2007 November

This is huge. Absolutely huge! Google’s idea of passively attacking wireless carriers with Android is working with Verizon Wireless, the number two carrier in the US, announcing its decision to open its network to other devices and applications as long as they pass the company’s certification test. Granted Verizon is one of the first carriers […]

Three quarters of our universe is made up of some weird, gravitationally repulsive substance that was only discovered ten years ago - dark energy. This month in Physics World, Eric Linder and Saul Perlmutter, both at the University of California at Berkeley, reveal how little we know about dark energy and describe what advances in […]

Is it possible to solve climate change, reduce poverty, and save biodiversity at a single stroke? It might seem like a dream, but this is exactly the issue that is being discussed at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC) in Bali 3-14 December 2007. The key is to include reduced emissions from deforestation and […]

With 8 million people at high risk for advanced age-related macular degeneration, researchers from Harvard and Japan discovered that the experimental drug, endostatin, may be the cure. A research report published in the December 2007 issue of The FASEB Journal, describes how giving endostatin to mice significantly reduced or eliminated abnormal blood vessel growth within […]

A new study published in Personal Relationships examines the way in which perceptions of physical attractiveness are influenced by personality. The study finds that individuals — both men and women — who exhibit positive traits, such as honesty and helpfulness, are perceived as better looking. Those who exhibit negative traits, such as unfairness and rudeness, […]

Scientists have revealed an important discovery that raises doubts concerning the viability of plans to fertilize the ocean to solve global warming, a projected $100 billion venture.
Research performed at Stanford and Oregon State Universities, published in the Journal of Geophysical Research, suggests that ocean fertilization may not be an effective method of reducing carbon dioxide […]

A technique for controlling the magnetic properties of a commonly used blue dye could revolutionise computer processing power, according to research published recently in Advanced Materials.
Scientists have demonstrated that they can control the properties in a dye known as Metal Phthalocyanine, or MPc, with the use of magnetism.
Though this technology is still in its infancy, […]

Grape-seed extract is a viable natural alternative to synthetic ingredients that preserve meat quality in pre-cooked, frozen and refrigerated ready-to-eat meals, such as individual diet entrees or family-sized trays of frozen lasagna, according to a new University of Illinois study published in the Journal of Food Science.
“In the last five years, the section of the […]

Scientists analysing data gathered by the Cassini spacecraft have confirmed the presence of heavy negative ions in the upper regions of Titan’s atmosphere. These particles may act as organic building blocks for even more complicated molecules and their discovery was completely unexpected because of the chemical composition of the atmosphere (which lacks oxygen and mainly […]

Newswires are buzzing with Wal-Mart’s Linux PC and its sold out status. This news alone should be enough to prove the viability of Linux in mainstream households for people who don’t need a mega powerful PC for word processing, e-mail, and Web browsing. I can go on and on about the same old issues and […]

Ecologists pay too much attention to increasingly rare "pristine" ecosystems while ignoring the overwhelming influence of humans on the environment, say researchers from McGill University and the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).
Prof. Erle Ellis of UMBC and Prof. Navin Ramankutty of McGill assert that the current system of classifying ecosystems into biomes (or "ecological […]

A mouse resistant to cancer, even highly-aggressive types, has been created by researchers at the University of Kentucky. The breakthrough stems from a discovery by UK College of Medicine professor of radiation medicine Vivek Rangnekar and a team of researchers who found a tumor-suppressor gene called "Par-4" in the prostate.
The researchers discovered that the Par-4 […]

You might think that a long vacation is the way to beat job burnout. But the kind of vacation you have is just as important - if not more important - than its length, concludes Prof. Dov Eden, an organizational psychologist from Tel Aviv University’s Faculty of Management.
The key to a quality vacation, he says, […]

A recent study says investment from developed countries is key in the fight against ecomigration.
Climate change is the largest environmental change expected this century. It is likely to intensify droughts, storms, and floods, which will undoubtedly lead to environmental migrations and potential conflicts in the areas migrated to.
In the aftermath of environmental disasters such as […]

Going through airport security can be such a hassle. Shoes, laptops, toothpastes, watches and belts all get taken off, taken out, scanned, examined, handled and repacked. But "T-rays", a completely safe form of electromagnetic radiation, may reshape not only airport screening procedures but also medical imaging practices.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Argonne […]

There has recently been a huge growth in transnational English language television channels, with the launch in the UK of Al Jazeera English, Press TV (Iran), CCTV9 (China), France 24 and Russia Today. These join existing channels such as CNN International, Voice of America and BBC World TV. But what are the purposes of these […]

The gigantic fossil claw of an 390 million-year-old sea scorpion, recently found in Germany, shows that ancient arthropods — spiders, insects, crabs and the like — were surprisingly larger than their modern-day counterparts.
"Imagine an eight-foot-long scorpion," said O. Erik Tetlie, postdoctoral associate in the Department of Geology and Geophysics at Yale, and an author of […]

With public concern over online fraud, new research, funded by the Economic and Social Research Council, has revealed that internet users will reveal more personal information online if they believe they can trust the organisation that requests the information. ‘Even people who have previously demonstrated a high level of caution regarding online privacy will accept […]

Remains of an ancient synagogue from the Roman-Byzantine era have been revealed in excavations carried out in the Arbel National Park in the Galilee under the auspices of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
The excavations, in the Khirbet Wadi Hamam, were led by Dr. Uzi Leibner of the Hebrew University’s Institute of Archaeology and Scholion - […]

Early on the morning of Nov. 16, Cyclone Sidr hit Bangladesh and showed no mercy. The death toll continues to rise even today. Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless. But, nearly 24 hours in advance of the storm, Hassan Mashriqui, assistant extension professor of coastal engineering with LSU, the LSU AgCenter and the […]