SCIENCE-NEWS for Commoner.

[Sudhaama]

We can post and discuss on the day to day SCIENCE-NEWS as learnt from any authentic- Journal Reports, Magazines and such other media Messages.

But let us make it in as BRIEF & SIMPLE Language as possible...

... INTERESTING and understandable enough by any commoner

[Sudhaama]

Solar Outbursts Protected Early Earth

The early sun produced powerful x-ray emissions that may have helped to ensure the survival of our planet, scientists say. Data from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory suggest that violent x-ray flares, which reached temperatures of 100 million kelvins, may have rocked the surrounding disk from which planets formed and prevented Earth from rapidly spiraling into the sun and being destroyed.

An international team of astronomers focused Chandra on the Orion Nebula for 13 days, resulting in one of the instrument's deepest observations yet. Located 1,500 light-years from Earth, the Orion Nebula provides a way for scientists to study how our sun behaved in its early years: of this stellar nursery's more than 1,000 stars imaged by Chandra, 27 of them are prototypes of the young sun.

Over the study period, which was equivalent to looking at the young sun for nine months, the team detected 41 large x-ray flares thousands of times larger than any modern-day solar flares detected.

The findings indicate that around 4.5 billion years ago, our sun experienced a flare each week, on average. The activity has since died down, with solar flares now occurring on the order of once a year.

[gaddeswarup]

From:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4543767.stm

When the first modern humans evolved in Africa, they lived mainly on meat hunted from animals. But by 70,000 years ago, they had switched to a marine diet, largely shellfish.

The new research suggests they moved along the coasts of the Arabian peninsula into India, Indonesia and Australia about 65,000 years ago. An offshoot later led to the settlement of the Middle East and Asia about 30 to 40,000 years ago.

The data comes from studies by two teams of scientists on the DNA of native people living in Malaysia and on the Andaman and Nicobar Islands between India and Burma.

Scientists can estimate how closely related we are by studying the DNA of the energy producing parts of the cell, our mitochondria.

[gaddeswarup]

I like this thread and would like to take more active part in it; but I am going away on a professional trip for 5 weeks. I would like to suggest some topics like Simpson's Paradox in Statistics, Bernoulli's paradox in Fluid dynamics (useful in various contexts including how to build roofs which are not easily blown off), and tricks to watering plants in dry areas (like one-sided watering). I hope that some others will take more active part. Regards,
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

I would like to mention one reference (there must be plenty of such books). In the seies "Science for Every One" published by Mir, there is one called "Physical paradoxes" by V.N.Lange. Some of these can be adopted to the Indian context. There must be more books in the series. Many of these books are distributed in India by People' Publishing House and are usually cheap. Regards,
Swarup

[Sudhaama]

[tscii:d48bb5694c]
ASK THE EXPERTS: What causes Headaches?


Dawn A. Marcus, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s department of anesthesiology, explains.

When experiencing a severe, throbbing headache, a person often places his hands on both sides of his head and claims, "It feels like my brain is pushing to get out, so it feels better to hold it in." This sensation gives a false impression that the brain itself is enlarging and causing the pain sensation. Interestingly, brain tissue does not feel pain in the same way skin or other organs do. Because the brain is encased in a hard, protective covering, it has not developed to respond to touch or pressure sensations like other, more exposed parts of our bodies have. Indeed, a brain surgeon can actually cut brain tissue in an awake patient without the patient feeling the knife.

Head pain instead occurs because of activation or irritation of structures that do sense pain: skin, bone or neck joints, sinuses, blood vessels or muscles. When a person has a brain tumor, pain is usually a late symptom to develop--brain tumors generally only cause pain when they have grown large enough to damage bone or stretch blood vessels or nerves. Neck problems may also result in head pain, with pain from the neck and back of the head often radiating over the top of the head to an eye. Sinus infection or inflammation (usually occurring as part of an allergy reaction), however, is an uncommon cause of recurring headaches. Interestingly, Roger Cady and Curtis Schneider of the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Mo., have shown that 25 to 30 percent of migraine sufferers report nasal symptoms during their typical migraine episodes, and nearly 98 percent of people who believed they had sinus headaches were actually experiencing a migraine.

The most common types of chronic headaches are the migraine and tension-type varieties. A migraine is an intermittent headache, usually occurring between once a month and twice a week, with each episode lasting eight to 12 hours. Migraine is often experienced as a one-sided, throbbing head pain that limits activities and may be associated with nausea and sensitivity to lights, noises and smells. Tension-type headaches may occur more frequently, and the pain-- typically a dull pressure pain on both sides of the head that does not limit activities--sometimes lasts several days. Both of these kinds of headache occur in response to exposure to internal or external triggers, such as hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, fasting or stress. Exposure to these triggers prompts the brain to signal pain centers that produce a variety of chemical messengers, including serotonin and norepinephrine, which cause expansion of meningeal blood vessels surrounding the brain. This expansion results in increased blood flow, and blood vessels on the side of the head can become more prominent and tender. As the blood vessels swell they stretch the nerves that surround them, causing these nerves to send signals to the trigeminal system, an area of the brain that relays pain messages for the head and face. Activation of the trigeminal system most commonly causes pain around the eye and cheek, creating the false perception of "sinus" pain. The trigeminal system also sends messages to the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in food cravings, and to the upper part of the cervical spinal cord, which may result in muscle spasms in the neck.

Once the full headache pathway is activated, it becomes more difficult for headache treatments to work effectively. Recent work led by Rami Burstein of Harvard University in both rats and humans has consistently shown that headache medications need to be taken early in a headache episode in order to be effective. Migraine patients often notice that their headaches begin with a throbbing sensation followed by increased skin sensitivity. This increased skin sensitivity, called allodynia, may take the form of scalp tenderness, "painful" hair or pain associated with hair brushing or wearing earrings or glasses. Once allodynia has occurred, headache treatments are much less effective. Carefully recording headache symptoms in a diary can provide a good estimate of when allodynia usually occurs and can help an individual determine when medications should be taken to offer the most relief.
[/b][/tscii:d48bb5694c]

[SRS]

[tscii:ad90fd866d]
ASK THE EXPERTS: What causes Headaches?


Dawn A. Marcus, an associate professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine’s department of anesthesiology, explains.

When experiencing a severe, throbbing headache, a person often places his hands on both sides of his head and claims, "It feels like my brain is pushing to get out, so it feels better to hold it in." This sensation gives a false impression that the brain itself is enlarging and causing the pain sensation. Interestingly, brain tissue does not feel pain in the same way skin or other organs do. Because the brain is encased in a hard, protective covering, it has not developed to respond to touch or pressure sensations like other, more exposed parts of our bodies have. Indeed, a brain surgeon can actually cut brain tissue in an awake patient without the patient feeling the knife.

Head pain instead occurs because of activation or irritation of structures that do sense pain: skin, bone or neck joints, sinuses, blood vessels or muscles. When a person has a brain tumor, pain is usually a late symptom to develop--brain tumors generally only cause pain when they have grown large enough to damage bone or stretch blood vessels or nerves. Neck problems may also result in head pain, with pain from the neck and back of the head often radiating over the top of the head to an eye. Sinus infection or inflammation (usually occurring as part of an allergy reaction), however, is an uncommon cause of recurring headaches. Interestingly, Roger Cady and Curtis Schneider of the Headache Care Center in Springfield, Mo., have shown that 25 to 30 percent of migraine sufferers report nasal symptoms during their typical migraine episodes, and nearly 98 percent of people who believed they had sinus headaches were actually experiencing a migraine.

The most common types of chronic headaches are the migraine and tension-type varieties. A migraine is an intermittent headache, usually occurring between once a month and twice a week, with each episode lasting eight to 12 hours. Migraine is often experienced as a one-sided, throbbing head pain that limits activities and may be associated with nausea and sensitivity to lights, noises and smells. Tension-type headaches may occur more frequently, and the pain-- typically a dull pressure pain on both sides of the head that does not limit activities--sometimes lasts several days. Both of these kinds of headache occur in response to exposure to internal or external triggers, such as hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, fasting or stress. Exposure to these triggers prompts the brain to signal pain centers that produce a variety of chemical messengers, including serotonin and norepinephrine, which cause expansion of meningeal blood vessels surrounding the brain. This expansion results in increased blood flow, and blood vessels on the side of the head can become more prominent and tender. As the blood vessels swell they stretch the nerves that surround them, causing these nerves to send signals to the trigeminal system, an area of the brain that relays pain messages for the head and face. Activation of the trigeminal system most commonly causes pain around the eye and cheek, creating the false perception of "sinus" pain. The trigeminal system also sends messages to the hypothalamus, an area of the brain involved in food cravings, and to the upper part of the cervical spinal cord, which may result in muscle spasms in the neck.

Once the full headache pathway is activated, it becomes more difficult for headache treatments to work effectively. Recent work led by Rami Burstein of Harvard University in both rats and humans has consistently shown that headache medications need to be taken early in a headache episode in order to be effective. Migraine patients often notice that their headaches begin with a throbbing sensation followed by increased skin sensitivity. This increased skin sensitivity, called allodynia, may take the form of scalp tenderness, "painful" hair or pain associated with hair brushing or wearing earrings or glasses. Once allodynia has occurred, headache treatments are much less effective. Carefully recording headache symptoms in a diary can provide a good estimate of when allodynia usually occurs and can help an individual determine when medications should be taken to offer the most relief.
[/b][/tscii:ad90fd866d]

Wow, all that to explain a simple "headache." How about three simple words: excessive nerve compression?

[gaddeswarup]

Yesterday, reading a book review unrelated to science, I came across the following which is new to me.
It seems that most people when they hear their recorded voices for the first time cannot recognize their voices. The reason, apparently, is that when one hears oneself speaking, he/she hears through the throat rather than though ears.
I do not know whether this is true or not; may be somebody can comment on this.
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

I am recycling a message that I posted in a Telugu site a few months ago about Simpson's paradox:
For those who do not know (like me recently) I will quicly sketch an example of the paradox. This is supposed to have happenned in the University of Melbourne, but I do not have the actual numbers. The Universitity realized in the 80's that the proportion women academic staff in the total academic staff is less than the Govt. guidelines. Over a period of ten years they increased the proportion of women in every teaching category: tutor, lecturer, reader and professor. After ten years, they found to their horror that even though they increased the proportion of women in every category, in the total academic staff the proprtion of women decreased.
Once one knows this, anybody can work out examples to see that this can happen. So, it seems that one has to be careful with some claims of supposed statistics in newspapers. You can find more examples by google search.

Swarup

[seonaid]

MIT has named two minor stars in the solar system after two coimbatore convent girls for their contribution to science. something to be proud about.--

[gaddeswarup]

There are a couple of interesting artcles in The Guardian today. The first is about the difficulty of engaging the public in science debates:
http://education.guardian.co.uk/higher/research/story/0,9865,1501271,00.html
The author says:
"Democracy is about informed choice, but science is now so vast and complex, that no single individual could ever be well enough informed to make this level of dialogue feasible. "...
"Of course there are plenty of issues involving science that are worthy of public discussion and debate: the ethics of embryo research, the risks of nuclear powers versus its benefits for climate change, the possible environmental and health implications of GM crops - the list is endless.

But scientists are too busy discovering hard fact to inform debate in all these controversial areas. Many of us are frustrated - not because no one is listening to our opinions - but because public debate is occurring but no one is listening to the facts. "
On the otherhand, I find that many scientists are too specislised and often do not have the overall perspective to discuss on public issues (just take a survey on how many scientists know the difference between DNA and RNA).
The other artcle is about the evolutionary role of the difference between male anf female orgasms:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/life/science/story/0,12996,1501314,00.html

[Badri]

After ten years, they found to their horror that even though they increased the proportion of women in every category, in the total academic staff the proprtion of women decreased.
Once one knows this, anybody can work out examples to see that this can happen. So, it seems that one has to be careful with some claims of supposed statistics in newspapers. You can find more examples by google search.

Swarup

I didnt quite follow this? How does that happen?

[nirosha sen]

i wonder if it's due to a high turnover of female employees?????!!! :roll:

[pradheep]

Scientists confess their experimental sins
11 June 2005
From New Scientist Print Edition. Subscribe and get 4 free issues.
TO SEEK the truth about life, the universe and everything - the lofty goals of science. But it seems scientists cut corners just as much as the rest of us.

Questionnaires returned by 3247 researchers for the US National Institutes of Health reveal that bad behaviour is rife. A third confessed to at least one of the top 10 "sins" listed.

Although less than 2 per cent owned up to fraud, falsification or plagiarism, less serious misdeeds were widespread: 15.5 per cent admitted changing the design, methodology or results of a study to suit a sponsor, and 6 per cent admitted suppressing data. More than a quarter owned up to inadequate record keeping, and 10 per cent confessed to inappropriately giving credit to an author (Nature, vol 435, p 737).

"Mostly, we're not talking about fraud," says Brian Martinson of the HealthPartners Research Foundation in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which conducted the survey. "The kinds of behaviours we were observing are more corrosive than explosive."

[gaddeswarup]

I didnt quite follow this? How does that happen?
_________________
Cheers
Badri

Sorry, I am moving around and do not have time to work out examples. If you google for" Simpson's Paradox', you will see many examples, for example:
http://exploringdata.cqu.edu.au/sim_par.htmhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1501763,00.html
about the batting averages of Waugh brothers. I will be back in Melbourne after July 7 and can work out some examples if still necessary.
swarup

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:5e1f0aa763]Sri Badri,
sorry for my laziness. Here is a simple example sent by Sreenath Jonnavithula after my posting in Telugudanam:

"This paradox might be lurking in many popular presentations of statistics, *and it seems that unless we're careful,*these can be very misleading.
*
A simple numerical example (which I found with a quick google search) shows the issue:
*
Say a company tests two treatments for an illness. In trial No. 1, treatment A cures 20% of its cases (40 out of 200) and treatment B cures 15% of its cases (30 out of 200). In trial No. 2, treatment A cures 85% of its cases (85 out of 100) and treatment B cures 75% of its cases (300 out of 400)....
So, in two trials, treatment A scored 20% and 85%. Also in two trials, treatment B scored only 15% and 75%. So treatment A (at 20% and 85%) is surely better than treatment B (at 15% and 75%), right?
Wrong! Treatment B performed better. It cured 330 (300+30) out of the 600 cases, or 55%;* Treatment A cured only 70 out of 400, or a miserable 17.5%."
Regards,
Swarup
[/tscii:5e1f0aa763]

[Badri]

Thanks sir...now I got the drift!

[gaddeswarup]

Again a half baked post from me but it seems to be a useful topic and I hope that somebody can dig up more. I once saw on Australian ABC midday agriculture programme on a weekend that Australian scientists were developing a technique to save water while watering some orchards. They found that they could trick the plants by watering only on one side at a time (and on the other side the next time) and saved about 30-40 percent on water consumption.
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

Saw it in the news today:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050610/hl_nm/sleep_teens_dc&printer=1
I enclose a few excerpts from
"Lack of sleep can affect teen athletic performance ":
"These well-rested youngsters are generally known to function at their best early in the day, rather than in the late afternoon or evening. However, as children grow older and begin to get involved in clubs, community service and other extracurricular activities, or part-time employment, they may experience disruptions in their normal sleeping patterns.

"The system that's regulating and controlling sleep changes during an adolescent's development," Carskadon said. "As kids go through adolescence, the timing of sleep and all biological processes seem to push later," she explained.

Adolescents may go to sleep later than they did in previous years, while still waking early in the morning, thus getting less sleep, despite their need for the same number of hours of sleep. Thus, "young people live in a nearly constant state of chronic insufficient sleep," Carskadon writes.

Adolescents, therefore, generally perform their worst in the morning, when their brain is still craving sleep, and perk up later in the day, according to the researcher.

As sports teams travel across time zones, sleep issues "become exaggerated," she said."
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

I heard that recently some group (could be a chapter of AID India) have started writing elementary science books for primary school children in Tamil to promote science. Does anybody know more about this?
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

It seems that new treatments are being developed for depression. From the report:
http://exploringdata.cqu.edu.au/sim_par.htmhttp://www.guardian.co.uk/life/feature/story/0,13026,1501763,00.html

"In the paper, Dr Helen Mayberg and colleagues from Toronto University reported the discovery that a small area in the frontal cortex is implicated in depression. Application of electrical stimulation to the area had "striking and sustained remission" in four out of six patients suffering treatment-resistant depression."
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

There have been various reports of the benefits of sunlight for lealth. Here is a recent one about its affects on prostrate cancer:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20050615/hl_hsn/sunlightlowersprostatecancerrisk
The skin cancer risks mentioned may be more for light skinned people.
Swarup
P.S. I may not have good internet access for the next two weeks. I hope that some others will post on this topic.

[gaddeswarup]

I just got back to Melbourne and found the following article sent by my daughter Shanti:
Darwinian Gastronomy:

Any world traveler can attest to the pungent truth: Spicy meals tend to be found in warmer climates, while blander foods correlate to colder places. For years, people believed spices were used in the countries where they were grown to mask the taste of spoiled meat or solely for the flavor they add to food.

Alas, nothing in nature turns out to be that simple. Researchers now suggest that a taste for spices served a vital evolutionary purpose: keeping our ancestors alive. Spices, it turns out, can kill poisonous bacteria and fungi that may contaminate our food. In other words, developing a taste for these spices could be good for our health. And since food spoils more quickly in hotter weather, it's only natural that warmer climates have more bacteria-killing spices.

Indeed, the very plants that produce spices use them in this way. Spices that come from shrubs, vines, trees, and the roots, flowers, and seeds of plants protect the vegetation against the same bacteria and fungi that attack our food when we've left it overnight on the kitchen counter. Before refrigeration, food spoilage was an even more pressing problem, which is why some researchers say spices played such a huge role in history -- one Gothic leader in A.D. 408 demanded 3,000 pounds of pepper as ransom. And adventurers from Marco Polo to Christopher Columbus sailed the world mapping routes to spice-growing countries.

More recently, a team of biologists at Cornell University in New York debunked most popular beliefs about spices, including the idea that they're used to make people sweat in order to cool them down. But one popular belief still stood: Spices seem to help with food digestion, and, for some unknown reason, people in warmer climates might need more help.

The Cornell scientists tested the bacteria-killer hypothesis with hundreds of cookbooks and thousands of recipes from around the world. They discovered that spices with the greatest ability to kill bacteria, such as garlic and onions, appear most often -- and in greater concentrations -- in recipes from hot climates. Eighty percent of Indian recipes called for onions, while in Norway, the pungent bulb only appeared in 20 percent of the recipes. They even found these differences within the United States. For example, we have spicy Cajun meals down south and more bland meat staples in northern Maine.

Although not everyone is convinced yet that the evidence is conclusive, the idea that our ancestors' taste for spice might be something that natural selection favored in certain environments is an intriguing one.

[gaddeswarup]

Again an URL sent by my daughter Shanti: she says that this may explain why I and she are not good drivers:
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/050209_under_pressure.html
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

I am not able to devote as much time as I would like for this topic. Originally, I hoped to write on simple topics of interest in every day life but wo'nt have enough time for a few months to do the spade work. If there is no interest from others, the moderatorsmay kindly close this topic.
I end with some URLs on sustainable agriculture. The following URL contains the story of farmers' suiides in Australia with a comment and links to sites about soil improvement and water preservation:
http://www.rense.com/general66/dro.htm
Some siimilar efforts in A.P. are in:
http://www.ddsindia.com/activities.htm
http://www.ddsindia.com/publications.htm
http://search.atomz.com/search/?sp-a=sp100152b9&sp-q=%22Organic+Cotton%22&submit=Go
There are similar efforts by various organizations in India, e.g. Sunita Narayanan of CSE in New Delhi.
Regards,
Swarup

[arihantarihant007]

nice. topic. !! :arrow:

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:21b5af954d]From: http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn7952

"Children as young as 2 years old may be influenced by their parents’ tobacco habits, many years before they even consider using cigarettes themselves, a novel study has shown."
Swarup
[/tscii:21b5af954d]

[Shakthiprabha.]

The latest messege I got was about cancer prone
to ladies of any age.

Its a new type(I forgot its name) which starts as just itching near and around nipples. If left unattended is quite fatal.

So, the advise is, in case u find obnormal itching
on ur breasts... GO VISIT A DOC

[Shakthiprabha.]

I dont remember which issue of outlook (may be aug)

It talks about ill effects of self medication.

ITS SOMETHING EVERYBODY should go thro.

It talks about how we all gobble painkillers and
paracetamol to get over temporary illness. IT stresses
ON VISITING DOC, even if u have mild fever(Now, not
sure if it was written by some practising doc, who
rarely have patients :D)

But one thing which struck me is, WHEN U ARE FEVERISH,
**AND** if u are a BP patient, then avoid
**IBUBRUFEN**.

[Anoushka]

After being in the sun for sometime, why do we experience dim vision on entering a room?

The human eye contains two types of receptors for light namely cones and rods. Cones are responsible for colour vision and seeing in bright light. Rods are meant for seeing in dim light.

Cones cannot be stimulated in dim light because of their high threshold for light.

Pigments present in these photoreceptors are made of Vitamin A and a protein called opsin.

On exposure to light, these pigments (called rhodopsin in case of rods) breakdown and this degradation leads to excitation of nerve cells leading to appreciation of light (that is, seeing).

Regeneration of the pigment occurs continuously and simultaneously so that the pigment will be available for degradation leading to uninterrupted seeing.

Regeneration of the pigment occurs faster than degradation in cones. But in rods the regeneration is a slow process and degradation outweighs regeneration in day light in rods.

Rods get exhausted of their pigment when in bright light while cones continue to act.

When a person who stayed for sometime in bright light, enters into dim light, the cones can't be stimulated because of their high threshold for light.

All the pigment in the rods gets degraded. So immediately rods can't be of help to see.

This is the reason why a person after spending some time in sunlight, experiences dim vision in a room.

A more common and striking experience of this phenomenon by everyone of us is when we cannot see properly soon after entering a cinema hall.

Subsequently, as time passes on in dim light, regenerations of pigment is taking place in rods and when it is formed in sufficient quantity, then rods begin to be stimulated by dim light leading to proper vision.

In dim light, regeneration is at a higher level than degradation of pigment in rods and hence we continue to see uninterruptedly in dim vision. This phenomenon is called `dark adaptation' in the medical field.

[Anoushka]

If you are in Bombay tomorrow then...

Tomorrow, i.e. on 14 October, TIFR Alumni Association is organising a Public Lecture. Dr Rangarajan, Senior Vice President, WorldSpace, Washington DC., will speak on "Satellite Radio: Its Global Impact".

The lecture will be held at 5 p.m. in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium of TIFR, Navy Nagar, Colaba, Mumbai 400005

Entry is free.

[Anoushka]

Professor Amartya Sen, N.L., will deliver a Public Lecture in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium, TIFR, on Saturday, 5 November 2005 at 5 p.m. He will talk on "Science, Arguements and Skepticism".

Since we are expecting a large audience to attend this talk and the capacity of our Auditorium is limited, PRIOR REGISTRATION IS MANDATORY to attend this talk. There is no registration fee; but we would like to have the numbers in advance.

If you are interested in attending this lecture, please send a mail to pro@tifr.res.in (my functional email id) and I will get back to you with details like where and when you can collect your invitation passes. I may mention here that:
1. One individual will be given only one invitation pass 2. Children below 15 years of age will not be permitted 3. You are requested to be seated 15 mts before the lecture begins

We have arranged for buses to pick up people from Churchgate and CST to come to the Auditorium. Similarly buses will be arranged to drop them back after the lecture is over. Do join us for a tea and refreshements after the lecture is over.

IMPORTANT
------------------
Please register latest by Friday, 28 October 2005

[Anoushka]

* Rembrandt, brain scientist?:
The great Dutch painter's portraits may both reflect
and shed light on some very modern principles of
brain research, two psychologists claim.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051013_rembrandtfrm.htm


* Life's ingredients common in space, study finds:
A NASA astronomer says chemicals crucial to life
fill "every nook and cranny of our galaxy."

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051013_organicsfrm.htm


* A tool to measure what goes on in empty space:
"Empty" space is never truly empty, to physicists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051014_emptyfrm.htm


* Most ancient noodles reported found:
Noodles from a Chinese settlement destroyed in an
earthquake 4,000 years ago could help resolve a
debate over who invented the popular stringy food.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051014_noodlesfrm.htm


* Comets "more dusty than icy":
Astronomers say results of a mission to shoot a
projectile into a comet hint the objects are like
icy dirtballs.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051013_icydustfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Report offers cancer-prevention "grocery list":
Broccoli sprouts, cabbage, ginkgo biloba and garlic
can help prevent various forms of cancer, research
suggests.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051029_cancerlistfrm.htm


* Global warming causing changes across the Arctic,
report says:
Indigenous people are sometimes noticing changes
that go unremarked by Western science, according to
the study.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051028_arcticfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

Professor Jobel Lebowitz, Rutgers University, USA and recepient of the prestigious Boltzmann Medal, will deliver a Public Lecture on 11 November 2005 at 5 p.m. in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium. He will speak on "Times' Arrow"

Why do we remember the past but not the future".

About the speaker
-----------------
Professor Joel L. Lebowitz, of Rutgers University (USA) will be visitingbTata Institute of Fundamental Research during Nov 6-11,2005 as a Distinguished Visitor under the Sarojini Damodaran Fellowship Program of TIFR. Professor Lebowitz is a an eminent scientist known for his work in the general area of equilibrium and non-equilibrium statistical physics.
He is currently the George William Hill Professor, and Director of the
Center for Mathematical Sciences Research at Rutgers University (USA). He is a recepient of the prestigious Boltzmann medal, the highest international award in the field of Statistical Physics, awarded every three years.
Apart from his scientific work, Professor Lebowitz, a survivor of the
concentration camps during the World War II, has been active in supporting human rights of scientists worldwide, and is the co-chairman of the Committee of Concerned Scientists.


He will be giving a public lecture titled "Times's Arrow: Why do we
remember the past but not the future" on Friday, Nov 11, 2005, in the Homi Bhabha Auditorium, TIFR. A short description of the talk is given below.

About the lecture

Time's Arrow:
Why do we remember the past but not the future
by
Joel Lebowitz
Friday, November 11, 2005: 5 p.m.
Homi Bhabha Auditorium, TIFR

In the world about us, the past is distinctly different from the future. Milk spills but does not unspill; eggs splatter but does not unsplatter; waves break but do not unbreak; we always grow older, never younger. These processes all move in one direction in time - they are called "time-irreversible" and define the arrow of time. It is therefore very surprising that the relevant fundamental laws of nature make no such distinction between the past and the future. This leads to a great puzzle. If the laws of nature permit all processes to be run backwards in time, why don't we observe them doing so? Why does a video of an egg splattering running in the reverse direction look ridiculous? Put another way, how can time-reversible motions of atoms and molecules - the microscopic components of material systems - give rise to the observed time-irreversible behavior of our everyday world? The resolution of this
apparent paradox is the subject of this talk.

[gaddeswarup]

A recent report suggests that coffee is not related to hypertension:
http://au.news.yahoo.com/051109/2/wq70.html

[gaddeswarup]

There seem to various efforts in India for water conservation. Here are two reports from Indiatogether about efforts in Karnataka:

http://www.indiatogether.org/direct/2005/cdr-000081.html
http://www.indiatogether.org/2005/aug/agr-dproof.htm

I understand Sunita Narayanan of CSE, New Delhi has won a prestigious Swedish award for her efforts in water conservation.
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

From:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4448634.stm

"I don't know what it is that changes in the brain when people with Alzheimer's sing, but obviously something does change and there is something very beneficial about it. It seems to kick-start something in the brain and has made such a difference to Bill."

Emotional resonance

Chreanne Montgomery-Smith, who founded Singing for the Brain, three years ago, said the weekly sessions had proved so popular they were hoping to expand the project and get more weekly groups."

[Uthappam]

There seem to various efforts in India for water conservation. Here are two reports from Indiatogether about efforts in Karnataka:

Why conserve water. it is so easy to make. Take 2 parts 'H' and 1 part 'O'. put them in a glass and stir!

[Anoushka]

* Man-sized scorpion described:
A geologist has uncovered footprints of what he
says was a fearsome water scorpion bigger than a
human.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051130_scorpionfrm.htm


* Scientists find possible birth of tiniest known
solar system:
Astronomers report a tiny "failed star" possibly in
the process of forming a solar system a hundredth
the size of our own.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051130_tinysolarfrm.htm


* Two types of paranoia noted, "Poor Me" and "Bad
Me":
Some paranoid people think they actually deserve
their imagined persecution, researchers have found.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051129_paranoiafrm.htm


* A molecule of passionate love?:
Researchers say they have identified a molecule
linked to the first flames of romantic love.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051130_lovefrm.htm


* Childhood neglect changes brain chemistry,
researchers find:
Researchers have identified changes in brain
chemistry resulting from lack of love in early
years. This could lead to drugs that help undo the
damage, they say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051121_neglectfrm.htm


OTHER HIGHLIGHTS

* Mystery "solved": how honeybees fly
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051128_beesfrm.htm

* First step toward making "little sun" as limitless
energy source reported
http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051123_fusionfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* How "dinosaurs of the ocean" evolved:
When an amateur fossil hunter found a bit of animal
backbone at a construction site 16 years ago, he
knew it was something unusual.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051117_mosasaurfrm.htm


* Revealed in fossil poop: dinos dined on grass:
Museum displays that show dinosaurs feeding in grassless
landscapes don't tell the full story, researchers
say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051117_grassdinofrm.htm


* Study: snakes and lizards share venom,
evolutionary history:
More lizards have poison than was once thought, and
they share a common past with snakes, scientists
say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051116_venomfrm.htm


* Noblewomen may have brewed ancient beer:
In a mountaintop outpost of an ancient south
American empire, archaeologists say, evidence
suggests a group of elite women operated a grand
brewery.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051114_chichafrm.htm


* Hamsters get depressed and anxious, study
suggests:
Research found that the rodents show symptoms of
anxiety and depression during winter's dark days,
just as some humans do.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051115_hamsterfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Galaxies may have spit out monster black hole:
Two crashing galaxies may have shot out a
"supermassive" black hole that's soaring through
space, some astronomers say.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051111_holefrm.htm


* Common pollutant might raise suicide risk,
researchers say:
There is a hint, they add, that the chemical --
whose rotten-egg smell is familiar to many -- may
boost rates of child neglect and abuse.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051111_h2sfrm.htm


* Researcher: giant ape lived alongside humans:
An ape taller than a moose may have been among the
early casualties of competition from humans,
findings suggest.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051111_greatapefrm.htm


* Ancient "Godzilla" crocodile reported:
Researchers describe a sea creature that would have
made Tyrannosaurus rex think twice before stepping
into the ocean.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051110_crocfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Did U.S. government lie about deadly virus
project?:
Officials seem to have quietly reversed an
assurance they gave last month -- that a killer
virus recently recreated by scientists would stay
in a secure government facility.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051109_flufrm.htm


* Dolphin games may be more than child's play:
Researchers say the frolics show surprising
complexity, and may reveal links between playing,
evolution and culture.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051107_dolphinfrm.htm


* Drug eyed for learning disabilities, mental
retardation:
A widely used drug might become the first
successful treatment for learning disabilities,
scientists claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051107_nf1frm.htm


* How a black hole would look:
Astronomers, saying they're close to capturing an
unmistakable image of a black hole, explain exactly
what they expect to see.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051104_blackholefrm.htm


* Researchers induce "sightless vision" in
volunteers:
Some people think they can't see anything, but can.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051031_blindsightfrm.htm


* Astronomers report catching possible glow of first
stars:
The first stars in the universe are gone, but the
light they sent out eons ago may be still reaching
us.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051102_firststarsfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Chimps won't do a neighbor a favor:
Scientists say they just might have finally found
something that clearly separates us from other
animals.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051026_chimpfrm.htm


* Report: bird flu to hit Africa within weeks:
The event would increase the chance of the virus
mutating and triggering a global pandemic,
researchers claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051026_flufrm.htm


* "First light" from world's most powerful optical
telescope:
The Large Binocular Telescope will be ideal for
seeing far-off planets and galaxies at the edge of
the visible universe, astronomers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051026_binocfrm.htm


* Drug slashes aggressive breast cancer recurrence
rate:
A drug cuts recurrence risk by almost half for an
aggressive form of the disease, a remarkable success
rate, researchers report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051022_herceptfrm.htm


* World's "smallest car" built:
Move over, Humvee.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051022_smallcarfrm.htm

[gaddeswarup]

The nose cells that may help the paralysed walk again
http://www.guardian.co.uk/medicine/story/0,11381,1653838,00.html
Surgeons in London to try revolutionary stem cell technique on crash victims
Sarah Boseley, health editor
Wednesday November 30, 2005
The Guardian
Surgeons will attempt early next year to mend the severed nerves of young people who have suffered motorbike accidents in the first trial of a simple but potentially revolutionary technology that could one day allow the paralysed to walk again.

[gaddeswarup]

Pl. check the following for 'stress, aging and immune system":
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4499080.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3034410.stm

[Anoushka]

* Dog genome published:
The information helps explain why dogs are so
diverse, and their relationship to humans,
according to scientists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051207_dogfrm.htm


* Men and women differ in brain use, study finds:
The comedians are right; the science proves it,
researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051206_braindifffrm.htm


* Study: marital stress slows wound healing:
The findings could have major implications for
hospitals and health insurance companies, the
researchers claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051206_stresshealfrm.htm


* Jungle find opens "new chapter" in Maya history:
Archaeologists are reporting the earliest known
portrait of a woman from the Mayan civilization.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051206_mayafrm.htm


* Are schools making kids fat?:
U.S. schools that allow frequent snacking, offer
junk food and hold bake sales have more overweight
students, a study has found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051205_schoolfoodfrm.htm


* Earth-friendly grenades proposed:
Scientists say the little bombs could be designed
to go easy on the environment.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051205_grenadefrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Bees can recognize human faces, study finds:
Honeybees may look all alike to us. But we don't necessarily look all alike to them.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051209_beesfrm.htm


* Beethoven's wish fulfilled: Researchers say they have fulfilled Beethoven's wish that his remains be used to learn what caused his
fatal illness. Their answer: lead.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051208_beethovenfrm.htm


* How the "trust hormone" works:
A brain chemical that boosts trust seems to work by damping connections in brain circuits that process fear, a study suggests.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051208_trustfrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* Study traces Egyptians' stone-age roots:
A researcher says that using ancient teeth, he has learned who the Egyptians may have been before history.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/051217_egyptfrm.htm


* Hunt for the "glueball" may be almost over,
physicist says: Physicists have been searching for three decades for a bizarre subatomic particle called a glueball.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051206_glueballfrm.htm


* Early dinosaurs had unusual growth abilities,
study finds: Some dinosaurs might have reached quite different adult sizes despite being from the same species, depending on conditions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051215_plateofrm.htm


* Archaeologists unearth ancient "war zone" near Iraq border: Archaeologists say they have found the earliest evidence for large-scale warfare near ancient Mesopotamia.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051216_warzonefrm.htm


* Mural provides "window" into Maya origins:
The oldest well-preserved Maya mural provides a wealth of information on the civilization's origins, archaeologists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051213_mayamuralfrm.htm


* Mysteries of early-aging syndrome unlocked,
researchers say: Understanding a condition that kills children by age 13 might benefit them, and the rest of us, scientists believe.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/051213_progeriafrm.htm

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:a0ce2b790f]January 9 issue of New Scientist has the following article:
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/mg18925334.000
titled “Men inherit hidden cost of dad’s vices”. The article is available only to subscribers.
The article says that some experiments indicate that nutrition and smoking early in life may affect men’s sons and grandsons. One recent study in U.K. says that men who started smoking before the age of 11 tend to have sons who are significantly fatter than average. Fortunately, there is no similar affect on daughters. Another older study from Swedon indicated that people whose grandparents had been short of food between the ages of nine and twelve tend to live longer. Again, this seems sex specific. The changes are supposed to be due to chemical changes in DNA, known as ‘epigenic’ modifications and may lost a few generations.
Swarup[/tscii:a0ce2b790f]

[gaddeswarup]

The relation between childhood infections and heart disease, teeth loss and heart disease are discussed in:
http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/11/healthscience/snvital.php

[gaddeswarup]

Two articles on food and mental health:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4610998.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4610070.stm

[gaddeswarup]

Wrist watch to detect malaria; pl. see;
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/D7639F61-617F-4754-B8C0-005A47F46778.htm

[Shakthiprabha.]

WHAT DO U ALL have to say bout this???? :shock:

**********************

Trust chemicals, beware of nature

From make-up to medicine, scientists warn that people are wrong to think natural must be best

Robin McKie, science editor
Sunday January 22, 2006
The Observer
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1692191,00.html


Far from being the best forms of nutrition, medicine or cosmetics on the market, natural products can pose serious health risks, Britain's leading chemists will warn this week.

By contrast, synthetic chemicals, tightly regulated and generally safe, are being unfairly blamed for causing cancers and other illnesses, the researchers state. The warning comes in 'Making Sense of Chemical Stories', to be published on Wednesday, in which chemists and toxicologists highlight growing fears about people's misconceptions about chemicals in everyday life.

'Synthetic chemicals are often much safer for human health than so-called "natural" ones and unfounded anxiety about chemicals is encouraging people into ideas and remedies that make no scientific or medical sense,' they say. Among examples are expensive detoxification cures - including tablets, diets and body wraps - that are less effective than a glass of water; henna tattoos that can cause severe allergic reactions; and hair dyes and eyeliners, such as kohl and surma, that contain toxic lead compounds.

'Kohl is put in the inside of eyelids,' said Professor John Henry of Imperial College London. 'The lead dissolves in teardrops and is absorbed by the body. The result is lead poisoning. By contrast, standard eyeliners made with synthetic chemicals contain no lead chemicals and are safe.' Another example is the dangers from henna tattoos. Black henna contains the dye paraphenylenediamine, which can cause an allergic reaction and lead to permanent scarring.

Henry also warned about the use of traditional medicines such as St John's wort: 'There is no doubt that it can be effective for treating depression, but it is difficult to administer. We do not know what its active ingredient is and that means you cannot assess its dosage.'

By contrast, the active ingredients of standard medicines and cosmetics are known, can be manufactured synthetically and accurately administered. Yet it is the synthetic chemical that attracts hysterical media coverage, the report adds. Campaigns by environmental groups have highlighted the presence of dangerous chemicals in pregnant women and their unborn babies. However, it is never mentioned that the toxins are present in fewer than one part per billion. Some also alleged that tiny traces of different man-made chemicals can combine to produce a single, highly toxic effect, but there is no evidence to support the idea.

In short, says the report, published by the charity Sense About Science, there is a wide mismatch between the public's attitudes to man-made and natural substances. People think the former lead to cancer and are responsible for many of society's woes. As a result, they try to lead a chemical-free lifestyle. The idea is nonsense, says the report.

Claims that product is CHEMICAL-FREE is untrue.

Research chemist Derek Lohmann points out: 'If someone offered you a cocktail of butanol, isoamyl alcohol, caffeine, geraniol, 3-galloyl epicatechin, and inorganic salts, it sounds pretty ghastly. Yet it is just a cup of tea.'

By contrast, there has been a steady increase in uncritical acceptance of natural products. 'This has happened partly as a result of intensive merchandising of "alternative" products, lifestyle ideas and campaigns that play on misconceptions about chemicals and about how the body works,' states the report. 'Something needs to be done.'

:shock: :sad: :huh:

[Anoushka]

* Explaining "stolen" memories:
Are all your memories really yours? Researchers are
exploring why you can't necessarily count on it.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060121_memoryfrm.htm


* Love and madness not that different?:
Research over the past several years has clarified
what happens in the brain when we fall in love.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060120_lovefrm.htm


* Newfound Roman tomb said to predate empire:
A tomb found beneath the Roman Forum could predate
the ancient empire by hundreds of years.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060121_tombfrm.htm


* Pluto mission launched:
The spacecraft would rendezvous with the ice planet
in 2015.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060119_plutofrm.htm


* Volcano plumes found to well from unsuspected
depths:
The liquid rock spewed by volcanoes originates much
deeper than previously thought, geologists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060120_volcanofrm.htm


* Brain scans betray our joy in others' suffering:
The satisfaction we sometimes feel if someone we
dislike suffers has an evolutionary role, some
biologists argue.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060118_schadenfrm.htm


* Divorce shreds wealth, study finds:
A slide in wealth starts four years before divorce
becomes official, on average, according to research.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060118_divorcefrm.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Here are some science sites that I have been following off and on. Please have a look and send your comments and information about any other interesting sites. I plan to update it once in a while
takling the comments in to account.
swarup

1 Science articles:
http://www.edge.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/

2 Longer articles and downloadable books:
http://www.biology.com/
http://www.biologymad.com/
http://www.estrellamountain.edu/faculty/farabee/biobk/biobooktoc.html
http://www.howstuffworks.com/
http://inventors.about.com/library/bl/bl12.htm
http://www.arvindguptatoys.com/
3 Science news:
A. Mostly free
http://www.popsci.com/popsci/
http://www.livescience.com/
http://www.world-science.net/
B. Need subscription but some free articles
http://www.newscientist.com/home.ns
http://www.sciammind.com/
http://scientificamerican.com/news_directory.cfm
http://www.americanscientist.org/

4 Science news and discussion :
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/cat_trends_human_evolution.html
http://science.slashdot.org/

5 Sustainable development, water resources
http://www.planetark.com/
http://www.cseindia.org/
http://www.zeri.org/

6 Future prospects
http://www.kurzweilai.net/

[rajraj]

Swarup: Are downloadable books copyright protected? If so, do the authors give written permission to download in the websites?

[gaddeswarup]

Rajraj wrote:
"Swarup: Are downloadable books copyright protected? If so, do the authors give written permission to download in the websites?"

I really do not know. I remember that in some sites (not in the ones that I gave), it is explicitly stated that books can be downloaded; I can search and probably find these sites. My impression is that arvindguptatoys, wikipedia etc have books that can be downloaded but this is only an impression. If there are any copy right issues involved and how to find out about these, please let me know. I was going more by my impressions of the sites. Some sites (including blogs) seem to explicitly say that one should take permission before reproducing any material and some say that it is ok for personal use. But I am not really sure about the various issues involved.
Please let me know if there are any issues involved when mentioning sites which have downloadble books, sometimes without explicit instructions.
Swarup

[Anoushka]

Swarup: Are downloadable books copyright protected? If so, do the authors give written permission to download in the websites?

Raj: I know certain sites where the books can be downloaded and a particular software used to read them. It can be opened only for two weeks since download and then the book expires! It is like borrowing a book from the library. The book can be borrowed/downloaded again though....

[Anoushka]

[tscii:1f12c24176]* Baboons seek "comfort" after deaths in the family:
When a lion killed Sierra the baboon, her mother looked to friends for support.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060130_baboonfrm.htm

* Possible "earliest" slave remains found: Researchers are studying remains of what they say may be some of the earliest slaves brought to the Americas from Africa.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060130_slavefrm.htm


* When déjà vu becomes unbearable: If you can't watch TV because everything seems to be a repeat -- even the news -- you may have a problem. Scientists are looking into it.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060130_dejavufrm.htm

* Can you catch obesity?: If some researchers are right, you may soon be hearing a surprising piece of advice to avoid obesity: wash your hands.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060130_fatvirusfrm.htm

* Vaccine gives "100%" bird flu protection in animal study: Mass vaccinations of livestock could help stop the avian flu that is causing global concern, scientists suggest.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060128_flufrm.htm[/tscii:1f12c24176]

[Anoushka]

* Searching for extra dimensions:
A new detector of elusive particles called neutrinos
might provide evidence for extra dimensions,
researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060126_stringfrm.htm


* New lakes found beneath Antarctic ice:
Scientists report finding the second and third
largest known of nearly 150 lakes locked under
Antarctic ice.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060126_lakesfrm.htm


* Many "Earths" out there, scientists say after planet find:
A discovery is raising astronomers' hopes that an
Earth-like planet will turn up before long.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060125_bigplutofrm.htm

[Anoushka]

Imagine that 'the arrow of time' in the Universe, like gravity on Earth, is pretty much the same everywhere, yet also different everywhere relative to everywhere else. That means that the 'arrow of time' points in different directions in spacetime depending on where you are, so time has a geometry just like space has a geometry. The novel idea that there are an infinite number of time dimensions in the Universe revolutionizes gravitational theory and much of modern science with it. A number of outstanding scientific mysteries are definitively solved, including observations that lead to the concepts of 'dark energy' and 'dark matter'.



Read more at : http://www.stanford.edu/~afmayer/

[gaddeswarup]

Anti-aging drugs may increase retirement age ( to 85 in Britain):
http://society.guardian.co.uk/health/news/0,,1713456,00.html

[Anoushka]

gaddeswarup: Thanks for letting me know that the previous link doesn't work. I tried all resources and couldn't find the valid link :(

[gaddeswarup]

Try http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/
for biology questions in the context of nursing and healthcare.
The ansewrs seem to be by experts and not always easy to understand. I tried 'yawning' and got:
http://www.nurseminerva.co.uk/nervous.html
the one from World Science seemes clearer and more up-to-date;
http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/050309_yawnfrm.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Train your mind:
http://www.sciammind.com/article.cfm?articleID=000C075D-4357-13D9-810183414B7F0000
I wonder whether this is the sort of thing behind meditation?
Swarup

[gaddeswarup]

From:
http://www.livescience.com/humanbiology/060313_pot_brain.html

""We found that the longer people used marijuana, the more deterioration they had in these cognitive abilities, especially in the ability to learn and remember new information," said Lambros Messinis of the Department of Neurology at the University Hospital of Patras in Patras, Greece.

A separate study in Neurology last year found higher blood flow velocity in the marijuana users even a month after they stopped smoking. Researchers said the change could help explain other studies that have revealed memory problems in pot smokers.

A Harvard Medical School study in 2003 found lasting memory impairment in people who had started smoking marijuana before age 17, when the brain is still forming.

And research published in November indicated that heavy marijuana use might put adolescents who are genetically predisposed to schizophrenia at greater risk of developing the brain disorder.

Some 3.1 million Americans age 12 and older use marijuana daily or almost daily, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. In 2004, 5.6 percent of 12th graders reported daily use of marijuana."

I do not know the estimates of users in India but I would guess that it is large. Marijuna is supposed to be useful as a pain killer.

[Anoushka]

* Hormone inspires animal "babysitting":
Researchers have long turned to animals to study how
cooperation evolved. New findings highlight the role
of hormones, they say.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060315_meerkatfrm.htm


* Researchers develop method to view Sun's far side:
A new technique is said to make the Sun's hidden
face fully visible for the first time.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060315_sunfrm.htm


* Scientists to probe ethical complaint over "hand-
walkers" research:
A Turkish scientists' group announced plans to look
into ethical complaints against three U.K.
researchers, who meanwhile broke a long silence on
the case.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060315_wrist2frm.htm


* Saturn moon may have liquid water:
Researchers say evidence of water reservoirs
erupting in geysers on the moon Enceladus may expand
the search for alien life.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060309_waterfrm.htm


* Study examines how humans are still evolving:
Scientists report finding more than 700 genetic
variants that evolution may have favored in the
past 10,000 years.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060308_evolvingfrm.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Frequent tests increase retention while studying:
http://www.futurepundit.com/archives/003329.html
This confirms my experience. whenever I studied just before the examinations, eventhough I got through the exams, the topic disappeared after the exams. It seems that if one wants to retain some topic, one has to learn it over a period of time and off and on sleep over it. After that, the intensitive study for exams may help in understanding and retaining better. I could understand Calculus only in the third attempt and thought I understood it much better when I started teaching. It still surprises me that such a subtle subject can now be taught in school. May be retention of some features of the topic is the key; one may (or may not) understand after a while.
Swarup

[rajraj]

I could understand Calculus only in the third attempt and thought I understood it much better when I started teaching.
Swarup

Swarup: The best way to learn is to teach ! :)

[Sudhaama]

I could understand Calculus only in the third attempt and thought I understood it much better when I started teaching.
Swarup

Swarup: The best way to learn is to teach ! :)

May be as a Joke... You all say so. But NOT PRACTICABLE.

I have seen enough of cases... where the Teachers, Lecturers, and even the Gurus without full knowledge on their relevant subject... have MISERABLY FAILED ...and bacame a LAUGHING-STOCK before their Students and Society as well.

It is still in my vivid memory of my Enginerring-College days... about 55 years back...one Lecturer took up on Applied-Mechanics... could not explain nor reply to the Volley of the Questions and Doubts raised by we the Students...

...mostly because of his SELF-CONTRADICTIONS and INCONSITENCY in his Teaching ..

...due to his LACK OF KNOWLEDGE..even on that Simple Elementary Subject for the Beginners of Engineering Studies.

So he fumbled, further confused, unduly blamed the whole contingent of students as Fools and further angrily insulted the students with the worst possible terminologies.

Consequently the students struck the class... lead to an open-enquiry...

..Ultimately that Quack- Lecturer was made to Quit....

So it is clear that anybody who takes up teaching should LEARN WELL prior to venturing teaching...

...and MUST ALSO REMEMBER that he should start teaching with a belief,... NOBODY IS A FOOL....

...and perhaps his students may be wiser than himself, the Teacher...

...as was the case of Ramanujacharya with his first Guru Yadavaprakasa.

IGNORANCE CAN NEVER MANAGE FOR LONG.

[gaddeswarup]

When Rajraj said "The best way to learn is to teach !", I thought that there was an implicit assumption "given some basic competence and knowledge". These days, one has to upgrade many courses to take in to account recent developments and sometimes one does include topics one is just learning. I have been browsing through Jared Diamond's "Collapse" and he says that some of the material is developed in his courses and modified after taking into account the comments of the students. This is not uncommon. Unfortunately, I have also had several teachers of the type Sudhama mentioned. I hope that the numbers of such groups will decrease with more accountability practices like those followed in some of the western universities.
swarup

[rajraj]

I have been browsing through Jared Diamond's "Collapse" and he says that some of the material is developed in his courses and modified after taking into account the comments of the students. This is not uncommon.
swarup

Swarup: I meant what I said. Yared Diamond is right. It is very common to get feedback from the students about how to improve the course. I have always done that. This can be done only if the teacher encourages student participation in the class room. That is a requirement in my courses. Then, there is teacher evaluation at the end of the semester where students give their opinion of the teacher and the course. That is used to revise the course. Unfortunately, in India the teachers have not reached that level of maturity. I can quote what a teacher said about my son. When we went to his commencement(convocation) his advisor remarked - 'In the first year he was my student and in the second year he became my colleague'. That is the level of maturity we need in India. It is very rare to see such teachers! :)

[gaddeswarup]

While the artcle
http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/selfish06/selfish06_index.html bemoans the lack of scientific knowledge in the leaders of the literary establishments and such, the following articles celebrates literary science writing:
http://books.guardian.co.uk/departments/scienceandnature/story/0,,1743994,00.html
and mentions a few classics.
Swarup

[Anoushka]

"Missing link" walking-fish fossils awe
scientists:
Paleontologists say a newly discovered organism
could become an evolutionary icon.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060405_tiktaalikfrm.htm


* Scientists rebuild bladders in lab:
Researchers report for the first time successfully
rebuilding complex organs using lab-cultivated
tissue.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060403_bladderfrm.htm


* Saturn "moonlets" suggest smashup created rings,
study finds:
Researchers also say there's growing evidence of
parallels between ring formation and planet
formation.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060331_moonletfrm.htm


* People often don't recognize their obesity:
Obese people tend to know their own weight, but
they don't realize it constitutes obesity, scientists report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060404_obesefrm.htm


* Study: Insects contribute $57 billion to U.S.
economy
The low-end estimate highlights what insects provide
through pollination, pest control and other
services, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060403_insectfrm.htm


* Ocean "dead zones" cause fish sex changes,
scientists say:
Pollution-induced lack of oxygen in parts of the
oceans could lead to sex changes that threaten fish
with extinction, according to a study.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060331_deadzonefrm.htm

[Anoushka]

* One universe or many? A panel debates:
Physicists brawled over a question that's nearly
unanswerable, yet somehow very alive in science
today.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060330_multiversefrm.htm


* Brain found to mature faster in highest-IQ kids:
The thinking part of the brain thickens and thins
faster in high-intelligence youth as they grow,
researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060329_brainiqfrm.htm


* Evolutionary principles used to predict cancer:
Like a diverse ecosystem, a tumor with highly
diverse cells will evolve more quickly -- to cancer,
a study has found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060329_evocancerfrm.htm


* Loneliness linked to health risk:
U.S. health officials say they're seeking ways to
ease loneliness nationwide, as a study has tied it
to to high blood pressure and other health risks.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060329_lonelyfrm.htm


* Science in images:
What does our planet look like during a solar
eclipse? A photo from the International Space
Station tells us.

http://www.world-science.net

[Anoushka]

http://www.esa.int/SPECIALS/GSP/SEM0L6OVGJE_2.html

Scientists funded by the European Space Agency believe they may have measured the gravitational equivalent of a magnetic field for the first time in a laboratory. Under certain special conditions the effect is much larger than expected from general relativity and could help physicists to make a significant step towards the long-sought-after quantum theory of gravity.

[NM]

http://www.alzheimers.org.au/content.cfm?categoryid=2

Some interesting things about dementia and memory loss.

[gaddeswarup]

Brain training can change autistic behaviour
21 April 2006
From New Scientist Print Edition.



NEUROFEEDBACK practice may be able to alleviate some of the symptoms of autism, according to a pilot study on eight children with the disorder.
The technique involves hooking people up to electrodes and getting them to try and control their brain waves. In people with autism, the "mu" wave is thought to be dysfunctional. Since this wave is associated with "mirror neurons" - the brain cells that underpin empathy and understanding of others - Jaime Pineda at the University of California, San Diego, wondered if controlling it through neurofeedback could exercise faulty mirror neurons and improve their function.
He attached sensors to the necks and heads of eight children with autism and had them watch a video game of a racing car going round a track. For all of the children, sitting still and concentrating kept the car travelling around the track, but five of them were also able to harness their mu waves and use them to adjust the car's speed.
After 30 sessions over 10 weeks, Pineda found that the five children's mu brainwaves had changed and they performed better on tasks involving imitation, typically difficult for people with autism. Pineda presented his work at the annual meeting of the Cognitive Neuroscience Society in San Francisco last week.
"This seems to indicate the children improve," Pineda says. How long the effects will last, though, is unknown.

[gaddeswarup]

Pl. check:
http://www.nybooks.com/articles/18970
for recent progress in evolutionary studies.

[Anoushka]

* Dolphins may "name" themselves, study finds:
Some dolphin whistles appear to convey
information revealing their identity,
scientists claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060508_dolphinfrm.htm


* Ultra-fast light pulses capture subatomic
world:
Researchers say they have used some of the
shortest pulses of laser light ever produced
to better understand electrons.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060508_pulsefrm.htm


* Genetic variant associated with prostate
cancer found:

The first major genetic risk factor for prostate
cancer in the general population is revealed in a
new study, according to scientists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060507_prostatefrm.htm

* Studies find logic lurking in madness:
A widespread suspicion that insanity and rationality
are related is not without its basis, researchers
have found.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060504_schizfrm.htm


* Jupiter bright in evening sky:
Look southeast after dark this month, and you'll
see Jupiter shining so brightly that it is clearly
visible even through city light pollution.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060503_eosfrm.htm


* Fossil may lie near root of fish, land animal
lineages:
Scientists are reporting a fossil that may
represent a bridge between land vertebrates and
most of today's fish species.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060503_eosfrm.htm


* Polar bears, hippos join threatened species list:
The list of species facing extinction is growing, a
global network of environmental groups and
scientists announced.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060502_threatfrm.htm


* Engineered virus makes cancer cells "eat
themselves":
Researchers say they've created a virus that tracks
down tumor cells and forces them to devour
themselves.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060502_virusfrm.htm


* Men more jealous when lover most fertile,
researchers say:
Men become more jealous of dominant males when their
female partner is near ovulation, a study has found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060502_menfrm.htm


* From sick kids, new insight into what causes
aging:
Scientists say they have found a key link between a
devastating "early-aging" syndrome and normal aging.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060427_progeriafrm.htm


* Science in images:
A Hubble Space Telescope image shows a comet
falling apart before our eyes.

http://www.world-science.net

[gaddeswarup]

Pl. check:
http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/may/env-vetiver.htm
for an interesting article about an age-old method to prevent soil erosion.

[rajraj]

Swarup,
Even today you can see them along some river banks in Tamilnadu. They also make panels (blinds0 out of vetiver to protect against the sun. It is sweet smelling and has been used in soaps in Britain! I was surprised to see that soap in a hotel in London ! :)

[arihantarihant007]

nice share guys.. keep pourin...

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:0fcc22557f]Monsoon gloom. From
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19025523.900-monsoon-gloom-strikes-south-asia.html
"A POPULATION of a billion and a half depends on this rain," says Veerabhadran Ramanathan. Unfortunately, the South Asia monsoon that brings this rain may be losing strength thanks to global warming and the brown haze of pollution that hangs over the Indian Ocean.
This wasn't supposed to happen. If global warming was heating the Indian Ocean uniformly, then the result ought to be increased evaporation and higher monsoon rainfall over south Asia. Instead, rainfall over India has decreased by 5 to 8 per cent since the 1950s.
Now, Ramanathan and colleague Chul Eddy Chung of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in La Jolla, California have an explanation for the anomaly. By combining measurements of sea surface temperatures and pollution in their regional climate models, they found that while sea surface temperatures near the equator have increased around 0.6 °C over the last 50 years, the northern Indian Ocean has not warmed.
In fact, it may even have cooled because sunlight is being absorbed by the "brown cloud" above it. Without the normal summer temperature gradients over the region, the monsoon cycle is suppressed (Journal of Climate, vol 19, p 2036). "It's causing a tendency for the rain systems to move south and not to hit land," Ramanathan says.
[/tscii:0fcc22557f]

[Anoushka]

* Researchers trace origin of an "altruism gene":
Probing an evolutionary mystery, scientists say they
have penned the first history of a gene for
cooperation.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060529_altruism.htm


* Machine might detect "dark matter":
A device due to switch on next year might detect the
enigmatic substance that pervades all galaxies,
physicists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060528_darkmatter.htm


* Humanoid robot is a crowd-pleaser:
Korean researchers have presented an "android" that
can simulate four emotions and knows 400 words.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060525_android.htm


* Invisibility cloaks near?:
Scientists have published equations showing how the
science-fiction devices could work.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060525_invisible.htm

[kannannn]

[tscii:70a9ca49e9]
* Researchers trace origin of an "altruism gene":
Probing an evolutionary mystery, scientists say they
have penned the first history of a gene for
cooperation.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060529_altruism.htm

But I remember Richard Dawkins writing in "The selfish Gene" that any altruism is a result of survival and reproduction instincts. Such instinct may or may not be present in the individual or species depending on the environment. How is it then possible to 'assign' a gene to altruism. Or am I missing anything here? :?
The report says:

Variable or stressful environments may particularly encourage this process, she added. Periodic hardship frequently spurs the evolution of survival mechanisms that involve suppressing biological activities, like Crsc13. Moreover, in tough times, people often come together; so do many bacteria.

But researchers will have to write histories of more “altruism genes” in different organisms before drawing general conclusions of this sort, Nedelcu cautioned: “definitely, more studies are needed.”[/tscii:70a9ca49e9]

[gaddeswarup]

Kannan,
I am also trying to understand these things and am a beginner. Richerson and Boyd ( in "Not by genes alone") say that Hamilton's rule allows biologists to explain a wide variety of phenomena and Dawkin's work is based on this. Apart from this, there are no widely accepted general princoples describing the evolution of reciprocity.
The desirability for assuming altruism genes is explained in:
http://www.gnxp.com/MT2/archives/000223.html
The articles:
http://cogprints.org/843/00/Altruism.htm
and
http://72.14.207.104/search?q=cache:lgMUassL3OMJ:www.libertarian.co.uk/lapubs/socin/socin024.pdf+%22The+Freedom+of+the+Gene%22&hl=en&gl=au&ct=clnk&cd=1&ie=UTF-8
are very readable and I cannot really paraphrase them.
swarup

[kannannn]

Dear gaddeswarup, many thanks for the links. The third link in particular made for very interesting reading and explains Hamilton's theory in simple terms.

[gaddeswarup]

Mother's touch:
http://www.discover.com/web-exclusives/stop-dna

[gaddeswarup]

This article may be useful to those living in countries like Australia. Outrunning malanoma:
http://www.discover.com/web-exclusives/mouse-tumor/

[gaddeswarup]

good news for those who do not like alcolhol:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060603/hl_nm/singapore_sauce_dc

[dsath]

Good news indeed, esp for me as i use in Soya Sauce in almost everything i cook except sambhar and rasam. :D

[gaddeswarup]

Advantages of diversity:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060601214628.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Another possible benefit from sacred cows> From:
http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10%2E1371%2Fjournal%2Epmed%2E0030231
"One of the oldest examples of biological diversity reducing disease risk occurs with malaria and domestic livestock in India, and it may partly explain why cows are regarded with deep reverence by Hindus. A variety of historical papers have suggested that sleeping in close proximity to domestic livestock, particularly cattle, may reduce the rate at which mosquitoes bite humans, and thus reduce the likelihood of infection with malaria or other vector-borne pathogens (zooprophylaxis; reviewed in [1,2]).
We don't specifically know if this is why cows are sacred in parts of India (see Figure 1); they have been considered sacred since the Aryans invaded in the 2nd century, B.C., but many cultural and religious taboos reflect cultural selection for activities that minimize or reduce disease risk. Certainly tribes who spent time in close proximity to cattle might have reduced their risk of malaria, particularly in regions where malaria was transmitted by Anopheles culicifacies (a cattle-biting specialist). Active zooprophylaxis was undertaken when cattle were deliberately used as a barrier between mosquito breeding sites and human settlements; it was probably most widely used in Soviet collective agriculture [3] and is again being used in Tanzania today.


A slight problem with this hypothesis is that in many dry areas where malaria exhibits seasonal patterns of abundance, the by-products of cattle supply vital sources of moisture and nutriments that can contribute to the breeding success of mosquitoes. In other words, cattle may divert bites in the short term but increase mosquito abundance in the long term [4]. Determining the net effects of species diversity on disease risk in other types of disease systems remains a challenging frontier."
See also the rest of the article about squirrels and Lyme disease.

[gaddeswarup]

Long distance eye care. From:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060606182623.htm
"Thousands of residents of rural villages in India are receiving quality eye care thanks to a collaborative effort between an Indian hospital network and the researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and at Intel Corporation who have developed a new technology for low-cost rural connectivity.
This new technology, based on "Wi-Fi" wireless networks, allows eye specialists at Aravind Eye Hospital at Theni in the southern India state of Tamil Nadu to interview and examine patients in five remote clinics via a high-quality video conference."

[gaddeswarup]

Benefits of green tea. Pl. check:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/06/060606183717.htm

[gaddeswarup]

More about telemedicine in the New Scientist:
http://www.newscientist.com/blog/technology/

[gaddeswarup]

Following up a recent note on bilingualism:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn9304-how-bilingual-brains-switch-between-tongues.html
I found this old news:
Juggling languages keeps brain sharp in old age:
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=mg18224522.900
"SPEAKING two languages slows the brain's decline with age, according to a study comparing monolingual and bilingual people. It is the first to show the benefits of bilingualism for the brains of elderly people.
The reason, say researchers, is that bilingual people spend their lives ignoring one language while speaking the other. This gives them constant practice at shutting out information irrelevant to the task in hand.
To find out if this ability extends to other tasks, Ellen Bialystok of York University in Toronto, Canada, and her colleagues subjected 150 bi- and monolingual volunteers aged between 30 and 88 to a psychological test that measures a person's ability to avoid distractions. All the volunteers spoke English, but roughly half also spoke Tamil, which originated in southern India.
Volunteers had to respond to transient symbols on a computer screen by pressing a key either to the right or to the left of the keyboard, depending on the symbol's colour. Sometimes the symbol appeared on the same side as the key to be pressed, and sometimes on the opposite side. The shorter the subject's reaction time for "wrong" side symbols compared to "right" side symbols, the more they are able to stick to the task and avoid distraction.
Bilingual volunteers tended to react faster than monolingual people, and the decline in their ability with age was less marked (Psychology and Aging, vol 19, p 290)."
Has anybody seen any followups of this study?

[Eelavar]

A Tesla FREE energy generator..

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5782814493845772323&q=Tesla

A interesting video and field of research...

The future of the Earth is the future of Energy..

[gaddeswarup]

Biodegradable plastics. Pl. check:
http://www.indiatogether.org/2006/jun/env-plastics.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Mind over matter:
http://www.physorg.com/news69039322.html

[gaddeswarup]

http://www.physorg.com/news69694294.html
Caution: I and my wife grew up in Indian villages. So far my immune sysetem seems OK but my wife developed asthma. We had pets but one of the children developed asthma and it turned out that my wife is allergic to cats and dogs. So, like all latest news, this should be taken with a grain of salt.

[gaddeswarup]

I hpoe that these are true:
http://www.physorg.com/news70114112.html
http://www.physorg.com/news70386548.html
http://www.physorg.com/news70201487.html

[RP]

Outbreaks of chikungunya fever, which is transmitted by mosquito bites, have been reported from the southern states of Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Karnataka. Symptoms include fever, joint pains, muscle aches, headache, and rash. The disease is almost never fatal, but may be complicated by protracted fatigue and malaise. Rarely, the infection is complicated by meningoencephalitis, which is usually seen in newborns and those with pre-existing medical conditions. There is no vaccine for chikungunya fever. Insect protection measures are strongly recommended. http://www.cdc.gov/travel/other/2006/chikungunya_india.htm

[Anoushka]

* Startling variety in planetary birthplaces:
Astronomers once thought the dusty clouds that spawn
planets all looked pretty much the same. But no more.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060628_planet.htm


* Best way to build children's brains: play with
them
Love beats trendy toys, classes or music as brain
food for preschoolers, a report says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060626_play.htm


* Radioactive scorpion venom deemed safe cancer
treatment:
Scientists are exploring an unusual new treatment
for an aggressive brain cancer.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060626_venom.htm


* Human-dolphin partnership inspires gov't
protection:
The government of Myanmar has moved to safeguard a
dolphin-fisherman collaboration.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060626_dolphin.htm


* The science of sniping on eBay:
A despised practice of placing last-second bids is
actually the best strategy in online auctions,
according to scientists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060625_snipe.htm

[dsath]

* Best way to build children's brains: play with
them
Love beats trendy toys, classes or music as brain
food for preschoolers, a report says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060626_play.htm



Nice one Anu.

[gaddeswarup]

This is from EurekAlert, July 1 and may be useful to older people. I am not sure how to give the exact URL.

Pomegranate juice helps keep PSA levels stable in men with prostate cancer


Drinking an eight ounce glass of pomegranate juice daily increased by nearly four times the period during which PSA levels in men treated for prostate cancer remained stable, a three-year UCLA study has found.

The study involved 50 men who had undergone surgery or radiation but quickly experienced increases in prostate-specific antigen or PSA, a biomarker that indicates the presence of cancer. UCLA researchers measured "doubling time," how long it takes for PSA levels to double, a signal that the cancer is progressing, said Dr. Allan Pantuck, an associate professor of urology, a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher and lead author of the study.

Doubling time is crucial in prostate cancer, Pantuck said, because patients who have short doubling times are more likely to die from their cancer. The average doubling time is about 15 months. In the UCLA study, Pantuck and his team observed increases in doubling times from 15 months to 54 months, an almost four-fold increase.

"That's a big increase. I was surprised when I saw such an improvement in PSA numbers," Pantuck said. "In older men 65 to 70 who have been treated for prostate cancer, we can give them pomegranate juice and it may be possible for them to outlive their risk of dying from their cancer. We're hoping we may be able to prevent or delay the need for other therapies usually used in this population such as hormone treatment or chemotherapy, both of which bring with them harmful side effects."

The study appears in the July 1 issue of Clinical Cancer Research, the peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Cancer Research.

"This is not a cure, but we may be able to change the way prostate cancer grows," Pantuck said. "We don't know yet the specific factors behind this response - that's our next step in this research. We want to find out what cell signaling pathways might be affected, what is happening to keep PSA levels stable."

Pomegranate juice is known to have anti-inflammatory effects and high levels of anti-oxidants, which are believed to protect the body from free-radical damage. It also contains poly-phenols, natural antioxidant compounds found in green tea, as well as isoflavones commonly found in soy, and ellagic acid, which is believed to play a role in cancer cell death.

"There are many substances in pomegranate juice that may be prompting this response," Pantuck said. "We don't know if it's one magic bullet or the combination of everything we know is in this juice. My guess is that it's probably a combination of elements, rather than a single component."

The levels of PSA in men immediately following treatement should be undetectable, Pantuck said. If PSA can be detected, it's an indication of an aggressive cancer that is likely to progress. The men in Pantuck's study all had detectable PSA following treatment. Of the 50 men enrolled, more than 80 percent experienced improvement in doubling times.

Conventional treatment for men with recurrent prostate cancer includes hormonal therapy, a chemical castration which removes testosterone from the system. Men treated with hormonal therapy can experience hot flashes, osteoporosis, fatigue, depression, muscle wasting, loss of libido and erectile dysfunction. If drinking pomegranate juice can delay or prevent the need for hormonal therapy, patients would experience a better quality of life for a longer time, Pantuck said.

The patients in Pantuck's study experienced no side effects and none of the participants had cancers that metastasized during the study.

Pantuck, along with UCLA colleagues including Dr. Arie Belldegrun, professor and chief of urologic oncology, and Dr. David Heber, professor and director of the Center for Human Nutrition, first began research on pomegranate juice in prostate cancer about six years ago, conducting preclinical research in cell cultures and in animals. Those studies showed pomegranate juice slowed the growth of prostate cancer, Pantuck said.

The data was impressive enough to test pomegranate juice in clinical trials, Pantuck said. To confirm their findings, a larger Phase III study, headed up by UCLA, will be conducted at ten centers across the county. UCLA is the only Southern California center involved in the study. For more information on the Phase III trial, call (310) 825-5538.

Pantuck said he has men on the study more than three years out who are not being treated for prostate cancer other than drinking pomegranate juice and their PSA levels continue to be suppressed.

"The juice seems to be working," he said.

[Anoushka]

WORLD SCIENCE NEWSLETTER, July 11, 2006


Note: some subscription and cancellation requests
since our last issue were lost due to a technical
error. Please re-send them. We apologize for the in-
convenience.


* Sites under review for telescope that could detect
alien TV:
Astronomers are working to choose a site for a giant
telescope that could read TV signals from distant
civilizations.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/060711_ska.htm


* Climate change boosting wildfires, study finds:
Global warming may be driving wildfires in the
Western U.S., researchers claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060711_fire.htm


* Strange musical sounds draw scientific scrutiny:
An acclaimed violinist conjures sounds from her
instrument that shouldn't be possible.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060706_violin.htm


* Form of "empathy" found in mice:
Researchers say mice can feel each others' pain, in
a way.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060629_miceempathy.htm

[Anoushka]

Indian lab develops local bird flu vaccine

India has developed a local version of an animal vaccine to combat the deadly strain of bird flu that spread to the country in February, the agriculture ministry has said.

The vaccine was developed by the High Security Animal Disease Laboratory, the only Indian facility able to test poultry for the disease, with an investment of 80 million rupees (1.8 million dollars).

"Viral disease such as avian influenza does not recognize boundaries and the development of indigenous vaccine would go a long way in tackling bird flu effectively," said Mangala Rai, head of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research which oversees the lab.

The arrival of the disease in western India earlier this year led to the culling of more than a million birds, the statement said.

There are fears that if unchecked the disease might spread to humans in the country of more than one billion people, where many live in close contact with poultry.

The virus, which can spread from infected birds to people in close proximity, provokes flu-like symptoms in humans.

It has claimed 132 lives worldwide since 2003, according to World Health Organisation figures released Tuesday, with Vietnam suffering the most with 42 deaths.

[Anoushka]

amzing what science can do at times.
this seems to be a path breaking work!
http://tinyurl.com/gj598 or
http://today.reuters.com/news/ArticleNews.aspx?type=scienceNews&storyID=2006-07-12T173910Z_01_L12711624_RTRUKOC_0_US-SCIENCE-BRAIN.xml
excerpts:
...........A paralyzed man using a new brain sensor has been able to move a computer cursor, open e-mail and control a robotic device simply by thinking about doing it, a team of scientists said on Wednesday.....

..........He is the first of four patients with spinal cord injuries, muscular dystrophy, stroke or motor neurone disease testing the brain-to-movement system developed by Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems Inc in Masschusetts.

"This is the dawn of major neurotechnology where the ability to take signals out of the brain has taken a big step forward. We have the ability to put signals into the brain but getting signals out is a real challenge. I think this represents a landmark event," said Professor John Donoghue of Brown University in Rhode Island and the chief scientific officer of Cyberkinetics............
....This part of the brain, the motor cortex, which usually sends its signals down the spinal cord and out to the limbs to control movement, can still be used by this participant to control an external device, even after years had gone by since his spinal cord injury," added Hochberg, a co-author of the study published in the journal Nature......

[Anoushka]

Anti-smoking vaccine

A vaccine which could stop smokers getting a nicotine buzz from tobacco is being tested in America.

The drug reduces the pleasure from smoking by producing antibodies that stick to nicotine molecules and stop them entering the brain.

Each jab lasts about a month, reports the Mirror.

Now 300 people are being given repeat doses to see if the effect will last months and help them give up altogether.

If the trials are successful the drug NicVax could be on the market in three years.

Lead researcher Dr Victor Reus, professor of psychiatry at the University of California, said one key question will be whether booster shots could help prevent people who have given up from relapsing.

The US Food and Drug Administration has put the trial on fast-track for approval.

Dr Frank Vocci, a director of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse,
said: "They have put a spotlight on it and really tried to move it along because it would be a unique product."

Thomas Rathjen, a spokesman for NicVax developers Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, said the results of the study should be available next year.

Copyright (c) 2006 Ananova Ltd

[Anoushka]

* Call for proposals to help save Earth:
A group is offering grants to amateur and
professional astronomers to help find errant
asteroids.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060728_grants.htm


* Lowly graphite stirs new excitement:
Graphite, the common material used in pencils, can
behave in surprising ways, researchers have found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060724_graphene.htm


* Diet changes may not help fight cancer, studies
find:
New research suggests healthy diets have limited
benefits in cancer treatment.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060718_diet.htm


* Ancient "apartheid" leaves modern imprint:
Genetic evidence reveals a system of official
discrimination in ancient England, scientists
claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060719_apartheid.htm


* Animals teach pups with surprising skill,
researchers say:
Meerkats instruct and encourage their young in
food-catching, according to a study.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060715_meerkat.htm

[gaddeswarup]

More on turmeric:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125635.500-popular-curry-spice-is-a-brain-booster.html

[gaddeswarup]

More on turmeric:
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg19125635.500-popular-curry-spice-is-a-brain-booster.html

[Hulkster]

Theres a new discovery of twin planets or planemos found beyond the solar system with one planet circling the other instead of the planets circling the stars or the sun.

Excerpts from the article

*Mass of one of the planet is 1% of the mass of the Sun
*They must have been formed millions of years ago as deemed by scientists.
*The way they are created challenges the accepted theory of planet evolution.
*This planemos are distanced from earth six times the distance of pluto from the sun.

[gaddeswarup]

Are we expecting too much from children? Pl. see:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060808161224.htm

[rajraj]

Swarup,
In India they do! It is sad to see the workload a child carries. They don't have time to be kids! :(


Are we expecting too much from children? Pl. see:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/08/060808161224.htm

[gaddeswarup]

I saw this another site and cannot resist passing it on:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13439261/

[rocketboy]

I was a mute witness to the testing of an explosive today morning. This is just a brief narration. I was closing the door of my room and was all set to go to my lab. I heard a loud bang outside. At the same time the windows in my room shuddered.My first guess was that someone had fired from a gun. I came out of the room and looked all around to fix the source of the noise. I saw smoke emanating from a far off place. I thought maybe some transformer had failed . My friend and I then decided to go and see for ourselves what was the cause of that bang. After covering some distance the smell of burnt debris loomed in the air.On enquiry we learnt that some explosive has been tested in the nearby field and that alone was the cause of this hoopla.We smiled at each other. My friend remarked ,"Man if this is just a test then imagine what damage a real explosive could do to us". There was truth in his statement.

[Rohit]

Question: What is Astrology?
Answer: Astrology is a belief system. Period

And this is what the 'Sience News for Commoner' is.

Ten Embarrassing Questions:
1. What is the likelihood that one-twelfth of the world's population is having the same kind of day?
2. Why is the moment of birth, rather than conception, crucial for astrology?
3. If the mother's womb can keep out astrological influences until birth, can we do the same with a cubicle of steak?
4. If astrologers are as good as they claim, why aren't they richer?
5. Are all horoscopes done before the discovery of the three outermost planets incorrect?
6. Shouldn't we condemn astrology as a form of bigotry?
7. Why do different schools of astrology disagree so strongly with each other?
8. If the astrological influence is carried by a known force, why do the planets dominate?
9. If astrological influence is carried by an unknown force, why is it independent of distance?
10. If astrological influences don't depend on distance, why is there no astrology of stars, galaxies, and quasars?

Source:
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/astro/act3/astrology3.html#defense

The Astrotest, a tough match for astrologers
http://www.skepsis.nl/astrot.html

The Real Romance in the Stars
http://www.astrologer.com/aanet/pub/journal/romance.html

Horoscopes Versus Telescopes: A Focus on Astrology
http://www.astrosociety.org/education/publications/tnl/11/11.html

Astrology debunked
http://www.badastronomy.com/bad/misc/astrology.html
.
.
.
.
.
:) :thumbsup:

[temporary sori-Observer]

Rohit,

You have used the wrong thread again. This thread is not for debating, or disproving astrology. Please open a new thread, or ask the moderators for help.

[Rohit]

Rohit,

You have used the wrong thread again. This thread is not for debating, or disproving astrology. Please open a new thread, or ask the moderators for help.No temporary sori-Observer, I have used the right and very relevant thread. This definitely amounts to 'Science News For many Commoners' :)

[temporary sori-Observer]

Rohit,

According to your own arguments Astrology is not a science. Then why are you posting things related to Astrology in the 'Science' thread? Why cant you open a new thread?

[Rohit]

Rohit,

According to your own arguments Astrology is not a science. Then why are you posting things related to Astrology in the 'Science' thread? Why cant you open a new thread?
This has nothing to do with my arguments.

However, it maybe believed as such by many commoners; and this 'Science News' is just for them. That is all, nothing more, nothing less. :)

[temporary sori-Observer]

However, it maybe believed as such by many commoners; and this 'Science News' is just for them.
Rohit,

Are you saying that some "commoners" believe that Astrology is science and therefore you are making your posts "just for them"?.
In that case, you are trying to use this thread for some other purpose other than science news. If debating "with them" is your purpose then open a new thread.

[Rohit]

Please open a new thread for debating with them.
I am not after an emty debate anyway. Thank you temporary sori-Observerfor for your suggestion; nonetheless. :)

[temporary sori-Observer]

Please open a new thread for debating with them.
I am not after an emty debate anyway.
Rohit,
Opening a new thread does not mean an empty debate. Depending on the topic, and the knowledge of the participants, it can be very interesting.

[Rohit]

Dear temporary sori-Observer, I do appreciate your curiosity, but please bear this in mind that there is no point in convicting someone of a crime; one hasn't committed yet. Alternatively, it will be pointless for someone to declare: 'Elephants do not lay eggs' and 'Bachelors are not married', unless and otherwise someone badly wants to hold the view that 'Elephants lay eggs' and 'Bachelors are married'.

I hope I am as clear as I possibly could with regard to your expectations from such debates. So, thanks again for your anxious suggestion.

Nevertheless, I would be more than happy to participate if you do the honours of opening up a new thread on the specific subject, starting with your own specific views on the subject. :)

[Anoushka]

* "Toxic environment" making kids fat, study claims:
Unhealthy, addictive food is behind today's obesity
epidemic, a scientist says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060811_toxicdiet.htm


* New robot rolls on ball:
A newly built robot balances and moves on a metal
ball instead of legs or wheels.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060809_ballbot.htm


* No black holes after all?:
One of the universe's brightest and furthest known
objects might not be a black hole as traditionally
thought, a study suggests.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060811_quasar.htm


* Human-animal mixing going too far, report says:
An organization is warning that the creation of
fused organisms raises grave ethical questions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060808_chimera.htm


* Driverless cars to unclog traffic:
Authorities in Europe are pushing a plan to ease
traffic and pollution through automated vehicles.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060809_cybercar.htm

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:686dcc0ad0]Last of the recent papers on gender differences by Jake Young in Pure Pedantry:
http://scienceblogs.com/purepedantry/2006/08/some_confounds_in_gender_diffe_1.php#more
This time he summarizes 1993 paper by Diane Halpern:
http://www.skeptic.com/eskeptic/05-03-15.html
In spite of the research since then, her conclusions are similar to those by Jake Young. Final two sentences of her paper:
"We should keep in mind the words of the 18th-century British writer who was once asked, “Which is smarter, men or women?” He replied: “Which man, which woman?””[/tscii:686dcc0ad0]

[gaddeswarup]

Originally I hoped to write this kind of explanations ( possibly with a bit more explanation of Bernoulli Principle) in the section but did not have the knowledge or patience;
http://www.livescience.com/technology/060828_how_planes_fly.html

[Anoushka]

* Bird attacks a force in human
evolution?:
Prehistoric raptors may have routinely
targeted our ancestors for meals, scientists
say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060829_raptors.htm


* A trip to cannibal country:
A journalist ventures into one of the last places on
Earth where humans eat each other, and like it.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060828_cannibal.htm


* Pluto no longer a planet:
A newly adopted definition of "planet" shuts out a
longtime member of the planetary club.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060824_planet.htm


* Researchers create permanently "happy" mice:
A breed of permanently "cheerful" mice is providing
hope for depression treatment, scientists report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060824_happymice.htm


* New stem cell technique would avoid killing
embryos:
Scientists say they've managed to grow human
embryonic stem cells without destroying embryos.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060823_embryo.htm


* Jilted dogs feel intense jealousy, study finds:
New research challenges long-held scientific beliefs
about animal emotions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060822_jealousdog.htm


* Ants' Olympic jumps caught on tape:
New high-speed videoclips show how certain ants
manage to jump 40 times their own length.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060821_antjump.htm

[Anoushka]

Green tea may save lives, researchers say:
A Japanese study links the beverage to lower death
rates.

http://www.world-science.net/index-test.htm


* Baby bugs team up for sex scam:
The moment they're born, beetles of one species join
forces for a curious drill.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060911_sex-beetle.htm


* "Vegetative" patient can think, study suggests:
Brain imaging peers into the inner lives of people
thought to be totally unresponsive.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060911_vegetative.htm


* Eye photos might deter crime, police say following research:
An unusual experiment is the inspiration for a new
police campaign.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060907_eyes.htm


* Paintings really can be "heard," scientist says:
It seems the artist Kandinsky wasn't talking
nonsense when he said his pictures could be heard.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060907_synaesthesia.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Motherhood and health; pl. check:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/09/060916154936.htm

[Anoushka]

* "Lucy's baby": pre-human fossil dazzles
scientists
Human-like below the waist, ape-like above, an
ancient child is stirring up the study of our
origins.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060920_baby-afarensis.htm


* Planet "lighter than cork" baffles astronomers:
An unknown mechanism may heat some planets
internally, puffing them up, researchers speculate.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060914_light-planet.htm


* Ancient writing system said to be found:
Archaeologists report the oldest writing system
known in the New World.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060914_writing.htm


* Woman gets "bionic arm":
A new device is meant to let amputees move
artificial arms just by thinking.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060914_bionic.htm


* Neanderthals hung on tough, study finds:
Neanderthals didn't give up on existence easily,
scientists report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060913_neanderthal.htm


* Arctic meltdown?:
Arctic sea ice is hitting record lows, probably due
to global warming, NASA researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060914_arctic.htm


* Voices in your head might be good:
Psychologists have launched a study to learn why
some people consider voices in their heads helpful.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060914_voices.htm

[Anoushka]

* Burglars found to be as skilled as pilots:
Burglars are so good at robbing houses, they should
be regarded as experts in their field, two
psychologists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060927_burglars.htm


* Scientists attack mysteries of Mona Lisa:
For centuries she has given us mysterious looks. Now
researchers claim to have cracked some mysteries of
the painting itself.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060926_monalisa.htm


* Physicists seek to put one thing in two places:
Researchers say they've made an object move just by
watching it, which is inspiring them to a still
bolder project.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060923_quantum.htm


* Earth hottest in 5,000 years, study suggests:
A further slight increase will produce dangerous sea
level rises and species exterminations, scientists
warn.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060925_warming.htm


* Chemistry defeats the "Godzilla of odors":
Chemicals known as isonitriles have a stench so
vile, its victims claim to suffer mental scars for a
while.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060925_odors.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Gender differences. Pl. check:
http://www.discover.com/issues/oct-06/rd/genetic-sex-differences/
For a recent possible treatment:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/10/061009031253.htm
Drug May Help Women Stop Smoking
Naltrexone helped reduce the craving for cigarettes and lessened the discomforts of withdrawal for women in the study. It also reduced the weight gain often experienced by men and women in the first month after quitting.
"Women have historically had less success than men in giving up cigarettes," said study author Andrea King, Ph.D., associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Chicago. "In this small study, naltrexone seems to have closed that gap."

[Anoushka]

Tiny genome may be melting away, study suggests:
Researchers have identified the smallest known
genome, and say it may suffer a strange fate.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061012_tiny-genome.htm


* Strongest evidence yet that planets form from
"disks":
The philosopher Emmanuel Kant got it right
200 years ago, researchers proclaim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061009_planet.htm


* Earth's wobbles may explain some extinctions,
research finds:
Wobbles in Earth's orbit may explain a puzzling
cycle of extinctions, scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061011_orbit.htm


* For ants, one playbook fits many situations:
Scientists are interested in the "algorithms," or
step-by-step rules, by which organisms make
decisions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061009_ants.htm


* Fitness, childhood IQ may affect old-age brain
function:
Mental function in old age depends more on fitness
than on childhood IQ, a study has found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061009_fitness-brain.htm


* Computers help churn out new cancer remedies:
Scientists are working on ways to make computers
churn out cancer remedies, with no need to figure
out how they work.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/060927_cancer.htm

[Anoushka]

The heaviest element yet, Element 118, has been created in Dubna, Russia by a collaboration of researchers from Russia's Joint Institute for Nuclear Research and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in the US. They created the new element by fusing together Californium (element 98) and Calcium atoms. The element is currently expected to be named Dubnadium (Dn) after Dubna.

Actually, the atoms of element 118 were not directly detected. The decay products of three atoms, not the atoms themselves, have been observed.

The discovery was reported in the American Physical Society journal Physical Review C on October 9, 2006. An excerpt of the paper is at:
http://scitation.aip.org/getabs/servlet/GetabsServlet?prog=normal&id=PRVCAN000074000004044602000001&idtype=cvips&gifs=yes

Researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory had previously reported the synthesis of element 118 in 1999, and later retracted their results when subsequent experiments failed to confirm their discovery.

[Anoushka]

* Report: dinos took repeat pounding before final
exit
A new account of the reptiles' demise demotes a
famous meteor impact to a secondary role.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061026_dinosaurs.htm


* Oldest complex organic molecules found in fossils:
Ancient molecules from creatures known as sea lilies
offer a new way to map evolution, scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061025_organic.htm


* Vampires shown mathematically impossible:
Researchers have laid to rest one source of
Halloween nightmares.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061024_vampire.htm


* A wild, and gay, kingdom:
Nature is prancing, fluttering and altogether
teeming with gay animals, say organizers of the
first museum exhibition on the topic.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061024_gay-animals.htm

[Anoushka]

* Almost no more seafood after 2048 if trends
continue, study predicts:
Seafood will be all but a memory if fishing and
pollution go on at current rates, a study warns.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061102_seafood.htm


* Antimatter rays studied as medical treatment:
Scientists are studying what could arguably be the
first use of an exotic substance, antimatter, in
medical treatment.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061102_antiproton.htm


* Brain scans examine "speaking in tongues":
People lose control of their speech in a mysterious
religious practice, scientists report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061101_tongues.htm


* Study: red wine substance extends life,
counteracts bad diet:
A compound found to extend lifespans in various
small animals, does so even in mice on fatty diets,
researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061101_resveratrol.htm


* More evidence for Neanderthal-human mixing
claimed:
A study has concluded that some long-ignored fossils
are blends of human and Neanderthal.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061012_neanderthal.htm


* Elephants recognize mirror image; elephant
ancestor found:
Two new studies make strides in elephant biology,
according to scientists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061030_elephant.htm


* The newborn mind's not-quite "blank slate":
New findings may shed light on the old nature-
nurture debate, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/061030_culture-cognition.htm

[sundararaj]

Very good thread indeed. Thanks

[Rohit]

Scientists are finding evidences of backward evolution i.e. devolution.

The ancestor within all creatures

Evolution isn't supposed to run backwards, but when it does it can sometimes represent the future of a species - even us

From October to April every year, fishermen in Taiji in Japan herd schools of dolphins and porpoises into shallow bays and slaughter them for food. Each year they kill around 20,000 animals. That would have been the fate of one particular dolphin, a bottlenose that scientists now call AO-4, had fishermen not spotted something rather unusual about it.

What saved the dolphin's life was an extra pair of flippers. In addition to the usual front pair, it had a smaller pair at the back. Experts were quick to point out that these were similar to the hind flippers seen in early dolphin fossils. "It looks like the dolphins' ancestors from 40 million years ago," says Johannes Thewissen, an expert on cetacean evolution at Northeastern Ohio Universities College of Medicine in Rootstown.

The press lapped it up, reporting the dolphin as an "evolutionary throwback". The idea made for a great story, ...

The complete article is 3754 words long.

New Scientist
13 January 2007
Magazine issue 2586

http://www.newscientist.com/archive/year/2007.html

:D :) :thumbsup:

[Anoushka]

Huge settlement unearthed near Stonehenge:
The dwellings housed those who built the U.K.'s
fabled stone monument, archaeologists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070130_durrington.htm


* Dig deeper for Mars life, scientists urge:
Probes haven't drilled deep enough to find the
living cells that might lurk within the red planet,
according to new research.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070129_mars-life.htm


* Most horrible sound: vomiting, study finds:
An online experiment has produced a surprising
answer to the age-old question of which sound is
most awful.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070124_worst-sound.htm


* Family loyalty driving sperm teamwork?:
The promiscuity of rats and mice may lead to
partnerships among their sex cells.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070124_sperm.htm


* Cancer killed Napoleon, study concludes:
A new investigation may put to rest nearly 200 years
of lingering mysteries, a scientist reports.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070123_napoleon.htm


* Dino flew like a "biplane":
The Wright brothers weren't the first to come up
with their trademark, double-decker design for
aircraft wings, if two scientists are correct.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070121_microraptor.htm

[Anoushka]

* Sun's "twin" found, as embryo:
It's one of four newfound "proto-stars" that are
probably the youngest ever imaged by astronomers,
researchers said.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070216_sun-embryo.htm


* Cleopatra no beauty? Judge for yourself:
An Egyptian queen's vaunted looks got an unkind,
Valentine's day reassessment from archaeologists.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070214_cleo.htm


* Pot found to ease HIV-linked pain:
Smoked marijuana reduced severe foot pain associated
with HIV by a third, researchers report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070212_marijuana.htm


* Study: Naps may cut heart deaths:
Naps may do your heart good, scientists have
found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070212_siesta.htm


* Origami technology:
Folding a piece of paper can yield a virtually
endless array of shapes. Scientists are taking
advantage of that.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070207_origami.htm


* Parents blind to their children's weight, study finds:
Many parents don't notice their children's excess
weight -- bad news amid an obesity boom, researchers
warn.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070208_overweight.htm


* Plans for "Noah's Ark" seed vault unveiled:
A "Doomsday" seed vault would protect today's seeds
for a post-apocalyptic future.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070209_seed-vault.htm

[Rohit]

How Language Affects Thought

There is accumulating evidence that language more generally has deep effects on cognitive processes both long-term and on-line.

http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/CSJarchive/proceedings/2006/docs/p2660.pdf

Affect, Thought, and Consciousness: The Freudian Theory of Psychic Structuring from an Evolutionary Perspective.

http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=np.005.0071a

A receptive language deficit in schizophrenic thought disorder:

Evidence for impaired semantic access and monitoring.

http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=1774426

Language and the brain

The forms of language are simple words, sentences, intonation, and other "representations." Words refer to objects, actions, properties and logical connections. Sentences relate words to each other to depict events and states of affairs in the conversation or whether a sentence is a statement or a question. Language is a complex code because all these types of representations interact to determine the meaning of each sentence in each context.

http://www.med.harvard.edu/publications/On_The_Brain/Volume04/Number4/F95Lang.html

[Anoushka]

* Rats can reflect on their knowledge, study
finds:
New research was touted as the first to find this
ability in animals other than primates.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070308_rats.htm


* Robot walks and swims:
A new device demonstrates that nature often offers
the best solutions for robot design, researchers
say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070308_salamander.htm


* Probe to explore deepest known sinkhole:
A robotic sub explores and maps unknown,
subterranean waters -- a possible prelude to a probe
on a distant moon.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070308_sinkhole.htm


* Little genomes for big dinosaurs:
They might be giants, but many dinosaurs apparently
had genomes no larger than that of a hummingbird.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070307_dinosaur.htm


* Unifying principle said to govern all galaxies:
The discovery could say something deep about the
cosmos, astronomers claim.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070306_galaxies.htm


* Therapy for traumatized Iraq vets: Iraq again,
virtually:
An unusual treatment has worked for a few troubled
war veterans, psychologists report.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070306_virtual-iraq.htm


* "Mafia" behavior noted in birds:
Researchers have found a new low in the ways of some
parasitic birds, which impose their progeny on other
birds.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070305_parasitic-bird.htm

[Sudhaama]

.
Global CLIMATE-CHANGE ...SHOCKING Warning.!!

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/008200703110313.htm
.

[Shakthiprabha.]

Many _ not all _ of those effects can be prevented, the report says, if within a generation the world slows down its emissions of carbon dioxide and if the level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stabilizes. If that is the case, the report says ``most major impacts on human welfare would be avoided; but some major impacts on ecosystems are likely to occur.''


:| :(

[gaddeswarup]

There may be more hyperbolicity in the world than we think. Watch this video:
http://www.brightcove.com/title.jsp?title=534427234
from the (http://discovermagazine.com/) Discover Magazine. See also this article
http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20061223/bob10.asp
by Erica Klareich, a student of a student of William Thurston, a modern master of hyperbolic geometry. Sciencenews has also this story of ancient Islamin tilings similar to those patented by Roger Penrose:
http://blog.sciencenews.org/mathtrek/2007/02/ancient_islamic_penrose_tiles_1.html

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:5802b259bc] From http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/03/070320111305.htm (about elephantiasis)
"Now, a new review of existing research suggests that enriching a community’s salt with a drug could treat and prevent the condition without any adverse effects.
But it remains a challenge to get governments to enrich their salt with the drug, diethylcarbamazine, or DEC.
“Biologically and medically, it’s a great tool. Operationally and socially, it’s a challenge to put it into place,” said Eric Ottesen, M.D., director of the Lymphatic Filariasis Support Center in Decatur, Ga. Ottesen was not involved with the research but is familiar with the review’s findings.
To gauge the effectiveness of enriching salt with DEC, researcher Srividya Adinarayanan of the Vector Control Research Center in Pondicherry, India, and her colleagues examined 21 studies in a new systematic review.
The review appears in the current issue of The Cochrane Library, a publication of The Cochrane Collaboration, an international organization that evaluates medical research. Systematic reviews like this one draw evidence-based conclusions about medical practice after considering both the content and quality of existing medical trials on a topic.
.........................
Drug treatments are fairly effective at getting rid of adult worms and very good at killing off the baby worms, which transmit the disease to other people through mosquitoes. But when tens of millions of people are infected, it can be difficult to provide care to individuals.
Enter the drug DEC, which kills the baby worms, known as microfilariae. Since the drug only works if people take it repeatedly, some health officials have put it in salt supplies so people could get a regular dose.
According to the reviewers, the studies suggest that DEC-medicated salt is effective at reducing transmission of the disease if maintained for at least six months. They added that the salt treatment can eliminate transmission entirely if used over a long period of time.
The reviewers also suggest that a very low dose of DEC over an extended period — perhaps six months — is better than bigger doses given at once.
A couple of caveats exist. For one, the reviewers say that widespread use of DEC could lead to resistance to the drug, although there’s been little research into this possibility. The reviewers add that “political and administrative commitment and community motivation is a necessity for community programs to be successful.”
Indeed, while China has eliminated filariasis with the help of DEC, regulatory hurdles have prevented many countries from enriching their salt despite research suggesting that DEC is effective, Ottesen said."[/tscii:5802b259bc]

[gaddeswarup]

For those who are interested in GM seeds controversies and farmers' problems in India, pl. have a look at the papers of Glenn Davis Stone:
http://artsci.wustl.edu/~anthro/blurb/b_gds.html
In particular, the paper "Agricultural Daskillimg..." (see also comments by Anrew Leonard at salon.com. All the links are in the above URL). In the end there are detailed comments by other experts like Ronald Herring and Response by Stone. Stone has spent over 45 weeks in Warangal District since 2001 and I found his papers very interesting and the comments at the end of some of the papers give information on different points of view and references. The situation may vary from place to place (apparently developments in Gujarat differ from those in A.P). So far these are about the most nuanced papers that I have found on GM seeds issues.

[Anoushka]

[tscii:a9593da092]Astronomers have recorded heavenly music bellowed out by the Sun’s atmosphere.

Snagging orchestra seats for this solar symphony would be fruitless, however, as the frequency of the sound waves is below the human hearing threshold. While humans can make out sounds between 20 and 20,000 hertz, the solar sound waves are on the order of milli-hertz—a thousandth of a hertz.

The study, presented this week at the Royal Astronomical Society's National Astronomy Meeting in Lancashire, England, reveals that the looping magnetic fields along the Sun’s outer regions, called the corona, carry magnetic sound waves in a similar manner to musical instruments such as guitars or pipe organs.

Making music ...

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/070418_solar_music.html
[/tscii:a9593da092]

[Anoushka]

* Ape facial expressions foster group harmony, study
finds:
Facial expressions may have evolved as a sort of
social glue in our ape-like ancestors, researchers
say.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/070419_expression.htm


* Robotic arm to conduct brain surgery:
The machine will give surgeons an unprecedented
degree of fine control, the designers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070418_neuroarm.htm


* Grow a garden to fire kids' veggie-ardor:
Homes with fruit and vegetable gardens see healthier
eating among youth, a study finds.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070418_garden.htm


* Swarms of dust-sized particles would explore
planets:
Engineers are devising a new breed of planetary
probes: tiny devices that ride the wind.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070418_nanonauts.htm


* Ethanol vehicles pose health risks, study claims:
Ethanol is widely touted as a clean, eco-friendly
fuel. But new research challenges that view.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070418_ethanol.htm

[Anoushka]

[tscii:426c3afc06]The New York Times
April 20, 2007
Doctors Try New Surgery for Gallbladder Removal By DENISE GRADY<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/g/denise_grady/index.html?inline=nyt-per>

Doctors in New York have removed a woman's gallbladder with instruments passed through her vagina, a technique they hope will cause less pain and scarring than the usual operation, and allow a quicker recovery. The technique can eliminate the need to cut through abdominal muscles, a major source of pain after surgery.

The operation was experimental, part of a study that is being done to find out whether people will fare better if abdominal surgery is performed through natural openings in the body rather than cuts in the belly. The surgery still requires cutting, through the wall of the vagina, stomach or colon, but doctors say it should hurt less because those tissues are far less sensitive than the abdominal muscles.

Interest in this idea heightened after doctors from India made a video in
2004 showing an appendix being taken out through a patient's mouth. The patient had abdominal scars that would have made conventional surgery difficult.

The New York patient, 66, had her gallbladder removed on March 21 and is recovering well, said her surgeon, Dr. Marc Bessler, the director of laparoscopic surgery at Columbia University Medical Center<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/c/columbia_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org>.
Dr. Bessler said he thought it was the first time the operation had been performed in the United States, and he plans to show a video of the operation at a gastroenterology meeting in Las Vegas on Sunday.

"Going through a natural orifice, the mouth or rectum or vagina, to get into the abdomen and do an operation, is being excitedly worked on by a whole lot of people," Dr. Bessler said, adding that companies were beginning to make special surgical tools for the operations and that doctors had formed an organization called Noscar (www.Noscar.org <http://www.noscar.org/>), which stands for Natural Orifice Surgery Consortium for Assessment and Research.

The idea is part of a broader trend to make surgery less and less invasive.
In the late 1980s and early '90s, surgeons began removing gallbladders with laparoscopic surgery, performed through a few small slits in the belly for a camera and surgical tools instead of the 10-inch incision needed for the original, open operation. Although some doctors were skeptical at first about the laparoscopic approach, it soon caught on, and now accounts for 90 percent of gallbladder operations.

"But patients still have pain, recovery time and scars," Dr. Bessler said.
"The next phase to make it better is to eliminate the remaining causes of pain — incisions and instruments that have to go through the muscles of the abdominal wall."

Surgeons not involved in the research had mixed reactions.

Dr. Christine Ren, an associate professor of surgery at New York University<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/organizations/n/new_york_university/index.html?inline=nyt-org>'s
school of medicine, called the vaginal procedure "repulsive" and said: "As a woman I find it very invasive, physically and emotionally. To me it's quite distasteful. You will really have to prove to me that there is a benefit."

Dr. Ren questioned whether women would accept it, and pointed out that even though conventional laparoscopic surgery required cutting through the belly, it had an excellent safety record and patients recovered quickly. She said the idea of puncturing internal organs and then sewing them up was cause for concern.

But she also said, "I give them a lot of credit for trying new things."

Dr. Walter E. Longo, a professor of surgery at Yale, said that the technique was "extremely experimental" and that there was no information yet about whether it would work as well or be as safe as conventional laparoscopic surgery. If the natural-orifice approach is to gain acceptance, it will have to measure up to the standard technique in a study, he said.

Dr. Longo also said he thought the new technique would be limited to relatively small operations like taking out the gallbladder or appendix, or exploring the abdomen to assess pain or determine the stage of a cancer<http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/health/diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/cancer/index.html?inline=nyt-classifier>
.

"I think we're all sort of waiting to see how safe it is and how it's accepted, and above all to make sure it doesn't do any harm to patients,"
Dr. Longo said.

At Stanford, Dr. Myriam J. Curet, a professor of surgery, said, "It has some promise, and there's a lot of interest in the surgical community, a lot of attention being paid to it as a wave of the future."

Dr. Curet acknowledged that the idea was a bit disturbing at first, and said that even an audience of doctors shuddered at the video of the appendix being pulled out through the patient's mouth. But if the recovery does turn out to be quicker and less painful than the current methods allow, patients might want the procedure, including women in whom it would be performed vaginally.

Dr. Bessler said his patient agreed to the procedure (two others had
declined) because he told her he thought it would have advantages for her, and she accepted his judgment. She was the first in a study that is to include 100 women who need gallbladder surgery, appendectomies or biopsies taken from inside the abdomen. All the procedures will be done through the vagina.

Dr. Dennis Fowler, another surgeon who participated in the operation, said the team began experimenting on women because "incisions in the vagina have been used for a variety of procedures for decades, and proved safe with no long-term consequences."

Dr. Bessler said he and his colleagues had been doing practice operations in the laboratory on pigs for the past year, removing gallbladders, spleens, kidneys and stomachs through the mouth or vagina.

Eventually, Dr. Bessler said, he expects to use the natural-opening technique on men as well as women, with instruments passed down the throat or into the rectum to cut through the wall of the stomach or intestine to reach the gallbladder or other organs. But first, surgeons have to develop techniques to make sure that the cuts in the stomach and intestine can be sealed completely after the operation so that they do not leak into the abdomen, which could cause serious complications. Incisions through the wall of the vagina rarely cause leaks, he said.

Cutting through the wall of the vagina is safe even for women who may want to have children later, because scarring would not interfere with labor or birth, Dr. Bessler said. The vaginal incision in the surgery last month was about an inch long, which was large enough to allow the gallbladder to be removed.

The operation took about three hours, twice as long as the usual laparoscopic surgery, but it was the team's first operation on a human, and the time should decrease with practice, Dr. Bessler said. Also because it was the first time, to be on the safe side, the doctors did make three small openings in the abdomen for surgical tools. But their ultimate goal is to perform the operation entirely through the vagina.

[/tscii:426c3afc06]

[Anoushka]

* Distant planet judged possibly habitable:
In findings that if confirmed could stand as a land-
mark in history, astronomers report discovering
the most Earth-like planet outside our Solar System
to date.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070425-habitable-planet.htm


* Origin of brain lies in a worm, scientists say:
Surprising findings also suggest we've flipped over
during the course of evolution.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070421_cns.htm


* City-sized fossil forest found:
A "spectacular" discovery in a coal mine is said to
transform our understanding of the first rainforests.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070423-fossil-forest.htm


* Black holes may scatter "seeds of life" through
cosmos:
Black holes aren't the all-consuming monsters
they're often portrayed as, new research has found.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070422-blackhole-life.htm

[gaddeswarup]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2068202,00.html
says "Research shows that girls with 'feminine' names steer clear of 'masculine' maths and science".

[gaddeswarup]

Two reports on cannabis:
Based on the same research, two reports with somewhat different emphasis:
The BBC report http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6606931.stm headlines:
Cannabis 'disrupts brain centre'
Thousands are thought to be dependent on cannabis. Scientists have shown how cannabis may trigger psychotic illnesses such as schizophrenia.

The Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/story/0,,2069736,00.html headlines:
Cannabis chemical curbs psychotic symptoms, study finds.
One of the active chemicals in cannabis inhibits psychotic symptoms in people with schizophrenia, according to a study which compared it with a leading anti-psychotic drug.
....
Part of the explanation: Cannabis contains two chemicals THC and TBD (read the Guardian report for the expansions) which have different and seemingly opposite effects. Different varities of cannabis have different proportions of these chemicals.

[Anoushka]

Green sea turtles with transmitters go missing
----------------------------------------------------------------
By Bhagwandas
KARACHI, May 3: The two green turtles on which satellite transmitters were installed in September 2006 for the mapping of their movement in the Arabian Sea have gone missing, it emerged on Thursday.

The data sent in by the transmitters of the turtles, which were named Chandni III and Chandni IV, was last recorded in November 2006, sources told Dawn....

http://www.dawn.com/cgi-bin/dina.pl?file=local3.htm&date=20070504

[Anoushka]

* "King" of star explosions seen:
Astronomers report what could be a new type of
supernova, or death blast of a massive star.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070507_supernova.htm


* Global warming could shorten day, report
predicts:
Earth's familiar 24-hour cycle may become a hair
shorter due to human activities, scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070507_warming-day.htm


* Ripples on Sun reported, after 30-year search:
Findings could help understand the Sun's core -- hub
of the original, spinning cloud that became our
Solar System.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070503_sun-ripple.htm

[vigneshram]

Interesting facts about Microorganisms

http://vigneshram.com

Direct link: http://vigneshram.blogspot.com/2007/05/size-doesnt-matter_13.html

[Anoushka]

* The galaxy next door -- our destined home?:
New simulations predict what could happen when our
galaxy, as expected, runs into a neighboring one.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/070510_galactic-collision.htm


* Mutation may contribute to human uniqueness:
Scientists have identified a gene that they say
could help account for our distinctive cognitive
abilities.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070508_neuropsin.htm


* First map of planet outside our system:
Astronomers plan someday to map continents and
oceans on distant planets.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070509_extrasolar-map.htm


* Herod's tomb reported found:
Herod is said in the Bible to have ordered a
slaughter of babies in order to be rid of the
newborn Jesus.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070508_herod.htm

[Anoushka]

Abnormal sex acts linked to array of sleep
disorders:
Sexual behaviors during sleep may be more common
than was once thought, researchers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070601_sleep-sex.htm


* Radio "screams" portend nasty space weather:
Bursts of radio waves can provide advance warning of
hazardous radiation storms, astronomers say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070530_radio-scream.htm


* Lessons from orangutans: upright walking
may have begun in trees
A new theory suggests our two-legged walk first
arose in ancient, tree-dwelling apes.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070531_bipedalism.htm


* Dump the "ethnic cleansing" jargon, group
implores:
A team of scholars wants doctors and scientists to
lead the world in consigning the phrase "ethnic
cleansing" to history.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/070525_ethnic-cleansing.htm


* Deer moms come to the rescue -- sometimes:
Mothers in one deer species seem quite generous in
defending other parents' kids, a study has found.
Another species shows less gallantry.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070530_deer.htm


* The evolution of animal personalities:
Personality differences have been documented in
dozens of species. What produces the variations?

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070530_animal-personalities.htm

[Anoushka]

* First patent claimed on man-made life form,
and challenged:
A research institute is seeking a patent on what
could be the first largely man-made organism.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070607_mycoplasma.htm


* Stem cells from anyone?
Patients could one day get new organs and other
treatments using cells drawn from their own bodies.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070606_stem-cell.htm


* T. rex reassessed as a clumsy giant:
New research challenges the traditional notion that
the dinosaur Tyrannosaurus rex could turn quickly
and chase down agile prey.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070604_t-rex.htm

[Anoushka]

* New World's first gunshot victim identified:
An Inca rebel of the 1500s is the first documented
gunshot victim in the Americas, archaeologists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070620_gunshot.htm


* Humiliation takes harsh health toll, report
says:
Past studies have looked at the health effects of
social exclusion or prejudice, but not those of
outright debasement.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/070619_humiliation.htm


* The perks and pitfalls of pride:
What is the origin and purpose of this complex emotion?

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070620_pride.htm


* Power goes wireless:
Researchers hope to banish the tangle of cables that
keep alive our cell phones, laptops and other small
devices.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070618_power.htm


* Gigantic, bird-like dinosaur reported:
Remains of a colossal, surprisingly bird-like dinosaur have been found in China, scientists say.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070613_gigantoraptor.htm


* Rome reborn in virtual glory:
Experts have recreated ancient Rome in a three-
dimensional computer simulation.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070611_rome.htm


* Doctors investigate why man bled green:
A report in a medical journal describes an unusual
case.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/070607_greenblood.htm

[gaddeswarup]

From http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070716190856.htm
"Researchers have isolated bisdemethoxycurcumin, the active ingredient of curcuminoids -- a natural substance found in turmeric root -- that may help boost the immune system in clearing amyloid beta, a peptide that forms the plaques found in Alzheimer's disease. Using blood samples from Alzheimer's disease patients, researchers found that bisdemethoxycurcumin boosted immune cells called macrophages to clear amyloid beta.
In addition, researchers identified the immune genes associated with this activity."

[Rohit]

[tscii:20d73580a6]Research deciphers 'déjà-vu' brain mechanics

Neuroscientists at the Picower Institute for Learning and Memory at MIT report in the June 7 early online edition of Science that they have identified for the first time a neuronal mechanism that helps us rapidly distinguish similar, yet distinct, places. The discovery helps explain the sensation of déjà vu.

The work could lead to treatments for memory-related disorders, as well as for the confusion and disorientation that plague elderly individuals who have trouble distinguishing between separate but similar places and experiences.

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/deja-vu-0607.html

MIT neuroengineers' pulsing light silences overactive neurons

Scientists at the MIT Media Lab have invented a way to reversibly silence brain cells using pulses of yellow light, offering the prospect of controlling the haywire neuron activity that occurs in diseases such as epilepsy and Parkinson's disease. Such diseases often must be treated by removing neurons that fire incorrectly.

When neurons are engineered to express the halorhodopsin gene, the researchers can inhibit their activity by shining yellow light on them. Light activates the chloride pumps, which drive chloride ions into the neurons, lowering their voltage and silencing their firing.

"The Media Lab has always been interested in studying the interface between people and the world," Boyden said, "but now people are getting interested in the interface between bodies and brains in the world."

http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2007/brain-block.html[/tscii:20d73580a6]

[Sudhaama]

.

. HUMAN ORIGIN Mystery.!!

http://www.hindu.com/thehindu/holnus/008200710110344.htm
.

[Sudhaama]

.
Human will split into Two.. Superior & Sub-Normal.

http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/holnus/008200710261340.htm
.

[thamizhvaanan]

[tscii:0d873bf18a]Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007
By Aaron Rowe 12.27.07 | 12:00 AM
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/YE_10_breakthroughs

10. Transistors Get Way Smaller
In the race to make computers faster, chipmakers rely on exotic new materials. In January, Intel announced that the element hafnium and some new metal alloys will allow them to make the millions of switches on their microprocessors far smaller. Gordon Moore, co-founder of the company and father of the law that bears his name, called it the biggest change in transistor technology since the 1960s. The tremendous accomplishment allows Intel to squeeze features on each chip down to 45 nanometers from the current standard of 65 nanometers. But the greatest benefit may be an increase in energy efficiency. That improvement comes along with the hafnium alloys that will prevent electricity from leaking across the tiny switches.

Intel started using the technology, codenamed Penryn, in November in high-end servers. Home users can expect the chips in early 2008.


9. Scientists Clone Rhesus Monkey to Produce Stem Cells

At Oregon Health and Science University, Shoukhrat Mitalipov and his team cloned a Rhesus Monkey and used the resulting embryo to create stem cells. Until then, the impressive feat had been performed only with mice.

In November, the team reported in Nature a surprising key to their success: avoiding ultraviolet light and dyes -- tools that are almost always used in cloning experiments -- because they can damage delicate cells.

Stem cells could be used to repair nearly any damaged organ, but they are useless if they upset the immune system. By cloning sick patients and using cells derived from their own bodies, doctors could skirt problems similar to those experienced by people with organ transplants. But some say the No. 1 discovery on our list makes cloning unnecessary. Nonetheless, some scientists, including stem-cell researchers at Harvard, say cloning is still necessary.


8. Planet Discovered That Could Harbor Life

Astrobiology enthusiasts have had many reasons to rejoice this year, but one of them has been somewhat controversial. After Stéphane Udry and his colleagues found a pair of planets that they believed could harbor life, other researchers disputed which of the two is most habitable, but agreed that the distant solar system is worthy of further study.

Using a Canadian space telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile, Udry inferred that the most promising object is slightly larger than earth, circles its sun in 18 days, and may be rocky. In a late April issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the University of Geneva professor provided details about his sophisticated search. Both of the celestial bodies orbit the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which is only 20 light years from earth. Although prospects for the two planets may be less hopeful than Udry and his associates projected, the methods that they used to locate the small planet could be used to make many more discoveries.


7. Engineers Create Transparent Material as Strong as Steel

Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have created a material similar to "transparent aluminum," the fantastic substance described by Scotty in Star Trek IV. In the Oct. 5 issue of Science, Nicholas Kotov showed that clay is good for far more than making bricks and expensive skincare products. The earthen material is made up of phenomenally strong nanometer-sized particles. When arranged neatly between thin layers of a sticky but weak plastic, the tiny bits of dirt act as the ultimate reinforcements -- giving the ordinary material extraordinary strength. The sturdy composite could be used in lightweight armor or aircraft.


6. Soft Tissue from T. Rex Leg Bone Analyzed

This spring, the oldest patient in the pathology department of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston was a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex. For the first time, scientists have analyzed biological molecules from the ancient creatures. Working with soft tissue from a leg bone that was extremely well-preserved in prehistoric Montana sediments, John Asara read the chemical recipe of a protein that served as a springy structural element in the dinosaur's bones. In the April 13 issue of Science, he and his colleagues compared the deadly predator to animals that roam the earth today and concluded that it has a lot in common with chickens.


5. Laboratory Mice Cured of Rett Syndrome

Researchers affiliated with the Wellcome Trust have shown evidence that Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that afflicts one in every 10,000 female births, might be curable. Caused by a mutation, the disorder prevents children from walking, talking or developing normally and gives them terrible tremors. By creating mice with a similar affliction, Adrian Bird and his colleagues at Edinburgh University and the University of Glasgow tested the effects of fixing the bad gene. In the Feb. 23 issue of Science, they explained that the disease does not cause permanent damage to nerve cells, and breathing problems and tremors in mice stop when they are nudged into producing normal MeCP2 -- the protein corrupted by the disease.


4. Enzymes Convert Any Blood Type to O

Several major Type O blood shortages, including crises at the National Institutes of Health this fall and throughout Georgia in late summer, highlight the importance of creating a versatile blood type. In the rare instance that someone receives a transfusion of the wrong type, deadly reactions (caused by sugar molecules on the surfaces of red blood cells) can cause the immune system to go haywire.

In April, Henrik Clausen, a professor at the University of Denmark, published research in Nature describing a way to convert any kind of blood into Type O -- the type that almost anyone can tolerate. He discovered enzymes that shear the problem-causing sugars from the surfaces of A, B and AB type red blood cells. Produced by bacteria, the molecular machines could theoretically turn any kind of blood into Type O. Clausen and his colleagues described their search for the pacifying proteins in the April 1 issue of Nature Biotechnology.

ZymeQuest, a startup company from Massachusetts, is now developing a device that hospitals can use during blood shortages.


3. Mummified Dinosaur Excavated and Scanned

Paleontologists from England's University of Manchester have excavated the mummy of a nearly intact plant-eating dinosaur. Preserved by minerals for over 65 million years, the petrified body is in such pristine condition that the researchers could see a striped pattern on what remains of its scales. The scientists transported the fossilized hadrosaur this fall to a giant CT scanner in Canoga Park, California, where technicians captured terabytes of 3-D images that have already revealed surprises about the creature's muscle mass and the spacing of its bones. Tyler Lyson, now a graduate student in geology at Yale University, made the initial find seven years ago while fossil hunting in the Hell Creek formation of North Dakota.


2. Chimpanzees Make Spears for Hunting

Two anthropologists watched in mixed amazement and horror as several female chimpanzees crafted spears and used them to somewhat brutally hunt smaller mammals. Following a troop of the primates in a Senegalese savanna, Jill Pruetz of Iowa State University and Paco Bertolani of Cambridge observed them breaking the branches off of trees, picking leaves from the sides, and sharpening the tips to deadly points. In the March edition of Current Biology, the scientists explained that such sophisticated animal behavior could reveal a great deal about how early humans used primitive tools.


1. Researchers Turn Skin Cells to Stem Cells

Using a virus to reprogram skin cells, two teams of scientists managed to skirt the greatest ethical issue facing regenerative medicine -- the destruction of human embryos. Groups led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and Junying Yu of the University of Wisconsin coaxed a type of skin cell called fibroblasts into forming muscle, heart, fat and nerve tissues without using any eggs. Unfortunately, the hijacked cells often became tumors. Following up on his initial discovery this November, Yamanaka told Nature Biotechnology that by inserting three growth genes instead of four, the lab-grown flesh can be controlled without becoming cancerous.
[/tscii:0d873bf18a]

[thamizhvaanan]

[tscii:ddc071225e]Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007
By Aaron Rowe 12.27.07 | 12:00 AM
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/YE_10_breakthroughs

10. Transistors Get Way Smaller
In the race to make computers faster, chipmakers rely on exotic new materials. In January, Intel announced that the element hafnium and some new metal alloys will allow them to make the millions of switches on their microprocessors far smaller. Gordon Moore, co-founder of the company and father of the law that bears his name, called it the biggest change in transistor technology since the 1960s. The tremendous accomplishment allows Intel to squeeze features on each chip down to 45 nanometers from the current standard of 65 nanometers. But the greatest benefit may be an increase in energy efficiency. That improvement comes along with the hafnium alloys that will prevent electricity from leaking across the tiny switches.

Intel started using the technology, codenamed Penryn, in November in high-end servers. Home users can expect the chips in early 2008.


9. Scientists Clone Rhesus Monkey to Produce Stem Cells

At Oregon Health and Science University, Shoukhrat Mitalipov and his team cloned a Rhesus Monkey and used the resulting embryo to create stem cells. Until then, the impressive feat had been performed only with mice.

In November, the team reported in Nature a surprising key to their success: avoiding ultraviolet light and dyes -- tools that are almost always used in cloning experiments -- because they can damage delicate cells.

Stem cells could be used to repair nearly any damaged organ, but they are useless if they upset the immune system. By cloning sick patients and using cells derived from their own bodies, doctors could skirt problems similar to those experienced by people with organ transplants. But some say the No. 1 discovery on our list makes cloning unnecessary. Nonetheless, some scientists, including stem-cell researchers at Harvard, say cloning is still necessary.


8. Planet Discovered That Could Harbor Life

Astrobiology enthusiasts have had many reasons to rejoice this year, but one of them has been somewhat controversial. After Stéphane Udry and his colleagues found a pair of planets that they believed could harbor life, other researchers disputed which of the two is most habitable, but agreed that the distant solar system is worthy of further study.

Using a Canadian space telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile, Udry inferred that the most promising object is slightly larger than earth, circles its sun in 18 days, and may be rocky. In a late April issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the University of Geneva professor provided details about his sophisticated search. Both of the celestial bodies orbit the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which is only 20 light years from earth. Although prospects for the two planets may be less hopeful than Udry and his associates projected, the methods that they used to locate the small planet could be used to make many more discoveries.


7. Engineers Create Transparent Material as Strong as Steel

Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have created a material similar to "transparent aluminum," the fantastic substance described by Scotty in Star Trek IV. In the Oct. 5 issue of Science, Nicholas Kotov showed that clay is good for far more than making bricks and expensive skincare products. The earthen material is made up of phenomenally strong nanometer-sized particles. When arranged neatly between thin layers of a sticky but weak plastic, the tiny bits of dirt act as the ultimate reinforcements -- giving the ordinary material extraordinary strength. The sturdy composite could be used in lightweight armor or aircraft.


6. Soft Tissue from T. Rex Leg Bone Analyzed

This spring, the oldest patient in the pathology department of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston was a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex. For the first time, scientists have analyzed biological molecules from the ancient creatures. Working with soft tissue from a leg bone that was extremely well-preserved in prehistoric Montana sediments, John Asara read the chemical recipe of a protein that served as a springy structural element in the dinosaur's bones. In the April 13 issue of Science, he and his colleagues compared the deadly predator to animals that roam the earth today and concluded that it has a lot in common with chickens.


5. Laboratory Mice Cured of Rett Syndrome

Researchers affiliated with the Wellcome Trust have shown evidence that Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that afflicts one in every 10,000 female births, might be curable. Caused by a mutation, the disorder prevents children from walking, talking or developing normally and gives them terrible tremors. By creating mice with a similar affliction, Adrian Bird and his colleagues at Edinburgh University and the University of Glasgow tested the effects of fixing the bad gene. In the Feb. 23 issue of Science, they explained that the disease does not cause permanent damage to nerve cells, and breathing problems and tremors in mice stop when they are nudged into producing normal MeCP2 -- the protein corrupted by the disease.


4. Enzymes Convert Any Blood Type to O

Several major Type O blood shortages, including crises at the National Institutes of Health this fall and throughout Georgia in late summer, highlight the importance of creating a versatile blood type. In the rare instance that someone receives a transfusion of the wrong type, deadly reactions (caused by sugar molecules on the surfaces of red blood cells) can cause the immune system to go haywire.

In April, Henrik Clausen, a professor at the University of Denmark, published research in Nature describing a way to convert any kind of blood into Type O -- the type that almost anyone can tolerate. He discovered enzymes that shear the problem-causing sugars from the surfaces of A, B and AB type red blood cells. Produced by bacteria, the molecular machines could theoretically turn any kind of blood into Type O. Clausen and his colleagues described their search for the pacifying proteins in the April 1 issue of Nature Biotechnology.

ZymeQuest, a startup company from Massachusetts, is now developing a device that hospitals can use during blood shortages.


3. Mummified Dinosaur Excavated and Scanned

Paleontologists from England's University of Manchester have excavated the mummy of a nearly intact plant-eating dinosaur. Preserved by minerals for over 65 million years, the petrified body is in such pristine condition that the researchers could see a striped pattern on what remains of its scales. The scientists transported the fossilized hadrosaur this fall to a giant CT scanner in Canoga Park, California, where technicians captured terabytes of 3-D images that have already revealed surprises about the creature's muscle mass and the spacing of its bones. Tyler Lyson, now a graduate student in geology at Yale University, made the initial find seven years ago while fossil hunting in the Hell Creek formation of North Dakota.


2. Chimpanzees Make Spears for Hunting

Two anthropologists watched in mixed amazement and horror as several female chimpanzees crafted spears and used them to somewhat brutally hunt smaller mammals. Following a troop of the primates in a Senegalese savanna, Jill Pruetz of Iowa State University and Paco Bertolani of Cambridge observed them breaking the branches off of trees, picking leaves from the sides, and sharpening the tips to deadly points. In the March edition of Current Biology, the scientists explained that such sophisticated animal behavior could reveal a great deal about how early humans used primitive tools.


1. Researchers Turn Skin Cells to Stem Cells

Using a virus to reprogram skin cells, two teams of scientists managed to skirt the greatest ethical issue facing regenerative medicine -- the destruction of human embryos. Groups led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and Junying Yu of the University of Wisconsin coaxed a type of skin cell called fibroblasts into forming muscle, heart, fat and nerve tissues without using any eggs. Unfortunately, the hijacked cells often became tumors. Following up on his initial discovery this November, Yamanaka told Nature Biotechnology that by inserting three growth genes instead of four, the lab-grown flesh can be controlled without becoming cancerous.
[/tscii:ddc071225e]

[thamizhvaanan]

[tscii:c4ec5d623d]Top 10 Scientific Breakthroughs of 2007
By Aaron Rowe 12.27.07 | 12:00 AM
http://www.wired.com/science/discoveries/news/2007/12/YE_10_breakthroughs

10. Transistors Get Way Smaller
In the race to make computers faster, chipmakers rely on exotic new materials. In January, Intel announced that the element hafnium and some new metal alloys will allow them to make the millions of switches on their microprocessors far smaller. Gordon Moore, co-founder of the company and father of the law that bears his name, called it the biggest change in transistor technology since the 1960s. The tremendous accomplishment allows Intel to squeeze features on each chip down to 45 nanometers from the current standard of 65 nanometers. But the greatest benefit may be an increase in energy efficiency. That improvement comes along with the hafnium alloys that will prevent electricity from leaking across the tiny switches.

Intel started using the technology, codenamed Penryn, in November in high-end servers. Home users can expect the chips in early 2008.


9. Scientists Clone Rhesus Monkey to Produce Stem Cells

At Oregon Health and Science University, Shoukhrat Mitalipov and his team cloned a Rhesus Monkey and used the resulting embryo to create stem cells. Until then, the impressive feat had been performed only with mice.

In November, the team reported in Nature a surprising key to their success: avoiding ultraviolet light and dyes -- tools that are almost always used in cloning experiments -- because they can damage delicate cells.

Stem cells could be used to repair nearly any damaged organ, but they are useless if they upset the immune system. By cloning sick patients and using cells derived from their own bodies, doctors could skirt problems similar to those experienced by people with organ transplants. But some say the No. 1 discovery on our list makes cloning unnecessary. Nonetheless, some scientists, including stem-cell researchers at Harvard, say cloning is still necessary.


8. Planet Discovered That Could Harbor Life

Astrobiology enthusiasts have had many reasons to rejoice this year, but one of them has been somewhat controversial. After Stéphane Udry and his colleagues found a pair of planets that they believed could harbor life, other researchers disputed which of the two is most habitable, but agreed that the distant solar system is worthy of further study.

Using a Canadian space telescope and the European Southern Observatory in Chile, Udry inferred that the most promising object is slightly larger than earth, circles its sun in 18 days, and may be rocky. In a late April issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics, the University of Geneva professor provided details about his sophisticated search. Both of the celestial bodies orbit the red dwarf star Gliese 581, which is only 20 light years from earth. Although prospects for the two planets may be less hopeful than Udry and his associates projected, the methods that they used to locate the small planet could be used to make many more discoveries.


7. Engineers Create Transparent Material as Strong as Steel

Engineering researchers at the University of Michigan have created a material similar to "transparent aluminum," the fantastic substance described by Scotty in Star Trek IV. In the Oct. 5 issue of Science, Nicholas Kotov showed that clay is good for far more than making bricks and expensive skincare products. The earthen material is made up of phenomenally strong nanometer-sized particles. When arranged neatly between thin layers of a sticky but weak plastic, the tiny bits of dirt act as the ultimate reinforcements -- giving the ordinary material extraordinary strength. The sturdy composite could be used in lightweight armor or aircraft.


6. Soft Tissue from T. Rex Leg Bone Analyzed

This spring, the oldest patient in the pathology department of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston was a 68-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex. For the first time, scientists have analyzed biological molecules from the ancient creatures. Working with soft tissue from a leg bone that was extremely well-preserved in prehistoric Montana sediments, John Asara read the chemical recipe of a protein that served as a springy structural element in the dinosaur's bones. In the April 13 issue of Science, he and his colleagues compared the deadly predator to animals that roam the earth today and concluded that it has a lot in common with chickens.


5. Laboratory Mice Cured of Rett Syndrome

Researchers affiliated with the Wellcome Trust have shown evidence that Rett syndrome, a neurodevelopmental disorder that afflicts one in every 10,000 female births, might be curable. Caused by a mutation, the disorder prevents children from walking, talking or developing normally and gives them terrible tremors. By creating mice with a similar affliction, Adrian Bird and his colleagues at Edinburgh University and the University of Glasgow tested the effects of fixing the bad gene. In the Feb. 23 issue of Science, they explained that the disease does not cause permanent damage to nerve cells, and breathing problems and tremors in mice stop when they are nudged into producing normal MeCP2 -- the protein corrupted by the disease.


4. Enzymes Convert Any Blood Type to O

Several major Type O blood shortages, including crises at the National Institutes of Health this fall and throughout Georgia in late summer, highlight the importance of creating a versatile blood type. In the rare instance that someone receives a transfusion of the wrong type, deadly reactions (caused by sugar molecules on the surfaces of red blood cells) can cause the immune system to go haywire.

In April, Henrik Clausen, a professor at the University of Denmark, published research in Nature describing a way to convert any kind of blood into Type O -- the type that almost anyone can tolerate. He discovered enzymes that shear the problem-causing sugars from the surfaces of A, B and AB type red blood cells. Produced by bacteria, the molecular machines could theoretically turn any kind of blood into Type O. Clausen and his colleagues described their search for the pacifying proteins in the April 1 issue of Nature Biotechnology.

ZymeQuest, a startup company from Massachusetts, is now developing a device that hospitals can use during blood shortages.


3. Mummified Dinosaur Excavated and Scanned

Paleontologists from England's University of Manchester have excavated the mummy of a nearly intact plant-eating dinosaur. Preserved by minerals for over 65 million years, the petrified body is in such pristine condition that the researchers could see a striped pattern on what remains of its scales. The scientists transported the fossilized hadrosaur this fall to a giant CT scanner in Canoga Park, California, where technicians captured terabytes of 3-D images that have already revealed surprises about the creature's muscle mass and the spacing of its bones. Tyler Lyson, now a graduate student in geology at Yale University, made the initial find seven years ago while fossil hunting in the Hell Creek formation of North Dakota.


2. Chimpanzees Make Spears for Hunting

Two anthropologists watched in mixed amazement and horror as several female chimpanzees crafted spears and used them to somewhat brutally hunt smaller mammals. Following a troop of the primates in a Senegalese savanna, Jill Pruetz of Iowa State University and Paco Bertolani of Cambridge observed them breaking the branches off of trees, picking leaves from the sides, and sharpening the tips to deadly points. In the March edition of Current Biology, the scientists explained that such sophisticated animal behavior could reveal a great deal about how early humans used primitive tools.


1. Researchers Turn Skin Cells to Stem Cells

Using a virus to reprogram skin cells, two teams of scientists managed to skirt the greatest ethical issue facing regenerative medicine -- the destruction of human embryos. Groups led by Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University and Junying Yu of the University of Wisconsin coaxed a type of skin cell called fibroblasts into forming muscle, heart, fat and nerve tissues without using any eggs. Unfortunately, the hijacked cells often became tumors. Following up on his initial discovery this November, Yamanaka told Nature Biotechnology that by inserting three growth genes instead of four, the lab-grown flesh can be controlled without becoming cancerous.
[/tscii:c4ec5d623d]

[Anoushka]

* Probe would swim into alien seas:
Scientists hope to send a robotic submarine into
oceans that may lurk within a moon of Jupiter.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080209_europa


* A function for "gay genes" after all?:
Studies of some unusual men in the remote Pacific
have led scientists to surprising conclusions.

http://www.world-science.net/exclusives/080208_gaygene


* A machine with a taste -- for espresso:
Can a machine taste coffee? The question has plagued
scientists who study the bracing beverage.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080207_espresso


* "Sounds" of individual molecules captured:
Physicists claim to have made tiny atomic
vibrations -- sounds, by some definitions -- audible.
A downloadable audio file is the result.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080206_molecule-sounds

[Anoushka]

* Robot arms race seen underway:
Proponents of robot weapons say they could keep
soldiers out of harm's way. Critics say the machines
raise troubling questions.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_robots


* "Noah's Ark" seed vault opens:
A remote chamber designed to protect seeds for
posterity took in its first shipments.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_vault


* Pirates had "democratic" ways:
The pirates of old produced impressive examples of
self-rule and mutual fairness -- largely because
they had no choice, a researcher says.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080222_pirates


* Expert: obesity, global warming could be
fought together
Redesigning cities to curb excess driving could
reduce both warming and waistlines, a physician
claims.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080226_obesity-warming


* Computers learn "regret":
New programs imitate human decision-making in
strategy games by looking backwards.

http://www.world-science.net/othernews/080221_regret


* SCIENCE IN IMAGES:
Among the disguises in the animal kingdom, the
swallowtail caterpillar's is surely one of the most
unappetizing.

http://www.world-science.net

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:ba47569c2c]John Horgan in Discover Magazine (http://discovermagazine.com/2008/apr/13-science-says-war-is-over-now) collects the views of Frans de Waal, Robert Spolosky, Douglas Fry, Richard Wrangham, Steven LeBlanc and writes:
"Despite the signs of progress against our belligerent side, all these scientists emphasize that if war is not inevitable, neither is peace. Major obstacles include religious fundamentalism, which not only triggers conflicts but also contributes to the suppression of women; global warming, which might produce ecological crises that spur social unrest and violence; overpopulation, particularly when it produces a surplus of unmarried, unemployed young men; and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Moreover, all the solutions to war come with caveats. Sapolsky suggests that eliminating poverty, while an important goal in its own right, may not extinguish war in all regions. Among baboons, lions, and other animals, aggression sometimes “goes up during periods of plenty because you have the energy to waste on stupid stuff rather than just trying to figure out where your next meal is coming from.”
...
A crucial first step toward ending war is to reject fatalism, in ourselves and in our political leaders. That is the view of the Harvard biologist Edward O. Wilson,
...."
Intersting article with lots of inks (Link via 3quarksdaily).[/tscii:ba47569c2c]

[gaddeswarup]

[tscii:64f4c0f679]The benefits of long childhood:
From the review of"Why Youth Is Not Wasted on the Young: Immaturity in Human Development" by David F. Bjorklund (http://www.americanscientist.org/template/BookReviewTypeDetail/assetid/57123) in 'The American Scientist':
"Bjorklund's message is that human development takes as long as it does for good reasons and that experiences should be introduced only when children are cognitively ready for them. Early education should foster a love of learning, which will pay dividends in the long run, rather than a fear of falling behind, which increases stress and decreases motivation. He acknowledges that schooling is necessary for success in the modern world and that direct instruction is sometimes useful. But as much as possible, he believes, we should let children enjoy childhood. We should even seek to maintain some "immature" qualities, such as curiosity and playfulness, into adulthood. As Aldous Huxley observed, "The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm."
...
Why Youth Is Not Wasted on the Young is that rare sort of science book that will be interesting to researchers as well as to laypeople and readers from other fields."

A recent report (http://www.physorg.com/news128862346.html)(via Evo. Psychology Discussion group):
"Their studies revealed that the ability to combine sensory information doesn’t develop in children until about the age of eight. Prior to that, integration of visual and touch-derived spatial information (also known as haptic information) is far from optimal, they reported, with either vision or touch dominating totally even in conditions where the dominant sense is far less precise than the other. However, they found no evidence that either vision or touch acts as a “gold standard,” always dominating the other.....
Nardini’s group made a similar discovery while studying the navigating skills of children versus adults. Navigation depends both on attending to visual landmarks and on keeping track of one’s own movement (self-motion), they explained.

In their study, children and adults attempted to return an object to its original place in an arena, using visual landmarks only, non-visual self-motion information only, or both.

Adults—but not four- to five-year-olds or seven- to eight-year-olds—got better at the task when both information sources were available, they found. ...
It might also explain how adults manage to improve on all sorts of tasks over time, he added. “It demonstrates how adults build on their perceptual abilities not just by improving individual senses, but also by getting better at integration.” "[/tscii:64f4c0f679]

[Sudhaama]

.
. Mankind's Hand Stretched to MARS.!!!

. MARS Landing.
http://www.mars.tv/video/

.

[Anoushka]

Cold fusion success in Japan gets warm reception in India http://howrah.org/sci_tech_htm/13647.html

Researchers in Japan have given a live public demonstration of their cold fusion device, a historic experiment that is likely to revive global interest in this controversial method of energy generation that was earlier debunked as nonsense.

A report in the California-based New Energy Times says the tabletop device built by Osaka University physicist Yoshiaki Arata and his associate Yue Chang Zhang continuously generated excess energy in the form of heat and also produced helium particles.

"The demonstration showed their method was highly reproducible," the report quoted physicist Akito Takahashi, one of the 60 persons from industry and universities who witnessed it, as saying.

The demonstration held on May 22 has drawn immediate praise from Mahadeva Srinivasan, a cold fusion pioneer and formerly associate director of physics at the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Mumbai.

"The cold fusion community is excited and is reverberating with news of a live public demo," Srinivasan told IANS from Chennai. "The field is truly ripe for Indian labs to enter and it is hoped that we won't miss the bus once again."

The fusion process that powers the sun requires extreme temperature and pressure to force hydrogen nuclei fuse and release energy.

Achieving fusion at room temperature was considered impossible until 1989 when American scientists Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons startled the world with their tabletop experiment.

They connected a battery to a pair of palladium electrodes immersed in a jar of water containing deuterium (heavier form of hydrogen) and showed their electrolytic cell produced heat energy in excess of what was consumed. They claimed that deuterium nuclei were being packed into the palladium's lattice in such a way for fusion to take place.

Later it was shown by several groups including Srinivasan and Padmanabha Krishnagopala Iyengar at BARC in the early 1990s that the reaction produced tritium as well as helium indicating that cold fusion was real. However, further work at BARC was abandoned due to denunciation of cold fusion by mainstream scientists and the US government.

Prospects in India

Srinivasan hopes that Arata's public demonstration in Japan will give new birth to cold fusion research in India.

Arata, who is the recipient of Japan's highest award, the Emperor's Prize, is the first person to have performed thermonuclear fusion research in Japan. Arata and his colleague Zhang have been reporting their work on cold fusion at various conferences and in Japanese journals for the last 10 years.

In recent years, they have moved away from electrolysis and switched over to direct loading of deuterium gas into a matrix of zirconium oxide containing palladium nanoparticles. In their latest demonstration, they showed excess heat production commenced almost instantaneously when pure deuterium gas at high pressure was let in.

"The high operating temperature, instant response and reliability of this device make it the most practical form of cold fusion yet developed," said Jed Rothwell, author of a popular book on cold fusion and another witness to the demonstration.

The Japanese demo comes three months after some of India's leading nuclear physicists at a meeting in Bangalore formally recommended to the government to revive cold fusion research in India.

"The long neglect of this area (of research) by India must end now," Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan, former secretary to the Department of Atomic Energy, told the meeting held at the National Institute of Advanced Studies in Bangalore on Jan 9.

According to Mahadeva Srinivasan, the Central Electrochemical Research Institute in Karaikudi, the Indian Institute of Technology in Chennai, and the Indira Gandhi Centre for Atomic Research near Chennai have shown interest in restarting the work.

He said the field of cold fusion (which has been renamed as low energy nuclear reactions or LENR) has matured sufficiently to claim recognition as a valid new branch of science.

"If all that is claimed by the LENR community is validated," he said, "the prospects of this being developed into a 'third alternative option' for generating nuclear energy in the 21st century, besides fission and thermonuclear fusion, are bright."

[Nasc]

Dear All,

you guys aware of the CERN's new particle collidor and its kick off this year.There are skeptics who say that it might cause doomsday for Earth by creating mini blackholes that do not vaporize soon enough.

[gaddeswarup]

Innovations
http://edition.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/07/11/biogas.nature/index.html?iref=intlOnlyonCNN

[Sudhaama]

.
.Bamboo the BEST Solution.!..

...to arrest GLOBAL WARMING.!

http://www.hindu.com/2008/08/06/stories/2008080658251100.htm

.
.

[thamizhvaanan]

How kangaroo burgers could save the planet

COWS, sheep and goats may seem like innocent victims of humanity's appetite for meat, but when it comes to climate change they have a dark secret. Forget cars, planes or even power stations, some of the world's worst greenhouse gas emitters wander idly across rolling pastures chewing the cud, oblivious to the fact that their continuous belching (and to a lesser degree, farting) is warming the planet.

Take New Zealand, where 34.2 million sheep, 9.7 million cattle, 1.4 million deer and 155,000 goats emit 48 per cent of the country's greenhouse gases in the form of methane and nitrous oxide. Worldwide, livestock burps are responsible for 18 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions - more than produced from all forms of transport combined. Methane accounts for the bulk of ruminant green house gas emissions, one tonne of the gas has 25 times the global warming potential of the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide.Livestock are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transport combined

Rising populations and incomes are expected to double the global demand for meat and milk from 229 to 465 million tonnes and 580 to 1043 million tonnes, respectively, by 2050. This will almost double the amount of greenhouse gases produced by livestock, dwarfing attempts to cut emissions elsewhere. Apart from all of us turning to a vegetarian diet, can anything be done to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from livestock?

Several ideas have been proposed to raise animals that are kinder to the environment. In New Zealand, researchers are testing different diets, food additives, vaccines and drug therapies, as well as breeding low-methane animals. One Australian team has even suggested we wean ourselves from cattle and sheep altogether and eat kangaroo instead - they do not emit methane.

Concern for the climate isn't the only factor driving the research. Eight per cent of the energy expended by a ruminant's metabolism goes on producing methane. If livestock stopped making this gas, the energy saved could be diverted into making more meat.

So why do ruminants give off so much methane? It's all down to their stomachs. Sheep and cattle have a pregastric stomach, or rumen, where microbes digest plant matter and produce hydrogen, carbon dioxide and fatty acids. The fatty acids are a useful source of energy to aid animal growth, but the hydrogen and carbon dioxide are not. This is where microorganisms called methanogens come in: they have co-evolved with the animal to consume the carbon dioxide and hydrogen, producing methane. In return, the methanogens gain a home and a food source.

This cosy relationship is now in the cross hairs. In June, researchers from the Pastoral Greenhouse Gas Research Consortium in New Zealand - a group dedicated to reducing methane emissions from livestock - announced they had decoded the genetic sequence of Methanobrevibacter ruminantium, one of 20 or so species of methane-producing microbes in sheep and cow stomachs. They are hoping to discover a genetic hallmark for all methanogens, says Graeme Attwood, a microbiologist at the New Zealand based AgResearch and leader of the consortium's genome-sequencing project. Such methanogen-specific genes might provide a targeted way to knock out these microbes without harming the hundreds of other beneficial species in the rumen. The researchers think the hydrogen and carbon dioxide left behind that would have been digested by methanogens would then be consumed by other microbes, such as acetogens which dominate marsupial guts and are present in smaller numbers in ruminant guts, to produce the nutrient acetate, making the animals healthier too.
Going live

While analysing the genes, Attwood and his colleagues discovered the recipe for an enzyme that they believe breaks open chemical bonds unique to the methanogen cell wall. The enzyme originally belonged to a virus that infected the methanogen long ago, becoming incorporated into the microbes' genome as it evolved. Attwood's team has manufactured the enzyme and shown that it kills methanogens in vitro. "It's very exciting," says Attwood. Within the next six months, Attwood and his colleagues plan to test the enzyme in live animals.

The genome sequence is also being used to identify proteins that sit on the outer surface of M. ruminantium - the immune system can easily identify these proteins, making them ideal candidates for vaccines. Vaccinating animals against M. ruminantium has many benefits, not least that it is cheap to produce and could be given several times a year to livestock grazing in pastures.

This is not the first time an anti-methanogen vaccine has been tried. Four years ago, scientists in Australia developed an anti-methanogen vaccine that lowered methane production in sheep by almost 8 per cent compared with those that did not receive it. But the vaccine did not work in sheep from New Zealand, says Bryce Buddle, who leads the methanogen vaccine project at AgResearch. He says that this is probably because the methanogen strains in sheep from New Zealand and Australia are different.

Still, it was proof that a vaccine could work. Buddle is now testing a more sophisticated vaccine made from a mix of surface and intracellular M. ruminantium proteins. Though the mechanism of action is unclear, early lab tests have shown that the antibodies triggered in response to the vaccine can decrease methane production. He expects to test the vaccine in live animals within three years. Ultimately, he hopes that vaccinating cattle and sheep will decrease methane emissions by 20 to 30 per cent.

For animals that are kept mainly in sheds and not allowed to graze, methane emissions could be further reduced by changing their diet. Ermias Kebreab and his colleagues at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, have shown that grass-fed cattle typically produce 20 per cent more methane than those fed a mixture of grass and corn. Kebreab says that the addition of unsaturated fats like coconut and sunflower oil to their food could curb methane emissions by a further 20 per cent. The unsaturated oils serve as a sink for the hydrogen in the animal's gut - absorbing it before the methanogens can consume it - and produce hydrogenated fats which the animal can then store or digest for energy. Sunflower oil, for example, can lower methane by 21 per cent in cattle fed a high corn diet. The caveat to this approach, says Kebreab, is that the oils cannot exceed more than 5 per cent of the animal's total diet or it will stop eating the enriched food.

Legumes such as clover can also help to reduce methane levels in burps. The key seems to be the high level of tannins in the clover, says Jamie Newbold, an animal scientist at Aberystwyth University in the UK. Tannins, which give red wine its colour, are thought to slow the growth of methanogens, thus curbing methane production.
Legumes such as clover can help reduce methane levels in cow burps

Earlier this year, Newbold reported that a plant extract from garlic, called allicin, could dramatically lower methane output by between 25 and 50 per cent. While this would benefit the climate, nobody has yet tested whether it would affect the flavour of the milk and meat from these animals.

Athol Klieve, a microbiologist at the Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries in Brisbane, Australia, thinks it might be possible to cut cows and sheep methane emissions completely. He has just completed a census of microbes inhabiting the gut of the eastern grey and red kangaroos and has identified three distinct species of acetogens in the forestomach of kangaroos. Acetogens are also present in cattle and sheep, so he is now exploring whether the acetogens in ruminants can out-compete the methanogens and become the dominant species in the gut, as they are in the kangaroo.

All of these approaches will take a long time to develop, though, and when it comes to climate change, time is not on our side. "If livestock populations rise as projected then high-tech solutions [such as vaccines and feed additives] are just fiddling around at the edges," says Peter Smith, who studies how climate change impacts soil and agriculture at University of Aberdeen, UK. "If people ate less meat, there would be fewer animals, and less methane would be emitted." Tom Wirth, at the US Environmental Protection Agency, thinks chemicals added to the feed could cause problems with the animal's digestion, and he wonders whether consumers would want to eat an animal that had been injected with a methanogen vaccine.

There is a simpler alternative. Two Australian biologists say there is a sure-fire way to reduce methane emissions without resorting to complex biotechnology: cut the number of cattle and sheep being reared and meet the demand for meat with marsupials. Kangaroos produce barely any methane (see diagram) as their dominant gut flora are acetogens, not methanogens. These convert the hydrogen into acetate, a fatty acid that can also be used by cattle as an energy source. George Wilson and Melanie Edwards, based at Australian Wildlife Services in Canberra, have calculated that replacing a third of Australia's sheep and cattle with kangaroos would slash cattle emissions and reduce the nation's entire greenhouse gas output by 3 per cent. "It's not a completely wacky idea," says Wilson. "All [Australian] supermarkets already carry kangaroo meat on the shelf. It is a AU$250 million industry." Kangaroo burger anyone?

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026873.100-how-kangaroo-burgers-could-save-the-planet.html?full=true

[anbu_kathir]

This is awesome to say the least :).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8012496.stm

Love and Light.

[P_R]

This seemed the most relevant thread to post this (http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php)

:D

[anbu_kathir]

This seemed the most relevant thread to post this (http://www.phdcomics.com/comics.php)

:D

Hehe .. Superb! :lol:

[P_R]

a_k, if you haven't come across phdcomics earlier I recommend it strongly. As a research student I think you will enjoy that strip. I've been reading it for around 5 years now. It's a delightful and cruelly witty strip by a former PhD scholar now professor Jorge Cham (http://www-cdr.stanford.edu/~jgcham/)

[anbu_kathir]

a_k, if you haven't come across phdcomics earlier I recommend it strongly. As a research student I think you will enjoy that strip. I've been reading it for around 5 years now. It's a delightful and cruelly witty strip by a former PhD scholar now professor Jorge Cham (http://www-cdr.stanford.edu/~jgcham/)

Hehe.. PHD comics ellaam enga kula sothu ilaya! I have known abt it for quite some time. As you said, as a PhD stud I now relate to it more than ever before :D. Especially the prof side of the strip matches very well with whatever happens at my college ;).

[gaddeswarup]

Very nice piece of exposition "Bands of Iron":
http://www.daylightatheism.org/2009/02/bands-of-iron.html
wins the Top Quark:
http://www.3quarksdaily.com/3quarksdaily/2009/06/the-winners-of-the-3-quarks-daily-2009-prize-in-science.html

[Sudhaama]

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.Health-Effect by GREENERY PLANTS... at INDOORS.! : Home & Office.

http://beta.thehindu.com/health/fitness/article14932.ece?homepage=true

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[Sudhaama]

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Lives COULD EXIST.... WITHOUT OXYGEN.!.... WITHOUT EARTH.!


http://beta.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article19918.ece

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[Sudhaama]

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- The FUTURE of Mankind.!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K1NqBEWS8DA&feature=fvw

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[Sudhaama]

[tscii:ee69b8a0c6]



.SURVIVAL of Human-Race on Earth.?...


...in the NEAR FUTURE.???



http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/article561092.ece




Our genetic code carries selfish and aggressive instincts.


It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next 100 years,


-- let alone the next thousand,"


--Astrophysicist Stephen Hawking said



The human race will become extinct unless it leaves Earth--

--and colonises space within the next two centuries


--according to Professor Stephen Hawking, the world’s most famous astrophysicist.


In an interview with ‘Big Think’ portal, Dr. Hawking has said he’s an “optimist” but the next few hundred years had to be negotiated carefully if the human race is to survive.

He said: “I see great danger for the human race. There have been a number of times in the past when survival has been a question of touch and go. The Cuban missile crisis in 1963 is one of these.

“The frequency of such occasions is likely to increase in the future. We shall need great care and judgment to negotiate them all successfully. But I am an optimist. If we can avoid disaster for the next two centuries our species should be safe as we spread into space.”

Dr. Hawking has warned that mankind was entering “an increasingly dangerous period of our history”. “Our population and use of the finite resources of planet Earth and growing exponentially along with out technical ability to change the environment for good and ill.

“But our genetic code carries selfish and aggressive instincts that were a survival advantage in the past. It will be difficult enough to avoid disaster in the next 100 years let alone the next thousand or a million. Our only chance of long term survival is not to remain on Earth but to spread into space.

“We have made remarkable progress in the last 100 years but if we want to continue beyond the next 100 years our future is in space,” the ‘Daily Mail’ quoted him as telling the portal.

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Courtesy: THE HINDU

.[/tscii:ee69b8a0c6]

[Sudhaama]

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Human-brain on a Microchip!


http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/technology/article564352.ece?homepage=true




Turning into reality of science fiction films such as "The Terminator" - where machines and men meld into reality - Canadian scientists have successfully connected brain cells to a silicon chip to "hear" conversation between brain tissue.

The neuro-chip, which has been developed by medicine scientists at the University of Calgary, will network brain cells and thus record brain cell activity at a resolution never achieved before, according to Naweed Syed who led the team that made the breakthrough.

The neuro-chip will help future understanding of how brain cells work under normal conditions and thus permit drug discoveries for a variety of neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, a university statement said on Tuesday.

"This technical breakthrough means we can track subtle changes in brain activity at the level of ion channels and synaptic potentials, which are also the most suitable target sites for drug development in neuro-degenerative diseases and neuropsychological disorders," Naweed Syed, who is professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology and Anatomy, has been quoted as saying.

The new neuro-chips are also automated.

"Previously it took years of training to learn how to record ion channel activity from brain cells, and it was only possible to monitor one or two cells simultaneously. Now, larger networks of cells can be placed on a chip and observed in minute detail, allowing the analysis of several brain cells networking and performing automatic, large-scale drug screening for various brain dysfunctions," the university statement said.

The University of Calgary is excited at the potential of this made in Canada technology, said university vice president Rose Goldsmith.

"The University of Calgary is proud to be the home of this cutting edge Canadian work with a neurochip. The advances in research and healthcare made by possible by this technology are immense. The work and collaboration happening in the lab of Naweed Syed is another example demonstrating our leadership in the field of biomedical engineering."

The new technology has been published online this month in the journal, Biomedical Microdevices.
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Courtesy: THE HINDU

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[Sudhaama]

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Imminent DANGER from Sun.!





22 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு ஒரு முறை சூரியனில் மின் காந்த சக்தி அதிகமாக வெளிப்படுகிறது.

சூரியனில் 11 ஆண்டுகளுக்கு ஒரு முறை மின்காந்த புயல் ஏற்படுகிறது. இது புள்ளிகள் அல்லது சுடரொளி போல் காணப்படுகிறது. அப்போது, சூரியனின் வெப்பம் மிக அதிகபட்சமாக, 10 ஆயிரம் டிகிரி பாரன்ஹீட் (5,500 டிகிரி செல்சியஸ்) வெப்பம் அடையும்.

வரும் 2013ம் ஆண்டில் இரண்டு நிகழ்வுகளும் ஒன்று சேர்ந்து வர உள்ளதால் சூரியனில் இருந்து அதிகளவில் கதிரியக்கம் வெளிப்படும் வாய்ப்பு உள்ளது.

வட ஐரோப்பா மற்றும் இங்கிலாந்தில் உள்ள மின்சக்தி நிலையங்கள் எளிதாக பாதிக்கப்பட்டு பல மாதங்கள் மின்சாரம் இல்லாமல் மக்கள் அவதியடையும் சூழ்நிலை ஏற்படலாம்.

எந்த அளவு முன்னெச்சரிக்கை நடவடிக்கை எடுத்தாலும், பாதிப்பு எப்படி இருக்கும் என்று தெரியாததால் அதன் விளைவுகள் எப்படி இருக்கும் என்பதை இப்போதே கூற முடியாது.

மனிதனின் வாழ்நாளில் இதுபோல், மூன்று, நான்கு முறை சூரியனில் புயல் ஏற்படுவதை அறியலாம்.

இவ்வாறு ரிச்சர்ட் பிஷ்ஷர் எச்சரித்துள்ளார்.


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[Shakthiprabha]

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Imminent DANGER from Sun.!

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for more news

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/29may_noaaprediction/

[Dinesh84]

more on this
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_cycle_24#August_2010

[Sudhaama]

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Polar-Ice melting fast,

--due to GREENHOUSE EFFECT



Field-Research Scientist's CAUTION.!


"IF NOT CONTROLLED by IMMEDIATE Preventive action---

--Chennai city will get SUBMERGED under Sea-Water.!







ஆர்ட்டிக் மற்றும் அண்டார்டிகா பகுதிகளில் உள்ள பனிக்கட்டி இப்போதைய வேகத்திலேயே உருகினால் அடுத்த 90 ஆண்டுகளில் சென்னை கடலுக்குள் மூழ்கிவிடும் என்கிறார் 'ஐஸ் மேன்' என்று அழைக்கப்படும் உலகின் முன்னணி துருவப் பகுதி ஆராய்ச்சியாளர் ராபர்ட் ஸ்வான்.

தனது வாழ்வின் பெரும்பாலான பகுதிகளை துருவப் பகுதிகளில் உள்ள பனிப் பிரதேசங்களில் ஆராய்ச்சியில் கழித்துள்ள இவர், அங்கு நடந்து வரும் இயற்கை மாற்றங்களால் அதிர்ந்து போயுள்ளதாகக் கூறுகிறார்.

இப்போது சுற்றுச்சூழலை மாசுபடுத்தாத எரிசக்திக்கு உலகம் மாற வேண்டியதன் அவசரமான அவசியம் குறித்து உலகெங்கும் பயணித்து பிரச்சாரம் செய்து வரும் இவர் சென்னை வந்துள்ளார். பல்வேறு விழிப்புணர்வுக் கருத்தரங்குகளை நடத்தி வரும் நிருபர்களிடம் பேசுகையில்,

நான் உண்மையில் ஐஸ் மேன் தான், எனது பெரும்பாலான நாட்களை மைனஸ் 73 டிகிரி வெப்பநிலையில் கழித்துவிட்டேன். அந்த வெப்பத்தில் நம் கண்களில் உள்ள நீர் பனிக்கட்டியாகிவிடும், பார்வை தெரியாது. பற்களில் பிளவுகள் ஏற்பட்டுவிடும். சென்னையி்ன் இந்த சூடான வெப்பநிலை எனக்கு புத்துணர்ச்சியைத் தந்துள்ளது.

அண்டார்டிகாவிலும் ஆர்ட்டிக் பகுதிகளில் பனி மலைகள் மிக வேகமாக உருகி வருகின்றன. இதை நான் கண்கூடாகவே பார்த்துள்ளேன். சென்னையில் நீங்கள் ஓட்டும் கார்கள், பைக்குகளில் இருந்து வெளியாகும் கார்பன் டை ஆக்ஸைட் துருவப் பனியை உருக்குவதை நீ்ங்கள் உணர வேண்டும்.

இந்த பனி உருகலால் உலகின் கடல் மட்டம் வி்ஞ்ஞானிகள் கூறியதை விட மிக வேகமாகவே உயர்ந்து வருகிறது. கடல் மட்டம் 2 மீட்டர் உயர்ந்தால் போதும், அது உலகின் பல்வேறு பகுதிகளை நீரி்ல் மூழ்கடித்துவிடும். இது மிக வேகமாகவே நடக்கப் போகிறது என்ற அபாயத்தை உணர்த்தவே நான் பனிப் பகுதிகளை விட்டுவிட்டு உலக நாடுகளை சுற்றி வந்து பிரச்சாரம் செய்ய ஆரம்பித்துள்ளேன்.

இந்த சுற்றுச்சூழல் பேராபத்தை தவிர்க்க ஒரே வழி சூரிய மின்சாரமும் காற்றாலை மின்சாரமும் தான். இல்லாவிட்டால் நிலக்கரி, பெட்ரோலியத்தை எரித்து நாம் தயாரிக்கும் எரிசக்தியே நம்மை அழித்துவிடும் என்கிறார்.

தனது 33 வயதிலேயே வட துருவத்தையும் தென் துருவத்தையும் முழுக்க முழுக்க நடந்தே கடந்த மனிதர் இவர் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

ராபர்ட் சவான் 1984-ம் ஆண்டு தென்துருவத்தில் 70 நாட்கள் 900 மைல் தூரம் நடந்து சென்று ஆய்வு நடத்தி இருக்கிறார் என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது.

லண்டனைச் சேர்ந்த இவர் ஆரம்ப காலத்தில் தனது துருவப் பகுதி ஆராய்ச்சிக்காக டாக்சி ஓட்டியும், குடோன்களில் வேலைபார்த்தும் பணம் சேர்த்துள்ளார்.

கடும் போராட்டத்துக்குப் பின் ஒரு வழியாக சில சுற்றுச்சூழல் அமைப்புகளும் கைகொடுக்கவே 1984ம் ஆண்டு சதர்ன் குவெஸ்ட் என்ற கப்பலை வாடகைக்கு எடு்த்துக் கொண்டு 3 மாதம் 15,000 மைல்கள் பயணித்து அண்டார்டிகாவை அடைந்துள்ளார். இவருடன் இரு நண்பர்களும் பயணித்தனர்.

அண்டார்டிகாவில் இந்த மூவரும் 1,400 கி.மீ. தூரம் நடந்துள்ளனர். வயர்லெஸ் உதவியோ, அவசரகால உதவியோ இல்லாமல் இவர்கள் 70 நாட்கள் நடந்துள்ளனர்.

இந்தப் பயணத்தின்போது இவர்களின் கண்களின் நிறம் மாறியுள்ளது. இதற்கான காரணத்தை அவர்கள் கண்டறிந்தபோது அதிர்ந்து போயினராம்.

இவர்களது கண்களி்ல் உள்ள நிறமிகள் நிறமிழக்கக் காரணம், அண்டார்டிகா பகுதியின் மேலே வளி மண்டலத்தில் ஓசோன் படத்தில் ஏற்பட்ட ஓட்டை வழியாக ஊடுருவிய சூரியக் கதி்ர்கள் என்று தெரியவந்ததாம்.

இந்தப் பயணத்துக்குப் பின்னர் ஆர்ட்டிக் பிரதேசத்துக்கு 8 நிபுணர்களுடன் பயணித்தார் ஸ்வான். அங்கு 56 நாட்கள் சுமார் 1,000 கி.மீ. நடந்து ஆய்வுகளை மேற்கொண்டபோது பனிக் கட்டிகள் மிக வேகமாக உருகுவதைக் கண்டு அதிர்ந்துள்ளனர்.

உலகின் வெப்பமயமாதலுக்கு வளர்ந்த நாடுகள் இதுவரை செய்த தவறுகளே காரணம் என்று கூறும் ஸ்வான், அதே தவறை இந்தியாவும் சீனாவும் செய்துவிடக் கூடாது. வேகமாக பொருளாதார வளர்ச்சியை எட்டி வரும் இந்த நாடுகளின் வளர்ச்சிக்கு அடிப்படையான எரிசக்தி சூரியனிடமிருந்தும் காற்றாலைகளில் இருந்தும் வந்தால், உலகம் தப்பும் என்கிறார்.



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[Sudhaama]

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Scientists' Achievement.!


PADDY grown with SALINE-WATER too.!

http://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/agriculture/article632636.ece


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[Querida]

Was amazed to come by this...some unique exercise deemed to be beneficial to patients with Alzheimers and memory problems...turns out to be thoppukaranam
and you thought it was just your teacher was punishing you...:pink:

http://homeopathyplus.com.au/poor-memory-can-be-improved-by-one-simple-exercise/

[gaddeswarup]

A nice summary in The Hindu by D. BALASUBRAMANIAN Coalition dharma and asthma (http://www.thehindu.com/health/medicine-and-research/article925737.ece?homepage=true) of Bacteria and Asthma: Untangling the Links (http://www.sciencemag.org/content/330/6008/1168.summary) by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel (the full article needs subscription).

[gaddeswarup]

A nice article on science writing by Ed Yong:
http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2010/11/24/on-jargon-and-why-it-matters-in-science-writing/

[gaddeswarup]

This is more than two years old and somebody might have posted this already. It is a bit long but I think it is science writing at its best.

"The Itch" by Atul Gawande in The New Yorker:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2008/06/30/080630fa_fact_gawande?currentPage=all

[Shakthiprabha]

Astronomers see a supermassive black hole – known as Sagittarius A – sitting at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. But, could the big black hole, itself, be surrounded by a swarm of small black holes that may have been accumulating nearby for billions of years?


http://www.spacetoday.org/DeepSpace/Stars/BlackHoles/MilkyWayBlackHoles.html

[Shakthiprabha]

http://www.inquisitr.com/255406/watch-asteroid-2012-lz1-buzz-by-earth-tonight/


A huge asteroid will fly by earth tonight at about 8:00 EST. Asteroid 2012 LZ1 is approximately 1,650 feet wide and will come with in 14 lunar distances (3.35 million miles) of earth. Space.com reports that the asteroid poses no threat to earth tonight but it may be close enough to view with a camera

(june 14th)

[Shakthiprabha]

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/asteroid-to-fly-by-earth-2012-lz1_n_1595293.html

[Shakthiprabha]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/science/Evidence-of-ice-in-Moon-crater/articleshow/14330703.cms

[gaddeswarup]

Ed Yong explains http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/why-supermarket-tomatoes-look-great-but-taste-bland/
"Ann Powell from the University of California, Davis has found that farmers have inadvertently ruined the taste of tomatoes by selecting for ones that ripen together and look good. That aesthetic appeal has been driven by a single change in a single gene, which also affects how the fruits taste."
Even for the standard varieties, the homegrown ones taste better, may be because as a commenter explains "Tomatoes are also harvested before ripening fully, if at all, to give them better shipping qualities and then exposed to ethylene to bring them to a ripened state. Unfortunately, green tomatoes lack the sugars and, presumably, the nutritional value of vine-ripened varieties."
My experience is that our garden tomaoes taste better than market ones if one can get them before birds do. I started covering them with nets but that does not stop (a problem in Mrlborne) which eat even green tomatoes. There is also a discussion in http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/notrocketscience/2012/06/28/why-supermarket-tomatoes-look-great-but-taste-bland/. Some of the comments have suggestions about varieties that taste good.

[gaddeswarup]

I have been taking interest in GM seeds and foods for a few years since I believe that the future is is in science and technology. But the topic is getting too complicated just like climate change discussions:
http://wavefunction.fieldofscience.com/2012/06/uncertainty-principle-for-climate-and.html
Moreover multinational carporations seems to pushing through various varieties without adequate testing and it is difficult to know whom to believe from news reports. Recently 'GM crops good for environment'
suggests a Guardian article GMcrops good for environment, study finds looking at a recent study by Kongming Wu and collaborators, but see an earlier paper http://www.sciencemag.org/content/328/5982/1151
by the same group. There are names of various British professors enthusiatic about the research. It seems that one has to check GM watch
http://www.gmwatch.org/latest-listing/1-news-items/13992-bt-cotton-and-pests-in-chinese-fields or lobbywatch http://www.lobbywatch.org/lobbywatch.html even to read what seem to be fairly straightforward science reports.

[Shakthiprabha]

Dear Neil,

"You name would live longer..."

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/25/neil-armstrong-dead-age-82_n_1830343.html

[sakaLAKALAKAlaa Vallavar]

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=365424566865827&set=a.190484021026550.46028.189745421100410&type=1&theater

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-prn1/58695_365424566865827_386545971_n.jpg

ஒரு சிறிய பரிசோதனை மரங்களின் முக்கியத்துவத்தை உணர்த்துகிறது.

கீழே இருக்கும் படங்களை பாருங்கள் மரங்களின் அருமையை உணருங்கள்
செடிகள் நிறைந்த தொட்டியின் வழியே கீழே இறங்கும் தண்ணீர் வெளியே வரும்போது தெளிவாக இருக்கிறது.
அதே வெறும் மண், அல்லது காய்ந்த இலையுடன் கூடிய மண் வழியே வரும் தண்ணீர் கலங்கலாக இருக்கிறது.
நாம் காடுகளையும், மரங்களையும் அழித்துவிட்டு ஆற்று நீர் ஏன் கலங்கலாக உள்ளது என்று கவலைபடுகிறோம்.
நிறைய மரங்களை வளர்ப்போம், காடுகளைக் காப்போம் தூய்மையான தண்ணீரைப் பெறுவோம்...

[gaddeswarup]

On Fecal Trnsplants
Earlier articles 'How Microbes Define and Defend Us'(http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/13/science/13micro.html?_r=3&ref=science_ by Carl Zimmer and 'Fecal trnsplants to cure clostridium difficile infection'(http://scienceblogs.com/aetiology/2007/12/17/fecal-transplants-to-cure-clos/) by Tara Smith. A more recent article in Discover 'Tap The Healing Power of Poop'(http://discovermagazine.com/2012/oct/16-big-idea-tap-the-healing-power-of-poop) says:
"And C. difficile colitis is just the start. An Australian pioneer in fecal transplants, Thomas Borody, has performed the procedure in more than 1,900 patients, and has also found success treating irritable bowel syndrome, profound constipation, and otherwise intractable Crohn’s disease. “Crohn’s will often slowly regress with repeated fecal infusions,” Borody says. With typical Australian humor, he concludes, “It’s a whole new form of therapootics.""
This seems to be the kind of research that can be done cheaply/

[iqojoxifidoc]

ardvark, an African mammal. The name means “earth pig” in Afrikaans and refers to its resemblance to a pig and to its habit of digging. The aardvark is 4 to 7 feet (1.4 to 2.1 m) long, including the muscular, 2-foot (60-cm) tail. It is about 2 feet tall at the shoulder and weighs 110 to 155 pounds (50 to 70 kg). The aardvark has a long, narrow head, long ears, and a blunt snout. It has tubular teeth that grow continuously throughout its life. The aardvark's forefeet have large, sharp claws, which are used to dig rapidly in soil or sand. The thick skin is covered with bristly, brownish- or yellowish-gray hairs.

The aardvark hunts at night for termites and ants. It uses its long, sticky tongue to gather the insects from their nests.

Aardvarks are hunted for their edible flesh and for their hide, which is used to make leather clothing and bracelets

http://http://animals.howstuffworks.com/mammals/aardvark-info.htm

[gaddeswarup]

Use toilet and get money
http://www.scopetrichy.com/use_toilet_get_money.asp

[gaddeswarup]

http://americanlivewire.com/midway-film-project/

[gaddeswarup]

Fun link http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2013/04/30/antibiotic-protects-men-from-being-too-trusting-of-attractive-women/#.UYwaVaNhiK0

[gaddeswarup]

I posted links to some articles on traditional practices of water conservation in agriculture here http://gaddeswarup.blogspot.com.au/2013/08/practicing-water-conservation-in.html

[gaddeswarup]

Alopecia areata, I do not know the Tamil name but in Telugu it is పేనుకొరుకుడు. I had this once and rubbed the scalp with hibiscus flowers and it disappeared ( I remembered the treatment from my father, I think). Then two years I recommended it to an acquaintance and she too did not have any problems later. Search పేనుకొరుకుడు and there seem to be several such treatments. Search for Alopecia areata too for different perspectives. I am reluctant to make recommendations on medical matters; perhaps more knowledgeable people can comment.

[gaddeswarup]

Two on gluten. From the first "Four years, 22 specialists, three doctors and several unfortunate forays into the world of alternative medicine later, Townson was able to get most of her symptoms under control after she realised through her own research that gluten - a protein found in wheat, barley and rye - seemed to be causing her ailments." http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/life/when-no-one-knows-whats-wrong-20140517-38g34.html#ixzz3279nd8al
An earlier one http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/03/magazine/the-boy-with-a-thorn-in-his-joints.html?_r=1&

[pradheep]

Now more science research prove that microbes in gut play an important role in preventing the major diseases. Click here for nice articles on that. http://uni5.co/index.php/en/gut-news.html