Scientific American

Environmental fugitive arrested in Mexico

Sat, 18 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Who knew that the EPA has its own most wanted list?

On Friday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that U.S. and Mexican agents nabbed Robert Wainwright living the high life south of the border. Wainwright, arrested in Zamora this week, was wanted for allegedly dumping steel mill waste in an Indiana wetland while working as a manager for Sterling Material Services in Lake County.

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Questioning Evolutionary Psychology

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 18:00:08 EST

[Below is the original script. But a few changes may have been made during the recording of this audio podcast.]

Something is afoot in the story of us.

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Space shuttle Endeavour docks with space station

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 17:26:00 EST

The biggest space party in history just got under way, as space shuttle Endeavour linked up with the International Space Station at 1:47 P.M. (Eastern Daylight Time), placing 13 people in orbit together--the most ever in one spot.

Endeavour's crew of seven met the newly expanded space station crew, which recently doubled in size to six, when the hatches between the two spacecraft opened two hours later. [More]

Apollo 11 lander spotted by lunar satellite

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:23:00 EST

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Hurricane Protection for New Orleans Debated

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 15:20:00 EST

The Army Corps of Engineers' road map for protecting coastal Louisiana from a Category 5 hurricane is substantially flawed because it fails to recommend a clear plan that can be adopted quickly, according to a National Research Council review released today.

The corps' long-overdue Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Program report, congressionally mandated after 2005's Hurricane Katrina and finalized this month, instead lays out 27 alternatives, highlighting none as preferred.

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Former Boeing engineer convicted of handing over trade secrets on the shuttle and Delta IV rocket to China

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST

Yesterday, in a nonjury trial, U.S. District Judge Cormac J. Carney convicted Dongfan “Greg” Chung, a 73-year-old Orange County, Calif. resident, on six counts of economic espionage for stealing trade secrets from Boeing. [More]

Where, Exactly, Does Your Garbage Go After You Toss It Out?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST

Most people assume that their trash ends up in a landfill somewhere far away (if they think about this at all). But growing concern over the environmental impact of waste--discarded electronics, in particular--has prompted a team of researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) to take a high-tech approach to studying exactly what people are tossing out and where those items are ending up. [More]

Prompts Help Asperger's Patients Overcome Common Problem

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:55:00 EST

People with Asperger's syndrome, a variety of autism spectrum disorder, characteristically have trouble perceiving the mental states of others, making social interactions difficult. But many adults with the disorder lead highly functional lives, leaving researchers to wonder how their brains differ from those of neurologically normal adults and children. [More]

A contemporary dance enacts a little neuroanatomy to teach science

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:15:00 EST

Orbo Novo, a highly anticipated ballet, premiered in Boston this month. The contemporary dance, designed by esteemed choreographer Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui, is giving audiences a glimpse into the two hemispheres of the brain. [More]

Climate kerfuffle: Did Senator Boxer really direct a "racial slant" at African-American Harry Alford?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:50:00 EST

At yesterday’s climate hearings, Democratic Senator Barbara Boxer of California looked down at the black man testifying about the impact of climate legislation on business and asked: “Colored boy, what are you doing with this sophisticated report?”

Or at least that’s the way Harry Alford, CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce, recounted it in a phone interview with Breitbart.tv’s B-Cast. “It was condescending,” he said, “like being in Mississippi in 1945. . . . She owes America an apology.”

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From a Pre-Teen Mind, a Robot that Solves Rubik's Cube

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:10:00 EST

When the Rubik's Cube burst on the scene in the U.S. in 1980, it sparked a fascination with the puzzle that continues to this day, even among fans born decades after the Cube's debut. Except that, instead of humans attempting to "speed cube" to a solution in less than 10 seconds, many Rubik's Cube fans today build robots to do it for them. This A.I.-enthusiasm offers the added challenge of not only solving the puzzle but also of creating a robot that can physically manipulate the cube based on that solution. [More]

SEC may mandate corporate climate disclosures

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST

Just as Wal-Mart’s plan to start eco-labeling its products is splashing down into the summer corporate news kiddie pool, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is in talks about making companies do some serious environmental reporting of their own. [More]

Head Lines: Practice Removes Prejudice--And More

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST

Practice Removes PrejudiceLike it or not, most people hold subconscious stereotypes about individuals of races other than their own. New research found a link between such implicit (unconscious) bias and the “other-race effect”--the fact that we can distinguish faces of our own race better than other-race faces. In the study, Caucasians’ implicit bias toward African-Americans diminished after they learned to individuate faces of that race.

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Don't steal my dung

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

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Solar-Powered Cooking

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

One little solar cooker aims to take a big bite out of climate change. The Kyoto Box, designed by Norwegian entrepreneur Jon Bøhmer, is intended as an alternative for millions of people who burn wood to cook food and boil water. Using energy from the sun can reduce carbon emissions as well as deforestation in countries such as Kenya, where Bøhmer lives and runs his company, Kyoto Energy.

Bøhmer experimented with the concept for a decade, inspired by the simplicity of a solar device invented in 1767 by Swiss physicist Horace-Bénédict de Saussure. The cooker, which consists of two boxes nestled inside each other and topped with Plexiglas to trap the sun’s rays, has evolved from a homemade cardboard contraption to a $6 plastic version that went into mass production this spring.

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The 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:01:00 EST

Four decades after mankind's giant leap, a look at the harrowing first lunar landing, the Apollo missions that never flew, and how the historic event looked from the Soviet Union [More]

For Neil Armstrong, the First Moon Walker, It Was All about Landing the Eagle

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 07:00:00 EST

"In my view, the emotional moment was the landing. That was human contact with the moon, the landing…. It was at the time when we landed that we were there, we were in the lunar environment, the lunar gravity. That, in my view, was…the emotional high. And the business of getting down the ladder to me was much less significant." [More]

What Will NASA's Next Spacesuit Look Like?

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:30:00 EST

Skintight spacesuits may look good in the recent Star Trek movie, but they don't fit NASA's future plans--not yet, anyway. The space agency has its sights set on a new spacesuit for astronauts returning to the moon within the next decade or so--a more traditional design that will seek to balance protection and mobility. [More]

Apollo and the Moon: The Astronauts' View [Slide Show]

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 06:00:00 EST

Just in time for the much-heralded anniversary of Apollo 11's historic 1969 touchdown in the Sea of Tranquility comes Apollo: Through the Eyes of the Astronauts (Abrams Books, June 2009). The book features a foreward co-authored by physicist Stephen Hawking and photographs handpicked by each of the surviving astronauts from the Apollo program--many of the pictures were taken by the astronauts themselves. [More]

Jockey Positions Speed Up Horses

Fri, 17 Jul 2009 00:05:08 EST

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

[Horse race bugle] [More]

NASA says damage to space shuttle Endeavour appears minor

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:35:00 EST

The damage to space shuttle Endeavour's heat shield during its ascent yesterday does not appear to be dangerous, NASA officials said today in a press briefing. Multiple debris strikes occurred as pieces of foam insulation from the external fuel tank fell off as the orbiter rose into the sky, but Endeavour appears not to have suffered significant damage. [More]

The Exploration of the Moon

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 18:20:00 EST

Editor's note: This article originally appeared in the October 1969 issue of Scientific American magazine. We are posting it to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing. [More]

New NASA leaders Bolden and Garver confirmed by Senate

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 17:22:00 EST

Charles Bolden and Lori Garver, President Barack Obama's selections to lead NASA, were confirmed as administrator and deputy administrator for the space agency, respectively, by the Senate yesterday. [More]

Moths Use Sonar-Jamming Defense to Fend Off Hunting Bats

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:35:00 EST

An insect with paper-thin wings may carry much the same defense technology as some of the military's heavy-duty warships. [More]

May Cool Heads Prevail: How to Save on Air Conditioning

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST

Editor's Note: Scientific American's George Musser will be chronicling his experiences installing solar panels and taking other steps to save energy in 60-Second Solar. Read his introduction here and see all posts here.

This year, I’ve been spared the annual ritual of lugging the window air conditioners out of the closet. Not only has it been one of the mildest summers on record in the New York area, but our house has a spiffy new cool white roof, so our attic is no longer the hothouse it once was. Reflective window blinds, compact fluorescent and LED bulbs, and an attic fan have also helped to keep the house cool. In past summers, there usually came some days in August where we vowed to upgrade to a whole-house air conditioning system, but so far we’ve just sweated them out.

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Wal-Mart Requires Suppliers to Reveal Environmental Impacts

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:15:00 EST

How "green" is that organic cotton yoga outfit on Aisle 30?

Read the tag.

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A lizard that swims through sand

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 16:10:00 EST

What slithers like a snake, swims like a fish and lives in the Sahara? The sandfish lizard, of course. This small reptile, which measures just 10 centimeters long, can swim through the sand dunes at up to 15 centimeters per second. But how does it do it? [More]

Secret of jockey's strange posture revealed

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:50:00 EST

In October of 1898, The New York Times reported on an American jockey named James Forman “Tod” Sloan who had begun riding his horse “crouched well forward on his mount’s neck.” The Times further noted that Sloan had "astonished the English turfmen and jockeys not only by his style of riding which is peculiar to him, but also by his great success.”

Now, more than a century after Sloan debuted the crouching technique, scientists have figured out how the now-standard riding posture boosts performance. [More]

New Model Aims to Predict Quick Climate Changes

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:35:00 EST

Climate models of the past, present and future seem to be in no short supply these days. But a new and dynamic picture of climate change appears in this week's Science, one that could affect the way future conditions are predicted. [More]

Moon landing video released

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:25:31 EST

The original recordings of the first humans landing on the moon 40 years ago were erased and re-used, but newly restored copies of the original broadcast look even better, NASA officials said.

Down to Earth: The Apollo Moon Missions That Never Were

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 14:00:00 EST

When Apollo 11 landed on the moon, NASA's plan was to continue manned lunar missions through Apollo 20. But history turned out differently. The last three missions, still in planning stages, were canceled. Hardware that would have flown to the moon ended up as museum exhibits. And scientists and space enthusiasts were left to contemplate what Apollos 18 through 20 might have accomplished.

On January 4, 1970, less than six months after Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left humanity's first lunar footprints, NASA announced Apollo 20's cancellation. Eight months later, the agency announced the scrapping of Apollo 19 as well as the original mission slated for Apollo 15 (Apollo 16 was renumbered 15, thereby giving the remaining two missions numbers 16 and 17).

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The Moon Landing through Soviet Eyes: A Q&A with Sergei Khrushchev, son of former premier Nikita Khrushchev

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 13:00:00 EST

The Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. formed the backdrop of the Apollo program, as the two superpowers jockeyed for preeminence in space. Under premier Nikita Khrushchev, the Soviet Union had succeeded in launching Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, and sending the first man into orbit. [More]

Depressed U.S. corn prices suggest that ethanol production is not causing a shortage of the grain

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:49:00 EST

Corn-based ethanol production continues to rise; U.S. farmers planted 87 million acres of corn this year--two million more than the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) had initially estimated in March. This news has driven down corn market prices, leaving farmers skeptical about the theory that ethanol production has caused a corn shortage and in turn inflated food prices in the U.S. [More]

How Do "Green Projects" Create Jobs?

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: What kind of job opportunities might be opened up by the new federal emphasis on green projects? -- Dick Wetzler, St. Paul, MN

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Wastewater Analysis for Drug Abuse Evidence

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:41:08 EST

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

If authorities wanted to determine how pervasive the problem of illicit drug use was in their communities, how could they do it? One cheap and easy way has just been tried experimentally in Oregon. Based on the principle that what goes in must come out, researchers measured the amounts and kinds of drugs that made their way through users to become included in untreated wastewater. This first-of-its-kind research is reported in the journal Addiction.

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How Monkeys Teach Tool Use

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 09:00:00 EST

How do baby monkeys learn to use tools? Apparently through lessons from mom, according to new findings that suggest education is a very ancient trait in the primate lineage. [More]

Sound Solution: New Detection Technologies May Help Protect Whales

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Ship traffic, seismic tests and sonar pings can make navigating the seas tricky for whales. But with the help of the heat and sound naturally generated by the warm-blooded creatures, researchers are hoping to make their waters safe again. [More]

Readers Respond on "The Power of Renewables"

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 08:00:00 EST

Bigger Is Better?I am concerned that, like most of our renewable efforts recently, Matthew L. Wald’s overview of renewable energy technology, “The Power of Renewables,” is oriented toward projects made by large corporations. This strategy will further entrench vested energy interests, when energy should be diffused to the general public. Windmills on your roof need not generate anywhere near the number of volts required by big windmills, which need to be matched and phased to the grid. And a rooftop windmill’s output can be stored in batteries or large condensers that can be used as insulation. We should not miss an opportunity to capitalize on the ingenuity of individuals worldwide to provide local solutions. [More]

Endeavour blasts off

Thu, 16 Jul 2009 07:33:37 EST

U.S. space shuttle Endeavour and seven astronauts blast off from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

On sixth try, space shuttle Endeavour blasts off for space station

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 18:15:00 EST

After many false starts, one of the final remaining space shuttle missions got under way this evening with the liftoff of the Endeavour orbiter from Kennedy nasSpace Center in Florida. The shuttle blasted off at 6:03 P.M. (Eastern Daylight Time) on a mission to the International Space Station (ISS), after hydrogen leaks twice delayed June launch attempts and bad weather thwarted three liftoff opportunities earlier this month. [More]

Lucy on Broadway: Discoverer says the famous hominid fossils belong in the limelight

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 17:05:00 EST

Last night at a packed bar in New York City, Donald Johanson – the paleoanthropologist who discovered Lucy, the world’s most celebrated human ancestor – took swipes at detractors who claim her bones should not be on public display. [More]

Smart spiders spy on Mount Saint Helens

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:30:00 EST

A dozen stainless steel spiders descended from a helicopter into the crater of Mount Saint Helens yesterday. As Seattle’s KOMO News reported, the “pods are small and tough enough to reach places no man dares” to go. Scientists hope that data collected by the monitoring machines could one day help them to better predict volcanic eruptions. [More]

U.S. and China to Conduct Joint Energy Research

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 16:20:00 EST

The United States and China are launching a joint Clean Energy Research Center aimed at bolstering research and development of technologies to improve energy efficiency, carbon sequestration and low-emissions vehicles. [More]

Army Corps clamps down on debris dumping by mountaintop coal-mining operations

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:35:00 EST

Surface coal mining--the controversial procedure that levels mountaintops and pollutes streams in the quest for the nation’s dirtiest fossil fuel--will face stricter rules under the Obama administration. [More]

Why Does NASA Launch Space Shuttles from Such a Weather-Beaten Place?

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 15:10:00 EST

Space shuttle Endeavour remains on the launch pad today after a series of weather delays nixed launch attempts Saturday, Sunday and Monday. Much of the country is balmy and dry this time of year but precipitation, wind and lightning are a mainstay along Florida's Atlantic coast, home to Kennedy Space Center. [More]

How to commemorate the moonwalk

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:58:10 EST

The anniversary of Apollo 11's historic mission is marked with a space auction, an iPhone app, and a re-released documentary called "Moonwalk One."

The Brain Adapts in a Blink to Compensate for Missing Information

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 14:05:00 EST

The human brain has long been known to perceive things that aren't there--from phantom limbs to patterns in chaos. But a new study from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.I.T.) shows for the first time that it is surprisingly quick to bend reality when normal perception is disrupted. The results were published yesterday in The Journal of Neuroscience. [More]

The Myth of Multitasking

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:25:08 EST

[The following is an exact transcript of this podcast.]

Modern humans are masters of multitasking. We eat while driving, watch TV while studying, and of course talk on our cell phones while doing, well, everything. How do we do it? A study in the July 16th issue of Neuron suggests that though we can train our brains to work faster as we juggle, we never actually manage to do more than one thing at a time. [More]

Should Racial Profiling Play a Role in Cancer Prognosis?

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 12:20:00 EST

African-Americans are more likely to die from cancer than patients of other races and ethnicities, and extensive studies have long implicated socioeconomic and environmental factors, such as differences in income, diet and education. Two research teams, however, have recently suggested that the genetics of race itself is likely to be a contributor. Exactly how significant the findings are and just what they mean for treatment is unclear, but some scientists worry that African-Americans could take such conclusions the wrong way, leading them not to seek treatment. [More]

What Are the Benefits of "Insulating" Paint?

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 11:00:00 EST

Dear EarthTalk: Do insulating paints actually insulate and save energy? If they do, are they environmentally friendly to use? -- Bob Dibrindisi, Easthampton, MA

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