2007 May

NASA and Columbia University Earth Institute research finds that human-made greenhouse gases have brought the Earth’s climate close to critical tipping points, with potentially dangerous consequences for the planet.
From a combination of climate models, satellite data, and paleoclimate records the scientists conclude that the West Antarctic ice sheet, Arctic ice cover, and regions providing fresh [...]

It’s a toy that most kids have played with at one time or another, but the findings of Northeastern University Computer Science professor Gene Cooperman and graduate student Dan Kunkle are not child’s play. The two have proven that 26 moves suffice to solve any configuration of a Rubik’s cube - a new record. [...]

One of the hardest parts of my learning to drive was how to parallel park. There isn’t as much emphasis put on that technique in driver’s education these days, but it’s still an important part of driving.
Practice with no obstacles first, then with plenty of space between vehicles. Take it slowly and you’ll develop the [...]

A new experiment has shown that it’s possible to store multiple rudimentary memories in an artificial culture of live neurons. The ability to record information in a manmade network of neurons is a step toward a cyborg-like integration of living material into memory chips. The advance also may help neurologists to understand how our brains [...]

iRiver is back with us again with another music player that’s bound to impress you. The S10 is a remarkably tiny device, and is in close competition with MobiBLU and its small media player series for the ultimate wow factor. It may be minute, but iRiver has packed a plethora of features to satisfy your [...]

One of the main components in making your car move is the battery. Without that battery, you won’t be going anywhere. With advent of hybrid powered cars, that can take on more significance than in the past. So let’s just stick to the main battery for now.
Replacing a battery is a fairly simple process, with [...]

Better magnetic storage devices for computers and other electronics could result from new work by researchers in the United States and Germany.
Their findings demonstrate that chirality - a spiral-like “handedness” - in nanoscale magnets may play a crucial role in data transmission and manipulation in spintronic devices, where the spin rather than the charge [...]

University of Western Sydney researcher Associate Professor Tom Millar has approached the problem of dry eyes from a new perspective. He re-examined the structure and function of natural tears to find new clues for creating longer lasting artificial tears.
Tears protect and lubricate the cornea and conjunctiva of the eye and help provide a clear medium [...]

It is getting close to summer and the picnic season. Time to get out the plates and forks and spoons, the napkins, and, best of all, the food. One of the key ingredients to a good picnic is, in my opinion, the potato salad. Here is a good way make one.
Boil several whole, unpeeled potatoes [...]

Herds of cows producing skimmed milk could soon be roaming our pastures, reports Cath O’Driscoll in Chemistry & Industry, the magazine of the SCI. Scientists in New Zealand have discovered that some cows have genes that give them a natural ability to produce skimmed milk and plan to use this information to breed herds of [...]

Certain army ants in the rainforests of Central and South America conduct spectacular predatory raids containing up to 200,000 foraging ants. Remarkably, some ants use their bodies to plug potholes in the trail leading back to the nest, making a flatter surface so that prey can be delivered to the developing young at maximum speed.
The [...]

So you have finally broken down and decided to buy a Palm PDA, the personal-data assistant that uses Palm OS? There are so many choices and features that you will want to do plenty of research to be sure you buy one that will fit your needs. There is no sense running from store to [...]

In a fundamental discovery that someday may help cure type one diabetes by allowing people to grow their own insulin-producing cells for a damaged or defective pancreas, medical researchers here have reported that they have engineered adult stem cells derived from human umbilical cord blood to produce insulin.
The researchers announced their laboratory finding, which caps [...]

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in collaboration with scientists from the University of Maryland and Howard University, have developed a technique to create tiny, highly efficient light-emitting diodes (LEDs) from nanowires. As described in a recent paper,* the fabricated LEDs emit ultraviolet light — a key wavelength range required for [...]

Coffee is a habit for more than 50 percent of Americans, who drink, on average, two cups per day. This widely consumed beverage is regularly investigated and debated for its impact on health conditions from breast cancer to heart disease. Among its complex effects on the body, coffee or its components have been linked to [...]

Researchers have found that bricks made from fly ash — fine ash particles captured as waste by coal-fired power plants — may be even safer than predicted. Instead of leaching minute amounts of mercury as some researchers had predicted, the bricks apparently do the reverse, pulling minute amounts of the toxic metal out of ambient [...]

A Carnegie Mellon University computer scientist is enlisting the unwitting help of thousands, if not millions, of Web users each day to eliminate a technical bottleneck that has slowed efforts to transform books, newspapers and other printed materials into digitized text that is computer searchable. Luis von Ahn, an assistant professor of computer science and [...]

Today we look at how to clean your dishwasher. In my younger days, that usually involved my taking a bath. Today, it’s a little more high tech, and requires some specific instructions and tips. Remember, when you are working with anything electric, turn off the power at the circuit-breaker box or make sure it is [...]

A new breakthrough in hydrogen storage technology could remove a key barrier to widespread uptake of non-polluting cars that produce no carbon dioxide emissions.
UK scientists have developed a compound of the element lithium which may make it practical to store enough hydrogen on-board fuel-cell-powered cars to enable them to drive over 300 miles before refuelling. [...]

Sonos, Inc., the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the digital home, today announced a new release of Sonos System Software v2.2 that will bring Pandora* to the award-winning Sonos Digital Music System. Pandora, the developer of the ground-breaking personalized radio service, and Sonos have collaborated to provide music lovers with an exciting [...]