Biomedical research is among the big winners, and physics among the losers, in the latest deal-making over the mammoth US economic stimulus bill.
The US Senate is today expected to pass an amended version of the stimulus package (pdf format), which is expected to cost an estimated $838 billion (pdf format).
Overall, science fared well in the Senate. According to an analysis by the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the Senate bill includes $17.8 billion for research and development, including $2 billion for new facilities and equipment - compared to $13.2 billion in the version previously passed by the House of Representatives.
Science & Technology
The same molecular toolkit may control tooth formation in cichlid fish and humans.
The small teeth lining cichlid fishes' throats won't make it into any baby scrapbooks, but the nubs have helped researchers figure out how vertebrates got their chompers. Research has uncovered what may be a shared toolkit of genes "common to the first tooth and all of its descendents," a team reports online February 10 in PLoS Biology. Tooth formation is likely controlled similarly in cichlids and in humans, the study suggests.
"The genes in fish are the genes that make teeth in humans," says coauthor Gareth Fraser of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Vertebrates cut their teeth about half a billion years ago in the seas. Pearly whites first showed up in ancient eel-like fish called conodonts, described by Fraser as "jawless beasts that roamed the seas with rows and rows of teeth in their throats."
© Fraser et al., PLoS Biology
Two different species of cichlids (Dimidiochromis compressiceps on the left and Labeotropheus fuelleborni on the right) have species-specific patterns and numbers of teeth in the mouth (top) and throat (bottom).
Two different species of cichlids (Dimidiochromis compressiceps on the left and Labeotropheus fuelleborni on the right) have species-specific patterns and numbers of teeth in the mouth (top) and throat (bottom).
"The genes in fish are the genes that make teeth in humans," says coauthor Gareth Fraser of Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
Vertebrates cut their teeth about half a billion years ago in the seas. Pearly whites first showed up in ancient eel-like fish called conodonts, described by Fraser as "jawless beasts that roamed the seas with rows and rows of teeth in their throats."
© Geoff Howe/Canadian Press
On Nov. 28, Ellen Milley posed with fragments of a 10-tonne meteorite she found in a small pond approximately 40 kilometres from Lloydminster, Sask.
On Nov. 28, Ellen Milley posed with fragments of a 10-tonne meteorite she found in a small pond approximately 40 kilometres from Lloydminster, Sask.
University of Calgary graduate student Ellen Milley, who was part of the team that found space rocks in an area known as Buzzard Coulee southeast of Lloydminster, was at the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon Monday to talk about what the team has learned.
So far, it looks like the meteorite didn't come from the asteroid belt beyond the orbit of Mars, she said.
The road to reaching that conclusion began when the space rocks fell Nov. 20.
It was a night when hundreds of people across Western Canada witnessed a spectacular fireball across the sky caused by the estimated 10-tonne rock.
Viennese scientists are trying to grasp the mysteries of the holographic principle: How many dimensions are there in our universe?
"A hologram, as you find it on bank notes or credit cards, appears to show a three-dimensional picture, even though in fact it is just two-dimensional," Daniel Grumiller explained. He is at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology.
For decades, scientists have been wondering about the existence of additional dimensions so far hidden to our senses.
Grumiller and his colleagues are trying the opposite approach: Instead of postulating additional dimensions, they believe that our universe could in fact be described by less than four dimensions.
"A hologram, as you find it on bank notes or credit cards, appears to show a three-dimensional picture, even though in fact it is just two-dimensional," Daniel Grumiller explained. He is at the Institute of Theoretical Physics, Vienna University of Technology.
For decades, scientists have been wondering about the existence of additional dimensions so far hidden to our senses.
Grumiller and his colleagues are trying the opposite approach: Instead of postulating additional dimensions, they believe that our universe could in fact be described by less than four dimensions.
You might think you're pretty hot stuff because you've figured out how to change your Facebook status from your iPhone, but you've got nothing on nine-year-old Lim Ding Wen.
This young prodigy from Singapore is fluent in six programming languages, according to a BBC report this week, and his newest creation, an iPhone drawing game called Doodle Kids, has racked up over 4,000 downloads in just two weeks. He wrote it for his younger sisters, who love to draw.
This young prodigy from Singapore is fluent in six programming languages, according to a BBC report this week, and his newest creation, an iPhone drawing game called Doodle Kids, has racked up over 4,000 downloads in just two weeks. He wrote it for his younger sisters, who love to draw.
© Unknown
Berman, along with PSI Senior Scientist David Crown and PSI Research Scientist Leslie Bleamaster III, surveyed the geologic features in two sets of mid-latitude craters. Each set included about 100 craters, with the first set in the Arabia Terra region of the northern hemisphere and the second set in an area east of Hellas basin (pictured) in the southern hemisphere.
Berman, along with PSI Senior Scientist David Crown and PSI Research Scientist Leslie Bleamaster III, surveyed the geologic features in two sets of mid-latitude craters. Each set included about 100 craters, with the first set in the Arabia Terra region of the northern hemisphere and the second set in an area east of Hellas basin (pictured) in the southern hemisphere.
Scientists at the Tucson-based Planetary Science Institute (PSI) have found further evidence for the large role that water has likely played in shaping the Martian landscape.
Their results, which will be published in Icarus, provide strong evidence that multiple wet and/or icy climate cycles have shaped the topography of the planet's large craters. Icarus is the journal of the American Astronomical Society's Division of Planetary Sciences.
"Studying crater degradation in potentially ice-rich environments is vital to understanding the geology of craters and their surroundings, as well as for determining whether the ice comes from the atmosphere or from below the ground," said Daniel Berman, a PSI associate research scientist and lead author of the paper.
Berman, along with PSI Senior Scientist David Crown and PSI Research Scientist Leslie Bleamaster III, surveyed the geologic features in two sets of mid-latitude craters.
© ESO/WFI (Optical); MPIfR/ESO/APEX/A.Weiss et al. (Submillimetre); NASA/CXC/CfA/R.Kraft et al. (X-ray)
"Active galaxy" Centaurus A
"Active galaxy" Centaurus A
Most modern telescopes, such as the Hubble Space Telescope, are afflicted with "tunnel vision": their fields of view are extremely narrow.
In this they reflect the mindset of the astronomers who use them. The narrow vision is justified by the assumption that celestial objects are isolated, and the assumption is justified by the vision that excludes outlying objects. As one pundit has remarked, "Inside this circular cage of logic the gerbil of astrophysics begins to run."
© National Academy of Sciences
What if the May 1921 superstorm occurred today? A US map of vulnerable transformers with areas of probable system collapse encircled.
What if the May 1921 superstorm occurred today? A US map of vulnerable transformers with areas of probable system collapse encircled.
That's the surprising conclusion of a NASA-funded study by the National Academy of Sciences entitled Severe Space Weather Events - Understanding Societal and Economic Impacts. In the 132-page report, experts detailed what might happen to our modern, high-tech society in the event of a "super solar flare" followed by an extreme geomagnetic storm. They found that almost nothing is immune from space weather - not even the water in your bathroom.
The problem begins with the electric power grid. "Electric power is modern society's cornerstone technology on which virtually all other infrastructures and services depend," the report notes. Yet it is particularly vulnerable to bad space weather. Ground currents induced during geomagnetic storms can actually melt the copper windings of transformers at the heart of many power distribution systems. Sprawling power lines act like antennas, picking up the currents and spreading the problem over a wide area. The most famous geomagnetic power outage happened during a space storm in March 1989 when six million people in Quebec lost power for 9 hours (see image below).
Grandma may have been right about keeping a teakettle warming on the stove in winter to moisten the air. Studies of seasonal influenza have long found indications that flu spreads better in dry air. Now, new research being published Tuesday in Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, indicates that the key is the absolute humidity - which measures the amount of water present in the air, regardless of temperature - not the more commonly reported relative humidity.
Relative humidity varies depending on air temperature; absolute humidity doesn't.
"The correlations were surprisingly strong. When absolute humidity is low, influenza virus survival is prolonged and transmission rates go up," said Jeffrey Shaman, an Oregon State University atmospheric scientist who specializes in ties between climate and disease transmission
Relative humidity varies depending on air temperature; absolute humidity doesn't.
"The correlations were surprisingly strong. When absolute humidity is low, influenza virus survival is prolonged and transmission rates go up," said Jeffrey Shaman, an Oregon State University atmospheric scientist who specializes in ties between climate and disease transmission
Lunar eclipse was observed today in India. It was the first lunar eclipse of the year.
In India mythology lunar eclipses are thought to be a hugely important events, for they so suddenly reveal certain truths. They are non-negotiable too, so once you learn what you do, there's no going back. What's done is done.
It is said that lunar eclipses are extremely powerful events and often bring on life-changing events. Eclipses are never subtle, but rather they shout their news. Another hallmark of an eclipse is that they move up timetables dramatically. No matter what you thought you'd do, you'll probably have to revise your scheme.
The vedas are considered to be the ultimate authority by the Hindus, much like the New Testament and the Quran by the Christians and Muslims, respectively. The Rigveda is generally believed to be the oldest of all the four Vedas.
In India mythology lunar eclipses are thought to be a hugely important events, for they so suddenly reveal certain truths. They are non-negotiable too, so once you learn what you do, there's no going back. What's done is done.
It is said that lunar eclipses are extremely powerful events and often bring on life-changing events. Eclipses are never subtle, but rather they shout their news. Another hallmark of an eclipse is that they move up timetables dramatically. No matter what you thought you'd do, you'll probably have to revise your scheme.
The vedas are considered to be the ultimate authority by the Hindus, much like the New Testament and the Quran by the Christians and Muslims, respectively. The Rigveda is generally believed to be the oldest of all the four Vedas.
Comment: The concept of interdependency goes way beyond how long power is down in Canada because the sun sneezed the day before. While it's encouraging to see the connection being made between solar storms and interruption to electricity networks, sadly the wider issue of cosmic interference in Earth's systems is ignored despite the alarming reports of fireballs and meteorites piercing the planet's lower atmosphere.
The effects from a cometary impact would cause substantially greater damage to our fragile systems, producing catastrophic "cascade failures" on an ecological and humanitarian scale. It's now fairly well established that this has happened several times within humanity's lifespan: The increasing awareness that Earth meets cosmic storms on a regular basis is injecting some urgency into the issue:
UN is told that Earth needs an asteroid shield
US urged to prepare for asteroid strike
Asteroid and comet threat is a challenge to mankind
...but the signal is being drowned out by the noise generated by the twin hoaxes of the Global Pathocracy; Global Warming and the War on Terror.
Scientists note that incoming objects can produce very loud sounds, like the earth-shattering thunder that accompanied the Tunguska cometary explosion. Could the tremendous booms people are hearing be overhead explosions as space debris meets the atmosphere?
A recent chronology, by no means conclusive, of mysterious 'sonic' booms:
Feb 7th, Gold Coast, Australia
Feb 5th, Marco Island, Florida, USA
Jan 21st, Grand Island, Nebraska, USA
Jan 15th, North Carolina, USA
10th Jan, Louisiana, USA
5th Jan, Calgary, Canada
2nd Jan, Alaska, USA
30th Dec, South Carolina, USA
24th Dec, Iowa, USA
12th Nov, Indiana, USA
11th Nov, Arkansas, USA
5th Nov, New Zealand
Note how many are occurring / reported in the USA. Perhaps the Universe is trying to tell us something?