ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, September 25, 2011 ~ techdeck

Minggu, 25 September 2011

ScienceDaily Environment Headlines -- for Sunday, September 25, 2011

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ScienceDaily Environment Headlines

for Sunday, September 25, 2011

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Monkeys also reason through analogy, study shows (September 24, 2011) -- Recognizing relations between relations is what analogy is all about. What lies behind this ability? Is it uniquely human? A new study has shown that monkeys are capable of making analogies. ... > full story

Nature shows the way: Self-healing membranes (September 24, 2011) -- The plant liana, whose stabilization rings of woody cells heal spontaneously after suffering damage, serves as a natural example to bionic experts of self-repairing membranes. Such membranes could find use, for example, in rubber dinghies. Researchers have borrowed this trick from nature and developed a polymer foam surface coating with a closed cell construction which not only reduces the pressure loss after the membrane is damaged but also makes the inflatable structure more resistant and giving it a longer operational life. ... > full story

NASA's UARS satellite re-enters Earth's atmosphere (September 24, 2011) -- NASA's decommissioned Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) fell back to Earth between 11:23 p.m. EDT Friday, Sept. 23 and 1:09 a.m. Sept. 24, 20 years and nine days after its launch on a 14-year mission that produced some of the first long-term records of chemicals in the atmosphere. The precise re-entry time and location of debris impacts have not been determined. During the re-entry period, the satellite passed from the east coast of Africa over the Indian Ocean, then the Pacific Ocean, then across northern Canada, then across the northern Atlantic Ocean, to a point over West Africa. The vast majority of the orbital transit was over water, with some flight over northern Canada and West Africa. ... > full story

Nature offers key lessons on harvesting solar power, say chemists (September 24, 2011) -- Clean solutions to human energy demands are essential to our future. While sunlight is the most abundant source of energy at our disposal, we have yet to learn how to capture, transfer and store solar energy efficiently. According to a new study, the answers can be found in the complex systems at work in nature. ... > full story

Fluid equilibrium in prehistoric organisms sheds light on a turning point in evolution (September 24, 2011) -- Maintaining fluid balance in the body is essential to survival. By researching recent genomic data, researchers have found genetic evidence that links this intricate process to a turning point in evolution. ... > full story

Aboriginal Australians: The first explorers (September 23, 2011) -- In an exciting development, researchers have, for the first time, pieced together the human genome from an Aboriginal Australian. The results re-interpret the prehistory of our species. ... > full story

No harm to mice testes from BPA in utero: Data on female mice less encouraging (September 23, 2011) -- Male mice whose mothers were exposed to either moderate or high levels of bisphenol A while pregnant did not grow up to show any adverse effects to their reproductive systems by several measures, according to a new study. Data on female mice is still forthcoming but less encouraging. ... > full story

Ecologists use power of network science to challenge long-held theory (September 23, 2011) -- For decades, ecologists have toiled to nail down principles explaining why some habitats have many more plant and animal species than others. Much of this debate is focused on the idea that the number of species is determined by the productivity of the habitat. Shouldn't a patch of prairie contain a different number of species than an arid steppe or an alpine tundra? Maybe not, says an international team of scientists that pooled its resources to re-evaluate the relationship between species numbers and habitat productivity. ... > full story

Mother’s occupation while pregnant can increase risk of asthma in children (September 23, 2011) -- Mothers who are exposed to particular agents during pregnancy could give birth to children with a higher risk of asthma, according to new research. ... > full story

Unprecedented role reversal: Ground beetle larvae lure amphibians and prey upon them (September 23, 2011) -- Usually it's the frog that catches the unsuspecting bug for a tasty snack, but in an unprecedented predator-prey role reversal, a certain group of ground beetle larvae are able to lure their amphibious would-be predators and consume them with almost 100% success. In a new study, researchers begin to describe how these larvae are able to pull off this feat. ... > full story

Decoding vaccination: Researchers reveal genetic underpinnings of response to measles vaccine (September 23, 2011) -- Researchers are hacking the genetic code that controls the human response to disease vaccination, and they are using this new cipher to answer many of the deep-seated questions that plague vaccinology, including why patients respond so differently to identical vaccines and how to minimize the side effects to vaccination. ... > full story

Archaeologists uncover evidence of large ancient shipyard near Rome (September 23, 2011) -- Archaeologists, excavating Portus - the ancient port of Rome, believe they have discovered a large Roman shipyard. The team has uncovered the remains of a massive building close to the distinctive hexagonal basin or 'harbor', at the center of the port complex. ... > full story