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Alcohol Lowers Risk of Rheumatoid Arthritis
2008-06-05 16:23:00
Randall Parker at Future Pundit reports that a study conducted in Scandinavia reveals that people who consume alcohol have a lower risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis. In fact, the more you drink, the less your risk for RA. Those in the top quartile of alcohol consumption, for example, had as much as a 50% lower risk of developing the autoimmune disease than those who drank the least. And from earlier reports, we know that rheumatoid arthritis greatly increases the risk of heart disease. So now I have an excuse for going out on $2 pint-night... I'm doing it for my health!
More About: Alcohol , Risk , Arthritis

Perimiter Institute Gets $50M Donation
2008-06-05 15:58:00
Mike Lazaridis, founder and co-chairman of Research in Motion (the maker of the Blackberry devices) announced last night that he is giving an additional $50 million to the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics, bringing his total contribution to $150 million. The Perimeter Institute is dedicated to addressing foundational issues in current theoretical physics research by concentrating on cross-discipline research areas such as: Cosmology Particle Physics Quantum Foundations Quantum Gravity Quantum Information Theory Superstring Theory In their short existence (since 1999) the Perimeter Institute and its staff have won a number of awards for their research. Lazaridis' contributions will only help the Institute in its goal of a better understanding of the rules of the universe around us.
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Environmentally-Friendly Explosives
2008-06-04 20:58:00
From C|Net's News.com comes a report that German scientists are developing more-environmentally-friendly bombs. Yep, you read that right... green bombs. The idea is that by creating explosives that are nitrogen-based (instead of traditional carbon-based explosives), the scientists can create explosives that are more stable (i.e., less prone to explode from mis-handling) as well as not giving off toxic gases. Now people who are being blown up can be safe in the knowledge that their surroundings are not going to be polluted by toxic gases after their dead. And, it turns out, the new explosives may actually be more powerful than the same volume of conventional explosives.
More About: Friendly , Explosives

Synthetic Yeast Creates Malaria Drug
2008-06-04 20:49:00
According to New Scientist, researchers in California are scaling up for industrial production a process to produce a synthetic strain of yeast engineered to produce a compound called artemisinin, which is used to treat malaria. The current process used to produce the medicine is expensive, but this new process has been optimized such that—within two to three years—they could produce enough of the drug to meet the needs of the entire world. Attempts to use living organisms to produce medicines have been underway for several years now. If the artemisinin process being commercialized (by Sanofi-Aventis) is successful, it would be the first major production of medication using a synthetic organism.
More About: Drug , Synthetic

A Car That Runs on Water?
2008-06-04 20:42:00
CNN has video of a car designed to run mostly on water. According to the video, the engine uses a small amount of gasoline to power a process to split the water into hydrogen and oxygen. The engine then burns the hydrogen for power. And according to the designer, Anthony Brown of Jacksonville, his car gets 100 miles per ounce of water. Don't get too excited, though. I'd like to see this independently verified and tested before I run out and convert my car. Plus, he says he gets 100 miles per ounce of water, but he doesn't say how much gasoline the car uses in that process.
More About: Water , Runs

Damon on Tesla
2008-06-03 18:26:00
Apparently, Matt Damon is a fan of the Tesla Roadster. Matt says this prototype isn?t launching so well of the line but tells me, ?The 30-60 acceleration is like nothing else.? Like I said he?s digging the car.

Biofuels: Voices of the Experts
2008-06-03 16:44:00
CNN has interviewed a series of experts for their opinions on the viability and future of biofuels. Amongst the experts are economist Keith Wiebe of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the U.N.; Dr. Richard Pike, chief of the Royal Society of Chemistry; and environmentalist Deepak Rughani of Biofuelwatch. The main takeways seem to be that:   A - Some biofuels will work well and others will not   B - "Bio" does not necessarily mean "clean"   B - Creating fuel from growing things takes a lot of land.
More About: Experts , Biofuels

Tumor Suppressor Genes Affect Aging
2008-06-02 19:10:00
On Friday the Mayo Clinic announced that its researchers had shown that—in mice, at least—a pair of tumor suppression genes had a significant impact on aging. Their findings were published in the online issue of Nature Cell Biology. The researchers discovered that when the tumor suppression gene p16 was over-expressed, tissues in their mice models started aging rapidly. But when the p19 gene was overexpressed, it counteracted the effects of p16, retarding aging. Whether these results will have any implications for humans is yet to be determined.
More About: Tumor , Aging , Genes

Hybrid Technologies Plans X-Prize Entrant
2008-06-02 18:25:00
C|Net's News.com reports that Hybrid Technologies is preparing to submit a green sports car for the Automotive X Prize . The version submitted for the Automotive X Prize will be a gas-battery hybrid that will get an equivalent 220 miles per gallon. An all-electric plug-in hybrid version will also be available, and will be expected to get 150 to 180 mpg. The company expects to have a drivable prototype by September, and has ambitious plans for a wide-range of vehicles that run on batteries, not just cars.
More About: Plans , X-Prize

Small, Rocky Worlds
2008-06-02 18:03:00
Paul Gilster over at Centauri Dreams has written a post about the prevalance of small, rocky worlds in our galaxy. He reports on 45 new planet reports revealed at the International Astronomical Union's meeting in Boston which have yet to be confirmed, one of which includes a planet projected to have roughly four times the mass of Earth. If confirmed, that would be the smallest exo-planet found yet. Even if not confirmed with exactly those specifications, these findings provide more information about the universe around us. The planets were found using the High Accuracy Radial Velocity Planet Searcher at the European Southern Observatory's La Silla 3.6m telescope. And if you read the post at Paul's site, you should also pay attention to the comments. Several of them are highly insightful.
More About: Small , Rocky , Worlds

LA Times Interviews Maarten Schmidt
2008-06-01 18:11:00
The Los Angeles Times has an interview with Kavli Prize winner Maarten Schmidt about the research for which he won the prize, his current research, his background, and his beliefs. It's really very interesting. One example is below. What's the biggest mystery left in astronomy? The expansion of the universe. You would expect that because of the gravity between galaxies, that it goes slower and slower. . . . It now turns out that rather than decelerating, it is accelerating. There is a repulsive force at work. This thing is 10 to the 120th power smaller than Einstein would have wanted. We just don't know what it is. It's called dark energy.
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Discovery On Its Way
2008-06-01 17:34:00
Space shuttle Discovery successfully launched on-time yesterday on its way to the International Space Station. The astronauts are already ahead of schedule and are proceeding with a scan of the orbiter's heat-shield, even though they do not have the laser-tipped probe that they have been using on the last several missions (their cargo was too much this time and they had to leave some things out). Discovery is scheduled to dock with the ISS tomorrow at 1:52pm EDT. Once docked with the station, they will perform a more detailed analysis of the heat shield using a boom arm stored on the space station.

Discovery on Schedule for Launch Tomorrow
2008-05-30 18:30:00
According to NASA, all systems are go for tomorrow's launch of space shuttle Discovery to the International Space Station. Discovery will be transporting additional pieces of the Japanese Kibo laboratory module—including the large Japanese Pressurized Module and a robotic arm—as well as a new toilet pump to replace on that has failed (talk about trouble getting a plumber out to your house!). Additionally, Discovery will deliver Greg Chamitoff and return Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who has spent the past three months on the space station. This mission will be the largest payload ever transported to the ISS and includes three spacewalks to install equipment. With launch scheduled for 5:02pm EDT, NASA expects an 80 percent chance of favorable weather at launch time. And since this launch will be happening at a time when I'll be awake, I expect to watch the streaming webcast of it.
More About: Schedule , Launch , Tomorrow

Tesla Roadster Gets Powertrain Update
2008-05-29 17:33:00
JB Straubel over at Tesla Motors have provided an update on the "Touch" blog about the new, enhanced Powertrain 1.5 for the Tesla Roadster . It seems that the very talented engineers working at Tesla have managed to improve the Powertrain in just about every possible way, and along the way reduced the weight and complexity of the system while improving torque and efficiency! If you haven't seen it, the Tesla Roadster is about the coolest looking, highest-performance electric vehicle out there. The Roadster is an all-electric vehicle with the performance and styling of a top-of-the-line sports car, but it doesn't use any fuel. The car has a 0-to-60 time of under 4 seconds and , with the new powertrain, a quarter-mile time in the 12.9 second range. Sure, the Roadster will set you back a cool hundred grand, but that's not out of line with other top-performance cars. And when their WhiteStar sedan comes out (probably in 2010 or 2011) with a price tag in the $50-65,000 range, I e...
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Cold Fusion on the Comeback Trail?
2008-05-28 19:19:00
Cold Fusion (in physics, not in web development) became a taboo expression nineteen years ago after Martin Fleischmann and Stanley Pons were unable to replicate their experiment that supposedly produced fusion in a glass jar at room temperature. And, since nobody else was able to duplicate the results, cold fusion has since become a synonym for pseudo-science. But that may be about to change. Jon Cartwright of the physicsworld blog reports that Yoshiaki Arata, a retired physics professor at Osaka University and his partner, Yue-Chang Zhang, have demonstrated what appears to be a repeatable experiment that involves forcing deuterium into an evacuated cell containing a sample of palladium dispersed in zirconium oxide. According to Arata, the deuterium is absorbed by the sample in large enough amounts to force the deuterium nuclei to become close enough to fuse. It's way, way too early to say whether or not these results have any validity, as (like with Fleischmann and Pons) they...
More About: Cold , Comeback , Cold Fusion , Trail

Kavli Prizes Awarded
2008-05-28 17:57:00
The Kavli Prizes were awarded today by the Kavli Foundation, and as promised, here are the winners: The Kavli Prize for Astrophysics was awarded jointly to Maarten Schmidt, of the California Institute of Technology, US, and Donald Lynden-Bell, of Cambridge University, UK, for their work on Quasars. During the 1960s Schmidt analysed the visible light spectra of quasars and used the results to explain just how distant these extraordinarily bright galaxies are, while Lynden-Bell demonstrated how they were powered by the collapse of material into massive black holes. The Kavli Prize for Nanoscience was awarded jointly to Louis E. Brus, of Columbia University, US, and Sumio Iijima, of Meijo University in Japan for their respective discoveries of colloidal semiconductor nanocrystals, also known as quantum dots, and carbon nanotubes. Major advances being predicted in fields as diverse as electronics, the environment, energy and biomedicine would not have been possible without Brus and...

Shortage of Cadavers for Research and Education
2008-05-27 20:28:00
The Los Angeles Times reports that organizations that distribute cadavers for medical schools and research are suffering shortages. It seems that more people are being cremated or donating their tissues piecemeal rather than donating whole corpses for research or educational purposes. As a result, medical schools are not receiving enough corpses for students to practice and learn on, and are having to turn students away from important classes. The next time you're in the hospital for surgery and you see your young surgeon getting ready, think about whether or not he or she has had enough practice before getting to you. For as long as I've been writing this blog, I've encouraged people to dedicate part of their time and/or resources to help advance science and technology. If you donate your body for research or educational purposes, you can continue to contribute to advancement even after your death. Plus, it could save your loved ones from having to spend money on burial.
More About: Education , Research

Kavli Prizes to Be Awarded Tomorrow
2008-05-27 18:32:00
Fred Kavli hopes to leave behind a legacy that will have a positive impact on humanity for centuries. And he's doing it the same way as Alfred Nobel. No, not by making better explosives (although Kavli did get his start developing technology for the military). Kavli is dedicating his fortune to the advancement of science through the formation of Kavli Institutes for science, and the Kavli Prizes , a set of very focused scientific prizes in the amount of $1 million for advances in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience. The prizes are awarded by the Kavli Foundation, and the first awardings of these prizes will be announced tomorrow morning in Oslo, Norway. Kavli's goal is to promote scientific research that will benefit mankind not in a few years but in a hundred years. The funds provided by the foundation are for basic research in the three target areas, not for quick results. Check back tomorrow for information about the Kavli Prize winners.
More About: Tomorrow

Doctors Attempt to Re-Grow Soldier's Missing Finger
2008-05-27 18:01:00
In a major new medical study of regenerative medicine, Pentagon researchers, Army doctors, and a team of researchers at several of the nation's top medical facilities are attempting to help a soldier re-grow a finger that was lost to a bomb attack in Baghdad last year, according to a top story from CNN. The procedure, which involves applying a specially formulated powder to the wounded body part, was inspired by the regenerative abilities of salamanders. The powder—nicknamed "pixie dust" by some of the people at Brooke Army Medical Center—is made from tissue extracted from pigs, and works by forming a microscopic lattice that attracts stem cells and convinced them to grow into the tissue that used to be there. The researchers consider re-growing a finger to be the first step which, if successful, could lead to further tests to grow replacement organs for patients in need of transplant. This is another example of technology being developed for the U.S. military that ...
More About: Doctors , Missing , Finger , Grow

Phoenix and Mars
2008-05-26 17:36:00
NASA's Phoenix probe has landed on Mars , where it will begin a three-month mission to study the northern polar region for the presence of water. Remember, though, that the Spirit and Opportunity probes also landed on three-month missions five years ago. So when NASA puts together a three-month mission, that doesn't necessarily mean it will stop in three months... it will stop whenever they're done collecting useful data. Phil Plaitt over at Bad Astronomy has posted some of the photos that Phoenix has already sent back of the surface.

NASA Schedules Hubble Repair Mission for Oct. 8 Launch
2008-05-23 16:58:00
NASA has announced the new target launch date for the fifth (although it's called Servicing Mission 4) and final mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis will launch for STS-125 on October 8 of this year, if all goes well. The mission was previously delayed due to NASA's need to build fuel tanks and for Endeavour to get ready. Endeavour is necessary as a back-up if a problem happens with Atlantis, as the shuttles trajectory to Hubble will make it impossible to make an emergency trip to the ISS. If everything goes well and Endeavour is not needed for a rescue mission, then that shuttle will fly on November 10, 2008, to deliver a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) to the ISS. When Servicing Mission 4 is complete, not only will Hubble's useful life be extended, but the quality of science it can achieve will be enhanced. These enhancements include new batteries to replace the batteries that have been in use since 1990 and replacement of some of the gyroscopes ...
More About: Launch , Nasa , Repair

Hey Buddy, Wanna Be an Archaeologist?
2008-05-22 16:40:00
I have long been a proponent of citizen-involvement in science. Today, Alan Boyle over at MSNBC has a new blog post about opportunities that allow ordinary people like me and you to participate in archaeological expeditions. Alan has some good information about the expeditions and a list of ten places to go online to learn more about available opportunities. So unleash your inner Indiana Jones or Lara Croft. Get out there and get your hands dirty (literally)!
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TVA Facilities Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks
2008-05-22 16:11:00
CNN reported yesterday afternoon about a new study conducted by the GAO that shows that the TVA is inadequately protected from cyber attacks. The TVA operates 52 power plants in the southeastern U.S., including nuclear, hydropower, and coal facilities. The GAO found that: The TVA's firewalls have been bypassed or are inadequately configured Passwords in use by TVA personnel are not effective Servers and work stations lack key patches and effective virus protection Intrusion-detection systems used by the TVA are not adequate Some locations lack enough physical security around control systems Rep. James Langevin, a Rhode Island Democrat, is chairing an Emerging Threats, Cyber security, and Science and Technology subcommittee hearing Wednesday afternoon. Representatives of the TVA, the GAO, the federal commission and the electric reliability corporation are to appear before the subcommittee. I find these results to be a little disturbing, but not terribly surprising. Informatio...
More About: Attacks , Facilities

Lab-Grown Meat Could Be Coming to a Grocery Store Near You
2008-05-21 17:19:00
Slate has an interesting—and somewhat disturbing—article about artificial, lab-grown meat. Now, I like meat, and I'm all for things that can make it more eco-friendly and less expensive. But I'm just not sure about the idea of eating meat that was grown in a vat from stem cells. According to the post, the current ranching and slaughtering process for beef means that for every pound of beef we consume, 36.4 pounds of carbon dioxide—the same amount as driving an average car 155 miles at 50 mph—are released into the atmosphere. Raising cattle is also horribly inefficient... it takes seven calories of grain to produce a single calorie of beef. By not having actual cows, we can eliminate waste products and free up a bunch of land that is being used for ranching right now. However, the author of the article does make one mistake, when he suggests that we can free up the food needed for the cattle. Obviously, in order to grow protein (even in a vat) the lab...
More About: Meat , Store , Grown , Grocery

Nanotubes May Be Hazardous to Your Health
2008-05-21 16:37:00
Both the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times are running articles today highlighting a study reported in Nature Nanotechnology about the possible dangers of carbon nanotubes. These nano-scale structures, discovered in 1991, have potential for a massive number of industrial and commercial uses in the decades to come, but apparently come with some risks. The researchers conducted a pilot study by injecting both long (20 micron) and short (5 micron) nanotubes into the abdominal cavities of mice. While the short nanotubes had little or no effect, the longer nanotubes caused lesions similar to those caused by asbestos, which the researchers believe would likewise cause mesothelioma, a form of cancer commonly caused by asbestos. The results are preliminary, and the investigators point out that they did not study how easily nanotubes can become airborne or whether they become lodged in the lungs if inhaled. More research is needed into the harmfulness of nanotubes.
More About: Health

Replacement Bladders Work Effectively
2008-05-20 21:57:00
Popular Science reports on new artificial bladders made by a company named Tengion. The bladders are grown on biodegradable scaffolds using the patient's own cells, collected via a biopsy from the patients natural bladder. According to the report, the neo-bladders created and implanted during their testing, after re-implantation, grew to the same size as the original bladders and functioned effectively. The company hopes to start clinical trials in 2009. Hopefully the company will be able to extend this technology effectively to other organs, allowing the growing of replacement organs for which people currently have to spend time on a waiting list for donors.
More About: Work

New Process Improves Cost, Usefulness of Titanium
2008-05-20 17:30:00
Researchers working with the Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory have devised a new system for creating objects using titanium powder that could dramatically reduce the cost of using the material. The process uses considerably less energy for constructing parts from titanium powders because it does not involve having to melt the powders. The researchers see new applications in armor for soldiers and vehicles, new alloys for brake rotors, more durable artificial join replacements, and more. The clearest gain is in armor for military vehicles. The titanium alloy armors do a much better job of stopping bullets and shrapnel, but are also lighter. By being lighter, the vehicles become more responsive and mobile, making them more useful to the military. And obviously, by stopping more bullets, the vehicles are clearly more useful to the soldiers inside. Similarly, new corrosion-resistant alloys could make their way into automobiles, making them lighter and more re...
More About: Cost , Process , Titanium

Texas Oilman Bets on Wind
2008-05-20 17:22:00
T. Boone Pickens, a billionaire Texas oilman, thinks that the U.S. needs to reduce its dependence on oil. That's why he's putting billions of dollars of his own money into building down in Texas what will be the largest wind farm in the world. Pickens is starting with 600 wind turbines from GE which will be capable of producing a gigawatt of energy. This is the first stage of a massive project to build a four gigawatt network of wind turbines by 2015. In some areas, people object to wind turbines because they think they are ugly and detract from the natural beauty. Personally, I like them, as I see them as a sign of progress and advancement. For the local farmers down in Texas, though, Pickens plan brings something better... money. Each wind turbine that a farmer puts on his or her land brings in approximately $20,000 per year in royalties. My favorite part of this CNN story is the last paragraph, where Pickens says, "But we are going to have to do something different in A...
More About: Wind , Bets

Boeing Fires High-Energy Chemical Laser
2008-05-19 23:44:00
According to a report from the New Mexico Business Weekly, Boeing has for the first time fired its high-energy laser weapon from a C-130H aircraft, demonstrating its ability to precisely hit targets on the ground with minimal collateral damage. I haven't seen any video footage of the event, but that's okay. I saw the movie a long time ago. One has to wonder if they went through extra precautions to make sure that Val Kilmer was nowhere near the site of their test....
More About: Laser , Energy , High , Fires

Are You Sure That Avatar You're Talking to in Second Life is a Person?
2008-05-19 16:40:00
From the Associated Press comes an article yesterday about how researchers at Rensselaer Polytech have created an artificial intelligence that can operate a Second Life avatar. The avatar even has a name, Edd Hifeng. Edd has a limited ability to converse, but what really makes this AI entity interesting is its ability to make inferences. In one example, Edd witnessed a different avatar switching a gun from one briefcase to another. Edd was able to infer that another avatar not currently in the room would believe the gun to still be in the first briefcase. It may seem fairly simple to you and me, but this ability to make inferences has long been a weakness of artificial intelligence. Bridging this gap is a big step toward creating artificially intelligent entities. I'm all in favor of this type of research into artificial intelligence, as long as it can be done responsibly. As a software developer myself, I do have some concerns about the days when computers become smarter t...
More About: Second Life , Talking , Avatar , Person