The
Mega Foundation
Science News
July 2, 2005
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Heavy rice stands tall - Nature Biologists say they have built a better rice plant: one that is heavy with seeds, but not so tall that it will fall over in the rain. The work is expected to help increase yields of rice, which is the staple grain for the majority of the world's population. The many-seeded variety is less likely than others to bend double in high winds or rain, and this keeps the tops out of the water and reduces their chance of rotting. The variety makes 25% more seeds than the popular Koshihikari type, which was one of its parents. Such high-yield plants may be in the fields in the "very near future", according to the researchers.The researchers stress that although their plants are not genetically engineered, they believe that genetic engineering may be a useful tool to improve crop yields. "Our approach is one of the powerful methods. However it is not all-powerful," says Ashikari. Genetic engineering might one day be employed to move useful areas of DNA from rice into other crops, such as wheat and soy, they suggest. |
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How the Universe got its hydrogen pairs - Nature A computer model has made progress in solving an astronomical mystery: why is so much hydrogen in the Universe paired up into molecules instead of existing as single atoms? The secret is simple. It comes down to the fact that space dust is probably bumpy rather than smooth. Hydrogen is the simplest and most abundant element, making up about 90% of the Universe by weight. It is estimated that half of the hydrogen in the majority of space exists in molecular form, but in the dense dust clouds in which stars form, almost all of the hydrogen is paired up. Researchers are keenly interested in these dust clouds because of their role in the formation of stars and galaxies. It has long been assumed that hydrogen atoms sticking to these dust particles are jostled together, encouraging hydrogen atoms to pair up into H2. But when one team of researchers tested this theory, it came up short. But in dense interstellar clouds, molecular hydrogen forms in temperatures up to 50 kelvin. "You need the reaction to be 100% efficient over that temperature range to explain how there's a nearly total conversion of atomic to molecular hydrogen in these denser regions," |
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Jennifer Aniston strikes a nerve - Nature Is a single cell in your brain devoted to Jennifer Aniston or Bill Clinton? Maybe so, according to new research. A recent experiment showed that single neurons in people's brains react to the faces of specific people. Researchers see the findings as evidence that our brains use fewer cells to decode a given image than previously thought. At one end of the spectrum of possibilities, a network of cells would process various bits of information in a scene and piece it all together to form an understandable picture. At the other extreme, the brain would contain a separate neuron to recognize each and every object in the world. Neurobiologist Jerome Lettvin coined the term 'grandmother cell' to parody this view, as it would mean that the brain contains a specific cell to recognize one's own grandmother. For example, a neuron of one patient responded almost solely to different pictures of Bill Clinton. |
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Alzheimer's Disease: :
Biosciences:
7/2/2005: Heavy rice stands tall
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Master fliers of the bird kingdom -
BBC
7/2/2005: Frozen ovary yields healthy baby
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Genome Study Of Beneficial Microbe May Help Boost Plant Health - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: New Catfish Species Discovered - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: New, Winter-Hardy Pea Variety Now Available - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: We're Not Dismembering Babies - Wired News
7/2/2005: FAQ: What's Up With Stem
Cells? - Wired News
7/2/2005: Genes: Your Body's Crystal Ball - Wired News
Climate, Environment:
7/2/2005: Growth Secrets Of Alaska's Mysterious Field Of Lakes - Science
Daily
Computers:
Devices
7/2/2005: Apple brings podcasts into iTunes -
BBC
7/2/2005: In Pod We Trust -
BBC
7/2/2005: Juiced hits buffers:
Juiced fails to deliver on the thrills and spills of street racing -
BBC
7/2/2005: AI researchers produce new kind of PC game - C/Net
7/2/2005: iPod screens go all-color - C/Net
7/2/2005: Photo: iPod adds color - C/Net
7/2/2005: Wanted: Free iPod. Will Pay - Wired News
7/2/2005: Fun Never Begins in Batman Game - Wired News
Communications
7/2/2005: US cable firms see off net rivals -
BBC
7/2/2005: Good for Cable, Bad for America - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Verizon Wireless expands Internet service - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Broadband Fight Heads to Congress - Wired News
Technology
7/2/2005: Back to Court: AMD's latest
suit alleges that Intel engages in anticompetitive practices aimed at crippling the smaller
chipmaker. It's no slam dunk - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Plus: AMD's Court Filing - Business
Week
7/2/2005: A Giant Step for IBM's New Chip - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Cisco Adds Intelligence to Network Gear - Wired News
PC's
7/2/2005: Apple feels Intel chill - C/Net
7/2/2005: First Intel Macs Reveals Normal Guts - Wired News
Internet
7/2/2005: File-sharing ruling fuels worries -
BBC
7/2/2005: 100 million go online in China -
BBC
7/2/2005: S&P: Grokster Ruling Helps Online Media - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Yahoo overhauls free Web e-mail service - C/Net
7/2/2005: Bloom Off the Rose for
EBay? - Wired News
7/2/2005: Rejected TV Pilot Thrives on P2P - Wired News
7/2/2005: Here Comes the ITunes of News - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Play It, Google - Wired News
7/2/2005: Zen and the Art of Shockwave - Wired News
7/2/2005: Looking for Cars at Home - Wired News
Miscellaneous
7/2/2005: Blogs: Windows AntiSpyware beta 'refreshed' again - C/Net
7/2/2005: US ruling threatens file-trading-software makers - New
Scientist
Energy:
7/2/2005: France gets nuclear fusion plant -
BBC
7/2/2005: World waits on fusion -
BBC
7/2/2005: Q&A: Fusion Why is fusion so important four our future energy
plans? -
BBC
7/2/2005: France wins fusion project
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Green light for nuclear fusion site - MSNBC
7/2/2005: Biggest nuclear fusion project goes to France - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: Rising sea levels may destroy nuclear dump - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: Europe beats Japan to ITER prize - PhysicsWeb
7/2/2005: Adsorbent Materials For The Storage Of Hydrogen - Science
Daily
Health:
Cardiovascular
Cancer
Infectious
7/2/2005: Designer immune system wins cash prize
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Regular vitamin C does not prevent colds - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: Lassa fever vaccine gives complete protection - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: Experimental Vaccine Protects Nonhuman Primates From Lassa Fever - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: Cancer Drug Slows Poxvirus In Mice - Science
Daily
Non-Infectious
7/2/2005: Full smoking ban is 'inevitable' -
BBC
7/2/2005: Diabetics With High Blood Pressure Benefit From 'Water Pills' - Science
Daily
Miscellaneous
7/2/2005: Gates' millions to tackle disease -
BBC
7/2/2005: Having a baby:
How will your love life and relationship change after the birth? -
BBC
7/2/2005: Hope for psoriasis treatment -
BBC
7/2/2005: Vitamin C best in the cold
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Tai Chi Can Reduce Falls In Older People, Says New Research - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: Vascular Disease Most Common Cause Of Male Erectile Dysfunction - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: Pharming Underground - Popular
Science
History, Anthropology:
7/2/2005: Victory in sight: 360-degree tour of HMS Victory and plan of her Trafalgar role -
BBC
Miscellaneous:
7/2/2005: Identity
crisis: MPs may back them now but ID card troubles lie ahead -
BBC
7/2/2005: Hybrid Play - Business
Week
7/2/2005: Scott Kessler - Business
Week
7/2/2005: India suffers labor pains - C/Net
7/2/2005: Move over, China - C/Net
7/2/2005: Wiki: Have your say - C/Net
7/2/2005: Online maps that steer you wrong - C/Net
7/2/2005: Jury acquits Scrushy on all counts in HealthSouth fraud - Seattle
Times
7/2/2005: The Empire's New Digs - Wired News
7/2/2005: Why Ribaldry Could Land You in Prison - Wired News
7/2/2005: Digital TV Is a Clearer Choice - Washington Post
Neurosciences:
7/2/2005: Jennifer Aniston strikes a nerve
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Girls' autism 'under-diagnosed' -
BBC
7/2/2005: The power of suggestion lingers
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Roadmap to unravelling autism revealed - New
Scientist
Physics and Astronomy:
7/2/2005: How the Universe got its hydrogen pairs
-
Nature
7/2/2005: Maths 'stuck in downward spiral' -
BBC
7/2/2005: Cosmic Log: Time to revisit relativity - MSNBC
7/2/2005: Hubble Captures Outburst From Comet Targeted By Deep Impact - Science
Daily
Prolongevity
7/2/2005: Cancer Related Gene P53 Not Regulated As Indicated By Previous Tissue Culture Research - Science
Daily
Robotics:
7/2/2005: Robo-lobsters roam sea floor, find undersea mines - CNN
Space:
7/2/2005: Panel finds holes in NASA's shuttle improvements - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: Force fields may shield astronauts from radiation - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: All Eyes on Deep Impact
- Scientific American
7/2/2005: Comet mission set for deep impact -
BBC
7/2/2005: Opportunity Heads South, Leaves Purgatory Behind - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: NASA Aims For RTF July 13 With Discovery Launch - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: Rosetta Gets First Glimpse Of Tempel 1 - Science
Daily
7/2/2005: 07.01.05 - International Space Station Status
Report: SS05-034 ... - NASA
7/2/2005: 07.01.05 - NASA's Space Shuttle Processing Status
Report: S05-026 ... - NASA
7/2/2005: Spacecraft Closing in on Targeted Comet ... - L. A. Times
7/2/2005: NASA Space Shuttle - All Systems GO! ... - FirstScience
Technology:
7/2/2005: Smart eyewear for keen swimmers -
BBC
7/2/2005: Designers look back to Roman civilization to improve tennis rackets - CNN
7/2/2005: The auto-adjusting rifle scope - New
Scientist
7/2/2005: Grokster Loss Sucks for Tech - Wired News
7/2/2005: Smart Cars Are Slow Off the Line - Wired News