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Functional, transplantable rat liver grafts: Discarded livers have potential to be reengineered into usable replacement organsResearchers have developed a technique that someday may allow growth of transplantable replacement livers. In a new study, the investigators describe using the structural tissue of rat livers as scaffolding for the growth of tissue regenerated from liver cells introduced through a novel reseeding process.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Taking aim at metastatic lung tumorsA new study uses a sophisticated genomic analysis to unravel some of the complex cellular signals that drive the deadly invasive spread of lung cancer. The research identifies specific molecules involved in the often fatal metastasis of a common type of non-small cell lung cancer and uses this information to design effective therapeutic strategies.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am More cold and snowy winters to come in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North AmericaA warmer Arctic climate is influencing the air pressure at the North Pole and shifting wind patterns on our planet. We can expect more cold and snowy winters in Europe, eastern Asia and eastern North America, climate scientists say.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am New look into Whirlpool GalaxyThe Whirlpool Galaxy (M51) is a classic, a real must that now gets into Calar Alto Documentary Photo Gallery with an impressive new photo obtained with the Zeiss 1.23 m reflector. The image displays all the features that make this galaxy an exceptional object to illustrate the nature of spiral galaxies, the processes of star formation and the dynamics of interacting stellar systems.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Bright light therapy improves sleep disturbances in soldiers with combat PTSD, research findsBright light therapy has significant effects on sleep disturbances associated with combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder, according to new research.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Helping the brain's messengers get from A to BIn what has been hailed as a breakthrough, scientists have outlined the molecular mechanism of membrane transport. The research shows how a protein transforms its shape to transport substances across the cell membrane in order to regulate transmission of the brain's messages across the synaptic gap from one neuron to another.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 9:00 am Companies pledge to make more trial data publicVoluntary agreement by drug firms calls for all large clinical trial results to be published.<img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/news/rss/today/~4/9t9hqv-Gfi4" height="1" width="1"/>Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:27 am Mosquito spray affects bird reproductionHouse martin numbers hit by 'environmentally friendly' insect control.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:08 am Warm-blooded marine reptiles at the time of the dinosaursBetween 200 and 65 million years ago, fearsome marine reptiles reigned over the oceans. Were they warm-blooded like today's mammals and birds or cold-blooded like nowadays fish and reptiles? For the first time, a study has settled the debate: some large marine reptiles were warm-blooded (in other words, they were endothermic), giving them a considerable advantage to swim fast over long distances and to conquer cold regions.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Antibodies involved in nerve repair in injuries, researchers findAntibodies -- proteins the immune system makes to defend the body against invading pathogens -- have a gentler side nobody knew about until now: They function not only as soldiers but also as nurses. Researchers now think antibodies' absence in the central nervous system may be a key part of the reason why nerve damage there doesn't get naturally repaired in humans. That insight could lead to new treatments for stroke and spinal-cord trauma.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Importance of insulin delivery devices for diabetes managementThe growing use of insulin delivery devices such as pens and pumps may help individuals with diabetes optimize blood glucose control and minimize their risk for chronic health problems associated with diabetes.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am First detailed national map of land-cover vegetation in U.S. releasedThe most detailed national vegetation US land-cover map to date has been released by the US Geological Survey. The map will enable conservation professionals to identify places in the country with sufficient habitat to support wildlife.Source: ScienceDaily: Latest Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 6:00 am Obama calls for clean-energy pushUS President Obama asks supporters to back a campaign for clean energy, as he visits areas affected by the BP oil spill.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Jun 2010 | 3:57 am The nation's weather (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:58 am BP faces grilling in Congress, Obama to speak on TV (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:57 am Miss. beaches largely unspoiled by Gulf oil gusher (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:45 am In deep water?The high-risk, high-reward hunt for offshore oilSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:40 am BP faces grilling in Congress (Reuters)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:37 am 'Much more water' in Moon's rocksThe Moon might be much wetter than scientists had previously thought, according to a new study of lunar rocks.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:13 am Japan may quit whaling commission if ban stays put (AP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 2:05 am BP denies bankruptcy rumors, seeks advice (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 1:36 am Data hint at 'five God particles'There may be more than one version of the elusive "God particle" - or Higgs boson - according to a new study.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 15 Jun 2010 | 1:22 am Oddball Alien Planets Discovered Among Newfound Worlds (SPACE.com)SPACE.com - Six new and diverse alien planets including a world twice as massive as Jupiter orbiting a rapidly spinning star have been discovered by a planet-hunting space observatory.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 1:15 am Japan seeks Guinness record listing for space probe (AFP)
Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 15 Jun 2010 | 1:05 am Wales records ancient woodlandsAn inventory of Wales' ancient woodlands is to be updated for the first time in 30 years to ensure all sites are protected.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 14 Jun 2010 | 11:52 pm Scientists Spot More Genes Related to Alzheimer's (HealthDay)HealthDay - MONDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers report that they have spotted two new regions of the human genome that may be related to the development of Alzheimer's disease.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:48 pm Genetics, Insecticides Might Contribute to Parkinson's (HealthDay)HealthDay - MONDAY, June 14 (HealthDay News) -- A combination of genetic mutations and exposure to insecticides may increase a man's risk of Parkinson's disease, new research shows.Source: Yahoo! News: Science News | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:48 pm Claims over Afghan mineral wealthAfghanistan may have more than a trillion dollars worth of untapped mineral deposits, a spokesman for the ministry of mines suggests.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 14 Jun 2010 | 8:45 pm The 'iconic uplands' of England are under threatThere must be a "fundamental rethink" about how the nation values the iconic uplands of England, a report says.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 14 Jun 2010 | 6:17 pm Green Revolution's carbon savingsThe Green Revolution of the 1960s saved decades worth of greenhouse gas emissions, a study shows.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 14 Jun 2010 | 5:33 pm Why Travelers Go South: North Seems Uphill
People making travel plans may unwittingly heed a strange rule of thumb — southern routes rule. In a new experiment, volunteers chose paths that dipped south over routes of the same distance that arched northward, perhaps because northern routes intuitively seem uphill and thus more difficult, researchers suggest.
“This finding suggests that when people plan to travel across long distances, a ‘north is up’ heuristic might compromise their accuracy in estimating trip durations,” Brunyé says. Only individuals who adopted a first-person, ground-level perspective treated southern routes as the paths of least resistance, he notes. From this vantage, one moves forward and back, right and left. No southern leaning characterized those who assessed routes from a bird’s-eye view. This type of navigation uses the directional terms north, south, east and west.
Real-world experiences underlie avoidance of northern routes, Brunyé proposes. Young children learn that as objects and locations get higher, they become harder to attain. Examples include reaching for a toy on the counter, climbing the stairs and jumping. An ingrained notion that “up is difficult” then gets applied to other situations. When someone imagines traversing a northern and a southern path, the northern way feels higher and more physically demanding, Brunyé suggests. Another phenomenon might account for the new findings, remarks psychologist Stella Lourenco of Emory University in Atlanta, who was not involved in the study. From infancy on, people categorize different quantities — say, the numbers 2 and 4 or a big and a small object — as instances of “less than” and “more than.” Also, adults tend to associate larger numbers with “up” and smaller numbers with “down.” If volunteers equated a northern route’s greater height on a computer screen with “more than” and a southern route’s lower position as “less than,” that could explain a southern bias, Lourenco says. Brunyé’s group first presented 160 college students with a series of maps on a computer screen showing parts of Pittsburgh or Chicago. Each map contained icons for various fictional landmarks, including an information booth and subway stops. Different-colored lines portrayed routes from one landmark to another, going north to south, east to west, or at angles. An experimenter asked participants to choose the shorter, faster route to a destination. Some participants took whatever perspective they wanted; others were instructed to take a first-person or a bird’s-eye outlook. Participants who assumed a first-person stance chose southern routes two-thirds of the time. Most reported no awareness of having favored southern routes. Students had no preference for eastern or western routes, or for routes that angled in any particular direction. Further experiments ruled out the possibilities that participants favored left or right turns, perceived northern routes as longer than southern routes or chose southern routes because they liked information located toward the bottom of the computer screen. Instead, participants rated northern routes as potentially more scenic and requiring more calories to walk or fuel to drive than southern routes — all signs of perceiving northern routes as elevated, Brunyé suggests. His team is now examining whether volunteers wearing head-mounted devices that place them in virtual settings prefer southern over northern routes. See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 14 Jun 2010 | 4:51 pm There's more water on the moon than anyone thoughtWASHINGTON (Reuters) - There is far more water on the moon than just about anyone thought and it is likely widespread deep under its surface, according to a report released on Monday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 14 Jun 2010 | 4:01 pm A wake-up call for dozingAssociation study shows that the genetics of sleep are as complex in flies as in humans.Source: NatureNews - All articles published today - nature.com science feeds | 14 Jun 2010 | 3:50 pm Japanese space probe finds unique asteroid dustSYDNEY (Reuters) - A Japanese space probe has landed in the Australian outback after a seven-year voyage to an asteroid, safely returning a capsule containing a unique sample of dust, Japanese mission controllers said on Monday.Source: Reuters: Science News | 14 Jun 2010 | 3:50 pm How to Slow Hair LossThere are a few steps you can take to preserve your hair.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 2:38 pm New U.S. Map Could Stop Species From Becoming Endangered
A new national map of the ecosystems of America could help keep healthy species from ending up endangered. Through ground and satellite surveys of land cover, the U. S. Geological Survey’s Gap Analysis Program has generated data that conservationists may be able to use to create and sustain habitat for wildlife. “These data are critical for determining the status of biodiversity, as baseline data for assessing climate change impacts, and for predicting the availability of habitat for wildlife,” said John Mosesso, the USGS manager of GAP in a press release. “Large datasets of this type are extremely important to land and wildlife managers because they allow for analysis and planning across extensive geographic areas.” While the research and mapping related to endangered species is extensive, the rest of the animals and plants out there — known as common species — get far less attention. The Endangered Species Act, signed into law by Richard Nixon in 1973, grants extraordinary protections to plants and animals on the verge of extinction, but it does little for other creatures in an ecosystem. The Gap Analysis Program is charged with figuring out which common species’ habitats may not be well represented by existing parks and conservation areas. The only way to do that is to mash up a bunch of data about species and land use. In addition to the large map above, there is a searchable, zoomable mapping system available. You can download the data that underpins the visualizations, too.
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WiSci 2.0: Alexis Madrigal’s Twitter, Tumblr, and forthcoming book on the history of green technology; Wired Science on Twitter and Facebook.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 14 Jun 2010 | 2:15 pm Kennedy's FBI Files Reveal Numerous Death ThreatsMore than 2,000 pages of documents detail the threats that plagued Kennedy throughout his 47-year Senate career.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 2:00 pm 'Largest Biological Reservoir' Discovered Below SeafloorDeep-sea microbes found thriving in harsh environments without sunlight.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 1:53 pm Source of Shimmering Butterfly Wing Colors RevealedThe rich, shimmering colors of some butterfly wings are produced not by pigments, but by a special geometric formation of cells, a new study suggests.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 1:10 pm Underwear That Could Save Your LifeBriefs that have carbon-based electrodes screenprinted onto the fabric act as biosensors to measure blood pressure, heart rate and other vital signs.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 1:08 pm What You Don’t Know About the Back of Your HandThe brain maintains a model of the hand in which our fingers are perceived to be shorter and our hands fatter than they actually are, a new study finds.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 1:02 pm People don't know the back of their own handsA study suggests our brains have highly distorted representations of the size and shape of our own hands. The distortion may extend to other body parts, skewing body image You may think you know the back of your hand like, well, the back of your hand. But think again. Scientists have found that our brains contain highly distorted representations of the size and shape of our hands, with a strong tendency to think of them as shorter and fatter than they really are. The work could have implications for how the brain unconsciously perceives other parts of the body and may help explain the underpinnings of certain eating disorders in which people's body image becomes distorted. In the study, neuroscientists at University College London asked more than 100 volunteers to place their left hand palm-down on a table. The researchers covered the volunteers' hands with a board and then asked them to indicate on it where they thought landmarks such as fingertips and knuckles lay underneath. This data was used to reconstruct the "brain's image" of the hand. The results, published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, showed a consistent overestimation of the width of the hand. Many of the volunteers estimated their hand was around 80% broader than it really was. "It's a dramatic and highly consistent bias. It was the same with estimation of finger lengths. When you get to the ring finger, with the largest bias, it's 30-40% underestimation," said Matthew Longo of UCL's Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, who led the work. The brain uses several ways to work out the location of different parts of the body. This includes feedback from muscles and joints and also some sort of internal model of the size and shape of each body part. "Previously it has been assumed that the brain uses a perfectly accurate model of the body and it's not mysterious where that might come from," said Longo. "We see our body all the time and it wouldn't be surprising if the brain had developed an accurate representation of the body." Instead, Longo's work shows that the brain's internal models can be hopelessly wrong. The errors could partly be explained because of the way the brain allocates its processing capacity, said Longo. Regions of high sensitivity in the skin, such as the fingertips and the lips, get a correspondingly larger proportion of the brain's territory. Longo said that this sensitivity was mirrored in the relative size of the fingers in the maps of perceived positions. "You find the least underestimation for the thumb and more underestimation as you go across to the little finger. You see the same pattern if you measure tactile sensitivity." The research was carried out on the hand because there were obvious landmarks for the volunteers to point out, which could then be used by the researchers to draw the brain's image of the hand. But the results might be applicable across the body. "It would be very surprising if there was a distorted representation of the hand but an accurate representation of the complete rest of the body. That would be a bizzare finding, so my guess is that there would be similar sorts of biases, perhaps bigger ones, on other parts of the body," said Longo. He said the research showed how the brain's ability to distort its representation of the body might underlie certain psychiatric conditions involving body image such as anorexia nervosa. "It's interesting to note that what we find for the hand is that the representation seems to be 'too fat'. If there's an implicit default representation of the brain to perceive the body as overly wide, then that could potentially account for the pattern you get with eating disorders." He added: "Our healthy participants had a basically accurate visual image of their own body, but the brain's model of the hand's underlying position sense was highly distorted. This distorted perception could come to dominate in some people, leading to distortions of body image as well, such as in eating disorders." guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 14 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm Butterfly Wing Colors Come From Space-Age Structures
Some butterflies get their fabulous colors from light refracted through membrane shapes that were first discovered by mathematicians and applied in space-age material science. Using microscopes with three-dimensional nanoscale resolution, Yale University researchers found that shades of green in the wings of five butterfly species are produced by crystalline structures called gyroids. The gyroid shape was conceived in 1970 by NASA physicist Alan Schoen in his theoretical search for ultra-light, ultra-strong materials for use in space. The new study describing the shape in butterflies is in the June 15 Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Yet even as mathematicians speculated on the nature of gyroids, entomologists found them in nature, at least in two dimensions. Microscopic images of butterfly wings showed that the surface of some scales, and how those scales reflected light, matched the predictions of gyroid math.
The gyroids are made of chitin, a polymer used in insect exoskeletons, secreted by wing cells that fold naturally into gyroid shape. After cells die and decompose, the chitin shells remain. Light refracts through them, with subtle variations in gyroid shape and proportion producing different hues. While the gyroids studied by the researchers were only responsible for green wavelengths, the basic principles — chitin shells in mathematically complex shapes — are likely used by butterflies to produce other colors, said study co-author Richard Prum, a Yale University biologist. “By varying the kinds of proteins included in the membranes, butterflies may be able to develop strikingly different structures,” he said. Material scientists now use synthetic gyroids to make photonic devices, such as solar cells and communication systems, that manipulate the flow of light. “Nature and the evolution of structures that create colors can be an excellent guide to how we might assemble and manufacture photonic materials,” said Prum. “Organisms have already been there.”
Images: 1. Wing scale photonic nanostructure, from electron micorscope to model./PNAS. 2. Soap film around a wire frame./Wikimedia Commons. 3. A gyroid model built by Alan Schoen./NASA. 4. Flickr/Claudio Gennari. See Also:
Citation: “Structure, function, and self-assembly of single network gyroid (I4132) photonic crystals in butterfly wing scales,” by Vinodkumar Saranathan, Chinedum Osuji, Simon Mochrie, Heeso Noh, Suresh Narayanan, Alec Sandy, Eric Dufresne, and Richard Prum. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 107 No. 24, June 15, 2010. Brandon Keim’s Twitter stream and reportorial outtakes; Wired Science on Twitter. Brandon is currently working on a book about ecological tipping points.
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 14 Jun 2010 | 1:00 pm Whales for SaleAn investigation has found that Japan not only pays countries to vote in favor of whaling, but offers other "encouragements," including prostitutes for delegates to the International Whaling Commission.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 12:56 pm New Project Aims to Flood the Market with Tablet PCsOLPC’s goal is to empower children in the developing world by putting computers in their hands.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 12:40 pm More Oil Spill Data Than You Can HandleAs part of the White House's Open Government Initiative, the U.S. Department of Energy has opened an online portal for the public to learn all the heart-wrenching details available about the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 12:35 pm Airplanes Punch Holes in Clouds, Make it RainPlanes flying through certain clouds can seed them, causing snow, rain, and spectacular "hole-punch" cloud formations.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 12:18 pm Honey May Heal Wounded Sea TurtlesThe Georgia Sea Turtle Center is healing wounded sea turtles with a sweet treatment: honey.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 11:38 am Obituary: John NewsonPsychologist whose work focused on the role of parents John Newson, who has died aged 84, was one of the leading, yet unorthodox, developmental psychologists of his generation. With his wife, Elizabeth, he conducted the most detailed and discussed British ethnographic study of childhood through parents' eyes, which spanned more than 20 years. Their work not only informed three generations of childcare practitioners about the diversity of parenting experiences, but also called mainstream psychology to account. The arrival of John and Elizabeth's first child in 1955 determined the nature of their academic careers. Having a colicky baby with disrupted sleep patterns, the Newsons found no help from parenting manuals or professional research. Without funding, they set up a study of 700 families in 1958. The aim was to provide what they called a "listening ear", allowing mothers to reflect on their experiences, without being judged. Convention dictated that the interviews be carried out by women. Elizabeth conducted 200 of these herself, and health visitors did the rest. John often looked after their own children – a role that he relished. The resulting book, Infant Care in An Urban Community (1963, reprinted by Pelican from 1965) was a great success. It secured funding for the continuation of the study when the children in the sample were aged four, seven, 11, 16 and 22. Three books on the study followed: Four Years Old in An Urban Community (1968), Seven Years Old in the Home Environment (1976) and Perspectives On School at Seven Years Old (1977). A final book on the three later ages was written but never published. John's unique role was the statistical analysis. He greatly enjoyed this work despite the punching of cards in the early days and later the need to be encamped in the university computer centre for hours at a time. The Newsons became the voice of parents, not only of the initial 700 families but also, following joint research conducted with a range of specialists, of parents of children with disabilities. Mainstream psychology tended to either disregard the influence of parents on their children's personalities, or to work within the impersonal confines of learning theory. The Newsons presented a message that many wished to deny – that social class and cultural influences create a diversity of fundamental beliefs about childrearing. While policymakers, parents and pressure groups lapped this message up, the Newsons were academically hard to place – often deemed to be too sociological for psychologists and too psychological for sociologists. John was born in south London. His parents soon moved to Chingford, Essex, to be nearer to his mother's extended family and their furniture businesses. His uncles, all master craftsmen, encouraged carpentry skills that were to occupy John along with his academic work. After Bancroft's school, John received a London University extension degree in maths and physics in 1948, his study having been interrupted by a commission in the Royal Corps of Signals in the two years following the war. His military experience allowed John time to read and decide upon a career in psychology. Following a year of statistics teaching, he took a psychology degree at University College London, graduating in 1951. As a mature student, John immersed himself in his major subject, as well as advanced statistics, philosophy and anthropology. He shared this experience with Elizabeth and they were married on the day that their degree results were announced. John had secured an assistant lectureship in psychology at Nottingham University before being awarded his degree, in part because of his statistical expertise. He was promoted to a chair at Nottingham in 1975. From the early 1970s, he became gripped by the origins of social understanding in babies. He reflected on the nature of the parent's role in what was termed "mother-infant" interaction, writing a sequence of papers about how parents' treatment of the infant as competent allowed the infant gradually to join in conversational exchanges, involving "inter-subjectivity". John's interest in woodwork influenced his research on how toys stimulate children's development (Toys and Playthings, 1979). He designed toys to be used for educational purposes, was appointed as a design adviser to a toy company, and, with Elizabeth, set up one of the first toy libraries to enhance the development of children with disabilities. He was the first chair of the developmental psychology section of the British Psychological Society in 1974, and, on the society's centenary in 2001, he and Elizabeth were asked to contribute an essay on their work to the collection Psychology in Britain. Not only did the Newsons run an integrated training programme at Nottingham University for clinical and educational psychologists, but their child development research unit attracted visitors from around the world. They usually came to a lunchtime meeting, with food prepared by John. That so many visitors and former students returned, or continued a correspondence, is a testament to his charm and the persuasiveness of his belief in the need for psychology to treat parents' and children's views seriously. In retirement, John dedicated more time to his passions for carpentry and sailing, until Parkinson's disease made these difficult. He is survived by Elizabeth, their son Roger and daughters Carey and Jo. • Laurence John Newson, psychologist, born 10 December 1925; died 15 May 2010 guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 14 Jun 2010 | 11:37 am What Are Rare Earth Elements?Recently discovered mineral deposits in Afghanistan may be worth $1 trillion.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 11:31 am Asteroid samples recoveredA helicopter team retrieves the Hayabusa asteroid-sample capsule from the Australian Outback.Source: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 14 Jun 2010 | 11:22 am Hurricanes Could Bust Gulf Oil PipelinesHurricanes cause currents and underwater mudslides that could damage oil pipelines in Gulf of Mexico.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 10:47 am Afghanistan: The Saudi Arabia of Lithium?Afghanistan appears to have hit the geological jackpot.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 10:25 am Wow! Jets Punch Holes in Clouds and Create RainAirplanes inadvertently seed clouds and create odd-shaped holes.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 10:21 am Teenager Unearths Dinosaur Era Marine Reptile in Vegetable GardenA Queensland, Australia teenager recently unearthed a Dinosaur Era marine reptile in his school's vegetable garden.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 10:04 am For Atlantic Hurricanes, the Heat is OnA region of unusually warm water in the eastern Atlantic Ocean is one reason we might be in for a big hurricane season.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:57 am Japanese Spacecraft Returns From Asteroid Sampling Mission
The Japanese spacecraft Hayabusa returned from its seven-year trek to the asteroid Itokawa on Sunday, and a capsule that hopefully contains pieces of the asteroid was recovered in the Australian outback Monday morning. The mission was the first round trip to a planetary body beyond the moon, and — if the capsule isn’t empty — the fourth space-sample return mission ever. The capsule detached from the spacecraft at 7:51 pm Japanese time on June 13. The rest of the spacecraft burnt up in a dramatic, meteor-like blaze at 10:51 p.m., but a heat shield protected the capsule as it reentered the atmosphere. The capsule landed in the Australian Woomera Prohibited Area, 300 miles northwest of Adelaide, and was located around 11:56 p.m. It will be flown to Tokyo tomorrow, where scientists will open the capsule.
The spacecraft landed on Itokawa twice in November 2005, but scientists were uncertain whether the metal bullet that was supposed to collect samples actually fired. Haybusa (Japanese for peregrine falcon) was supposed to return to Earth in 2007, but a series of setbacks, including broken control wheels, deterioration of its ion engine and battery malfunctions caused it to miss the window to return to Earth orbit until this year. The capsule needs to be thoroughly cleaned and tested before its contents are known, which could take several months. If it has succeeded, Hayabusa will be the fourth sample return mission ever, after Apollo, the Stardust mission that collected samples from the comet Wild 2, and the Genesis mission that collected solar matter. Image: NASA, JAXA See Also:
Source: Wired: Wired Science | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:55 am Is this homeopathy's last stand?It's Homeopathy Awareness Week, but the alternative medicine may be about to face a final deadly assault from critics, writes Edzard Ernst British homeopaths are celebrating Homeopathy Awareness Week, yet it seems to me there is very little for them to celebrate. Earlier this year, a report from the Commons Science and Technology Committee concluded that the principles of homeopathy are implausible and that the evidence fails to show that it works better than placebo. The MPs also criticised homeopaths for trying to mislead the public by providing inaccurate information. Their recommendation to government was to stop funding homeopathy on the NHS. Then the Prince of Wales's Foundation for Integrated Health, a staunch supporter of homeopathy in the NHS, folded in the midst of a police investigation for fraud and money laundering. Last month, the British Medical Association described homeopathy as "witchcraft" and called for an end to all funding on the NHS. A streak of bad luck? Not really. Homeopathy's fortunes have been crumbling for quite some time. The evidence to suggest that it has effects beyond those of a placebo has become less and less convincing. In 2005, The Lancet even pronounced "the end of homeopathy". As a result, one of the five NHS-funded homeopathic hospitals had to close. After assessing the science, its NHS trust found that the evidence did not justify any further funding. Faced with increasing criticism, UK homeopaths become more and more desperate. My team has found that the Society of Homeopaths even appears to have been in breach of its own code of ethics in attempting to promote homeopathy. On the society's website, numerous statements about efficacy were made that were not backed by science and so were not allowed under its own regulations. The society's chief executive commented at the time, in November 2009, that she was grateful to me for highlighting these issues and that the society would investigate and make amendments where appropriate. The website has since changed but many, perhaps even most, members of that organisation continue to make claims that violate their society's ethical standards. This is not a trivial or academic point. Recently Simon Singh won the libel case that the British Chiropractic Association (BCA) had brought against him. Singh had alleged that the BCA made unsupported claims. When the case was brought, several bloggers and sceptics then went through the claims made by UK chiropractors with a fine tooth comb and subsequently reported around 600 of them to their regulator for violating the rules that regulate their practice. These are serious allegations that cannot be swept under the carpet. Perusing this number of complaints in an orderly fashion will be extremely costly. The expense could turn out to be unaffordable for chiropractors and thus bankrupt their organisations. So even as homeopaths celebrate their "awareness week", bloggers and sceptics – enthused by their success on the chiropractic front – might already be considering action against any unsubstantiated claims made by UK homeopaths. This could truly be the end of homeopathy. Edzard Ernst is professor of complementary medicine at the Peninsula Medical School in Exeter guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:53 am Assisted Reproduction Boosts Deformity RiskThe rate of birth defects among children conceived with the help of assisted reproduction was twice as high as for those conceived without.Source: Discovery News - Top Stories | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:28 am Hard to killCustom proteins to reveal secrets of cancer cell survivalSource: BBC News | Science & Environment | UK Edition | 14 Jun 2010 | 9:26 am Plastic Designer Molecules May Boost Immune SystemPlastic Designer Molecules Fight IllnessSource: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 8:27 am Video Games With Reckless Driving May Play Out in Real LifePlaying certain types of video games might influence adolescents' driving habits, a new study suggests.Source: Livescience.com | 14 Jun 2010 | 7:53 am Asteroid sample returned safely to EarthScientists claim Japan's Hayabusa probe could unlock secrets of the solar system and shed light on asteroid impacts A Japanese space probe has landed in the Australian outback after a seven-year voyage to an asteroid, safely returning a capsule containing a unique sample of dust, Japanese mission controllers said today. The Hayabusa probe blazed a spectacular trail over Australia before slamming into the desert at around midnight local time, ending a journey to the near-Earth asteroid Itokawa that began in 2003. A spokesman for the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (Jaxa) said the first image available indicated the capsule carrying the precious cargo had survived. After sunrise, Australian defence officials flew local Aboriginal elders to the area by helicopter to verify that no sacred sites had been damaged. A defence spokesman said the indigenous leaders had cleared the way for the capsule to be recovered later today. Hayabusa, which means falcon in Japanese, landed on the irregularly shaped asteroid in 2005; scientists claim it managed to pick up a small sample of material. If successful, it would be the first time a spacecraft has brought such a sample back to Earth, other than from our own moon. Scientists hope it could unlock secrets of the solar system's formation and shed light on the risk to Earth from asteroid impacts. Nasa scientist Paul Abell, who monitored the return, said Hayabusa was significant for planetary defence, as an asteroid impact is thought to have wiped out the dinosaurs. Knowing the physical characteristics of near-Earth asteroids would be useful "in case we see something coming at us in the future", he said. As leftover matter from the building of the solar system, he added, asteroids could also tell us about its formation and possibly the origins of life. "It has actually gone really well. It is a very significant event," he said. Jaxa spokesman Makoto Miwada said the first photo of the capsule, with a diameter of 40cm and a height of 20cm, was encouraging. "We have only one photo and it looks very safe," he said. Much of the probe burned up in the atmosphere, as planned, forming a fireball and the capsule could be seen separating, witnesses said. "It was like a shooting star with a starburst behind it. It was fantastic," one witness said. Teams from Nasa were deployed to watch the 500kg craft's return to the Woomera weapons testing range in South Australia. A long stretch of central Australia's main north-south Stuart Highway was closed for safety reasons. The asteroid Itokawa measures more than 500 metres at its longest point. Planetary scientist Trevor Ireland said the dust sample could shed light on the "missing link" between asteroids and meteorites that fall to Earth. Analysis of the capsule's contents will be carried out in Japan and is expected to take at least six months. guardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds Source: Science news, comment and analysis | guardian.co.uk | 14 Jun 2010 | 3:07 am
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Gyroids have what’s known as an “infinitely connected triply periodic minimal surface”: For a given set of boundaries, they have the smallest possible surface area. The principle can be illustrated in soap film on a wireframe (see image at right). Unlike soap film, however, the planes of a gyroid’s surface never intersect. As mathematicians showed in the decades following Schoen’s discovery, gyroids also contain no straight lines, and can never be divided into symmetrical parts.
Those analyses looked only at scale surfaces. In the new study, the researchers look at three dimensions using a microscopy technique called synchrotron small angle X-ray scattering. Something like a combination of an electron microscope and X-ray machine, it revealed butterfly gyroids in structural high-definition.
