Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, and the environment.
This week, Science Saturday stands in solidarity with the public employees in the Midwestern states--Wisconsin, Ohio, and Indiana--where Republican governors and legislatures are trying to take away their rights to collective bargaining by showcasing the scientific research from the major public research universities in those states.
News after the jump.
Recent Science Diaries and Stories
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Self Sustaining Smoldering Combustion For Contaminated Soil Remediation.
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How GOP Wordsmith Frank Luntz has Stolen our Future
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This week in science
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Philanthropy, transparency, science, politics -- huzzah!
by David Brin
Slideshows/Videos
University College London via physorg.com: New 'thunder-thighs' dinosaur discovered (w/ Video)
February 23, 2011
A new dinosaur named Brontomerus mcintoshi, or "thunder-thighs" after its enormously powerful thigh muscles, has been discovered in Utah, USA. The new species is described in a paper recently published in the journal Acta Palaeontologica Polonica by an international team of scientists from the U.K. and the U.S.
A member of the long-necked sauropod group of dinosaurs which includes Diplodocus and Brachiosaurus, Brontomerus may have used its powerful thighs as a weapon to kick predators, or to help travel over rough, hilly terrain. Brontomerus lived about 110 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous Period, and probably had to contend with fierce "raptors" such as Deinonychus and Utahraptor.
The fossilised bones of two specimens of Brontomerus mcintoshi – an adult and a juvenile – were rescued from a previously looted and damaged quarry in eastern Utah by researchers from the Sam Noble Museum. Paleontologists speculate that the larger specimen is the mother of the younger and would have weighed around 6 tons, about the size of a large elephant, and measured 14 meters in length. At a third of the size, the smaller specimen would have weighed about 200 kg, the size of a pony, and been 4.5 m long.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
Also, new ISS crews for 2013 are named, a NASA center highlights Tuskegee Airmen for Black History Month, and celebrating the launch anniversaries of the Hubble Servicing Mission STS-109 and Pioneer 10
With the STS-133 crew in tow, space shuttle Discovery lifted off from the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Feb. 24. at 4:53 p.m. Eastern -- her final ride to the International Space Station. In addition to transporting Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe, and Mission Specialists Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt, Alvin Drew, and Steve Bowen, Discovery also carries the Express Logistics Carrier-4, and Robonaut 2, the first robot of its kind to fly into and work in space.
NASA'S Mission Management Team reports on STS-133's third day of mission activities during an11-day visit to the International Space Station.
Above videos from NASA Television on YouTube.
Above videos from New Scientist Video on YouTube.
Astronomy/Space
Purdue University: Purdue scientists part of NASA return mission to comet
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Two Purdue University professors and a student are part of the NASA science team returning to the comet Tempel 1 to study changes that occur as a comet approaches the sun and to potentially examine an impact crater created during an earlier mission.
Purdue professors Jay Melosh and Jim Richardson and graduate student Tim Bowling are part of the science team for NASA's Stardust New Exploration of Tempel 1, or Stardust-NExT, mission that flew within about 112 miles of the comet at 11:39 p.m. on Monday (Feb. 14). Images captured by the spacecraft will be downloaded over the next few days.
This is the second look at Tempel 1 for Melosh and Richardson, both of whom were part of the 2005 Deep Impact mission that launched a probe into the comet, creating an impact crater on its surface.
Evolution/Paleontology
University of California, Berkeley, via physorg.com: T. rex more hyena than lion
February 22, 2011
The ferocious Tyrannosaurus rex has been depicted as the top dog of the Cretaceous, ruthlessly stalking herds of duck-billed dinosaurs and claiming the role of apex predator, much as the lion reigns supreme in the African veld.
But a new census of all dinosaur skeletons unearthed over a large area of eastern Montana shows that Tyrannosaurus was too numerous to have subsisted solely on the dinosaurs it tracked and killed with its scythe-like teeth.
Instead, argue paleontologists John "Jack" Horner from the Museum of the Rockies and Mark B. Goodwin from the University of California, Berkeley, T. rex was probably an opportunistic predator, like the hyena in Africa today, subsisting on both carrion and fresh-killed prey and exploiting a variety of animals, not just large grazers.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
Indiana University: Polygamy hurt 19th century Mormon wives' evolutionary fitness
Feb. 21, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Polygamy practiced by some 19th century Mormon men had the curious effect of suppressing the overall offspring numbers of Mormon women in plural marriages, say scientists from Indiana University Bloomington and three other institutions in the March 2011 issue of Evolution and Human Behavior.
Simply put, the more sister-wives a Mormon woman had, the fewer children she was likely to produce.
"Although it's great in terms of number of children for successful males to have harems, the data show that for every new woman added to a male's household, the number each wife produced goes down by one child or so," said IU Bloomington evolutionary biologist Michael Wade, whose theoretical work guided the study. "This regression is known as a 'Bateman gradient,' named after the geneticist who first observed a similar phenomenon in fruit flies."
Biodiversity
The Powell River Peak (Canada): Herring runs deep in culture
Archaeology proves run sustained aboriginal population for thousands of years
by Laura Walz | editor@prpeak.com
Published: Wednesday, February 23, 2011 10:41 AM PST
Coastal residents didn’t know they were witnessing history when an armada of herring boats cast their nets in front of Powell River in the early 1980s. As fishers pulled in tonne after tonne of herring, they counted dollars, but no one calculated the price that would be extracted on the run, which had sustained an aboriginal population for thousands of years.
Adult herring move in vast schools, often many kilometres long, and migrate annually to shallow waters to spawn. Males release milt that fertilizes the thousands and thousands of eggs produced by females. The milt turns the water white and the eggs cling to eel grass, rocks or any other available shelter to hatch. Herring spawn triggers a feeding frenzy among marine birds and mammals and the coast springs to life, vibrating with energy.
Each spring for more years than scientists can count, Tla’Amin (Sliammon) First Nation people would watch and prepare for the event which occurred anywhere from the end of February to mid-March. As herring spawn, they form huge, roiling balls, designed to provide protection from predators. Aboriginal people would go out in their canoes with herring rakes, long cedar sticks that had spines in them, to sweep through the herring ball and snag the small fish.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
Biotechnology/Health
University of Cambridge (UK): Back ache has been a pain for millions of years
February 24, 2011
Research by a Cambridge archaeologist shows that back pain caused untold misery long before we started staring into screens and slumping on sofas.
The high incidence of back pain apparent today is often blamed on our lazy lifestyles: we sit at computers, watch television, travel by car and eat too much. But debilitating back ache is nothing new: it dates back millions of years to an era long before screens and sofas, according to a Cambridge University researcher who is looking at the fossil record of human bones.
In a talk called "Four Million Years of Back Pain" on 25 February, Dr. Asier Gomez-Olivencia will present the latest results of his research on the damaged spine of an early hominin called Homo heidelbergensis. He will set this in the context of the diseases evident in the fossil record of the hominin spine from australopithecines to Neandertals - a time span stretching from 4.4 million to 30,000 years ago.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
Indiana University: Method of DNA repair linked to higher likelihood of genetic mutation
INDIANAPOLIS -- Researchers from Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (U.S.A.) and Umea° University (Sweden) report in a study published in the February 15, 2011, issue of PLoS Biology that a method by which cells repair breaks in their DNA -- known as Break-induced Replication (BIR) -- is up to 2,800 times more likely to cause genetic mutation than normal cell repair.
Break-Induced Replication: A chromosome's broken end invades an intact DNA molecule and initiates replication that can lead to genomic instability.
Accurate transmission of genetic information requires the precise replication of DNA. Errors in DNA replication are common and nature has developed several cellular mechanisms for repairing these mistakes. Mutations, which can be deleterious (development of cancerous cells) or beneficial (evolutionary adaption), arise from uncorrected errors. When one or many cells repair themselves using the efficient BIR method, accuracy is lost.
"When BIR occurs, instead of using a "band aid" to repair a chromosomal break, the broken piece invades another chromosome and initiates replication which happens at the wrong place and at the wrong time and probably with participation of wrong proteins," said Anna Malkova, associate professor of biology at the School of Science at IUPUI, who led the study.
Climate/Environment
University of Wisconsin: Using satellites to enhance air quality understanding
Feb. 23, 2011
by Jill Sakai
The first late winter thaws bring puddles, mud, and a promise of spring in the air. But there may also be something less wholesome in the air — very high levels of air pollution.
"The first few warm days, when all the snow is beginning to melt, are often the worst particulate matter days of the whole year," says Tracey Holloway, director of the Center for Sustainability and the Global Environment (SAGE) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies and an expert on air quality.
Though air quality monitoring programs have noted the phenomenon for some time, it is not known what drives the high levels of nitrate particles. Perhaps trapped pollution is released from melting snowbanks, or the weather conditions that lead to early thaws also trap emitted airborne particles.
Purdue University: Purdue included in $20 million USDA climate research grant
February 21, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Purdue University will participate in a $20 million U.S. Department of Agriculture research, education and Extension program aimed at keeping Midwest corn-based cropping systems resilient in the face of future climate uncertainties.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Institute of Food and Agriculture awarded the grant to a team of 10 universities and two USDA Agricultural Research Service institutions Friday (Feb. 18).
Purdue will receive $1.4 million for its portion of the five-year project.
Led by agronomy professor Eileen Kladivko, Purdue researchers will create a database of plot, field and farm data that can be combined with climate data to evaluate and improve resilience of crop management practices. Philip Owens, assistant professor of agronomy, will use soil information to show how the field-scale research can be applied to increase sustainability of corn systems in an eight-state north-central region that includes Indiana.
Geology
Paul Smith's College via Red Orbit: Ancient Drought Leads To Question: How Severe Can Climate Change Become?
Posted on: Friday, 25 February 2011, 09:25 CST
Extreme megadrought in Afro-Asian region likely had consequences for Paleolithic cultures
How severe can climate change become in a warming world?
Worse than anything we've seen in written history, according to results of a study appearing this week in the journal Science.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
The Ohio State University: PLANKTON KEY TO ORIGIN OF EARTH’S FIRST BREATHABLE ATMOSPHERE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers studying the origin of Earth’s first breathable atmosphere have zeroed in on the major role played by some very unassuming creatures: plankton.
In a paper to appear in the online Early Edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), Ohio State University researcher Matthew Saltzman and his colleagues show how plankton provided a critical link between the atmosphere and chemical isotopes stored in rocks 500 million years ago.
This work builds on the team’s earlier discovery that upheavals in the earth's crust initiated a kind of reverse-greenhouse effect 500 million years ago that cooled the world's oceans, spawned giant plankton blooms, and sent a burst of oxygen into the atmosphere.
The new study has revealed details as to how oxygen came to vanish from Earth’s ancient atmosphere during the Cambrian Period, only to return at higher levels than ever before.
Psychology/Behavior
University of Wisconsin: Moms' Mental Health Needs Attention During and After Pregnancy
February 23, 2011
Madison, Wisconsin - Poor mental health before and during pregnancy are "giant red flags" predicting which new mothers are more likely to suffer postpartum mood disorders, a new nationwide survey reveals.
While between 10 and 20 percent of new mothers suffer mood disorders within the first year after giving birth, it wasn't obvious which mothers were most at risk.
But scientists at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health found a pattern that predicts which new moms are likely to have trouble: Those who had mental health problems before pregnancy were nearly two times more likely to have postpartum problems and those who suffer during pregnancy are over 11 times more likely to suffer mood disorders after their babies are born, after adjusting for other factors.
Notably, over 50 percent of women with poor postpartum mental health reported having some history of poor mental health.
Indiana University: Research examines callous-unemotional traits, conduct problems in children
Feb. 21, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Research presented this week at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science highlights the importance of callous-unemotional traits (CU) in identifying children at risk of antisocial behavior and other adjustment problems.
The research, presented by Indiana University Bloomington faculty member Nathalie M.G. Fontaine, finds that the emergence of CU traits in childhood is in most cases influenced by genetic factors, especially in boys. However, environmental factors appear to be more significant for the small number of girls who exhibit high levels of CU traits.
In this first longitudinal study employing a group-based analysis to examine the connection between childhood trajectories of CU traits and conduct problems, researchers found that high levels of both CU traits and conduct problems were associated with negative child and family factors at age 4 and with behavioral problems at age 12.
Indiana University: IU study points to social, marital consequences of alcoholism
A new Indiana University study found that alcoholism may have a profound impact on marriages for both men and women, with alcohol dependence associated with a 36 percent decreased likelihood of first marriage for men, and a 23 percent decrease for women.
When alcoholics married, according to the study, they were more than twice as likely to experience separation, compared with nonalcoholics.
"It's just another striking example of the social consequences of alcoholism, that alcoholism impacts not only the alcoholic," said Mary Waldron, assistant professor in the Department of Counseling and Educational Psychology in the School of Education.
The Ohio State University: LOOKING AT A TOUGH HILL TO CLIMB? DEPENDS ON YOUR POINT OF VIEW
COLUMBUS, Ohio -- People tend to overestimate the steepness of slopes – and psychologists studying the phenomenon have made a discovery that refutes common ideas about how we perceive inclines in general.
For more than a decade, researchers thought that our judgment was biased by our fatigue or fear of falling, explained Dennis Shaffer, associate professor of psychology at Ohio State University’s Mansfield campus. We perceive climbing or descending hills as difficult or dangerous, so when we look at an incline, our view is clouded by the expected physical exertion or danger of traversing it.
For a study in the current issue of the journal Psychological Science, Shaffer and then-undergraduate student Mariagrace Flint uncovered a contradiction, when they compared how we perceive the angle of stairs versus escalators.
The Ohio State University: PRACTICE MORE IMPORTANT THAN AGE IN LEARNING TO USE COMPUTER MOUSE
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Children as young as 5 years old can learn how to use a computer mouse, new research suggests.
While age is an important component in determining how well a child controls a mouse, the study also found that how frequently a child practices may be even more important.
“Learning how to use a computer has become as important as writing and reading in the classroom,” says Alison Lane, an assistant professor of occupational therapy at Ohio State University.
Archeology/Anthropology
National Science Foundation via physorg.com: Oldest subarctic North American human remains found
February 24, 2011
A newly excavated archaeological site in Alaska contains the cremated remains of one of the earliest inhabitants of North America. These remains may provide rare insights into the burial practices of Ice Age peoples, while shedding new light on their daily lives, according to a paper published Feb. 25 in the journal Science.
The find is also notable because archaeologists and Alaska Natives are working hand-in-hand to insure the excavation and subsequent examination of the remains of this child estimated to be approximately three years old at the time of death. This research will benefit science and the heritage studies while respecting traditional Athabaskan culture.
The apparent age of the remains found at the site, the researchers said, would certainly make these the oldest human remains found in Northern North America, as well as the second youngest Ice Age child on the continent.
University of South Carolina via physorg.com: Ancient cities sprung from marshes, researcher finds
February 24, 2011
For more than a century, archaeologists have believed that ancient Mesopotamian cities – places like Uruk and Ur – were born along the banks of the great rivers of the Middle East and depended mainly on irrigation of surrounding deserts for their survival.
Dr. Jennifer Pournelle, a research assistant professor in the School of the Environment at the University of South Carolina, has a different theory. She believes that the great cities of southern Iraq grew and thrived in vast lowland marshes fed by those rivers, not along the banks of rivers themselves.
Last fall, Pournelle led the first American research team of archaeologists to visit Iraq in more than 25 years. And what she and her colleagues found has caused the start of a shift in thinking about how ancient urban landscapes evolved.
Asian News International (ANI) via Yahoo! News India: Researchers 1 step closer to solving mystery of famous bluestones of Stonehenge
London, Feb 24 (ANI): Researchers are one step closer to solving the puzzle of how the famous bluestones of the Stonehenge originated.
New findings from geologists at the National Museum museum in Cardiff believe they have identified the source of one of the rhyolite types.
One type of bluestone, the so-called spotted dolerite, was convincingly traced to the Mynydd Preseli area of North Pembrokeshire in the 1920s, but the origins of many of the others have remained a mystery.
Belfast Telegraph (UK): Garden dig leads to a grave discovery
Friday, 25 February 2011
Pat Tiernan is a keen fan of television's 'Time Team' and amateur archaeology. But he never thought a dig in his back garden would unearth items up to 4,000 years old.
After starting work on an extension to his home in Collinstown, Co Westmeath, he was astonished to discover a skeleton and other items.
China People's Daily: Villager accidentally discovers West Han tomb in his own yard
A villager named Lu Mingheng in Lianyungang City in China's Jiangsu Province discovered an ancient tomb belonging to the Western Han dynasty in his own yard accidentally when he was trying to dig a well on Feb. 19.
Once he realized it might be an ancient tomb, Lu immediately stopped digging and called local police to protect the place.
After three days and nights of hard work here, archaeologists from the Lianyungang Museum made an initial assessment that the tomb might date back to the middle period of the Western Han dynasty, and they also unearthed more than 20 cultural relics, including pottery, wooden barrels and decorations.
New Kerala (India): Everest hero finds incredible religious treasure trove in Nepal
By Sudeshna Sarkar, Kathmandu, Feb 26
In 2004, two years after he climbed Mt Everest for the seventh time, American mountaineering legend Peter Athans took part in a charitable cataract operation project in northern Nepal that changed the lives of nearly 300 beneficiaries.
Today, the event has led to a stupendous discovery that, once fully understood, could throw light on one of the oldest religions in the world, its link with India and the connection between Tibetan and Zoroastrian death rites.
"I made a lot of friends during the eye camp," says Athans, better known worldwide as 'Mr Everest' for his ascents as well as efforts to rescue endangered climbers during the black year of 1996, when 15 people died while attempting the world's highest peak.
"Some of them took me to a cluster of (man-made) caves that remain hidden from the human eye due to the height and the difficulty to get inside... There was no knowledge of who created the caves and I thought this was an intriguing mystery, worthy of further research and discussion," Athans said.
Agence France Presse via physorg.com: Ancient Peruvian site forces experts to re-think past
February 25, 2011 by Reynaldo Munoz
Archeologists have discovered a group of ancient tombs in the mountainous jungle of southeastern Peru they say is as important as the discovery of the lost city of Machu Picchu.
The tombs belonging to the Wari culture were found on the jungle-covered eastern slope of the Andes in Cuzco department at a long-abandoned city thought to be the last redoubt of Inca resistance to Spanish colonial rule.
The Waris, a pre-Inca civilization, had an enormous cultural impact in the Andean region between 600 and 1200. The Inca empire (around 1400 to 1532) was the largest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas.
"It is an impressive Wari find in the Cuzco jungle that opens a new chapter on archaeological research and forces us to re-write history," said Juan Garcia, the cultural director for the Cuzco region, as he announced the discovery late Wednesday.
Agence France Presse via physorg.com: German scientists eye Afghan Buddha reconstruction
February 25, 2011
German scientists said Friday they believed it possible to reconstruct one of the world-famous Bamiyan Buddhas dynamited by the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, prompting worldwide condemnation.
Scientists from the University of Munich, in southern Germany, have examined fragments of the statues -- the world's largest Buddhas -- and concluded that the smaller one could be pieced together.
The two sculptures, 53 metres (173 feet) and 35 metres tall, had stood sentinel for 1,500 years in Bamiyan province before they were blown up by Islamists who believed them to be idolatrous.
The Scotsman (UK): Archaeologists are worth their salt with Joppa find
By SUE GYFORD
THE remains of the historic salt works at Joppa are being uncovered by archaeologists after the wall around them was destroyed in a storm.
Most of the former industrial site was demolished around 1960, but underground brick tunnels remain hidden beneath a grass-covered area.
When fierce storms buffeted the coastline last March, the sea wall at the north-west corner of the site was damaged.
University of Rochester via physorg.com: Hidden in plain sight: Anthropologist rediscovers Pacific Islands cultural treasures
February 21, 2011
The discovery of a priceless collection of cultural treasures typically conjures up visions of dark and scary tunnels a la Raiders of the Lost Ark. But when University of Rochester anthropologist Robert Foster stumbled upon one of the oldest and largest collections of Pacific Islands artifacts, he was in the bright and friendly halls of the Buffalo Museum of Science.
On that day in 2006, Foster visited the museum to view a few artifacts from New Guinea he had read about. But when he was led into the museum's storage area to see the rest of the P. G. Black Collection, Foster could scarcely believe his eyes. There, safely preserved for the past seven decades, were some 6,200 objects from remote villages and colonial outposts across island Melanesia — everything from stone axes and toys to fishing tools and spears. Although individual items had been displayed, a catalogue of the collection had never been published.
For Foster, who travels across the globe to do field research in Papua New Guinea, here was one of the Pacific Island's most important cultural treasures just a short drive from his home in Upstate New York. "I was stunned," he recalls.
The Guardian (UK): Japan unearths site linked to human experiments
Former Tokyo medical school site is linked to Unit 731, branch of imperial army which used prisoners in germ warfare programme
Justin McCurry in Tokyo
Monday 21 February 2011 21.01 GMT
Authorities in Japan have begun excavating the former site of a medical school that may contain the remains of victims of the country's wartime biological warfare programme.
The school has links to Unit 731, a branch of the imperial Japanese army that conducted lethal experiments on prisoners as part of efforts to develop weapons of mass destruction.
The Japanese government has previously acknowledged the unit's existence but refused to discuss its activities, despite testimony from former members and growing documentary evidence. In 2002 a Japanese court said Tokyo was under no obligation to compensate victims.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman, who sent in the above articles.
Physorg.com: Evidence Neanderthals used feathers for decoration
February 23, 2011 by Lin Edwards
Researchers studying a large deposit of Neanderthal bones in Italy have discovered the remains of birds along with the bones, and evidence the feathers were probably used for ornamentation. The findings add evidence that the now extinct Neanderthals could have been as cultured as our own ancestors.
Purdue University: Study: Location plays role in immigrants' decision to learn English
February 23, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Whether immigrants to the United States are motivated to learn English depends on a variety of conditions, such as where they will live, how educated they are and whether they need to know the language for their job, a Purdue University study finds.
Their ethnic background, gender and even whether they are married also can influence whether they learn English, said Brigitte Waldorf, Purdue agricultural economist and the study's lead researcher.
"The likelihood of speaking English well among the immigrant community is very much dependent on who the immigrants are," Waldorf said.
Physics
University of Wisconsin: Insect hearing inspires new approach to small antennas
Feb. 25, 2011
by Sandra Knisely
Ormia ochracea is a small parasitic fly best known for its strong sense of directional hearing. A female fly tracks a male cricket by its chirps and then deposits her eggs on the unfortunate host. The larvae subsequently eat the cricket.
Though it doesn't work out well for male crickets, such acute hearing in a tiny body has inspired a University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher as he studies new designs for very small, powerful antennas.
Nader Behdad, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, has received a 2011 Faculty Early Career Development Award (CAREER) award and grant from the National Science Foundation to pursue a novel approach to a challenge that has thwarted electromagnetic researchers for more than a half century.
Indiana University: IU mathematician credited with solving one of combinatorial geometry's most challenging problems
Research has applications in areas as diverse as drug development, robot motion planning and computer graphics
Feb. 24, 2011
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- A mathematician in the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences is being credited with resolving a 65-year-old problem in combinatorial geometry that sought to determine the minimum number of distinct distances between any finite set of points in a plane.
The work by IU Department of Mathematics Professor Nets Hawk Katz, with Larry Guth of the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, N.J., achieved what many thought was unachievable: Solving Paul Erdös' 1946 Distinct Distances Problem.
"If someone hands you some distinct set of points, you can figure out what is the set of differences. The problem is to determine what the minimum possible set of distances is," Katz said. "What we did is to show that no matter how you place the N points, the number of distances is at least a constant times N/log N."
Chemistry
Purdue University: Hydrogels used to make precise new sensor
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers are developing a new type of biological and chemical sensor that has few moving parts, is low-cost and yet highly sensitive, sturdy and long-lasting.
The "diffraction-based" sensors are made of thin stripes of a gelatinous material called a hydrogel, which expands and contracts depending on the acidity of its environment.
Recent research findings have demonstrated that the sensor can be used to precisely determine pH - a measure of how acidic or basic a liquid is - revealing information about substances in liquid environments, said Cagri Savran (pronounced Chary Savran), an associate professor of mechanical engineering at Purdue University.
The Ohio State University: WELDERS CAN BREATHE EASIER WITH CHROMIUM-FREE ALLOY
COLUMBUS, Ohio – A new alloy promises to lessen welders’ risk of breathing toxic fumes on the job.
The alloy is a welding “consumable” – the material that melts under the welder’s torch to fill the gap between parts that are being joined.
The new nickel alloy consumable is more expensive compared to those already on the market, but worth the cost in situations where adequate ventilation is a problem.
That’s why two Ohio State University engineers invented the alloy – specifically to aid military and commercial welding personnel who work in tight spaces.
Energy
Trends to Watch in Wind
We at Totaro & Associates have published a new study of the U.S. patent landscape of wind turbines to determine which technological trends have emerged so far and what we might be able to infer for the future direction of wind turbine technology.
Solar energy and jobs tied to transmission lines
Building new electric transmission lines in the California desert will be critical to bringing solar energy projects and new jobs to the Coachella Valley — and realizing the region's potential as a major hub for renewable energy development.
7 Ways That Next-Gen Energy Tech Can Reach Mainstream
Early adopters of next-generation energy technologies — from electric cars, to home energy management systems, to home solar panels to smart meters — will be crucial players in determining how successful, or not, these technologies will become in the mainstream market.
The Guardian: Green economy needs 2% of every nation's income, says UN
The United Nations will call on Monday for 2% of worldwide income to be invested in the green economy, a move it says would boost jobs and economic growth. The call is expected to be matched by statements of support for low-carbon investment from heads of state including President Barack Obama of the US and Hu Jintao of China, and several chiefs of multinational companies.
Renewable Energy World: Hydro's Untapped Potential
In the U.S., where restrictions on carbon emissions are pending and demand is growing, there's a big market for Canada's hydropower resources. A handful of deals to export that power to the U.S. have already been made and more are looming.
Green economy needs 2% of every nation's income, says UN
A National Clean Energy Standard Apocalypse Not Now
When President Obama announced a goal for the United States to produce 80% of its power from “clean energy” by 2035 in his State of the Union address this year, we folks in the energy industry pricked up our ears . . . and heard a pause. The President continued, “[s]ome folks want wind and solar. Others want nuclear, clean coal and natural gas. To meet this goal, we will need them all.”
Renewable Energy World: Forests into Fuel: Promise and Limits of Biomass in the Northeast
Forest biomass could replace as much as one quarter of the liquid fossil fuel now being used for industrial and commercial heating in the Northeastern United States. That's according to a new report released last week by the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies.
Hat/tip to Progressive Congress News for the above stories.
Science, Space, Environment, and Energy Policy
BBC: Mexico's struggle to stem looting of historic sites
By Julian Miglierini
BBC News, Mexico City
The exact origin of the headdress or "penacho" is disputed but one version says Moctezuma gave it to the Hernan Cortez, leader of the Spanish conquistadors, in the 16th Century. By the twists and turns of history, it ended up in Austria.
Nearly 500 years on, the original may be loaned temporarily to Mexico, a development that has created expectation there and highlighted the country's historic riches.
But the pre-Hispanic artefacts and sites not only attract tourists; looters and traffickers see a chance to profit from the wealth of the past.
Now the authorities are looking at various ways of clamping down on this trade in relics of their nation's history.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for this story.
Agence France Presse via physorg.com: As US cuts back, China aims to be top at science
February 19, 2011 by Karin Zeitvogel
China has its eye on becoming the top science nation in the world, overtaking the United States and European nations, researchers at a US science conference said Friday.
After being the world's main source of cheap manufactured goods, China is investing heavily in science and technology.
"China hopes to become one of the leading sources of intellectual property in coming years," said Denis Simon, a professor at Penn State University who is also the science and technology adviser to the mayor of the Chinese city of Dalian.
At a time when the United States and Europe are hamstrung by shrinking budgets, China has increased spending on science and technology "significantly," Simon said at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
"The Chinese have indicated that by 2020 they hope to spend around 2.5 percent of GDP (gross domestic product) on research and development," said Simon.
University of Wisconsin: Kulcinski awarded NASA Exceptional Public Service Medal
Feb. 24, 2011
by James Beal
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has awarded University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering associate dean for research and Grainger Professor of Nuclear Engineering Gerald Kulcinski one of its highest honors for non-governmental employees. NASA Director Charles Bolden awarded Kulcinski the Exceptional Public Service Medal to recognize Kulcinski's leadership on the NASA Advisory Council from 2005 to 2009.
The NASA Advisory Council provides the NASA administrator with advice on programs and issues of importance to the agency. The council consists of nine committees: aeronautics, audit, finance and analysis, commercial space, education and public outreach, exploration, information technology infrastructure, science, space operations, and technology and innovation. Each committee conducts sessions throughout the year in an effort to gain a broad understanding of current NASA issues and future mission implementation plans. The committees then bring their proposed observations, findings and recommendations to the full council for deliberation and final decision on whether to send forward to the NASA administrator.
The council deliberates on topics raised by each committee in public sessions and presents its observations, findings and recommendations to the NASA administrator. In particular, Kulcinski advised on nuclear power in space and chaired the committee on human resource issues regarding education and attracting a younger age group to the NASA workforce.
University of Wisconsin: UW-Madison chancellor, alumnus and professor named to national commission
Feb. 23, 2011
by Susannah Brooks
As the American Academy of Arts & Sciences introduces a national commission to encourage research in the humanities and social sciences, the University of Wisconsin-Madison boasts strong representation.
Chancellor Biddy Martin will serve on the commission, joining alumnus John Rowe and sociology professor Robert Hauser.
"Knowledge of history, an understanding of civic institutions, the ability to use evidence and to think creatively, an aptitude for cross-cultural communication — these are all vital attributes of a 21st century citizen," says Rowe, co-chair of the commission.
Indiana University: Genetics policy experts say realistic expectations and funding priorities would better serve the future of genomic medicine
INDIANAPOLIS -- Unrealistic expectations about genomic medicine have created a "bubble" that needs deflating before it puts the field's long term benefits at risk, four policy experts write in the current issue of the journal Science.
Ten years after the deciphering of the human genetic code was accompanied by over-hyped promises of medical breakthroughs, it may be time to reevaluate funding priorities to better understand how to change behaviors and reap the health benefits that would result.
In addition, the authors say, scientists need to foster more realistic understanding about how scientific research works "by making responsible claims and by advocating that reporters and editors do the same."
The Ohio State University: NATIONAL ANTI-DRUG CAMPAIGN SUCCEEDS IN LOWERING MARIJUANA USE, STUDY SUGGESTS
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The federal anti-drug campaign "Above the Influence" appears to have effectively reduced marijuana use by teenagers, new research shows.
A study of more than 3,000 students in 20 communities nationwide found that by the end of 8th grade, 12 percent of those who had not reported having seen the campaign took up marijuana use compared to only 8 percent among students who had reported familiarity with the campaign.
The researchers said they believe this is the first independent study to find evidence for the effectiveness of the "Above the Influence" campaign, which was initially funded at nearly $200 million a year when it began in 2005.
The Ohio State University: FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS HAVE SUCCESS IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES, BUT NEED TO BE EXPANDED
COLUMBUS, Ohio – While many researchers generally credit the desire for smaller families for the decline in fertility rates in developing, low-income countries, new research suggests that prevention of unwanted births may actually be a larger factor.
The advent of safe and more effective birth control means that people have better control of when and if they have children, said John Casterline, director of the Initiative in Population Research at Ohio State University.
“While it is true that people now want smaller families, my research suggests a more important factor in the decline in birth rates over the past half-century is that people are now more successful than in the past in having the number of children they want,” said Casterline, who is also a professor of sociology.
The Ohio State University: STUDY: CONSUMERS VALUE SAFER FOOD MORE THAN CURRENT ANALYSES SUGGEST
COLUMBUS, Ohio – Government regulators could more realistically assess the value of improving food safety if they considered the fact that consumers typically want to avoid getting sick – even if it means they have to pay a little extra for safer food, researchers say.
In the world of food regulation, cost-benefit analyses are a primary tool for assessing the societal benefits of mandating more stringent – and more expensive – processing practices. In most cases, regulators determine a dollar value associated with pursuing new rules by estimating how many illnesses and deaths the safer processing would prevent.
But a recent study proposes a new way to approach these estimates. Instead of focusing on reducing food-borne illnesses and deaths associated with a specific pathogen, why not ask consumers how valuable food-safety improvements are to them? The researchers conducted such a national survey that they designed with the help of an economic model that predicts consumer behavior.
The results suggested that Americans would be willing to pay about a dollar per person each year, or an estimated $305 million in the aggregate, for a 10 percent reduction in the likelihood that hamburger they buy in the supermarket is contaminated by E. coli, said Brian Roe, professor of agricultural, environmental and development economics at Ohio State University and co-author of the study.
Science Education
Purdue University: Joint team wins Purdue Rube Goldberg contest
February 26, 2011
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – A team from the Purdue Society of Professional Engineers and Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers on Saturday (Feb. 26) won the 29th annual Purdue Regional Rube Goldberg Machine Contest with a machine that traced the history of the world.
The Rube Goldberg competition, sponsored by Phi Chapter of Theta Tau fraternity, rewards machines that most effectively combine creativity with inefficiency and complexity. The task this year was to water a plant.
The winning entry was based on a time machine that followed the history of the world from the big bang to the present. It took 212 steps to finally reach a symbol of hope for the future, a mystery box that, when opened by the machine, produced a plant and a watering can.
Science Writing and Reporting
Science News: Book Review: After the Diagnosis: Transcending Chronic Illness
By Julian Seifter with Betsy Seifter
Review by Bruce Bower
Physician and kidney specialist Julian Seifter has written, with his wife’s help, a valuable book for people with chronic illnesses and their doctors. The pair address two poorly understood issues in medicine: how people cope with a lengthy, life-threatening ailment and how to provide them with medical care that addresses their psychological needs.
Science is Cool
Agence France Presse via physorg.com: Rightwing candidates are better looking, study shows
February 23, 2011
Rightwing candidates are better looking than their leftwing counterparts, something they benefit from during elections, according to a study conducted by Swedish and Finnish economists.
"One possible explanation is that people who are seen or consider themselves beautiful tend to be more anti-egalitarian and rightwing," Niclas Berggren, one of the three co-authors of the study, told AFP Wednesday.
The study compared election results from parliamentary and municipal elections held in Finland in 2003 and 2004 respectively with an online poll of non-Finns to determine how the 1,357 participating Finnish candidates ranked in terms of beauty.
University of California, Berkeley, via physorg.com: Fair and accurate elections, statistically speaking
February 18, 2011 by Monica Friedlander, ScienceMatters@Berkeley
The political controversy surrounding the Electoral College -- the institution whereby we elect the president of the United States -- is as old as the republic. In spite of recent contentious elections that raised the controversy to new heights, the debate is unlikely to reach a resolution given the compelling political considerations on both sides. But rarely if ever does the public debate on this subject take into account objective, mathematical considerations.
UC Berkeley’s Elchanan Mossel, an associate professor in the departments of Statistics and Computer Science and an expert in probability theory, believes there is an important contribution statisticians can make to the debate. He is not alone. Statisticians have subjected voting-related issues to complex mathematical calculations at least since the 18th century, when Marquis de Condorcet, a French philosopher and mathematician began using probability theory in the context of voting.
Mossel’s analyses pit the Electoral College system against the simple majority-voting system in an attempt to test the strength of our electoral system in one key aspect: how prone to error is it and, in turn, what are the odds that the outcome of an election will actually be flipped by such random error?