BGS Science Today

@BreakingScience, 30/08/2011 17:13

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 19:21:00 +0000

Science News (@BreakingScience)
30/08/2011 17:13
GMO corn falls prey to bugs it was supposed to thwart http://t.co/im41oqv via http://t.co/BJ7xwo9

David

More students are studying science! 'A' grade GCSE results reach record high

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 27 Aug 2011 07:48:00 +0000

A grade GCSE results reach record high
As almost a quarter of GCSEs hit an A or A* grade, state schools close the gap with the private sector. One education campaigner tell Channel 4 News: "Politicians need to talk up state schools"
< http://www.channel4.com/news/a-grade-gcse-results-reach-record-high >

A Chinese Solar Sailing Scheme to Divert the Asteroid Apophis from its Collision Course with Earth | Popular Science

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 20 Aug 2011 13:11:00 +0000

50 million-ton asteroid that actually might come close enough to Earth to warrant an end-of-the-world scare sometime in 2029!

http://www.popsci.com/technology/article/2011-08/solar-sailing-scheme-divert-asteroid-apophis-its-collision-course-earth?cmp=tw

David

New Scientist TV: Time-lapse Tuesday: Human-sized Möbius wave

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Aug 2011 18:46:00 +0000

New Scientist TV: Time-lapse Tuesday: Human-sized Möbius wave

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 13 Aug 2011 22:11:00 +0000

Inexpensive catalyst that makes hydrogen gas 10 times faster than natural enzyme

Looking to nature for their muse, researchers have used a common protein to guide the design of a material that can make energy-storing hydrogen gas. The synthetic material works 10 times faster than the original protein found in water-dwelling microbes, the researchers report in the August 12 issue of the journal Science, clocking in at 100,000 molecules of hydrogen gas every second.

Amazing Plants!

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 15:41:00 +0000

Rainforest plant developed sonar dish to attract pollinating bats

The researchers discovered that a rainforest vine, pollinated by bats, has evolved dish-shaped leaves with such conspicuous echoes that nectar-feeding bats can find its flowers twice as fast by echolocation. The study is published today in Science.

Cambridge University discovers formula to find friends on Facebook and Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 09:33:00 +0000

Cambridge University scientists have discovered a formula for users to get more friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter.

A team of researchers says making contact with 'friends of friends' is a flawed way of meeting like-minded people with a shared interest.

Scientists Agree: An Asteroid Killed the Dinosaurs

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 10:50:00 +0000

From Scientific America

The extinction of the dinosaurs is a subject which is discussed in science classess and has even become a formal part of the curriculum. Different theories are reviewed and it is used to encourage students to consider different viewpoints where the answer is difficult to 'know' at this time but maybe that has now all changed.

41 researchers have poured over the evidence and theories postulated over the years and have dismissed many of the other theories giving reasons for their decisions.

A massive blow

Based on the size of material from rocky shrapnel and the crater diameter, researchers have estimated the dino-demolishing object to be some 10 kilometers across. And when it struck—at about 20 kilometers per second—it created an instant crater about 100 kilometers wide and 25 to 30 kilometers deep "almost piercing the crust of the Earth," Johnson noted. The final crater that formed after the initial impact was about 180 kilometers across and two kilometers deep, which is still close to the depth of the Grand Canyon, Johnson pointed out. (From Scientific America)

The article continues describing some of the possible events and major features of the impact. Follow the link to get all the detail

Govenment Listens over Scientific Advice

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:16:00 +0000

Independent Advisory Committees give advice to the government on a range of scientific issues. One such committee is the Advisory Committee on the Misuse of Drugs. Last November the Chair of the committee was dismissed after a breakdown of trust. Proffessor Nutt was widely reported as disagreeing with the governments response to his committees independent recommendations.

This caused a large amount of concern that scientists were being asked to support government policy rather than presenting the conclusions drawn from evidence where no political agenda was used. Scientists wish to maintain academic independence and continue to deliver scientific advice rather than political spin.

Since then the government has been working on proposals to help ministers work with scientists and to support the integrety of the system. Many concerns have been raised and some are explained on the Royal Society of Chemistry's Website.

How the Chilean Earthquake Shortened the Day

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 13:04:00 +0000

The Chilean earthquake that killed more than 700 people on Saturday probably shifted the Earth's axis and shortened the day, according to a NASA scientist.

Read more here

Will the Courts stop a Blackhole from Devouring the Earth?

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 09:47:00 +0000

The question might be an exageration of the facts but that is exactly what is being asked of courts around the World where injunctions are being sought to stop the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) from being used.

So what's the background? (New Scientist)

The LHC is a multi-billion euro project based at CERN in Switzerland. It has been designed and constructed to conduct the most detailed particle physics experiments yet devised in a search for exotic particles that are believed to exist in theory. The physics world waits in anticipation for its results.

On the other side are the people that are worried that it will create a blackhole that will destroy the planet. They are seeking injunctions in courts around the world to stop the collider from being used for its designed purpose.

It is up to the courts what will happen next but it really is a very complicated case with detailed scientific knowledge required to make a judgment. Either way the consequences of judgement could be huge.

So why hasn't the World yet disappeared into a blackhole? The LHC hasn't yet been used to complete its primary task. When it was first switched on it was being 'run in' and suffered problems with its cooling. Currently sceintists are taking it easy and powering up to moderate levels. Only when the LHC is run at full power and beams of particles are collided will we know the real outcome.

The LHC features in Angels and Demons if you'd like a dramatised view of it working.

Are Bugs the Architects of our Future?

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 13:09:00 +0000

IN THE heart of Africa's savannah lies a city that is a model of sustainable development. Its buttressed towers are built entirely from natural, biodegradable materials. Its inhabitants live and work in quarters that are air-conditioned and humidity-regulated, without consuming a single watt of electricity. Water comes from wells that dip deep into the earth, and food is cultivated self-sufficiently in gardens within its walls. This metropolis is not just eco-friendly: with its curved walls and graceful arches, it is rather beautiful too.

So what is this ideal structure and who lives there. Well it's the termites in their mound.

Could this lead to the sustainable future we have been told we need. At the moment our understanding of such structures is limited and little sucessful scientific work has been completed but there is a chance that if we understand how these structures allow regulation of temperature and humidity, without machines, that we could begin to reduce our need for ever growing quatities of energy to regulate out own environments.

We bend nature to our will; is it possible to learn from it and develop its successes.

Check the full article for more.

Snow Snow, Snow!

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 11 Jan 2010 12:54:00 +0000

Where has it all gone wrong?

The weather that we has caused such widespread disruption in the UK over the last few weeks is a rare event. In a time when we are constantly bombarded with information about climate change and global warming why has this happened?

Is this proof that scientists are wrong? Is global woarming a lie? Does climate change mean a warmer climate in the UK?

Martian Rock Renters the Contest for Proof of Life

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 13:09:00 +0000

In 1996, David McKay of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, and colleagues proposed that that a chunk of Mars rock found in Antarctica, called ALH 84001, contained possible signs of past life on the Red Planet, such as complex carbon-based molecules and microscopic objects shaped like bacteria.

This caused a massive stir in the scientific community and led to masses of speculation with claim and counter claim about the validity of the claim. ALH84001 was big news and our greatest chance of proving that life had previously exsited on Mars. This in turn would have increased the chances of life surviving there today.

The explanation against microbes producing the structures seen was based on non-biological, geological processes. New analysis by a team in America has thrown out thie previous non-biological explanation.

The researchers have used high-resolution electron microscopy not available 13 years ago to study the physical and chemical make-up of the magnetites in detail, and found that no plausible geological scenario could explain the carbonate decomposition origin.

The possibility that the rock contains fossilised microbes received another boost in August when a team led by Paul Niles, also of NASA Johnson, showed that carbon in the meteorite was deposited in balmy water conducive to life, rather than a scorching temperature above 150 °C as had been proposed previously.

As science continues to progress and new chemical analysis techniques become available it is always worth returning to previous questions and approaching them from a fresh angle. There is still no definitive answer as to whether this rock really contains fossils of microbes but we are closer than ever to an answer.

More at New Scientist.

Tamiflu Resistant Swine Flu

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 12:05:00 +0000

Person to person spread of Tamiflu resistant swine flu has been reported by health officials in a hospital in Cardiff, Wales. Five people have aquired this infection and all have underlying health conditions.

Sporadic resistance has been reported before but this appears to be the first case in the world of person-to-person transmission of a Tamiflu-resistant strain.

This is not yet a complete certainty and the conclusion ghas been made in the absence of evidence for a different explanation. Fergus Walsh has more on his blog.

Looking Good is a Winner

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:57:00 +0000

Better-looking sportsmen more likely to win - science-in-society - 19 November 2009 - New Scientist:

"Elite athletes distinguish themselves through hard work, grit and, most importantly, raw talent. However new research, along with a study conducted by New Scientist, points to another trait of the most accomplished jocks: a handsome face.

The better an American football player, the more attractive he is, concludes a team led by Justin Park at the University of Bristol, UK. Park's team had women rate the attractiveness of National Football League (NFL) quarterbacks: all were elite players, but the best were rated as more desirable.

Meanwhile, a survey of more than a thousand New Scientist Twitter followers reveals a similar trend for professional men's tennis players.
Neither Park nor New Scientist argue that good looks promote good play. Rather, the same genetic variations could influence both traits."

Anicent Egyptians Heart Disease Worries

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:50:00 +0000

I sphinx it's time to go on a diet

They didn't chow down on pizza, chips and donuts, but the ancient Egyptian elite would still have had to worry about their risk of contracting heart disease.

X-ray computed tomography scans of ancient Egyptian mummies dating back more than 3,500 years have revealed telltale signs of atherosclerosis - blood vessels clogged by the accumulation of fats - suggesting they were susceptible to heart disease just like modern day westerners. A researcher visiting the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo noticed a nameplate stating that Pharaoh Merneptah died in 1,203BC at the age of 60, suffering from, among other things, diseased arteries.

Dream Jobs: Perfumer

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 04:14:00 +0000

Another Graduate Careers Special true-life story: chemistry and biology gave Dominique Gindre the foundations for his work as a "nose"

Green and confused: Scrunch, if you’ve got the bottle

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 18:09:00 +0000

The 'milk roadmap' is one government initiative to reduce fossil fuel use and greenhouse gas emissions. Short and sweet it gives a quick overview of how it works.

Green and confused: Scrunch, if you’ve got the bottle - Times Online

So You Think You Are Green!

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:55:00 +0000

What about your pet?

Well of course my pet is green. It's a loveable creature. It doesn't need anything other than my love, some exercise and food and water.

Not so say Robert and Brenda Vale, two architects who specialise in sustainable living at Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand. In their new book, Time to Eat the Dog: The real guide to sustainable living, they compare the ecological footprints of a menagerie of popular pets with those of various other lifestyle choices - and the critters do not fare well.

In fact their calculations show that a modestly used 4x4 could require less resources over 1 year than a medium sized dog. And thats just the start of some amazing and thought provoking figures. You really need to take a look at the impact owning pets has on the World.

How do you feel about your efforts to save the environment now and your concern for all things furry?

Dream Jobs: Documentary Producer

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:53:00 +0000

What does being a scientist mean for your career? Are you stuck with a narrow range of job choices? Of course not; a science background opens up an enormous range of job and career possibilities and from time to time I'll try to give you an idea of some of the jobs people have taken on.

Here's the first: Alex Tate has a degree in zoology and is a documentary producer. He most recently worked on Inside Natures Giants.

Seven Questions That Keep Physicists Up at Night

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 13:08:00 +0000

Maybe not at the top of your want to know list but I know that there are some of you out there who are curious, so go on and take a look.

And why has this come up now? The discussion was part of "Quantum to Cosmos", a 10-day physics extravaganza, which ended on Sunday, and took place in Canada. More on the festival can be found at www.q2cfestival.com/

Asteroid Explodes over Indonesia

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 09:46:00 +0000

On 8 October an asteroid detonated high in the atmosphere above South Sulawesi, Indonesia, releasing about as much energy as 50,000 tons of TNT, according to a NASA estimate released on Friday. That's about three times more powerful than the atomic bomb that levelled Hiroshima, making it one of the largest asteroid explosions ever observed.

No damage was caused on the ground because the explosion took place 15 - 20 kilometres above the surface but the explosion was heard by witnesses in Indonesia and recorded on instruments around the world.

A close call as no one knew the asteroid was even there. Should we be worried? Enough people think that there is a real need to prepare for a large event and many threats would not be discovered until too late. In 2008 an exercise took place to consider just such a scenario.

Placebo Effect Seen at Work

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 02:00:00 +0000

The placebo effect is not only real; its ability to deaden pain has been pinpointed to cells in the spinal cord. That raises hopes for new ways of treating conditions such as chronic pain.

The researchers who made the discovery scanned the spinal cords of volunteers while applying painful heat to one arm. Then they rubbed a cream onto the arm and told the volunteers that it contained a painkiller – but in fact it had no active ingredient. Even so, the cream made spinal-cord neural activity linked to pain vanish.

It seems palcebo works as well as nocebo.

Lunar Smash - A Success?

noreply@blogger.com (Riff Raff) — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 09:08:00 +0000

Last week NASA smashed two spacecraft into the Moon. The first was designed to creat a cloud of dust and the second was designed to analyse the dust, before crashing a few minutes behind the first.

So how did it go? Well NASA is working on that and refuses to be rushed on its answers; especially the question 'Is there a significant quantity of frozen water in the Moon's soil?'

This image, made from three snapshots taken by the trailing spacecraft's visible camera 15 seconds after impact, shows a plume about 6 to 8 km wide. Infrared cameras on the spacecraft suggest the impact gouged out a crater 28 m across. (Image: NASA)

The first image of lunar material kicked up by the impact of NASA's LCROSS mission has been released, a week after the impact occurred. It was taken by a spacecraft trailing behind the impactor, whose bird's-eye view allowed it to see what has so far eluded the best telescopes on Earth and in Earth-orbit.
Researchers are still studying the faint plume of material to try to identify its composition and search for signs of water.

Scientists had hoped that dust and vapour ejected by the impact would climb high enough to catch sunlight, allowing telescopes to hunt for traces of lunar water in the ejecta. But no obvious plume of ejected material was seen by any observers on the ground or even by the Hubble Space Telescope.