Science & Technology
Australian scientists have created an apple that does not go brown when cut open. The new variety - called Enchanted - stays pale pink for several hours after being exposed to air. The apple was bred naturally in Australia from the varieties Lady Williams and Golden Delicious without genetic modification.
The sun's movement through the Milky Way regularly sends comets hurtling into the inner solar system -- coinciding with mass life extinctions on earth, a new study claims. The study suggests a link between comet bombardment and the movement through the galaxy.
A 500-year-old shipwreck has been found off the coast of southern Africa, laden with tons of copper ingots, elephant tusks, gold coins, and cannons to fend off pirates.
The wreck and its treasure were recently discovered by geologists prospecting for diamonds off the coast of Namibia.
The wreck and its treasure were recently discovered by geologists prospecting for diamonds off the coast of Namibia.
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| ©WildlifeDirect |
| A lion that ate a pesticide-laced hippo carcass stumbles in Masai Mara National Reserve in Kenya in this undated photo. Several hippopotamuses and at least four lions in the park have died after ingesting carbofuran, a powerful insecticide, conservationists say. Wildlife groups are concerned that pastoralists are increasingly using the compound to get rid of carnivores that prey on their livestock. |
Several hippopotamuses and at least four lions in Kenya's famed Masai Mara National Reserve have died after ingesting a powerful insecticide, conservationists say.
The hippos ate grass contaminated by the pesticide, called carbofuran, and the lions became partially paralyzed after eating a hippo carcass, according to the conservation nonprofit WildlifeDirect.
Robert Fisher and Cal Jordan are among a team of scientists who will expend 22 million computational hours during the next year on one of the world's most powerful supercomputers, simulating an event that takes less than five seconds.
Fisher and Jordan require such resources in their field of extreme science. Their work at the University of Chicago's Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes explores how the laws of nature unfold in natural phenomena at unimaginably extreme temperatures and pressures. The Blue Gene/P supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory will serve as one of their primary tools for studying exploding stars.
"The Argonne Blue Gene/P supercomputer is one of the largest and fastest supercomputers in the world," said Fisher, a Flash Center Research Scientist. "It has massive computational resources that are not available on smaller platforms elsewhere."
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| ©DOE NNSA ASC/Alliance Flash Center at the University of Chicago |
| A snapshot of a three-dimensional simulation of a Type Ia supernova, shortly after the nuclear flame bubble that initiates the Ia event is ignited slightly off-center from the progenitor white dwarf star (shown here as a light blue surface). Buoyancy forces drive the bubble (shown in yellow and red) rapidly to the surface of the white dwarf. The bubble, consisting of nuclear ash heated to hundreds of millions of degrees, reaches a speed of nearly 2 million miles per hour before erupting from the surface roughly a second after ignition. |
Fisher and Jordan require such resources in their field of extreme science. Their work at the University of Chicago's Center for Astrophysical Thermonuclear Flashes explores how the laws of nature unfold in natural phenomena at unimaginably extreme temperatures and pressures. The Blue Gene/P supercomputer at Argonne National Laboratory will serve as one of their primary tools for studying exploding stars.
"The Argonne Blue Gene/P supercomputer is one of the largest and fastest supercomputers in the world," said Fisher, a Flash Center Research Scientist. "It has massive computational resources that are not available on smaller platforms elsewhere."
Researchers studying the echolocation behavior in bats have discovered that the diminutive flying mammals emit exceptionally loud sounds -- louder than any known animal in air.
Annemarie Surlykke from the Institute of Biology, SDU, Denmark, and her colleague, Elisabeth Kalko, from the University of Ulm, Germany, studied the echolocation behavior in 11 species of insect-eating tropical bats from Panamá, the findings of which are reported in this weeks' PLoS ONE.
The researchers used microphone arrays and photographic methods to reconstruct flight paths of the bats in the field when these nocturnal hunters find and capture their insect prey in air using their sonar system. Surlykke and Kalko took this information as a base to estimate the emitted sound intensity and found that bats emit exceptionally loud sounds exceeding 140 dB SPL (at 10 cm from the bat's mouth), which is the highest level reported so far for any animal in air. For comparison, the level at a loud rock concert is 115-120 dB and for humans, the threshold of pain is around 120 dB.
Annemarie Surlykke from the Institute of Biology, SDU, Denmark, and her colleague, Elisabeth Kalko, from the University of Ulm, Germany, studied the echolocation behavior in 11 species of insect-eating tropical bats from Panamá, the findings of which are reported in this weeks' PLoS ONE.
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| ©iStockphoto/Alexei Zaycev |
| Bats emit their echolocation calls at ultrasonic frequencies in order to get echoes from small insects. |
The researchers used microphone arrays and photographic methods to reconstruct flight paths of the bats in the field when these nocturnal hunters find and capture their insect prey in air using their sonar system. Surlykke and Kalko took this information as a base to estimate the emitted sound intensity and found that bats emit exceptionally loud sounds exceeding 140 dB SPL (at 10 cm from the bat's mouth), which is the highest level reported so far for any animal in air. For comparison, the level at a loud rock concert is 115-120 dB and for humans, the threshold of pain is around 120 dB.
Could a superheavy element - heavier than anything previously found in nature or made in the lab - exist naturally in the rocks of Earth? A team of physicists says they have detected a few exceptionally massive atoms - which they say could be element 122 - in a solution prepared from natural minerals. But other scientists are highly sceptical of the claim.
The Doomed and the Blind
As politicians sit squabbling in Washington, deliberating and deciding, an asteroid 4 kilometers across is thundering through space at 15 miles per second. It was forged in a galactic maelstrom millions of years ago from molten metal, and now it tumbles through space with malevolent indifference. People sit unaware of an impending disaster, carrying on their daily activities while extinction encroaches. It won't just be the extinction of a few species, or a few million people, but all life will be wiped off the face of the earth within hours. Our planet will become a barren waste for millions of years, void of vibrant life and wonder.
Is an awful scenario like this really plausible? The answer is yes. The threat is very real and the evidence is in the scars our earth bears on the surface, the massive craters on the moon, and the giant wounds on Mars. You would expect that something so catastrophic and horrible for our species and planet would demand attention from lawmakers; wrong. Although our government is well-informed by agencies like NASA, it has neglected to properly fund Near Earth Object (NEO) programs, and it could lead to our destruction. An asteroid impact is a natural disaster we can actually prevent, and if our representatives don't take steps to improve our warning systems, we will suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs.
As politicians sit squabbling in Washington, deliberating and deciding, an asteroid 4 kilometers across is thundering through space at 15 miles per second. It was forged in a galactic maelstrom millions of years ago from molten metal, and now it tumbles through space with malevolent indifference. People sit unaware of an impending disaster, carrying on their daily activities while extinction encroaches. It won't just be the extinction of a few species, or a few million people, but all life will be wiped off the face of the earth within hours. Our planet will become a barren waste for millions of years, void of vibrant life and wonder.
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| Itokawa asteroid |
Is an awful scenario like this really plausible? The answer is yes. The threat is very real and the evidence is in the scars our earth bears on the surface, the massive craters on the moon, and the giant wounds on Mars. You would expect that something so catastrophic and horrible for our species and planet would demand attention from lawmakers; wrong. Although our government is well-informed by agencies like NASA, it has neglected to properly fund Near Earth Object (NEO) programs, and it could lead to our destruction. An asteroid impact is a natural disaster we can actually prevent, and if our representatives don't take steps to improve our warning systems, we will suffer the same fate as the dinosaurs.
An analysis of century-old bottles of absinthe - the kind once quaffed by the likes of van Gogh and Picasso to enhance their creativity - may end the controversy over what ingredient caused the green liqueur's supposed mind-altering effects .
The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick. In comparison, most gins, vodkas and whiskeys are just 80- to 100-proof.
The culprit seems plain and simple: The century-old absinthe contained about 70 percent alcohol, giving it a 140-proof kick. In comparison, most gins, vodkas and whiskeys are just 80- to 100-proof.
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| Albert Maignan's painting of "Green Muse" (1895) shows a poet succumbing to absinthe's mind-altering effects. Credit: Courtesy of the Musee de Picardie, Amiens |
A meteoroid is a solid object - usually are dust particles or debris from comets - that floats around in space.
When meteoroid enters and burns in the Earth's atmosphere, the visible streak in the sky is known as a meteor.
A meteorite is the meteoroid that survives and reaches Earth's surface.
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time is called a meteor shower.
If we trace back the path of the meteors during a meteor shower, we will find that all the meteors seem to originate from a point in the sky. This point is known as the radiant.
When meteoroid enters and burns in the Earth's atmosphere, the visible streak in the sky is known as a meteor.
A meteorite is the meteoroid that survives and reaches Earth's surface.
An increase in the number of meteors at a particular time is called a meteor shower.
If we trace back the path of the meteors during a meteor shower, we will find that all the meteors seem to originate from a point in the sky. This point is known as the radiant.
Comment: Yes, it is. But it is also unfortunate that certain people accuse others of what they, themselves are doing.