Welcome to Science Saturday, where the Overnight News Digest crew, consisting of founder Magnifico, regular editors maggiejean, wader, Man Oh Man, side pocket, rfall, and JML9999, alumni editors palantir, Bentliberal, Oke, jlms qkw, Interceptor7, and ScottyUrb, guest editors annetteboardman and Doctor RJ, and current editor-in-chief Neon Vincent, along with anyone else who reads and comments, informs and entertains you with this week's news about science, space, health, energy, and the environment.
With the general election concluded, Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday will highlight the research stories from the public universities in states with runoff elections, other unresolved races for U.S. Senator or Governor, and Democratic victories for U.S. Senator or Governor, in addition to universities in cities with runoff or special elections. Louisiana is holding a runoff for U.S. Senator, Vermont has an unresolved race for Governor, and Austin, Texas, has a runoff election for Mayor. Democrats won elections for U.S. Senator in Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, Oregon, Rhode Island, and Virginia. Democrats won elections for Governor in California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Rhode Island.
Tonight's edition features the research and outreach stories from the states of Louisiana, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Virginia and the city of Austin.
This week's featured story comes from io9.
Everything You Need To Know About NASA's Next Deep Space Mission
Charlie Jane Anders
November 28, 2014
NASA is dreaming big and working hard. Orion is the result, the first step in opening up deep space exploration to humans — and hopefully, bringing people to Mars. The spacecraft undergoes its first test flight next week, and here's everything you need to know about it.
Meet Orion, NASA's New Deep Space Explorer
The largest rocket on the planet is about to carry NASA's dreams into a highly inclined orbit around the Earth. Exploration Test Flight-1, the first uncrewed full-system test flight for the new Orion spacecraft is December 4th. Here's what it is, why it's awesome, and how it's the first step in NASA's Next Giant Leap.
More stories after the jump.
Recent Science Diaries and Stories
Meteorite Sheds Light on Earth's Mantle
by enhydra lutris
This week in science: quasars hung by the cosmos with care
by DarkSyde
Slideshows/Videos
Discovery News: Top 5 Deadliest Holidays
Holidays can be fun, but they can also be deadly. Trace is here to rundown the top 5 deadliest holidays.
Discovery News: The Science Of Dark vs. White Meat
Thanksgiving day, if you eat turkey, you have the choice of eating white meat or dark meat. What's the difference? In this episode, Trace breaks down what meat is.
Discovery News: Thanksgiving Experiment: Blow Up A Pie!
In this special Thanksgiving episode of DNews, Trace and Amy decided to the explore the world of pyrotechnics with the exploding pie experiment!
LSU: Sweet Innovations - LSU's John Russin Leads New Energy Alternatives
Innovators are everywhere at LSU, even in nearby sugarcane fields. Researchers like John Russin are developing new processes in biofuels from Energy Cane (high-fiber sugarcane) and sweet sorghum, using existing Louisiana sugarcane factory infrastructure. Join the conversation at #LSUInnovation
Also read the accompanying article under Energy.
Virginia Tech: Sustainable Food Production - Virginia Tech
"Farm-to-fork" and "sustainable" have moved from the vocabulary of foodies to mainstream catch phrases to describe local and sustainable food systems. But what do those words really mean in relation to the food we eat? This course sought to find out.
Penn State University: Swift Highlights
From colliding asteroids to a star shredded by a monster black hole, this video showcases highlights from NASA Swift's decade of discovery.
Penn State University: Swift scientists discuss the mission
Swift scientists, including members from Penn State, discuss the mission, the science, and recall their personal experiences as members of the team. Video Credit: NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center.
See the related article under Space and Astronomy.
NASA: New crew launches to ISS on This Week @NASA
NASA’s Terry Virts and Expedition 42/43 crewmates, Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency and the European Space Agency’s Samantha Cristoforetti, launched Nov. 23 at 4:01 p.m. Eastern Standard Time, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Almost six hours later, their Soyuz spacecraft docked to the International Space Station – where they joined Expedition 42 Commander Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Flight Engineers Alexander Samokutyaev and Elena Serova of Roscosmos – returning the station crew to its full complement of six people. Also, First 3-D printed object in space, Orion flight test update, New airborne Earth Science missions and Happy Thanksgiving from space!
No embedding.
Science at NASA: ScienceCasts: Young Volcanoes on the Moon
The Moon might not be as dead as it looks. Researchers using NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter have found signs of geologically-recent volcanic eruptions on Earth's natural satellite.
Astronomy/Space
Penn State University: NASA's Swift Satellite marks 10 years of game-changing astrophysics
November 20, 2014
On the 10th anniversary of its launch, NASA’s Swift Gamma-ray Burst Explorer -- an orbiting space observatory with major and continuing contributions from Penn State scientists -- is recognized as one of the most versatile astrophysics missions ever flown. It remains the only satellite that can precisely locate gamma-ray bursts -- the universe’s most powerful explosions. It also is the only satellite that can monitor the explosions in space across a broad range of wavelengths using multiple instruments before these powerful bursts fade from view.
Swift carries two telescopes whose lead scientists are Penn State astronomers and a third telescope led by a NASA scientist. Science and flight operations for Swift are controlled by Penn State from the Mission Operations Center at the University Park campus. Earlier this year, NASA gave its top ranking to the Swift observatory for astronomy satellites other than two of its “great observatories,” the Hubble Space Telescope and Chandra X-ray Observatory.
University of New Orleans: Starry Success: Space Day 2014
November 21, 2014
Out of this world!
The University of New Orleans welcomed approximately 150 students from New Orleans area schools to campus on Thursday, to participate in Space Day 2014. The inaugural event was designed to introduce youngsters to the joys and challenges – and especially the important – of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) said Karen Thomas, associate dean of STEM outreach, recruitment, and retention in the College of Sciences.
Seventh and 8th graders from St. Augustine, Archbishop Rummel, Edward Hynes, Holy Cross, and Ursuline, came to UNO to enjoy hands-on activities based on a theme of another dimension: Space.
Climate/Environment
Cornell University: White Thanksgiving dreams die with warming reality
by Blaine Friedlander
November 12, 2014
If you’re dreaming of a white Thanksgiving, dream on.
For winter-hardened places like Chicago, Indianapolis, Detroit and Beckley, West Virginia, the chance of measureable snow on the ground for Nov. 27 – this year’s date for Thanksgiving – is practically nil.
In Anchorage, Alaska, the chance of measureable snow on Nov. 27 fell dramatically between 1950-79 and 1980-2013, according to data examined by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Regional Climate Center at Cornell. On the date of Nov. 27, from 1950 to 1979, there was snow on the ground in all but two of the years in which climate data were recorded. For the latter three decades, the probability of at least an inch of snow dropped to 79 percent.
...
Chances are in this new period that precipitation that once fell as snow, falls as rain. While Thanksgiving occurs late in autumn, these statistics support the idea of a warming globe, says Arthur T. DeGaetano, Cornell professor of earth and atmospheric sciences and director of the Northeast Regional Climate Center.
SUNY Buffalo: A "Tale of Two Cities?" Snowstorm has parallels to Dickens' novel, UB English professor says
By Pat Donovan
Release Date: November 20, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. – As lake effect snow bands wreacked havoc on the Southtowns while leaving North Buffalo largely unscathed, Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown and many others have called the current state of affairs a "tale of two cities."
The saying refers to the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, which is set during the French Revolution in two cities: London and Paris.
While a modern-day storm may at first glance have little to do with 18th-century Europe, the analogy isn't necessarily inappropriate, says David Schmid, PhD, a University at Buffalo associate professor of English.
Biodiversity
University of Rhode Island: USAID awards URI $24 million to lead sustainable fisheries project in Ghana
Project will benefit 100,000 people involved in the local fishing industry
Narragansett, R.I. – November 20, 2014 – The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has awarded a $24 million grant to the Coastal Resources Center (CRC) at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography to lead a five-year sustainable fisheries project in Ghana, West Africa. The grant is the largest in URI history.
The objective of the USAID/Ghana Sustainable Fisheries Management Project is to rebuild key marine fisheries stocks through responsible fishing practices.
“This will be a very challenging and ambitious project. If successful, our work with the Ghana Ministry of Fisheries and Aquaculture Development will reverse the trend in declining fish catches,” said Brian Crawford, who will move to Accra, Ghana to lead the project for URI. “With improved management, tens of thousands of metric tons of high-quality, low-cost fish protein supply can be recovered, benefiting not only tens of thousands of fishermen and women processors, but improving food security for millions of people in Ghana and its neighbors in West Africa.”
Biotechnology/Health
SUNY Stony Brook: Dr. Sharon Nachman Leads Network Involving NIH-Sponsored Study that Identifies Superior Drug Regimen for Preventing Mother-to-Child HIV Transmission
Stony Brook, NY – November 24, 2014 – The results of an international clinical trial sponsored by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has found that taking a three-drug regimen during pregnancy prevents mother-to-child HIV transmission more effectively than taking a single drug during pregnancy, another during labor, and two more after giving birth.
“This study will help us to understand the safety and toxicity of these specific regimens in HIV positive pregnant women and their children,” said Dr. Nachman, Associate Dean of Research and Professor of Pediatrics at Stony Brook Medicine, and the Principal Investigator of the International Maternal Pediatric Adolescent AIDS Clinical Trials (IMPAACT) network, which conducts the PROMISE (Promoting Maternal Infant Survival Everywhere) Study. “As these women and children are followed, we will learn more about the long-term issues that may arise from these medications.”
SUNY Stony Brook: Needleless Vaccination Developed at Stony Brook Takes 1st Place at Inventors Competition
STONY BROOK, NY, Nov. 21, 2014 – Three-time Stony Brook University graduate, Katarzyna (Kasia) M. Sawicka, PhD (’04, ’05, ’14), won first prize in the graduate division of the national Collegiate Inventors Competition for her invention of “Immuno-Matrix,” a needleless vaccination that is as simple as putting on a Band-Aid®. The first of its kind, Immuno-Matrix is a non-invasive skin patch that uses nanofibers to hold and effectively deliver a vaccine through the skin; it’s painless, self-administered, and doesn't produce bio hazardous waste.
According to Sawicka, Immuno-Matrix “busted” the 500 Dalton Rule, which argues that the molecular weight (MW) of a compound must be under 500 Dalton to allow skin absorption; Immuno-Matrix successfully delivers a molecule 250 times the size. Sawicka was among 35 students in 14 finalist teams (seven graduate and seven undergraduate) from 13 universities and colleges across the United States.
“Bringing the concept of infectious disease immunization without the use of needles to this stage is a great advancement to our field, and I congratulate Kasia and her team for their first place award in the national Collegiate Inventors Competition,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., M.D. “We are excited to see the outcome of the next phase of Kasia’s work on Immuno-Matrix.”
SUNY Buffalo: A hybrid vehicle that delivers DNA
The new transport system for DNA vaccines could help treat HIV, malaria, HPV and other major illnesses
By Cory Nealon
Release Date: November 25, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. – A new hybrid vehicle is under development.
Its performance isn’t measured by the distance it travels, but rather the delivery of its cargo: vaccines that contain genetically engineered DNA to fight HIV, cancer, influenza and other maladies.
Described recently in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the technology is a biomedical advancement that could help unleash the potential of DNA vaccines, which despite two decades of research, have yet to make a significant impact in the treatment of major illnesses.
SUNY Buffalo: Fatigue is key issue for storm’s first responders, says UB expert
By Ellen Goldbaum
Release Date: November 20, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. – With the Western New York lake effect storms entering their fourth day, stresses on first responders, National Guard members and snow-removal crews are increasing, says University at Buffalo research professor of epidemiology and environmental health and former New York State trooper John Violanti, PhD.
“The biggest problem that first responders face is fatigue,” says Violanti, a faculty member in the UB School of Public Health and Health Professions and an expert on police culture, psychological stress, illness and mortality. He has federal funding to study and measure police officer fatigue and the impact of shift work on health and performance.
“The New York State troopers and all first responders are working endless shifts, not getting home to care for their own families, sleeping at the barracks, and eating whatever they can find,” says Violanti. “The second issue is the overwhelming multitude of emergency calls to first responders that are virtually impossible to handle.”
SUNY Buffalo: UB cardiologist explains why snow can be dangerous for those with heart disease
By Ellen Goldbaum
Release Date: November 20, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Cardiac deaths during this week’s storm have occurred not just while people are shoveling but while they have been using snowblowers as well.
Both snow-removal methods have their risks, says Anne B. Curtis, MD, Charles and Mary Bauer Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine in the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and UB Distinguished Professor. She is one of the world's leading clinical cardiac electrophysiologists and an expert in cardiac arrhythmias.
“Patients with coronary heart disease or heart failure should definitely not push themselves in this kind of weather,” says Curtis, who sees patients at UBMD Internal Medicine, where she also is president and chief executive officer. “The stress puts them at risk for a fatal heart rhythm problem, cardiac arrest.
Oregon State University: Biomarker could provide early warning of kidney disease in cats
11/20/2014
CORVALLIS, Ore. – Researchers from Oregon State University and other institutions have developed a new biomarker called “SDMA” that can provide earlier identification of chronic kidney disease in cats, which is one of the leading causes of their death.
A new test based on this biomarker, when commercialized, should help pet owners and their veterinarians watch for this problem through periodic checkups, and treat it with diet or other therapies to help add months or years to their pet’s life.
Special diets have been shown to slow the progression of this disease once it’s identified.
The Oregonian via Portland State University: The Oregonian: Portland State professor unlocks virus that could lead to drugs for HIV
Author: Lynne Terry, The Oregonian
Posted: November 20, 2014
A Portland State University biology professor who's been tramping around the globe for 18 years hunting viruses has marked a breakthrough that could help patients infected with the HIV virus that leads to AIDS.
Professor Ken Stedman and his team are the first to unlock the structure of a virus found in volcanic hot springs in Japan. The discovery took their breath away: It resembled human immunodeficiency virus, which scientists had thought was unique.
Ken Stedman in lab.Kelly James.jpeg
"It's a lot like two HIVs stuck together," Stedman said. "It's a really big milestone."
His finding, made in collaboration with biologist Marc Morais at the University of Texas Medical Branch, could pave the way for the development of HIV drugs that disturb the virus' structure, making it difficult for the organism to mutate and adapt.
University of Virginia: U.Va. Discovery Could Lead to New Drugs to Stop Many Solid-Tumor Cancers
November 20, 2014
In a step forward in the battle against cancer, researchers have identified promising compounds to inhibit a key driver of many forms of the disease, including lung, prostate, colon, bladder and pancreatic cancer.
Until now, tumors caused by mutations of the gene Ras have stubbornly withstood numerous efforts to block their growth. “This has been a particular challenge,” said researcher David Brautigan of the University of Virginia School of Medicine and the U.Va. Cancer Center. “We’ve known that Ras is one of the dominant oncogenes for human disease for 30 years, so it was an obvious target for drug development. … But it has resisted attempts at direct targeting over many, many years.”
The researchers hope their discovery will lead to drugs that can slow or stop solid-tumor cancers driven by mutated Ras. “We still need to optimize these compounds and then characterize the agents for toxicity … and determine their optimal route of delivery, such as oral or intravenous, before moving to the clinic,” said lead researcher Dr. Dan Theodorescu, director of the University of Colorado Cancer Center. “But we see this work as a valuable first step in the development of a novel class of therapeutic agents.”
Psychology/Behavior
SUNY Buffalo: Measuring the fear of Ebola
UB researcher uses NSF grant to assess America’s perception of Ebola and improve communication about the virus
By Marcene Robinson
Release Date: November 24, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. – Although much of the panic surrounding Ebola has quelled, a recent Gallup poll found that Ebola is among American’s top three health concerns, provoking more fear than cancer and obesity.
It is fear that can be attributed to the virus breaching U.S. soil, says Janet Yang, assistant professor in the University at Buffalo Department of Communication.
In a new study, supported by an $84,110 Rapid Response Research grant from the National Science Foundation, Yang will survey how the public’s view on Ebola is influenced by their emotional and cognitive responses to the outbreak.
SUNY Buffalo: A 3-D, talking map for the blind (and everyone else)
Touch-responsive maps bring interactive wayfinding to a new level, providing independence to the visually impaired
By Charlotte Hsu
Release Date: November 19, 2014
BUFFALO, N.Y. — These maps are made for talking. And touching. And they’re beautiful, too.
In partnership with Touch Graphics Inc., developers at the University at Buffalo’s Center for Inclusive Design and Environmental Access (IDeA Center) have built and tested a new kind of interactive wayfinder: 3-D maps that vocalize building information and directions when touched.
The technology is designed with an important mission in mind: to help visually impaired visitors navigate public spaces like museums and college campuses.
Oregon State University: Self-regulation intervention boosts school readiness of at-risk children, study shows
11/21/2014
CORVALLIS, Ore. – An intervention that uses music and games to help preschoolers learn self-regulation skills is helping prepare at-risk children for kindergarten, a new study from Oregon State University shows.
Self-regulation skills – the skills that help children pay attention, follow directions, stay on task and persist through difficulty – are critical to a child’s success in kindergarten and beyond, said OSU’s Megan McClelland, a nationally recognized expert in child development and a co-author of the new study.
“Most children do just fine in the transition to kindergarten, but 20 to 25 percent of them experience difficulties – those difficulties have a lot to do with self-regulation,” McClelland said. “Any intervention you can develop to make that transition easier can be beneficial.”
Archeology/Anthropology
annetteboardman is taking a well-deserved night off.
Portland State University: Online archive features voices from Portland’s sustainable economy
Author: Laura Gleim, Institute for Sustainable Solutions
Posted: November 25, 2014
Wondering what New Seasons was like back in 2006 as it ramped up to take the Portland area by storm? Or how Hopworks Urban Brewery’s pubs can afford to have custom furniture made of old growth wood? Or why Portland Fashion Week staked its claim on eco-fashion? A new archive of candid audio interviews with local Portland entrepreneurs, innovators, and policy-makers has the answers.
With more than 140 interviews, and the intention to add more each year, the public online archive at Portland State University represents the hotbed that is Portland’s sustainable economy. The Sustainability History Project features candid interviews with experts in the building, farming, fashion, brewing, food, transportation, and—get this—human burial industries, among many others.
“It’s the only thing like it,” said Joshua Binus, a Portland State University Capstone instructor who launched the project in 2006 with his students.
“We wanted to get past the veneer of green marketing and see how people in the Northwest were actually incorporating sustainability strategies into their businesses and policies,” Binus said.
The Oregonian via Portland State University: The Oregonian: Oregon's population rises as in-migration accelerates
Author: Elliot Njus, The Oregonian
Posted: November 20, 2014
Migration into Oregon is increasing as the economy improves, according to new population estimates from Portland State University.
The school's Population Research Center said this week that the state's population grew to 3,962,565 in 2014, a 1.1 percent increase from 2013.
The center said 74 percent of the increase is due to migration, while 26 percent is natural increase — the number of births minus the number of deaths.
The numbers represent the population as of July 1 of each year.
Paleontology/Evolution
University of New Orleans: UNO Fossil Hunter Achieves Immortality ... Through Ancient Starfish Named in His Honor
November 20, 2014
An ancient species of starfish has been named after University of New Orleans paleontologist Kraig Derstler. Derstler, an associate professor of earth and environmental sciences and an expert in invertebrate fossils, has spent decades digging up the past. Now his name will live long into the future through Swataria derstleri, an early starfish that is approximately 450 million years old—older than dinosaurs, the Gulf of Mexico or even the Atlantic Ocean.
The species will be named in honor of Derstler, who collected the specimens in Swatara Gap, located in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Pennsylvania. According to Derstler, he spent thousands of hours during his youth collecting fossils, including significant time in Swatara Gap. In the 1970s, he published several papers on the fossils from this location and he noted that a new starfish resembled a Scottish fossil starfish. Four decades later, an expert on primitive starfish determined that Derstler's starfish was distinct and new, leading to the naming of the species.
"I am flattered to have a species bearing my name," Derstler said. "I've described new species myself, but never had one named after me. Scientific names are theoretically permanent; they are intended to last as long as we have scientific research. I doubt that Western science is exactly eternal, but it's a pretty good bet that the name will outlast me by at least a couple of centuries. It is pleasing to imagine that people will still be wondering how to pronounce my name in the year 2200."
University of Oregon: Fossils cast doubt on climate-change projections on habitats
Mammals didn't play by the rules of modeling on where they migrated to survive last ice age, says UO researcher
EUGENE, Ore. — Nov. 18, 2014 — Leave it to long-dead short-tailed shrew and flying squirrels to outfox climate-modelers trying to predict future habitats.
Evidence from the fossil record shows that gluttonous insect-eating shrew didn't live where a species distribution technique drawn by biologists put it 20,000 years ago to survive the reach of glaciers, says University of Oregon geologist Edward B. Davis. The shrew is not alone.
According to a new study by Davis and colleagues, fossil records of five ancient mammalian species that survived North America's last glacial period point to weaknesses in the use of ecological niche models and hindcasting to predict future animal and plant habitats. As a result, Davis says, the modeling needs to be fine-tuned for complexities that might be harvested from fossils.
Geology
LiveScience: Space Rock Sheds Light on Mysterious Mineral on Earth
by Charles Q. Choi, Live Science Contributor
November 27, 2014 02:00pm ET
A rock from space is giving scientists the first glimpse of a mineral long thought to be the most abundant mineral on Earth, but which researchers lacked a natural sample of until now.
This discovery could shed light on the structure and dynamics of the inner Earth, as well as the early history of the solar system, according to the new paper.
"The search for this mineral in meteorites has been going on for decades — it was just a matter of finding the right method for detecting it," said lead study author Oliver Tschauner, a mineralogist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.
Energy
LSU: From Field to Fuel: LSU AgCenter Leads Bio-energy Research
November 25, 2014
At the LSU AgCenter Sugarcane Research Center, John Russin, vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter oversees researchers developing new processes in biofuels from Energy Cane (high-fiber sugarcane) and sweet sorghum, using existing Louisiana sugarcane factory infrastructure. Currently, these factories operate only three months out of the year, so biofuel could keep them open longer by giving growers and processors opportunities for additional high-value products.
With a $17 million grant from the USDA, the LSU AgCenter and its public and private partners are developing strategies for the production, harvest, processing, and transportation logistics of biofuels in the southern U.S. The Sustainable Bioproducts Initiative is a five-year project.
Physics
SUNY Binghampton: Physicist pursues superconductivity mysteries
By Kenny Berkowitz
November 22, 2014
More than a quarter of a century after its discovery, high-temperature superconductivity still challenges condensed matter physicists. For Binghamton’s Pegor Aynajian, the key to unlocking the mystery — which will ultimately lead to widespread, high-efficiency “green” power transmission — lies in understanding a newly discovered electronic phenomenon that is entangled with the superconductor: It’s either a pull toward order or a push toward freedom.
In 2009, while he was a post-doctoral fellow at Princeton University, Aynajian used a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) to observe the movement of electrons on the surface of a high-temperature superconductor. “The electrons order themselves in beautiful charge patterns before transforming into a high-temperature superconductor,” he says.
Using intense X-rays, Aynajian and his collaborators observed these patterns within the bulk of the superconductor. This breakthrough led to the 2014 publication of a paper titled “Ubiquitous Interplay between Charge Ordering and High-Temperature Superconductivity in Cuprates” in Science.
Chemistry
Cornell University: Cornell-developed polymer has commercial debut
By Anne Ju
November 20, 2014
A sustainable, low-cost polymer developed by Cornell chemists has had its commercial debut.
The polymer, called polypropylene carbonate, is made using a class of catalysts that was invented in the lab of Geoffrey Coates, professor of chemistry and chemical biology in the College of Arts and Sciences, and further developed by the Cornell spinoff company Novomer. A formulation of the polymer is now being sold by Jowat, a German supplier of industrial adhesives, for use in polyurethane hot-melt adhesives applications.
The science behind the new polymer is a catalyst that can polymerize carbon dioxide with organic small molecules called epoxides. The key to polymerization is a catalyst that selectively alternates the epoxide with carbon dioxide molecules, resulting in plastics that are up to 50 percent carbon dioxide. Novomer uses carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide to make high-performance, low-cost plastics. Typically, plastics are made from monomers that are derived solely from fossil fuels. The use of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide results in more sustainable plastics.
SUNY Stony Brook: Stony Brook Scientists Unveil First Structure Measurements of Molten Uranium Dioxide
Published in Science, new finding and innovative method will further safety research
STONY BROOK, N.Y., November 20, 2014 – Nuclear power is part of the worldwide energy mix, accounting for around 10% of global electricity supply. Safety is the paramount issue. Uranium dioxide (UO2) is the major nuclear fuel component of fission reactors, and the concern during severe accidents is the melting and leakage of radioactive UO2 as it corrodes through its protective containment systems. Understanding—in order to predict—the behavior of UO2 at extreme temperatures is crucial to improved safety and optimization of this electricity source.
A paper published in Science and written by Stony Brook scientists Lawrie Skinner, a Research Scientist in the Mineral Physics Institute at Stony Brook University, and John P. Parise, a Distinguished Professor in the Stony Brook University Department of Geosciences, takes this understanding a big step further—providing the scientific and engineering community with the first structure measurements of molten uranium dioxide.
“We melted uranium dioxide and studied its structure using X-rays; we also studied structural changes in hot, solid UO2 before melting,” Skinner says. “We found that, upon melting, the UO2 structure goes from 8 oxygen atoms surrounding each uranium atom down to an average of 6.7 oxygen neighbors. This affects the predicted physical properties of the liquid, like its viscosity.”
University of Oregon: UO-industry collaboration points to improved nanomaterials
University of Oregon microscope puts spotlight on the surface structure of quantum dots for designing new solar devices
EUGENE, Ore. — Nov. 20, 2014 — A potential path to identify imperfections and improve the quality of nanomaterials for use in next-generation solar cells has emerged from a collaboration of University of Oregon and industry researchers.
To increase light-harvesting efficiency of solar cells beyond silicon's limit of about 29 percent, manufacturers have used layers of chemically synthesized semiconductor nanocrystals. Properties of quantum dots that are produced are manipulated by controlling the synthetic process and surface chemical structure.
This process, however, creates imperfections at the surface-forming trap states that limit device performance. Until recently, improvements in production quality have relied on feedback provided by traditional characterization techniques that probe average properties of large numbers of quantum dots.
Science Crime Scenes
Wired via Slate: This Hacker Was Threatened With 440 Years of Prison for Misdemeanors
By Andy Greenberg
November 28, 2014
Thanks in part to America’s ill-defined hacking laws, prosecutors have enormous discretion to determine a hacker defendant’s fate. But in one young Texan’s case in particular, the Department of Justice stretched prosecutorial overreach to a new extreme: about 440 years too far.
Last week, prosecutors in the Southern District of Texas reached a plea agreement with 28-year-old Fidel Salinas, in which the young hacker with alleged ties to members of Anonymous consented to plead guilty to a misdemeanor count of computer fraud and abuse and pay $10,000 in restitution. The U.S. attorney’s office omitted one fact from its press release about that plea, however: Just months ago, Salinas had been charged with not one, but 44 felony counts of computer fraud and cyberstalking—crimes that each carry a 10-year maximum sentence, adding up to an absurd total of nearly a half a millennium of prison time.
Virtually all of those charges have now been dismissed entirely. And Salinas’ defense attorney Tor Ekeland argues they were piled on based on a faulty reading of computer crime laws, possibly intended to intimidate the young hacker into a unfavorable plea or to damage his reputation. “The more I looked at this, the more it seemed like an archetypal example of the Department of Justice’s prosecutorial abuse when it comes to computer crime,” Ekeland said in an interview with Wired. “It shows how aggressive they are, and how they seek to destroy your reputation in the press even when the charges are complete, fricking garbage.”
Cornell University: Students - especially men - hold power to change rape culture
by Abigail Warren
November 20, 2014
Despite reports that one in five women are victims of sexual assault, that fact is not widely discussed in open, honest ways. Nor is it being addressed as an important national issue that will take individual action to make a difference.
Dagmawi Woubshet, associate professor of English, led a Nov. 13 discussion at the Center for Intercultural Dialogue about what men can do to change the culture of sexual assault.
Violence against women is a pressing issue, especially on college campuses, Woubshet said: “You would think a college campus is a place where we come to extend our horizon and where we find refuge. The fact that this has become a place where women’s bodies are under assault should galvanize everybody to take action.”
Penn State University: Penn State team develops simulator to train teachers to deal with bullies
Katie Jacobs
November 24, 2014
A 12-year-old boy named Alex sits on a school bus, trying desperately to shield himself from the punches thrown at him by a kid in the next seat. The blows come after his tormentors already threatened to break his bones and scared off the few friends he did have.
Alex’s crime? A wide nose, mouth that droops down at the corners and perhaps a little social awkwardness. It’s a scene in the documentary “Bully,” and one that’s often repeated in schools across America.
Bullying has become an epidemic. According to the American Society for the Positive Care of Children, one in three children report being bullied at school. But Jennifer Frank, a Penn State assistant professor, wants to help change that with a new artificial intelligence (AI) simulator.
One of the keys to stopping bullying, she said, is properly preparing teachers to interact with bullied students in an effective way — a skill that doesn’t necessarily come naturally to everyone.
University of Virginia: U.Va. Law Clinic Brings ‘True Threats’ Facebook Case to Supreme Court
Mary Wood
November 24, 2014
How authorities decide whether a threat is criminal has grown murky in a world where many of us communicate electronically, often on social media.
The Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at the University of Virginia School of Law hopes to clear up the question when instructor John Elwood argues Elonis v. United States on Dec. 1.
The clinic is representing Pennsylvania man Anthony Elonis, who was convicted in 2011 of several charges stemming from statements he made on Facebook about his estranged wife and others. At issue in the case is whether the comments, many of which were styled as rap lyrics, constituted a “true threat.”
University of Virginia: Study Identifies Why Re-Educating Torturers May Not Work
Audrey Breen
November 20, 2014
Many human rights educators assume – incorrectly, as it turns out – that police and military officers in India who support the torture of suspects do so because they are either immoral or ignorant. This incorrect assumption weakens efforts to educate officers about human rights violations.
These findings from a recent study by Rachel Wahl, an assistant professor of social foundations of education at the University of Virginia’s Curry School of Education, were published this month in the journal Law & Society Review.
“It turns out there is a fundamental flaw in many human rights educators’ approach to training programs aimed at reducing the support for, and use of, torture,” Wahl said.
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
Cornell University: Hospital exec shares how to transform urban health care
By Kenny Berkowitz
November 25, 2014
Fifteen years ago, when John W. Bluford III became president of Truman Medical Center (TMC), the Kansas City hospital was facing serious financial problems, legal issues and low morale. People saw it as a place to be treated if you were poor, uninsured or had nowhere else to go, Bluford said.
By the time Bluford retired earlier this year, the institution had completely turned around. Nationally recognized for its standard of care, TMC has grown to include state-of-the-art centers for cardiology, diabetes, emergency medicine, obstetrics, oncology, outpatient surgery and radiology. Its annual net operating revenue has increased by $283 million, and with a broad range of community-based initiatives, TMC has become widely seen as a model for innovation and civic engagement.
“If you want to change the dance, change the music,” said Bluford, quoting an African proverb on campus Nov. 13 at Cornell’s inaugural Percy Allen II ’75 Sloan Lecture in Health Care Leadership in Urban Communities, hosted by the Sloan Program in Health Administration in the College of Human Ecology. “I like that. It’s got a nice rhythm to it that reflects what we need to do as an industry, as a field, to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve.”
Cornell University: Panelists debate: Is democracy the end of history?
by Linda B. Glaser
November 20, 2014
A standing-room-only crowd in Rockefeller Hall’s Schwartz Auditorium greeted renowned public intellectual Francis Fukuyama ’74 Nov. 18 for a sesquicentennial event marking the 25th anniversary of his landmark essay, “The End of History.”
Fukuyama was joined at the “Will Democracy Have Competitors in the 21st Century?” panel by John Mearsheimer, M.A. ’78, Ph.D. ’80 (University of Chicago) and Peter Katzenstein, the W.S. Carpenter Jr. Professor of International Studies. Isabel Hull, the John Stambaugh Professor of History, served as moderator.
Gretchen Ritter, the Harold Tanner Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, noted in her introduction that the questions Fukuyama raised in his essay are as real today as when he first asked them in 1989, a point driven home by the lively disagreements between panelists during the Q&A.
University of Pittsburgh: International Team Reveals Barriers to Public Health Data-Sharing; Proposes Life-Saving Solutions
PITTSBURGH, Nov. 24, 2014 –Barriers to the sharing of public health data hamper decision-making efforts on local, national and global levels, and stymie attempts to contain emerging global health threats, an international team led by the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health announced today.
The analysis, published in the journal BMC Public Health and funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), classifies and examines the barriers in order to open a focused international dialogue on solutions.
“Data on disease surveillance, intervention coverage, vital statistics and mortality represent some of the most widely collected but also some of the most underused data,” said lead author Willem G. van Panhuis, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of epidemiology at Pitt Public Health. “Innovative methods for collection of new data are developed all the time, but a framework to share all these data for the global good is seriously lacking. Investments in routine data systems will better position health officials to address ongoing challenges as well as new public health threats, such as the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa.”
Science Education
LSU: LSU Announces 2014 AAAS Fellows
November 24, 2014
BATON ROUGE – Three LSU faculty have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, or AAAS, the world’s largest general scientific society. Each Fellow is elected by their peers for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications.
“The distinguished faculty who have been elected as AAAS Fellows represent LSU’s high level of research expertise and impact as recognized by worldwide leaders in their respective fields,” said Kalliat T. Valsaraj, vice chancellor for research and economic development of the LSU Office of Research and Economic Development.
The newly elected 2014 AAAS Fellows include:
Harry H. Roberts, director of the Coastal Studies Institute and Boyd Professor in the Department of Oceanography and Coastal Sciences, School of the Coast and Environment has been elected for his distinguished contributions to the field of deltaic and marine geology, particularly for understanding the sedimentary history of the Mississippi Delta and other delta systems.
George G. Stanley, professor in the Department of Chemistry, College of Science has been elected for his distinguished contributions to homogeneous catalysis involving bimetallic cooperativity and for creating the LSU ChemDemo Program - the world's largest chemistry service-learning effort.
Carol M. Wicks, Frank W. and Patricia Harrison Family Professor in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, College of Science has been elected for her distinguished contributions to the field of environmental science, particularly studies of karst and coastal groundwater systems; and for leadership in national science organizations.
SUNY Stony Brook: Two SBU Professors Elected AAAS Fellows
Erwin London and Clinton Rubin to be honored for contributions to science and society
STONY BROOK, N.Y., November 25, 2014 – TwoStony Brook University Professors – Erwin London and Clinton Rubin – have been elected Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) for their efforts advancing science or its applications. Professors London and Rubin are among the 401 AAAS members elevated to the rank of Fellow who will be honored at the Fellows Forum held during the AAAS Annual Meeting in February 2015 in San Jose, Calif. This year’s AAAS Fellows will be formally announced at the AAAS News & Notes section of the journal Science on the November 28, 2014.
“This year’s selection of two internationally recognized Stony Brook scholars is indicative of the tremendous impact they have in their respective science fields,” said Stony Brook University President Samuel L. Stanley Jr., MD. “Professors London and Rubin join the growing ranks of Stony Brook’s AAAS fellows, and their work exemplifies one of Stony Brook’s strengths, the broad field of biomedical research.”
Penn State University: Eight Penn State researchers named AAAS Fellows
By Matt Swayne
November 24, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Eight Penn State faculty members have been named Fellows of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the organization announced today.
The 2014 Fellows are Craig Eugene Cameron, Eberly Chair Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Douglas R. Cavener, professor and head of biology; Joanna Floros, Evan Pugh Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics and Gynecology; Andrea M. Mastro, professor of microbiology and cell biology; B. Franklin Pugh, Evan Pugh Professor and Willaman Chair in Molecular Biology; Teh-hui Kao, Distinguished Professor of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology; Christine Dolan Keating, professor of chemistry; and Michael T. Green, associate professor of chemistry.
The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest general scientific society and the publisher of the journal Science. Election as an AAAS Fellow is an honor bestowed upon members by their peers. This year, 401 Fellows were selected for their scientifically or socially distinguished efforts to advance science or its applications. The Fellows will receive certificates and pins on Feb. 14 at the AAAS Fellows Forum during the 2015 AAAS Annual Meeting in San Jose, California.
Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech leads state's universities with most 2014 American Association for Science Fellows
BLACKSBURG, Va., Nov. 25, 2014 – Three Virginia Tech professors have been named Fellows of the American Association for the advancement of Science, according to an announcement from the world's largest scientific society.
Virginia Tech’s total of three new Fellows leads all Virginia universities. They are among 401 scholars elected to the association in 2014.
Honored were Madhav V. Marathe, director of the Network Dynamics and Simulation Science Laboratory at the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute; Joseph C. Pitt, a professor of philosophy in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences; and Stephanie Shipp, deputy director of the Social and Decision Analytics Laboratory of the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute at the Virginia Tech Research Center — Arlington.
University of Virginia: ‘Room of Errors’ Challenges Health Care Providers to Hone Teamwork Skills
Christine Phelan Kueter
November 23, 2014
Ten clinicians stride into a hospital room and immediately begin to examine the scene.
An IV bin is bursting with syringes. Unclamped oxygen sensors hang idly on the bed. And bloodied gauze, an open vial of antibiotics and a poorly placed toileting chair expose this patient – a computerized high-fidelity “Sim Man” in the University of Virginia School of Nursing’s Clinical Simulation Learning Center – to a multitude of hazards.
Welcome to the “Room of Errors.”
University of Vermont: Undergrad Access to Med School Mentors
UVM's on-campus College of Medicine and teaching hospital provide unique opportunities to undergrads
By Sarah Zobel
11-19-2014
Kathleen Bashant is busy in the research lab of Dr. Ralph Budd, a faculty member at the University of Vermont’s College of Medicine, working on a project for the third straight year. She’s part of a team that is looking at dendritic cell and gamma delta T cell interactions and their role in the immune system -- in particular, in Lyme arthritis. She spends hours every week conducting tissue culture experiments and trying to come up with a procedure for how best to isolate the gamma delta T cells.
Bashant seems like an ambitious graduate student on her way to a Ph.D., but she doesn’t even have an undergraduate diploma. She’s a junior in UVM’s Honors College, double-majoring in microbiology and molecular genetics, and a prime example of the special cross-cultural relationship between the university’s undergraduate life sciences departments and its top ranked, on-campus College of Medicine.
The medical college’s location in the heart of campus might not seem like a big deal, but it’s highly unusual. Most medical colleges are located across town, or across the state, from their home universities.
Science Writing and Reporting
LSU: InScience Press to Publish “Construction of Social Psychology,” Edited by LSU’s Brij Mohan
November 25, 2014
BATON ROUGE – InScience Press presents the upcoming publication “Construction of Social Psychology,” a book edited by LSU Professor Brij Mohan, dean emeritus of the School of Social Work. The book, available in early 2015, will consist of results of research and developments conducted by authors focusing on social psychology and its multi-disciplinary connections.
To present the latest research and developments in a number of social psychology and related areas, “Construction of Social Psychology” counts on researchers, teachers, students and professionals in in the field of social psychology. InScience Press invited prospective authors to submit a one-page proposal and, if accepted, a full complete chapter with 3,000-5,000 words was added to this manuscript.
The upcoming publication is extended to achieve various topics such as the archeology of social psychology; contemporary social psychology/current issues and future problems; comparative aspects; social psychology of human and social development; and social practice.
LSU: A New Understanding of the Battle of New Orleans
November 25, 2014
BATON ROUGE – Perhaps no conflict in American history is more important yet more overlooked and misunderstood than the War of 1812. Begun by President James Madison after decades of humiliating British trade interference and impressment of American sailors, the war in many ways was the second battle for United States independence. Ronald Drez’s “The War of 1812, Conflict and Deception: The British Attempt to Seize New Orleans and Nullify the Louisiana Purchase,” published by LSU Press, reconsiders this war and the crucial role of the Battle of New Orleans.
At the climax of the war – inspired by the defeat of Napoleon in early 1814 and the perceived illegality of the Louisiana Purchase – the British devised a plan to launch a three-pronged attack against the northern, eastern and southern U.S. borders. Concealing preparations for this strike by engaging in negotiations in Ghent, Britain meanwhile secretly issued orders to seize New Orleans and wrest control of the Mississippi and the lands west of the river. They further instructed British commander Gen. Edward Pakenham not to cease his attack if he heard rumors of a peace treaty. Great Britain even covertly installed government officials within military units with the intention of immediately taking over administrative control once the territory was conquered.
Science is Cool
Cornell University: Roller coaster fans form a club and win a prize
By Bill Steele
November 26, 2014
Some career counselors say that what you do for fun might be the thing you ought to do for a living. So it shouldn’t be a surprise that a group of students have formed a club dedicated to the engineering side of roller coasters and other amusement park rides. The Cornell Theme Park Engineering Group, formed early this semester, got off to a good start by winning a prize in the first annual Ryerson T.H.R.I.L.L. Invitational Design Competition, Oct. 30-Nov. 1 at Ryerson University in Toronto.
Members are not all engineers, according to club president Ronnie Forster, M.E. ’17. There are also students in urban studies and applied economics and management. But all are dedicated riders of coasters and other amusement park rides, he said, and some are considering careers in the industry. Forster himself is planning to do a co-op program with Premier Rides, a major roller coaster builder.
In the Ryerson competition, sponsored by the Ryerson Thrill Club and judged by industry experts, student groups from Cornell, Drexel University in Philadelphia and the Universities of Guelph and Waterloo in Ontario competed in three categories. The first was to design a coaster inspired by the RAF Spitfire fighter plane; the Cornellians designed a coaster whose cars are mounted as “wings” spreading beyond the track so passengers ride with nothing beneath them.
The second challenge was to create a modification to the classic carousel. The Cornell proposal was a ride that preserves and greatly increases the up and down and around motion, but with “spaceship” cars instead of horses, and outer space lighting effects.
Penn State University: Penn State crop educator explores drone-driven crop management
Julie Eble
November 21, 2014
A flock of pigeons flies over the soybean field where J. Craig Williams is standing. He reaches down and rips off a brown pod from one of the withered plants and splits it open. Grabbing a tiny bean between his calloused fingers, he flips it up into his mouth and bites down. “You want them to crack or pop between your teeth,” he said while chewing on the brown bean. “That’s how you know when they’re mature and ready for harvest.”
Williams, a Penn State Extension dairy and crop educator, is experimenting with soybean plots like this one in rural, northern Pennsylvania as part of a $9,200 grant provided by the Pennsylvania Soybean Board. When ready, the matured beans from his test plots will be harvested to determine each variety’s yield and then sold to a local grain mill as soymeal for livestock.
But the pigeons aren’t the only things flying over Williams’ head. The buzzing sound of a small hobby plane pierces the country calm as the tiny aircraft moves back and forth across the field in an organized flight path. Williams is operating it remotely from the ground through his iPad. “We’re assessing drones to see how they might be used in agriculture,” he said.
Virginia Tech: Student researcher studies the core of cider production
BLACKSBURG, Va., Nov. 20, 2014 – It’s been said that the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. But one Virginia Tech student researcher is interested in a different phenomenon: how many apples fall from the tree, and how does this affect cider quality?
Meg McGuire of Dublin, Virginia, a senior majoring in food science in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, is interested in how the crop yield of apple trees affects the apple quality and ultimately, cider quality.
Over the past 10 years, entrepreneurial cider-making has enjoyed a boom in Virginia with more than 10 licensed commercial cideries in operation. This industry is expected to continue to boost Virginia’s economy for a long time to come.
Wine production is also popular in the region, but McGuire believes that cider making could equal or even bypass that industry, noting that in many areas of the state, climate and soil are much more conducive to apple growing than grape growing.
