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 A Two-Time Universe? Physicist Explores How Second Dimension of Time Could Unify Physics Laws - USC College theoretical physicist Itzhak Bars has pioneered efforts to discern how a second dimension of time could help physicists better explain the laws of nature. With two times, Bars believes, many of the mysteries of today’s laws of physics may disappear. Of course, it’s not as simple as that. An extra dimension of time is not enough. You also need an additional dimension of space. |
| National Research Council of Canada - News Highlights |
 Troops beat the heat in Kandahar - No matter what their views on the war in Afghanistan, Canadians agree that protecting the health and wellness of troops overseas is a top priority. The crews of Canada's Leopard tanks in Kandahar got some relief from the searing desert heat this summer thanks to cooling vests that were tested in a giant oven at NRC. |
| National Geographic News |
 Mussels' Mighty Grip Inspires Dopamine-Based Glue - The uncanny stickiness of mussels has inspired a brainy new approach to creating a universal adhesive coating, researchers say. Mussels secrete a complex cocktail of proteins to latch on to just about any surface, explained study co-author Phillip Messersmith, a biomedical engineer at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. Messersmith and colleagues found that the two most prominent ingredients in this cocktail are the same as those in dopamine, a chemical messenger in the brain. |
| SPACE.com |
 Martian Volcanoes May Not be Extinct - New research on Hawaiian volcanoes, combined with satellite imagery of Mars, suggests that three Martian volcanoes may only be dormant—not extinct. Instead of Mars' crust moving over stationary magma "hot spots," as occurs on Earth, researchers think the plumes travel. |
| Physics Org |
 First Analysis of the Water Requirements of a Hydrogen Economy - One of the touted benefits of the futuristic US hydrogen economy is that the hydrogen supply—in the form of water—is virtually limitless. This assumption is taken for granted so much that no major study has fully considered just how much water a sustainable hydrogen economy would need. |
| Technology Review Feed |
 Microscopic Solar Cells - Researchers at Harvard University have made solar cells that are a small fraction of the width of a human hair. The cells, each made from a single nanowire just 300 nanometers wide, could be useful for powering tiny sensors or robots for environmental monitoring or military applications. What's more, the basic design of the solar cells could be useful in large-scale power production, potentially lowering the cost of generating electricity from the sun. |
 Mimicking the Massively Muscular - Scattered throughout the mammalian menagerie are a few supermuscular freaks: double-muscled cows more ripped than any bodybuilder; racing dogs too burly to run; sheep praised for their massively muscled buttocks; and even one small German boy, born in 2000 with muscles twice the size of those of a normal newborn. All these Herculean creatures share one thing: naturally occurring mutations in a gene that produces myostatin, a protein that blocks growth of skeletal muscle. Disable that gene, and viola--spectacular muscle growth results. |
| BBC News |
 Ships' CO2 'twice that of planes' - Global emissions of carbon dioxide from shipping are twice the level of aviation, one of the maritime industry's key bodies has said. |
 Key to mental 'resilience' found - US scientists have pinpointed a difference in brain chemistry which may explain why some people cope better than others in the face of adversity. They found a key pathway in mice differs in those who cope well with stress, and those who do not. In the mice who did not cope well with stress, nerve cells fired signals at a faster rate in two areas of the brain associated with pleasure and reward, releasing a substance called BDNF, which has previously been linked to poor coping. Blocking BDNF in the timid mice caused them to become more resistant to stress. |
| ABC News: Technology & Science |
 'Phantom' Phone Buzz Making You Crazy? - Neurologists say "phantom" BlackBerry and cell phone sensations could represent your brain's attempts to treat these gadgets as body parts. |
| suggested by ancalagon_tb |
| Neutrons not so neutral after all, study says - Among atomic particles, the neutron seems the most aptly named: Unlike the positively charged proton or the negatively charged electron, neutrons have a charge of zero. But new experiments conducted in three particle accelerators suggest the neutron is more like an onion when it comes to electromagnetism: with a negatively charged exterior and interior and a positively charged middle sandwiched between them. |
Physics Org |
 Scientists model a cornucopia of Earth-sized planets - Sara Seager, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Mass.; Marc Kuchner, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.; Catherine Hier-Majumder, Carnegie Institution of Washington, (deceased); and Burkhard Militzer, Carnegie, have created models for 14 different types of solid planets that might exist in our galaxy. The 14 types have various compositions, and the team calculated how large each planet would be for a given mass. Some are pure water ice, carbon, iron, silicate, carbon monoxide, and silicon carbide; others are mixtures of these various compounds. |
 'Historic' deal reached on cutting ozone threats - Nearly 200 countries have agreed to accelerate the elimination of chemicals that threaten the ozone and exacerbate global warming, the United Nations Environmental Program announced Saturday. Under the deal reached at the UN-sponsored conference, developed countries will phase out the production of HCFCs by 2020 and developing states have until 2030 -- 10 years earlier than previously promised. |
| Printing with enzymes instead of ink - Scientists in North Carolina are reporting development and testing of a method for printing finely-detailed microscopic images with an enzyme, rather than ink. The new technology, termed biocatalytic microcontact printing, involves coating a nano-“stamp” with an enzyme — a protein that speeds up chemical reactions. The enzyme then digests away a layer on the surface, leaving behind an imprint almost like an old-fashioned rubber stamp. Because no diffusion of ink is involved in the process, the resolution of microcontact printed images is about one hundredfold greater than possible with conventional technology. |
| Researchers say lack of sleep doubles risk of death... but so can too much sleep - Researchers from the University of Warwick, and University College London, have found that lack of sleep can more than double the risk of death from cardiovascular disease. However they have also found that point comes when too much sleep can also more than double the risk of death. |
ABC News: Technology & Science |
 Farmers Take Another Look at Wind Energy - Squeezed by high energy prices and more overhead costs, some small farms are exploring ways to increase their energy efficiency and lower costs. By erecting wind turbines, making biodiesel fuel and adopting more efficient tilling practices, farmers have cut costs and reduced their environmental impact. |
National Geographic News |
 Russia's Arctic Claim Backed By Rocks, Officials Say - Rock samples retrieved last month from beneath the Arctic Ocean indicate that the North Pole is part of Mother Russia, the Russian government announced yesterday. Under international law, Russia could lay claim to the potentially oil-rich seabed under the Arctic ice if it can prove that the ridge is part of the country's continental shelf. |
 Jurassic Park" Raptors Had Feathers, Fossil Suggests - Bumps on the forearm bone of a velociraptor fossil suggest the predators were adorned with fluffy feathers, a new study says. |
Science Blog |
| If you want more babies, find a man with a deep voice - Men who have lower-pitched voices have more children than do men with high-pitched voices, researchers have found. And their study suggests that for reproductive-minded women, mate selection favours men with low-pitched voices. |
Slashdot |
 Mysterious Peruvian Meteor Disease Solved - Technician writes "The meteor that crashed in Peru caused a mystery illnesses. The cause of the illness has been found. The meteor was not toxic. The ground water it contacted contains arsenic. The resulting steam cloud is what caused the mystery illness. " |
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