Science & TechnologyS


Bulb

Old Genes Can Learn New Tricks, Horned Beetles Show


ScienceDaily
Wed, 13 May 2009 08:13 UTC
Onthophagus taurus
© Alex WildTwo Onthophagus taurus males. Armin Moczek and Debra Rose's study suggests several genes involved in making legs and antennae were co-opted to make the beetles' horns. Horns are a novel trait that is unique to horned beetles
A popular view among evolutionary biologists that fundamental genes do not acquire new functions has been challenged by a new study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Indiana University Bloomington biologist Armin Moczek and research associate Debra Rose report that two ancient genes were "co-opted" to help build a new trait in beetles -- the fancy antlers that give horned beetles their name. The genes, Distal-less and homothorax, touch most aspects of insect larval development, and have therefore been considered off-limits to the evolution of new traits.

In the two horned beetle species Moczek and Rose studied, the genetic sequences of Distal-less and homothorax were hardly different, suggesting the two genes have retained their unique identities because of selective pressures not to change. What changed was not the genes themselves, but when and where they are turned on.
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Satellite

New High-Temperature Superconductors Feel a Familiar Vibe

Adrian Cho
ScienceNOW
Thu, 07 May 2009 04:29 UTC
crystal structures
© M. Norman, Physics 1, 21 (2008)Shake it! The crystal structures of the two iron-and-arsenic superconductors (left, the samarium compound), in which vibration appear to play a key role.
A year ago, experimenters in Japan and China set the world of condensed-matter physics abuzz when they discovered a new family of high-temperature superconductors--materials that carry electricity without resistance at inexplicably high temperatures. Now, experiments show that the new compounds, which contain iron and arsenic, share something in common with the oldest known superconductors, which theorists deciphered 52 years ago. In both types of materials, tiny vibrations seem to play a crucial role in making current flow without losing energy--although that does not necessarily mean the materials work the same way.

In any superconductor, resistance-free flow sets in below a certain "critical temperature" when the electrons somehow pair to waltz along unimpeded. The question is, how do the electrons, which ordinarily repel one another, attract one another instead? In an ordinary superconductor, such as the metal niobium chilled to below 9.3 kelvin, vibrations provide the necessary "glue." An electron zipping through the material sets off a quantized vibration, or "phonon," that draws another electron in its wake. Formulated in 1957, this scheme neatly explained every superconductor known at the time and for decades to come.
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Evil Rays

Baby monitors killing urban Wi-Fi


PC Pro
Mon, 11 May 2009 16:23 UTC
IT Portal
Baby monitors and wireless TV transmitters are responsible for slowing down Wi-Fi connections in built-up areas, according to an Ofcom-commissioned report.

The regulator commissioned the report to evaluate the effectiveness of the unlicensed 2.4GHz band that Wi-Fi operates over.

The report smashes the myth that huge congestion on overlapping Wi-Fi networks is responsible for the poor performance of Wi-Fi in urban areas. Instead, it points the finger of blame at the raft of unlicensed equipment operating on the 2.4GHz band.

"There is a view that some domestic users generate excessive amounts of Wi-Fi traffic, denying access to other users," claims the report from wireless specialists, Mass Consutling. "Our research suggests that this is not the case, rather the affected parties are almost certainly seeing interference from non-Wi-Fi devices such as microwave ovens, Audio Video senders, security cameras or baby monitors."

"The greatest concentration of different radio types tends to occur in urban centres, so interference tends to increase with population density.
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Syringe

Scientists Experiment with Vaccinations in GMO Corn


Google
Mon, 11 May 2009 03:28 UTC
Ames, Iowa - Iowa State University researchers are putting flu vaccines into
the genetic makeup of corn, which may someday allow pigs and humans to get a
flu vaccination simply by eating corn or corn products.

"We're trying to figure out which genes from the swine influenza virus to
incorporate into corn so those genes, when expressed, would produce
protein," said Hank Harris, professor in animal science and one of the
researchers on the project. "When the pig consumes that corn, it would serve
as a vaccine."

Comment: This is yet one more reason to eat organic food. Wouldn't this just serve to increase the rate of virus mutation; especially since people will be eating the pigs who have eaten the corn, besides eating the corn itself? Read more about the controversy surrounding vaccines here, here, here, and here.

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Info

World's Largest Tornado Experiment Heads For Great Plains


Terra Daily
Wed, 13 May 2009 01:49 UTC
Boulder, CO - The largest and most ambitious tornado study in history will begin next week, as dozens of scientists deploy radars and other ground-based instruments across the Great Plains to gain a better understanding of these often-deadly weather events.

The collaborative international project, involving scientists from the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) and a number of other organizations, will examine in detail how tornadoes form and the patterns of damage they cause. The findings are expected to improve tornado warnings and short-term severe weather forecasts.
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Saturn

Soft Ground Puts Mars Rover Spirit In Danger


Mars Daily
Wed, 13 May 2009 01:42 UTC
Image
© Mars Daily
The five wheels that still rotate on NASA's Mars Exploration
Rover Spirit have been slipping severely in soft soil during recent attempts to drive, sinking the wheels about halfway into the ground.

The rover team of engineers and scientists has suspended driving Spirit temporarily while studying the ground around the rover and planning simulation tests of driving options with a test rover at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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Info

Prehistoric fishing tackle found in Egypt


Khaleej Times Online
Wed, 13 May 2009 01:27 UTC
Cairo - An Egyptian archaeological team has found prehistoric fishing gear, sewing equipment and jewellery all made from animal bones, as well as pottery and coins, near an oasis south of Cairo, officials said on Tuesday.

Culture Minister Faruk Hosni said in a statement: "An Egyptian archaeological mission working near El-Karn island on Lake Qarun in Fayoum has found a large amount of fishing tackle, sewing equipment and jewellery made from animal bone dating back to prehistoric time."
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Magnify

Race to preserve the world's oldest submerged town

University of Nottingham
PhysOrg.com
Wed, 13 May 2009 01:19 UTC
The oldest submerged town in the world is about to give up its secrets - with the help of equipment that could revolutionise underwater archaeology.

The ancient town of Pavlopetri lies in three to four metres of water just off the coast of southern Laconia in Greece. The ruins date from at least 2800 BC through to intact buildings, courtyards, streets, chamber tombs and some thirty-seven cist graves which are thought to belong to the Mycenaean period (c.1680-1180 BC). This Bronze Age phase of Greece provides the historical setting for much Ancient Greek literature and myth, including Homer's Age of Heroes.
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Rocket

NASA finds minor scratch damage to shuttle shield

Irene Klotz
Reuters
Wed, 13 May 2009 01:12 UTC
Cape Canaveral, Florida - The U.S. space shuttle Atlantis apparently was hit by a piece of debris that nicked part of its heat shield but the damage appeared very minor, NASA said on Tuesday.

Atlantis and its seven-member crew blasted off from Florida on Monday on an 11-day mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.

It will be the U.S. space agency's last chance to tinker with the telescope -- which has vastly expanded scientists' knowledge of the universe -- before NASA ends the shuttle program in 2010.
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Frog

Enemies of creationism may be hindering science teachers

Andrew Brown
Guardian
Tue, 12 May 2009 14:58 UTC
A US judge's ruling is a warning to those who want to teach real science in schools that they need to change their tactics

Adistrict court judge in southern California has ruled that a teacher who described creationism as "superstitious nonsense" was making a religious statement, which is impermissible in US public schools. On the face of it, this is completely absurd, even for southern California. Creationism is superstitious nonsense, and teachers should be able to say so. But when you look at the background, the case becomes in some respects less absurd, but also more threatening - especially for hardline rationalists such as Richard Dawkins, who would like to dismiss creationism as beneath contempt.
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