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[News] First Aquarium in US to Breed Dwarf Cuttlefish

Moontanman — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 00:06:00 GMT

First Aquarium in US to Breed Dwarf Cuttlefish
ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2009) � Anchored to an algae-covered rock in a 120-gallon tank at the California Academy of Sciences' Steinhart Aquarium, a cluster of inky-colored cuttlefish eggs is beginning to swell -- evidence of success for the Academy's new captive breeding program for dwarf cuttlefish, Sepia bandensis. The program, pioneered by Academy biologist Richard Ross, is the first of its kind in a U.S. aquarium, and offers the Academy and other institutions the opportunity to study and display a species that is both captivating and -- at 2-4 inches in length -- less resource-intensive to keep than its larger relatives.

First aquarium in US to breed dwarf cuttlefish

[News] Cognitive Dysfunction Reversed in Mouse Model of Down Syndrome

Moontanman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:57:29 GMT

Cognitive Dysfunction Reversed in Mouse Model of Down Syndrome
ScienceDaily (Nov. 19, 2009) � At birth, children with Down syndrome aren't developmentally delayed. But as they age, these kids fall behind. Memory deficits inherent in Down syndrome hinder learning, making it hard for the brain to collect experiences needed for normal cognitive development.

Cognitive dysfunction reversed in mouse model of Down syndrome

[News] Paleontologists Find Extinction Rates Higher in Open-Ocean Settings During Mass Extin

Moontanman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:47:07 GMT

Paleontologists Find Extinction Rates Higher in Open-Ocean Settings During Mass Extinctions
ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2009) � For many years, paleobiological researchers interested in the history of biodiversity have focused on charting the many ups (evolutionary radiations) and downs (mass extinctions) that punctuate the history of life. Because the preserved record of marine (sea-dwelling) animals is unusually extensive in comparison, say, to that of terrestrial animals such as dinosaurs, it's been easier to accurately calibrate the diversity and extinction records of marine organisms.

Paleontologists find extinction rates higher in open-ocean settings during mass extinctions

[News] Cigarettes Harbor Many Pathogenic Bacteria

Moontanman — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:34:45 GMT

Cigarettes Harbor Many Pathogenic Bacteria
ScienceDaily (Nov. 20, 2009) � Cigarettes are "widely contaminated" with bacteria, including some known to cause disease in people, concludes a new international study conducted by a University of Maryland environmental health researcher and microbial ecologists at the Ecole Centrale de Lyon in France.

Cigarettes harbor many pathogenic bacteria

[News] Advanced Nuclear Fuel Sets Global Performance Record

Moontanman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:48:06 GMT

Advanced Nuclear Fuel Sets Global Performance Record
ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2009) � Idaho National Laboratory (INL) scientists have set a new world record with next-generation particle fuel for use in high temperature gas reactors (HTGRs).

Advanced nuclear fuel sets global performance record

[News] Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes to Brains

Moontanman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 23:39:20 GMT

Bigger Not Necessarily Better, When It Comes to Brains
ScienceDaily (Nov. 18, 2009) � Tiny insects could be as intelligent as much bigger animals, despite only having a brain the size of a pinhead, say scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.

Bigger not necessarily better, when it comes to brains

Laser-assisted Ink-jet Technology for High-speed Printing of Fine Wiring

C1ay — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:14:19 GMT

Jun Akedo (Principal Research Scientist and concurrently Leader of the Integration Process Technology Group) and Akito Endo (Post-Doctoral Research Scientist), the Advanced Manufacturing Research Institute (Director: Norimitsu Murayama) of the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) (President: Tamotsu Nomakuchi) have succeeded in developing a high-speed printing technology that involves laser irradiation during ink-jet printing. The line width is scaled down while the line thickness is increased. Fine conductor patterns less than 10 �m in line width are successfully printed at a speed of 10 mm/sec without reprinting and with an aspect ratio (thickness/width) higher than unity. This is what has been difficult to be realized using existing industrial ink-jet technologies. It is confirmed that our newly invented laser-assisted ink-jet printing (LIJ) technology can print thin wires with a high aspect ratio by using ultrafine metal particle ink on various types of substrates regardless of substrate surface conditions such as steps of up to several hundred �m, material and roughness.

The wire (10 �m in line width) produced by the LIJ technology has a resistance per unit length of as low as 6 Ω/cm due to the high aspect ratio. This is a great improvement over the existing industrial ink-jet printing technologies using ultrafine metal particle ink where the interconnection resistance would typically be 70 Ω/cm for a line width of 10 �m.

Using the developed technology, low-resistance wires can be printed at high speed for the interposers between chips and a main board, wiring on flexible resin members, step connections between metal parts, and high-density wiring on curved surfaces. The technology will greatly improve the efficiency of development and production of microelectronic devices.

More at AIST...

�Magnetricity� observed and measured for the first time

C1ay — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 13:09:11 GMT

A magnetic charge can behave and interact just like an electric charge in some materials, according to new research led by the London Centre for Nanotechnology (LCN) which could lead to a reassessment of current magnetism theories, as well as significant technological advances.

The research, published today in Nature (1), proves the existence of atom-sized magnetic charges called �magnetic monopoles� that behave and interact just like more familiar electric charges. It also demonstrates a perfect symmetry between electricity and magnetism � a phenomenon dubbed �magnetricity' by the authors from the LCN and STFC�s ISIS Neutron and Muon Source .

In order to prove experimentally the existence of magnetic current for the first time, the team mapped Onsager's 1934 theory of the movement of ions in water onto magnetic currents in a material called spin ice. They then tested the theory by applying a magnetic field to a spin ice sample at a very low temperature and observing the process using muon relaxation at ISIS, a technique which acts as a super microscope allowing researchers to understand the world around us at the atomic level.

More at the London Centre for Nanotechnology...

[News] NASA Reproduces A Building Block Of Life In Laboratory

Galapagos — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:30:46 GMT

ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) � NASA scientists studying the origin of life have reproduced uracil, a key component of our hereditary material, in the laboratory. They discovered that an ice sample containing pyrimidine exposed to ultraviolet radiation under space-like conditions produces this essential ingredient of life.

NASA Reproduces A Building Block Of Life In Laboratory

Key Differences In How Human And Chimp Versions Of FOXP2 Gene Work

Galapagos — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:29:47 GMT

ScienceDaily (Nov. 12, 2009) � If humans are genetically related to chimps, why did our brains develop the innate ability for language and speech while theirs did not?

Scientists suspect that part of the answer to the mystery lies in a gene called FOXP2. When mutated, FOXP2 can disrupt speech and language in humans. Now, a UCLA/Emory study reveals major differences between how the human and chimp versions of FOXP2 work, perhaps explaining why language is unique to humans.

Why Can't Chimps Speak? Key Differences In How Human And Chimp Versions Of FOXP2 Gene Work

[News] The Labyrinth Aquarium - we're a bit lost

Moontanman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:58:21 GMT

The Labyrinth Aquarium - we're a bit lost

We�ve shown you the washbasin aquarium, a fish-n-flush toilet and some designer wall-mounted fish tanks. Now there's the Labyrinth Aquarium - a maze of interconnecting aquarium bowls with which to confuse your fishy friends and bemuse your human ones.

The Labyrinth Aquarium - we're a bit lost

[News] Will E.T. Look Like Us?

Moontanman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:33:54 GMT

Will E.T. Look Like Us?
Evolution helps us imagine what aliens might be like

What are the odds that intelligent, technically advanced aliens would look anything like the ones in films, with an emaciated torso and limbs, spindly fingers and a bulbous, bald head with large, almond-shaped eyes? What are the odds that they would even be humanoid? In a YouTube video, produced by Josh Timonen of the Richard Dawkins Foundation for Reason and Science, I argue that the chances are close to zero (

YouTube - Aliens

). Richard Dawkins himself made this interesting observation in a private communication after viewing it:

Will E.T. Look Like Us?: Scientific American

[News] Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Restores Walking Ability In Rats With Neck Injuries

Moontanman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:24:14 GMT

Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Restores Walking Ability In Rats With Neck Injuries
ScienceDaily (Nov. 10, 2009) � The first human embryonic stem cell treatment approved by the FDA for human testing has been shown to restore limb function in rats with neck spinal cord injuries -- a finding that could expand the clinical trial to include people with cervical damage.

Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy Restores Walking Ability In Rats With Neck Injuries

[News] Laboratory-Grown Replacement Of Penile Erectile Tissue In Animals Suggests Potential

Moontanman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 20:01:36 GMT

Laboratory-Grown Replacement Of Penile Erectile Tissue In Animals Suggests Potential To Benefit Patients
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) � In an advance that could one day enable surgeons to reconstruct and restore function to damaged or diseased penile tissue in humans, researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center's Institute for Regenerative Medicine have used tissue engineering techniques to completely replace penile erectile tissue in animals.

Laboratory-Grown Replacement Of Penile Erectile Tissue In Animals Suggests Potential To Benefit Patients

[News] Controversial New Climate Change Data: Is Earth's Capacity To Absorb CO2 Much Greater

Moontanman — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:32:40 GMT

Controversial New Climate Change Data: Is Earth's Capacity To Absorb CO2 Much Greater Than Expected?

ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2009) � New data show that the balance between the airborne and the absorbed fraction of carbon dioxide has stayed approximately constant since 1850, despite emissions of carbon dioxide having risen from about 2 billion tons a year in 1850 to 35 billion tons a year now.

Controversial New Climate Change Data: Is Earth's Capacity To Absorb CO₂ Much Greater Than Expected?