October 9th, 2012
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World Melt, Space Shuttle Fly, Old Galaxy Seen, Brain Like Mine, Crows Get Smarter, Misinformation Factoganda, Molecular Bonds, Dead Dentists, Superconductor!, Heat To Power, TWIWRD, And Much More…
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This Week in Science… coming up next!
As the world turns… we melt
The National Snow and Ice Melting center has stated that we have reached a new record low for sea ice on our dear planet earth. We currently have 3.41 million square kilometers, or about half of the normal amount of sea ice. Also, thawing permafrost appears to be releasing a great deal of carbon dioxide. We don’t yet know how much CO2 to expect, but any extra is not great. Talk about a positive feedback loop!
Space Shuttle Fly By
The space shuttle Endeavor is scheduled to fly over parts of California on it’s way to a museum in Los Angeles. Here’s hoping for a clear day over the Golden Gate Bridge!
Oldest Galaxy ever seen!
The Hubble telescope has recently captured light that has traveled 13.2 billion lightyears, making it the oldest galaxy we’ve ever seen!
Your brain is like mine
In creating a brain atlas, scientists have discovered that one brain appears to function the same as another. What’s more, right brain and left brain appear to be fairly similar on the molecular level…
Monkey brain prosthesis
Using an electrode array, scientists have successfully manipulated monkey brain function. In fact, they effectively improved their cognitive abilities by stimulating neurons used for problem solving.
Brains without fear
Using fear conditioning, scientists created and then effectively prevented lasting effects of fear. In the future we may be able to erase fear memories from the human brain.
Memories Aren’t Real
Every time you recall a memory, you essentially rewrite it in your brain!
Crows are Smart!
New Caledonian crows, crows that we have already shown to make their own tools for food retrieval, have now shown inference in lab tests. Scientists manipulated a stick on the other side of a hide near a food source for the crows, first when the crows could see a human enter and then leave, and again when no human appeared to come in or out of the hide. The crows appeared to expect a cause for stick movement, indicating reasoned inference.
Crows remember faces – forever – and so do their friends!
The links in crows’ brains that allow them to remember faces appear to be similar to those that would help us remember.
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Why Misinformation Sticks
Apparently rejecting a premise takes cognitive effort, where accepting information is almost effortless. So the misinformed are really just lazy?
Imaging the small and near
Researchers from Zurich have found a way to visualize atomic bonds! The process is called atomic force microscopy (naturally), and the image is breathtaking.
Ancient dentists?
A 6500 year old jawbone has been found with what appears to be a beeswax filling. Was this the work of ancient dentists or did this ancient person just decide to eat some beeswax? Difficult to say…
Super material
Physicists from Germany have discovered that water-soaked carbon grains can superconduct at room temperature. The superconductive attribute of the carbon is fragile, but this is an important step on the way to true superconductive material!
Thermal material
Scientists have discovered a material that may be able to harness the heat created from engines or other heat-producing devices and create energy. Now that’s a positive feedback loop i could get behind!
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September 18th, 2012
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Making Memories, Finding The Trace, Viral Tree Discovery, Deaf Gerbils, Ibuprofen Threatens Hearing, Smart Sharks, A New Monkey, Genome Uses, Physics Gets Weird, Stem Cell Protection, TWIWRD, And Much More…
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the wonderful world we live in is populated, largely it sometimes seems, with people who are determined to make misery out of their company…
Whether through radicalized religious actions of the few, or the political propaganda of prejudices put forth as a party platform for the masses…
Hatred, violence and righteous ignorance seem to abound around the world as a seemingly inexhaustible supply of ill-conceived thinking that serves no greater purpose than to sustain itself by inflicting suffering on humanity and inviting the same in return…
And since the company you keep says a lot about who you are…
The company of mankind defines us all, in some cosmic sense…
the good, the bad, the woefully ignorant and the wickedly brilliant alike…
What separates the terrorist from the string theorist, the dictator from the doctor of science…
How do we keep ourselves separated from the miserable ruiners of reason
From the inexplicably enthusiastic extinguishers of enlightened logic
From the emotionally enslaved worshipers of medieval dogma dedicated to the extinction of intellectual pragmatism…
What can we do to keep our minds out of the muck and mire these silly humans would have us wallow in?
What would we do if not for… This Week in Science… coming up next.
Making Memories
Researchers at Case Western Reserve of Medicine have been working with the brain to figure out the mechanisms of short-term memory. They discovered that each cell in the hippocampus held a specific memory for up to ten seconds when stimulated with electrical current. Could this lead to short-term memory restoration in humans?
Finding The Trace
Virus discovery messes with our family tree
Why you should care about deaf gerbils
Stem cell research with deaf gerbils provide hope for stem cell therapy in deaf humans. Why gerbils and not mice, you ask? I don’t know, but they’re so adorable…
Ibuprofen could make you deaf
In a study of almost 30,000 women results pointed to a possible link between taking ibuprofen two days a week and hearing loss later in life. That headache may be rough, but is getting rid of it worth your ability to hear in fifty years?
BLair’s Animal Corner
Sharks: Not only deadly, but smart.
In a recent controlled experiment lemon sharks exhibited social learning. Researchers trained some sharks to perform a specific behavior to get a treat, and then put sharks ignorant to the behavior in a tank with the trained sharks. The naive sharks quickly caught on and performed the behavior, even once isolated from the trained sharks. Uh oh… what will helpless swimmers do once sharks have learned to work together?!
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A new monkey
We only use 1% of our Genome, or do we?
10,000 genes described!
Physics Gets Weirder
Protect your stem cells during radiation therapy!
TWIWRD:
Remote-controlled Cockroaches
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September 13th, 2012
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Genome ENCODeD, Why Buy Organic, Tiger Graveyard Shift, Bird Funerals, TWIWRD, Ancient Life Signs, And Much More…
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When in the course of human events it becomes necessary to intervene
with the path of humanity
We hold these truths to be relevant:
Science is a process, not a belief.
Science can infuse human decisions with reason and logic.
Learning the scientific method leads to independent thought.
Let us be your gateway to thoughts
Here on this Week in Science… Coming up next!!!
Genome ENCODEd
The genome has been encoded! Shortly after the human genome has been sequenced scientists started working tirelessly to figure out what all the elements of a genome code for. 30 papers have since been released, 6 of which appear in Nature. All suggest that around 80% of the genome are functional (code for proteins) as opposed to the 1.5% that we previously thought.
VIDEO
Organic for Health?
In a comprehensive comparison of hundreds of studies out of Stanford, California, it has come to light that organic food is not better for you. However, many organic vegetables and fruits are higher in phosphorus, and organic milk products are often higher in omega-3’s.
BLair’s Animal Corner
Tigers on the graveyard shift
Wild tigers in Chitwan national park have altered their activity schedule to work around the humans who share their habitats. The question is, will this new adaptation to human sprawl effect tigers or other species?
Bird Funerals
Scrub-jays may, in fact, mourn the dead. Recent research out of UC Davis proved that wild scrub-jays called out warnings to other jays when they spot a dead fellow. What’s more, they ceased foraging behavior for a day and gathered around the fallen comrade. Are they holding a bird funeral, or checking for threats to their own lives?
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World Robot Domination:
Fast Cheetah
The pentagon has recently funded research to create a robot that can sprint like a cheetah. It has no head, but the four legs can run at 28.3 miles per hour, and has been modeled after the fastest land mammal. The aim is to assist war fighters, or perhaps a really really fast robot soldier
Mind Controlled Leg
Researchers out of Long Beach, California, have created a prosthetic leg that can be controlled by a cap that detects the electrical impulses in your brain. Luke Skywalker’s robot hand, here we come!
Signs of Extremely Ancient Life
We have previously found fairly unequivocal evidence that life existed 2.7 billion years ago. Recent analysis of sulfur isotope ratios indicates life at 3.5 billion years ago, only very shortly after the earth was still molten lava… Life always finds a way!
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September 12th, 2012
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Denisovan Genome, Bad Monogamy, In Your Face!, Slug Sex, Super Old Beliefs, TWIWRD, Shrew Senses, Blowing Smoke, Eat For Life, Eye Indicators, Bears And Blood, And Much More…
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I’m sure Justin came up with something here…
This Week in Science… coming up next!!!
Denisovan Genome!
A small bone fragment estimated 74,000 to 82,000 years old has given us the most clear view of this extinct human species’ genome. Additionally, it appears that they bred with both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens.
Monogamy is bad for you
More “proMOUSEcuous” mice have better immune systems. The bacterial communities within the females’ reproductive tract varied greatly between the monogamous and polygamous mice.
In Your Face!!!
Mites living in your pores may be causing rosacea by depositing fecal material on your face. They don’t defecate, though, instead they mate on your face while you sleep and then crawl into your pores to deposit eggs and die. Stress makes mite food on your face, and increases mite activity, therefore potentially causing a flare-up. Talk about a positive feedback loop…
BLair’s Animal Corner
Traumatic Insemination Fun for Hermaphroditic Slugs!
When you are a hermaphroditic sea slug, it pays to be the male. Females are stabbed and injected with prostate fluid, then penetrated with a barbed penis that rips at their insides. This would lead scientists to believe that these sea slugs would only play the female when absolutely necessary, however, recent research tells us that the slugs will mate far more often than is necessary. Those slugs are into some kinky stuff…
A Nasal Spray for Suicide
Thyrotropin-releasing hormone, a naturally occurring hormone, could prevent suicide. The Army is currently funding the research.
$1Mil for Tesla
A Tesla museum is on the way! $1 million has been raised so far for this house of science!
Bill Nye in Creationist Soup
The Science Guy came out this week stating that creationism should not be taught in the classroom. You go, Bill!
Neil Armstrong RIP
August 25, 2012 marked the passing of Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon. Truly a visionary, legend, and pioneer, he will be missed.
Get a free audiobook at Audible.com!
Supernatural beliefs increase with age
New research indicates that supernatural explanations for events are not replaced by scientific explanations with an increase in knowledge, education, or technology, and in fact, supernatural beliefs often increase with age. What’s more, a large percentage of survey participants merge scientific and supernatural theories to explain things away.
World Robot Domination
A Light Twitch
Scientists at MIT have used techniques developed for optogenetics to move muscle using light.
A Shrew’s Sense
European researchers have developed touch sensors by modeling the behavior of shrews. These little mammals have amazing sensory abilities through their whiskers, soon potentially harnessed by our robot overlords.
Hookah: No better than cigarettes
New research indicates that water pipe smoking affects lung and respiratory functions as much as cigarette smoking. It’s official: smoking = bad.
Weed smoking decreases adolescents’ IQ
Those who partook in marijuana use in their adolescent years proved to have reduced IQ and brain development, in a new study out of New Zealand.
Don’t Starve Yourself
Calorie restriction has long been known to extend lifespan. In a recent study with Macaques looking at long-term health benefits of calorie restriction, the restricted monkeys did not live significantly longer. So, don’t neglect yourself of that cake to live longer, do it to be healthy.
Eye movements could indicate neurological disorders
Observing eye movements in patients while watching TV could help to diagnose neurological disorders such as ADHD, FASD, and PD.
Bears and Menstruation: Not Necessarily so Dangerous
Apparently, grizzly bears and black bears have no interest in your menstrual cycle. However, polar bears are a whole ‘nother story…
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August 28th, 2012
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Supernova Science, More Milky Ways, It’s Your Dad’s Fault, Gibbons On Helium, Semen Superpower, Classroom Air Heads, Curiosity Update, Self-Aware Sentients, Science Turns Back Time, Space-Time Smoothie, And Much More…
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I know Justin came up with something, but he didn’t leave it in our wiki
This Week in Science… coming up next!!!
Supernova science
Palomar Transient Factory team, hailing from multiple institutions including scientists in Berkeley, Ca, has discovered a new type of supernova. They found a type 1A supernova that appeared to be like any other 1A supernova, but it has a much different origin from those we’ve seen before.
And, Two More Milky Ways
A 3D map of the local universe has helped to identify that two galaxies of the fourteen we can see appear to match ours almost identically, as far as we can tell. If they are in many ways identical, might they be able to support life, and if so, is there any hiding in there?
Anxious? It’s your father’s fault.
Stress in male mice can lead to changes in his sperm that can lead to psychological issues in their offspring, specifically daughters. So calm down, dad, you’re going to give your future daughter an anxiety problem!
Older fathers may make children more prone to Autism and Schizophrenia
Men over 40 are 2% more likely to have autistic or schizophrenic children. That may not sound like much, but these cases counted for 20-30% of all autism cases. Dads, just because you can have a baby at 50, doesn’t mean you should…
BLair’s Animal Corner
Gibbons on Helium – Opera Singers of the Wild
Gibbons have been shown, once exposed to helium, to use the same complex vocal techniques as soprano opera singers. This upends a long-believed theory that humans and humans alone have evolved the sophisticated method of matching the resonance of their vocal chords with the resonance of the sound they create.
Normal White Handed Gibbon Call
Semen’s Superpower
Seminal fluid has a compound in it that stimulates ovulation in females. New research has found NGF (nerve growth factor) in bull semen, and has been identified as the guilty party – OIF (ovulation inducing factor). Talk about a double-whammy!
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Carbon Dioxide in classrooms
With more crowded classrooms, longer school days, and more tightly-sealed rooms, carbon dioxide levels are a growing concern. A new device could help to detect the CO2 levels that make children drowsy as the school day crawls along.
Update on Curiosity
The Curiosity science laboratory currently on Mars has some news from the “chem cam”, a laser and camera that can determine rock materials. Unfortunately we don’t have any new information yet, but can confirm that it is calibrated to perfection! Curiosity has also done some calisthenics, stretching it’s arm, which is also in tip-top shape. Last, the “rover” is now successfully roving the planet’s surface. In short, Curiosity is ready to rock!
How does your brain construct your sense of self?
Self awareness was previously credited to three specific brain regions: the insular cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, and medial prefrontal cortex. However, it now appears that it originates from the entire brain network and the interactions of the whole, as opposed to specific nuclei.
And, octopuses are conscious and self-aware
Despite their “doughnut brain,” octopi have exhibited the ability to plan, recall, and think of the future. This has been dubbed “subjective awareness,” and has not yet been exhibited in any invertebrates. Go cephalopods!
Turning Back The Clock
Embryonic stem cells are very valuable, but also quite controversial. Researchers from Johns Hopkins have successfully induced normal cells, like blood cells, to revert back to a stem cell state. Previously, the only way to induce this reversion was with viruses, which can be risky, but, this new research used growth factors from plasmids instead, potentially making stem cell research a whole lot easier!
Space Time Smoothie?
Gamma ray bursts delivered particles from 7 billion light years away only a fraction of a second apart, indicating that spacetime is a lot smoother than we previously anticipated.
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August 14th, 2012
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Science Is Curiosity, Slow And Sneaky, Growing Family Tree, Dolphins Got Culture, Booster!, LHC Update, TWIWRD, Bacterial Babies, Mean Tweets, Digital Sarcasm, And Much More…
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People today…
Don’t want to do algebra because it’s too hard.
What will they use it for anyway?
Oh, what’s that?
Maybe there is an intrinsic value in learning to think in abstractions?
And, while we’re on it…
Why do doctors need to learn physics?
Huh?
Maybe learning to break down a problem into smaller parts
in order to learn about a larger system
will help them learn to not kill the wonderful human system they work on?
Maybe.
Or, maybe we should all just go back to watching Olympic beach volleyball
while NASA lands a laser wielding robot the size of a Mini Cooper on Mars.
Maybe you’re just too old.
Or, maybe… this is…
This Week in Science… coming up next!!!
Mars Curiosity!!! Entry, Descent, Landing!
Oops, Morpheus
SPERM: It’s best slow and sneaky
In a study with fruit fly sperm, the slowest samples were best at out-competing other sperm for space in storage for later insemination. See boys? Faster isn’t always better!
The Human Family Tree Grows
Blair’s Animal Corner
Dolphins are Snobs
Dolphins have been observed exhibiting what scientists are calling “culture,” meaning that they form associations with one-another based on their interests. In this case, the interest is “sponging,” or using a sea sponge to help find prey amongst pokey rocks. These “spongers” make up about 5% of the population, and dolphins appear to be able to identify fellow “spongers” even if they haven’t been seen using one. Those elitist dolphins…
And while we’re anthropomorphizing
We need to be careful about the words we use when talking about animal behavior. However, it is still important to be interesting enough for the public to be curious, or the entire endeavor is useless…
A quick note – Get your pertussis booster shot!
Get a free audiobook at Audible.com!
The LHC Boson papers are out
A Robot Hand
We have a face, some lips, a butt, skin that can feel, and now a hand. We are well on our way to a robot frankenstein!
Context and bacteria
Celebrities don’t always help endangered species…
Should we be upset that famous people with many faithful followers make jokes about animal cruelty in the social media info sphere? No, I’m asking YOU…
..and a quick word in memorium for the oldest Hippo ever…
Sarcasm?
Do you get it?
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July 29th, 2012
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A Moment Of Remembrance, Spaciness. Invertebrate Noise Making, Percolating Life, Sloth Sex, Stale Pop, Mummy Colds, Greenland Melts, Writing Eyes, Clever Gorillas, Being Human, And Much More…
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THIS is the moment you’ve been waiting for.
THIS is the instant when it all comes to a head.
THIS time is yours. You’re ready. You’ve been ready.
THIS is it.
THIS is … This Week in Science… coming up next!!!
Ride on Sally…
The first female astronaut passed away this week.
Space news –
Moon ideas – Where did the moon come from?
Dark matter keeps hiding – Dark matter isn’t where we expect it to be. Uh oh.
Move over LHC – Particle detector in space!!!
Bats can tell when flies are getting conjugal!
Flies emit a burst of broadband when mating. They are also distracted and find themselves active at night (when they are usually inactive). Bats have fine-tuned their ears to be able to hear fly copulation, in order to grab an easy-to-catch meal that’s two-for-one.
Percolating life
Blair’s Animal Corner
Sloth sex is slow, but sneaky!
Scientists recently conducted a study in which male and female sloths were located, tagged, and genetically tested, and the results surprised them. Through paternity testing and mapping the researchers discovered that these animals were not monogamous, but were not entirely promiscuous, either.
Pop Music is Stale
Spanish researchers have published a study stating that pop music has gotten louder and sounds fairly uniform.
Get a free audiobook at Audible.com!
Mummy had a cold
It’s a “Zombee” apocalypse!!!
San Francisco State researchers recently discovered “zombie-like” bees who were infected with a parasite. ZomBeeWatch.org asks citizen scientists to collect bees that appear to have perished near outside lights, and watch for larva exiting out of the head region. Uploaded photos and location information will help scientists to map out this epidemic and better understand what is happening to our precious bees! The site is set to launch in August.
This Week in the End of the World
Greenland’s Thaw
Learn how to write… with your eyeballs
Jean Lorenceau of Université de Pierre et Marie Curie-Paris has discovered that a person can train themselves to control fine smooth eye movements good enough that one could draw or write just with their eyes. This is a remarkable discovery especially for those who have lost the use of their arms and legs, or the ability to speak.
Clever Gorillas – Surprise, surprise!
Gorillas have been videotaped systematically dismantling snares set by poachers. They were seen going right up to the snare, and dismantling it right away, indicating they knew what they were doing from the start. What is so astonishing is that this observation occurred shortly after an approximately two-year-old gorilla was trapped in one such snare and died. When will poachers learn? Don’t mess with gorillas!
The importance of a little mistake
The Human Threat
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July 23rd, 2012
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Iron At Sea, More Invertebrate Sex, Water On Earth, Blair’s Animal Corner, Shower Spies, Women Getting Smarter, Magnetic Bonds, TWIWRD, And Much More…
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It is Blair, the animal tamer
Though we’re here without twit
And it’s not just a bit
You won’t find us any the lamer.
It’s Justin, Blair, Kiki and Kai-ance
Tune in your computing appliance
We’ve got lots to discuss
Log on in, chat with us
Coming up, it’s This Week in Science
This Week in Science… coming up next
Iron at Sea
When fertilized by iron, algae releases carbon-rich material that sinks to the ocean floor. The question is, can we reduce carbon in our atmosphere with some simple iron fertilization of the oceans?
More invertebrate sex!
Dumpling squids are exhausted after copulation:
Both males and females of this tiny squid species find themselves exhausted after sex, causing reduced mobility for up to 30 minutes. This means they lose their ability to protect themselves or eat after “scoring.” Bummer…
Castrated male spiders are actually better off!
As we have previously discussed, male orb weaver spiders who are lucky enough to escape cannibalization by their mate are often castrated. It turns out that this reduces their body weight by around 9% and therefore greatly increases their physical endurance and agility.
What Brought Us Water?
When looking at the amount of deuterium in potential water-donating candidates, it appears that meteorites, and not comets, delivered this essential life source to earth.
Blair’s Animal Corner
Big brained animals best equipped for survival
Animals with greater brain-to-body size ratios have shown to be more successful and avoid extinction, particularly those of the smaller variety. Similar success was shown with animals introduced to new areas or habitats; big brains mean more adaptability. The question is, do we use this information to save the big brained critters, or assume they can save themselves and focus on the dunces of the animal kingdom?
Get a free audiobook at Audible.com!
How to spy in the shower
Using a spacial light modulator, scientists have found a way to see things disturbed by a thin scattering medium, such as say, a shower curtain, or even better, skin! Let’s just hope it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands…
Women now smarter than Men!!!
James Flynn, one of the foremost experts on intelligence testing, has announced that women have finally surpassed men on standardized IQ testing. You go girls!
Predicting bonds
A new chemical bond has been discovered (maybe). A gigantic magnetic field, in the thousands of teslas, is required for this new bond. For reference, x-rays are around 7 teslas. This new bond type is called paramagnetism, and is based solely on magnetic fields.
World Robot Domination!
A kissing robot?
Now all I need is a roButt…
Surprisingly out of the UK and not Japan, scientists have developed an interactive device that aids in “telepresence.” You guessed it, it’s a kissing device with pressure sensors and actuators, and it’s called “Kissenger.”
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