science newsletter: Science News SciGuru.com

Πέμπτη 2 Αυγούστου 2012

Science News SciGuru.com

Brain imaging can predict how intelligent you are, study finds
Controlling Gene Expression with Hydrogen Peroxide “Switches”
Worldwide increase of air pollution
Forget blizzards and hurricanes, heat waves are to die for
Wrinkled surfaces could have widespread applications

Brain imaging can predict how intelligent you are, study finds

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 07:10 AM PDT

When it comes to intelligence, what factors distinguish the brains of exceptionally smart humans from those of average humans?

As science has long suspected, overall brain size matters somewhat, accounting for about 6.7 percent of individual variation in intelligence. More recent research has pinpointed the brain’s lateral prefrontal cortex, a region just behind the temple, as a critical hub for high-level mental processing, with activity levels there predicting another 5 percent of variation in individual intelligence.

Controlling Gene Expression with Hydrogen Peroxide “Switches”

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 06:57 AM PDT

Hydrogen peroxide doesn’t just come in bottles from the drugstore – the human body makes it as well. Now researchers from North Carolina State University have found a way to use naturally occurring hydrogen peroxide inside cells to switch on gene expression. Their method also serves as a highly sensitive hydrogen peroxide detector, which may help scientists determine the molecule’s role in cellular health and disease.

Worldwide increase of air pollution

Posted: 02 Aug 2012 06:51 AM PDT

Hot summer days cause in large cities very seldom great happiness among inhabitants. On those days the air is highly polluted with automobile and industrial emissions what makes breathing difficult and unhealthy. According to the latest calculations of Max Planck scientist Andrea Pozzer this scenario could become true for most of world population in 2050 if no counteractive measures are taken. Especially China, North India and the Middle East are expected to be affected by a drastic decrease in air quality.

Forget blizzards and hurricanes, heat waves are to die for

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 11:09 AM PDT

In the pantheon of deadly weather events, heat waves rule.

When it comes to gnarly weather, tornadoes, blizzards and hurricanes seem to get most of our attention, perhaps because their destructive power makes for imagery the media can't ignore. But for sheer killing power, heat waves do in far more people than even the most devastating hurricane. Ask medical historian Richard Keller.

Wrinkled surfaces could have widespread applications

Posted: 01 Aug 2012 08:53 AM PDT

The wrinkles on a raisin result from a simple effect: As the pulp inside dries, the skin grows stiff and buckles to accommodate its shrinking size. Now, a team of researchers at MIT has discovered a way to harness that same principle in a controlled and orderly way, creating wrinkled surfaces with precise sizes and patterns.