November 11th, 2013
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Science Politics Mix, Indian Mars Orbiter, Russian Asteroids, Two Mouths One Worm, Crow Poo, Monkey Brains And Arms, Kepler Findings And Calculations, Growing Better Cartilage, Cows Cure Cancer, Wireless Energy From Air, Nada Dark Matter, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
Science Politics Mix
The FIRST Act of 2013 looks to tighten regulations on who gets money from the NSF with stipulations “to publish justification for each grant award on the foundation’s website” related to the following six goals: economic competitiveness, health and welfare, scientific literacy, partnerships between academia and industry, promotion of scientific progress and national defense. The bill will be reviewed on Nov. 13th.
India launches Mars orbiter!
Up, up, and away… India is on its way to joining the ranks of countries who have successfully reached Mars.
Russian Asteroids
Two new studies of the Chelyabinsk meteor suggest that 1) that it was a single space rock that had stress fractures from a previous altercation that made it more likely to break up on impact, and 2) that these kinds of impacts happen more often than we thought… like at least every 20 years.
Crow Poo… Harbinger of Doom
A recent study collected crow poo. Genetic analysis of the fecal samples uncovered genes for antibiotic resistance. That’s right, not only human and agricultural systems have antibiotic resistance, but wild ones, too. And, these wild ones fly.
Monkey Brains… And Arms
We have covered news of previous advances in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) wherein monkeys controlled a robotic arm at varying distances from themselves. This time, researchers at Duke university have trained monkeys to use two arms corresponding to left and right sides.
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Space Balls!
Kepler-78B is Earth’s twin! Just a lot hotter, and probably not a haven for life.
KOI-351 could be our solar system’s twin! But, not really. They’ve found seven planets orbiting a star with rocky planets on the inside nearest the star, and gas giants toward the exterior of the system. However, the entire system exists in as much space as the distance from the Sun to Earth.
Calculations based on the Kepler mission suggest that 22% of Sun-like stars might be orbited by Earth-like planets.
It’s Dark
The LArge Underground Xenon experiment, or LUX, in South Dakota has reported no findings of dark matter after 160 days of operation. Physicists conclude that based on these results, previous dark matter sightings have been fluctuations and errors.
One Theory To Rule Them All
Texan researcher combines several current hypotheses on evolution of life and tells a tempting story of how life came to be on planet Earth.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in alternative energy, animals, anthropology, astrobiology, astronomy, astronomy, astrophysics, bioethics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, civilian space travel, clinical trials, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, crustaceans, Dark matter, ecology, emergent behavior, end of the world, energy, engineering, evolution, exploration, extrasolar planets, genetics, global warming, infectious diseases, KDVS, mammals, marine biology, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, nutrition, particle physics, physicists, physics, physiology, planets, podcast, psychology, relativity, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, solar power, space, space exploration, spacecraft, stars, technology, theoretical physics, therapies, world robot domination, worms, z-Broadcasts | 2 Comments »
October 28th, 2013
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Textbooks Stay Sciencey, Mistaken Homosexuality, Marmosets Are Polite, Hubble Sees Old things, Lasers To The Moon, Epigenetics And Age, Gold In The Trees, Carbon Issues, Piggybacking Virus Tells Tales, Protected By Allergies, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
Texas Textbooks Keep Science
Publishers made slight modifications to science textbooks, but did not cave to suggestions that Creationism should be included in the materials.
Blair’s Animal Corner
Homosexuality is a mistake – IN INVERTEBRATES!
Males appear to engage in homosexual behavior due to an error, where they increase their likelihood of fathering offspring by trying early and often. That being said, it occurs naturally, and carries an advantage, even if that advantage is that they act before they are sure of a gender. The point can now be made – it happens – even in invertebrates!
Marmosets are polite
Marmosets have been observed in polite conversation, that is, turn-taking when they make their calls – so why can’t you?! Monkeys do it, so there’s no excuse…
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Really old galaxy found by Hubble
Galaxy confirmed to have existed 700 million years after the Big Bang. There have been other such discoveries, but none that passed more stringent age confirmation tests.
NASA shoots lasers at the moon
It’s not the first time, but the LLDC instrument on the NASA LADEE mission has clocked truly impressive download speeds of over 600 Megabits per second. Relying on three ground-based stations around the globe, the system does still have to contend with atmospheric issues that reduce reliability. The next step is an inter-planetary laser communications internet… someday, anyway.
Epigenetics Shows How We Age
Epigenetic methylation of DNA in tissues throughout the human body correlated biological and chronological ages, except in female breast and cancerous tissues. The anomalous tissues had biological ages that surpassed their chronological. Scientists are now investigating how changing methylation affects cellular aging.
There’s Gold In Them Trees
Really. Researchers found microscopic gold particles in eucalyptus trees.
US carbon output lowest since 1994
We debate whether this is actually meaningful since American manufacturing is moving to other countries. Are we just playing a shell-game with this type of story?
Allergies To Protect You
Mice given small doses of bee and viper venom were better able to withstand lethal doses of the toxins at a later time due to activation of the IgE part of the adaptive immune system.
Herpes Virus Followed People Out Of Africa
The genes of the Herpes Symplex 1 Virus follow the trail of human migration out of Africa, and provide support for the movement of Amerindian peoples into America over a landbridge approximately 15,000 years ago.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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October 21st, 2013
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Kickoff The Brain, No Cosmic Ray Clouds, Jurassic Park Mosquito, How Many Hominids?, Pointing To Elephants, Cat Stroking Redacted, Bonobo Comfort, Megaphone Using Bats, Grow Myelin Grow!, Sleepy Brains, Spider Brains, Brains On Exercise, Brains on Oreos, Reading Minds, And Much More…
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Over the next hour you may hear: Science-y terminology, bits and pieces of the scientific method, skepticism, fantasy, extrapolation, and even a touch of humor. That being said, it is all to one end, and that end is science. Our main cause here at twis is simple – we wish to bring science-goodness to the masses! Once people understand science, they will care about it, and once they care about it, they will investigate and learn. Once people investigate and learn, they will begin to see the light – they will begin to see what is happening all around us (the good and the bad). Once people’s eyes are open to the goings on in our world (the good and the bad), only then will they start to change their ways and make a difference. In the words of the good doctor, “Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not.” I hope to make it possible for my grandchildren, great-grandchildren, and great-great-grandchildren to experience the amazing sites, sounds, smells, and spectacles that is our planet earth – a healthy planet earth. How do I do my part? The same way Kiki and Justin do their part – it’s called…
This Week in Science… coming up next
The Human Brain Project Kicks Off!
Predicted to cost one billion euros, the international Human Brain Project to build a computer model of the human brain has been initiated.
Cosmic Rays Revisited At Cern
No evidence for cosmic ray influence in cloud formation found by most recent experiments, but data suggests a very important role for amines.
Jurassic Park Mosquito!
A female mosquito fossilized in amber is the only specimen to date found with an intact abdomen full of blood.
How Many Species???
A new paper sees evidence from a single Georgian fossil as evidence that Homo sapiens family tree should be trimmed.
Blair’s Animal Corner
Elephants never forget – to pay attention to humans!
Elephants have shown they are the only animals (besides humans) that can understand finger pointing without any previous training. However, a contradictory study comes to mind…
Redacted – Cats stress out when stroked!
It turns out the evidence was a bit erroneous for this one, and cats, in general, enjoy being stroked. Only the ones who reluctantly allowed stroking were stresses, who amounted to only approximately 10% of the sample size… Whoops!
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Bonobos Comfort Each Other
Young apes rush to comfort others experiencing stress.
Bats use curled up leaves like a megaphone!
Spix’s disc-winged bats sit in curled leaves which serve a triple purpose: shelter, noise amplification, and noise condenser. Is it still tool use if the tool is also an animal’s home?
Advances in Treating MS: Getting Myelin To Grow
Combining a drug commonly used in treating Parkinson’s disease with an immunosuppressant known to work in MS patients allows both drugs to be used at lower doses and maintain effectiveness in treating MS symptoms in mice. Scripps researchers are planning a clinical study based on these exciting results.
Brains!!!
Go To Sleep
US researchers find that the brain needs sleep for cleaning out toxins.
Ancient Spider Brain
A 520 million year old fossil allowed scientists to show that spiders and scorpions share a common ancestor… because of its well-preserved brain.
Mind-Reading Methodology?
An innovative study linked peoples’ behavior and quantitative thoughts to brain activity in the intraparietal sulcus. It’s been suggested that this kind of research could lead to mind-reading technology in the future.
A Road To No Exercise
Protein factor FNDC5 which in increased after endurance exercise, was shown to increase BDNF in the brains of mice. BDNF is known to be involved in supporting brain health.
Why Can’t I Stop Eating Oreos?
They are more addictive than drugs.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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October 14th, 2013
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NIF Media Shutdown?, Nobels, Ig Nobels, Working Memory Games, Crows Are Smart, Mammalian Terminal Mating, Cataplexy Explained?, Comet On Earth, Don’t Stroke Cats, Twitter Science, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
The Nobel’s are in!!!
Rundown…
And, the Ig Nobels
Science research that makes you laugh, and then makes you think.
Shutdown Update!
NIF fires it up…
The National Ignition Facility came a significant step closer to ignition in August when it achieved more energy out of its fuel cell than was put in.
But, we had to find out about it from the BBC
It’s unclear whether politics had anything to do with this late-breaking news, but it is clear that there are no scientists available to comment on it at this point because they have been furloughed.
Blair’s Animal Corner
NEWS FLASH – Crows are smart.
Crows know a lot more about their tools than we thought and have an eye for design and function from the start.
Get a free audiobook at Audible.com!
More Blair’s Animal Corner
Terminal Mating… IN A MAMMAL?!
Suicidal Sex in Marsupial Mice – and scientists aren’t sure why… HOW’S THAT FOR ALLITERATION?!
Cometary Evidence
Enter Hypatia, the nucleus of a comet that crashed into the Earth 28 million years ago, which scientists found in the 6000 km crash zone in Egypt. This is the first, and only, cometary nucleus ever found on our planet.
Twitter Science
Suicide Data
Twitter data correlates well with suicide rates in states and could be used to help people in need.
Flu Data
Twitter data also might make for an excellent flu outbreak predictor.
Stroking could stress out your cat
Don’t pet your cats, and have a lot of them!
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in agriculture, alternative energy, animals, anthropology, archeology, astronomy, bioethics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, clinical trials, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, computer science, ecology, emergent behavior, end of the world, energy, engineering, evolution, fusion power, genetics, geology, information technology, KDVS, mammals, medicine, molecular biology, neuroscience, paleontology, physics, podcast, psychology, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, sleep, space, technology, therapies, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
October 10th, 2013
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The End Of Science? Fighting The Fight, TWITEOTW, Three Crying Mice, Broadcast Spawners Do It, Naked Mole Rats Do It Better, Bionic Legs!!!, Bird Brain Development, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
The End of Science?
Oh, no… just the government funding science. The government sequester has already been felt by scientific research labs around the country, but the shutdown has had even deeper effects.
Fighting the Good Fight
Kansas rises again in the battle for children’s minds with a novel lawsuit arguing that teaching science breaks the law separating church and state.
This Week in the End of the World
Ocean acidification and warming are leading to a more rapid decline in coral species in some areas of the world.
Blair’s Animal Corner
Mice tears give away their age
Male mice know not to mate with children due to the pheromones in their tears. Terrifying…
Broadcast spawners still have a choice
Invertebrates can still pick their mates even when dumping genetic data into ocean currents!
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Naked Mole Rats Do It Better
Make proteins, that is… a slight difference in their Ribosomal RNA allow the animals to make proteins with fewer errors.
A Bionic Leg!!!
The first thought-controlled robotic leg was revealed this week.
Less Like Father Than Like Step-father
The songs and brains of male zebra finches were found to be more related to environment and food availability than heritability.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
Posted in animals, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, clinical trials, cnidarians, cognitive psychology, cognitive science, conservationism, creationists, ecology, emergent behavior, end of the world, endangered animals, engineering, evolution, exploration, fish, genetics, global warming, KDVS, mammals, marine biology, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, NASA, neuroscience, nutrition, physics, physiology, podcast, psychology, robots, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, technology, therapies, z-Broadcasts | No Comments »
September 30th, 2013
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Mud Island Tales, Lots Of Water On Mars, Making Fishes Manly, Whispered Science, Mouse Song, Don’t Eat The Baby!, Beholding Beauty, Stress Stinks, Bingeing In The Brain, Habitable Exomoons, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
A new island?
Pakistan suffered some deadly earthquakes recently, but the terrestrial shaking also brought a new island into the spotlight.
Water on Mars!
The topsoil on Mars is 2% water according to data from the Curiosity rover.
And, Maybe Mars Is Playing With Us
What organic molecules? Perchlorate on Mars might be masking signs of life.
Blair’s Animal Corner
The masculinization of fishes?!
Hormones in the water mean bad news for fish, and possibly for people, too.
First ever recorded instance of non-human primates whispering
Now, if I could just figure out what they are saying about my shoes…
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Don’t Eat The Baby!
Really, even though you feel like it, you shouldn’t.
In the eye of the beholder
We find people (& animals) beautiful for a reason: Beauty means you’re not dangerous!
Brain Science
Why The World Smells
Stress can lead to normal smells becoming nauseating. Researchers have found how stress and smells might be linked in the brain.
Overeating Circuits Revealed
Neurons connect the amygdala to the hypothalamus, possibly allowing emotion to trigger eating behavior.
Habitable Exomoons???
There might be lots of them, although they might have some pretty special requirements in order to exist.
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Tags: Blair Bazdarich, Dr. Kiki, Justin Jackson, Kirsten Sanford, news, podcast, radio, science, talk, technology, This Week in Science, TWIS
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September 23rd, 2013
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The BRAIN, Seeing The Tangles, Charting Antibiotic Resistance, Bugs In The Water, Toxo Forever, Eavesdropping Birds, Underwater Monogamy, Touch The Plants, The Air Is Alive, Lengthen Your Life, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
The BRAIN!!!
News on how NIH plans to spend its share of money from Obama’s BRAIN Initiative for research on the brain.
Seeing The Tangles
Using a special molecule for binding, scientists were able to image the extent of Tau protein tangling in the brains of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease. This techniques has the potential for aiding in early diagnosis of the disease.
Charting Antibiotic Resistance
Bad news for people. While MRSA is now more under control than in years past, other bacterial species continue to pose problems for public health as they gain antibiotic resistance.
Blood test for respiratory infection?
A new, rapid blood test successfully discerned whether individuals were infected by a virus or bacterium.
Blair’s Animal Corner
Eavesdropping birds
Loner Birds eavesdrop to stay alive.
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Coelacanths are monogamous!
These ancient fishes are loyal to their lover.
Water Plus Heat Equals Biology
The building blocks for life are everywhere. Important amino acids might form when comets hit our atmosphere, according to a recent study.
Alien life?
Or, hoping too much? We think this study might be a stretch.
Lengthen Your Telomeres Naturally?
Don’t read too much into this study, but researchers found a healthy lifestyle led to an increase in telomere length in a small study of men.
Touchy-Feely Plants
Touching plants helps keep them healthy! So go ahead, grope your plants…
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Posted in animals, anthropology, bioethics, bioethics, biology, biotechnology, birds, cell biology, chemistry, clinical trials, cognitive science, conservationism, ecology, emergent behavior, end of the world, endangered animals, evolution, fish, genetics, global warming, infectious diseases, information technology, KDVS, mammals, marine biology, mathematics, medicine, microbiology, molecular biology, neuroscience, nutrition, pharmacology, physics, physiology, podcast, psychology, science, science and politics, Science Education, science history, Science Music, sexuality, sexy scientists, technology, therapies, Toxoplasma, z-Broadcasts | 2 Comments »
September 16th, 2013
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Entering Eternity, Man Vs. Mammoths, Ape Intelligent, Gearing Up Biology, Guppy Reverse Finmen, Does Size Matter?, Taking Ecology Digital, Math Based Life, Brains And Stress, Lasers AND Robots, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next
Voyager Has Left The Solar System!
Thanks to a solar flare back in April, researchers were able to determine that Voyager is in a more plasma-dense region of space than what we measure within the heliosphere. the official date of humanity’s passage into interstellar space was August 28, 2012. So, happy late anniversary, People. (Note: After recording the episode, we were corrected. Voyager will not leave the solar system for several thousand years, since it still needs to pass thru the Oort Cloud. Ah… PR done well again, NASA!)
And, once again, We Didn’t Kill The Mammoths
New DNA evidence links the demise of the massive hairy animals to climate change, rather than death by human. It seems the mammoth nearly went extinct when the world warmed up about 120,000 years ago, but then bounced back when another Ice Age occurred. The beasts finally started their slip into history books and fossil catalogs around 20,000 years ago.
Apes are smart. Very smart, No, smarter than that…
Gorillas can match animals together based on broad, class-level distinctions. Yes, that smart.
Digital Ecology
Are financial algorithms beginning to act in a manner similar to biological ecosystems? Researchers suggest that the digital ecosystem is important to consider before it evolves out of our control.
Blair’s Animal Corner
Man didn’t invent the gear
Nature did – that’s one more in the win column for evolution!
Reverse Psychology in Guppies
Guppies will pretend to prefer one mate over another to avoid sperm competition. Those little tricksters…
Smaller Testes make you a Better Father
It’s no excuse in the human world, but it turns out that evolutionarily there is a trade off between testicular splendor and parental care.
Get a free audiobook at Audible.com!
Using Math To Find Life
A math based approach might be successful in finding self-replicating hydrogen cyanide reaction products, and getting us one step closer to understanding our own beginnings.
Big Brained Birds Beget Less Stress
Birds with larger brains relative to body size had a significantly lower amount of stress hormone. So, the next time you’re feeling stressed out, stop, because it means you’re stupid.
Lasers And Robots To Beat Cancer
Recent technological developments have created a system to detect cancer at the microscopic level, which will allow surgeons to tell cancerous tissue from non-cancerous that much more easily. That said, now there are robo-maggots to eat your tumors. Put them together, and what have you got? Exactly.
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