8 Wonders of the Solar System, Made Interactive

8 Wonders of the Solar System, Made Interactive: "

Your browser does not support iframes. [More]"

How immune cells 'sniff out' bacteria

How immune cells 'sniff out' bacteria: "(Society for General Microbiology) Scientists are learning how our immune system senses and tracks down infection in the body by responding to chemical 'scents' emitted by bacteria. Studying how immune cells manipulate their movement in response to external signals could shed light not only on how our immune system functions but also how cancer cells spread through the body and even how the brain wires itself."

Manipulating Moral Judgment

Manipulating Moral Judgment: "

Innocent? Or guilty? As any judge can tell you, it’s not so simple. What was going in the defendant’s mind is important. Underlying intent is a pretty big deal when it comes to moral judgment.

Past studies have shown that an area of the brain, the right temporoparietal junction, shows increased activity when people read about another’s intentions or beliefs. [More]"

Queen's University professor's chemistry discovery may revolutionize cooking oil production

Queen's University professor's chemistry discovery may revolutionize cooking oil production: "(Queen's University) A Queen's University chemistry professor has invented a special solvent that may make cooking oil production more environmentally friendly.Philip Jessop, Canada Research Chair in Green Chemistry, has created a solvent that -- when combined with carbon dioxide -- extracts oil from soybeans. Industries currently make cooking oils using hexane, a cheap, flammable solvent that is a neurotoxin and creates smog. The process also involves distillation, which uses large amounts of energy."

Animal studies paint misleading picture

Animal studies paint misleading picture: "

By Janelle Weaver

Published animal trials overestimate by about 30 percent the likelihood that a treatment works because negative results often go unpublished, a study suggests.

This is a surprisingly strong bias, says the study's lead author, Malcolm Macleod, a neurologist at the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, UK. [More]"

McGill students brace for subatomic collisions

McGill students brace for subatomic collisions: "(McGill University) On March 30, 2010, the Large Hadron Collider will begin colliding subatomic particles at previously unattainable energies, and McGill students will be onsite eagerly awaiting the results."

What the Frack? Natural Gas from Subterranean Shale Promises U.S. Energy Independence--With Environmental Costs [Slide Show]

What the Frack? Natural Gas from Subterranean Shale Promises U.S. Energy Independence--With Environmental Costs [Slide Show]: "

DISH, Tex.--A satellite broadcasting company bought the rights to rename this town a few years ago in exchange for a decade of free television, but it is another industry that dominates the 200 or so residents: natural gas. Five facilities perched on the north Texas town 's outskirts compress the gas newly flowing to the surface from the cracked Barnett Shale more than two kilometers beneath the surface, collectively contributing a brew of toxic chemicals to the air. [More]"

Thinking on the Envelope: Finding a Medical "Silver Bullet" to Disable Many of the World's Deadliest Viruses

Thinking on the Envelope: Finding a Medical "Silver Bullet" to Disable Many of the World's Deadliest Viruses: "

Benhur Lee may have discovered a medical silver bullet that can disable pandemic HIV, exotic Ebola, the common flu and possibly every kind of enveloped virus on the planet. An added bonus is that those viruses likely are unable to develop resistance to the compound. [More]"

Tiny gold probes give scientists a sense of how disease develops

Tiny gold probes give scientists a sense of how disease develops: "(University of Edinburgh) Tiny chemical sensors implanted into patients could help diagnose disease and track its progress, following a development by scientists."

Bathing and showering: Underappreciated sources of water pollution from medicines

Bathing and showering: Underappreciated sources of water pollution from medicines: "(American Chemical Society) That bracing morning shower and soothing bedtime soak in the tub are potentially important but until now unrecognized sources of the hormones, antibiotics, and other pharmaceuticals that pollute the environment, scientists reported here today at the 239th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society."

Light controls matter, matter controls x-rays

Light controls matter, matter controls x-rays: "(DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) Controlling x-rays with ultrashort slices of light is a step toward controlling how matter behaves, shaping x-rays with other x-rays, and eventually directing the paths chemical reactions can take. Working with the femtosecond beamline at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's Advanced Light Source, a team of scientists shows how it can be done."

U of A-led experiment at CERN could rewrite laws of physics

U of A-led experiment at CERN could rewrite laws of physics: "(University of Alberta) An experiment led by a University of Alberta researcher, at the Large Hadron Collider at CERN, could dramatically change our concepts of basic physics, revolutionize our understanding of the Universe and could eventually lead to technologies in future generations that right now only exist in science fiction."

No Bones about It: Ancient DNA from Siberia Hints at Previously Unknown Human Relative

No Bones about It: Ancient DNA from Siberia Hints at Previously Unknown Human Relative: "

For much of the past five million to seven million years over which humans have been evolving, multiple species of our forebears co-existed. But eventually the other lineages went extinct, leaving only our own, Homo sapiens , to rule Earth. Scientists long thought that by 40,000 years ago H. sapiens shared the planet with only one other human species, or hominin: the Neandertals . In recent years, however, evidence of a more happening hominin scene at that time has emerged. Indications that H. erectus might have persisted on the Indonesian island of Java until 25,000 years ago have surfaced. And then there's H. floresiensis --the mini human species commonly referred to as the hobbits --which lived on Flores, another island in the Indonesian archipelago, as recently as 17,000 years ago.

Now researchers writing in the journal Nature report that they have found a fifth kind of hominin that may have overlapped with these species. ( Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.) But unlike all the other known members of the human family, which investigators have described on the basis of the morphological characteristics of their bones, the new hominin has been identified solely on the basis of its DNA. [More]"

New Proof Unknown "Structures" Tug at Our Universe

New Proof Unknown "Structures" Tug at Our Universe: "The case is building for a theory that objects in our universe are being tugged at by clumps of matter outside the known universe. "

Iceland Volcano Pictures: Lava Explodes From Ice Cap

Iceland Volcano Pictures: Lava Explodes From Ice Cap: "Thirty-story-tall jets of lava exploded from an ice-capped volcano in Iceland Sunday—and they show no signs of stopping."

20-year study yields precise model of tectonic-plate movements

20-year study yields precise model of tectonic-plate movements: "(University of Wisconsin-Madison) A new model of the Earth, 20 years in the making, describes a dynamic three-dimensional puzzle of planetary proportions. Created by University of Wisconsin-Madison geophysicist Chuck DeMets and longtime collaborators Richard Gordon of Rice University and Donald Argus of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the model offers a precise description of the relative movements of 25 interlocking tectonic plates that account for 97 percent of the Earth's surface."

Cancer genes silenced in humans

Cancer genes silenced in humans: "

By Janet Fang

Short sequences of RNA that can effectively turn off specific genes have for the first time been used to treat skin cancer in people.

The technique, called RNA interference (RNAi), gained its inventors a Nobel Prize in 2006, but researchers have struggled to get it to the clinic, partly because of problems in getting the molecules to their target.

Now, Mark Davis from the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena and his colleagues have found a way to deliver particles containing such sequences to patients with the skin cancer melanoma. [More]

"

"Chemical History of the Earth" Coach O's period 4 class

The earth has a 4.5 billion year history. During this time major events have shaped the planet and the evolution of life. Students should research the history of the earth focusing on key chemical events and transformations. Provide a comment.

Siberian Traps

The largest lava flow in the history of the earth, referred to as the Siberian Traps, is believed to have occurred approximately 251 million years ago. This huge lava flow lasted for nearly 1 million years and covered an area as large as the continental United States. The dark basalt lava layer reached depths of thousands of feet. This event is believed to be the primary reason for the greatest mass extinction in the earth’s history. 90% of all species became extinct during this period know as the Permian-Triassic extinction. Several factors would have contributed to this mass extinction. It would not simply be a matter of the earth’s surface being covered by lava and ash. Volcanic gases and dust would have adversely affected atmospheric conditions impacting weather and climate. Also the oxygen levels in the oceans would have been depleted causing anoxic conditions. There is strong evidence to support the idea that the Siberian Traps caused a mass extinction. In recent history the super volcano eruption of Toba caldera on Sumatra Indonesia 74,000 years ago almost wiped out humanity. The rich Siberian coal fields were formed during this time.

Diamonds

Diamonds were formed approximately 990 million years ago. They form under unique conditions of high pressure and temperatures. At depths of 125 to 200 kilometers below the surface of the earth pressure reaches a range of 45-60 atmospheres and the temperature ranges from 900-1300 degrees Celsius. These are conditions for diamond formation. Diamonds come to the earth’s surface via deep super volcanoes. It is possible for the earth’s mantle to create cracks in the crust from depths of 125 kilometers. Hot carbon dioxide creates enormous pressure that can violently explode similar to a champagne bottle being uncorked. The molten rock that rises to the surface as a result of this extreme explosion travels at the speed of sound. The diamonds are carried in this molten rock. The extreme speed of this explosion does not give the diamond the time required to transform into graphite the thermodynamically more stable form of carbon. Thus the diamond remains intact. When the volcanic cone cools the magma hardens into kimberlite. These super volcanoes are also called kimberlite pipelines. Diamond mines are located at the opening of these kimberlite pipes and often go to great depths in search of the valuable gemstone.

3D invisibility cloak unveiled

3D invisibility cloak unveiled: "Researchers hide a tiny bump from near-infrared light"

Transcription factors boost genetic differences to make individuals unique

Transcription factors boost genetic differences to make individuals unique: "

The 23,000 protein-coding genes in the human genome can help determine whether a person will have blond hair or black, flat feet or arched. But that's hardly the whole story behind the millions of tiny differences among people. Most of the genome is so-called noncoding DNA , whose role in determining individual differences is only just starting to be understood. [More]

"

Big question: Is Earth past the tipping point?

Big question: Is Earth past the tipping point?: "Scientists have set thresholds for nine key environmental processes that, if crossed, could threaten Earth's habitability. Ominously, three have already been exceeded."

Mastery of rare-earth elements vital to America's security

Mastery of rare-earth elements vital to America's security: "(DOE/Ames Laboratory) Used in everything from batteries to electric motors, rare-earth elements are vital to America's security, Karl A. Gschneidner Jr., a senior metallurgist at the US Department of Energy's Ames Laboratory, told members of the Investigations & Oversight Subcommittee of the House Committee on Science and Technology. Yet, the great majority of rare earth mining and production currently takes place in China."

Watermelon Juice May Be Next "Green" Fuel

Watermelon Juice May Be Next "Green" Fuel: "Step aside, corn: Another summertime picnic favorite might be the next big thing in ethanol production, a new study suggests.









"

How Can NOAA Help Explain Climate Change?

How Can NOAA Help Explain Climate Change?: "

Climate change is already happening, but scientists need to do a better job of getting that message to the public, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief Jane Lubchenco said Friday.

"I think scientists have seriously underestimated the importance of explaining what we know about climate change and climate variability in ways that are understandable to most people," Lubchenco told reporters in a wide-ranging interview to mark her first anniversary on the job.

[More]"

Mysterious 'dark flow' at the edge of the universe

Mysterious 'dark flow' at the edge of the universe: "Could one of the universe's siblings be tugging at its sleeves?"

Fruit flies and test tubes open new window on Alzheimer's disease

Fruit flies and test tubes open new window on Alzheimer's disease: "(Public Library of Science) A team of scientists from Cambridge and Sweden have discovered a molecule that can prevent a toxic protein involved in Alzheimer's disease from building up in the brain."

3-D cell culture: Making cells feel right at home

3-D cell culture: Making cells feel right at home: "(Rice University) Research in this week's Nature Nanotechnology takes aim at a biological icon: the two-dimensional petri dish. Scientists from Rice University and the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center have found a simple way to suspend cells in magnetic fields so they grow into three-dimensional cell cultures. Compared with flat cell cultures, the 3-D cell cultures more closely resemble real tissues from the body and should provide more realistic targets for testing new drugs."
-Mr. Gorman

CO2 at new highs despite economic slowdown

CO2 at new highs despite economic slowdown: "

By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent

OSLO (Reuters) - Levels of the main greenhouse gas in the atmosphere have risen to new highs in 2010 despite an economic slowdown in many nations that braked industrial output, data showed Monday. [More]"

- Mr. Gorman

Fixing the Global Nitrogen Problem (preview)

Fixing the Global Nitrogen Problem (preview): "

Billions of people today owe their lives to a single discovery now a century old. In 1909 German chemist Fritz Haber of the University of Karlsruhe figured out a way to transform nitrogen gas--which is abundant in the atmosphere but nonreactive and thus unavailable to most living organisms--into ammonia, the active ingredient in synthetic fertilizer. The world’s ability to grow food exploded 20 years later, when fellow German scientist Carl Bosch developed a scheme for implementing Haber’s idea on an industrial scale.

Over the ensuing decades new factories transformed ton after ton of industrial ammonia into fertilizer, and today the Haber-Bosch invention commands wide respect as one of the most significant boons to public health in human history. As a pillar of the green revolution, synthetic fertilizer enabled farmers to transform infertile lands into fertile fields and to grow crop after crop in the same soil without waiting for nutrients to regenerate naturally. As a result, global population skyrocketed from 1.6 billion to six billion in the 20th century.

[More]"
- Mr. Gorman

What the small-brained hobbit reveals about primate evolution

What the small-brained hobbit reveals about primate evolution: "

Is bigger always better? When it comes to brain size, that has long been the prevailing theory--at least among big-brained humans . But a new analysis shows that in the course of primate evolution, brains and brawn haven't always been on the rise. [More]"

- Mr. Gorman

New research rejects 80-year theory of 'primordial soup' as the origin of life

New research rejects 80-year theory of 'primordial soup' as the origin of life: "(Wiley-Blackwell) For 80 years it has been accepted that early life began in a 'primordial soup' of organic molecules before evolving out of the oceans millions of years later. Today the 'soup' theory has been over turned in a pioneering paper in BioEssays which claims it was the Earth's chemical energy, from hydrothermal vents on the ocean floor, which kick-started early life."
- Mr. Gorman

Physicists watch entropy in action

Physicists watch entropy in action: "Cluster formation ruled by rotational and vibrational symmetry"
- Mr. Gorman

Old star is 'missing link' in galactic evolution

Old star is 'missing link' in galactic evolution: "(Carnegie Institution) A newly discovered star outside the Milky Way has yielded important clues about the evolution of our galaxy. Located in the dwarf galaxy Sculptor some 280,000 light-years away, the star has a chemical make-up similar to the Milky Way's oldest stars, supporting theories that our galaxy grew by absorbing dwarf galaxies and other galactic building blocks."
- Mr. Gorman

Galaxy study backs general relativity

Galaxy study backs general relativity: "Future is bright for the dark sector"

This is a great article with many good comments from experts in the field. just think about it, Einstein figured all of this stuff out using his imagination with the science & math he know over 100 years ago. - Mr. Gorman

New Frog Found—Has "Striking" Color Change

New Frog Found—Has "Striking" Color Change: "The jungle species undergoes a 'striking' change from a black, yellow-spotted youngster to a peachy, blue-eyed adult, scientists say. "
- Mr. Gorman

Foiling an attack on general relativity

Foiling an attack on general relativity: "(DOE/Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory) In an attempt to explain away invisible dark matter and dark energy, some theorists have offered modified theories of gravity that try to improve on Einstein's General Theory of Relativity. A new study based on the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and inspired by the work of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory cosmologist Uros Seljak indicates that at least one of these alternate theories is wrong."
- Mr. Gorman

A golden bullet for cancer

A golden bullet for cancer: "(Washington University in St. Louis) Nanocages that efficiently convert light to heat are the basis for a targeted form of phototherapy that would destroy tumors without making cancer patients sick."
- Mr. Gorman

U of Minnesota researcher discovers how electricity moves through cells

U of Minnesota researcher discovers how electricity moves through cells: "(University of Minnesota) Researchers at the University of Minnesota have created a molecular image of a system that moves electrons between proteins in cells. The achievement is a breakthrough for biology and could provide insights to minimize energy loss in other systems, from nanoscale devices to moving electricity around the country."
- Mr. Gorman

A New Spin on Conductivity: Electric Signals Can Propagate through an Insulator

A New Spin on Conductivity: Electric Signals Can Propagate through an Insulator: "

An electric insulator, in the simplest terms, blocks the flow of electric current. So it would be a bit counter intuitive, to say the least, if a current on one side of an insulator could produce voltage on the other. [More]"

- Mr. Gorman

Lithium-ion anode uses self-assembled nanocomposite materials to increase capacity

Lithium-ion anode uses self-assembled nanocomposite materials to increase capacity: "(Georgia Institute of Technology Research News) A new high-performance anode structure based on silicon-carbon nanocomposite materials could significantly improve the performance of lithium-ion batteries used in a wide range of applications from hybrid vehicles to portable electronics."

-Mr. Gorman

Chemical element 112 is named 'Copernicium'

Time to update those periodic tables. Element 112 now has "real" name. - Mr. Gorman

Chemical element 112 is named 'Copernicium': "(Helmholtz Association of German Research Centres) The heaviest recognized chemical element with the atomic number 112 was discovered at the GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung and -- since February 19, 2010, -- officially carries the name copernicium and the chemical symbol 'Cn'. The name was approved and officially announced today by the international union for chemistry IUPAC. The name 'Copernicium' honors scientist and astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus."

Molecular attraction keeps asteroids together

Ever wonder what makes dust bunnies form? Turns out to be the same force that creates small asteroids. Check out this new research and find out the answer. - Mr. Gorman

Molecular attraction keeps asteroids together: "Dust particles hold on by van der Waals forces"

Researchers determine how ATP, molecule bearing 'the fuel of life,' is broken down in cells

Here is another case where water is proven to be a great way to harness energy. - Mr. Gorman

Researchers determine how ATP, molecule bearing 'the fuel of life,' is broken down in cells: "(American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology) Researchers at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center have figured out how ATP is broken down in cells, providing for the first time a clear picture of the key reaction that allows cells in all living things to function and flourish. Discovered some 80 years ago, adenosine triphosphate is said to be second in biological importance only to DNA."

Shift happens: Will artificial photosynthesis power the world?

A cool approach to solar power inspired by our green friends, plants. Click the link for the full article. - Mr. Gorman

Shift happens: Will artificial photosynthesis power the world?: "

One drinking- water bottle could provide enough energy for an entire household in the developing world if Dan Nocera has his way. A chemist from M.I.T. and founder of the company Sun Catalytix, Nocera has developed a cobalt-based catalyst that allows him to store energy the same way plants do: by splitting water. [More]

Neural Pharmacology Interactive Site

Have you ever wondered how drugs affect the brain?
Go to Mouse Party at
http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/addiction/drugs/mouse/html
Learn about the exact pharmacological affects of different drugs at the neural synaptic level.

Fuel Efficient Cars

Consumer Reports has tested numerous vehicles and has compiled the following list of the most fuel efficient cars:
#1 Toyota Prius IV, overall 44 MPG
#2 Smart For Two Passion, overall 39 MPG
#3 Honda Insight EX, overall 38 MPG
#4 Volkswagon Golf TDI (manual), overall 38 MPG
#5 Honda Civic Hybrid, overall 37 MPG
#6 Toyota Camry Hybrid, overall 34 MPG
#7 Ford Fusion Hybrid, overall 34 MPG
#8 Scion xD (manual), overall 34 MPG
#9 Mini Cooper (base, manual), overall 33 MPG
#10 Honda Fit Sport (manual), overall 33 MPG
#11 Volkswagon Jetta TDI, overall 33 MPG

Share your experience with any of these cars. Are there better ones on the market that did not make Consumer Reports top 11 list?