Submission + - First definitive evidence of lakes on Mars (examiner.com)
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d18-First-definitive-evidence-of-lakes-on-Mars Though scientists confirmed the presence of ice in the polar caps last year, until now there was no absolute proof of water structures such as lakes or rivers. However, University of Colorado-Boulder space scientists have discovered shorelines which they claim is definitive evidence of an ancient lake on the surface of the Red Planet. Perhaps more important is the discovery of deltas surrounding the ancient lake bed. On Earth, deltas are hot spots for signs life (like organic carbon), meaning the Shalbatana lake may be a prime location for a future probe investigation.
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Submission + - Marijuana smoke damages DNA (examiner.com) 8
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d17-Marijuana-smoke-damages-DNA The campaign to legalize marijuana has a new obstacle to overcome. Researchers from the UK and Sweden have discovered that smoking the cannabis plant causes DNA damage that could potentially lead to cancer. Because cannabis is less combustible than tobacco, the report states that it has 50% more carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. And what's more, there is the added danger of smoking technique: marijuana smokers inhale more deeply, meaning 3-4 cannabis cigarettes a day is equivalent to 20 tobacco cigarettes.
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Submission + - Popular Alzheimer's theory may be wrong (examiner.com)
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d16-Popular-Alzheimers-theory-may-be-wrong Inflammation has long been thought to play an essential role Alzheimer's disease (AD). However, in a new paper published in Acta Neuropathologica, University of Florida scientists showed that human brain tissue shows no sign of inflammation, meaning scientists have been chasing a false trail for over 20 years. One of the reasons why inflammation has looked so enticing is that there is strong evidence of chronic inflammation in mouse models of AD--and treatment of mouse inflammation can attenuate the symptoms of AD such as memory problems. If true, the new study would have a huge impact on AD and many other biomedical research fields that rely on mouse models.
Submission + - Wii-hab boosts Parkinson's treatments (examiner.com)
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d12-Wiihab-boosts-Parkinsons-treatments Scientists are investigating the use of Wii Sports as a form of treatment for those suffereing form Parkinson's. After a four-week study, researchers found that rounds of tennis, bowling, and boxing improved rigidity, movement, fine motor skills and energy levels as well as decreasing the occurrence of depression. It is thought that combining exercise and video games helps to increase dopamine levels, a chemical that is deficient in Parkinson's. The therapy is gaining notoriety under the name of Wii-hab.
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Comment Re:Or earth could turn into an elephant (Score 1) 255
The real question: how the hell did it get published Nature? PLoS One, yeah...but Nature? Unless the method behind the computer modeling was entirely novel, I don't see how such a non-story made it into such an established journal.
Submission + - New doubts arise over the dinosaur-bird link (examiner.com)
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d10-New-doubts-arise-over-the-dinosaurbird-link That birds descended from dinosaurs is one of the most widely held beliefs in evolution. However, a recent study may hold evidence that debunks the bird-dinosaur link. Lung structure and function has long been a pivotal point in the argument, with many stating that supposed similarities between dinosaur and bird lungs is conclusive proof that they are related. According to Oregon State researchers, the immobile thigh bone found in birds is an essential support system for their unusual lungs. Dinosaurs, however, did not have a fixed thigh bone, meaning their lungs simply could not have been similar to that of birds. In an eloquent summary, OSU professor John Ruben states, "A velociraptor did not just sprout feathers at some point and fly off into the sunset."
One-Tweet Wonders 170
theodp writes "TIME has seen-the-future-and-it-is-Twitter. Slate, on the other hand, is more fascinated with the phenomenon of orphaned tweets, the messages left by people who sign up for Twitter, post once, then never return (not unlike one-blog-post wonders). While some orphan tweets betray skepticism about microblogging ('I don't get it... what's the point of this thing?'), other one-and-done Twitterers demonstrate keen enthusiasm before disappearing ('I'm here!'), and some tweets hint that tragedy has cut a promising Twittering-life short ('it hurts to breathe. should I go to the hospital?'). Slate notes that studies of Twitter accounts by Harvard and Nielsen suggest the service has been better at signing up users than keeping them, including the one-tweet wonders."
Submission + - First Acoustic Black Hole Created In A BEC (technologyreview.com) 1
KentuckyFC writes: "One of the many curious properties of Bose Einstein Condensates (BECs) is that the flow of sound through them is governed by the same equations that describe how light is bent by a gravitational field. Now a group of Israeli physicists have exploited this idea to create an acoustic black hole in a BEC. The team created a supersonic flow of atoms within the BEC, a flow that prevents any phonon caught in it from making headway. The region where the flow changes from subsonic to supersonic is an event horizon because any phonon unlucky enough to stray into the supersonic region can never escape. But the real prize is not the acoustic black hole itself but what it makes possible: the first observation of Hawking radiation. Quantum mechanics predicts that pairs of phonon with opposite momentum ought to be constantly springing in and out of existence in a BEC. Were one of the pair to stray across the event horizon into the supersonic region, it could never escape. However, the other would be free to go on its way. This stream of phononic radiation away from an acoustic black hole would be the first observation of Hawking radiation. The team haven't got that far yet but it can't be long now before either they or their numerous competitors make this leap."
Submission + - Evidence of a civilization found beneath Lake Huro (examiner.com)
mmmscience writes: http://www.examiner.com/examiner/x-1242-Science-News-Examiner~y2009m6d9-Evidence-of-a-civilization-found-beneath-Lake-Huron Researchers from University of Michigan have discovered the remains of a civilization 100 feet beneath the waters of Lake Huron. It is believed to be of the Paleo-Indian era, a time period for which there is very little surviving evidence. The find is extremely important to understanding the ancient cultures. There is a gap in understanding between the Paleo-Indian societies and their successors of the Archaic period. While the Paleo-Indian people were nomadic, Archaic cultures were extremely settled, with an established economy and trade routes. But much of the evidence has long been hidden by the Great Lakes..
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Submission + - Inflatable tower could climb to the edge of space (newscientist.com) 1
MonkeyClicker writes: "A GIANT inflatable tower could carry people to the edge of space without the need for a rocket, and could be completed much sooner than a cable-based space elevator, its proponents claim.
Inflatable pneumatic modules already used in some spacecraft could be assembled into a 15-kilometre-high tower, say Brendan Quine, Raj Seth and George Zhu at York University in Toronto, Canada, writing in Acta Astronautica (DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.02.018). If built from a suitable mountain top it could reach an altitude of around 20 kilometres, where it could be used for atmospheric research, tourism, telecoms or launching spacecraft."
Inflatable pneumatic modules already used in some spacecraft could be assembled into a 15-kilometre-high tower, say Brendan Quine, Raj Seth and George Zhu at York University in Toronto, Canada, writing in Acta Astronautica (DOI: 10.1016/j.actaastro.2009.02.018). If built from a suitable mountain top it could reach an altitude of around 20 kilometres, where it could be used for atmospheric research, tourism, telecoms or launching spacecraft."
