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, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, and Vermont and the city of Austin.
This week's featured story comes from Space.com.
Philae Lander Sniffed Out Organics in Comet's Atmosphere
by Miriam Kramer, Space.com Staff Writer
November 19, 2014 11:57am ET
The first probe ever to land on the surface of a comet performed some serious science before going into hibernation. Europe's Philae lander found organic molecules in the comet's atmosphere and discovered that the frigid object's surface is as hard as ice.
On Nov. 12, the European Space Agency's Philae became the first probe to softly land on the face of a comet. After being released from the Rosetta orbiter, the lander actually bounced off Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko twice before coming to its current less-than-ideal resting spot. Because of the low sunlight conditions, Philae went into hibernation after only about 57 hours on the comet when its primary batteries depleted. But the probe still beamed back a wealth of science during its short initial life on the icy body.
While it will take scientists a while to sift through the data collected by Philae, it looks like the probe has sent home some interesting new results. Before shutdown, one of Philae's instruments managed to "sniff" the first organic molecules detected in the atmosphere of the comet, officials with the DLR German Aerospace Center said. However, scientists still aren't sure what kind of organics — carbon-containing molecules that are the building blocks of life on Earth — were found.
More stories after the jump.
Slideshows/Videos
Michigan State University: Faculty Stories: Alan Beretta
Alan Beretta and a team of graduate stundents are using their EEG lab to study language linguistics in a variety of ways. Hear their story!
Also read the related story under Psychology.
NASA Goddard: A Year in the Life of Earth's CO2
An ultra-high-resolution NASA computer model has given scientists a stunning new look at how carbon dioxide in the atmosphere travels around the globe.
NASA: NASA is with you when you fly on This Week @NASA
NASA invited social media members Nov. 18 and 19 to the agency’s Armstrong Flight Research Center for a two-day event highlighting the ways NASA is with you when you fly. The NASA social gave participants an exclusive look at the latest tools and technologies being developed to improve the efficiency, safety and adaptability of air transportation. Also, Next ISS crew trains, 3D printer installed in space, Asteroid capture technology test, Journey to Mars media day and more!
NASA/JPL: Extreme Shrimp May Hold Clues to Alien Life
This extreme oasis of life deep in the Caribbean Sea may hold clues to life on other planetary bodies, including Jupiter's moon Europa.
NASA/JPL: Europa: Ocean World
S
cientists believe there is an ocean hidden beneath the surface of Jupiter's moon Europa. NASA-JPL astrobiologist Kevin Hand explains why scientists are so excited about the potential of this ice-covered world to answer one of humanity's most profound questions.
NASA Goddard: Asteroid Bennu's Journey
Bennu's Journey is a 6-minute animated movie about NASA's OSIRIS-REx mission, Asteroid Bennu, and the formation of our solar system. Born from the rubble of a violent collision, hurled through space for millions of years, Asteroid Bennu has had a tough life in a rough neighborhood - the early solar system. Bennu's Journey shows what is known and what remains mysterious about the evolution of Bennu and the planets. By retrieving a sample of Bennu, OSIRIS-REx will teach us more about the raw ingredients of the solar system and our own origins.
Astronomy/Space
Space.com: Unlocking the Secrets of an Alien World's Magnetic Field
by Charles Q. Choi, Space.com Contributor
November 20, 2014 02:01pm ET
The strength of an alien world's magnetic field may have been deduced for the first time, by analyzing extraordinarily fast winds slamming against it from the planet's star, researchers say.
This research could help gauge the strength of other exoplanets' magnetic fields as well, scientists say.
The magnetic field of a planet can influence its evolution in crucial ways. "It works as a shield against stellar wind particles, which erode the atmosphere, so it is important to know if this field is big or small," said study lead author Kristina Kislyakova, a planetary scientist at the Austrian Academy of Sciences, in Graz.
Space.com: Cassini Spacecraft Sees Swirling Clouds on Saturn (Photo)
by Calla Cofield, Space.com Staff Writer
November 20, 2014 04:13pm ET
A sublime picture of Saturn's clouds shows swirls of mixing material, like paint spiraling in water or cream whirling through coffee.
NASA's Cassini spacecraft captured this intimate snapshot of Saturn on Aug. 23 while flying about 1.1 million miles (1.7 million kilometers) from the ringed planet, though the space agency unveiled the image on Monday (Nov. 17) as an image feature.
Saturn's curling clouds are not so different from milk swirling in a cup of joe: Both are examples of fluid dynamics, or the way liquids and gasses move and behave. The conditions in Saturn's atmosphere have created some unique formations, like a hexagon-shaped cloud.
Space.com: Asteroid Impact Threat: Experts Report on Early-Warning Strategies
by Leonard David, Space.com's Space Insider Columnist
November 20, 2014 06:40am ET
The danger of an asteroid smacking into Earth is a clear and present hazard, underscored by the huge fireball and shattering explosion that occurred over Chelyabinsk, Russia, in February 2013.
That event served as a global wake-up call — for both politicians and the public — that Earth is not impervious to "out of the blue" asteroid strikes. But how should researchers pool together the expertise of the world's many existing scientific agencies to not only discover and track objects but also to generate early warnings of a potential impact?
For its part, a dedicated United Nations Action Team 14 has been deliberating over the years regarding the gathering and analysis of near-Earth object (NEO) data to provide timely warnings to national authorities should a potentially hazardous NEO threaten Earth. That work, in part, has helped produce an International Asteroid Warning Network (IAWN).
Climate/Environment
University of Michigan: What agricultural 'ecosystems on steroids' are doing to the air
November 19, 2014
ANN ARBOR—In a study that identifies a new, "direct fingerprint" of human activity on Earth, scientists have found that agricultural crops play a big role in seasonal swings of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
The new findings from Boston University, the University of Michigan and other institutions reveal a nuance in the carbon cycle that could help scientists understand and predict how Earth's vegetation will react as the globe warms.
Agriculture amplifies carbon dioxide fluctuations that happen every year. Plants suck up CO2 in the spring and summer as they blossom. Then they release it in the fall and winter as they decompose.
The study authors point out that these seasonal effects are distinct from the overall upward trend in CO2 levels that's the main culprit of climate change. While farming does contribute to that upward trend, the seasonal swings themselves don't.
Michigan State University: China's 'not so great' wall
November 21, 2014
China’s second great wall, a vast seawall covering more than half of the country’s mainland coastline, is a foundation for financial gain – and also a dyke holding a swelling rush of ecological woes.
A group of international sustainability scholars, including Jianguo “Jack” Liu, director of Michigan State University’s Center for Systems Integration and Sustainability, in a paper published today in Science magazine, outline the sweeping downsides of one of China’s efforts to fuel its booming economy, downsides that extend beyond China.
China’s coastal regions are only 13 percent of the country’s land area, but contribute 60 percent of its gross domestic product. With that come layers of incentives to turn lush wetlands into engines of development and industry. To create more land for development, China has constructed a new “Great Wall” – a seawall covering more than 50 percent of the total length of coastline along mainland China.
Yet the scientists outline vast ecological costs that don’t appear instantly on balance sheets.
Biodiversity
Michigan State University: MSU researchers find Michigan's snowshoe hare population dropping off
November 17, 2014
Researchers have concluded that Michigan’s snowshoe hare population is declining at an alarming rate, and they are linking this problem partially to the effects of climate change.
Gary Roloff, associate professor in the Michigan State University Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, spearheaded the research as part of a study funded by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to track the decline of snowshoe hares.
Researchers found that snowshoe hares have disappeared from nearly half of the sites studied in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. In the Upper Peninsula, 27 percent of sites are now missing the snowshoe hare. In total, the research team studied 134 sites where snowshoe hares were historically found in Michigan.
Biotechnology/Health
National Geographic News: More Than Ebola, Other Tropical Diseases Pose Growing Threat to U.S.
Three tropical diseases—dengue, chagas, and chikungunya—may establish U.S. footholds
By Katherine Hobson for National Geographic
Published November 19, 2014
The United States' latest brush with Ebola shows that, more than ever, diseases are global travelers.
A physician died at a Nebraska hospital on Monday after contracting the disease in Sierra Leone, where he was working. A New York physician came down with Ebola last month after working in West Africa, sparking quarantines for returning health workers in some states. Earlier in October, a man died in Dallas after becoming infected in Liberia.
But Ebola isn't the tropical disease that's most likely to cause health problems in the United States—not by a long shot. A handful of other tropical diseases pose much more realistic threats. And they're spread by insects, which can't be quarantined.
Until now, most of the cases in the U.S. have been diagnosed in travelers. But infectious disease specialists worry that these tropical diseases could gain a foothold in local insect populations, spread to more people locally, and become a much bigger problem in the near future.
University of Michigan: Newly discovered hormone points to potential treatment for obesity, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease
November 17, 2014
ANN ARBOR—Researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered how a previously unknown hormone serves as a messenger from fat cells to the liver and are investigating the potential of developing a new treatment for metabolic disorders.
Jiandie Lin of the Life Sciences Institute described how in mice the hormone, NRG4, is secreted by so-called brown fat cells and communicates with the liver to regulate the conversion of sugar into fat. Mice without NRG4 became obese and developed hallmarks of type 2 diabetes and fatty liver disease. When scientists genetically elevated NRG4 levels in these mice, however, the animals were protected from these metabolic disorders when fed a high-calorie, high-fat diet. The research was published today in Nature Medicine.
Brown fat is darker due to its high mitochondrial content, and has been widely assumed to generate heat and "burn" calories through a process called thermogenesis. However, Lin said, there was a paradox in the research field: When scientists disrupted brown fat formation, mice became more prone to obesity, but the removal of the protein responsible for generating heat only had modest effects on body weight.
"So we figured that brown fat must be doing something besides dissipating heat," Lin said.
University of Michigan: U-M-led study adds to understanding of how phthalate exposure impacts pregnancy
November 17, 2014
ANN ARBOR—In recent years, scientists have linked chemicals known as phthalates with complications of pregnancy and fetal development.
Now, a study led by researchers at the University of Michigan School of Public Health sheds light on the mechanism that may be to blame.
Phthalates are chemicals used to make plastic materials more flexible and can also be found in personal care products such as perfumes, deodorants and lotions. They can enter the human body by being ingested, inhaled or through the skin. Most often phthalates are metabolized and excreted quickly, but constant contact with them means that nearly everyone in the United States is exposed, some more than others.
Michigan State University: Bad marriage, broken heart?
November 19, 2014
Older couples in a bad marriage – particularly female spouses – have a higher risk for heart disease than those in a good marriage, finds the first nationally representative study of its kind.
The findings suggest the need for marriage counseling and programs aimed at promoting marital quality and well-being for couples into their 70s and 80s, said lead investigator Hui Liu, a Michigan State University sociologist.
“Marriage counseling is focused largely on younger couples,” said Liu, associate professor of sociology. “But these results show that marital quality is just as important at older ages, even when the couple has been married 40 or 50 years.”
Wayne State University: Young Children, Energy Drinks a Dangerous Combination
November 17, 2014
Study Highlights:
- More than 40 percent of reports to the National Poison Data System for “energy drink exposure” in a three-year span involved children younger than 6.
- The effects of energy drinks in the reported cases included abnormal heart rhythms and seizures.
- Researchers call for better labeling of energy drinks’ high caffeine content and subsequent health consequences.
Wayne State University: Research shows anti-HIV medicines can cause damage to fetal hearts
Just-published findings in the journal AIDS raise concern about potential long-term harmful impact of “antiretroviral therapy” on in-utero infants whose mothers are HIV-positive, but who are not infected with HIV themselves.
November 19, 2014
DETROIT, Mich., Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2014 – A study by a Children’s Hospital of Michigan, Detroit Medical Center research team is shedding new light on the troubling question of whether the drugs often given to HIV-positive pregnant women can cause significant long-term heart problems for the non-HIV-infected babies they carry.
The study recently published in the journal AIDS shows that while the HIV medications have been successful in helping to prevent the transmission of the virus from mother to infant, they are associated with persistently impaired development of heart muscle and reduced heart performance in non-HIV-infected children whose mothers received the medicines years earlier.
“What our study indicates is that there’s potentially a long-term price to be paid for protecting the children of HIV-infected mothers from the virus,” said Steven Lipshultz, M.D., pediatrician-in-chief at the Children’s Hospital of Michigan and chair of pediatrics for the Wayne State University School of Medicine. Dr. Lipshultz is a specialist in the study of long-term toxic cardiac effects among children affected by cancer and HIV drug therapies.
University of Minnesota: New study reveals why some people may be immune to HIV-1
Natural genetic variation in a protective antiviral enzyme holds promise for new therapies
November 19, 2014
Doctors have long been mystified as to why HIV-1 rapidly sickens some individuals, while in others the virus has difficulties gaining a foothold. Now, a study of genetic variation in HIV-1 and in the cells it infects reported, by University of Minnesota researchers in this week’s issue of PLOS Genetics, has uncovered a chink in HIV-1’s armor that may, at least in part, explain the puzzling difference — and potentially open the door to new treatments.
HIV-1 harms people by invading immune system cells known as T lymphocytes, hijacking their molecular machinery to make more of themselves, then destroying the host cells — leaving the infected person more susceptible to other deadly diseases. T lymphocytes are not complete sitting ducks, however. Among their anti-virus defense mechanisms is a class of proteins known as APOBEC3s that have the ability to block the HIV-1’s ability to replicate. However, HIV-1 has a counter-defense mechanism — a protein called Vif that cons the T lymphocytes into destroying their own APOBEC3.
Suspecting differential susceptibility to HIV-1 might be related to genetic variations in this system, a research team led by Professor Reuben Harris of the University’s College of Biological Sciences and Medical School and doctoral student Eric Refsland, took a closer look. First, the researchers found that HIV-1 infection boosts the production of one kind of APOBEC3, APOBEC3H — suggesting it’s a key player in fighting back. Then, using an experimental technique known as separation of function mutagenesis, they discovered that different people have different strengths/potencies of APOBEC3H, with some proteins expressed stably and others inherently unstable. The stable variations, the researchers found, were able to successfully limit HIV-1’s ability to replicate if the infecting virus had a weak version of Vif — but not for HIV-1 viruses that had strong Vif.
University of Texas: Study Identifies Early Warning Signs of Stroke Risk in Blacks
November 20, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — Researchers in The University of Texas at Austin’s College of Education have found that a blood flow impairment in blacks that puts them at higher risk for cerebrovascular diseases like stroke appears at a much earlier age than previously thought.
Prior research has identified a blood flow difference in several regions of the body between older whites and blacks. This study is the first to spot blood flow impairment in a relatively young population that is free of cardiovascular and metabolic disease and to discover that a blood vessel in the brain is involved.
The appearance of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular blood flow problems at an early age means that blacks have a longer time for the condition to progressively worsen and develop into full-blown diseases with advancing age.
Psychology/Behavior
Michigan State University: Trouble with your boss? Own it.
November 21, 2014
Don’t get along with your boss? Your job performance may actually improve if the two of you can come to grips with the poor relationship.
A new study led by Michigan State University business scholars finds that workers are more motivated if they and their supervisors see eye-to-eye about a bad relationship than if they have different views about their relationship. The findings are published in the Academy of Management Journal.
“Seeing eye-to-eye about the employee-supervisor relationship is equally, if not more important than the actual quality of the relationship,” said Fadel Matta, lead investigator on the study and a management researcher in MSU’s Broad College of Business.
Michigan State University: Alan Beretta: Leading Brain and Language Connectivity
November 17, 2014
In my time at MSU my research has involved looking at various aspects of neurolinguistics, a very general term that encompasses any effort that seeks to determine the relation between language and brain. For instance, that could be brain damage leading to language deficits; a number of colleagues and I have looked at that in various languages.
It was surprising to find out that if you suffer a stroke that affects your language, that it could result in selective differences.
There will be certain sentences you’ll understand well, and others that you will not understand well. You can make certain predictions: if you're bad at understanding a sentence with a certain structure, then you should also be bad at understanding a sentence with a related structure.
University of New Mexico: Conflict biases learning: less reward, more aversion
Researchers add touch of conflict to make learning a task more difficult
By Steve Carr
November 20, 2014
Seek reward, avoid punishment – it’s a simple, well-established concept of learning long-known to humans. But new research puts a spin on that concept: rewards can become less appealing and punishments more enduring if the learning took place under even subtle degrees of cognitive conflict.
Researchers at the University of New Mexico and Brown University tested the concept in a new study by adding more conflict to some trials while holding rewards and punishments constant. People showed subtle biases to prefer the trials that they had previously learned without conflict.
The study, titled “Conflict acts as an implicit cost in reinforcement learning” and published recently in Nature Communications, was led by UNM Department of Psychology Assistant Professor James Cavanagh, and Brown University Associate Professor Michael Frank.
University of Texas: For Women, Job Authority Adds to Depression Symptoms
November 20, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — Job authority increases symptoms of depression among women, but decreases them among men, according to a new study from University of Texas at Austin sociologist Tetyana Pudrovska.
“Women with job authority — the ability to hire, fire and influence pay — have significantly more symptoms of depression than women without this power,” said Pudrovska, the lead author of the study. “In contrast, men with job authority have fewer symptoms of depression than men without such power.”
The study, “Gender, Job Authority, and Depression,” published in the December issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, considered more than 1,300 middle-aged men and 1,500 middle-aged women who graduated from high schools in Wisconsin.
University of Texas: Conflicts and In-School Suspensions Drop Sharply at Middle School During Second Year of “Restorative Discipline” Initiative
November 18, 2014
AUSTIN, Texas — Truancy, bullying and other conflicts among students are down, and in-school suspensions have declined 75 percent at a San Antonio middle school two years after University of Texas at Austin researchers helped implement “restorative discipline” as an alternative to “zero tolerance” in dealing with these issues, according to second-year findings involving a three-year initiative.
The marked improvement at Ed White Middle School in San Antonio’s North East Independent School District also was reflected by its being ranked in the top 25 percent statewide for improved progress this year, said Marilyn Armour, a professor at The University of Texas at Austin’s School of Social Work and director of the Institute for Restorative Justice and Restorative Dialogue. She said the middle school made substantial gains in student school performance as measured by the number of students who passed the state exam’s math and reading components.
Archeology/Anthropology
Michigan Tech: Michigan Tech Archivists Preserve the Past for the Future
November 17, 2014
Did you know Michigan Tech had its own comic superheroes? Tech Team, created by Norman Breyfogle, saved our campus once in the handcrafted comic strips; and now they sit preserved and maintained in the Michigan Tech Archives for viewing as one of many unique items preserved there.
Michigan Tech realized in the 1930s that it would be beneficial for important historical titles to be separated from the normal library stacks, but space limitations prohibited moving them at the time. During the construction of the new library, a reading room and storage area were designed for the archives and were ready for use in July 1966. With the new space, the archives could actively collect local history materials and in 1978, Michigan Tech committed to the program by hiring its first professionally trained archivist.
Lindsay Hiltunen is the current senior archivist. She is a Michigan Tech alumna who received two master’s degrees: in library science and United States history. She specialized in archives, rare books, special collections, 20th century labor history and European history.
Space.com: Philae Lander, Like Philae Obelisk, Is a Window to the Past
Ben Altshuler, Oxford University
November 21, 2014 03:46am ET
Separated by two millennia, the Philae lander and the Philae obelisk illuminate two separate and shared paths of discovery. The Philae lander, recently launched from the European Space Agency (ESA) mothership Rosetta, is the robotic space vehicle that landed on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko last week in hopes of unlocking some of the secrets of ancient comets. The Philae obelisk, like the much better known Rosetta stone, helped unlock the ancient secrets of Egyptian hieroglyphs 200 years ago. Both are now connected by technology, as the same types of sensors aboard the Philae lander are now helping archaeologists unlock the obelisk's messages to reveal secrets about ancient Egypt.
annetteboardman is taking a well-deserved night off.
Paleontology/Evolution
Louisiana State University: Darwin 2.0: LSU Scientists Shed New Light on How Species Diverge
November 20, 2014
BATON ROUGE – Birds that are related, such as Darwin’s finches, but that vary in beak size and behavior specially evolved to their habitat are examples of a process called speciation. It has long been thought that dramatic changes in a landscape like the formation of the Andes Mountain range or the Amazon River is the main driver that initiates species to diverge. However, a recent study shows that speciation occurred much later than these dramatic geographical changes. Researchers from LSU’s Museum of Natural Science have found that time and a species’ ability to move play greater parts in the process of speciation. This research was published today in the print edition of Nature.
“The extraordinary diversity of birds in South America is usually attributed to big changes in the landscape over geological time, but our study suggests that prolonged periods of landscape stability are more important,” said Robb Brumfield, LSU Museum of Natural Science director and Roy Paul Daniels professor in the Department of Biological Sciences, one of the lead authors.
Brumfield and his colleagues examined the genealogy of 27 species of birds in the most bio-diverse region in the world, the Neotropics, which extends from southern Mexico through Central America to southern Brazil and includes the Amazon rainforest.
“By using detailed sampling of many bird lineages, we were able to get a clearer and larger picture of when and how species formed within those lineages,” Brumfield said.
Geology
Space.com: This Map of the Huge Asteroid Vesta Is the Best Geologic Look Ever
by Kelly Dickerson, Space.com Staff Writer
November 18, 2014 11:18pm ET
High-resolution new maps show the cratered, rocky surface of the huge asteroid Vesta in unprecedented detail, researchers say.
Images captured by NASA's Dawn spacecraft were woven together to create geologic maps of the giant asteroid Vesta. The maps — the most detailed ones yet of of Vesta's surface features — serve as a geologic record of the asteroid that astronomers can compare to other planets and celestial bodies, researchers said.
Scientists combined 15 separate maps into one Vesta uber-map, which shows that meteorites have pummeled the asteroid since its formation about 10 million years after the birth of the solar system. Astronomers can piece together Vesta's geologic timeline based on the sequence of meteorite impacts.
Energy
University of Michigan: Lean times ahead: Preparing for an energy-constrained future
November 19, 2014
ANN ARBOR—Some time this century, the era of cheap and abundant energy will end, and Western industrial civilization will likely begin a long, slow descent toward a resource-limited future characterized by "involuntary simplicity."
That's the picture painted by University of Michigan environmental psychologist Raymond De Young, who argues in a new paper that behavioral scientists should begin now to prepare the public for this "energy descent," which he defines as a tightening of energy supplies accompanied by "a persistent step-wise downshift" to a new, reduced-consumption normal.
De Young describes the energy descent and the role of behavioral scientists in the November edition of the journal Frontiers in Psychology.
Physics
Space.com: Dark Matter Murder Mystery: Is Weird Substance Destroying Neutron Stars?
by Charles Q. Choi, Space.com Contributor
November 18, 2014 06:38am ET
The mysterious substance that makes up most of the matter in the universe may be destroying neutron stars by turning them into black holes in the center of the Milky Way, new research suggests.
If astronomers successfully detect a neutron star dying at the metaphorical hands of dark matter, such a finding could yield critical insights on the elusive properties of material, scientists added.
Dark matter — an invisible substance thought to make up five-sixths of all matter in the universe — is currently one of the greatest mysteries in science. The consensus among researchers suggests that dark matter is composed of a new type of particle, one that interacts very weakly at best with all the known forces of the universe. As such, dark matter is invisible and nearly completely intangible, mostly detectable only via the gravitational pull it exerts.
Chemistry
University of Michigan: Spiraling light, nanoparticles and insights into life’s structure
November 19, 2014
ANN ARBOR—Twisted light from ancient stars may have played a role in locking in aspects of the structure of life on Earth, and new findings from the University of Michigan provide insights into how that process may have occurred.
The research explores a property called "chirality," which refers to the arrangement of atoms in molecules that aren't symmetrical. Often, more than one arrangement of a molecule can occur in nature. But different arrangements can behave in different ways, even though their chemical composition is the same.
Human hands are often cited as examples of chiral structures. A left hand and a right hand are made of the same materials, but they're not identical. They're mirror images. The amino acids and sugars within us also come in what amount to left- and right-hand versions, but unlike hands, living organisms only utilize the left-oriented amino acids and the right-oriented sugars.
Scientists can make these amino acids and sugars in the lab, and when they do, roughly equal numbers of left- and right-facing molecules result. But the template for life on Earth includes just one version of each. It's a mysterious phenomenon called "homochirality." The new study led by U-M underscores the role that light may have played in its origins.
Science Crime Scenes
University of Michigan: Secure, free encryption of all websites is goal of new project
November 19, 2014
ANN ARBOR—In an effort to reinvent and dramatically improve Internet security, researchers at the University of Michigan have joined with Mozilla and other industry and nonprofit partners to soon offer free, automated and open website HTTPS encryption.
They're establishing a new certificate authority called Let's Encrypt, which will begin operating in summer 2015. Certificate authorities are organizations that ensure the identities of websites. A certified site is then protected from a host of potential cyber attacks. You can tell you're on one if the web address begins with HTTPS, rather than the more common HTTP.
"Anything you do on the web is visible to network-based attackers if you're using regular HTTP," said J. Alex Halderman, U-M assistant professor of computer science and engineering who initiated the Let's Encrypt project two years ago.
"Attackers can potentially spy on everything you're accessing, modify what you see, alter programs you download to make them malicious, or take over the website account you're logged in under. But HTTPS is a fundamental protection against these attacks, and what we're doing with Let's Encrypt is trying to make HTTPS ubiquitous."
Science, Space, Health, Environment, and Energy Policy
University of Michigan: Few students attend schools that meet nutrition standards
November 17, 2014
ANN ARBOR—Implementing the latest government standards for food and beverages sold at U.S. schools would substantially improve school nutrition, according to a new University of Michigan study.
The research, published online by JAMA Pediatrics, found that from fall 2007 to spring 2012, only 2 percent of middle school students and less than 1 percent of high school students attended schools where all five components of the new U.S. Department of Agriculture nutrition standards were in place for school meals, vending machines and snack bars.
The USDA standards limit fat, sodium, sugar and calories. Final implementation will remove student access to candy, salty snacks, sugary treats, milk with higher levels of fat, savory foods with high levels of fat and calories, and sugar-sweetened beverages. Beginning with the 2012-13 school year, phased implementation of school meal nutrition standards began. Implementation of standards for vending machines and other competitive venues began with the 2014-15 school year.
"These results indicate that the USDA standards—if implemented fully and monitored for compliance—have the potential to change the current U.S. school nutritional environment significantly," said Yvonne Terry-McElrath, a researcher at the U-M Institute for Social Research and first author of the study.
University of Vermont: UVM Shares Expertise with Policy-Makers at Climate Change Summit
By Jeffrey R. Wakefield
November 19, 2014
The top floor of the Davis Center was a hive of activity on Nov. 18 as 55 members of the Vermont House and Senate and 11 state agency representatives rubbed elbows and exchanged ideas with more than 50 University of Vermont faculty and a half dozen administrative leaders. The occasion was the second annual UVM Legislative Summit, which this year focused on climate change.The goal of the legislative summits -- the topic of last year’s inaugural event was education -- is for UVM faculty to share their expertise with decision-makers to help them create informed policy for the state.
Science Education
University of Michigan: U-M students showcase sustainability research; three teams win distinguished awards
November 17, 2014
ANN ARBOR—Three University of Michigan student teams representing seven schools and colleges were honored Saturday with the Dow Distinguished Award for Interdisciplinary Sustainability.
They were among more than 70 Dow Sustainability Fellows who gathered with faculty advisers, community members and other students to showcase and discuss their research at the first annual Dow Sustainability Symposium.
It's all part of U-M's Dow Sustainability Fellows Program, which includes cohorts spanning multiple academic levels and seeks to prepare future sustainability leaders to make a positive difference in organizations worldwide. The goal of the program's distinguished awards competition is to spur multidisciplinary strategies to help solve pressing sustainability challenges.
University of New Mexico: UNM School of Architecture & Planning education program picks up 'STEAM'
By Carolyn Gonzales
November 19, 2014
In education circles, the talk is about “STEM,” or science, technology, engineering and mathematics. To Anne Taylor, professor emerita, School of Architecture and Planning, the appropriate acronym is “STEAM,” which adds an “A” for arts and architecture.
Taylor knows a lot about education. She taught art education through the College of Education, served as dean of the Graduate School and taught in the School of Architecture and Planning for many years. Her passion has always been to take the techniques used in architecture studios and apply them to the classroom to teach and learn everything from math and health to science and social studies through design.
Taylor said that the architecture studio design model is geared toward hands on learning that is both creative and requires creative problem solving, which are critical components of education.
University of Vermont: Student, Alumni Awards Spotlight Growing Success of Women in Engineering
By Jeffrey R. Wakefield
November 19, 2014
“The ability to attract young women is a significant challenge faced by the engineering community,” the National Academy of Engineering wrote in an influential 1999 editorial in its publication, The Bridge.
By granting three of the most competitive engineering awards in the state to women in 2014, UVM and the state of Vermont are doing their part to demonstrate that women can find success and have rewarding careers in the field.
Carolyn Carlson, ’85, was named Vermont Engineer of the Year for 2014; Jennifer Fitch, ’02, was Young Engineer of the Year; and Karin Emanuelson '14, was named Vermont Student Engineer of the Year. Carlson graduated with a concentration in civil engineering, Fitch and Emanuelson with degrees in its successor concentration, civil and environmental engineering.
“I’m proud of the success our alumni and students are having and of the role UVM is playing in changing perceptions of the engineering field,” said Luis Garcia, dean of UVM’s College of Engineering and Life Sciences. “We work hard to make the college an accepting and supportive environment for women. There’s more work to do, but signals like this one show progress is being made. That’s encouraging.”
Science Writing and Reporting
Michigan Tech: Bacterial Slime: It's what's for Dinner (After a Catastrophic Crop Failure)
by Danny Messinger
November 19, 2014
If it were the end of the world as we know it, we’d be fine, according to Michigan Technological University professor Joshua Pearce.
“People have been doing catastrophic risk research for a while,” says Pearce. “But most of what’s been done is dark, apocalyptic and dismal. It hasn’t provided any real solutions.”
Even when looking at doomsday scenarios—like super-volcanoes, abrupt climate change and nuclear winter—society’s forecast isn’t horrific. In fact, Pearce says life will still have a sunny outlook. His research is outlined in a new book, Feeding Everyone No Matter What, out this week.
Rutgers University: Not Tonight, I Have a Headache
Rutgers sociologist pens book exploring history of migraines and politics of gender and health
Thursday, November 20, 2014
By Robin Lally
What comedian hasn’t joked “not tonight honey, I have a headache,” to describe the scenario of a cold, neurotic wife who will do anything it takes to avoid sex.
Still used to elicit a chuckle, the punchline is so universal that Rutgers sociologist Joanna Kempner used it as a title for her new book, Not Tonight, Migraine and the Politics of Gender and Health to shed light on how the severity of migraines have been diminished because of this longstanding cliche.
In her book, Kempner, whose own migraines began when she was only 5, examines how migraines disrupt so many lives yet still continue to be trivialized by so many. She asks why migraines aren’t taken seriously by doctors, policymakers or society at large.
Science is Cool
Rutgers University: Symmetrical Knees Linked to Jamaican Sprinting Prowess
Rutgers-led study measures symmetry in elite track and field athletes
Monday, November 17, 2014
Why is Jamaica, with a population smaller than that of Los Angeles, home to so many of the world’s elite sprinters – runners who compete in the 100, 200, 400 and 800-meter races?
Robert Trivers, an evolutionary biologist and professor of anthropology and biology in the School of Arts and Sciences, set out with his colleagues to find out if there was something about the symmetry of their knees that might partly explain this phenomenon. They already knew from their earlier research that the symmetry of children’s knees at age 8 predicts how fast a person runs 14 years later in life.
“We then asked, “Is the degree of symmetry positively associated with sprinting ability among the very best sprinters?’” Trivers says. The answer to that question is yes.