The Daily Science Nugget...

[D. Allan]

A huge spider web covering several acres had been found in a State Park east of Dallas, Texas, USA.

Go here to read about and to see a picture: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/us/31spider.html?ref=science

[Amelia]

[Denise]

Quote:

“It’s beautiful,” said the park’s superintendent, Donna Garde.

Beautiful??!! Beautiful???? I would of ran when I seen that! LOL Spiders, my worst nightmare! Ewwwwwwwww!!!!

[D. Allan]

On today's hard-disk drives it takes about one million atoms to store a single bit of information. IBM, it seems, has a way to store that same bit on a single atom! Plus more... at

- http://www.kurzweilai.net/news/frame.html?main=news_single.html?id%3D7210

- http://www.eetimes.com/news/latest/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=201803169

[D. Allan]

The New York Times published this morning a nice illustration of atomic storage: - http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/31/technology/31ibm.html?ref=science

[D. Allan]

A biophysicist and a chemist both at Harvard University have been growing thin films of muscle tissueusing chemicals on plastic to orient the starter cells from rat hearts.

Someday doctors may be able to repair heart muscle.

[D. Allan]

By Charles Q. Choi

MSNBC

Updated: 12:56 p.m. ET Sept 7, 2007

Cellular phones can be used to talk with owls in the wild, researchers now find.

Beyond phone calls consisting entirely of "Who?" placing networks of cell phones in the wild could help call to and listen for birds and beasts, enabling researchers to study faraway wildlife in their natural habitats.

"We're in talks to set up such networks in Costa Rica, Sri Lanka and Papua New Guinea," researcher Dale Joachim, an MIT electrical engineer, told LiveScience. "It might be good for ecotourism, to hear the richness of sound there."

[D. Allan]

..............published Sept. 04, 2007................

[D. Allan]

Alex, a 31-year-old African gray parrot, knew more than 100 words and could count and recognize colors and shapes.

check out the story at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/11/science/11parrot.html

[D. Allan]

More Good News for the Ozone Layer

By Phil Berardelli

ScienceNOW Daily News

11 September 2007

The nations of the world might be deadlocked over what to do about greenhouse gases, but one important agreement reached 20 years ago seems to have produced tangible benefits for the atmosphere and Earth's inhabitants. Researchers tracking one of the chemicals that is most destructive to the ozone layer have found that its levels peaked in the early 1990s and have been declining steadily ever since. The finding reinforces conclusions that Earth's ozone layer is slowly returning to health.

Atmospheric concentrations of ozone block up to 99% of the cancer- and mutation-causing solar radiation. The gas forms when ultraviolet (UV) light strikes and splits oxygen molecules. The resulting free oxygen atoms quickly combine with other oxygen molecules to form ozone, or O3. And when more oxygen atoms are freed by UV light striking ozone molecules, they likewise quickly rebond into ozone. This cycle had been occurring for more than a billion years, until humans began manufacturing chemicals that rose into the atmosphere and started ripping apart ozone in a way that prevented it from easily reconstituting. In 1987, recognizing the dangers to ozone and to the biosphere from the buildup of those chemicals, 191 nations signed the Montreal Protocol that initially limited and then banned the manufacture of ozone-destroying molecules.

The changes in the ozone layer have been slow but steady ever since. Scientists charged with monitoring the protective layer's health reported earlier this year that the primary type of ozone-destroying chemicals--known as chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)--had been declining since the mid-1990s (ScienceNOW, 5 March 2007). Now, two Arizona astronomers have analyzed data on hydrogen chloride (HCl) concentrations over the past 35 years. HCl, which comes from volcanoes and the breakdown of chemicals used to make plastics, rubber, and semiconductors, packs nearly as much ozone-destroying potential as CFCs, and its use was restricted by the Montreal Protocol. Utilizing instruments at the Kitt Peak National Observatory in Arizona, Lloyd Wallace of the National Optical Astronomy Observatories and William Livingston of the National Solar Observatory, both in Tucson, found that HCl levels had fallen by an average of about 1.8% per year since 1993. This compares with an average annual increase of 5.7% from 1971 to 1993, the authors report in the August issue of Geophysical Research Letters.

The findings show that "there is indeed good evidence that the chlorine loading in the atmosphere is going down as a result of the Montreal Protocol," says atmospheric chemist Christopher Cantrell of the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado. That doesn't mean the ozone layer is out of the woods, however, he says. The observations don't "tell us about the status of bromine levels," Cantrell says. Bromine is rarer in the atmosphere but is "much more effective at destroying ozone." Nevertheless, he says, "I think most everyone agrees that we should see [full ozone layer] recovery eventually," although probably not for at least 50 more years.

[D. Allan]

Time travel is the act of traveling through time. Of all the living organisms on Earth, only humans are known to be gifted with abilities of time travel, always moving forward at approximately one minute per minute (unless they're at the checkout line at the grocer's).

[D. Allan]

Old news from a week ago, but just in case you missed it: Chimps have better short-term memory than humans!

http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-12-03-chimp-memory_N.htm

[D. Allan]

Mistletoe is not deadly. But it can be hazardous, so don’t eat it.

One study published in 1996 looked at 92 cases of mistletoe ingestion and found that only a small fraction of patients showed any symptoms. Eight of 10 people who consumed five or more berries had no symptoms, and 3 of the 11 people who consumed only leaves had upset stomachs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/health/11real.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[D. Allan]

atom

Fundamental unit of matter having unique chemical properties; it is composed of a nucleus and an electron cloud. One atom is distinguished from another by the number of protons in its nucleus.

[Amelia]

Quote:

Mistletoe is not deadly. But it can be hazardous, so don’t eat it.

One study published in 1996 looked at 92 cases of mistletoe ingestion and found that only a small fraction of patients showed any symptoms. Eight of 10 people who consumed five or more berries had no symptoms, and 3 of the 11 people who consumed only leaves had upset stomachs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/11/health/11real.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

FYI. There are hundreds of species of mistletoe. In Europe mistletoe is used for treating circulatory and respiratory system problems, and cancer. But beware, many mistletoes are poisonous if ingested, as they contain viscotoxins.

The mistletoe commercially harvested in the US for Christmas decorations is Phoradendron flavescens. Viscum album is the species of mistletoe, originally so-named, and also known as European Mistletoe or Common Mistletoe to distinguish it from other related species. It is the only species native to Great Britain and much of Europe.

[D. Allan]

Thanks for the info, Amelia!

[D. Allan]

Giant Rat Discovered in an Indonesian Jungle.

It is five times larger than the usual city-rat.

Read more at http://www.livescience.com/animals/071217-ap-jungle-rat.html

[D. Allan]

proton

Constituent particle of an atom’s nucleus whose electric charge is positive;

it is composed of two u quarks and one d quark.

neutron

Constituent particle of an atom’s nucleus whose electric charge is neutral;

it is composed of one u quark and two d quarks.

[D. Allan]

Brain Cells More Powerful Than You Think

By E.J. Mundell, HealthDay Reporter

posted: 19 December 2007 05:21 pm ET

Email (HealthDay News) -- "The human brain constantly sorts through its 1 trillion cells, looking for perhaps only one or a handful of neurons to carry out a particular action, a trio of new studies says." ....

more at: http://www.livescience.com/healthday/611029.html

The idea is that only a few or even only one brain cell is enough to modify behavior. So love, honor and cherish every one!

[D. Allan]

Planet-hunting space probe notches up four finds in first year

Thu Dec 20, 12:42 PM ET

PARIS (AFP) - Corot, a French-funded probe designed to detect worlds orbiting other stars, has found four such candidates in its first year of operation, its mission chiefs said here on Thursday.

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Data sent back by the 170-million-euro (244-million-dollar) spacecraft has yielded two confirmed finds of so-called exoplanets and two probable finds, they told a press conference.

"Corot is performing exceptionally well," said the programme's director of science, Annie Baglin, of the Paris-Meudon Observatory.

Pronounced "coro," the unmanned craft lifted off on December 27, 2006 from a Russian base in Kazakhstan, bearing a 30-centimetre (12-inch) telescope and two cameras.

Its prime goal is to look for planets that are made of rock rather than gas, which is the first requirement along with liquid water and a moderate temperature for life as we know it.

The first exoplanet was spotted in 1995 by astronomers at the Geneva Observatory, who inferred its existence from light from the neighbouring star that "wobbled" in response to the passing planet's gravitational pull.

So far, 221 exoplanets have been detected, according to the US tallykeeper (http://exoplanets.org/), although the Corot mission officials said the latest total was 270.

Almost all of the finds have been of uninhabitable gas giants, rather than solid planets.

And they orbit at ranges that are outside the so-called "Goldilocks zone," where the temperature is not too hot, not too cold, but just right to let liquid water exist.

The two confirmed finds by Corot, called Corot-exo-1b and Corot-exo-2b, both fall into the gas giant category, but one of the "probables" could be a rocky planet if preliminary calculations of its density are confirmed.

[D. Allan]

Scientists Weigh Stem Cells’ Role as Cancer Cause

This might change the whole course of cancer research.

more at http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/science/21stem.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin

[D. Allan]

Full Moon Meets Mars

By Joe Rao, SPACE.com Skywatching Columnist

20 December 2007 06:30 am ET

"If skies are clear in your area on Sunday night, Dec. 23, you'll be able to partake in a rather unusual sight as the full moon appears to glide very closely above the planet Mars.

"Mars, which made its closest approach to the Earth on Dec. 18, will be only hours from a Christmas Eve opposition with the sun and is now shining prominently with a bright yellow-orange glow."

more at: http://www.livescience.com/space/spacewatch/071221-ns-mars-moon.html

[D. Allan]

Orphanages Stunt Mental Growth, a Study Finds

By BENEDICT CAREY

"Giving credence to the long-held belief that orphanages stunt children’s mental development, a study shows that infants placed with foster families have higher I.Q.’s on average than those who remain in institutions. . .

more: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/21/health/21cnd-foster.html?ref=science

[D. Allan]

From Scientific American Magazine:

News - December 19, 2007

Evolving Bigger Brains through Cooking: A Q&A with Richard Wrangham

"Our intelligence has enabled us to conquer the world. The secret for the big brains, says biological anthropologist Richard Wrangham, is cooking, which made digestion easier and liberated more calories."

By Rachael Moeller Gorman

read the interview here with Mr. Wrangham, director of the Kibale Chimpanzee Project since 1987 in Western Uganda: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=evolving-bigger-brains-th

[D. Allan]

The Scientific way to fall in love! Don't worry if you never know what to say to your date. There are more important things than words psycologists have found.

"It’s not what you say...

Psychologists have shown it takes between 90 seconds and 4 minutes to decide if you fancy someone.

Research has shown this has little to do with what is said, rather

55% is through body language

38% is the tone and speed of their voice

Only 7% is through what they say.

found at http://www.youramazingbrain.org/lovesex/sciencelove.htm

check it out