People In Power Feel Taller
2012-01-25 18:49:08
It’s known that taller people tend to have more jobs with more authority--and higher salaries. But there’s a flip side--the more powerful a person is, the taller he or she feels. [More]

Has Petroleum Production Peaked, Ending the Era of Easy Oil?
2012-01-25 16:31:00
Despite major oil finds off Brazil's coast, new fields in North Dakota and ongoing increases in the conversion of tar sands to oil in Canada , fresh supplies of petroleum are only just enough to offset the production decline from older fields. At best, the world is now living off an oil plateau--roughly 75 million barrels of oil produced each and every day--since at least 2005, according to a new comment published in Nature on January 26. ( Scientific American is part of Nature Publishing Group.) That is a year earlier than estimated by the International Energy Agency--an energy cartel for oil consuming nations. [More]

Why the Supreme Court GPS Decision Won't Stop Warrantless Digital Surveillance
2012-01-25 11:10:00
On January 23 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that law enforcement authorities do not generally have a right to affix a GPS tracking device to a suspect's car without first obtaining a valid warrant. Of the many things that can be said about the case, which has been called the most important Fourth Amendment test in a decade , perhaps the most sobering in the long run will be this: the decision is based on technology assumptions that are rapidly becoming irrelevant. [More]

U.S. Science Degrees Are Up
2012-01-25 08:00:00
[More]

How to Make Science and Tech Jobs More Enticing to Undergrads
2012-01-25 07:59:00
The number of U.S. undergraduate degrees being awarded in most STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering and math) has risen steadily in recent years{link to G Sci page}. Yet some American employers say they are having trouble finding candidates to fill STEM jobs. The mismatch is not occurring because of an actual shortage of graduates; the numbers of job openings and new degree holders align fairly closely. And the shortfall is not because more foreign-born students are returning home after earning U.S. degrees, as has been rumored lately. [More]

The Scientist: Jim Hansen Risks Handcuffs to Make His Research Clear
2012-01-24 12:00:00
Editor's note: Climate Query is a semi-weekly feature offered by Daily Climate, presenting short Q&A's with players large and small in the climate arena. Read others in the series at http://wwwp.dailyclimate.org/tdc-newsroom/query/climate-queries . [More]

The Power of Introverts: A Manifesto for Quiet Brilliance
2012-01-24 11:40:00
Do you enjoy having time to yourself, but always feel a little guilty about it? Then Susan Cain’s “ Quiet : The Power of Introverts ” is for you. It’s part book, part manifesto. We live in a nation that values its extroverts – the outgoing, the lovers of crowds – but not the quiet types who change the world. She recently answered questions from Mind Matters editor Gareth Cook . [More]

Diabetes Mystery: Why Are Type 1 Cases Surging?
2012-01-24 08:00:00
When public health officials fret about the soaring incidence of diabetes in the U.S. and worldwide, they are generally referring to type 2 diabetes. About 90 percent of the nearly 350 million people around the world who have diabetes suffer from the type 2 form of the illness, which mostly starts causing problems in the 40s and 50s and is tied to the stress that extra pounds place on the body’s ability to regulate blood glucose. About 25 million people in the U.S. have type 2 diabetes, and another million have type 1 diabetes, which typically strikes in childhood and can be controlled only with daily doses of insulin. [More]

Women Feel Pain More Intensely Than Men
2012-01-23 20:00:00
When a woman falls ill, her pain may be more intense than a man's, a new study suggests. [More]

Women Feel Pain More Intensely Than Men Do
2012-01-23 20:00:00
When a woman falls ill, her pain may be more intense than a man's, a new study suggests. [More]

Bed Bug Confidential: An Expert Explains How to Defend against the Dreaded Pests
2012-01-23 08:30:00
Chances are, you or someone you know has had a run-in with bed bug s. It might have happened in a scrupulously clean bedroom. Or maybe it was a hotel room, office or college dorm. In the February issue of Scientific American entomologist Kenneth Haynes of the University of Kentucky explains how, after a lengthy absence, bed bugs are staging a comeback . The good news is scientists are intensively studying these insects, and their insights suggest novel ways of detecting the bugs and eradicating infestations. Some of those potential solutions are a long way off, however. In the meantime the best bet is to avoid bringing bed bugs home in the first place. I called Haynes to ask him how to do that and what to do if one suspects an infestation (eek!), among a bunch of other practical-minded questions. [More]

Stuttering Reflects Irregularities in Brain Setup
2012-01-23 08:00:00
Put on a pair of headphones and turn up the volume so that you can’t even hear yourself speak. For those who stutter, this is when the magic happens. Without the ability to hear their own voice, people with this speech impediment no longer stumble over their words--as was recently portrayed in the movie The King’s Speech . This simple trick works because of the unusual way the brain of people who stutter is organized--a neural setup that affects other actions besides speech, according to a new study. [More]

Should the U.S. Collaborate with China in Space?
2012-01-23 07:00:00
The next time humans set foot on the moon, they may well plant a five-starred red flag there. The Chinese space program is developing rapidly, and further progress should come this year when taikonauts, a colloquial term for Chinese astronauts, visit the Tiangong-1 space module. [More]

Online Gamers Achieve First Crowdsourced Redesign of Protein
2012-01-22 21:00:00
Obsessive gamers' hours at the computer have now topped scientists' efforts to improve a model enzyme, in what researchers say is the first crowdsourced redesign of a protein. [More]

Online Gamers Achieve First Crowd-Sourced Redesign of Protein
2012-01-22 21:00:00
Obsessive gamers' hours at the computer have now topped scientists' efforts to improve a model enzyme, in what researchers say is the first crowdsourced redesign of a protein. [More]