann hypothesis using quasicrystals. We thought that anyone mathematically inclined may be interested in taking a look: >link removed< Let us know what you think!

Hello you all ! We would like to invite you to watch our recent video published in the JPC letters, This Perspective discusses how the relentless growth in computational power has seen increasing applications of molecular dynamics (MD) simulation to the study of membrane proteins in realistic membrane environments, which include explicit membrane lipids, water, and ions. In the case of voltage-gated cation channels, recent computational works have focused on ion conduction and gating mechanisms, along with their regulation by agonist/antagonist ligands. This Perspective highlights recent advances in probing the structure and function of po…

A new technology: A peeping Tom and voyeur's dream come true? Superman vision from a cell-phone? Wanna see my favorite pics on my cell? Also seemingly future medical applications along with countless other conceivable and more socially acceptable, wonderful applications? http://www.utdallas....ageCenterColumn

</h1> This article claims secret source codes shouldn't be secret, because scientist must be able to share information and check each others work. I think this is nuts! Science has done just fine with no computers at all, and I feel sure the old fashioned way of sharing information is good enough. What do you say?

An outbound comet that provided a nice show for skywatchers late last year is the target of an ongoing investigation by NASA's Swift satellite. Formally designated C/2009 P1 (Garradd), the unusually dust-rich comet provides a novel opportunity to characterize how cometary activity changes at ever greater distance from the sun. A comet is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. These "dirty snowballs" cast off gas and dust whenever they venture near the sun. What powers this activity is frozen water transforming from solid ice to gas, a process called sublimation. Jets powered by ice sublimation release dust, which reflects sunlight and brightens the comet. Typically, …

This just came out so there is not a lot of clarity on it: "GENEVA (AP) -- Scientists at the world's largest physics lab say they have clocked subatomic particles traveling faster than light, a feat that - if true - would break a fundamental pillar of science." http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_BREAKING_LIGHT_SPEED?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/science/coral-embryos-can-clone-themselves-before-settlement-198390.html Scientists found that waves can break apart coral embryos, and the fragments that result from it will form individual corals. So cool!

The "Shikhaev-Anokhin method", a mathematical discovery made by academician of the Moscow Aviation Institute, Kirill Shikhaev, was nominated for the Prince of Asturias Awards. Prince of Asturias Awards are annual prizes including a range of categories, of which "Technical and scientific research" is one of the most prestigious in the world. The authors of «Shikhaev-Anokhin teaching method for solving algebraic and undefined equations by numerical simulation on the basis of single equation solver» were nominated for the prize by the President of the Russian Academy of Engineering, corresponding member of Russian Academy of Sciences, Boris Gusev. The mathematical w…