Tidal effects change 'habitable zone' concept

...By studying the tides caused by low-mass stars on their potential earth-like companions, Heller and his colleagues have concluded that tidal effects modify the traditional concept of the habitable zone.

Heller deduced this from three different effects. Firstly, tides can cause the axis of a planet`s rotation to become perpendicular to its orbit in just a few million years. In comparison, Earth's axis of rotation is inclined by 23.5 degrees -- an effect which causes our seasons. Owing to this effect, there would be no seasonal variation on such Earth-like planets in the habitable zone of low-mass stars. These planets would have huge temperature differences between their poles, which would be in perpetual deep freeze, and their hot equators which in the long run would evaporate any atmosphere. This temperature difference would cause extreme winds and storms.

The second effect of these tides would be to heat up the exoplanet, similar to the tidal heating of Io, a moon of Jupiter that shows global vulcanism.

Finally, tides can cause the rotational period of the planet (the planet's "day") to synchronize with the orbital period (the planet's "year"). This situation is identical to the Earth-moon setup: the moon only shows Earth one face, the other side being known as "the dark side of the moon." As a result one half of the exoplanet receives extreme radiation from the star while the other half freezes in eternal darkness.

The habitable zone around low-mass stars is therefore not very comfortable -- it may even be uninhabitable. From an observer's point of view, low-mass stars have so far been the most promising candidates for habitable exoplanets. Now, due to Heller's findings, Earth-like exoplanets that have already been found in the conventional habitable zone of low-mass stars, have to be re-examined to consider tidal effects. ...

via New conditions for life on other planets: Tidal effects change 'habitable zone' concept.

Scientists solve mystery of disappearing sunspots

Laura Zuckerman - A trio of top solar scientists said on Wednesday they had solved the mystery behind the disappearance of sunspots, a phenomenon that has stumped astrophysicists worldwide for more than two centuries.

The research, which will be published on Thursday in the journal Nature, shows that unusually weak magnetic fields on the sun paired with reduced solar activity cause sunspots to disappear.

Sunspots appear to the human eye as dark spots on the sun, some as wide as 49,000 miles, according to NASA. They are caused by intense magnetic activity, or storms, on the sun's surface, which is plasma. Sunspots often emit particles into space which are known as solar flares.

Sunspots went missing from 2008 to 2010 in a rare occurrence that first was reported in 1810.

Although it is well documented that the sun goes through regular 11-year cycles of high and low solar activity, sunspots are not prone to disappear for an extended period, the researchers said.

"Understanding sunspots is important because solar activities influence space weather, which affects technology in space and on the earth," Montana State University solar physicist Piet Martens, who conducted the study with two other scientists, said in a statement. ...

Scientists said the ability to better forecast extreme lows in solar activity, like the disappearance of sunspots, could help protect communication systems by altering the orbits of satellites or shutting down sensitive systems.

via NewsDaily: Scientists solve mystery of disappearing sunspots.

'Tractor beam' is possible with lasers, say scientists

A laser can act as a "tractor beam", drawing small objects back toward the laser's source, scientists have said.

It is known that light can provide a "push", for example in solar sails that propel spacecraft on a "wind of light".

Now, in a paper on the Arxiv server, researchers from Hong Kong and China have calculated the conditions required to create a laser-based "pull".

Rather than a science fiction-style weapon, however, the approach would only work over small distances.

The effect is different from that employed in "optical tweezers" approaches, in which tiny objects can be trapped in the focus of a laser beam and moved around; this new force, the authors propose, would be one continuous pull toward the source.

And it relies on directly impinging on an object, making it distinct from an approach demonstrated in 2010 by Australian researchers whose trapping worked by heating air around a trapped particle.

The trick is not to use a standard laser beam, but rather one known as a Bessel beam, that has a precise pattern of peaks and troughs in its intensity.

Seen straight-on, a Bessel beam would look like the ripples surrounding a pebble dropped in a pond.

If such a Bessel beam were to encounter an object not head-on but at a glancing angle, the backward force can be stimulated.

As the atoms or molecules of the target absorb and re-radiate the incoming light, the fraction re-radiated forward along the beam direction can interfere and give the object a "push" back toward the source.

"Light can indeed pull a particle," the authors wrote, "...and this may open up new avenues for optical micromanipulation, of which typical examples include transporting a particle backward over a long distance and particle sorting."

Ortwin Hess at Imperial College London called the work - which has not yet been peer-reviewed - as "fascinating", saying that it "takes a radical idea forward".

"It's a bit like a boat moving through water," Professor Hess told BBC News. "In the eddies you generate as part of that forward movement, there are areas that literally seem to be pulling back. ...

via BBC News - 'Tractor beam' is possible with lasers, say scientists.

Plague scientist dies of... the plague

Debora MacKenzie - It must be a recurrent nightmare for researchers who work with deadly microbes: being killed by your own research subjects. Microbe hunters know better than anyone else just how nasty infectious disease can be, and they spend much of their professional lives wielding bleach and maintaining stringent lab protocols to keep the objects of their fascination at bay. But sometimes one jumps the fence. Just such a tragedy caused the death in 2009 of Malcolm Casadaban, aged 60, a respected plague researcher at the University of Chicago. But how it did so was a mystery, until now.

Plague has a fearsome reputation, being blamed (unfairly, some believe) for the medieval Black Death. But the bacteria are far harder to catch than many lab pathogens - in nature you must inhale lots of bacteria, or have them injected by a flea bite. The plague bacteria Casadaban was working with were deliberately weakened, and unlike ordinary plague, they aren't even on the US list of potential bioweapons bugs. Medical investigators later found they couldn't even kill mice with the bacteria that killed the scientist.

So how did Casadaban die? It turns out his death was a medical coincidence worthy of the hit TV series House, in which crack diagnosticians try to figure out tough cases. Their patients typically have unusual combinations of conditions, something Casadaban unfortunately fell prey to.

Casadaban's lab bugs were weak because they have trouble taking up iron, which they need to make crucial enzymes. Unfortunately, unbeknownst to him, Casadaban had haemochromatosis, a genetic disorder in which people accumulate high levels of iron in their blood and organs. When the weakened bacteria somehow hit Casadaban's blood, they suddenly received an influx in iron and regained their strength.

There are several tragedies here, besides the loss of a good scientist. One, the bacteria may have entered his bloodstream because, like many experienced researchers, he occasionally didn't take all the safety precautions, such as rubber gloves. Why bother, with such safe bacteria?

This is one more reminder that nature can bite in ways we don't always expect. ...

via Short Sharp Science: Plague scientist dies of... the plague.

Kepler Spacecraft Finds 2 Planets Sharing Same Orbit

To date, the telescope on the Kepler spacecraft has detected 1,235 planet candidates, and while Earth-bound telescopes are trying to determine if 54 of those planets may have conditions that could harbor life, one unique planetary system may have been uncovered.

Unique because it's the first time scientists have discovered what may be two planets sharing the same orbit of their home sun, New Scientist reports.Since planets are so far away and smaller than their host stars, Kepler is only able to "see" the potential planets by measuring any decreases in the brightness of stars, which would be caused by planets passing in front of them.

If this dual-orbiting planet hypothesis gets confirmed, researchers suggest it would lend credence to a theory that our moon was created when a planet-sized object, sharing a similar orbit to Earth's eons ago, possibly crashed into our home world.

"Systems like this are not common, as this is the only one we have seen," said Jack Lissauer, a space scientist at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

The double-planetary system, dubbed KOI-730, is described in greater detail by Lissauer and his colleagues in the Astrophysical Journal.

via Kepler Spacecraft Finds 2 Planets Sharing Same Orbit.

UFO lights up Brazil skies: Footage of 'flying saucer' hovering over Sao Paolo

The grey, saucer-shaped object could be seen for nearly a minute before suddenly disappearing in a bright flash of light.

The spectacle is followed by two more mysterious bursts of light.

Brazilian television channel G1 obtained the footage from some motorists who spotted the object near the town of Agudos.

The motorists, who the channel did not identify, said they rushed from their car to film the object with a hand-held camera.

G1 reports that the two camera-operators said that the earth shook just as the two blasts of light appeared – a fact that was corroborated by other people nearby at the time.

Yet no seismic activity has been reported in the area, the nearest tremors occurring south, in Chile.

Philip Cavaca, an expert in video editing, told G1 that the two that reported the sighting are nothing more than expert hoaxers.

‘It can be seen in one frame. When the truck goes by, you can tell that the UFO was moved, which is unnoticeable to the naked eye,’ Cavaca said.

By freezing the image you can see the exact frame in which the so-called UFO alters, Cavaca claimed.

But many internet users, viewing the footage after it went viral, believe otherwise. ...

via UFO lights up Brazil skies: Footage of 'flying saucer' hovering over Sao Paolo | Mail Online.

Pentagon reveal financial terrorists may have triggered economic crash

Terrorists and other 'financial enemies' were likely responsible for the near collapse of the U.S. financial system in 2008, a new Pentagon report has concluded.

The 2009 report, Economic Warfare: Risks and Responses, said financial terrorism by Jihadists or countries such as China may have cost the global economy $50 trillion in a series of co-ordinated strikes against the U.S. economy.

In an astonishing conclusion, the report claims two unidentified traders deliberately devalued trillions of dollars' worth of stocks at the height of the crisis.

The report also concludes that untraceable actors undertook a three-tiered attack beginning in 2007, and that 'Phase III [of the attack] may be under way right now.'

'In addition, these same actors have clearly demonstrated the means to carry out such an attack.

'There is sufficient justification to question whether outside forces triggered, capitalised upon or magnified the economic difficulties of 2008.'

The report concluded that: 'Without question, there were actors who had the motive to harm the U.S. economy.

The report was commissioned in early 2009 by the Pentagon's Irregular Warfare Support Program - which prepares U.S. government and military agencies for emerging non-traditional threats.

Its author, economic analyst Kevin Freeman, published it in June 2009 before passing it on to investigators at the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission in November 2010.

Although never classified, sources indicated that the report emerged only after concerned Congressmen and Defence Department officials highlighted its existence to media sources.

Speaking to MailOnline, a source close to the report added: 'It is my understanding that people in the DoD and government officials thought this should be brought to public attention.'

Speaking to the Washington Post, Mr Freeman said that American security forces needed to address vulnerabilities in the U.S. financial system.

He said: 'We spend hundreds of billions of dollars on weapons systems each year.

'But a relatively small amount of money focused against our financial markets through leveraged derivatives or cyber efforts can result in trillions of dollars in losses.

'This is the equivalent of box cutters on an air plane.'

When asked who he thought may be responsible for the attacks, Mr. Freeman added: 'Unfortunately, the two major strategic threats, radical jihadists and the Chinese, are among the best positioned in the economic battle space.' ...

via Pentagon reveal financial terrorists may have triggered economic crash | Mail Online.

I thought the housing crash caused it.

 

Unborn child to 'testify' on Ohio abortion bill

A fetus has been scheduled as a legislative witness in Ohio on a unique bill that proposes outlawing abortions after the first heartbeat can be medically detected.

Faith2Action, the anti-abortion group that has targeted Ohio to pilot the measure, called the in-utero witness the youngest to ever come before the House Health Committee at 9 weeks old.

Faith2Action president Janet Folger Porter said the intent is to show lawmakers who will be affected by the bill, which abortion rights groups oppose. Ohio Right to Life has not endorsed the measure.

An aide to committee Chairman Lynn Wachtmann said a pregnant woman will be brought before the committee and an ultrasound image of her uterus will be projected onto a screen. The heartbeat of the fetus will be visible in color.

via Unborn child to 'testify' on Ohio abortion bill.

It that doesn't work, Janet has convinced her husband to donate a committee of composed of  60 million of his best sperm, every one of which is sacred, to testify as a corroborating witnesses.

Buyer Beware of 'Bathtub' Cheese

State and local health inspectors are teaming up to catch vendors selling illegal bathtub cheese. The homemade cheese is known to be tainted with harmful bacteria.

"There have been several incidents where we have seen it sold at local markets," said Chief Environmental Health Specialist Donna Fenton.

Bathtub cheese is homemade cheese, also known as queso fresco, and is a staple for Hispanic immigrants.

"It's normal there in Mexico. You can make your own thing so you can eat," said fruit market owner George Flores.

The cheese is often made in bathtubs or back yard troughs.

"The cheese has been made in a coffin, or they use PVC pipe just purchased from a local hardware store. Sometimes it's done in galvanized metal containers that can also leach contaminants," said Fenton.

Not only is the cheese unsanitary, but its ingredients can also harbor bacteria. Raw, unpasteurized milk and coagulants used to make the cheese can contain salmonella, E. coli, tuberculosis and listeria.

"Listeria in particular can cause miscarriages in pregnant women," said Fenton.

Yet people still continue to buy the cheese, which can cost $10 to $12 per pound.

"It's not uncommon to find it in the local markets, swap meets, street vendors, or you may have a neighbor who's trying to sell it from their home," said Fenton.

"Yeah, they come once in a while. Not to our business but to our home. In a truck," said Flores.

Bathtub cheese comes in different types, such as panela, queso seco, asadero, queso Oaxaca and Cotija, and is often sold in grocery bags without proper packaging. That's exactly what 23 ABC and inspectors found inside Lopez's Fruit Market: four pounds of what inspectors believe to be bathtub cheese. Flores and his wife were given a citation and the cheese confiscated. ...

"It may look good, appetizing, and you see it sold at the markets. A lot of times it's not safe. It's just not worth the risk of you having a life-threatening illness," said Fenton.

It is a misdemeanor crime to sell or give away bathtub cheese. And it's a felony if you make it to sell or give away. ...

via Buyer Beware of 'Bathtub' Cheese - East Bakersfield News Story - KERO Bakersfield.

NJ congressman tops 'Jeopardy' computer Watson

Turns out all it took to top Watson, the "Jeopardy"-winning computer, was a real-life rocket scientist.

Rep. Rush Holt of New Jersey is just such a scientist. The congressman topped the IBM computer Monday night in a "Jeopardy"-style exhibition match held in a Washington hotel.

Holt says it was fun to beat the heralded computer. But he also says it's important that Americans realize how important math and science education is to the nation's future.

The Democrat from the Princeton area built a lead in categories including "Presidential Rhyme Time," in which the correct response to "Herbert's military strategy" was "Hoover's maneuvers." The congressman also correctly identified hippophobia as the fear of horses.

Watson beat him to the buzzer with the answer "love" when prompted on what Ambrose Bierce described as "a temporary insanity curable by marriage." ...

Holt played the first round along with Rep. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican. At the end of the round, Holt had earned $8,600 to Watson's $6,200.

But the computer ultimately triumphed in later rounds against other representatives, amassing a combined $40,300 to the humans' $30,000.

Holt received a round of applause Tuesday at a hearing of the House Natural Resources Committee for besting the computer.

He thanked crowd and gave a shout-out to "neuron based thinking, instead of semi-conductor thinking."

Holt said it was fun to beat the heralded computer. But he also said it's important that Americans realize how crucial math and science education is to the nation's future.

"I was proud to hold my own with Watson," Holt said. "More importantly, I was proud to join IBM and other members of Congress to highlight the importance of science and math education and research and development.

"While it was fun to outdo Watson for one night in trivia, it is vital that, as a nation, we out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world for generations to come," he said.

via NJ congressman tops 'Jeopardy' computer Watson - Yahoo! News.

...  For the last three years, I.B.M. scientists have been developing what they expect will be the world’s most advanced “question answering” machine, able to understand a question posed in everyday human elocution — “natural language,” as computer scientists call it — and respond with a precise, factual answer. In other words, it must do more than what search engines like Google and Bing do, which is merely point to a document where you might find the answer. It has to pluck out the correct answer itself. Technologists have long regarded this sort of artificial intelligence as a holy grail, because it would allow machines to converse more naturally with people, letting us ask questions instead of typing keywords. Software firms and university scientists have produced question-answering systems for years, but these have mostly been limited to simply phrased questions. Nobody ever tackled “Jeopardy!” because experts assumed that even for the latest artificial intelligence, the game was simply too hard: the clues are too puzzling and allusive, and the breadth of trivia is too wide.

With Watson, I.B.M. claims it has cracked the problem ...

Technically speaking, Watson wasn’t in the room. It was one floor up and consisted of a roomful of servers working at speeds thousands of times faster than most ordinary desktops. Over its three-year life, Watson stored the content of tens of millions of documents, which it now accessed to answer questions about almost anything. (Watson is not connected to the Internet; like all “Jeopardy!” competitors, it knows only what is already in its “brain.”) During the sparring matches, Watson received the questions as electronic texts at the same moment they were made visible to the human players; to answer a question, Watson spoke in a machine-synthesized voice through a small black speaker on the game-show set. When it answered the Burj clue — “What is Dubai?” (“Jeopardy!” answers must be phrased as questions) — it sounded like a perkier cousin of the computer in the movie “WarGames” that nearly destroyed the world by trying to start a nuclear war.

This time, though, the computer was doing the right thing. Watson won $1,000 (in pretend money, anyway), pulled ahead and eventually defeated Gilmartin and Kolani soundly, winning $18,400 to their $12,000 each.

“Watson,” Crain shouted, “is our new champion!”

It was just the beginning. Over the rest of the day, Watson went on a tear, winning four of six games. It displayed remarkable facility with cultural trivia (“This action flick starring Roy Scheider in a high-tech police helicopter was also briefly a TV series” — “What is ‘Blue Thunder’?”), science (“The greyhound originated more than 5,000 years ago in this African country, where it was used to hunt gazelles” — “What is Egypt?”) and sophisticated wordplay (“Classic candy bar that’s a female Supreme Court justice” — “What is Baby Ruth Ginsburg?”).

By the end of the day, the seven human contestants were impressed, and even slightly unnerved, by Watson. Several made references to Skynet, the computer system in the “Terminator” movies that achieves consciousness and decides humanity should be destroyed. ...

via NYTimes

Russian flight controllers find UFO with aliens that speak in 'cat-like language'

Air traffic controllers in Siberia claim they were buzzed by a high-speed UFO with a female sounding alien who spoke in an unintelligible cat-like language. The mystery object suddenly burst onto flight monitors over the remote Russian diamond capital of Yakutsk.

It was shown flying at a speed of slightly over 6000 mph, and rapidly changing direction in the early morning sky, it is claimed. The UFO was logged at a height of 64, 895 feet above sea level and appeared to interfere with aviation frequencies.

On footage posted on You Tube, an air traffic controller made clear he sought to make contact with the UFO. The Russian aviation workers are heard in the control tower trying to make contact with the ship. A radar shows the UFO moving rapidly through the skies while surrounding planes in the air travel much slower.

'I kept hearing some female voice, as if a woman was saying mioaw-mioaw all the time,' he told the pilot of a passing Aeroflot flight. His communication to the Russian plane were disrupted by interference from the UFO, it was claimed. The air traffic control monitor automatically designated the UFO as '00000' because it did not have a flight number.

The footage was first posted last month but it is unclear when it was taken. A shot of the airport did not appear to show any snow which is normal for eight months a year in Yakutsk, where the temperature last night was minus 36C. At one point the UFO is showing moving away from Yakutsk at great speed before turning and heading back towards the city.

There was no comment last night from airport officials on the alleged UFO

Some experts claim that it is widely known that UFOs have made contact and landed on earth but details have never been made public.

via Russian flight controllers find UFO with aliens that speak in 'cat-like language' | Mail Online.

Translation:

"Radar system has demonstrated the speed of the object 9800 km / h, and the height of 19,780 meters. He changed direction instantly and did not send any indefikatsionnyh no signals, and a secondary radar pointed object by default as the number 00000. Aviabort also stated that the object interfered with aviation frequencies, complicating the work of pilots and air traffic controllers. "

Too bad we don't get to hear the cat-aliens in the video. Reader comment:

Nobody is speaking about aliens exept the daily mail on this. it is an unidentified aircraft only. wich means it could be anything. the meowing that the flight controller heard, maybe that was because the communications on the plane was encrypted(just a random guess), and it was actually a foriegn spyplane/fighter jet just probing the area. Russia have been doing it to us (the UK) for over 20 years. Im not a skeptic, either. i beleive there is something out there, but this is just sensationlist journalism.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk

 

Supatra Sasuphan hairiest girl: 'Wolf child' says Ambras syndrome makes her popular

Her nicknames may include 'wolf girl' and 'monkey face'.

But 11-year-old Thai girl Supatra Sasuphan today insisted that she was after being officially recognised as the world's hairiest girl.

Although the schoolgirl from Bangkok has faced merciless teasing at school, Supatra says being given a Guinness World Record for her hair has helped her become extremely popular.

'I'm very happy to be in the Guinness World Records! A lot of people have to do a lot to get in,' she said. 'All I did was answer a few questions and then they gave it to me.'


Supatra is one of just 50 known sufferers of Ambras Syndrome - caused by a faulty chromosome - to be documented since the Middle Ages. Before the disease was understood, sufferers were branded 'werewolves.'

She has thick hair growing over her face, ears, arms, legs and back. Even laser treatment has failed to stop the hair growth.


But while most sufferers have been shunned, Supatra has gradually been embraced by her community, and became a popular and outgoing child. ...

'When neighbours first saw Nat they asked what kind of sin I had done. I was very worried about what she would be when she grew up because of other children teasing her,' he said.


But Supatra's sweet nature quickly won over people in her community.


Sammrueng, a jewellery maker, said: 'She gets along with others really well and is very generous. She has a lot of friends.


'She is just the same as any other little girl her age.


'But her teeth grow slowly and she can't see very well."


Doctors tried to remove the hair with laser treatment when she was two-years-old but despite numerous sessions it kept growing back as thickly as before.


Supatra's hair has got increasingly thicker as she has grown up so her mother has to cut it back regularly for her.


She uses baby shampoo to wash her hair as she is allergic to stronger brands.


Sammrueng said: 'I still hope one day she will be cured. We will do anything we can if it will help her.' ...


via Supatra Sasuphan hairiest girl: 'Wolf child' says Ambras syndrome makes her popular | Mail Online.

Here genes would be interesting to examine and compare to others in her family who do not have this condition.  That might help scientists find the cause.

Ant Death Circles Explained

Here's another one with a human hand for perspective.



From a certain vantage point, you would see that we do this too, financially, for example... and in other ways. The blind are following the blind and all it takes is stopping... and having the courage and creativity to march into unknown territory.

 

Scientists discover cause of rare skin cancer that heals itself

Discovering how a rare cancer heals itself could lead to new treatments for other types of the disease, claim scientists.

Researchers believe they have found a key gene involved in Ferguson-Smith disease, otherwise known as multiple self-healing squamous epithelioma (MSSE), a skin cancer that grows rapidly but then a few weeks later, inexplicably, heals itself.

They believe that by finding out how the faults in the gene TGFBR1 cause the cancer and then subsequently heal it could give valuable insights into beating other types of tumour.

The TGFBR1 gene is involved in the making of a protein through which cells receive messages from their neighbours, instructing them to carry out jobs essential to growth and development.

But malignant cells interpret the "instructions" transmitted by TGFBR1 in two completely different ways, depending on the maturity of the tumour.

TGFBR1 initially acts as a "brake" preventing the growth of early tumours of various types but when cancers become more advanced and aggressive, their cells undergo a "signalling switch".

In more advanced cancers, TGFBR1 promotes tumour growth and spread instead.

The reverse happens with MSSE which is caused by an inherited fault in the TGFBR1 gene.

Patients with faulty TGFBR1 develop lots of small tumours – but at some point there is a "switch" in behaviour and the tumours lacking TGFBR1 heal themselves.

Scientists do not yet understand how this happens. ...

via Scientists discover cause of rare skin cancer that heals itself - Telegraph.

"Dragon" Appears Over Saturn

Saturn's electrically charged atmosphere has erupted in spectacular fashion....

via The Dragon's Den.

Scientists Create 'Cyborg' DNA

A group of researchers in Denmark is working on creating something entirely new on this planet – lifeforms that contain an improved version of the double-helix DNA. They are, for all intents and purposes, seeking to create stable, triple-helix deoxyribonucleic acid.

Since the acid was first discovered, experts have known that it features two strands, which dance around each other and form a distinctive, double-helix structure. All complex organisms contain DNA, and all of them feature variations of this configuration.

But the Danish team apparently finds this underwhelming, and is trying to introduce a third strand into DNA. They have already achieved success in their attempts, and they are currently engaged in solving some unforeseen problems that appeared as they created the “cyborg” DNA.

The group, which is based at the University of Copenhagen, wants to add a third peptide nucleic acid (PNA) strand to the two DNA strands that already exist in all organisms. The research team also has some well-grounded reasons for doing so.

One of the main functions the new PNA strand fulfills is block the activity of certain genes – such as for example those that have been associated with elevated risks of developing particular forms of cancer – and boosting the activity of other (that have been proven to be beneficial).

An added advantage that PNA has over DNA is that it's not limited by default to the four “letters” that DNA uses, G, A, T and C. The new strands can be fashioned from other chemicals than these four.

Researchers from the UC Center for Biomolecular Recognition (CBR) already managed to create a triple-helix structure, by inserting a PNA strand in between two DNA strands. But this move had an unexpected effect.

Rather than a single PNA strand being added to the standard, double-helix structure, two PNA strands forced one DNA strand out of the structure. The end result was a triple-helix containing 2 PNA and 1 DNA strand.

The excess DNA formed a P-shaped loop, which was demonstrated to play a role in making the entire structure replicate a lot faster than normal DNA is capable of.

The only problem with this form of genetic manipulation is that PNA is soluble in water. This means that the strands cannot function inside a human body, for example. The UC team is currently working on developing a means of water-proofing these strands.

Once they manage to do so, they will be able to create stable DNA-PNA triple-helix structures, that could be inserted in lab animals for further testing, Daily Galaxy reports.

via Scientists Create 'Cyborg' DNA - Softpedia.

My intuition, based on all the amazing things our DNA does, is that nature already tried and rejected this configuration.

Can a group of scientists in California end the war on climate change?

In 1964, Richard Muller, a 20-year-old graduate student with neat-cropped hair, walked into Sproul Hall at the University of California, Berkeley, and joined a mass protest of unprecedented scale. The activists, a few thousand strong, demanded that the university lift a ban on free speech and ease restrictions on academic freedom, while outside on the steps a young folk-singer called Joan Baez led supporters in a chorus of We Shall Overcome. The sit-in ended two days later when police stormed the building in the early hours and arrested hundreds of students. Muller was thrown into Oakland jail. The heavy-handedness sparked further unrest and, a month later, the university administration backed down. The protest was a pivotal moment for the civil liberties movement and marked Berkeley as a haven of free thinking and fierce independence.

Today, Muller is still on the Berkeley campus, probably the only member of the free speech movement arrested that night to end up with a faculty position there – as a professor of physics. His list of publications is testament to the free rein of tenure: he worked on the first light from the big bang, proposed a new theory of ice ages, and found evidence for an upturn in impact craters on the moon. His expertise is highly sought after. For more than 30 years, he was a member of the independent Jason group that advises the US government on defence; his college lecture series, Physics for Future Presidents was voted best class on campus, went stratospheric on YouTube and, in 2009, was turned into a bestseller.

For the past year, Muller has kept a low profile, working quietly on a new project with a team of academics hand-picked for their skills. They meet on campus regularly, to check progress, thrash out problems and hunt for oversights that might undermine their work. And for good reason. When Muller and his team go public with their findings in a few weeks, they will be muscling in on the ugliest and most hard-fought debate of modern times.

Muller calls his latest obsession the Berkeley Earth project. The aim is so simple that the complexity and magnitude of the undertaking is easy to miss. Starting from scratch, with new computer tools and more data than has ever been used, they will arrive at an independent assessment of global warming. The team will also make every piece of data it uses – 1.6bn data points – freely available on a website. ...

Muller is fed up with the politicised row that all too often engulfs climate science. By laying all its data and workings out in the open, where they can be checked and challenged by anyone, the Berkeley team hopes to achieve something remarkable: a broader consensus on global warming. ...

via Can a group of scientists in California end the war on climate change? | Science | The Guardian.

Great. We should settle this so we can plan our world wide course of action, one way or another.  You may say that this is impossible, but we have come around to a consensus on other big issues: the roundness of the earth, our not being at the center of the universe, that matter can be converted into energy, that heavier-than-air craft can carry humans in flight, and so on.

Further evidence that meteorites sowed the seeds of life on Earth

Scientists have taken fragments from a meteorite in the Antarctic and by bombarding it with heat and pressure have recreated conditions at the beginning of life as we know it, they believe.

They have found that the rock emitted ammonia under primordial conditions, an essential compound in the production of amino acids, the so-called building blocks of life.

The researchers analysed the nitrogen atoms within the ammonia and determined that the atomic isotope did not match those currently found on Earth, discarding the possibility that the ammonia resulted from contamination during the experiment.

The earliest physical evidence of life on Earth in the shape of fossils dates back to 3.8 billion years

Nobody really knows how life started on earth but it is thought have been a freak occurrence sparked by the extreme pressure and heat mixing with chemicals from outer space.

These findings, made by Arizona State University, suggest that these chemicals came from meteorites, which seeded the Earth with the necessary chemicals.

The work was published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

via Further evidence that meteorites sowed the seeds of life on Earth - Telegraph.

Researchers find new CPR method increases survival rate by 50 percent

A five-year clinical trial led by University of Minnesota Medical School researchers has led to a new method of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) that improves long-term survival rates with good brain function by 50 percent.

The new technique goes beyond the standard hands-only compression-decompression method to include to two devices that increase blood circulation. Researchers found that the new device combination caused the heart and brain to receive nearly three times more blood flow during each compression-decompression cycle when compared to standard CPR.

Currently, nearly 300,000 Americans suffer out-of-hospital cardiac arrest every year, and overall survival rates average only 5 percent. Poor survival rates persist in part because manual chest compressions and ventilation, termed standard CPR, is inherently inefficient, providing less than 25 percent of normal blood flow to the heart and brain.

"The current method of CPR has saved countless lives and is an indispensible tool in emergency medicine, but we want to bring to light the potential of using this new dual device system in combination with compression-decompression," said Demetris Yannopoulos, M.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine and Research Director of Interventional Cardiology at the University. "This dual device system can not only increase survival rates, but can improve brain function after cardiac arrest."

According to Yannopoulos, the study's authors will recommend the method as the new standard for the American Heart Association. The device combination method is also a prospective treatment for shock and head injury, as it augments blood flow to the brain and other tissues.

In the new method, one device (ResQPump) consists of a suction cup that attaches to the patient's chest. It includes a handle to manually lift the chest after each compression, stimulating blood flow. A second device (ResQPOD) connects to the patient's airway with a facemask or breathing tube and prevents air from rushing into the lungs while the first device raises the chest. Combined, the two create a greater vacuum in the chest, pumping blood to the heart and brain more effectively.

The advance comes 50 years after the now-standard method of CPR was initially developed.

"We are moving from prehistoric times – relying only on our hands – to modern times, implementing tools to treat victims," said Keith Lurie, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Emergency Medicine at the University. "This advance is a product of collaboration between emergency medicine specialists, cardiologists, anesthesiologists, neurologists, and countless other professions. A multidisciplinary environment was absolutely necessary for our success."

CPR is an important rescue skill used to treat cardiac arrest, a condition characterized by sudden, abrupt loss of heart function. CPR can stimulate a small amount of blood flow to the heart and brain to "buy time" until a normal heart beat is restored by defibrillation or with the aid of drugs.

The CPR device (ResQPump, also called CardioPump) and the impedance threshold device (ResQPOD) are manufactured by Advanced Circulatory Systems in Roseville, Minn.

"By partnering with Advanced Circulatory Systems on their mission to restore life and improve quality of living for patients suffering cardiac arrest, we were able to develop devices that can advance a new model of collaborative patient care forward," said Yannopoulos.

via Researchers find new CPR method increases survival rate by 50 percent.

Flying Texas reptile: World's oldest Pteranodon?

Fossilized bones discovered in Texas from a flying reptile that died 89 million years ago may be the earliest occurrence of the prehistoric creature known as Pteranodon.

Previously, Pteranodon bones have been found in Kansas, South Dakota and Wyoming in the Niobrara and Pierre geological formations. This likely Pteranodon specimen is the first of its kind found in Texas, according to paleontologist Timothy S. Myers at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, who identified the reptile. The specimen was discovered north of Dallas by an amateur fossil hunter who found various bones belonging to the left wing.

Pteranodon was a type of pterosaur that lived about the same time as some dinosaurs, about 100 million to 65 million years ago. The only reptiles to dominate the ancient skies, pterosaurs had broad leathery wings and slim torsos.

Adult pterosaur, toothless variety with about a 12-foot wing span

The specimen identified by Myers is an adult pterosaur of the toothless variety and while larger than most birds, wasn't among the largest pterosaurs, Myers said, noting it had a wing span between 12 and 13 feet, or 3.6 to 4 meters. It was discovered in the Austin Group, a prominent rock unit in Texas that was deposited around 89 million years ago, early in the geological time period called the Late Cretaceous.

Pterosaurs, many of which survived on fish, lived at a time when a massive ancient sea cut across the central United States. The Western Interior Seaway was a shallow body of water that split North America in half from the Arctic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.

More than a thousand Pteranodon fossils have been unearthed from the middle part of the seaway.

No definitive Pteranodon specimens have emerged from the southern part that is now Texas.

The SMU specimen, if it is Pteranodon, would be the first discovered so far south in the Western Interior Seaway, said Myers, a postdoctoral researcher in SMU's Huffington Department of Earth Sciences.

via Flying Texas reptile: World's oldest Pteranodon? (SMU Research).