science

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>

Supercomputers Supercharge Research

Scientists with big questions to benefit more from DOE's two behemoths

(Newser) - It's easier than ever before to get some quality time with one of the most powerful computers on Earth. The Department of Energy has increased the performance of two of its supercomputers more than fivefold, making 900 million processor-hours available to scientists, reports Wired. Expect that boost to lead to...

All Flu Is Bird Flu: Scientists
 All Flu Is Bird Flu: Scientists 
ANALYSIS

All Flu Is Bird Flu: Scientists

... even swine flu

(Newser) - People, pigs, and birds aren’t alone in their influenza woes. Horses, whales, and seals catch the virus, but scientists think all flu is actually avian flu, explains Brian Palmer in Slate. Birds carry each of the 144 types of influenza, which is able to jump species by mutating to...

New Super-Corn Packs Multi-Vitamins

Transgenic crop has increased amounts of beta carotene, folate and vitamin C

(Newser) - Scientists have genetically engineered a strain of corn that dramatically boosts the naturally occurring amounts of three critical vitamins, the Los Angeles Times reports. The enhanced strain of African white corn produces six times the vitamin C, double the amount of folate, and 169 times the beta carotene, a vitamin...

Scientists Build a Better Web—by Adding Metal

(Newser) - Scientists have combined spider silk with metal atoms to boost web strands' already-phenomenal strength, reports Ars Technica. The breakthrough experiment advances the science of creating ever-stronger materials, as well discovering a successful method to bond metal to biological material. Experiments are already under way to make chicken eggs stronger.

After 4 Decades, Physicist Solves Mystery of Moon Dust

After decades of wondering, Aussie explains its stickiness

(Newser) - Moon dust has been a “bloody nuisance” to NASA for decades, says a physicist: it sticks to spacesuits, clogs instruments, and could be a health risk for future colonists. Scientists believe the stickiness is due to a positive charge from the sun’s rays, NASA says. Now the physicist,...

Do Cougars Really Spawn a Brighter Brood?
Do Cougars Really Spawn
a Brighter Brood?
GLOSSIES

Do Cougars Really Spawn a Brighter Brood?

(Newser) - "At last, science has produced the case for cougars," writes Emily Nussbaum in New York. A study analyzing more than 50,000 pregnant women found that older fathers produce progeny that score lower on concentration, memory, and learning tests. Older mothers, on the other hand, are associated with...

Math Geeks, Unite! It's Pi Day
 Math Geeks, Unite! It's Pi Day 

Math Geeks, Unite! It's Pi Day

Today's date matches the digits of the math figure

(Newser) - Circle enthusiasts of America, rejoice: Today is Pi Day, when the digits that make up the date, 3/14, match the first digits of pi, the ratio of a circle’s diameter to its circumference. The particularly passionate can celebrate pi second at 1:59:26, Scientific American reports—when aligned...

Scientists Admit Why They Steal

(Newser) - Scientists suspected of plagiarism have answered questionnaires explaining why they did it, USA Today reports. After researchers found that 1 in 200 papers is a rip-off, they contacted about 160 alleged thieves for explanations. "Over time, the responses just got crazier and crazier," said one researcher. "There's...

Crash Ends Mission to Track Global Warming

Rocket carrying satellite ends up in ocean, sinking $280M project

(Newser) - A rocket carrying a NASA satellite crashed near Antarctica after a failed launch early yesterday, ending a $280 million mission to track global warming from space. The rocket carrying the Orbiting Carbon Observatory blasted off just before 2am from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. But minutes later a cover protecting...

Obama Will Lift Stem Cell Ban Soon: Adviser

Reverse of Bush edict would make good on campaign promise

(Newser) - President Obama is currently considering overturning the limits on federal funding for stem cell research, senior adviser David Axelrod said today. The move would make good on a campaign promise, and be in keeping with Obama's inaugural message of bringing American science back to prominence. Scientists say unfettered research could...

Child's Death Pushed Darwin to Share Work

Biographers think Annie's passing emboldened naturalist

(Newser) - In honor of Charles Darwin’s 200th birthday, NPR takes a look at a lingering mystery: Why did the naturalist, who most likely came up with the idea of evolution around the age of 30, not publish his theory for another 21 years? Some say he was trying to gather...

Color Me Productive: Red Boosts Focus, Study Finds

Blue, meanwhile, looks to enhance our creativity

(Newser) - The color red boosts performance on detail-oriented work, while blue enhances creativity, Wired reports. A new study primed subjects with the colors before assigning them different tasks, and the results appear to confirm previous research that links red to caution and attention. “Think about red, and what comes to...

Schools Cutting Cursive as Computers Prevail

Penmanship takes a backseat to science, reading instruction

(Newser) - Cursive may become a thing of the past as schools pressed for time focus their attention on science and reading, the Indianapolis Star reports. Cursive is still widely taught, but the emphasis has shifted from writing beautifully to writing efficiently as wider use of computers has also edged out cursive’...

Scientists Teleport Data on Tiny Scale

Send information between atoms a meter apart

(Newser) - It’s not quite worthy of the Starship Enterprise, but Maryland scientists have managed to teleport data on an atomic scale, LiveScience reports. The researchers transmitted information between atoms a meter apart without the data actually crossing that space—a development that could help create speedy quantum computers and highly...

As Temperatures Rise, West's Trees Dying Faster

New study paints dire picture for US forests which are releasing carbon dioxide—not storing it

(Newser) - America’s trees are dying at an alarming rate in the nation's western forests, a new study says. Death rates have more than doubled over the last two to three decades, Time reports, even in seemingly healthy locales. All types and sizes of trees, and at all elevations, have been...

Pacific Salmon Face Uncertain Tides

Oceanic changes doomed '08 crop, but scientists can't agree on what caused them

(Newser) - West Coast fisheries has seen a 90% drop in salmon spawn since 2004, and while many blame rivers degraded by dams and diversions, some experts believe the problem has been pushed out to sea, reports Salon. Wind direction and water temperature have changed, bringing less food to the ocean’s...

Legal or Not, Bottled Smarts Are Here to Stay
Legal or Not, Bottled Smarts Are Here to Stay
GLOSSIES

Legal or Not, Bottled Smarts Are Here to Stay

Safer, cheaper drugs will quell dissidents, scientists argue

(Newser) - The case is stacking up in favor of "smart pills," memory- and alertness-boosting prescription drugs already used by fighter pilots, corporate execs, and students for a cognitive edge, writes Maia Szalavitz in Time. Proponents say legalization debates are moot at this point—"the genie is already out...

Gene Discovery Raises Breast Cancer Hopes

Targeted therapy may prevent lethal spread, researchers say

(Newser) - Researchers have singled out a gene that spreads breast cancer and makes it chemo-resistant, raising the prospect of drug therapy that localizes the disease and improves survival rates, the Baltimore Sun reports. Scientists believe that metadherin, or MTDH—found in 40% of the breast cancer patients studied—makes tumor cells...

Obama Gets Knocked for Bad Science
Obama Gets
Knocked for
Bad Science

Obama Gets Knocked for Bad Science

Group also zings Cruise, Oprah, McCain for scientific flubs

(Newser) - He’s about to lead the free world, but Barack Obama’s a little fuzzy on science, says a group that put the president-elect—along with John McCain, Tom Cruise, Oprah, and many others—on its celebrity list of shame. Obama’s offense? Suggesting that rising autism rates could be...

Blind Man Walks Obstacle Course Using 'Blindsight'

(Newser) - A blind man has surprised scientists by walking an obstacle course with the strange power of "blindsight," the Times of London reports. The man, blinded by brain-damaging strokes, cleanly walked the course without using a cane. He had already baffled experts by reacting to people's facial expressions. “...

Stories 241 - 260 | << Prev   Next >>