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News | Archive (19 December 2008)
Scientists find carbonate and clues to Mars mysteries
— 13:20 GMT | AstronomyResearchers using a powerful instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter have found a long-sought-after mineral on the Martian surface and, with it, unexpected clues to the Red Planet's watery past. Surveying intact bedrock layers with the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars, or CRISM, scientists found carbonate minerals, indicating that Mars had neutral to alkaline water when the minerals formed at these locations more than 3.6 billion years ago…
Researchers lay out vision for lighting 'revolution'
— 13:20 GMT | TechnologyA 'revolution' in the way we illuminate our world is imminent, according to a paper published this week by two professors at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Innovations in photonics and solid state lighting will lead to trillions of dollars in cost savings, along with a massive reduction in the amount of energy required to light homes and businesses around the globe, the researchers forecast…
Polygamy, paternal care in birds linked to dinosaur ancestors
— 13:20 GMT | Geology and palaeontologySure, they're polygamous, but male emus and several other ground-dwelling birds also are devoted dads, serving as the sole incubators and caregivers to oversized broods from multiple mothers. It is rare behaviour, but research described in the 19 December Science found that it runs in this avian family, all the way back to its dinosaur ancestors…
Geoscientists drill for secrets under Arctic lake
— 13:20 GMT | Geology and palaeontologyIn the next few days, a convoy of bulldozers and trucks will set out from a remote airport in Siberia, heading for a frozen lake 62 miles north of the Arctic Circle, but the trip isn't a holiday visit to the North Pole. Instead, the trucks will deliver core-drilling equipment for a study of sediment and meteorite-impact rocks that should provide the longest time-continuous climate record ever collected in the Arctic…
ALMA observatory equipped with its first antenna
— 13:20 GMT | AstronomyHigh in the Atacama region in northern Chile, one of the world's most advanced telescopes has just passed a major milestone. The first of many state-of-the-art antennas has just been handed over to the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimetre Array (ALMA) project. ALMA is under construction on the plateau of Chajnantor, at an altitude of 5000 m. The telescope is being built by a global partnership, including ESO as the European partner…
Two biomarkers improve prediction of stroke risk
— 13:20 GMT | HealthTwo common biomarkers have now been shown to improve the ability to predict who will suffer from a stroke. Results from new research conducted at the Methodist DeBakey Heart and Vascular Centre in Houston were published in today's online version of the journal Stroke…
Argonne's modelling expertise to explore alternative sustainable sources of energy
— 13:20 GMT | TechnologyTwo computational scientists in the Mathematics and Computer Science Division at Argonne National Laboratory have been awarded a total of 37,500,000 hours of computing time on the Argonne Leadership Computing Facility (ALCF) to investigate safe and cost effective methods for developing nuclear energy…
A walk in the park a day keeps mental fatigue away
— 13:20 GMT | HealthIf you spend the majority of your time among stores, restaurants and skyscrapers, it may be time to trade in your stilettos for some hiking boots. A new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that spending time in nature may be more beneficial for mental processes than being in urban environments…
Molted carapaces act as protective decoys for aphids
— 13:20 GMT | BiologyBy leaving the remains of their old exoskeletons, called 'exuviae,' in and around their colonies, aphids gain some measure of protection from parasites. Research published in the open access journal BMC Evolutionary Biology has shown that parasitoid wasps are likely to attack the empty shells, resulting in a lower attack rate on their previous occupants - much like in the popular 'shell game' confidence trick…
Scientists discover new way in which ubiquitin modifies transcriptional machinery
— 13:20 GMT | BiologyDuring gene transcription - the process inside the nucleus of cells by which DNA, the genetic material, is copied into RNA molecules - a large, ever-changing multiprotein complex is enlisted to assist the DNA-copying enzyme in its challenging job…
Sark becomes World's First Dark Sky Island
Jupiter scar likely from rocky body