- May 25, 2013
- 04:37 PM
- 1 view
Is Nature Unnatural?
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
Decades of confounding experiments have physicists considering a startling possibility: The universe might not make sense.... Read more »
Natalie Wolchover. (2013) Is Nature Unnatural?. Simons Foundation. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 03:45 PM
- 2 views
Waiting for the Revolution
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
An interview with the Nobel Prize-winning physicist David J. Gross.... Read more »
Peter Byrne. (2013) Waiting for the Revolution. Simons Foundation. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 02:12 PM
- 7 views
Astronomers Measure the Elusive Extragalactic Background Light
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
If all the light emitted by all galaxies in the observable universe at all wavelengths during all of cosmic history were known, it would clue astronomers about the entire history of galaxy formation and evolution, and provide insights to key aspects of the expansion history of the universe.... Read more »
Iqbal Pittalwala. (2013) Astronomers Measure the Elusive Extragalactic Background Light. UC Riverside Today. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 12:33 PM
- 5 views
Intrinsic decoherence observed again!
by Marco Frasca in The Gauge Connection
Decoherence is the effect that causes a quantum system to behave classically. The most known of this kind of effects is due to environment where the interaction of an open quantum system with its surrounding is the reason for the loss of quantum coherence. This effect is well-proven on an experimental ground and must be considered […]... Read more »
Bryce Gadway, Jeremy Reeves, Ludwig Krinner, & Dominik Schneble. (2012) Evidence for a Quantum-to-Classical Transition in a Pair of Coupled Quantum Rotors. Phys. Rev. Lett. 110, 190401 (2013). arXiv: 1203.3177v2
Adachi, S., Toda, M., & Ikeda, K. (1988) Quantum-Classical Correspondence in Many-Dimensional Quantum Chaos. Physical Review Letters, 61(6), 659-661. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.61.659
- May 25, 2013
- 11:40 AM
- 6 views
Get the Science Right: Autism vs Vaccines Flares On
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
The reaction was swift, both times. In 1998, British scientist Andrew Wakefield published a paper in Lancet, showing that vaccines could result in autism. Alarmed parents looked at vaccines with suspicion—many kept their children from being vaccinated, which may have helped spark a measles outbreak or two. Then, in 2010, Lancet retracted the paper, and Wakefield eventually had his medical license revoked. But the controversy continues... Read more »
DeStefano, F., Price, C., & Weintraub, E. (2013) Increasing Exposure to Antibody-Stimulating Proteins and Polysaccharides in Vaccines Is Not Associated with Risk of Autism. The Journal of Pediatrics. DOI: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2013.02.001
- May 25, 2013
- 09:49 AM
- 6 views
This Month in Blastocystis Research
by Christen Rune Stensvold in Blastocystis Parasite Blog
This Month in Blastocystis Research is a bit meagre, but here's a chance to listen to a 1h related Blastocystis case story podcast...
... Read more »
Sakalar C, Uyar Y, Yürürdurmaz MA, Tokar S, Yeşilkaya H, Gürbüz E, Kuk S, & Yazar S. (2013) [Cloning of Blastocystis sp Subtype 3 Small-subunit Ribosomal DNA]. Turkiye parazitolojii dergisi / Turkiye Parazitoloji Dernegi , 37(1), 13-8. PMID: 23619039
Ozyurt M, Kurt O, Mølbak K, Nielsen HV, Haznedaroglu T, & Stensvold CR. (2008) Molecular epidemiology of Blastocystis infections in Turkey. Parasitology international, 57(3), 300-6. PMID: 18337161
- May 25, 2013
- 07:31 AM
- 9 views
Accurate Distance Measurement Resolves Major Astronomical Mystery
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The researchers used the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) and the European VLBI Network (EVN) to precisely locate one of the most-observed variable-star systems in the sky — a double-star system called SS Cygni — at 370 light-years from Earth. This new distance measurement meant that an explanation for the system’s regular outbursts that applies to similar pairs also applies to SS Cygni.... Read more »
Dave Finley. (2013) Accurate Distance Measurement Resolves Major Astronomical Mystery. National Radio Astronomy Observatory. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 05:36 AM
- 10 views
The well-qualified amateur who threw the spotlight back on CO2
by Andy Extance in Simple Climate
75 years ago Guy Callendar revealed calculations and temperature measurements linking rising 20th century temperatures to burning fossil fuels, helping to lay the foundations for understanding the global warming that is still ongoing today.... Read more »
Callendar, G. (1938) The artificial production of carbon dioxide and its influence on temperature. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society, 64(275), 223-240. DOI: 10.1002/qj.49706427503
Ed Hawkins and Phil D. Jones. (2013) On increasing global temperatures: 75 years after Callendar. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society. info:/
- May 25, 2013
- 04:59 AM
- 12 views
‘Quantum microscope’ peers into the hydrogen atom
by Perikis Livas in Tracing Knowledge
The first direct observation of the orbital structure of an excited hydrogen atom has been made by an international team of researchers. The observation was made using a newly developed “quantum microscope”, which uses photoionization microscopy to visualize the structure directly. The team’s demonstration proves that “photoionization microscopy”, which was first proposed more than 30 years ago, can be experimentally realized and can serve as a tool to explore the s........ Read more »
Tushna Commissariat. (2013) 'Quantum microscope' peers into the hydrogen atom. physicsworld.com. info:/
- May 24, 2013
- 11:30 PM
- 15 views
Computer science on prediction and the edge of chaos
by Artem Kaznatcheev in Evolutionary Games Group
With the development of statistical mechanics, physicists became the first agent-based modellers. Since the scientists of the 19th century didn’t have super-computers, they couldn’t succumb to the curse of computing and had to come up with analytic treatments of their “agent-based models”. These analytic treatments were often not rigorous, and only a heuristic correspondence was […]... Read more »
Chazelle, B. (2012) Natural algorithms and influence systems. Communications of the ACM, 55(12), 101. DOI: 10.1145/2380656.2380679
- May 24, 2013
- 09:11 PM
- 20 views
What music do dogs prefer? Bach vs. Snoop Dogg
by Cobb & Hecht in Do You Believe In Dog?
Hey Julie,I hope you've had a fun week. I saw a new in-press publication with your name on it - "Smelling more or less: Investigating the olfactory experience of the domestic dog" - looks like a really great study, and so timely after my last post about dogs and olfactory enrichment! Looking forward to reading it (and all those other cool Learning and Motivation articles) over the weekend. So did you do your homework? Did you watch this clip from the Sydney Opera H........ Read more »
Kogan Lori R., Schoenfeld-Tacher Regina, & Simon Allen A. (2012) Behavioral effects of auditory stimulation on kenneled dogs. Journal of Veterinary Behavior: Clinical Applications and Research, 7(5), 268-275. DOI: 10.1016/j.jveb.2011.11.002
Wells D, Graham L, & Hepper P. (2002) The influence of auditory stimulation on the behaviour of dogs housed in a rescue shelter. Animal Welfare, 11(4), 385-393. http://www.ufaw.org.uk/v11main.php
- May 24, 2013
- 04:18 PM
- 34 views
Three Ways to Fight Back Against Daytime Sleepiness
by Shawn Radcliffe in Branáin
If you are dealing with excessive daytime sleepiness, gain an extra boost of alertness with tips from these recent research studies.... Read more »
Reid, K., Baron, K., Lu, B., Naylor, E., Wolfe, L., & Zee, P. (2010) Aerobic exercise improves self-reported sleep and quality of life in older adults with insomnia. Sleep Medicine, 11(9), 934-940. DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2010.04.014
- May 24, 2013
- 02:50 PM
- 20 views
A mutation leads to phenomenal effect
by Ragothamanyennamalli in Getting to know Structural Bioinformatics
A point mutation in a gene leads to a phenomenal effect on the phenotype. It is a classic Biochemistry textbook case study, Sickle Cell Anemia. The mutant hemoglobin has a Valine instead of the Glutamic acid. The change is highly observable in the form of a debilitating condition. But, not all point mutations in the protein sequence are debilitating, and sometimes they give rise to something spectacular. One such example is the White Tiger, frequently mistaken as an albino. The recent publicatio........ Read more »
Xu, X., Dong, G., Hu, X., Miao, L., Zhang, X., Zhang, D., Yang, H., Zhang, T., Zou, Z., Zhang, T.... (2013) The Genetic Basis of White Tigers. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.054
- May 24, 2013
- 12:26 PM
- 39 views
People with higher IQ have the ability to get rid of distractions
by Usman Paracha in SayPeople
Main Point:
Researchers have found that people with higher IQ have the ability to get rid of large non-essential background information i.e. distraction. Moreover, they can detect small moving objects.
Published in:
Current Biology
Study Further:
In the study, researchers showed the short video clips of black and white bars to the 53 people, who were also tested for intelligence. The bars were moving across the screen, where some clips were small present in the center of the scree........ Read more »
Melnick, M., Harrison, B., Park, S., Bennetto, L., & Tadin, D. (2013) A Strong Interactive Link between Sensory Discriminations and Intelligence. Current Biology. DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2013.04.053
- May 24, 2013
- 11:06 AM
- 7 views
A Little News, Two Approximations, And A Few Graphical Derivatives To Go With Your Coffee
by Hamilton Carter in Copasetic Flow
Good Morning! While drinking my coffee after getting a full night's sleep, (hooray for happily sleeping seven month olds!!!), I came across a cute little satellite and some useful approximations.ESTCUBE 1The Estonian University of Tartu has successfully placed a student built and student operated cubesat into orbit. The satellite will deploy an electrodynamic tether and test the ability of the device to propel the space craft by exploiting the force between the electric charge p........ Read more »
Jones Preston, Muñoz Gerardo, Ragsdale Michael, & Singleton Douglas. (2008) The general relativistic infinite plane. American Journal of Physics, 76(1), 73. DOI: 10.1119/1.2800354
- May 24, 2013
- 10:07 AM
- 32 views
Ants Reveal How to Build a Tunnel You Can't Fall Down
by Elizabeth Preston in Inkfish
It's hard to keep your footing in a steep tunnel made of loose dirt while others are scrambling around and over your body. Harder still in pitch blackness. That's why fire ants build tunnels that will catch them when they fall—a strategy human engineers might want to steal.
"Slips and missteps are likely a constant, recurring feature of life underground," says Nick Gravish, a graduate student in Daniel Goldman's rheology and biomechanics lab at Georgia Tech. Yet ants have to traverse their........ Read more »
Gravish, N., Monaenkova, D., Goodisman, M., & Goldman, D. (2013) Climbing, falling, and jamming during ant locomotion in confined environments. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1302428110
- May 24, 2013
- 09:40 AM
- 22 views
Fluke or Trend? ‘Calcium Causes Heart Disease’
by Alvin Lin in United Academics
Snap! Ouch! That’s from my head doing a double take. All these years, I thought the calcium vs heart disease thing was a conspiracy arranged by one researcher and publication. However, 3 months ago, I stumbled upon some corroborating studies by other researchers in other journals. Even the US Preventive Services Task Force recently came out against low dose calcium (less than 1,000mg/d) in post-menopausal women because they could not find conclusive evidence of benefit in the face of a ........ Read more »
Bolland, M., Grey, A., Avenell, A., Gamble, G., & Reid, I. (2011) Calcium supplements with or without vitamin D and risk of cardiovascular events: reanalysis of the Women's Health Initiative limited access dataset and meta-analysis. BMJ, 342(apr19 1). DOI: 10.1136/bmj.d2040
Langsetmo, L., Berger, C., Kreiger, N., Kovacs, C., Hanley, D., Jamal, S., Whiting, S., Genest, J., Morin, S., Hodsman, A.... (2013) Calcium and Vitamin D Intake and Mortality: Results from the Canadian Multicentre Osteoporosis Study (CaMos). Journal of Clinical Endocrinology . DOI: 10.1210/jc.2013-1516
- May 24, 2013
- 09:23 AM
- 19 views
Algae Can Cover One-Twelfth of U.S. Annual Fuel Consumption
by dailyfusion in The Daily Fusion
A new study shows that the U.S. land and water resources could likely support the growth of enough algae to produce up to 25 billion gallons (94.6 million m3) of algae-based renewable biodiesel a year.... Read more »
Venteris, E., Skaggs, R., Coleman, A., & Wigmosta, M. (2013) A GIS Cost Model to Assess the Availability of Freshwater, Seawater, and Saline Groundwater for Algal Biofuel Production in the United States. Environmental Science , 47(9), 4840-4849. DOI: 10.1021/es304135b
- May 24, 2013
- 09:20 AM
- 19 views
Potato Famine Sequenced
by Andrew Porterfield in United Academics
The Irish Famine (or “Great Potato Famine” if you live outside the Emerald Isle) killed one million people and forced another million to leave the country between 1845 and 1852. It was caused by a blight on the country’s main food stock—the Irish “Lumper” potato. Now, researchers have identified the genome of the blight behind the famine.... Read more »
Kentaro Yoshida, Verena J. Schuenemann, Liliana M. Cano, Marina Pais, Bagdevi Mishra, Rahul Sharma, Christa Lanz, Frank N. Martin, Sophien Kamoun, Johannes Krause.... (2013) The rise and fall of the Phytophthora infestans lineage that triggered the Irish potato famine. eLife. arXiv: 1305.4206v1
- May 24, 2013
- 09:05 AM
- 25 views
Status shifts in groups as extraverts disappoint and neurotics overdeliver
by Alex Fradera in BPS Occupational Digest
New research suggests that the higher status bestowed on extraverts in new groups may drop as their contributions become better understood. In the meantime, neurotic people may see their lower status improve.Corrine Bendersky and Neha Parikh Shah investigated this in two studies. The first examined how 44 student teams working on MBA assignments over 10 weeks attributed status and competence to individual members. One week after forming, each member was asked to rate the other 3 to 5 members' gr........ Read more »
Bendersky, C., & Shah, N. (2012) The Downfall of Extraverts and Rise of Neurotics: The Dynamic Process of Status Allocation in Task Groups. Academy of Management Journal, 56(2), 387-406. DOI: 10.5465/amj.2011.0316
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