jueves, 15 de septiembre de 2011

Science review


A feather barb within Late Cretaceous Canadian amber that shows some indication of original coloration.
Science/AAAS
A feather barb within Late Cretaceous Canadian amber that shows some indication of original coloration.
Paleontologists in Canada have found 70-million-year-old amber preserving 11 specimens showing a wide diversity of feather types and pigments in the Mesozoic Era.
An illustration of the new Space Launch System design.

NASA Unveils New Rocket Design

A colossal rocket would be the most powerful since the Saturn V that took Americans to the moon.
The Deepwater Horizon oil drilling rig burning at a well in the Gulf of Mexico in April 2010.

BP Shortcuts Led to Gulf Oil Spill, Report Says

Investigators said the cause of the explosion aboard the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig was a failure of the cement at the base of the 18,000-foot-deep well.
Adriana Palmer, an Audubon bird safety manager, bagging remains.

A City of Glass Towers, and a Hazard for Migratory Birds

The reflective towers of New York City, which is on the Atlantic migratory flyway, can be deadly for birds. An estimated 90,000 birds are killed by flying into buildings in the city each year.
Jeffrey D. Zients, deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, testified Wednesday about the Solyndra matter.

Furor Over Loans to Failed Solar Firm

Documents released by a House subcommittee raised questions about whether White House staff intervened to speed a review of loan guarantees for the Solyndra solar company.

Scientists Hint at Why Laughter Feels So Good

The simple muscular exertions involved in producing laughter cause an increase in endorphins, the brain chemicals known for their feel-good effect.
Science Times: Sept. 13, 2011
AFTERMATH Restocking in Mineral,Va., the earthquake’s epicenter.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
AFTERMATH Restocking in Mineral,Va., the earthquake’s epicenter.
The magnitude 5.8 quake that struck central Virginia on Aug. 23 offers a chance to learn more about the seismology of the East Coast.
FEAR FACTOR
Claudette Barius/Warner Bros., via Associated Press
FEAR FACTOR "Contagion" can veer far from the reality of a viral pandemic.
ON VIEW

The Cough That Launched a Hit Movie

For all the relentless realism of the film “Contagion,” much of the real drama of epidemic disease never quite makes it to the screen.

Taking Advantage of a Destructive Insect’s Weakness for Purple

The emerald ash borer is the most destructive insect in North America, and officials in New York are using special purple devices — called Barney traps — against them.
An illustration of what the planet orbiting the Sun-like star HD 85512b might look like.

36 Light-Years From Here, New Hope for an Earth-Like Planet

Scientists found a lump of something about 3.6 times as massive as the Earth, circling its star at the right distance for liquid water to exist on its surface.
Dr. Arthur Horwich in his office at the Boyer Center for Molecular Medicine.

Horwich Wins Lasker Award by Straddling Science and Medicine

Dr. Arthur Horwich, a winner of this year’s Lasker Award, has discovered a “changing room” for proteins that allows them to do their jobs.
Health News
A nurse, Nancy Brajtbord, vaccinates a Dallas girl, 14, against HPV. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas issued a 2007 order requiring sixth graders to be vaccinated.

In Republican Race, a Heated Battle Over the HPV Vaccine

The unlikely issue has become the latest flashpoint among G.O.P. presidential candidates as they vie for the support of social conservatives.
Tina Graham, who suffers debilitating panic attacks, said her anxiety had increased after switching from Xanax to clonazepam.

Abuse of Xanax Leads a Clinic to Halt Supply

Citing concern over overdoses, doctors at Seven Counties Services in Louisville have stopped writing prescriptions for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax.
A father with his daughter in a rural area near Cebu City in the Philippines.

In Study, Fatherhood Leads to Drop in Testosterone

The study suggests that men’s bodies evolved hormonal systems that helped them commit to their families.
More Multimedia

INTERACTIVE FEATURE: Panoramas: Expanding the Shortcut Between the Seas

In the first expansion in the 100-year history of the Panama Canal, crews are starting to build a new set of locks that will handle much larger ships.

INTERACTIVE FEATURE: Name That Scientist!

How many of these scientists can you recognize?

VIDEO: Life Out There: Eden in a Test Tube

To better recognize extraterrestrial life should they come upon it, scientists are working to create simple life forms in a lab. But, as Dennis Overbye reports, they first have to agree what life is.

VIDEO: Nora Volkow

An interview with the neuroscientist in charge of the National Institute on Drug Abuse, who also happens to be the great-granddaughter of Leon Trotsky.
GREEN BLOG
Watch Out for Lethal Branches. Bats, Too.

Watch Out for Lethal Branches. Bats, Too.

Living off the grid in Maine, the author escapes rabies, a serious eye injury and carbon monoxide poisoning. Phew. But a storm damages the family's kayak.
SCIENTIST AT WORK BLOG

The Island Birds of Papua New Guinea

Scientists arrive in Milne Bay, a maritime province with more than 600 islands off the southeastern tip of New Guinea, where they hope to discover new species of birds and their parasites.
Science Columns
OBSERVATORY
Male hummingbirds may be using tail feathers to win mates.

Good Vibrations Lead to Hummingbird Romance

The male hummingbird’s tail feather vibrations are audible, precise and separate from the humming of the wings that gives the birds their name.
OBSERVATORY

A Jekyll-and-Hyde Act for the Feathered Set

Honeyguides lay their eggs in the nests of other birds, and upon hatching, the chicks kill their foster siblings.
OBSERVATORY
The photoreceptor genes in cavefish do not respond to light, but they still have circadian clocks.

Cavefish Keep Time Without the Sun

Photoreceptor cells in cavefish do not respond to light, a discovery that provides insights about the evolution of circadian clocks.
Q & A

Dating Stone Tools

Because radiocarbon dating is limited to the last 50,000 years, an artifact like a flint tool is dated by the age of the sediment in which its found.
Podcast: Science Times
Science Times Podcast
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This week: A new experiment in gene therapy for cancer, tracking a tree-killing insect, and comparing the movie “Contagion” to real-life epidemics.
 The Science Times Podcast
Health Columns
18 AND UNDER

A Child’s Nap Is More Complicated Than It Looks

Napping in children actually is a mix of individual biology, including neurologic and hormonal development, cultural expectations and family dynamics.
PERSONAL HEALTH

Attacking the Obesity Epidemic by First Figuring Out Its Cause

A series of reports in The Lancet lays out the reasons why the number of overweight Americans began skyrocketing in the 1970s, and how the problem can be brought under control.
REALLY?

The Claim: Fingers Wrinkle Because of Water Absorption

Researchers theorize that the wrinkles allow water to drain away as fingertips are pressed to wet surfaces, creating more contact and a better grip.
Opinion
DOT EARTH BLOG

Four Years, 1,630 Posts and a Nice Award

Awards for a remarkable book on the early days of cancer research, a series of articles on the frontiers of that field, a documentary on ailing dolphins and this blog.

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