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Eddies Found to be Deep, Powerful Modes of Ocean Transport

By ShamsMay 1, 2011Environment, Scienceadams, computer models, deep sea phenomenon, deep-sea moorings, dennis j mcgillicuddy, diane k adams, east pacific rise, east scotia ridge, el niño, eruption, hydrothermal vents, indian ridge, jets, lauren s mullineaux, mid atlantic ridge, ocean, ocean bottom, ocean eddies, sea creatures, surface ocean dynamics, underwater mountain range, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

*Study Finds Connection between Atmospheric Events and the Deep Ocean*

Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and their colleagues have discovered that massive, swirling ocean eddies–known to be up to 500 kilometers across at the surface–can reach all the way to the ocean bottom at mid-ocean ridges, some 2,500 meters deep, transporting tiny sea creatures, chemicals, and heat from hydrothermal vents over large distances.

The previously unknown deep-sea phenomenon, reported in the April 28 issue of the journal Science, helps explain how some larvae travel huge distances from one vent area to another, said Diane K. Adams, lead author at WHOI and now at the National Institutes of Health. (more…)

Scorpion Venom – Bad for Bugs, Good for Pesticides

By Guest PostMay 1, 2011Sciencedesert scorpion, scorpion toxin project, scorpion toxins, scorpion venom

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Fables have long cast scorpions as bad-natured killers of hapless turtles that naively agree to ferry them across rivers. Michigan State University scientists, however, see them in a different light. (more…)

Asteroids Collide at 11,000 Miles Per Hour; Scientists Study Debris

By Guest PostApril 30, 2011Science596 scheila, asteroid, collision of asteroids, david jewitt, dust plumes, earth, empire state building, evolution of the solar system, history of astronomy, hubble data, Hubble Space Telescope, jupiter, mars, NASA, new york, scheila, swift ultraviolet optical telescope, uvot

Scientists have captured and studied the collision of two asteroids for only the second time in the history of astronomy. In the May 20 edition of the Astrophysical Journal Letters (currently online), UCLA’s David Jewitt and colleagues report on observations from NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope of a large asteroid that was hit by a much smaller one.

On Dec. 11, 2010, astronomers noticed that an asteroid known as (596) Scheila had unexpectedly brightened and was sporting short-lived dust plumes. Data from NASA’s Swift satellite and Hubble Space Telescope showed that these changes likely occurred after Scheila was struck by a much smaller asteroid, probably in late November or early December. The shape, evolution and content of the plumes enabled the scientists to reconstruct what occurred. (more…)

From the Beginning, the Mind Knows the Difference Between Night and Day

By Guest PostApril 28, 2011Scienceaugust kampf-lassin, basic human behaviors, biological rhythms, brain, brian prendergast, circadian rhythms, circadian system, hamster circadian visual system, primates, sunrise, sunset, university of chicago, visual stimuli

The brain is apparently programmed from birth to develop the ability to determine sunrise and sunset, new research on circadian rhythms at the University of Chicago shows.

The research sheds new light on brain plasticity and may explain some basic human behaviors, according to Brian Prendergast, associate professor in psychology, and co-author of a paper published April 27 in the journal PLoS One. The lead author is August Kampf-Lassin, an advanced graduate student at the University. (more…)

Prey-tell: Why Right Whales Linger in the Gulf of Maine

By Guest PostApril 27, 2011Nature, Sciencealgae eating copepod, baleen whales, behavior of the whales, calanus finmarchicus, dramatic impact, endangered animals, gulf of maine, mark baumgartner, nantucket, north atlantic, sand lance, sei whales, vertical migration, vertical migration behavior, whale population, whales, whoi, woods hole oceanographic institution

As they might with most endangered animals, scientists consider the whereabouts and activities of right whales extremely important. “It is helpful to know where they go, why they go there and what they do when they’re there,” says Mark F. Baumgartner of the biology department at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI).

Baumgartner and his colleagues studied the behavior of right whales and sei whales—both endangered species of baleen whales—in the waters of the Gulf of Maine to the east of Nantucket. They found that the location, the length of stay, and perhaps the very abundance of the whales may be dependent on an interesting vertical migration pattern by the copepods on which the whales feed. It seems to be a case, he said, of “how the behavior of the prey influences the behavior of the whales.” (more…)

Bringing more Power to African Farmers Through Simple Technology

By Guest PostApril 27, 2011Sciencebiomechanical engineering, commercialization aspect, convert energy, cylindrical device, existing infrastructure, inaugural course, john morrell, political and socioeconomic, producing energy, productivity and earnings, sub-saharan africa, suzanne taylor muzzin, yale university

In a room in the basement of Hillhouse Avenue, 18 Yale students have spent the past 12 weeks transforming gears, wing nuts and sprockets into energy solutions for farmers working thousands of miles away in sub-Saharan Africa.

The class, called “Appropriate Technology for the Developing World,” was inspired by a trip that faculty member John Morrell took to Africa in 2009 with an international team of scientists, after learning that African farmers often earn just $1 to $2 a day. (more…)

Anti-Helium Discovered in the Heart of STAR

By Guest PostApril 26, 2011Scienceaccelerator technology, alpha magnetic spectrometer, ams, anti heavy hydrogen, anti hypertriton, antialpha, antideuteron, antielectron, antihelium 4, antinucleons, antiparticles, antiproton, baryon, baryon number, berkeley lab, carl anderson, CERN, collisions of energetic gold nuclei, ernest rutherford, experiment, hans georg ritter, heaviest antiparticle, nu xu, nucleus, nucleus of antihelium 4, nucleus of antihydrogen, particle, positron, relativistic heavy ion collider, rhic, star, star experiment

*Berkeley Lab nuclear scientists join with their international colleagues in the latest record-breaking discovery at RHIC*

Eighteen examples of the heaviest antiparticle ever found, the nucleus of antihelium-4, have been made in the STAR experiment at RHIC, the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory.

“The STAR experiment is uniquely capable of finding antihelium‑4,” says the STAR experiment’s spokesperson, Nu Xu, of the Nuclear Science Division (NSD) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). “STAR already holds the record for massive antiparticles, last year having identified the anti-hypertriton, which contains three constituent antiparticles. With four antinucleons, antihelium-4 is produced at a rate a thousand times lower yet. To identify the 18 examples required sifting through the debris of a billion gold-gold collisions.” (more…)

Multitasking Challenge: Radar Analysis of Walking Patterns Shows Promise for Detecting Concussions in Athletes and Soldiers

By Guest PostApril 25, 2011Sciencegait patterns, motor skill tasks, multitasking challenge, signs of concussion, traumatic brain injuries, walking patterns

Walking and thinking at the same time can be especially difficult for persons who’ve suffered concussions, and scientists hope to use that multitasking challenge — measured by a simple radar system — to quickly screen individuals who may have suffered brain injuries. (more…)

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