Technology – Page 897 – Shamskm: A site to exchange knowledge and solutions

Commentary in Nature: Can Economy Bear What Oil Prices Have in Store?

Stop wrangling over global warming and instead reduce fossil-fuel use for the sake of the global economy.

That’s the message from two scientists, one from the University of Washington and one from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, who say in the current issue of the journal Nature (Jan. 26) that the economic pain of a flattening oil supply will trump the environment as a reason to curb the use of fossil fuels. (more…)

Ancient Dinosaur Nursery Oldest Nesting Site Yet Found

*UTM professor unearths fossils in South Africa*

An excavation at a site in South Africa has unearthed the 190-million-year-old dinosaur nesting site of the prosauropod dinosaur Massospondylus-revealing significant clues about the evolution of complex reproductive behaviour in early dinosaurs. The newly unearthed dinosaur nesting ground predates previously known nesting sites by 100 million years, according to study authors.

A new study led by University of Toronto Mississauga paleontologist Robert Reisz, with co-author, Professor David Evans of ecology and evolutionary biology and the Royal Ontario Museum, along with a group of international researchers, describes clutches of eggs, many with embryos, as well as tiny dinosaur footprints, providing the oldest known evidence that the hatchlings remained at the nesting site long enough to at least double in size. (more…)

Turtles’ Mating Habits Protect Against Effects of Climate Change

The mating habits of marine turtle may help protect them against the effects of climate change, according to new research led by the University

Published on 25th January 2012 in Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study shows how mating patterns of a population of endangered green turtles may be helping them deal with the fact that global warming is leading to a disproportionate number of females being born. (more…)

Pairing Masks and Hand Washing Could Drastically Slow Spread of Pandemic Flu

ANN ARBOR, Mich.— Masks and hand hygiene could cut the spread of flu-like symptoms up to 75 percent, a University of Michigan study found. (more…)

MSU Researchers Show How New Viruses Evolve, And in Some Cases, Become Deadly

EAST LANSING, Mich. — In the current issue of Science, researchers at Michigan State University demonstrate how a new virus evolves, which sheds light on how easy it can be for diseases to gain dangerous mutations. (more…)

Researchers Suggest A Proximate Cause of Cancer

AUSTIN, TX — Researchers from The University of Texas at Austin’s Department of Chemical Engineering are the first to show that mechanical property changes in cells may be responsible for cancer progression — a discovery that could pave the way for new approaches to predict, treat and prevent cancer.

Postdoctoral student Parag Katira and his adviser, Roger T. Bonnecaze, department chair in the Cockrell School of Engineering and T. Brockett Hudson Professor, worked with Muhammad Zaman of Boston University to devise a 3-D cancer model that shows the softening of cells and changes in cell binding cause cancerous behavior in cells. These mechanical property changes cause cells to divide uncontrollably — making them less likely to die and resulting in malignant tumor growth. The findings present a unique physics-based perspective on understanding cancer progression and were published recently in the American Physical Society’s journal Physical Review Letters. (more…)

Ancient Popcorn Discovered in Peru

People living along the coast of Peru were eating popcorn 2,000 years earlier than previously reported and before ceramic pottery was used there, according to a new paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences co-authored by Dolores Piperno, curator of New World archaeology at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History and emeritus staff scientist at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute.

Some of the oldest known corncobs, husks, stalks and tassels (male flowers), dating from 6,700 to 3,000 years ago were found at Paredones and Huaca Prieta, two mound sites on Peru’s arid northern coast. The research group, led by Tom Dillehay from Vanderbilt University and Duccio Bonavia from Peru’s Academia Nacional de la Historia, also found corn microfossils: starch grains and phytoliths. Characteristics of the cobs—the earliest ever discovered in South America—indicate that the sites’ ancient inhabitants ate corn several ways, including popcorn and flour corn. However, corn was still not an important part of their diet. (more…)

Babies Are Born With “Intuitive Physics” Knowledge, Says MU Researcher

*Numerous infant studies indicate environmental knowledge is present soon after birth*

COLUMBIA, Mo. – While it may appear that infants are helpless creatures that only blink, eat, cry and sleep, one University of Missouri researcher says that studies indicate infant brains come equipped with knowledge of “intuitive physics.”

“In the MU Developmental Cognition Lab, we study infant knowledge of the world by measuring a child’s gaze when presented with different scenarios,” said Kristy vanMarle, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological Sciences in the College of Arts and Science. “We believe that infants are born with expectations about the objects around them, even though that knowledge is a skill that’s never been taught. As the child develops, this knowledge is refined and eventually leads to the abilities we use as adults.” (more…)