Giant Plasma Loop on Sun is Half a Million Miles Long
A NASA spacecraft has beamed home a spectacular new view of the sun, a photo that captures a vast tendril of solar plasma reaching across the surface of our nearest star.
NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory recorded the huge solar filament between Aug. 6 and 8, which rises up above the sun's surface in an arc that stretches across more than 500,000 miles (804,672 kilometers). "Filaments are cooler clouds of solar material that are tethered above the sun's surface by unstable magnetic forces," NASA officials wrote in a photo description. |  |
August 15 2012
New system could predict solar flares, give advance warning
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Researchers may have discovered a new method to predict solar flares more than a day before they occur, providing advance warning to help protect satellites, power grids and astronauts from potentially dangerous radiation.
The system works by measuring differences in gamma radiation emitted when atoms in radioactive elements "decay," or lose energy. This rate of decay is widely believed to be constant, but recent findings challenge that long-accepted rule.
The system works by measuring differences in gamma radiation emitted when atoms in radioactive elements "decay," or lose energy. This rate of decay is widely believed to be constant, but recent findings challenge that long-accepted rule.
August 15 2012
Mars Curiosity rover is ready to roll, says Nasa
The Mars rover Curiosity is ready to roll and its drivers back on Earth say they are "itching to move".
Curiosity has undergone an "intellect upgrade" on Mars – a planned replacement of its onboard software – to ready it for a two-year mission to explore the 96 mile-wide Gale Crater. The vehicle is currently undergoing thorough pre-planned tests of its instruments before its wheels will start to turn. This first tentative drive will probably be on 21 August, 15 days after landing, and will likely only cover a few metres. |  |
August 15 2012
Dutch reality show to offer one-way tickets to Mars
As the world marvels at the latest US Mars landing, a Dutch start-up is aiming to beat NASA at its own game by sending the first humans to the red planet -- and film all as a reality show.
The big hitch: it's a one-way trip. Fact, fiction or publicity stunt from the land that launched reality TV? The start-up, called "Mars One", says it is dead serious about landing four astronauts on Mars by 2023, seven years ahead of the US space agency's target, and plans to start the search for volunteers next year. |  |
August 15 2012
Byzantine-Era Industrial Olive Press Found
The Israel Antiquities Authority (IAA) has discovered an industrial olive press from the Byzantine-Muslim era (6th – 8th century CE). The site was found near Hod HaSharon in the course of IAA digs conducted in preparation for the paving of a new road.
Excavation team leader Durar Masarwa said: "We discovered the surface on which olive oil was extracted as well as a network of pipes, canals and holes that drained the liquid oil.". |  |
August 15 2012
Pre-Columbian "sacred tree" found in Mexico
Mexican archaeologists discovered a pre-Columbian grave containing human skeletal remains along with relics of a "sacred tree" near the archaeological site of the Great Temple of Tenochtitlan in the historical downtown area of Mexico City, the Mexican National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, said.
Found in the burial ground dating back more than 500 years were the complete skeleton of a woman and over a thousand human bones of children, young people and adults.
Found in the burial ground dating back more than 500 years were the complete skeleton of a woman and over a thousand human bones of children, young people and adults.
August 15 2012
Underwater Torpedo Adopted By A Group Of Traveling Mammals
Why Mark Peters and his friends Jeremy, Dave and William had a torpedo onboard their fishing boat, I don't know.
These four guys were looking for tuna 20 miles off Santa Cruz, and not doing too badly. In the first minute of this video, shot last week on Aug. 6, they catch a nice fish. Then they take the torpedo, which Mark built to carry a GoPro high-definition camera, drop it in the water, and something crazy happens.
These four guys were looking for tuna 20 miles off Santa Cruz, and not doing too badly. In the first minute of this video, shot last week on Aug. 6, they catch a nice fish. Then they take the torpedo, which Mark built to carry a GoPro high-definition camera, drop it in the water, and something crazy happens.
August 15 2012
Why India may not be ready yet for genetically modified crops?
NEW DELHI: Public outcry against genetically modified crops in India has hit the headlines several times since 2010. They were categorised as unfounded and baseless fears by the biotech industry and some sections of the agricultural scientific community. But now the thirty seventh reports by the Parliamentary committee on agriculture, 'Cultivation of Genetically Modified Food Crops-Prospects and Effects' released on August 9 has thrown up some dramatic revelations.
August 15 2012
French Shipwreck La Belle Off Texas To Be Freeze-Dried, Rebuilt
BRYAN, Texas -- More than three centuries ago, a French explorer's ship sank in the Gulf of Mexico, taking with it France's hopes of colonizing a vast piece of the New World – modern-day Texas.
Like La Salle in 1685, researchers at Texas A&M University are in uncharted waters as they try to reconstruct his vessel with a gigantic freeze-dryer, the first undertaking of its size. By placing the ship – La Belle – in a constant environment of up to 60 degrees below zero, more than 300 years of moisture will be safely removed from hundreds of European oak and pine timbers and planks. |  |
UFO Hunters Search For Aliens In 2-Month Expedition Across Russia
One group of UFO believers have packed their bags, tents, photo and video cameras and are on a cross-country trek in Russia, hoping to capture photographic evidence of possible alien activity, reports todaysthv.com.
Dubbed the "Trans-Eurasian UFO-Search Expedition," the 50 participants have been watching the skies above the southern tip of Lake Baikal, the world's oldest and deepest fresh water lake, located in southern Siberia. Lake Baikal was one of the group's first UFO target areas, based on local news of UFO sightings. |  |
The Demonization of Empress Wu
Most nations of note have had at least one great female leader. Not the United States, of course, but one thinks readily enough of Hatshepsut of ancient Egypt, Russia’s astonishing Catherine the Great, or Trung Trac of Vietnam.
These women were rarely chosen by their people. They came to power, mostly, by default or stealth; a king had no sons, or an intelligent queen usurped the powers of her useless husband. However they rose, though, it has always been harder for a woman to rule effectively than it was for a man–more so in the earlier periods of history, when monarchs were first and foremost military leaders, and power was often seized by force.
These women were rarely chosen by their people. They came to power, mostly, by default or stealth; a king had no sons, or an intelligent queen usurped the powers of her useless husband. However they rose, though, it has always been harder for a woman to rule effectively than it was for a man–more so in the earlier periods of history, when monarchs were first and foremost military leaders, and power was often seized by force.
Scientists develop 'bionic eye' which could restore sight to the blind
Researchers have dramatically boosted the performance of retinal implants by cracking a “code” that communicates visual signals to the brain.
The code consists of specific patterns of electrical pulses. By incorporating it into their device, the scientists came close to restoring normal vision in totally blind mice lacking any light-sensitive cells. Tests showed that the animals were able to discern facial features and track images with their eyes. A reconstruction based on electrical signals from the implant showed recognisable features of a baby’s face. |  |
Bulgarians cultivating ancient einkorn grain
Petko Angelov grabs an old, rusted sickle and leads peope clad in folk costumes to a ritual harvest in his fields in southern Bulgaria sown with the first ever wheat planted by humanity - the einkorn.
The popularity of the ancient grain, whose origins can be traced back some 10,500 years to the dawn of agriculture, is mounting in the Balkan country as people seek out healthier food, sustainable farming methods and national pride.
The popularity of the ancient grain, whose origins can be traced back some 10,500 years to the dawn of agriculture, is mounting in the Balkan country as people seek out healthier food, sustainable farming methods and national pride.
New species thrive in Ramle underworld
In a cavernous underworld 100 meters beneath a soft limestone quarry in Ramle, scientists have found eight new animal species – seven of which are still thriving in the darkness below.
Researchers recently completed a comprehensive study on the species – whose habitat quarry workers discovered in 2006 – and have thus far given names to seven out of the eight animals inhabiting the area. Isolated for millions of years in a 40- meter-long hall in a 2.7-kilometer- long cave, the species have survived off of sulfur bacteria in their underground lake. “The cave was concealed about 100 meters under the surface with no natural opening to the surface,” Prof. |  |
"Operation Frozen Dumbo" gets elephant Tonga pregnant
Scientists have succeeded for the first time in impregnating an elephant with frozen sperm, ultrasound pictures presented by Vienna's Schoenbrunn Zoo showed on Tuesday.
The scan shows a 10.6-centimetre-long (4.2 inch), five-month-old elephant foetus with its trunk, legs, tail, eyes and ears clearly discernible. The foetus, which was scanned in April, is likely now 20 cm long, the zoo said, and is due to be born to 26-year-old African elephant Tonga in or around August 2013 after a pregnancy of about 630 days. |  |
Study proves that one extinction leads to another
When a carnivore becomes extinct, other predatory species could soon follow, according to new research. Scientists have previously put forward this theory, but a University of Exeter team has now carried out the first experiment to prove it.
Published today (15 August 2012) in the Royal Society journal Biology Letters, the study shows how the demise of one carnivore species can indirectly cause another to become extinct. The University of Exeter team believes any extinction can create a ripple effect across a food web, with far-reaching consequences for many other animals. |  |
High Time to Destigmatize Psychedelics
Marijuana for medical purposes has finally become a serious policy option. Meanwhile, there has been a quiet but promising revival of research on the potential of psychedelics as part of the treatment of mental illness.
It is exactly 50 years since Congress passed the Food and Drug Act that gave expanded powers to the FDA. In general the new rules were warranted, requiring that drugs being marketed meet both efficacy and safety criteria. But psychedelics like LSD were still experimental. Many psychiatrists in the U.S. and abroad had been working with them for years in the hopes that they could provide both a laboratory model of psychotic states (called “psychotomimetics”), and a therapy for disorders that were and today remain recalcitrant to standard therapies.
It is exactly 50 years since Congress passed the Food and Drug Act that gave expanded powers to the FDA. In general the new rules were warranted, requiring that drugs being marketed meet both efficacy and safety criteria. But psychedelics like LSD were still experimental. Many psychiatrists in the U.S. and abroad had been working with them for years in the hopes that they could provide both a laboratory model of psychotic states (called “psychotomimetics”), and a therapy for disorders that were and today remain recalcitrant to standard therapies.
More trial, less error - An effort to improve scientific studies
So many scientific studies are making incorrect claims that a new service has sprung up to fact-check reported findings by repeating the experiments.
A year-old Palo Alto, California, company, Science Exchange, announced on Tuesday its "Reproducibility Initiative," aimed at improving the trustworthiness of published papers. Scientists who want to validate their findings will be able to apply to the initiative, which will choose a lab to redo the study and determine whether the results match. |  |
Triclosan: Chemical Used in Antibacterial Soaps, Found to Impair Muscle Function
Take a look at the bottle of antibacterial hand soap in your bathroom. Chances are good that a particular chemical is listed among its ingredients: triclosan. The antibacterial substance, which was first developed in the 1960s to prevent bacterial infections in hospitals, has since been incorporated into everything from hand soaps to toothpastes to mouthwashes. Manufacturers see it as a marketing bonus, increasing consumer confidence that a particular product kills harmful bacteria. Even some household products—such as kitchen utensils, toys and bedding—include triclosan.
In recent years, though, research has shed light on a number of problems with employing triclosan so widely. Studies have shown that the chemical can disrupt the endocrine systems of several different animals, binding to receptor sites in the body, which prevents the thyroid hormone from functioning normally. Additionally, triclosan penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream more easily than previously thought, and has turned up everywhere from aquatic environments to human breast milk in troubling quantities. |  |
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