Science is the Reason for the Season
In the show this week: the 2009 Best 11 Ideas in Science Countdown. We break it down so you don't have to. A big thank you to Craig Messerman of Missoula, Montana for writing up our show notes!
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Top Ten Science Stories of 2009
Eleven: Climydia---New data every year. Copenhagen: Is carbon trading as good as real change? Antarctica is warming. Plankton affects ocean mixing and carbon storage. Boron isotopes stored in plankton show ocean pH and therefore CO2 levels back 2.1 My. CO2 has been quite stable until recently.
Ten: Computing power---Programmable quantum computer made with Beryllium. (At Yale? Wikipedia says Aluminum…) Instead of bits, quantum computers use Qubits, or quantum bits, with the quantum state of an atom working as a transistor.
Nine: Batteries---Viruses used to make (thin) rechargeable Li-ion batteries. Microbe batteries (Geobacter microbial fuel cells, via MIT). Carbon paper batteries and capacitors.
Eight: Origin of Life on Earth---Origin of RNA from primitive reactions. RNA may have been the first life code. Did comets seed Earth with life? Panspermia: interplanetary molecules of life spreading through the galaxy.
Seven: Environmental health---BPA still in news, leaching from plastics and affecting heart, reproduction genes. Behavior alteration in children from exposure to BPA. We used to play with radioactive isotopes in science kits, and swam in radioactive waters. Will we think of BPA the same way in the future?
Six: Clever creatures---Animal behavior research: Octopuses using tools (coconut shell); premeditated rock hurling from zoo chimps; Do crows deliberately drop walnuts in front of cars? We have always underestimated animal intelligence.
Five: Genetics and Stem Cells---First draft of Neanderthal genome, maize, cattle, casaba melons, pig, cucumber, horse, panda, common cold virus, potato famine pathogen, cancer. Price drop in sequencing genomes. Foreign gene in marmosets passed on to next generation; first transgenic primate. Curing color-blindness in monkeys. Stem cells turned into sperm and eggs, and live mice. Are custom sperm and egg cells around the corner? Treatment of macular degeneration.
Four: Epigenetics---the first epigenome sequenced. Identical twins have similar epigenome (tissue methylation signatures). (The epigenome turns our genes on and off in specific cells and responds to our environment, via Univ. of Utah). Mice pass learned behaviors on through changes in their epigenome. Is there a Lamarckian middle ground going here? (Justin would love that!)
Three: Exploring the Universe---International Year of Astronomy---So much learned this year such as: antimatter detected in lightning, many more exoplanets discovered, dark matter detected in a mine, perhaps, speed of our galaxy, heliospheric bubble with no tail (IBEX satellite, Justin right on this one, with a neutral atom ribbon, yes Kirsten), new images of Mercury, adjustments to the “standard candle.” LHC turned on without breaking,and set record of 1.18 TeV.
Two: Paleontology and Human Origins--- Ardipithicus ramadus finally published. Upright -walking 4.4 Myo primate ancestor. Characteristics of hominids and earlier primates. Ancestor of Australopithecus? Ida turns out to be a lemur’s uncle, not a monkey’s uncle. Oldest feathered dinosaur (150 My) discovered; venomous birds; whale ancestor that gave birth on land? Smallest carnivorous dino. Downsizing of dinosaur family tree by consolidating specimens.
One: Water!---Water on the moon! Shoot the moon! NASA is doing a lot with less money. Water further confirmed on Mars too. Earth’s water from comets? Fresh water is a limited commodity on Earth and will be a huge issue to all people in the future. Will we need to go get it from the Moon? Will global warming increase precipitation?
Shout-outs to...
all the TWIS minions, but especially those of you who send us stories, have donated money, and who simply write us to keep us in line. You keep us going. You are the TWIS lifeblood. Thanks for everything this year. It's been great and will only get better in 2010. Happy New Year!
Music this week was by Unbalanced Wheel, Trebetheric, My Poor Kevin, and The Gifted Apes.
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current science news posted by Kirsten at 12/29/2009 01:16:00 PM
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