Science Headlines for October 29, 2008

Dinosaur Smelling Skills Open New Angle On Bird Evolution

Scientists are providing new insight into the sense of smell of carnivorous dinosaurs and primitive birds. Researchers found that Tyrannosaurus rex had the best nose of all meat-eating dinosaurs, and their results tone down the reputation of T. rex as a scavenger.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Scientists Identify Single MicroRNA That Controls How Heart Chambers Form

The discovery of the role of a microRNA called miR-138, could offer strategies for the treatment of congenital heart defects.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Flexible, Affordable Light Source Can Printed

Researchers working in the European ROLLED project have developed a flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) element that can be mass produced using roll-to-roll printing technology. The OLED elements can be used to add value to product packages. The new method is considerably cheaper than the traditional manufacturing method.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Pregnant Women Consuming Flaxseed Oil Have High Risk Of Premature Birth

The risks of a premature birth quadruple if flaxseed oil is consumed in the last two trimesters of pregnancy, according to a new study.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

The Great Cosmic Challenge

Today cosmologists are challenging the world to solve a compelling statistical problem, to bring us closer to understanding the nature of dark matter and energy which makes up 95 per cent of the ‘missing’ universe.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

Undecided Voters May Already Have Decided, Study Suggests

Do "undecided" voters actually make their choices before they realize? That is a question one psychology professor is trying to answer. "Many people, especially early in the political process, declare themselves as undecided," he said. "But while they have consciously said that they are undecided, they unconsciously may have already made a choice."
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:00 pm

New Brain Link As Cause Of Schizophrenia

A lack of specific brain receptors has been linked with schizophrenia in new research.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm

Statins Show Promise For Blood Clot Prevention

New research suggests that the use of statins may be associated with a significant reduction in the occurrence of venous thromboembolism, a condition that includes deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism, in patients with solid organ tumors, including breast, lung and colon cancers.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm

New Mass Sensor To Weight Atoms With Unprecedented Resolution

Scientists have developed an ultrasensitive mass sensor, which can measure tiny amounts of mass with atomic precision, and with an unprecedented resolution to date.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm

Global Warming Is Killing Frogs And Salamanders In Yellowstone Park, Researchers Say

Frogs and salamanders, those amphibious bellwethers of environmental danger, are being killed in Yellowstone National Park. The predator, Stanford researchers say, is global warming. One biology graduate student spent three summers in a remote area of the park searching for frogs and salamanders in ponds that had been surveyed 15 years ago. Almost everywhere she looked, she found a catastrophic decrease in the population.
Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 3:00 pm

Best Horror Films Skip the Gore (LiveScience.com)

LiveScience.com - If your aim this Halloween is to be very, very scared by a movie, you might reach way back into the archives of horror flicks rather than just grabbing one of the multitudes of modern slasher films.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 1:05 pm

Best Horror Films Skip the Gore

Classic horror/thriller films engage the viewers and their imaginations.
Source: Livescience.com | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:41 pm

Tyrannosaurus rex noses out dinosaur competition (Reuters)

Reuters - When it came to the sense of smell among meat-eating dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex nosed out the competition.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Tyrannosaurus rex noses out dinosaur competition

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - When it came to the sense of smell among meat-eating dinosaurs, Tyrannosaurus rex nosed out the competition.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:30 pm

Old blood 'boosts infection risk'

Storing donated blood too long increases the chance of an infection, US researchers claim.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:16 pm

Tags unlock young salmon secrets

Miniature satellite tags have unlock the mysteries of the journey undertaken by juvenile salmon in the North-West US.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Oct 2008 | 11:38 am

BP will cut more jobs despite soaring profits (AFP)

AFP - Energy giant BP, fresh from unveiling an 83-percent jump in third-quarter net profits, is planning to cut more jobs than previously announced, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 11:05 am

Nick Spencer: The secularisation theorists spoke too soon. Faith is part of human nature and it's here to stay

Nick Spencer: Will religion fade away: The secularisation theorists spoke too soon. Faith is part of human nature and it's here to stay
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 29 Oct 2008 | 9:30 am

Paleontologists sift Utah soil for plant fossils (AP)

AP - Paleontologists are sifting through the soil of an excavated lot in search of ancient plants, the only ones from the early Jurassic period found so far in western North America.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 9:07 am

Floods kill six in India's northeast, thousands homeless (Reuters)

Reuters - Floods and landslides caused by three days of incessant rain killed six people and left thousands homeless in India's remote northeast, one of the country's most flood-prone regions, officials said on Wednesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 6:24 am

New minerals point to wetter Mars

A new class of minerals found on Mars suggests liquid water stayed on the planet's surface a billion years later than first thought.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Oct 2008 | 4:06 am

Mexico, US, Canada to protect endangered porpoise (AP)

AP - Officials from Mexico, the United States and Canada are teaming up in a plan presented Tuesday to protect the vaquita marina, a highly endangered species of porpoise in the upper Gulf of California.
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 3:37 am

Top 10 Scariest Movies Ever

Here are ten of the scariest movies ever.
Source: Livescience.com | 29 Oct 2008 | 2:16 am

Mars robot's heaters to be turned off, one by one

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Engineers taking long-distance care of NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander mission are planning to start turning off its heaters one by one and let it freeze to death.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 2:05 am

World threatened by ecological 'credit crunch': WWF (AFP)

AFP - Reckless borrowing against Earth's exhausted bounty is driving the planet toward an ecological "credit crunch", the World Wildlife Fund warned on Wednesday.

Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 1:50 am

Renewables role for oil industry

The oil and gas sector can play a bigger part in the development of marine energy, Scottish Renewables says.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Oct 2008 | 1:25 am

Tapping the Vortex for Green Energy

A bane of Big Oil's offshore rigs could become a boon for renewable energy.

By tapping the natural motion of slow-moving water, a new hydrokinetic generator could open vast new swaths of the ocean for energy production.

When ocean currents flow over any kind of cylinder, like the long cables that hold drilling platforms in place, small vortices are created. They eventually spin away, or shed, causing vibrations that over time can destroy an oil rig's moorings.

Now, a University of Michigan engineer who long worked on suppressing this phenomenon, has developed a prototype energy-harvester that can capture the mechanical energy it creates.

"About four years ago, it dawned on me that we should enhance the vibrations and try to harness the energy," said ocean engineer Michael Bernitsas, who has founded Vortex Hydro Energy to commercialize his idea. "No one has ever thought of patenting this idea, even though vortex induced vibrations were first observed in 1504 by Leonardo da Vinci."

Energy experts consider the movement of water in oceans a vast untapped source of clean energy that could provide up to 10 percent of U.S. demand (pdf). A variety of schemes have been proposed to capture this mechanical energy, usually involving turbines to capture fast-moving water generated by tides or a strong current. But few projects have progressed beyond the science project stage. The most advanced is a Pelamis Wave Power project off the coast of Portugal, which provides a mere 2 megawatts of power.

One major problem is that most underwater turbines require the water to be moving very fast. One study suggested that hydrokinetic projects only made economic sense in currents moving at over six knots, which are highly rare. It's all the ocean's other currents, which are generally under 3 knots, that Bernitsas sees as his technology's main advantage.

"There is a huge amount of hydrokinetic energy in currents but a lot of that we cannot harness with the present technology and that's where my device comes in, to extract energy at speeds down to 1 knot," said Michael Bernitsas, who has founded Vortex Hydro Energy to commercialize his idea. "It taps into a new energy source."

That idea has attracted some name-brand backers. The National Science Foundation, the U.S. Navy, and the Department of Energy have together contributed about $2 million to Vortex to further develop the concept.

Prototypes of the device — known as Vortex Induced Vibrations Aquatic Clean Energy — are essentially round cylinders a few inches across suspended in water on a spring. The vortices generated by water flow move the cylinder up and down. The VIVACE system converts that mechanical energy into electricity via rotary or linear generators.

In the future, Bernitsas wants to create modular 50 kilowatt units, like the artist's rendering seen above. They could be strung together for larger applications into power plants producing as much as a gigawatt of power.

The engineers are working on making the basic system components more efficient, too. The cylinders of the early designs have sprouted tails, which allow them to use more of the energy in the vortices. It's an idea that the engineer has borrowed from whales, fish, tadpoles and other creatures that move in liquid, which he says all have a bluff, or not slender, body followed by a tail.

"The muscle power the fish have is not enough to support the speed at which they are going," he said. "So, if you study more carefully, there are lots of things going on. A fish will curve its body, collect a vortex, shed it, and collect one on the other side and shed that, alternating on the two sides of its body."

The design of the system allows it to take much more energy out of the water than turbine-based systems. In technical terms, the energy density of the system is higher. For example, in a three-knot current, the VIVACE gets 50 watts per cubic meter of water, while the Pelamis system, considered the world leader in ocean energy, gets 21.

The innovative nature of the idea, however, is no guarantee of commercial success.

"I think that it's at a very, very early stage of development," said Roger Bedard, an analyst at the Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, California, and world expert on ocean energy.

And Bernitsas' system would be subject to the United States' regulatory process, which was designed with large hydroelectric dam projects in mind, and that has hampered all hydrokinetic energy technology development.

"You have to go through 20 to 25 different regulatory agencies in this country," Bedard said.

Governmental risk frightens potential investors. Erik Straser of the Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Mohr Davidow Ventures, sees potential regulatory and technical issues, too.

"This seems like it would be have some issues with permitting," Straser wrote in an e-mail to Wired.com. "I think that and reliability will be the key issues to deployment and efficacy."

Bernitsas believes that his technology is much more environmentally friendly than other marine projects, so he's looking forward to working with regulators.

Still, the tide could be turning, no pun intended, for marine and hydrokinetic projects. The recent Wall Street bailout bill included tax credits for these projects, which could stir investor interest.

For now, Bernitsas isn't focused on large-scale production just yet. The first ready-to-use prototype, slated for splash down in the Detroit River, will be ready in about a year.

"We're where cars were 100 years ago," Bernitsas said. "Hopefully it won't take us 100 years to get where we need to be."

Images: 1. An artist's rendering of a future VIVACE power plant. 2. A schematic of the early VIVACE prototype. Courtesy the University of Michigan.

Video: Early proof-of-concept device generating electricity, which in turn powers the lightbulbs. Courtesy Vortex Hydro Power.

WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal's Twitter , Google Reader feed, and webpage; Wired Science on

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:35 am

T. Rex Was a True Killer

T. rex and its buddies had super noses for sniffing out their meaty prey.
Source: Livescience.com | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:29 am

Thin line between love and hate? - science knows why

LONDON (Reuters) - It often seems a thin line between love and hate, and now scientists think they know why.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:11 am

UK unveils CO2 footprint standard

A new standard that allows UK firms to measure the size of their products' carbon footprints is launched.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:08 am

Earth on course for eco 'crunch'

The planet is headed for an ecological "credit crunch", according to a report issued by conservation groups.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:06 am

Mathematician Du Sautoy takes Richard Dawkins' chair at Oxford

Stepping into the shoes of Richard Dawkins could be intimidating for some: not so for Marcus du Sautoy. Yesterday, the University of Oxford announced that the mathematician would take up its prestigious Simonyi professorship for the public understanding of science, the post vacated last month by the biologist Dawkins after more than a decade.

Arguably the highest-profile academic post in the UK focused specifically on the communication of science to a general audience, Dawkins used his time in the Simonyi chair to write several books on evolution and re-energise the debate on whether or not there is a God.

Du Sautoy, who takes up his post in December, said he was keen to steer his own path. "I'm bracing myself for everyone asking me if I believe in God or not," he said. "I understand Richard's point, there are great fears about the power of intelligent design movement in America. But my focus is mainly on trying to excite people about science, why I do it, how it impacts on your life."

Du Sautoy will be familiar to many as the de facto public face of maths. He presented the Royal Institution's Christmas lectures in 2006 and is currently fronting a four-part series for BBC4 on the history of maths. He has written two popular books on the subject and contributes regularly to newspapers including the Guardian. His mathematical research includes delving into the mysteries of symmetry using zeta functions, a tool from number theory.

"For me, science is about discovery but it is also about communication," said Du Sautoy. "A scientific discovery barely exists until it is communicated and brought to life in the minds of others."

He added: "Our next generation of scientists depends on people broadening out and not just talking to those in the ivory towers. Also there are very important issues for society about science and it's important that we have people who are prepared to download the science and dialogue with people about it."

Jonathan Michie, director of Oxford's department for continuing education, said Du Sautoy's appointment marked a new direction for the Simonyi professorship. "He is the ideal person to develop Oxford's science activities for the public given his wonderfully engaging way of presenting maths, combined with a world-class reputation for mathematical research."

The chair was set up in 1995for Dawkins by the computer scientist Charles Simonyi to allow the biologist the time to continue writing and disseminating his work. Simonyi was Microsoft's chief software architect for a decade until 1991.

FAQ: Planet's capacity

Key questions answered about the planet's limited capacity
Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 29 Oct 2008 | 12:05 am

World is facing a natural resources crisis worse than financial crunch

The world is heading for an "ecological credit crunch" far worse than the current financial crisis because humans are over-using the natural resources of the planet, an international study warns today.

The Living Planet report calculates that humans are using 30% more resources than the Earth can replenish each year, which is leading to deforestation, degraded soils, polluted air and water, and dramatic declines in numbers of fish and other species. As a result, we are running up an ecological debt of $4tr (£2.5tr) to $4.5tr every year - double the estimated losses made by the world's financial institutions as a result of the credit crisis - say the report's authors, led by the conservation group WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund. The figure is based on a UN report which calculated the economic value of services provided by ecosystems destroyed annually, such as diminished rainfall for crops or reduced flood protection.

The problem is also getting worse as populations and consumption keep growing faster than technology finds new ways of expanding what can be produced from the natural world. This had led the report to predict that by 2030, if nothing changes, mankind would need two planets to sustain its lifestyle. "The recent downturn in the global economy is a stark reminder of the consequences of living beyond our means," says James Leape, WWF International's director general. "But the possibility of financial recession pales in comparison to the looming ecological credit crunch."

The report continues: "We have only one planet. Its capacity to support a thriving diversity of species, humans included, is large but fundamentally limited. When human demand on this capacity exceeds what is available - when we surpass ecological limits - we erode the health of the Earth's living systems. Ultimately this loss threatens human well-being." Speaking yesterday in London, the report's authors also called for politicians to mount a huge international response in line with the multibillion-dollar rescue plan for the economy. "They now need to turn their collective action to a far more pressing concern and that's the survival of all life on planet Earth," said Chief Emeka Anyaoku, the president of WWF International.

Sir David King, the British government's former chief scientific adviser, said: "We all need to agree that there's a crisis of understanding, that we're removing the planet's biodiverse resources at a rate which is as fast if not faster than the world's last great extinction."

At the heart of the Living Planet report is an index of the health of the world's natural systems, produced by the Zoological Society of London and based on 5,000 populations of more than 1,600 species, and on an "ecological footprint" of human demands for goods and services.

For the first time the report also contains detailed information on the "water footprint" of every country, and claims 50 countries are already experiencing "moderate to severe water stress on a year-round basis". It also shows that 27 countries are "importing" more than half the water they consume - in the form of water used to produce goods from wheat to cotton - including the UK, Switzerland, Austria, Norway and the Netherlands.

Based on figures from 2005, the index indicates global biodiversity has declined by nearly a third since 1970. Breakdowns of the overall figure show the tropical species index fell by half and the temperate index remained stable but at historically low levels. Divided up another way, indices for terrestrial, freshwater and marine species, and for tropical forests, drylands and grasslands all showed significant declines. Of the main geographic regions, only the Nearctic zone around the Arctic sea and covering much of North America showed no overall change.

Over the same period the ecological footprint of the human population has nearly doubled, says the report.

At that rate humans would need two planets to provide for their wants in the 2030s, two decades earlier than the previous Living Planet report forecast just two years ago. This figure is "conservative" as it does not include the risk of a sudden shock or "feedback loop" such as an acceleration of climate change, says the report. But it warns: "The longer that overshoot persists, the greater the pressure on ecological services, increasing the risk of ecosystem collapse, with potentially permanent losses of productivity."

In the 1960s most countries lived within their ecological resources. But the latest figures show that today three-quarters of the world's population live in countries which consume more than they can replenish.

Addressing concerns that national boundaries are an artificial way of dividing up the world's resources, Leape says: "It's another way of reminding ourselves we're living beyond our means."

The US and China account for more than two-fifths of the planet's ecological footprint, with 21% each.

A person's footprint ranges vastly across the globe, from eight or more "global hectares" (20 acres or more) for the biggest consumers in the United Arab Emirates, the US, Kuwait and Denmark, to half a hectare in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Haiti, Afghanistan and Malawi. The global average consumption was 2.7 hectares a person, compared with a notional sustainable capacity of 2.1 hectares.

The UK, with an average footprint of about 5.5 hectares, ranks 15th in the world, just below Uruguay and the Czech Republic, and ahead of Finland and Belgium.

Animal rights activist is accused of Oxford University bombings

An animal rights "fanatic" was behind the planting of petrol bombs at Oxford University as part of a terrorist campaign to stop the building of a £20m research laboratory, a court heard yesterday.

Using fuel and fuses made from sparklers, Mel Broughton worked with others to plant four devices in two separate attacks, a jury at Oxford crown court was told.

The bomb attacks were claimed by the Animal Liberation Front on its website, Bite Back, said John Price, prosecuting.

Broughton is alleged to have caused £14,000 worth of damage when the Queen's College sports pavilion blew up in November 2006. Two similar bombs were planted under a temporary building used as an office at Templeton College three months later but failed to go off.

Price told the jury that Broughton's DNA was found on one of the components used in the unexploded devices. He said police who searched his home in Northampton discovered items used in homemade explosives and a notebook containing a list of those people he had been targeting as part of a campaign known as Speak, to stop Oxford University building an animal testing laboratory.

"There is no dispute that he [Broughton] has dedicated his adult life to issues of animal rights," Price said. "He is a renowned, self-proclaimed activist, a fanatic. He is a - if not the - leading figure of Speak."

Price told the jury that Broughton, 48, had a history of possessing incendiary devices. He was convicted in 2000 at Northampton crown court of conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life.

Price said police who searched the ruins of the Queen's College building found two devices in the roof which had used firework sparklers as a fuse. He said similar unexploded devices using sparklers were found in the Templeton College building. Authorities found 12 litres of fuel in the device at Queen's College and 20 litres of fuel at Templeton College.

The court was told that on both occasions anonymous messages had been placed on the Bite Back website, claiming responsibility for the attacks.

The court was told police found 14 packets of sparklers and a battery connector inside a water tank in Broughton's bathroom. Under a carpet they discovered a notebook containing a security pass for Oxford University and list of targets.

The jury heard that the university had been targeted by animal rights campaigners since it announced plans in 2004 to build a biomedical research laboratory.

Broughton denies conspiracy to commit arson, possession of an article or articles with intent to destroy or damage property, and keeping explosive substances with intent.

The hearing continues.

Climate laws to include planes

The government agrees to include aviation and shipping in an ambitious push to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Oct 2008 | 10:41 pm

Message From the Space Station: Vote

In the proud tradition of MTV musicians and Hollywood movie stars, NASA astronauts sent out a message today encouraging people to do their civic duty and vote.

Commander Michael Fincke and Flight Engineer and Science Officer Greg Chamitoff, who are currently on board the International Space Station, have already voted thanks to a 1997 effort by Texas legislators to develop a secure way for astronauts in space to vote.

Their local county clerks offices sent special secured ballots via Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston up to the space station. The two astronauts must use a crew member-specific credential to access their secure ballots and then return them electronically to Earth.

In the 2004 presidential election, Leroy Chiao cast his ballot from the space station this way, though Bill Shepherd, the very first commander of the International Space Station, reportedly voted absentee in 2000 as most astronauts still did at that time.

The very first person to vote in space was Dave Wolf during a four-month MIR mission in 1997. As it turns out, Texas legislators passed that law in 1997 because astronaut John Blaha did not turn in his absentee ballot before leaving for his four month mission on the space station and was not able to vote in the 1996 presidential election due to the previous law that said that all absentee ballots had to be sent by U.S. Mail.

See Also:

Video: NASA TV/YouTube

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Oct 2008 | 9:29 pm

Got Germs? Sorry, You Probably Do

Cold victims leave germs on door knobs and remotes, where they can live for days.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Oct 2008 | 8:14 pm

Kids' Eye Problems Often Emerge in Homework Battle

Some kids may have a common yet often missed vision problem.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 7:21 pm

Does mold make you sick? Doctors seek answers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fungus expert Joan Bennett did not believe in so-called toxic mold -- the cause of "sick building syndrome" and many lawsuits -- until her New Orleans home was flooded during Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Source: Reuters: Science News | 28 Oct 2008 | 6:40 pm

Science Funding Should Remain a Priority, Says Obama Advisor

The basic research funding promised by presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama should not be a victim of the economic collapse, said a science adviser to Obama yesterday. Instead, it should be seen as a way to strengthen the economy.

Prior to the economic downturn, both Sen. John McCain and Obama promised to double funding in basic science research. Such research is the foundation of practical advances, but the advances are hard to predict and can take decades to materialize. (To pick two examples among many: a Nobel-winning technique for illuminating cell development started with jellyfish research, while a breakthrough cancer drug started with tree bark analyses.) As a result, basic research funding is often seen as a frivolous expense.

But in a talk delivered to the Council for the Advancement of Science Writing conference in Palo Alto, California, Obama science advisor and Stanford University plant biologist Sharon Long said she would advise that basic funding should survive the budget tightening of either candidate.

Asked whether Obama would still stand by that promise, Long responded, "The answer is, how can we afford not to?" She said that basic research was acknowledged as essential to scientific advancements.

"You've got to think, how are we going to get ourselves out of this? And if science and technology gives you a better increase on investment than anything else, it's still the right thing to do," she said. "That would be my advice."

The McCain campaign declined an invitation to have a science adviser speak at the conference.

WiSci 2.0: Brandon Keim's Twitter stream and Del.icio.us feed; Wired Science on Facebook.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Oct 2008 | 6:16 pm

How High-Speed Gene Sequencing Works

The price of gene sequencing is falling fast and Helicos BioSciences is poised to push it down even further — perhaps below the $1,000 mark.

This video offers a beautiful look at their technology.

Other companies are working toward cheaper sequences as well. Early this month, Applied Biosystems announced that its SOLiD 3 system will be able to sequence a whole human genome for $10,000.

Within a week, startup company Complete Genomics declared that it could accomplish the same task for half of that price.

Source: Wired: Wired Science | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:49 pm

Polar, Brown Bear Ancestor ID'd From Cave Bones

Analysis of bear bones found in France reveal an ancestor dating back 1.6 million years.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:42 pm

Mine from Time of King Solomon Found

Mines found in Jordan date from time of King Solomon's reign.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:29 pm

Charles warns of 'climate crunch'

Prince Charles warns that the financial crisis should not distract from the long-term problem of climate change, during a visit to Japan.
Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:17 pm

SLIDE SHOW: Thoreau's Retreat, Re-Visited

The flowering displays at Walden Pond are fading as the climate warms.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:08 pm

Cool Weather Twisters Strike in the Dark

Spates of cold-weather tornadoes account for more damage than summer storms.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Oct 2008 | 5:08 pm

Marcus du Sautoy to replace Dawkins as chief science evangelist

Stepping into the shoes of the mighty Richard Dawkins could be intimidating for some: not so for the University of Oxford's Marcus du Sautoy. The university announced today that the mathematician would take up its prestigious Simonyi professorship for the public understanding of science, the post vacated last month by evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins after more than a decade.

Arguably the highest-profile academic post in the UK, focused on the communication of science to a general audience, Dawkins used his time in Oxford's Simonyi chair to write several books on evolution and re-energise the debate on whether or not there is a god.

du Sautoy, who takes up the post in December, said he was undaunted by Dawkins' shadow, keen instead to steer his own course. "I'm bracing myself for everyone asking me if I believe in God or not," he said. "I understand Richard's point, there are great fears about the power of the intelligent design movement in America, but my focus is mainly on trying to excite people about science, why I do it, how it impacts on your life."

He will be familiar to many as the de facto public face of maths — he presented the Royal Institution's Christmas lectures in 2006 and is currently fronting a four-part series for BBC4 called The Story of Maths.

He has also written two popular books on mathematics and contributes regularly to newspapers including the Guardian. His mathematical research includes delving into the mysteries of symmetry using zeta functions, a tool from number theory.

"For me, science is about discovery but it is also about communication," said du Sautoy. "A scientific discovery barely exists until it is communicated and brought to life in the minds of others."

Jonathan Michie, director of the University of Oxford's department for continuing education, said du Sautoy's appointment marked a new direction for the Simonyi professorship: "He is the ideal person to develop Oxford's science activities for the public given his wonderfully engaging way of presenting maths, combined with a world-class reputation for mathematical research."

The chair in the public understanding of science was set up in 1995 specifically for Dawkins by the Hungarian computer scientist Charles Simonyi, to allow the biologist the time to continue writing and disseminating his work.

In the 1980s, Simonyi worked as chief software architect at Microsoft, where he was instrumental in developing the Office suite of applications including Word and Excel. Last year he became the world's fifth space tourist, paying more than $20m to the American company Space Adventures to hitch a ride to the International Space Station.

When he endowed the professorship, Simonyi wrote: "The goal is for the public to appreciate the order and beauty of the abstract and natural worlds which is there, hidden, layer-upon-layer. To share the excitement and awe that scientists feel when confronting the greatest of riddles. To have empathy for the scientists who are humbled by the grandeur of it all."

Jim al-Khalili, a physicist at the University of Surrey, said: "I am absolutely thrilled by this news. There are very few people around as able as Marcus when it comes to communicating science to the public. He has done more than anyone else in a generation to popularize mathematics. The Charles Simonyi chair is an apt reward for his efforts."

Roland Jackson, chief executive of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, also welcomed the appointment. "Marcus is a great science communicator and possesses the ability to make maths engaging to people of all ages, as we have seen on television and at our Festival of Science. Mathematics can sometimes appear one of the less accessible science subjects despite its central role, so I'm particularly pleased to see a mathematician take up the post."

du Sautoy's forthcoming projects include a book on his Christmas lectures and collaborations with artists to bring maths to wider audiences. "I actually danced the irrationality of the square root of 3," he said of the early fruits of this collaboration, "which must be a first in the history of dance and mathematics."

Listen to an interview with du Sautoy about his new position.

Reports of Newspaper Death Greatly Exaggerated

Circulation figures continue to plummet as newsroom staffs are slashed. But a study finds people still read.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 4:38 pm

Jewish, Nazi Objects Found in Dump Near Berlin

Artifacts from Holocaust Kristallnacht discovered in dump near Berlin.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 3:55 pm

King Solomon-Era Mine Found

Mines uncovered near the Dead Sea may once have supplied an ancient king with copper.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:50 pm

Caribbean Sands Dwindling to Theft

Thieves are stealing the perfect white sands of the Caribbean's beaches.
Source: Discovery News Top Stories : Discovery Channel | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:50 pm

Ants Prefer Salt over Sugar

Ants in inland, salt-poor areas seek salt over sugar sources.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:25 pm

New Scan Detects Body Shape Under Clothes

New laser scan can generate 3D body shape of clothed person.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 2:21 pm

Oddly, Americans Fear Snakes More Than Disease

People are more afraid of snakes and flying than getting cancer or diabetes.
Source: Livescience.com | 28 Oct 2008 | 1:49 pm

Science Extra podcast: Marcus du Sautoy steps into Dawkins' boots at University of Oxford

"It captures precisely the things that I love doing," Marcus du Sautoy tells Alok Jha and James Randerson as he prepares to take up the post of Simonyi chair for the public understanding of science at the University of Oxford in December.

"One is high-level science ... and the other is communicating it. It gives me the brief to do the two things that I love doing." Accordingly, du Sautoy will continue to pursue his passion for prime numbers, number theory and group theory as professor of mathematics at Oxford.

Earlier in October he came into the studio to talk about The Story of Maths, a series of films he has made for BBC4 where he travels the globe looking for the roots of his subject.

As the new chair for the public understanding of science he will be stepping into the boots of Richard Dawkins, but he insists he won't be pursuing his predecessor's anti-religious agenda. "I'm bracing myself for people asking me whether I believe in god. I'm an atheist, but for me the important thing is the wonder of science. There are so many exciting things to talk about. My focus is going to be very much on the science and less on religion."

Source: Science | guardian.co.uk | 28 Oct 2008 | 1:36 pm

Disclaimer | About

Blogs : Humor pages | Norkay's Blog | Kids Stories | Indian Recipes | Database Tech Blog

Sundries : World Video Clips | Songs Clips | Indian Video Clips |