Science & TechnologyS


Hourglass

California quake scientists detail impact of 'Big One'


Associated Press
Thu, 22 May 2008 20:56 UTC
LOS ANGELES - The "Big One," as earthquake scientists imagine it in a detailed, first-of-its-kind script, unzips California's mighty San Andreas Fault north of the Mexican border. In less than two minutes, Los Angeles and its sprawling suburbs are shaking like a bowl of jelly.

The jolt from the 7.8-magnitude temblor lasts for three minutes - 15 times longer than the disastrous 1994 Northridge quake.
Read More...
Light Saber

Leading Scientists Are Pushing for Politics to Be Removed From Research

Jo Hartley
NaturalNews
Tue, 20 May 2008 16:30 UTC
Leading U.S. scientists have called on Congress to prevent the next elected president from doing what they say the George W. Bush Administration has done. That would be censoring, suppressing and falsifying key environmental and health research. Serious consequences result when drug safety decisions are not based on the finest and most accurate scientific advice available from experts.
Read More...
Question

Manson ranch scientific dig called off with no remains found


Associated Press
Thu, 22 May 2008 00:47 UTC
DEATH VALLEY NATIONAL PARK, Calif. - A dig for clandestine graves at Charles Manson's last hideout was called to an end Wednesday after yielding no bodies and leaving scientists puzzled over the clues that had enticed them to come this far.
Read More...
Health

Stem-cell therapy is no miracle cure


The Times Online
Wed, 21 May 2008 21:25 UTC
Scientists from around the world express a note of caution on stem-cell therapy

Sir, We are convinced that stem-cell research is a highly promising area of science offering potential for new methods of treating many serious diseases. We welcome legal acceptance, public and private funding, and international co-operation for a range of stem-cell research.
Read More...
Bulb

A missing link settles debate over the origin of frogs and salamanders


University of Calgary
Wed, 21 May 2008 15:39 UTC
The description of an ancient amphibian that millions of years ago swam in quiet pools and caught mayflies on the surrounding land in Texas has set to rest one of the greatest current controversies in vertebrate evolution. The discovery was made by a research team led by scientists at the University of Calgary.

The examination and detailed description of the fossil, Gerobatrachus hottoni (meaning Hotton's elder frog), proves the previously disputed fact that some modern amphibians, frogs and salamanders evolved from one ancient amphibian group called temnospondyls.

The discovery is described for the first time in the prestigious international research journal Nature.

"The dispute arose because of a lack of transitional forms. This fossil seals the gap," says Jason Anderson, assistant professor, University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine and lead scientist in the study.

Image
©Michael Skrepnick
An Early Permian landscape, with Gerobatrachus hottoni lunging at the mayfly Protoreisma between stands of Calamites and under a fallen Walchia conifer.
Read More...
Phoenix

Mars, the Great Galactic Ghoul, devours spacecrafts: Will the next probe survive?

Steve Curtis
The Independent
Wed, 21 May 2008 15:35 UTC
For decades, space scientists have tried (and often failed) to design probes that can land safely on the surface of the Red Planet. Will they get it right this time?
Read More...
Display

Don't let cyberspite destroy your good name and make identity profiling easier for the spooks


New Scientist
Wed, 21 May 2008 15:17 UTC
You buy a television on eBay. When it arrives, you eagerly unwrap it, only to find it is badly scratched. You return it, and leave a negative comment about the seller on the site. The next day, you find the seller has retaliated by posting a nasty comment about you, branding you as a time-waster. Suddenly, no one wants to sell to you and your reputation is in tatters.

Until now eBay's rating system, which allows users of the auction and trading site to leave good or bad comments about their trading partners, has worked well. Sellers who ship out damaged goods, or items that do not match their online description, rightly get a black mark against their name. However, this system has recently come under increasing pressure from an all-too-human failing: spite. Sellers can easily retaliate against buyers who have named and shamed them, leaving unwarranted but highly visible comments - perhaps claiming that the buyers do not follow through with purchases, or needlessly return items they have bought.

Fear of this retaliatory "negging" can deter buyers from posting negative comments about their trading experiences. In turn, this threatens to undermine the trust that buyers place in sellers' ratings.

So severe has the negging problem become that this month eBay was forced to change its rating system, preventing sellers from posting negative comments about bad buyers on the site.
Read More...
Star

A scientific first: A supernova explosion is observed in real time


Weizmann Institute of Science
Wed, 21 May 2008 15:05 UTC
An ordinary observation with NASA's Swift research satellite recently led to the first real-time sighting of a star in the process of exploding. Astronomers have surveyed thousands of these supernova explosions in the past, but their observations have always begun some time after the main event is underway. The information gained from catching a supernova at the very onset is already being hailed as the 'Rosetta Stone' of star explosion, and it is helping scientists to form a detailed picture of the processes involved.

A typical supernova is preceded by the burn-out of a massive star. When the nuclear fuel at its core runs out, the star collapses under its own weight. The resulting body, now known as a neutron star, is so dense that one teaspoonful of its core material weighs as much as all the humans on earth. This extreme compression is followed by a rebound, creating a shock wave that bounces off the surface of the newly-formed neutron star and rips through its outer, gaseous layers. These layers are ejected, flying off the surface in rapidly expanding shells.
Read More...
Bulb

Why do astronauts suffer from space sickness?


TU Delft
Fri, 16 May 2008 15:01 UTC
Rotating astronauts for a lengthy period provided researcher Suzanne Nooij with better insight into how 'space sickness' develops, the nausea and disorientation experienced by many astronauts. Nooij will receive her PhD from TU Delft on this subject on Tuesday 20 May.

Gravity plays a major role in our spatial orientation. Changes in gravitational forces, such as the transition to weightlessness during a space voyage, influence our spatial orientation and require adaptation by many of the physiological processes in which our balance system plays a part. As long as this adaptation is incomplete, this can be coupled to motion sickness (nausea), visual illusions and disorientation.

This 'space sickness' or Space Adaptation Syndrome (SAS), is experienced by about half of all astronauts during the first few days of their space voyage. Wubbo Ockels, the first Dutchman in space in 1986, also suffered from these symptoms. In his capacity as TU Delft professor, Ockels is PhD supervisor for Suzanne Nooij's research.
Read More...
Arrow Down

'We have an explanation; Move along': Soyuz bumpy re-entry caused by technical glitch


RIA Novosti
Wed, 21 May 2008 14:53 UTC
A technical glitch caused the ballistic landing of Russia's Soyuz TMA-11 capsule in April this year, the head of the Federal Space Agency's department for manned flights said on Wednesday.

On April 19, the Soyuz-TMA-11 capsule, carrying U.S. astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian flight engineer Yuri Malenchenko, and Korean bioengineer Yi So-yeon from the International Space Station, made a bumpy re-entry, landing 420 km (260 miles) off-target in the steppes of northern Kazakhstan.

"The cause has been established," said Alexei Krasnov. "The equipment bay failed to separate from the capsule in the designated time, causing a ballistic landing of the spacecraft."
Read More...