In the Pythagorean theorem episode of NBC Learn’s “The Science of NFL Football,” you see that a defender in the middle of the field must take the proper angle of pursuit to catch a ball-carrier making a dash down the sideline for the end zone. In chasing down the ball-carrier, the defender basically runs along the diagonal of a right triangle, in which the sum of the squares of the sides equals the square of that diagonal....
When astronomers announced the discovery of UB313, the so-called tenth planet, a little more than a year ago, they had a hunch it might be bigger than Pluto because of its brightness. But despite several attempts to observe more closely the mysterious object orbiting the sun at a distance of more than 14 billion kilometers, accurate estimates of its size remained elusive. Now German astronomers working in Spain have determined that UB313 has a diameter of roughly 3,000 kilometers–roughly 700 kilometers larger than Pluto’s....
Even though the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine can protect against HPV infections as well as cancers later in life, the number of teenage girls and boys in the United States who have received the vaccine remains “unacceptably low,” officials at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced today (July 24). In 2013, just 57.3 percent of girls between ages 13 and 17 received one or more doses of the HPV vaccine....
In previous episodes, I’ve talked about the nutritional differences (such as they are) between grass- and grain-fed beef. But today, I want to share some updated information regarding the impact of various feeding programs on the health of the cow and on the environment—an area where there are a lot of misconceptions. I’ve just returned from the beautiful state of Colorado, where I had an opportunity to visit some places where beef cattle are raised....
1972 Credit: Scientific American, August 1972 Creation Science “The stage is being set for the mandatory teaching of divine creation as a scientific theory on the same footing as evolution in the public schools of California. In 1969 the State Board of Education modified a new ‘science framework’ for kindergarten through the 12th grade to require that recommended textbooks present more than one hypothesis for the origin of the universe, matter, life and man....
1970 Monkey War Resumes “The classic controversy about evolution has resumed once again in California. The State Board of Education inserted into new guidelines, which had been prepared by a committee of science teachers, a statement that ‘scientific evidence concerning the origin of life implies at least a dualism or the necessity to use several theories.’ This will presumably require that such competing theories as the story given in Genesis and Aristotle’s theory of spontaneous generation be taught along with Darwinism....
Stem cells in the brain could be the key to extending life and slowing aging. These cells—which are located in the hypothalamus, a region that produces hormones and other signaling molecules—can reinvigorate declining brain function and muscle strength in middle-aged mice, according to a study published in August in Nature. Previous studies have suggested that the hypothalamus is involved in aging, but the latest research shows that stem cells in this region can slow the process....
A spent rocket stage that NASA sent hurtling into the moon last year in hopes of kicking up water from a polar crater delivered on that mission, revealing that at least a moderate portion of its target was indeed made of ice. But the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) revealed much more than that—hinting at a rich mixture of chemical species in the crater, including carbon monoxide, mercury and possibly silver....
Emotions can be tricky enough for humans to read, let alone machines, but a new system can predict people’s feelings with 87 percent accuracy by bouncing wireless signals off them, researchers say. The setup, dubbed EQ-Radio, analyzes the signal reflected off a subject’s body to monitor both breathing and heartbeat. These physiological cues are commonly used to detect a person’s emotions, but it typically requires hooking up the subject to a host of sensors....
A connection between the human herpesvirus Epstein-Barr and multiple sclerosis (MS) has long been suspected but has been difficult to prove. Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is the primary cause of mononucleosis and is so common that 95 percent of adults carry it. Unlike Epstein-Barr, MS, a devastating demyelinating disease of the central nervous system, is relatively rare. It affects 2.8 million people worldwide. But people who contract infectious mononucleosis are at slightly increased risk of developing MS....
It’s mid-August in 2013, and we are working in the dry heat of the Jordanian Harra basalt desert. It is the last week of our second season of excavations at the 14,500-year-old archaeological site called Shubayqa 1. We have just finished exposing the stone floor of a Paleolithic house, and we are elated—it took six weeks of digging to get to this point. Our next target is to reach a circular, stone-lined fireplace, measuring about a meter across, that is set into the floor of the building....
Since the first case of Ebola was diagnosed in the U.S. earlier this week, public health officials have redoubled their efforts to identify and respond to other potential patients. More than 100 calls have been placed to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention about possible cases of Ebola around the country, and the agency last night issued another alert to healthcare providers about how to identify and care for suspect patients....
Saturn’s moon Titan shares many of Earth’s features, including clouds, rain and lakes. And now scientists know the two are similar in another way: they both have waves. Cameras on NASA’s spacecraft Cassini recently saw what appear to be waves on one of Titan’s largest methane lakes—a signal scientists have long searched for but never found. “I was starting to despair that we were going to see them at all,” says Jason Barnes, a physicist at the University of Idaho who presented the evidence in March at the 45th Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in The Woodlands, Tex....
No one knows why mass murderers commit their appalling deeds. But new evidence reinforces the idea that mass shootings, publicized in the media, may have a contagious effect. Researchers at Arizona State University analyzed news reports of gun-related incidents from 1997 to 2013. They hypothesized that the rampages did not occur randomly over time but instead were clustered in patterns. The investigators applied a mathematical model and found that shootings that resulted in at least four deaths launched a period of contagion, marked by a heightened likelihood of more bloodshed, lasting an average of 13 days....
NASA will launch a scientific instrument into space next month to measure the salt content of the world’s oceans, information that could help confirm scientists’ suspicions that climate change is accelerating the world’s water cycle. The instrument, Aquarius, will launch June 9 as part of a joint mission between NASA and Argentina’s space agency. Flying aboard the SAC-D satellite, Aquarius will measure ocean salinity, completing a path around the entire globe every seven days....
Sharks are some of the world’s most formidable predators, but their place at the top of the marine food chain may be threatened by ocean warming and acidification. As carbon dioxide levels in the oceans increase, upping the acidity of the water, shark teeth and scales may begin to corrode, compromising their ability to swim, hunt and feed, according to research published today in Scientific Reports. Ultimately, sharks could be displaced as apex predators, disrupting entire ocean food webs, says the study’s senior author Lutz Auerswald, a fisheries biologist at Stellenbosch University in South Africa and the nation’s Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries....
Self-folding machines made from graphene oxide paper are inspiring some researchers to dream of a future with real-life Transformers and autonomous search-and-rescue robots. Many large engineering hurdles stand between humanity and an origami Optimus Prime, but the researchers who developed the new machines say that their innovations could find more immediate uses in sensors, artificial muscles, and wearable devices. Researchers led by Hongzhi Wang and Qinghong Zhang at Donghua University were inspired by the idea of melding the ancient art of origami with modern materials, a recent trend in flexible device research....
On a rather dull Saturday in November 1984, I found a bombshell in my letterbox. I had received data from a distinguished Dutch researcher and saw immediately that Dutch males had made enormous IQ gains in a single generation. Today similar findings have occurred in almost 30 nations–in every country for which we have data. IQ escalation may not persist, but it has dominated the 20th century. That is enough to create a crisis of confidence....
The brain is protected by formidable defenses. In addition to the skull, the cells that make up the blood-brain barrier keep pathogens and toxic substances from reaching the central nervous system. The protection is a boon, except when we need to deliver drugs to treat illnesses. Now researchers are testing a way to penetrate these bastions: sound waves. Kullervo Hynynen, a medical physicist at Sunnybrook Research Institute in Toronto, and a team of physicians are trying out a technique that involves giving patients a drug followed by an injection of microscopic gas-filled bubbles....
Since the 1970s, ocean surface temperatures around the globe have been on the rise–from one half to one degree Fahrenheit, depending on the region. Last summer, two studies linked this temperature rise to stronger and more frequent hurricanes. Skeptics called other factors into account, such as natural variability, but a new statistical analysis shows that only this sea surface temperature increase explains this trend. Climate researcher Judith Curry and her colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology looked at the hurricane records for storms between 1970 and 2004 in all of the world’s ocean basins, yielding a total sample of 210 seasons over the six regions....
