Are Physical Constants Really Constant?
2012-01-15 00:00:00
Some things never change. physicists call them the constants of nature. Such quantities as the velocity of light, c , Newton’s constant of gravitation, G , and the mass of the electron, m e , are assumed to be the same at all places and times in the universe. They form the scaffolding around which the theories of physics are erected, and they define the fabric of our universe. Physics has progressed by making ever more accurate measurements of their values. [More]
A Brief History of Clocks
2012-01-15 00:00:00
Humankind’s efforts to tell time have helped drive the evolution of our technology and science throughout history. The need to gauge the divisions of the day and night led the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Romans to create sundials, water clocks and other early chronometric tools. Western Europeans adopted these technologies, but by the 13th century, demand for a dependable timekeeping instrument led medieval artisans to invent the mechanical clock. Although this new device satisfied the requirements of monastic and urban communities, it was too inaccurate and unreliable for scientific application until the pendulum was employed to govern its operation. The precision timekeepers that were subsequently developed resolved the critical problem of finding a ship’s position at sea and went on to play key roles in the industrial revolution and the advance of Western civilization. [More]
Men Spend The Big Bucks When Women Are Scarce
2012-01-14 11:00:08
Across the animal kingdom, males are competitive when females are scarce. Now a study with people has examined how the number of women affects men’s attitudes about a marker for competitive fitness: Money. Basically, the fewer the women, the more the men threw their money around. The research is in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology . [More]
EPA Sees Risks to Water, Workers In New York Fracking Rules
2012-01-14 09:00:00
New York's emerging plan to regulate natural gas drilling in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale needs to go further to safeguard drinking water, environmentally sensitive areas and gas industry workers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has informed state officials. [More]
EPA Sees Risks to Water, Workers in New York State Fracking Rules
2012-01-14 09:00:00
New York's emerging plan to regulate natural gas drilling in the gas-rich Marcellus Shale needs to go further to safeguard drinking water, environmentally sensitive areas and gas industry workers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has informed state officials. [More]
Patent Watch
2012-01-14 08:00:00
Airborne power station : As a longtime resident of Seattle, Boeing engineer Brian J. Tillotson had often gazed up at the clouds and wondered how anyone living in such a sun-deprived place could ever hope to take advantage of solar power, the main offering of Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab. More than three years ago he came up with the answer: Why not build a power station above the clouds? [More]
Why Did So Much High-Profile Junk Fall from Space Last Year?
2012-01-13 08:00:00
Two well-publicized satellite falls a month apart got me wondering: Is this the new normal? After all, there is plenty of junk in orbit, and it can’t stay up there forever. And NASA, along with many other space agencies, now requires that satellites tumble back to Earth sooner rather than later once their useful lifetimes have ended so as to limit collisions in orbit. So how often are we going to be hearing about inbound satellites--and worrying about the ever so slim chance that they might kill us? A call to NASA’s top orbital debris scientist clarified the issue and reassured me that we are not now witnessing the leading edge of a debris storm. [More]
How to Buy Time in the Fight against Climate Change: Mobilize to Stop Soot and Methane
2012-01-12 16:01:00
Humanity has done little to address climate change. Global emissions of carbon dioxide reached (another) all-time peak in 2010. The most recent international talks to craft a global treaty to address the problem pushed off major action until 2020. Fortunately, there's an alternative-- curbing the other greenhouse gases . [More]
Anti-GM Groups Attempt to Sully Transgenic Control of Dengue Fever
2012-01-12 14:00:00
Genetically engineered mosquitoes developed by British biotech firm Oxitec as an approach to controlling dengue fever have been caught up in controversy since 6,000 of them were deliberately released to an uninhabited forest in Malaysia in a trial in December 2010. [More]
Red-Wine Researcher Implicated in Data Misconduct Case
2012-01-12 11:48:00
A three-year investigation into a University of Connecticut biology laboratory has found its chief guilty of falsifying and fabricating data on more than two dozen papers and grant applications. [More]
Attraction with Static Electricity
2012-01-12 10:00:00
Key concepts [More]
Can a Vaccine Cure Haiti's Cholera?
2012-01-12 06:00:00
The cholera epidemic in Haiti has cast a stark light on deep development holes and disagreements about whether a short-term patch--in the form of a cholera vaccine--can help in the long-term fight for better health. [More]
Casual Marijuana Smoking Not Harmful to Lungs
2012-01-10 18:25:00
It wouldn't have mattered if Bill Clinton inhaled, as far as his lungs are concerned. Smoking up to a joint per day doesn't seem to decrease lung function, according to a study published in Jan. 11 edition of Journal of the American Medical Association. [More]
Soda Tax Could Turn Health Profit
2012-01-10 17:26:08
Sugary drinks are one of the leading culprits behind America's weight problem. Whether it's sugar-sweetened soda, sports drinks, teas or juices, we're each gulping down an average of 70,000 liquid calories each year. [More]
Doomsday Clock Moved 1 Minute Closer to Midnight
2012-01-10 16:15:00
In a sign of pessimism about humanity's future , scientists today set the hands of the infamous "Doomsday Clock" forward one minute from two years ago. [More]