Science & Technology
TENERIFE, Canary Islands - One of the world's largest and most powerful telescopes opened its shutters, turned its 34-foot wide mirror toward the skies and captured its first light at a mountaintop on one of Spain's Canary Islands on Saturday.
Israel's Ministry of Defense and some of the country's leading industry executives repeatedly squashed Venezuelan bids to buy high-resolution commercial satellite imagery.
According to a lawsuit filed July 2 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Venezuela's potential procurement deals were sabatoged twice and more recently a personal offer by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to buy a significant equity stake in ImageSat International (ISI), a local satellite operating firm, was ignored.
In their lawsuit, the ISI minority shareholders accuse major investors and the firm's current management of "spurning lucrative ... opportunities in Venezuela in order to devalue the company [Imagesat]."
The plaintiffs represent a cross section of minority shareholders in ISI, including members of the founding management and some other former company employees. The plaintiffs note that they invested millions during "Imagesat's highest risk start-up and development stages and at times when the company was in financial crisis, for which they received common or preferred shares or bridge warrants."
According to a lawsuit filed July 2 in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, Venezuela's potential procurement deals were sabatoged twice and more recently a personal offer by Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez to buy a significant equity stake in ImageSat International (ISI), a local satellite operating firm, was ignored.
In their lawsuit, the ISI minority shareholders accuse major investors and the firm's current management of "spurning lucrative ... opportunities in Venezuela in order to devalue the company [Imagesat]."
The plaintiffs represent a cross section of minority shareholders in ISI, including members of the founding management and some other former company employees. The plaintiffs note that they invested millions during "Imagesat's highest risk start-up and development stages and at times when the company was in financial crisis, for which they received common or preferred shares or bridge warrants."
The fizzy gases that cause some volcanoes to blow their tops appear to originate deep beneath the surface, a new study by a team of Italian geologists from the National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology has revealed.
People from Western cultures such as the United States are particularly challenged in their ability to understand someone else's point of view because they are part of a culture that encourages individualism, new research at the University of Chicago shows.
In contrast, Chinese, who live in a society that encourages a collectivist attitude among its members, are much more adept at determining another person's perspective, according to a new study.
One of the consequences of Americans' and other Westerners' problems of seeing things from another person's point of view is faltering communication, said Boaz Keysar, Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago.
"Many actions and words have multiple meanings. In order to sort out what a person really means, we need to gain some perspective on what he or she might be thinking and, Americans for example, who don't have that skill very well developed, probably tend to make more errors in understanding what another person means," Keysar said.
In contrast, Chinese, who live in a society that encourages a collectivist attitude among its members, are much more adept at determining another person's perspective, according to a new study.
One of the consequences of Americans' and other Westerners' problems of seeing things from another person's point of view is faltering communication, said Boaz Keysar, Professor in Psychology at the University of Chicago.
"Many actions and words have multiple meanings. In order to sort out what a person really means, we need to gain some perspective on what he or she might be thinking and, Americans for example, who don't have that skill very well developed, probably tend to make more errors in understanding what another person means," Keysar said.
Dutch researcher Joris van den Berg has developed a mathematical model to predict the movement of sand waves. Sand waves are formed by an interaction between the tidal current and sand. They are larger than sand ripples on the beach but smaller than sandbanks. Sand waves largely determine the shape of the sea floor in the southern part of the North Sea. A good predictive computer model would be a valuable tool for shipping and designers of offshore infrastructures.
The mathematical equations describing the behaviour of sand waves have been known for some time. Yet suitable equations alone are not enough to predict their behaviour; the equations also need to be solved reliably. To date, no practical methods were available for solving these equations, especially for larger sand waves.
The mathematical equations describing the behaviour of sand waves have been known for some time. Yet suitable equations alone are not enough to predict their behaviour; the equations also need to be solved reliably. To date, no practical methods were available for solving these equations, especially for larger sand waves.
Scientists have engineered viruses to attack and destroy mega-colonies of potentially harmful bacteria called biofilms.
The work is one of the latest potential applications to emerge from synthetic biology, a burgeoning field that aims to change the genomes of organisms on large scales to make them more useful to humans or to even craft new life forms from scratch.
The work is one of the latest potential applications to emerge from synthetic biology, a burgeoning field that aims to change the genomes of organisms on large scales to make them more useful to humans or to even craft new life forms from scratch.
Synthetic life could be just around the corner - depending on what you mean by "synthetic".
Last week, genomics pioneer Craig Venter announced that his team has passed an important milestone in its efforts to create a bacterial cell whose genome is entirely synthetic - constructed chemically from the building blocks of DNA. Venter claims this goal could be achieved within months.
Last week, genomics pioneer Craig Venter announced that his team has passed an important milestone in its efforts to create a bacterial cell whose genome is entirely synthetic - constructed chemically from the building blocks of DNA. Venter claims this goal could be achieved within months.
Comet LINEAR (C/2006 VZ13), now crossing through Draco and Boötes, has far exceeded expectations. It was originally predicted to peak in brightness around magnitude 10, a pleasant spectacle for people who enjoy viewing faint comets through telescopes. But the latest magnitude estimates range from 7.5 to 8.0, making it an easy sight through 10×50 binoculars in a dark, transparent sky.
Astronomers have reported the first hard evidence of water on an alien planet - on a giant swirling world of gas that is steaming up.
The discovery - by Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope - provide the most convincing evidence yet that water, which is synonymous with the possibility of life, is common elsewhere in the cosmos.
The wet planet is known as HD 189733b, and orbits a star in the constellation of Vulpecula the Fox, which is 64 light years (380 million million miles) from the Sun.
The alien world passes directly in front of its star, as viewed from the Earth, enabling astronomers to analyse its chemical makeup
Astronomers had predicted that planets of this class, termed "hot Jupiters," would contain water vapour in their atmospheres. Yet finding solid evidence for this has been difficult.
The discovery - by Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope - provide the most convincing evidence yet that water, which is synonymous with the possibility of life, is common elsewhere in the cosmos.
The wet planet is known as HD 189733b, and orbits a star in the constellation of Vulpecula the Fox, which is 64 light years (380 million million miles) from the Sun.
The alien world passes directly in front of its star, as viewed from the Earth, enabling astronomers to analyse its chemical makeup
Astronomers had predicted that planets of this class, termed "hot Jupiters," would contain water vapour in their atmospheres. Yet finding solid evidence for this has been difficult.
A dying comet has prompted astronomers to take issue with a mainstream theory about the impact of "space weather" on these enigmatic wanderers of the Solar System.
Comment: While this article focuses on how genetic engineering of viruses can be used to help humanity, there is a dark side to such research and tinkering with viruses. Read the Signs Supplement - Ethnic Specific Weapons for more information.