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Latest Articles: Science/Tech
At last, we have sequenced the cannabis genome
Post Date: 2011-08-20 06:53:38 by gengis gandhi
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At last, we have sequenced the cannabis genome The Cannabis sativa genome has been sequenced by a team of scientists in Amsterdam (yes, really). The raw genetic sequence was posted yesterday to Amazon's EC2 cloud computing service by a company called Medicinal Genomics — just in time for the weekend. So what will we learn from weed DNA? Kevin McKernan, the founder of Medical Genomics, said the company's research was inspired by this 2003 publication in Nature Reviews Cancer, which examines the numerous therapeutic applications of cannabinoids — the active components of Cannabis sativa and its derivatives — including cancer treatments that could shrink tumors. ...
Microwave opens up bacteria
Post Date: 2011-08-19 04:21:12 by Tatarewicz
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A team of Swinburne researchers has shown that low-temperature microwaves can be used to open up pores in bacterial cells, which could lead to significant improvements in the design of drug delivery systems. The study, co-authored by Dean of Swinburne’s Faculty of Life and Social Sciences Professor Russell Crawford, has been published in Applied and Environmental Microbiology and highlighted by Microbes, both publications of the American Society of Microbiology. According to Professor Crawford the research conducted by the faculty’s Nano-BioTech Group showed that, when exposed to an 18 GHz radiofrequency electromagnetic field, E. coli cells ingested sugar molecules from the ...
Chinese orbiter fails to enter designated orbit
Post Date: 2011-08-19 04:00:21 by Tatarewicz
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JIUQUAN, Gansu - China's experimental satellite, which was launched by the Long March II-C rocket Thursday, failed to enter the designated orbit due to a rocket malfunction. The rocket carrying the SJ-11-04 orbiter experienced problems during flight after it was launched from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center at 5:28 pm Beijing Time in Northwest China's Gansu province. Beijing News cited an unnamed military observer as saying the malfunction stopped the rocket from entering a planned altitude. "We don't know when the problem occurred, so it will be hard to find out the cause," the observer said, adding the orbiter may land in China's territory if the ...
Phonics, Whole-Word And Whole-Language Processes Add Up To Determine Reading Speed, Study Shows
Post Date: 2011-08-19 00:43:06 by Tatarewicz
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ScienceDaily (Aug. 3, 2007) — Reading specialists have often pitted phonics against holistic word recognition and whole language approaches in the war over how to teach children to read. However, a new study by researchers at New York University shows that the three reading processes do not conflict, but, rather, work together to determine speed. The NYU study, by professor of psychology and neural science Denis Pelli and research scientist Katharine Tillman, measured the reading rates of 11 adult readers. It examined how three reading processes contribute to reading speed: 1) phonics, in which words are decoded letter by letter; 2) holistic word recognition, in which words are ...
Scrabble helps adults become more astute
Post Date: 2011-08-19 00:31:32 by Tatarewicz
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— Word recognition behavior can be fine-tuned by experience and practice, according to a new study by Ian Hargreaves and colleagues from the University of Calgary in Canada. Their work shows, for the first time, that it is possible to develop visual word recognition ability in adulthood, beyond what researchers thought was achievable. Competitive Scrabble players provide the proof. The study is published online in Springer's journal Memory & Cognition. Competitive Scrabble involves extraordinary word recognition experience. Expert players typically dedicate large amounts of time to studying the 180,000 words listed in The Official Tournament and Club Word List. Hargreaves and ...
New ‘window’ into the brain found
Post Date: 2011-08-17 06:55:01 by Tatarewicz
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An unexpected discovery has led scientists to open an intriguing new window into the human brain, via the visual system. Their finding may have implications for better understanding of states such as sleep, epilepsy and anaesthesia say the research team leaders Dr Sam Solomon and Professor Paul Martin of The Vision Centre and The University of Sydney. Potentially it could open up a new pathway for manipulating brain rhythms to manage disorders such as insomnia and epilepsy, the team speculate in an article published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA. “It was purely a chance observation we made while we were activating the three cell layers of ...
Earth Is Not Orbiting The Sun
Post Date: 2011-08-17 04:54:27 by wudidiz
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Poster Comment:What a wild and wonderful world this is
Al Gore's Climatological "Meltdown"
Post Date: 2011-08-16 06:49:22 by Ada
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In recent years, former Vice President Al Gore has been the object of a great deal of humor — and ire — for his extremist views and hypocritical actions when it comes to the environment. But a bizarre rant from the man who was once heartbeats away from becoming President of these United States calls forth a term which Americans want nowhere near the Oval Office: unhinged. The ideology of manmade global warming has fallen on hard times in recent years due to a series of revelations that have fundamentally undermined the credibility of the “science” and its advocates. Beginning with “Climategate” and “Glaciergate” and continuing through such public ...
Leaked video of Roswell Grey alien? HD 2011
Post Date: 2011-08-16 06:29:37 by FormerLurker
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The death of the Sun to be accompanied with gigantic fireworks
Post Date: 2011-08-16 06:12:24 by Tatarewicz
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The death of the Sun to be accompanied with gigantic fireworks. 45090.jpegThe long-anticipated and widely discussed doomsday will come, but it is going to happen in approximately five billion years. The core of the Sun will run out of hydrogen by this time, and our celestial body will turn into a red giant. The star will then gradually turn into a white dwarf - the core of the Sun. Scientists from the University of Cambridge have recently presented the computer model of this process. When scientists say that the Sun can explode, common people mostly take such forecasts as absurdity. However, the Sun is not eternal. The Universe is not stable at all, and any of its bodies, including stars, ...
How cancer cells metastasize
Post Date: 2011-08-16 03:54:20 by Tatarewicz
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Scientists have discovered how cancerous cells can "elbow" their way out of tumours, offering clues for new drugs to prevent cancers spreading. They say they have identified a protein called JAK which helps cancerous cells generate the force needed to move. Writing in Cancer Cell, they say the cells contract like muscle to force their way out and around the body. Cancer Research UK said the study provided fresh understanding of ways to stop cancer spreading. When cancers spread, a process known as metastasis, they become more difficult to treat, as secondary tumours tend to be more aggressive. It is thought that 90% of cancer-related deaths occur after metastasis. JAK attack ...
Gut bacteria produces food preservative
Post Date: 2011-08-16 02:30:10 by Tatarewicz
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Scientists have discovered a natural preservative substance that keeps food fresh for years by destroying different food rotting bacteria. The agent called bisin is produced by harmless bacteria and has the capability of destroying a whole class of food decomposing germs including E-coli, salmonella and listeria. A team of researchers led by Dr. Dan O'Sullivan, an Irish microbiologist working with the University of Minnesota, isolated the substance from a culture of Bifodobacterium longum, a harmless bacterium commonly found in the human gut. The researchers claim that bisin can extend the life of many daily foods which have strict use-by dates including seafood, meat, eggs, dairy ...
Economic impact of evolving communications technology
Post Date: 2011-08-14 05:26:15 by Tatarewicz
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Open source unemployment. Here is a very serious thought. As far as we know few people have written about it. Few have even thought about it. And no one has figured out what it means. But it could mean that the whole nature of the economy...and how we measure it...will have to change. More immediately, it is another cigarette for the wheezing Middle Class. The seed was planted by a headline from the Wall Street Journal. We didn't read the article. But we noticed the headline. "Porn industry profits down," or something like that. Hmmm.... surely, the demand had not decreased. We began to think about why the porn industry might be less profitable. We'll take a guess -- ...
An oldie, but a goodie... Funny as hell
Post Date: 2011-08-13 19:19:49 by Esso
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The Daily Show With Jon StewartMon - Thurs 11p / 10cAn Energy-Independent Futurewww.thedailyshow.comDaily Show Full EpisodesPolitical Humor & Satire BlogThe Daily Show on Facebook
Beryllium oxide to make nuclear power safer, cheaper - Stock tout
Post Date: 2011-08-12 07:18:45 by Tatarewicz
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BeO: The Fuel the World's Energy Supply Will Depend On It's called Beryllium Oxide, or BeO. And next to uranium, it's about to become the most sought-after, highly-demanded resource for nuclear power plants across the world. Its characteristics include: a melting point of 4,500 degrees... thermal conductivity matched only by diamonds... the ability to dissipate heat and cool faster than any other metal... strength several times that of steel... and it's still the second lightest metal on earth. In other words, just knowing it properties and what is required for nuclear reactors, beryllium instantly becomes the most ideal fit. beryllium 1 But until now, its use has been ...
Colored contact lenses carry risks
Post Date: 2011-08-12 01:32:26 by Tatarewicz
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Experts say the improper use of cosmetic contact lenses can cause permanent damage to the eyes. Provided to China Daily Treated as simple fashion accessories, colored lenses can damage the eyes, especially if they are cheap and not prescribed by qualified practitioners. Liu Zhihua reports. Fashionable young people are increasingly turning to colored contact lenses to add a touch of glamour to their appearance. Yet, few of them are aware of the health risks of these fashion accessories that range in color from black to exotic green, blue and yellow. Pan Siming, a journalist with Beijing-based Consumption Daily, never expected that a pair of colored contact lenses priced at 100 yuan ...
Inexpensive catalyst that makes hydrogen gas 10 times faster than natural enzyme
Post Date: 2011-08-12 00:39:17 by Tatarewicz
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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. This step is just one part of a series of reactions to split water and make hydrogen gas, but the researchers say the result shows they can learn from nature how to control those reactions to make durable synthetic catalysts for energy storage, such as in fuel cells. In addition, the natural protein, an ...
Contact lost with hypersonic glider after launch
Post Date: 2011-08-11 14:19:36 by Flintlock
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Contact lost with hypersonic glider after launch By JOHN ANTCZAK Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) -- An unmanned hypersonic glider developed for U.S. defense research into super-fast global strike capability was launched atop a rocket early Thursday but contact was lost after the experimental craft began flying on its own, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said. There was no immediate information on how much of the mission's goals were achieved. It was the second of two planned flights of a Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle-2. Contact was also lost during the first mission. The small craft is part of a U.S. military initiative to develop technology to respond to ...
"Super" mouse evolves resistance to most poisons
Post Date: 2011-08-10 02:34:46 by Tatarewicz
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Scientists say that some European house mice have developed resistance to the strongest poisons. German and Spanish mice have rapidly evolved the trait by breeding with an Algerian species from which they have been separate for over a million years. The researchers say this type of gene transfer between different species is highly unusual and normally found in plants and bacteria. They are concerned that this rare form of rapid evolution could herald the spread of new generations of rodents resistant to almost any form of chemical pest control. Warfarin is a drug widely used in medicine as an anticoagulant to prevent the build up of harmful blood clots. It works through inhibiting a ...
Lower-cost commercial solar-thermal concentrators
Post Date: 2011-08-10 01:36:04 by Tatarewicz
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Like most forms of renewable energy, solar power still loses points for cost effectiveness. Two Swiss energy pioneers hope to change that with a blow-up solution. Felix Tiefenbacher and Samuel Kutter of Vienna-based Heliovis have seen the future and the future is sausage shaped and inflatable. The prototype is impressive: a 35-metre long tube, two metres in diameter. The final 200-metre long device is due on the market in 2016. The solar innovators have permission to assemble and test their device on the grounds of the Dürnrohr steam power plant near Zwentendorf in Austria. Swissinfo.ch went along for a physics lesson. Tiefenbacher is pleased and annoyed in equal parts. On the plus ...
Now, a home-made drone that can launch airborne cyber attacks
Post Date: 2011-08-09 23:25:09 by X-15
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Two computer security experts have developed a 6,200 dollar home-made drone that is capable of launching airborne cyber attacks and hijacking mobile phone calls. The Daily Mail quoted Richard Perkins and Mike Tassey as saying at the DefCon hacking conference in Las Vegas at the weekend that the Wireless Aerial Surveillance Platform (WASP) was constructed from a former U.S. Army target drone. They claimed that the customized aircraft can find and track internet hotspots and mobile phones. It can also identify unsecured online gateways and then exploit these to launch cyber attacks on computer systems. The craft can also capture GMS mobile PIN numbers that can then be used to pay for ...
Researchers in Taiwan Unveil Promising New E-Paper
Post Date: 2011-08-09 00:12:29 by Tatarewicz
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Researchers at Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute are developing a new kind of electronic paper that's as promising as its name is spectacularly un-catchy. Dubbed "i2R e-Paper" by its developers, it's coated with a compound that can be erased, reproduces different colors, and doesn't need a backlight to print, according to Reuters. "I think the greatest breakthrough was that traditional display devices usually require electricity to write, but our technology made it closer to how we would use normal paper," John Chen, general director of the institute's Display Technology Center, told the wire agency Monday. "First, it does not ...
Nano gold aids in tumour research
Post Date: 2011-08-08 23:57:18 by Tatarewicz
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Using gold as a potential treatment for cancer could become a reality thanks to a combination of imaging techniques. In work published recently in The Royal Society of Chemistry journal Metallomics, researchers at The University of Western Australia and Griffith University's Institute for Glycomics describe how using two imaging techniques allows scientists to see where gold complexes used in potential chemotherapeutic treatments end up in cells. They are also able to monitor the gold's effects on the cells in a non-destructive way. Previous methods for this type of analysis were destructive to the cell. Lead author, Dr Louise Wedlock, who carried out the work while at UWA's ...
Solar storms threatening communications
Post Date: 2011-08-08 23:42:46 by Tatarewicz
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US Space weather scientists have predicted that large sun explosion over the last few days could affect communications and global positioning system (GPS) satellites. Weather scientists in the US have warned the users of satellite, telecommunications and electric equipment, due to three explosions from the sun, to be ready for possible disruptions during the next few days. "The magnetic storm that is soon to develop probably will be in the moderate to strong level," said Joseph Kunches, a space weather scientist at the Space Weather Prediction Center, a division of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Although solar activities rarely induce massive ...
Dieting forces brain to eat itself, scientists claim
Post Date: 2011-08-07 06:14:44 by Tatarewicz
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Dieters struggle to lose weight because a lack of nutrition forces their brain cells to eat themselves, making the feeling of hunger even stronger, scientists claim. Like other parts of the body, brain cells begin to eat themselves as a last-ditch source of energy to ward off starvation, a study found. The body responds by producing fatty acids, which turn up the hunger signal in the brain and increase our impulse to eat. Researchers from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine at Yeshiva University in New York said the findings could lead to new scientifically proven weight loss treatments. Tests on mice found that stopping the brain cells from eating themselves – a process known ...
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