Once again the time is here to gather around and take a well deserved hiatus from all the politics of the day. Science talk is here. New discoveries, new takes on old knowledge, and other bits of news are all available for the perusing in today's information world. Over the fold are selections from the past week from a few of the many excellent science news sites around the world. Today's tidbits include mapping mammalian gene interactions, stone remains are Britain's earliest house, wax and soap help build electrodes for cheaper batteries, sensors more accurately measure the Chesapeake bay wetlands, and scientists discover oldest evidence of human stone tool use and meat eating. Pull up a comfy chair. There is plenty of room for everyone. Settle in for one more session of Dr. Possum's science education and entertainment.
Featured Stories
Gene mapping and study continues to be the focus of large amounts of research these days. Now a group of scientists have mapped the interactions among some mammalian genes.
Mammals, including humans, have roughly 20,000 different genes. Genes hold instructions to create proteins that determine not only physical characteristics, like outward appearance, but all bodily processes, from moving blood through the veins to stimulating the immune system to attack a cold virus. They can also be pivotal in the development of diseases like cancer.
Each mammalian cell contains the full complement of genes, although depending on the activity of the cell, not all the genes are active. The genes engage not only in one-on-one interactions but also create wide networks involving dozens of genes.
And the discoveries continue...
Stone Age remains from 8500BC in North Yorkshire contain Britain's earliest house found to date.
The house predates what was previously Britain's oldest known dwelling at Howick, Northumberland, by at least 500 years.
(snip)
The house, which was first excavated by the team two years ago, had post holes around a central hollow which would have been filled with organic matter such as reeds, and possibly a fireplace.
Cheaper lithium batteries may be on the horizon thanks to the application of soap and paraffin.
The less distance lithium and electrons have to travel out of the cathode, (researcher Choi) thought, the less resistance and the more electricity could be stored. A smaller particle would decrease that distance.
But growing smaller particles requires lower temperatures. Unfortunately, lower temperatures means the metal oxide molecules fail to line up well in the crystals. Randomness is unsuitable for cathode materials, so the researchers needed a framework in which the ingredients — lithium, manganese and phosphate — could arrange themselves into neat crystals.
Paraffin wax is made up of long straight molecules that don't react with much, and the long molecules might help line things up. Soap — a surfactant called oleic acid — might help the growing crystals disperse evenly.
And the technique allows lots of other inexpensive materials to be tested in the same way.
Wetland observation and conservation is important to our future climate. New techniques applied to the Chesapeake Bay allow better measurement of the areas.
Wetlands are critical to the health of bodies of water like the Chesapeake Bay. But many wetlands are forested, and it can be hard to see the wetlands on aerial photography because the view is blocked by the trees. Also, maps drawn from aerial photographs are subjective, causing more loss of accuracy.
With the combined data from the two types of remote sensing devices, the scientists can see whether water flows without filtration into the Bay, or whether it flows first through a forested wetland that might filter out possible pollutants.
The maps show previously unknown connections between some wetlands, drainage ditches, intermittent streams and ponds. Because forested wetlands had been thought to be isolated from each other and the Bay, the Clean Water Act did not offer them the same regulatory protections as other wetlands.
The maps also show changes in wetlands caused by drainage ditches, other construction, farming and weather. The maps can be used to predict flooding and effects of climate change.
The ancestors of modern day humans used stone tools millions of years ago.
Until now, the oldest known evidence of butchering animals with stone tools came from Bouri, Ethiopia, where several cut-marked bones date to about 2.5 million years ago. The oldest known stone tools, dated to between 2.6 and 2.5 million years ago, were found at nearby Gona, Ethiopia. Although no hominin fossils were found in direct association with the Gona tools or the Bouri cut-marked bones, at nearby Hadar an upper jaw from an early Homo species was found in deposits dated to about 2.4 million years ago and most paleoanthropologists believe the tools were made and used only by early members of the genus Homo.
The new stone tool-marked fossil animal bones from Dikika have been dated to approximately 3.4 million years ago. They were found a few hundred meters away from where Alemseged's team previously discovered "Selam" ("Lucy's baby"), a young Australopithecus afarensis girl who lived about 3.3 million years ago. The location and age of the stone tool-marked bones clearly indicate that members of the A. afarensis species made the cut marks. "The only hominin species we have in this part of Africa at this time period is A. afarensis, and so we think this species inflicted these cut marks on the bones we discovered," notes (researcher) Alemseged.
Other Worthy Stories of the Week
Top ten most wanted lost amphibians Photo gallery.
Zebra finches sing private duets
Common orchid gives scientists hope in face of climate change
Charcoal takes some of the heat off global warming
New technique to turn windows into power generators
Hotter nights threaten food security--rice at risk
Scientists show there is nothing boring about watching paint dry
Switchgrass lessens soil nitrate loss into waterways
Hitchhiking bacteria can go against the flow
Neurochip technology developed by Canadian researchers
Few genetic variations separate dog breeds
The brain's wiring more like the internet than a pyramid
London guildhall: Cradle of English literature
Oldest earth mantle reservoir discovered
The different shapes of icicles
NGC4696: A cosmic question mark
Citizen scientists discover rotating pulsar
Ocean's color affects hurricane paths
Is solar power cheaper than nuclear power?
Trend continues with second hottest July on record
For even more science news:
General Science Collectors:
Alpha-Galileo
BBC News Science and Environment
Eureka Science News
LiveScience
New Scientist
PhysOrg.com
SciDev.net
Science/AAAS
Science Alert
Science Centric
Science Daily
Scientific American
Space Daily
Blogs:
A Few Things Ill Considered Techie and Science News
Cantauri Dreams space exploration
Coctail Party Physics Physics with a twist.
Deep Sea News marine biology
Laelaps more vertebrate paleontology
List of Geoscience Blogs
ScienceBlogs
Space Review
Techonology Review
Tetrapod Zoologyvertebrate paleontology
Science Insider
Scientific Blogging.
Wired News
Science RSS Feed: Medworm
The Skeptics Guide to the Universe--a combination of hard science and debunking crap
Daily Kos regular series:
Daily Kos University, a regular series by plf515
This Week in Science by DarkSyde
This Week in Space by nellaselim
Overnight News Digest:Science Saturday by Neon Vincent. OND tech Thursday by rfall.
Weekend Science by AKMask
All diaries with the DK GreenRoots Tag.
All diaries with the eKos Tag
NASA picture of the day. For more see the NASA image gallery or the Astronomy Picture of the Day Archive.
Island universe in the Coma Cluster, NASA, Public Domain