Science & TechnologyS


Bomb

Scientists discover how to use plants to clean up the world's many TNT contaminated sites

Will Dunham
Reuters
Thu, 03 Sep 2015 14:08 UTC
genetic mutations plants
A plant with a mutation in a gene called MDHAR6 (R) displays enhanced tolerance to TNT in the soil compared to a plant without the mutation (L) in this University of York image released on September 3, 2015.
Scientists have discovered why TNT is so toxic to plants and intend to use this knowledge to tackle the problem of cleaning up the many sites worldwide contaminated by the commonly used explosive.

Researchers on Thursday said they have pinpointed an enzyme in plants that reacts with TNT, which is present in the soil at contaminated sites, and damages plant cells. TNT pollution can devastate vegetation and leave land desolate.

Conventional breeding techniques could be used to produce plants like grasses that would lack the enzyme and be more tolerant of TNT, they said. These could be grown to re-vegetate contaminated land and remove TNT from the soil.

"Explosives such as TNT are toxic not only to plants but also animals, microbes and aquatic life," said biotechnology professor Neil Bruce of Britain's University of York, who led the study in the journal Science.

Comment: It's admirable that scientist are trying to discover methods of decontaminating the planet from the explosive residues of war, but one might ask whether tying to limit or ban such explosives shouldn't be a primary consideration as well. Of course, such an unusual idea is completely foreign in a world controlled by psychopaths.

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Blackbox

New research shows why cats are more independent than dogs


Phys.org
Thu, 03 Sep 2015 14:29 UTC
Cat
© Alamy
Domestic cats do not generally see their owners as a focus of safety and security in the same way that dogs do, according to new research.

The study by animal behaviour specialists at the University of Lincoln, UK, shows that while dogs perceive their owners as a safe base, the relationship between people and their feline friends appears to be quite different.

While it is increasingly recognised that cats are more social and more capable of shared relationships than traditionally thought, this latest research shows that adult cats appear to be more autonomous -- even in their social relationships -- and not necessarily dependent on others to provide a sense of protection.
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Info

Parasitically infected bumblebees self-medicate by changing dietary preferences


Science Daily
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 00:00 UTC
parasite infected bumblebees
© Leif RichardsonA Dartmouth-led study finds that bumblebees infected with a common intestinal parasite are drawn to flowers whose nectar and pollen have a medicinal effect, suggesting that plant chemistry could help combat the decline of bee species.
Bumblebees infected with a common intestinal parasite are drawn to flowers whose nectar and pollen have a medicinal effect, a Dartmouth-led study shows. The findings suggest that plant chemistry could help combat the decline of bee species.

The researchers previously found in lab studies that nectar containing nicotine and other natural chemicals in plants significantly reduced the number of parasites in sickened bees, but the new study shows parasitized bees already are taking advantage of natural chemicals in the wild.

The study is to appear in the journal Ecology but may be reported now by the media. A PDF of the preprint is available on request. The study was conducted by researchers at Dartmouth College and the University of Colorado-Boulder.

Comment: Ants are able to 'self-medicate' by changing diet when they are unwell

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Info

Neurodegenerative disease risk as new prion is discovered

Tim Sandle
Digital Journal
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 19:29 UTC
PET Scan
© Jens MausA top-down PET-scan image of the human brain emitting energy from various regions.
The first new human prion in almost 50 years has been discovered, a team of scientists report. The prion is called alpha-synuclein and it is believed to the the causative agent for a rare neurodegenerative disease in people.

Prions are types of protein that fold in unusual and complex ways. Some prions are, due to the way they are folded, able to replicate by instructing other proteins to misfold in the same way.

The way that a prion replicates is similar to the way that a virus replicates and transmits. Despite the ability to replicate, prions are not classed as living entities. The term prion, which was coined in 1982, is an abbreviation for "proteinaceous infectious particle."

The first prion to be reported was termed "major prion protein" (abbreviated to PrP.) This prion causes a range of diseases: transmissible spongiform encephalopathies, such as bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), what is called "mad cow disease" by many in the media; scrapie in sheep; and Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (CJD), a type of human dementia along with variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD).

To add to these there are other rare conditions that can affect people like Gerstmann - Sträussler - Scheinker syndrome, Fatal Familial Insomnia and kuru. All of these infectious diseases, which affect the brain, are untreatable and fatal.
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Comet 2

New Comet: P/2015 Q2 (PIMENTEL)

Ernesto Guido & Nick Howes
Remanzacco Observatory
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 18:39 UTC
CBET nr. 4140, issued on 2015, September 02, announces the discovery of a comet (magnitude ~18.5) by Eduardo Pimentel on Aug. 24.2 UT with a 0.45-m f/2.9 reflector of the SONEAR Observatory at Oliveira. Follow-up observations to confirm the object were obtained by C. Jacques, E. Pimentel, and J. Barros with the same telescope on Aug. 27.3 and31.3. The new comet has been designated P/2015 Q2 (PIMENTEL).

We performed follow-up measurements of this object, while it was still on the neocp. COM Stacking of 30 unfiltered exposures, 30 seconds each, obtained remotely on 2015, August 31.7 from Q62 (iTelescope network - Siding Spring) through a 0.50-m f/6.8 astrograph + CCD + f/4.5 focal reducer, shows that this object is a comet with a sharp central condensation surrounded by diffuse irregular coma 5" in diameter and a tail about 10" in PA 315

Our confirmation image (click on it for a bigger version)

P/2015 Q2 (PIMENTEL)
© Remanzacco Observatory
M.P.E.C. 2015-R02 assigns the following preliminary elliptical orbital elements to comet P/2015 Q2: T 2015 Sept. 10.23; e= 0.76; Peri. = 244.36; q = 1.82; Incl.= 146.18
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Beaker

Real-life 'Jurassic Park'? Siberian lab set to clone extinct mammals


RT
Wed, 02 Sep 2015 11:56 UTC
Image
Russian scientists have begun their quest to clone pre-historic animals, including but not limited to a woolly mammoth, hoping that Siberian permafrost will give them a competitive advantage and the good possibly of finding undamaged DNA samples to resurrect the ancient species.

The new laboratory at the Mammoth Museum of the Institute of Applied Ecology at the North-Eastern Federal University in Yakutsk has begun searching through its vast library of samples that were found nearly perfectly preserved in the extreme cold conditions of the Arctic, according to Ogonek magazine.

Scientists hope to extract live DNA by carefully scanning through more than 2,000 rare exhibits contained in the lab, which is especially equipped to preserve tissue samples in freezers of -87 degrees Celsius. The new lab will also be used to swiftly analyze any newly found samples, without the risk of damaging them while transferring them to a distant laboratory.
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Bug

Fossils from 460 million year old human-sized sea scorpion unearthed in Iowa


RT
Tue, 01 Sep 2015 23:55 UTC
Sea scorpion
© Yale University / James Lamsdell
Earth's first big predator may have been an underwater scorpion that grew to nearly six feet in length, according to a new study.

Some 150 pieces of previously unknown fossils were recovered from the site of a meteor impact by Iowa Geological Survey geologists, under the Upper Iowa River. The creature is estimated to have lived 460 million years ago, long before the dinosaurs reigned, when Iowa was still an ocean.

First described Monday in the journal BMC Evolutionary Biology, the scorpion - named Pentecopterus decorahensis, after an ancient Greek warship - could grow to 5ft 7 inches long (170 centimeters) and had a dozen arms sprouting from its head, which it used to grab prey and push it into its mouth.
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Ice Cream Bar

Ice cream resistant to the rays of the sun invented by scientists


RT
Tue, 01 Sep 2015 19:47 UTC
Image
© Toby Melville / Reuters
Will your sundae last till Monday? Ice cream resistant to the melting rays of the sun could possibly hit the stores within the next three to five years, scientists say.

Researchers from the University of Dundee and Edinburgh believe they have found a new recipe, which should whip fans of frozen treats into a frenzy.

The new ingredient is based on a protein that binds together air, fat and water in ice cream to make it lick hot weather conditions, rendering it more immune to melting.

Besides prolonging enjoyment, the development could mean ice cream is made with fewer calories and lower levels of saturated fat. The recipe is also said to prevent ice crystals from forming - ensuring a fine and smooth texture.
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Solar Flares

Study: Jet of electric current amplifies space weather at equatorial regions

Charles Q. Choi
Live Science
Mon, 24 Aug 2015 16:52 UTC
electrojet
© Brett A. CarterA naturally occurring electric current, called an electrojet, flows about 60 miles (100 km) above Earth's surface along the equator.
Solar explosions can threaten power grids even in areas near the equator, places long thought safe from such disruptions from the sun, say researchers who studied a weird flow of electricity pulsing above the equatorial regions.

Solar eruptions can blast Earth with super-heated electrically charged particles. When these explosions slam into Earth's magnetosphere— the shroud of electrically charged particles around Earth held together by the planet's magnetic field — they can trigger disturbances known as geomagnetic storms.

Geomagnetic storms can generate geomagnetically induced currents — electrical currents in power lines, telecommunications cables, oil and gas pipelines, and other long wires that can damage power grids. For example, in 1989, an extreme geomagnetic storm blacked out the Canadian province of Quebec in about 90 seconds, leaving 6 million customers in the dark for nine hours, damaging transformers as far away as New Jersey, and nearly taking down U.S. power grids from the Eastern Seaboard to the Pacific Northwest.

The impacts of geomagnetic storms are strongest at high latitudes near the poles. As such, there was previously little concern that solar activity could lead to blackouts in lower latitudes near the equator.

Now, scientists find that so-called interplanetary shocks — gusts of solar wind — can trigger damaging geomagnetically induced currents even in equatorial regions.

Comment: Another indicator of increased electrical activity moving towards equatorial regions may be recent aurorae sightings.

Aurorae occur when charged solar particles reach local magnetic field lines, where they enter the planetary atmosphere and excite its atoms and molecules. As they deactivate, the particles produce light emission.

The Aurora Borealis, the so called 'Northern lights' have been observed recently heading 'South', providing a spectacle in parts of England even. While the Aurora Australis, or the 'Southern lights' have been seen further north in New Zealand than usual.

The winning Electric Universe model, and much more related information, are explained in the book Earth Changes and the Human Cosmic Connection by Pierre Lescaudron and Laura Knight-Jadczyk.

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Info

Scientists track down the neural basis of multitasking


Phys.org
Tue, 01 Sep 2015 17:07 UTC
brain MRI
© Reuters/Kim Kyung-Hoon
What makes someone better at switching between different tasks? Looking for the mechanisms behind cognitive flexibility, researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and Germany's Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim and Charité University Medicine Berlin have used brain scans to shed new light on this question.

By studying networks of activity in the brain's frontal cortex, a region associated with control over thoughts and actions, the researchers have shown that the degree to which these networks reconfigure themselves while switching from task to task predicts people's cognitive flexibility.

Experiment participants who performed best while alternating between a memory test and a control test showed the most rearrangement of connections within their frontal cortices as well as the most new connections with other areas of their brains.

Comment: Also see: Study shows why some types of multitasking are more dangerous than others

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