Σάββατο 30 Νοεμβρίου 2013

ScienceDaily: Living Well News

ScienceDaily: Living Well News


Food fight or exercise attack?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:16 AM PST

Experts offer two ways to battle the holiday bulge.

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News

ScienceDaily: Most Popular News


Do black holes come in size medium?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 06:11 PM PST

Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun -- or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is busy scrutinizing a class of black holes that may fall into the proposed medium-sized category.

Controversy over use of Roman ingots to investigate dark matter, neutrinos

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:19 AM PST

The properties of lead bricks recovered from ancient shipwrecks are ideal for experiments in particle physics. Scientists have begun to use them, but archaeologists have raised alarm about the destruction and trading of cultural heritage that lies behind this.

The more the better: Polyandry in salamanders

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

New research shows the impact of polyandry on reproductive success in fire salamanders.

Mitochondria separate their waste

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

Cellular power plants collect and break down damaged molecules in order to protect themselves from harmful substances, research shows. Up to now, it was unclear whether this housekeeping work involves sorting out defective proteins when they digest mitochondria. Researchers have now discovered that the proteins are sorted out during the constant fusion and fission of mitochondria.

Telescope to track space junk using youth radio station

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

A combination of pop songs, talkback radio and cutting-edge science has enabled Australian astronomers to identify a way to prevent catastrophic, multi-billion dollar space junk collisions, a new study has revealed.

Electricity generated from weight of traffic and pedestrians

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:17 AM PST

New technology integrates a ramp-step (elaborated with polymeric material similar to the ones used in the manufacture of tires) that elevates to five centimeters above the level of the street. When receiving the impact of a vehicle, this ramp exerts pressure on a set of bellows below. The bellows contain air that is expelled at a certain pressure through a hose; later, this element travels to a tank where it is compressed and relaunched to an electricity generating turbine.

Food fight or exercise attack?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:16 AM PST

Experts offer two ways to battle the holiday bulge.

Bone grafting improvements with help of sea coral

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 09:59 PM PST

Sea coral could soon be used more extensively in bone grafting procedures thanks to new research that has refined the material's properties and made it more compatible with natural bone.

Snapshots differentiate molecules from their mirror image

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST

Researchers are able to reveal the spatial structure of chiral molecules from work done to develop a method that takes a snapshot of chiral molecules, revealing their spatial atomic structure. The molecule's handedness, or chirality, can be directly derived from this information.

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News

ScienceDaily: Top Environment News


The more the better: Polyandry in salamanders

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

New research shows the impact of polyandry on reproductive success in fire salamanders.

Mitochondria separate their waste

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

Cellular power plants collect and break down damaged molecules in order to protect themselves from harmful substances, research shows. Up to now, it was unclear whether this housekeeping work involves sorting out defective proteins when they digest mitochondria. Researchers have now discovered that the proteins are sorted out during the constant fusion and fission of mitochondria.

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News

ScienceDaily: Latest Science News


Do black holes come in size medium?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 06:11 PM PST

Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun -- or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is busy scrutinizing a class of black holes that may fall into the proposed medium-sized category.

Programe for parents of preschoolers getting results

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:23 AM PST

The results indicated that completion of the HOPE-20 program generated significant improvement in children's mastery of preschool concepts and language skills, reduced the children's behavior problems, lowered the stress of their parents, and fostered the parents' sense of competence.

Protien Cyclin D1 governs microRNA processing in breast cancer

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:19 AM PST

A protein that helps push a replicating cell through the cell cycle also mediates the processing and generation of mature microRNA, according to new research.

Controversy over use of Roman ingots to investigate dark matter, neutrinos

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:19 AM PST

The properties of lead bricks recovered from ancient shipwrecks are ideal for experiments in particle physics. Scientists have begun to use them, but archaeologists have raised alarm about the destruction and trading of cultural heritage that lies behind this.

Elucidating heavy precipitation events

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:19 AM PST

It is difficult to forecast heavy precipitation events accurately and reliably. The quality of these forecasts is affected by two processes whose relative importance has now been quantified. The French researchers have shown that these processes should be taken into account in low wind speed events. Their findings should help forecast these events, which repeatedly cause significant damage.

Mother-to-child HIV transmission in Gipuzkoa reduced significantly over last 25 years

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:19 AM PST

The evolution that took place between 1984 and 2011 in paediatric HIV infection in Gipuzkoa has been studied. The development of methods to diagnose the disease coupled with increasingly more effective treatments have made it possible to reduce mother-to-child transmission (vertical transmission) from 23.9% to 2.4%, thus virtually eradicating infection in children.

The more the better: Polyandry in salamanders

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

New research shows the impact of polyandry on reproductive success in fire salamanders.

Enhancing efficiency of complex computations

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

Planning a trip from Berlin to Hamburg, simulating air flows around a new passenger airplane, or friendships on Facebook – many computer applications model relationships between objects by graphs (networks) in the sense of discrete mathematics. An important method to manage complex computations on steadily growing networks is graph partitioning. Computer scientists have now released the Karlsruhe High Quality Partitioner (KaHIP). The solutions produced by this tool presently are the best worldwide.

Mitochondria separate their waste

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

Cellular power plants collect and break down damaged molecules in order to protect themselves from harmful substances, research shows. Up to now, it was unclear whether this housekeeping work involves sorting out defective proteins when they digest mitochondria. Researchers have now discovered that the proteins are sorted out during the constant fusion and fission of mitochondria.

Telescope to track space junk using youth radio station

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

A combination of pop songs, talkback radio and cutting-edge science has enabled Australian astronomers to identify a way to prevent catastrophic, multi-billion dollar space junk collisions, a new study has revealed.

Electricity generated from weight of traffic and pedestrians

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:17 AM PST

New technology integrates a ramp-step (elaborated with polymeric material similar to the ones used in the manufacture of tires) that elevates to five centimeters above the level of the street. When receiving the impact of a vehicle, this ramp exerts pressure on a set of bellows below. The bellows contain air that is expelled at a certain pressure through a hose; later, this element travels to a tank where it is compressed and relaunched to an electricity generating turbine.

Architects of nanoworld behind the screens

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:17 AM PST

New types of building blocks for electronics will be the future, that is clear. Molecules can already be given the functionality of a transistor. But compared to the huge complexity of current chips, with eight or nine 'highways' above each other, connecting all elements is still impossible. Silicon research and industry has shown an immense effort, and progress is being made.

Food fight or exercise attack?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:16 AM PST

Experts offer two ways to battle the holiday bulge.

Bone grafting improvements with help of sea coral

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 09:59 PM PST

Sea coral could soon be used more extensively in bone grafting procedures thanks to new research that has refined the material's properties and made it more compatible with natural bone.

Snapshots differentiate molecules from their mirror image

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST

Researchers are able to reveal the spatial structure of chiral molecules from work done to develop a method that takes a snapshot of chiral molecules, revealing their spatial atomic structure. The molecule's handedness, or chirality, can be directly derived from this information.

ScienceDaily: Top Science News

ScienceDaily: Top Science News


Do black holes come in size medium?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 06:11 PM PST

Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun -- or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is busy scrutinizing a class of black holes that may fall into the proposed medium-sized category.

ScienceDaily: Top News

ScienceDaily: Top News


Do black holes come in size medium?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 06:11 PM PST

Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun -- or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is busy scrutinizing a class of black holes that may fall into the proposed medium-sized category.

The more the better: Polyandry in salamanders

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

New research shows the impact of polyandry on reproductive success in fire salamanders.

Mitochondria separate their waste

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

Cellular power plants collect and break down damaged molecules in order to protect themselves from harmful substances, research shows. Up to now, it was unclear whether this housekeeping work involves sorting out defective proteins when they digest mitochondria. Researchers have now discovered that the proteins are sorted out during the constant fusion and fission of mitochondria.

Telescope to track space junk using youth radio station

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

A combination of pop songs, talkback radio and cutting-edge science has enabled Australian astronomers to identify a way to prevent catastrophic, multi-billion dollar space junk collisions, a new study has revealed.

Electricity generated from weight of traffic and pedestrians

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:17 AM PST

New technology integrates a ramp-step (elaborated with polymeric material similar to the ones used in the manufacture of tires) that elevates to five centimeters above the level of the street. When receiving the impact of a vehicle, this ramp exerts pressure on a set of bellows below. The bellows contain air that is expelled at a certain pressure through a hose; later, this element travels to a tank where it is compressed and relaunched to an electricity generating turbine.

Snapshots differentiate molecules from their mirror image

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST

Researchers are able to reveal the spatial structure of chiral molecules from work done to develop a method that takes a snapshot of chiral molecules, revealing their spatial atomic structure. The molecule's handedness, or chirality, can be directly derived from this information.

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News

ScienceDaily: Top Technology News


Do black holes come in size medium?

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 06:11 PM PST

Black holes can be petite, with masses only about 10 times that of our sun -- or monstrous, boasting the equivalent in mass up to 10 billion suns. Do black holes also come in size medium? NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, is busy scrutinizing a class of black holes that may fall into the proposed medium-sized category.

Telescope to track space junk using youth radio station

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:18 AM PST

A combination of pop songs, talkback radio and cutting-edge science has enabled Australian astronomers to identify a way to prevent catastrophic, multi-billion dollar space junk collisions, a new study has revealed.

Electricity generated from weight of traffic and pedestrians

Posted: 29 Nov 2013 07:17 AM PST

New technology integrates a ramp-step (elaborated with polymeric material similar to the ones used in the manufacture of tires) that elevates to five centimeters above the level of the street. When receiving the impact of a vehicle, this ramp exerts pressure on a set of bellows below. The bellows contain air that is expelled at a certain pressure through a hose; later, this element travels to a tank where it is compressed and relaunched to an electricity generating turbine.

Snapshots differentiate molecules from their mirror image

Posted: 28 Nov 2013 11:13 AM PST

Researchers are able to reveal the spatial structure of chiral molecules from work done to develop a method that takes a snapshot of chiral molecules, revealing their spatial atomic structure. The molecule's handedness, or chirality, can be directly derived from this information.

Newsletter for Saturday 30 November


TODAY IN SCIENCE HISTORY
NEWSLETTER - 30 NOVEMBER

Feature for Today
On 30 Nov 1866, work began on the first traffic tunnel under a U.S. river, the Washington Street Tunnel in Chicago, Illinois, under the Chicago River. It was built to alleviate traffic congestion at the river's swing bridges. Iopened 1 Jan 1869 and served until 1953. Cable car companies used the tunnel from 1880s to 1906. A short article in the New York Times on the River Tunnel at Chicago gives some more background. Whereas Brunel bored the world's first tunnel under a river, the Thames over many years of great difficulties, the Chicago River only needed a 200-ft tunnel, and the article describes the much simpler approach taken for its construction.

Book of the Day
A Life of George Westinghouse (Business  Biographies) On 30 Nov 1886, the first successful alternating current power plant was opened by George Westinghouse in Buffalo, N.Y. Today's Science Store pick is: A Life of George Westinghouse (Business Biographies), by Henry G. Prout, who presents a vivid biography with emphasis on the scientific and business aspects of Westinghouse's career. He successfully beat Thomas Edison in supplying electrical power because Westinghouse had the vision to pursue alternating current instead of Edison's scheme for direct current. The practical differences were very much in Westinghouse's favour, and it is his outstanding scientific and business acumen that is responsible for initiating the power grid as we know it. Reading more about this important inventor is well worth your time It is available New from $30.67. Used from $30.60. (As of time of writing.).
For picks from earlier newsletters, see the Today in Science History Science Store home page.

Quotations for Today
Thumbnail of Sir William  Henry Flower
[There is an] immense advantage to be gained by ample space and appropriate surroundings in aiding the formation of a just idea of the beauty and interest of each specimen... Nothing detracts so much from the enjoyment ... from a visit to a museum as the overcrowding of the specimens exhibited.
- Sir William Henry Flower, English zoologist (born 30 Nov 1831). quote icon
Thumbnail of Marcello  Malpighi
In such sad circumstances I but see myself exalted by my own enemies, for in order to defeat some small works of mine they try to make the whole rational medicine and anatomy fall, as if I were myself these noble disciplines.
- Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician, physiologist and biologist (died 30 Nov 1694). quote icon
I have indeed lived and worked to my taste either in art or science. What more could a man desire? Knowledge has always been my goal. There is much that I shall leave behind undone�but something at least I was privileged to leave for the world to use, if it so intends�As the Latin poet said I will leave the table of the living like a guest who has eaten his fill. Yes, if I had another life to spend, I certainly would not waste it. But that cannot be, so why complain?
- L�on Croizat, Italian biogeographer, and botanist (died 30 Nov 1982). quote icon

Quiz
Before you look at today's web page, see if you can answer some of these questions about the events that happened on this day. Some of the names are very familiar. Others will likely stump you. Tickle your curiosity with these questions, then check your answers on today's web page.
Births
Thumbnail of Nils Dal�n
Nils Dal�n, born 30 Nov 1869, was a Swedish engineer who won the Nobel Prize for Physics in 1912 for his invention of the automatic sun valve, which regulated a gaslight source by the action of sunlight and darkness It was used for buoys and unmanned lighthouses. In 1922, Dalen's Amalgamated Gas Accumulator Co. patented his design for a more efficient and cost-effective kitchen stove and began production. These stoves produced a radiant heat that kept the kitchen warm, and remains popular today.
question mark icon Can you name this popular stove?
Thumbnail of Andrew J. Moyer
Andrew J. Moyer, born 30 Nov 1899, was an American microbiologist who invented a method for mass-producing an antibiotic, using a fermentation process. This large-scale production saved thousands of lives during World War II.
question mark icon For which antibiotic did Moyer devise large-scale production?
Deaths
Thumbnail of Robert A.  Swanson
Robert A. Swanson (1949-1999) was an American chemist who co-founded Genentech, Inc., a pioneer in the biotechnology industry. In 1978, Genentech created the first drug produced by genetic engineering.
question mark icon What was Genentech's drug, the first to be produced by genetic engineering?
Thumbnail of Nils Gabriel  Sefstr�m
Nils Gabriel Sefstr�m (1787-1845) was a Swedish chemist who investigated a black powder a mine manager had pointed out could be obtained from a certain iron ore. Although it was similar to chromium and uranium, by analysis Sefstr�m determined it was a new element. He named it after a Norse goddess.
question mark  icon What new element did Sefstr�m investigate?
Events
Thumbnail of
On 30 Nov of a certain year, John Landis Mason received a U.S. patent for his invention known by his name. The Mason jar has become a common term for the still widely used preserved food jar.
question mark  icon In which decade was patent issued?
Thumbnail of
On 30 Nov 1784, American physician and scientist John Jeffries recorded the first scientific data for free air, to a height of 9,309-ft, including twelve observations of temperature, pressure, and humidity. Jeffries' values agree closely with modern determinations.
question mark icon How did he travel to such a great height?

Answers
When you have your answers ready to all the questions above, you'll find all the information to check them, and more, on the November 30 web page of Today in Science History. Or, try this link first for just the brief answers.

Fast answers for the previous newsletter for November 29: Fields Medal • insulin • Christian Doppler • Lord Byron • 100 • Nevada.

Feedback
If you enjoy this newsletter, the website, or wish to offer encouragement or ideas, please send feedback by using your mail reader Reply button.

Your click on a StumbleUpon, Google+ or Facebook social button on the site webpages is also a welcome sign of appreciation. Thank you for using them.

Copyright
To find citations for quotations go to the corresponding webpage by clicking on the “quotes” balloon icon. Sources for the thumbnails appear on today's webpage with the corresponding item.

� This newsletter is copyright 2013 by todayinsci.com. Please respect the Webmaster's wishes and do not put copies online of the Newsletter � or any Today in Science History webpage. (If you already have done so, please remove them. Thank you.) Offline use in education is encouraged such as a printout on a bulletin board, or projected for classroom viewing. Online, descriptive links to our pages are welcomed, as these will provide a reader with the most recent revisions, additions and/or corrections of a webpage. For any other copyright questions, please contact the Webmaster by using your mail reader Reply button.

--
If you do not want to receive any more newsletters, Unsubscribe

To update your preferences and to unsubscribe visit this link