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.
Between now and the end of the primary season, Overnight News Digest: Science Saturday will highlight the research stories from the public universities in each of the states having primary or special elections for federal or state office this year plus stories from all research universities in major cities having municipal elections as listed in the Green Papers or the 2014 Daily Kos Elections Calendar. Tonight's edition features the research and outreach stories from Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Nebraska, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Texas.
This week's featured story comes from NASA.
ScienceCasts: No Turning Back - West Antarctic Glaciers in Irreversible Decline
A new study led by NASA researchers shows that half-a-dozen key glaciers in the West Antarctic Ice Sheet are in irreversible decline. The melting of these sprawling icy giants will affect global sea levels in the centuries ahead.
From the scientist's mouth himself, here are two videos from JPL.
Runaway Glaciers in West Antarctica
Glaciologist Eric Rignot of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the University of California, Irvine, narrates this animation depicting the processes leading to the decline of six rapidly melting glaciers in West Antarctica. A new study by Rignot and others finds the rapidly melting section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appears to be in an irreversible state of decline, with nothing to stop the glaciers in this area from melting into the sea.
West Antarctica Glaciers: Past the Point of No Return
A rapidly disappearing section of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet appears to be on an unstoppable path to complete meltdown. The glaciers contain enough ice to raise global sea level by 4 feet (1.2 meters).
For more, read the JPL/NASA press release
West Antarctic Glacier Loss Appears Unstoppable as well as the stories above the fold in
Overnight News Digest: West Antarctica Ice Melt Edition by maggiejean.
More stories after the jump.
Recent Science Diaries and Stories
WATCH THIS SPACE!
Center for Naval Analyses Military Advisory Board: Climate change is severe national security risk
by Laurence Lewis
Spotlight on Green News & Views: Antarctic meltdown, renovating infrastructure, Big Coal vs. dissent
by Meteor Blades
This week in science: I see nothing!
by DarkSyde
Slideshows/Videos
io9: Look at These Ancient Egyptian Artifacts from Every Amazing Angle
The first rule of visiting any museum is "Do Not Touch." But, the Petrie Museum of Egyptian Archaeology is trying to ease that restriction, at least a little bit, by launching an interactive site where visitors can view virtual 3D objects as if they were holding them.
Mashable: 5 Rad Internships You Had No Idea Existed
By Eric Larson
The job market sure isn't what it used to be. Entry-level positions (read: internships) are usually grossly underpaid — if they're even paid at all — and likely involve menial, day-to-day tasks. Like it or not, it's the new career totem pole, and it isn't going anywhere anytime soon.
But it isn't all bad. If you're a student or soon-to-be graduate looking for a more unique internship opportunity, check out our list of cool positions below.
#2 is the American Museum of Natural History. Cool.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Texas A&M: Scientists warning growers about explosive populations of new grain sorghum pest
May 14, 2014
WESLACO – Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service scientists are warning South Texas grain sorghum producers to be on the lookout for a new insect pest that, left unchecked, could wipe out their entire crop.
Dr. Raul Villanueva, an AgriLife Extension entomologist, and Danielle Sekula-Ortiz, an AgriLife Extension integrated pest management agent, say that in recent weeks they have documented explosive populations of sugarcane aphids at levels never seen here before.
Discovery News: Why Are Bananas Going Extinct?
A new fungus called Panama Disease Tropical Race 4 is threatening to eliminate all the Cavendish bananas! Why is this a big deal, and are we able save this delicious fruit? Watch as Trace and Tara discuss this growing concern.
NASA: NASA Center Renamed on This Week @NASA
Two giants of aerospace history were honored at a May 13 ceremony to celebrate the renaming of Dryden Flight Research Center to Armstrong Flight Research Center, after the late Neil Armstrong and the naming of the center's aeronautical test range after Hugh Dryden. Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon and a former research test pilot at the center and Dryden served as NASA's first deputy administrator. Also, Space Station Crews on the Move, Asteroid Mission Gear Tested, Unstoppable Glacier Melt, Exploring Earth's Magnetic Fields, Shrinking Great Red Spot, Helicopter Drop Test, Technology Transfer University and more!
NASA: NASA's RapidScat: Watching the Winds from Space
Explore the science behind NASA's wind-watching mission, ISS-RapidScat, launching to the International Space Station in 2014.
NASA: NASA #GlobalSelfie Photos of Animal Friends
Several of the 50,000 images submitted to NASA for its Earth Day #GlobalSelfie campaign included greetings from animal friends with whom we share the planet. The photos were submitted as part of NASA's campaign to produce a mosaic "Global Selfie" to be released on May 21. The event was designed to encourage environmental awareness and remind people of NASA's ongoing work to protect our home planet.
NASA: #GlobalSelfie Photos from Schools Around the World
Schools from around the world participated in NASA's #GlobalSelfie campaign by submitting photos taken on Earth Day, April 22, 2014. 50,000 images were submitted on Earth Day and are being assembled into a mosaic image to be released May 21. The Global Selfie event was designed to encourage environmental awareness and recognize NASA's ongoing work to protect our home planet.
Astronomy/Space
Space.com: NASA's Exoplanet-Hunting Kepler Space Telescope Gets New Mission
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
May 16, 2014 01:21pm ET
NASA's prolific Kepler spacecraft is back in action, a year after being sidelined by an equipment failure.
The space agency has approved a new mission called K2 for Kepler. The telescope's original exoplanet hunt was derailed in May 2013 when the second of the spacecraft's four orientation-maintaining reaction wheels failed, robbing it of its precision pointing ability.
"The approval provides two years of funding for the K2 mission to continue exoplanet discovery, and introduces new scientific observation opportunities to observe notable star clusters, young and old stars, active galaxies, and supernovae," Kepler Project Manager Charlie Sobeck, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California, wrote in an update today (May 16).
Space.com: Near Miss: Tiny Asteroid Gives Earth a Close Shave (Photos)
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer
May 15, 2014 02:32pm ET
A small asteroid buzzed Earth Saturday (May 10), coming well within the orbit of the moon.
The near-Earth asteroid 2014 JG55 missed our planet by just 60,000 miles (96,560 kilometers), or about one-quarter of the distance between Earth and the moon. The flyby marked the third-closest asteroid near miss of 2014, researchers said.
The space rock was traveling about 22,000 mph (35,400 km/h) relative to Earth when it zipped past, they added.
Space.com: NASA's Asteroid-Capture Mission May Test New Method to Defend Earth
By Mike Wall, Senior Writer | May 16, 2014 07:21am ET
NASA's bold plan to park an asteroid near the moon may also test out a new way to protect Earth from dangerous space rocks.
Last year, the agency announced that it intends to tow a near-Earth asteroid into a stable lunar orbit, where it could be visited repeatedly by astronauts for research and exploration purposes. NASA officials are still ironing out the details of the mission, which may bag up an entire small space rock or snag a boulder off the surface of a large asteroid.
If NASA decides to go with the boulder option, the asteroid-capture mission will also include a planetary-defense demonstration, providing the first in-space test of a so-called "enhanced gravity tractor," officials said.
Space.com: Solar Winds Linked to Increased Lightning Strikes
By Stephanie Pappas, Senior Writer
May 15, 2014 02:38pm ET
Solar winds hitting Earth may trigger an increase in lightning, a new study suggests.
The research finds an increase in the number of lightning strikes after the streams of plasma and particles known as solar wind arrive on Earth from the sun. Exactly why this correlation exists is unclear, but researchers say the interaction of solar particles might somehow prime the atmosphere to be more susceptible to lightning.
"As the sun rotates every 27 days these high-speed streams of particles wash past our planet with predictable regularity. Such information could prove useful when producing long-range weather forecasts," study researcher Chris Scott, a professor in space and atmospheric physics at the University of Reading, said in a statement.
Climate/Environment
Cornell University: Climate change caused empire's fall, tree rings reveal
By Linda B. Glaser
A handful of tree ring samples stored in an old cigar box have shed unexpected light on the ancient world, thanks to research by archaeologist Sturt Manning and collaborators at Cornell, Arizona, Chicago, Oxford and Vienna, forthcoming in the June issue of the Journal of Archaeological Science.
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[T]he samples also showed a small, unusual anomaly following the year 2200 B.C. Paleoclimate research has suggested a major short-term arid event about this time.
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There was just enough change in the climate to upset food resources and other infrastructure, which is likely what led to the collapse of the Akkadian Empire and affected the Old Kingdom of Egypt and a number of other civilizations...
The Guardian (UK): Divers stage emergency excavation of historic Thames shipwreck
Archaeologists fear climate change could destroy preserved remains of the London, which blew up off Essex coast in 1665
Archaeologists will embark on an emergency excavation of one of Britain's most important shipwrecks on Sunday after discovering it is deteriorating at alarming speed because of the warmer waters caused by climate change.
The once-mighty 17th-century vessel, named the London, has lain in the muddy silt of the Thames estuary off the Essex coast near Southend-on-Sea for 350 years.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of Georgia: UGA research examines fate of methane following the Deepwater Horizon spill
May 11, 2014
Athens, Ga. - The 2010 Deepwater Horizon blowout discharged roughly five million barrels of oil and up to 500,000 metric tonnes of natural gas into Gulf of Mexico offshore waters over a period of 84 days. In the face of a seemingly insurmountable cleanup effort, many were relieved by reports following the disaster that naturally-occurring microbes had consumed much of the gas and oil.
Now, researchers led by University of Georgia marine scientists have published a paper in the journal Nature Geoscience questioning this conclusion. Their research provides evidence that microbes may not be capable of removing contaminants as quickly and easily as once thought.
"Most of the gas injected into the Gulf was methane, a potent greenhouse gas that contributes to global climate change, so we were naturally concerned that this potent greenhouse gas could escape into the atmosphere," said Samantha Joye, senior author of the paper, director of the study and professor of marine science in UGA's Franklin College of Arts and Sciences. "Many assumed that methane-oxidizing microbes would simply consume the methane efficiently, but our data suggests that this isn't what happened."
Also read the Texas A&M press release
Methane Gas Consumed Slower Than Expected After 2010 Gulf Explosion.
Biodiversity
Southeast Missourian: Agencies work to reduce Asian carp in rivers
By Samantha Rinehart ~ Southeast Missourian
Thursday, May 15, 2014
As Asian carp continue to dominate the Mississippi River, wildlife experts say eradicating the invasive species is impossible, but the growing population could be managed with help from the public.
Dave Knuth, fisheries management biologist at the Missouri Department of Conservation, said it and other agencies have been tracking fish in the Mississippi for more than 20 years. Since Asian carp were introduced in the 1970s as a biological control in commercial aquaculture, he said the fish population has grown dramatically.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of Georgia: Fish communities key to balancing nutrients in coral reefs, UGA study finds
Different fish species combinations, similar nitrogen-phosphorus ratio found in four coral reefs
May 12, 2014
Athens, Ga. - Coral reefs are among the most productive—and imperiled—ecosystems in the world. One of the many threats they face is pollution from runoff and poorly treated wastewater, which upsets the delicate balance of nutrients they require.
Recent research led by University of Georgia ecologists sheds new light on the natural nutrient dynamics of coral reefs, particularly the often overlooked but critical role of fish. Their findings, published in Global Change Biology, could help inform future research and coral conservation efforts.
Coral reefs occur in tropical and subtropical coastal waters that are naturally low in nitrogen and phosphorus. A certain amount of these nutrients is essential for coral growth, but too much can increase the likelihood of coral disease and death. Lead author Jacob Allgeier, who conducted his research while at UGA and received his doctorate from the Odum School of Ecology in 2013, has spent years studying coral reefs in the Caribbean. He suspected the fishes that gather on reefs had a role to play in regulating nutrient levels and set out to determine if—and how—they did so.
Oregon State University: Taking the Measure of Seals and Those Who Study Them
An undergrad tests her stamina on a frozen continent
By Nick Houtman
Posted on April 18th, 2014
In Antarctica, when you sedate a 1,000-pound Weddell seal, it can take a while for the animal to settle down. Before the drug takes effect, the seal might raise its head, flex its 9-foot-long body or even attempt an ungainly crawl toward an opening in the sea ice. Keeping it away from such holes is important. If it were to dive before drifting into unconsciousness, it could drown.
During a research trip to Antarctica last year, Mee-ya Monnin was concerned about seal movement for another reason. She was taking photographs for a research project and needed the animals to be still. When properly composed, her photos would become the basis for a physical check-up of sorts.
This Oregon State University undergraduate from Snohomish, Washington, has developed a method for turning seal pictures into a computer model that calculates the surface area and volume of the animal. By combining those measurements with other information — weight, age, internal and external temperatures, reproductive status and thickness of the seal’s blubber layer — an Oregon State research team is establishing a reliable baseline for monitoring seal health in the future. Leading the project are OSU marine mammal scientist Markus Horning, Jo-Ann Mellish of the University of Alaska Fairbanks and Allyson Hindle of the Harvard Medical School. The project is funded by the National Science Foundation.
Texas A&M: ‘Tiny, tenacious and tentatively toxic:’ Texas A&M scientist makes two discoveries that were hiding in plain sight
Writer: Steve Byrns
Posted on May 14, 2014 by Angel Futrell
COLLEGE STATION – Sometimes we think we know everything about something only to find out we really don’t, said a Texas A&M University scientist.
Dr. Kevin Conway, assistant professor and curator of fishes with Texas A&M’s department of wildlife and fisheries sciences at College Station, has published a paper documenting a new species of clingfish and a startling new discovery in a second well-documented clingfish.
Biotechnology/Health
Scientific American: Is Reintroducing Acorns into the Human Diet a Nutty Idea?
If harvested sustainably and treated to remove bitter tannins, acorns may once again have a more prominent place in the kitchen
By Dawn Starin
May 16, 2014
As the world’s breadbaskets strain to meet the demands of the Earth’s growing population, already more than seven billion strong, we could use another nutritional, ecologically friendly food source. Could acorns, the fruits of the oak tree, be the answer? Certainly, they are beginning to draw renewed interest in the hunt for sustainable alternative food sources.
Over the past decade various Web sites, magazines and newspapers have recommended that the occasional acorn-based items be reintroduced into our diets. With a growing interest in foraging for local, edible wild plants, eating new and ever-more exotic food items and the need (both real and imagined) for gluten-free ingredients sweeping through parts of the Western world, is it possible that acorns—small nuts that fit all of these criteria—could be on the verge of a dietary comeback.
LiveScience: What Did Ancient Egyptians Really Eat?
Alexander Hellemans, ISNS Contributor
May 08, 2014
(ISNS) -- Did the ancient Egyptians eat like us? If you're a vegetarian, tucking in along the Nile thousands of years ago would have felt just like home.
In fact, eating lots of meat is a recent phenomenon. In ancient cultures vegetarianism was much more common, except in nomadic populations. Most sedentary populations ate fruit and vegetables.
LiveScience: The Ancient Greek Riddle That Helps Us Understand Modern Disease Threats (Op-Ed)
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
By Adam Kucharski, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
May 12, 2014 12:49am ET
Even in the face of death, Zeno of Elea knew how to frustrate people. Arrested for plotting against the tyrant Demylus, the ancient Greek philosopher refused to co-operate. The story goes that, rather than talk, he bit off his own tongue and spat it at his captor.
Zeno spent his life exasperating others. Prior to his demise, he had a reputation for creating baffling puzzles. He conjured up a series of apparently contradictory situations known as Zeno’s Paradoxes, which have inspired centuries of debate among philosophers and mathematicians. Now the ideas are helping researchers tackle a far more dangerous problem.
LiveScience: Forget Folk Remedies, Medieval Europe Spawned A Golden Age of Medical Theory
This article was originally published at The Conversation. The publication contributed the article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
By Winston Black, University of Tennessee
May 15, 2014 12:11am ET
It’s often said that there was no tradition of scientific medicine in medieval times. According to the usual narrative of the history of progress, medicine in the European Middle Ages – from around the 5th to the 15th centuries – was a formless mass of superstition and folk remedies; the very antithesis of science.
And those who look in medieval medicine for precursors of modern pathology, surgery, antibiotics, or genetics will of course find it a failure. But if we’re looking for a coherent medical system that was intellectually and emotionally satisfying to its practitioners and patients, and based on written authorities, rational enquiry, and formal teaching, then medieval Europe produced one of the most influential and scientific medical systems in history.
University of Georgia: Virtual pet leads to increase physical activity for kids, UGA research says
May 14, 2014
Athens, Ga. - Placing children into a mixed reality-part virtual environment and part real world-has great potential for increasing their physical activity and decreasing their risk of obesity, according to University of Georgia researchers.
Sixty-one Georgia 4-H'ers, 9-12 years old, participated in a study designed to increase awareness and reduce childhood obesity. Participants set goals for the amount of physical activity they wanted to complete throughout the day over a course of three days. An activity monitor was worn to track their activity.
Children were split into two groups but only one group was allowed to train, exercise and play with an obese, virtual dog. The pet, and overall game platform, was developed by an interdisciplinary group of UGA researchers from the College of Engineering, Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and the College of Veterinary Medicine. UGA Extension helped find participants for the study.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
University of Arkansas: SFC Fluidics Developing Smaller, Disposable Insulin Patch Pumps
U of A affiliate company secures $2 million in investment round
Tuesday, May 13, 2014
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — SFC Fluidics Inc. recently closed a $2 million investment round that will help it commercialize a new disposable insulin patch pump for diabetics that will be smaller than any pump currently on the market.
Launched in 2003, SFC Fluidics is a medical device and diagnostics company headquartered at the Arkansas Research and Technology Park in Fayetteville. The University of Arkansas Technology Development Foundation manages the park.
The battery-powered, low-cost insulin patch pump is two inches in diameter and will offer high precision, pain-free dosing over a wide range of delivery rates, according to the company. The insulin pump pod will deliver insulin automatically and without the need for multiple daily self-injections. The pump will last for several days, after which time the entire pod can be thrown away.
University of Kentucky: Study Provides New Insight into Common Disease Affecting the Elderly
By Laura Dawahare
May 7, 2014
A genome-wide association study (GWAS) led by Dr. Peter Nelson of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging at the University of Kentucky, and David Fardo of UK's Department of Biostatistics, has provided new insight into Hippocampal Sclerosis of Aging (HS-A), a common disease affecting the elderly.
Researchers from 16 different institutions compared 363 persons with autopsy-proven HS-A to a control group of 2,303 other individuals in an attempt to identify genetic predisposition to HS-Aging.
Nelson and his team found that small changes in the ABCC9 gene -- also known as Sulfonylurea Receptor 2 -- strongly paralleled the incidence of HS-Aging. Further statistical analysis demonstrated a link between the use of sulfonylurea, a medication commonly used to treat diabetes, and an increased risk for HS-A.
Penn State: Human heart beats using nearly billion-year-old molecular mechanism
Neurobiologist Tim Jegla and his lab group find in a living, ancient sea anemone species the same gene family and ion channel that regulate the slow-wave contractions of the human heart.
By Seth Palmer
May 16, 2014
We humans have been around for about 2.5 million years, but the beating of our hearts is controlled by something much older than Homo sapiens -- an ancient molecular pathway that, according to Huck Institutes faculty researcher Tim Jegla, may be on the order of 700 million to a billion years old.
The Jegla Lab studies the evolution of the nervous and muscular systems, using model organisms such as the cnidarian Nematostella vectensis -- also known as the starlet sea anemone -- to investigate conserved traits and the molecular pathways and genes that underpin them.
Cnidarians -- comprising an ancient phylum that, in addition to sea anemones, includes animals such as jellyfish and corals -- have nervous systems that allow them to coordinate movement and respond to their surroundings, but do not have a brain or any other analogous organs.
University of Pittsburgh: Breakthrough in HIV/AIDS Research Gives Hope for Improved Drug Therapy
PITTSBURGH, May 16, 2014 – The first direct proof of a long-suspected cause of multiple HIV-related health complications was recently obtained by a team led by the University of Pittsburgh Center for Vaccine Research (CVR). The finding supports complementary therapies to antiretroviral drugs to significantly slow HIV progression.
The study, which will be published in the June issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation and is available online, found that a drug commonly given to patients receiving kidney dialysis significantly diminishes the levels of bacteria that escape from the gut and reduces health complications in non-human primates infected with the simian form of HIV. The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
“We now have direct evidence of a major culprit in poor outcomes for some HIV-infected people, which is an important breakthrough in the fight against AIDS,” said Ivona Pandrea, M.D., Ph.D., professor of pathology at Pitt’s CVR. “Researchers and doctors can now better test potential therapies to slow or stop a key cause of death and heart disease in people with HIV.”
Texas A&M: When prescription drugs cause adverse effects in the jaw
by LaDawn Brock
May 15, 2014
Attending a cancer support group presentation on the side effects of bisphosphonates gave Jerry Sawyer, 73, a jump-start on managing the symptoms when he experienced them himself.
Sawyer, a cancer survivor, learned from Dr. Charles W. Wakefield, professor and director of the advanced education in general dentistry residency program at Texas A&M University Baylor College of Dentistry, how to identify the signs of bisphosphonate-induced osteonecrosis of the jaw – a disease where bone loses blood supply and is non vital.
This condition was a side effect of Sawyer’s lengthy cancer battle, which began in late 1995 when he thought he pulled a hamstring while he was refereeing a professional soccer game in Dallas.
Psychology/Behavior
University of Georgia: Study suggests new ways of using online buzz to forecast new product sales
May 14, 2014
Athens, Ga. - Companies can significantly improve the forecasting accuracy of forthcoming products' performance by analyzing the history of online consumer buzz growth before product launch, according to a paper from researchers at the University of Georgia Terry College of Business.
Pre-release buzz refers to consumers' online conversations (e.g., in blogs and online forums) about a forthcoming product before its launch, according to the paper, which is published in the most recent edition of the journal Marketing Science.
"Consumers frequently talk about forthcoming products. Unlike conventional consumer conversations that occur in person, online buzz is curated and can be tracked in terms of date and time, and with the decline in computing and storage costs, it has become increasingly affordable for companies to keep a record of the history and evolution in consumer buzz over time," said Guyiang Xiong, assistant professor of marketing at UGA and co-author of the study.
University of Georgia: UGA study shows celebrities on Twitter can be credible brand endorsers
May 9, 2014
Athens, Ga. - Celebrities with a high number of Twitter followers and who are perceived positively in the public eye have the potential to be credible and influential brand endorsers, according to research by Joe Phua, an assistant professor of advertising in the University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Phua's study, "Following Celebrities' Tweets about Brands: The Impact of Twitter-Based Electronic Word-of-Mouth on Consumers' Source Credibility Perception, Buying Intention and Social Identification with Celebrities," was published in the latest edition of the Journal of Advertising. It is co-authored by Seung-A Annie Jin, an assistant professor of marketing communication at Emerson College in Boston.
Marketers are always searching for opinion leaders, Phua said, and a social media advertising campaign with a celebrity spokesperson can be a cost-effective, instantaneous way to reach a target audience.
University of Oregon: Oregon researchers capture handoff of tracked object between brain hemispheres
When tracking a moving object, the two halves of the human brain operate much like runners successfully passing a baton during a relay race, says a University of Oregon researcher.
In a study online ahead of print in Current Biology, electroencephalogram (EEG) measured brainwaves from healthy young adults revealed how information about an attended object — one being watched closely — moves from one brain hemisphere to the other.
Such handoffs are necessary because the human visual system is contralateral; objects on the left side of space are processed by the right hemisphere and vice versa. When objects change sides, the two hemispheres must coordinate so that the tracked object isn't lost during the exchange.
Texas A&M: Older Americans can improve fragmented sleep
by Jeremiah McNichols
May 15, 2014
In an “always-on” society, sleep may be one of the most undervalued aspects of long-term health. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who don’t get enough of it are more likely to suffer from hypertension, diabetes, depression, obesity, and even cancer. But even for those who are willing to make good sleep habits a priority, there is another factor working against you: Aging. As Americans get older, their sleep becomes poorer, both in quality and quantity.
“At ages 65 and up, over 50 percent of the population experience problems sleeping,” said Dr. David Earnest, a professor of neurobiology at the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine. “That’s a greater impact than any other health-related disorder for that age group. And the older a person, the more likely they are to have sleep disturbances.”
Independent of medical conditions and medication side-effects that can intrude on sleep, Earnest cites two key “clocks” that age along with the rest of us. One, which scientists call the “homeostat,” identifies how tired you are by monitoring the amount of a sleep-inducing substance that builds up in your brain when you are awake and how much is discharged when you sleep. The other, your “biological clock,” establishes and attempts to maintain a pattern of wake/sleep cycles based on habits and environmental cues.
Texas A&M: It’s all in the timing: Texas A&M-led study shows how ‘body clock’ impairment underlies obesity, diabetes
May 14, 2014
COLLEGE STATION – A team of Texas A&M University System scientists have investigated how “body clock dysregulation” might affect obesity-related metabolic disorders.
The team was led by Dr. Chaodong Wu, associate professor in the department of nutrition and food sciences of Texas A&M’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, and Dr. David Earnest, professor in the department of neuroscience and experimental therapeutics, Texas A&M Health Science Center.
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“Animal sleeping and eating patterns, including those of humans, are subject to a circadian rhythmicity,” Earnest said. “And previous studies have shown an association between the dysregulation of circadian or body clock rhythms and some metabolic disorders.”
Archeology/Anthropology
Vero Beach Newsweekly: Digging for the truth
By Paige Van Antwerp The Newsweekly
Posted May 14, 2014 at 12:20 a.m
As they wrap up their excavation work for this season, scientists at the Old Vero Ice Age Site are “extremely pleased” with what they’ve accomplished.
The archaeological stakes are high — establishing an earlier date for human habitation in this part of the United States — requiring that their work be slow and extremely methodical. Even so, the archaeological team has found strong evidence for human habitation as far back as they’ve been able to dig.
The Scotsman (UK): Dunragit road works unearth ancient treasure trove
by ALISTAIR MUNRO
AN IRON Age village along with a host of ancient artefacts including tools and jewellery have been discovered on a construction site of a new bypass for a Scottish town.
The treasure trove unearthed during the building of the £17 million A75 Dunragit bypass in Wigtownshire sheds new light on land use and settlement in the area over the past 9,000 years.
The Epoch Times: Ancient Tomb of a Royal Messenger Reveals Visions of the Ancient Egyptian Afterlife
By April Holloway, www.ancient-origins.net
May 16, 2014
Archaeologists in Egypt have uncovered a tomb in an ancient burial ground in Saqqara, Egypt, dating back 3,100 years, a find that scientists say adds a new “chapter to our knowledge”. The well-preserved wall paintings inside the tomb reveal scenes of funerary procession and the afterlife in remarkable detail.
Discovery News via LiveScience: Mummified Fetus Found in Tiny Ancient Egyptian Sarcophagus
Rossella Lorenzi, Discovery News
May 13, 2014 02:31pm ET
A suspected fake mummy currently on display at an Egypt center in Wales, in fact contains a fetus 12 to 16 weeks into development, CT scan has revealed.
Known as W1013, the 20-inch artifact is a case made of cartonnage — layers of linen stiffened with plaster or glue — and belongs to the Wellcome collection at Swansea University’s Egypt Center, which houses more than 5,000 objects. Most of them were collected by the Victorian pharmaceutical entrepreneur and archaeologist Sir Henry Wellcome on excavations in Egypt.
The tiny mummy came to Swansea in 1971, but nothing is known about where Wellcome obtained it.
Smithsonian Magazine: Someone Had to Build the Terracotta Army—Archaeologists Just Found Their Humbler Grave Sites
Forty-five grave sites were found only kilometers from the emperor's tomb
By Mary Beth Griggs
smithsonian.com
May 9, 2014
There are thousands of terracotta warriors, first discovered in 1974, guarding the mauseleum of the first emperor of China, Qin Shihuang. An army that big must have needed an army of workers to build it. And now archaeologists in China think they may have found the graves of some of the people who built the tomb.
Forty-five graves were uncovered within a few kilometers of the Emperor's tomb, with the International Business Times reports, "skeletal remains of people believed to have been buried in a coffin with their leg twisted." This is one clue that these crypts are connected to the terracota warriors—"twisting leg of the dead before burying was a burial custom of the Qin Dynasty," say the IBT.
The News Star: Archaeologist discovers new mound at Poverty Point
During survey work in 2011, Poverty Point archaeologist Diana Greenlee happened upon what she thought was an undiscovered mound created by the prehistoric Poverty Point inhabitants.
Additional research, including sediment tests, proved her initial assumption true. Poverty Point has another mound. It was discovered in a remote wooded area of the site and designated now as Mound F.
Science Magazine: Ancient Roman Military Camp Unearthed in Eastern Germany
Archaeologists have confirmed the presence of a long-lost Roman military camp deep in eastern Germany. The 18-hectare site, found near the town of Hachelbich in Thuringia, would have sheltered a Roman legion of up to 5000 troops. Its location in a broad valley with few impediments suggests it was a stopover on the way to invade territory further east.
“People have been searching for evidence of the Romans in this part of Germany for 200 years,” says team leader Mario Kuessner, an archaeologist working for the state of Thuringia. “It took a long time before we realized what we had, and we wanted to be sure.”
Hurriyet Daily News: Female body discovered in centuries-old tomb
ÇORUM - Anadolu Agency
An illegal excavation in the northern Anatolian province of Çorum’s Sungurlu district has unearthed a 1,900-year-old tomb.
The tomb has been removed from the excavation area by archaeologists and moved into the Çorum Museum for display.
The Art Daily: Mexican archaeologists excavate 1,600 year-old shaft tomb in the State of Zacatecas
ZACATECAS.- Although it has been known since the 1950’s that inhabitants in the southern part of Zacatecas participated in the tradition of shaft tombs, there hadn’t been a chance for the systematic excavation of these funerary contexts, until experts at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) attended the municipality of Valparaiso in order to make an archaeological salvage of one.
Under the narrow ledge of the asphalted path that leads to La Florida, an archaeological team coordinated by investigator Laura Solar discovered in 2009 the contents of a chamber that –unlike other registries of shaft tombs in this place– had remained unaltered for at least 1,600 years.
Copenhagen Post (Denmark): Rare statue of Virgin Mary found buried under church floor
Renovations reveal exceptional icon
A Limoges statue of the Virgin Mary dating from the 13th century has been found during renovations of a small church in the eastern Jutland town of Søby.
The Independent (UK): Exclusive: Found after 500 years, the wreck of Christopher Columbus’s flagship the Santa Maria
A re-examination of the photographic evidence taken during the 2003 initial survey of the site by Mr. Clifford and his son Brandon has also provided evidence which is consistent with the vessel being from Columbus’ era - including a probable early cannon of exactly the type known to have been on-board the Santa Maria.
When Clifford and his team returned to the site earlier this month, their intention was to definitively identify the cannon and other surface artefacts that had been photographed back in 2003. But tragically all the key visible diagnostic objects including the cannon had been looted by illicit raiders.
East Anglia Daily Times (UK): Leiston: Are these the bones of devil dog, Black Shuck?
Tom Potter
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Since the middle-ages, legend has spread of a fearful beast once said to stalk the region’s coastline and countryside.
Despite tales of a fiery-eyed monster showing up in graveyards, forests and roadsides - and an account of claw marks surfacing on the door to Blythburgh Church - the giant dog’s existence has been reserved to the annals of folklore.
Until now, perhaps, as archeologists have revealed evidence of huge skeletal remains unearthed by a member of the public in the trenches at Leiston Abbey last year.
Haaretz (Israel): Wall paintings recounting Crusader history uncovered at Jerusalem hospital
Burst water main in Saint Louis French Hospital uncovers forgotten wall paintings.
By Nir Hasson
May 14, 2014
The Saint Louis French Hospital is an unusual institution in Jerusalem, a city replete with unusual institutions. It was built at the end of the 19th century near the New Gate in the Old City wall, not far from the present-day City Hall. For several decades it has been serving as a hospice run by the Sisters of St. Joseph Catholic nuns.
The building contains a magnificent church, with crosses and statues of Jesus on its walls. However, in a prominent place near the entrance there is also a kashrut certificate. Among the patients are Christians, Muslims and Jews, some of them ultra-Orthodox.
Mansfield News Journal: Archaeologists excavate Harding Home's old kitchen in time for 100th anniversary
MARION — Archaeologists are digging at the Harding Home.
Their objective is not dinosaur fossils or mastodon remains, but rather evidence that might help the historic structure’s proprietors in their efforts to restore the residence of the 29th president of the United States to its glory days.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Paleontology/Evolution
Nature (UK): Mexican skeleton gives clue to American ancestry
Genetic signature from cave remains matches that of modern Native Americans.
Alison Abbott
The near-intact skeleton of a delicately built teenage girl, who died more than 12,000 years ago in what is today’s Mexico, could help to solve the riddle of how the Americas were first populated.
Cave divers discovered the skeleton seven years ago in a complex of flooded caverns known as Hoyo Negro, in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. They called her Naia, after the naiads, the water nymphs of Greek mythology. She lies in a collapsed chamber together with the remains of 26 other large mammals, including a sabre-toothed tiger, 600 metres from the nearest sinkhole. Most of the mammals became extinct around 13,000 years ago.
Also see the Penn State press release
Dating and DNA show Paleoamerican-Native American connection and the University of Texas press release
Genetic Study Confirms Link between Earliest Americans and Modern Native Americans.
Design&Trend: Bone From Extinct 'Scottish Dodo' Found During Archaeological Dig
by Mary Nichols
May 12, 2014 11:46 AM EDT
A bone from an extinct seabird called "Scotland's dodo" has been unearthed during an archaeological dig.
The bone from the Great Auk, a species last seen in British waters on St Kilda in 1840, was recovered at the Kirk Ness site, now known as North Berwick, writes BBC News.
The Great Auk's bone was unearthed during a dig at the Scottish Seabird Centre in East Lothian.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Penn State: Colorful patterns of evolution mark butterflies and bumblebees
Biologist seeks to unravel the genetics behind adaptive radiation and mimicry.
By David Pacchioli
May 14, 2014
As a graduate student, Heather Hines followed bumblebees all over the world. She was part of a successful effort to track the history of bumblebee evolution, painstakingly constructing from genetic and geographic information a comprehensive family tree.
This was no small task. The genus Bombus encompasses some 250 species, its astonishing variety reflected in a diversity of color patterns: the interchangeable bands of orange-red, yellow, white, brown and black that cover bumblebee heads, thoraxes, and abdomens. From Mexico to the Pyrenees, and from California to western Burma, Hines, now an assistant professor of biology at Penn State, helped to document these patterns in all their many iterations.
While collecting specimens in Turkey, however, she observed something else. In bumblebees in the field, Hines kept seeing the same pattern, a white-banded body with a red tail. At first she thought she was looking at many members of a single species. Peering closer, however, she noted slight differences in coloring, and realized that what she was actually seeing was bees of several different species that had adapted themselves, albeit imperfectly, to look like one. "That," she says, "is what really got me interested in mimicry."
Geology
University of Texas: Hydrologists Find Mississippi River’s Buffering System for Nitrates is Overwhelmed
May 12, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — A new method of measuring the interaction of surface water and groundwater along the length of the Mississippi River network adds fresh evidence that the network’s natural ability to chemically filter out nitrates is being overwhelmed.
The research by hydrogeologists at The University of Texas at Austin, which appears in the May 11 edition of the journal Nature Geoscience, shows for the first time that virtually every drop of water coursing through 311,000 miles (500,000 kilometers) of waterways in the Mississippi River network goes through a natural filtering process as it flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
The analysis found that 99.6 percent of the water in the network passes through filtering sediment along the banks of creeks, streams and rivers.
Such a high level of chemical filtration might sound positive, but the unfortunate implication is that the river’s natural filtration systems for nitrates appear to be operating at or very close to full capacity. Although further research is needed, this would make it unlikely that natural systems can accommodate the high levels of nitrates that have made their way from farmland and other sources into the river network’s waterways.
Energy
Georgia Tech: Making Money from Lignin: Roadmap Shows How to Improve Lignocellulosic Biofuel Biorefining
May 15, 2014 | Atlanta, GA
When making cellulosic ethanol from plants, one problem is what to do with a woody agricultural waste product called lignin. The old adage in the pulp industry has been that one can make anything from lignin except money.
A new review article in the journal Science points the way toward a future where lignin is transformed from a waste product into valuable materials such as low-cost carbon fiber for cars or bio-based plastics. Using lignin in this way would create new markets for the forest products industry and make ethanol-to-fuel conversion more cost-effective.
“We’ve developed a roadmap for integrating genetic engineering with analytical chemistry tools to tailor the structure of lignin and its isolation so it can be used for materials, chemicals and fuels,” said Arthur Ragauskas, a professor in the School of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Ragauskas is also part of the Institute for Paper Science and Technology at Georgia Tech.
Portland Tribune via Portland State University: PSU ranked in top ten colleges for conserving energy
Author: Julia Rogers, Portland Tribune
Posted: May 14, 2014
Portland State University placed in the top ten by conserving water and electricity in the Campus Conservation Nationals last week.
Out of 109 schools to participate (four of which are Canadian), Oregon schools PSU and OSU competed, with PSU earning a top ranking by saving 42,000 pounds of carbon dioxide from polluting the atmosphere and $6,446 in utility bills over three weeks.
Texas A&M: Arrays of nano-liter photobioreactors to accelerate algal biofuel development
May 14, 2014
A team led by Arum Han, associate professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at Texas A&M University, recently had its paper on microfluidic systems for algal biofuel development published in the journal Lab on a Chip as a cover article.
lab on a chip coverMicroalgae, photosynthetic microorganisms present in most water, have been envisioned as future sources of renewable biofuel. Compared to current oil-producing feedstocks such as corn and soybean, microalgae are especially more attractive thanks to their significantly higher oil content. Microalgae also can be grown in wide ranges of water, and thus do not have to compete against food production requiring arable land. However, significant improvements are still required to make algal biofuel commercially viable, such as developing better microalgal strains showing higher growth and higher oil production.
Han’s team is developing microfluidic lab-on-a-chip systems that can be used as high-throughput screening tools to quickly evaluate the growth and oil production characteristics of numerous algal strains under various growth conditions. Their paper describes how the team demonstrated the development of 10s or 100s of pico-liter sized photobioreactors on a business card sized chip. The developed microsystem utilizes microfluidic technologies to individually control light conditions (intensity and day-night cycle) for each of the 10s or 100s of photobioreactors, and was used to understand how microalgae grow and produce oil under different environment. The article also was featured as a Lab on a Chip HOT article.
Physics
Penn State: Department of Defense funds terahertz-range metamaterials research
By Walt Mills
May 16, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Metamaterials research having potential applications in high-speed data transmission, medical imaging and other kinds of imaging and remote sensing is the focus of a U.S. Department of Defense project funded for five years at $7.5 million.
Penn State is part of this six-member Multi-University Research Initiative by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The project is led by Mark Cappelli, professor of mechanical engineering, Stanford University. Also collaborating with Stanford are the University of Texas at Austin, Tufts University, UCLA and the University of Washington.
Penn State researchers will focus on the fundamental science necessary to develop plasma photonic crystals and plasma-embedded metamaterials that operate in the terahertz range. Terahertz is the region of the electromagnetic spectrum that lies between far infrared and microwave, and is a nonionizing frequency invisible to the human eye. This regime is already being used in airport surveillance and astronomy.
Penn State: Strongly interacting electrons in wacky oxide synchronize to work like the brain
By Walt Mills
May 14, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Current computing is based on binary logic -- zeroes and ones -- also called Boolean computing, but a new type of computing architecture stores information in the frequencies and phases of periodic signals and could work more like the human brain using a fraction of the energy necessary for today's computers, according to a team of engineers.
Vanadium dioxide is called a "wacky oxide" because it transitions from a conducting metal to an insulating semiconductor and vice versa with the addition of a small amount of heat or electrical current. A device created by electrical engineers at Penn State uses a thin film of vanadium oxide on a titanium dioxide substrate to create an oscillating switch.
Using a standard electrical engineering trick, Nikhil Shukla, graduate student in electrical engineering, added a series resistor to the oxide device to stabilize oscillations over billions of cycles. When Shukla added a second similar oscillating system, he discovered that, over time, the two devices began to oscillate in unison. This coupled system could provide the basis for non-Boolean computing. Shukla worked with Suman Datta, professor of electrical engineering, and co-advisor Roman Engel-Herbert, assistant professor of materials science and engineering, Penn State. They reported their results today (May 14) in Scientific Reports.
Chemistry
EmaxHealth via Portland State University: Candy and tobacco share surprising chemicals
Author: Lana Bandoim
Posted: May 12, 2014
Researchers at Portland State University have discovered a disturbing connection between candy and flavored tobacco. The study appears in the New England Journal of Medicine and reveals that the products have similar chemicals. The artificial flavorings in multiple tobacco products are the same ones found in candy items such as Jolly Ranchers.
Penn State: Pantano reflects on past, future of materials science
Longtime director of Materials Research Institute steps down to return to teaching, research.
By Matt Swayne
May 13, 2014
Carlo Pantano, Distinguished Professor of Materials Science and Engineering, has served as director of Penn State's Materials Research Institute since 1998. This month, Pantano will step down as director to return full-time to research and teaching. In a recent interview with Matt Swayne of Research Communications, he expressed his excitement about the future of materials science, and the cross-pollination happening at Penn State's Millennium Science Complex.
Science Crime Scenes
Australian Broadcasting Corporation via Yahoo! News Australia: Fresh reports of vandalism of ancient rock art on Burrup Peninsula
By Gian De Poloni
May 14, 2014, 8:59 am
Rock art in Western Australia's Pilbara region believed to be up to 60,000 years old has been attacked by vandals.
Tourist guide and Ngarluma man Clinton Walker said he had discovered a defaced piece of rock art on the Burrup Peninsula in Murujuga National Park.
"Someone has actually etched into a rock right above where some of the rock art is and wrote: 'go and work for a living'," he said.
CBS News: Theft reported at monument of President James Garfield
By Crimesider Staff CBS/AP
May 12, 2014, 9:50 AM
CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio - Police are seeking suspects after someone broke in and stole items from the James Garfield Monument at Lake View Cemetery, reports CBS affiliate WOIO.
Early Wednesday morning in Cleveland Heights, a cemetery employee found the monument door open and roughly two dozen demitasse spoons and teaspoons missing, according to the station. A lock was also missing and pieces of glass were scattered around the scene, officers said.
N.Y. Times: Clyde Snow, a Sleuth Who Read Bones From King Tut’s to Kennedy’s, Is Dead at 86
By ROBERT D. McFADDEN
MAY 16, 2014
With ghoulish geniality, Clyde Snow liked to say that bones made good witnesses, never lying, never forgetting, and that a skeleton, no matter how old, could sketch the tale of a human life, revealing how it had been lived, how long it had lasted, what traumas it had endured and especially how it had ended.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
Reuters via The Daily Telegraph (UK): Russia to ban US from using Space Station over Ukraine sanctions
In retaliation for imposing sanctions, Russia will also bar its rocket engines from launching US military satellites
May 13, 2014
Russia is to deny the US future use of the International Space Station beyond 2020 and will also bar its rocket engines from launching US military satellites as it hits back at American sanctions imposed over Ukraine crisis.
Russia’s deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin announced a series of punitive measures on Tuesday against the US in response to sanctions imposed after Russia annexed Crimea.
The two countries have long cooperated closely on space exploration despite their clashes in foreign policy.
University of Arkansas: University of Arkansas to Offer Insurance Coverage for Same-Sex Spouses
Friday, May 16, 2014
University of Arkansas benefits-eligible employees married to spouses of the same sex may now add them to the University of Arkansas employee insurance plans.
Employees will have until June 9 to complete and turn in your enrollment forms to Human Resources.
Portland Tribune via Portland State University: Cities' Green Accelerator
Author: Jennifer Anderson, Portland Tribune
Posted: May 15, 2014
While Portlanders have been biking, recycling, composting, protecting natural areas, keeping a lid on urban sprawl and developing other green infrastructure, the rest of the country has been watching.
For the past year, nine cities have been taking a page from Portland’s sustainability efforts and using the talents of 70 local experts to implement their own hometown projects.
They’re catalyzing development in their downtown areas, boosting transit-oriented development, managing their stormwater, redeveloping historic sites and taking other actions Portland has helped set the standard for.
It’s all part of Portland State University’s year-old Urban Sustainability Accelerator program, led by former Metro Councilor and 1000 Friends of Oregon director Robert Liberty.
Penn State: Hospitals recover from recession, some financial issues remain
by Victoria M. Indivero
May 12, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The recent economic recession affected hospitals across the nation, regardless of financial status, but following the rebound, financially weak and safety-net hospitals continue to struggle, according to health researchers.
"Poor financial outcomes [for hospitals] could lead to poor care," said Naleef Fareed, assistant professor of health policy and administration, Penn State. "This is an issue that needs attention as health care reform moves forward."
Fareed and colleagues used data from both the American Hospital Association Annual Survey and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to analyze how different groups of hospitals fared financially during the recession, and where these groups stand as health care reform continues in the United States.
"The effect of the recession wasn't permanent," said Fareed. "Hospitals recovered from the recession, but those that were initially financially weak before the recession remained in a precarious condition through 2011."
Texas A&M: Aggie medical students, doctors join the legislative conversation
by Jeremiah McNichols
May 12, 2014
Medical education has long focused on training future doctors to think critically, examine symptomatic evidence and plan a response. Thanks to an elective course in health care advocacy, the Texas A&M Health Science Center College of Medicine is preparing students from the medical school’s multiple campuses to serve as future health care leaders who will participate in the decision-making process that is shaping the future of our nation’s health care system.
The Texas A&M College of Medicine’s course partners fourth-year medical students with organizations that develop and propose solutions for public health problems; in the two academic years the course has been active, participation has grown from a pilot year of two students to eight in the 2013-14 academic year.
Students who participated in the pilot year focused on pediatrics and psychiatry, meeting with organizations and legislators to discuss patient needs and structural change. This year’s cohort spanned career interests in cancer, anesthesia, emergency medicine, pediatrics, psychiatry and family medicine. Participating students observed the legislative process at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, met with health care industry experts versed in public affairs, governmental relations and community outreach, as well as professional organizations such as the American Cancer Society, Texas Hospital Assosication and patient support groups like the Sickle Cell Foundation.
Science Education
KGW via Portland State University: Area students compete to make best prosthetic
Author: Joe Smith, KGW
Posted: May 12, 2014
PORTLAND -- On the campus of Portland State University, students from 13 area middle and high schools got to show off what a year of mentoring by MESA (Math, Engineering and Science Achievement) means to the students.
They're also showing how what they're doing could change the world.
The MESA challenge was to design the best functional hand prosthetic that could be used by children in developing countries.
Science Writing and Reporting
LiveScience: After 500 Years, Dürer's Art Still Engraved on Mathematicians' Minds (Op-Ed)
David Chudnovsky and Gregory Chudnovsky, New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering
May 13, 2014 01:55am ET
David and Gregory Chudnovsky are distinguished industry professors at the New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering and organizers of a series of scientific lectures on May 17, 2014, inspired by the mathematics of artist Albrecht Dürer. The following day, the Metropolitan Museum of Art will host lectures on his mysterious, symbol-laden art. The authors contributed this article to Live Science's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights.
This year marks 500 years since the creation of Albrecht Dürer's "Melencolia I," one of his three "Master Prints," widely considered the pinnacle of classical printmaking. Dürer, a Renaissance man, incorporated his world view and his deep interest in science, especially mathematics , into his prints. Among the prints, "Melencolia I" holds a special place, influencing many generations of artists, philosophers, scientists, mathematicians and students of science.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Texas A&M: Design prof’s new book to aid development of childrens’ ICUs
May 15, 2014
A new book aiding clinicians tasked with planning new pediatric and neonatal intensive care environments, authored by Mardelle McCuskey Shepley, director of Texas A&M’s Center for Health Systems and Design, is receiving favorable reviews.
"Planning for a new pediatric or neonatal ICU is daunting for most clinicians,” said Bob White, director of the Regional Newborn Program at Memorial Hospital in South Bend, Ind. “Few have prior experience, and the skills needed are far different from those they use on a regular basis,” Shepley’s book, “Design for Pediatric and Neonatal Critical Care,” he said, "fills this void in remarkable fashion."
The book, also aimed at researchers investigating these environments, includes essays from prominent voices in the field, ranging from inspired young architects and researchers to world-renowned healthcare design and research icons. It also features illustrations of work identified as exemplary or representative of new design approaches, which will help those planning new or remodeled projects to identify and examine precedents.
Science is Cool
Springer via Science Daily: Alcohol and drugs: Not just for modern humans
Date:May 12, 2014
Summary: Unlike most modern humans, the prehistoric people of Europe did not use mind-altering substances simply for their hedonistic pleasure. Researchers contend that their use was an integral part of prehistoric beliefs, and that these substances were seen to aid in communication with the spiritual world.
The Onion: Paleontologists Unearth Earliest Known Dinosaur Stickers
ISSUE 50•19 • May 15, 2014
MISSOULA, MT—Calling the discovery a major breakthrough for our understanding of the past, paleontologists working onsite in central Montana announced Thursday that they have excavated the earliest known dinosaur stickers on record.
Hat/Tip to annetteboardman for these stories.
Texas A&M: Emergency AmbiCycle™ designed to save lives in tight spots
by Rae Lynn Mitchell
May 15, 2014
AmbiCycle™ with MedEvacFrom small villages with long dirt roads to crowded cities with traffic at a standstill, maneuvering today’s ambulance during an emergency simply may not be an option. But promptly reaching patients to treat them effectively is nonnegotiable.
That’s where the AmbiCycle™ comes in. An alternative compact transportation device specifically designed to transport patients from the scene to the hospital, the AmbiCycle™ is about the width of a Harley-Davidson motorcycle, nine feet long and has three wheels.
Mark Benden, Ph.D., CPE, associate professor at the Texas A&M Health Science Center School of Public Health, and Eric Wilke, M.D., medical director at the College Station Fire Department, began design efforts on the AmbiCycle™ in the summer of 2008. During a volunteer medical trip to Uganda a few months earlier, Wilke saw a need for an emergency transportation vehicle that could navigate crowded and narrow streets in rural areas.
