Instead Of "Arms Control", We Have "Cyber Controls"

Photo: Cyber warrior: Vladislav Sherstuyuk, a retired four-star Russian general who leads the Institute of Information Security Issues at Moscow State University, announced a new cyber security research collaboration on Monday. Credit: Veni Markovski

Exposing Hackers As A Deterrent -- Technology Review

Two researchers propose a novel form of "arms control" at a conference in Germany.

Cyber attacks can come from governments, terrorists, thieves, or bored high school students. This makes the cyber security equivalent of "arms control" difficult to achieve. But a pair of researchers yesterday proposed methods of deterrence that they believe could work in cyberspace.

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GM Viruses Offer Hope Of Future Where Energy Is Unlimited

Photosynthesis is probably the most critical chemical process on earth. It mostly takes place in tiny structures called chloroplasts found inside the cells of a plant's leaves. Alamy

From The Independent:

Breakthrough as US researchers replicate photosynthesis in laboratory.

Scientists have made a fundamental breakthrough in their attempts to replicate photosynthesis – the ability of plants to harvest the power of sunlight – in the hope of making unlimited amounts of "green" energy from water and sunlight alone.

Read more ....

Study: Spanking Kids Leads To More Aggressive Behavior

A mother spanks her daughter. Peter Dazeley / Photographer's Choice / Getty Images

From Time Magazine:

Disciplining young children is one of the key jobs of any parent — most people would have no trouble agreeing with that. But whether or not that discipline should include spanking or other forms of corporal punishment is a far trickier issue.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) does not endorse spanking for any reason, citing its lack of long-term effectiveness as a behavior-changing tactic. Instead the AAP supports strategies such as time-outs when children misbehave, which focus on getting kids to reflect on their behavior and the consequences of their actions. Still, as many parents can attest, few responses bring about the immediate interruption of a full-blown tantrum like a swift whack to the bottom.

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Take From ATM Malware Caper Exceeded $200,000

From Threat Level:

A Bank of America worker who installed malicious software on his employer’s ATMs was able to siphon at least $200,000 from the hacked machines before he was caught, according to a plea agreement he entered with prosecutors last week.

Rodney Reed Caverly, 37, was a member of the bank’s IT staff when he installed the malware, which instructed the machines to dispense free cash without creating a record of the transaction. The Charlotte, North Carolina, man made fraudulent withdrawals over a seven-month period ending in October 2009, according to prosecutors, who’ve charged him with one count of computer fraud.

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Russian President Calls Station, Suggests 'Space Summit'

The International Space Station's six-member crew participates in a Cosmonautics Day call from Russian President Dmitry Medvedev early Monday. Back row, left to right: Timothy Creamer, Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Soichi Noguchi. Front row, left to right: Alexander Skvortsov, commander Oleg Kotov and Mikhail Kornienko. (Credit: NASA TV)

From CNET:

JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston--Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called the International Space Station Monday to mark the 49th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's launch on the first manned space flight, suggesting an international space summit to discuss future cooperative ventures on the high frontier.

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Computer-Enhanced Vision Adds A 'Sixth Sense'

In the future you could be reminded about your experiences with people and places just by looking at them. Credit: iStockphot

From Cosmos:

MEGEVE, FRANCE: Picture this: as your eyes alight for the first time on a skyscraper in a foreign cityscape, a disembodied voice whispers in your ear the phone number of a posh bar on the top floor.

Or this: You have been spotted on the street by an old friend whose name suddenly eludes you. But even before there is time to shake hands, a glance at your smartphone reveals her identity and the date of your last encounter.

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Rivers Heating Up With Warming

Image: Rivers that flow near U.S. cities, as the Delaware River, shown here, are warming at the fastest rate. Getty Images

From Discovery News:

Twenty major U.S. streams and rivers have warmed significantly over the last few decades, according to new research.

Along with warmer air and warmer oceans, rivers also seem to be heating up with global warming. Across the United States, a new study found, water temperatures in some rivers have risen by more than 3 degrees Celsius in the last few decades.

Read more ....

Hawaiian Submarine Canyons Are Hotspots Of Biodiversity And Biomass For Seafloor Animal Communities

Large gorgonian observed at 650 m off the North Coast of Moloka i, dubbed "Cousin It." (Credit: Image courtesy of University of Hawaii at Manoa)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Apr. 11, 2010) — Underwater canyons have long been considered important habitats for marine life, but until recently, only canyons on continental margins had been intensively studied. Researchers from Hawaii Pacific University (HPU) and the Universtiy of Hawaii at Manoa (UHM) have now conducted the first extensive study of canyons in the oceanic Hawaiian Archipelago and found that these submarine canyons support especially abundant and unique communities of megafauna (large animals such as fish, shrimp, crabs, sea cucumbers, and sea urchins) including 41 species not observed in other habitats in the Hawaiian Islands.

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Town From Before Invention Of Wheel Revealed

The Tell Zeidan site is about 48 feet high at its tallest point and covers about 30 acres. It sits in an area of irrigated fields at the junction of the Euphrates and Balikh Rivers in what is now northern Syria. Credit: Gil Stein, Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.

From Live Science:

A prehistoric town that had remained untouched beneath the ground near Syria for 6,000 years is now revealing clues about the first cities in the Middle East prior to the invention of the wheel.

The town, called Tell Zeidan, dates from between 6000 B.C. and 4000 B.C., and immediately preceded the world's first urban civilizations in the ancient Middle East. It is one of the largest sites of the Ubaid culture in northern Mesopotamia.

Read more ....

Gorillas Losing Battle Against Loggers And Hunters In Central Africa

From Times Online:

Gorillas in Central Africa are in danger from illegal logging, mining and from hunters killing great apes for meat, says a new report from the United Nations and Interpol.

In 2002 it was estimated that only 10 per cent of gorillas would remain by 2030.

“We fear now that the gorillas may become extinct from most parts of their range in perhaps 15 years,” said Christian Nellemann, of the UN Environmental Programme.

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New Species 'Live Without Oxygen'

One of the species has been named Spinoloricus Cinzia, after Dr Danovaro's wife

From The Telegraph:

Three species of creature, which are only a millimetre long and resemble jellyfish encased in shells, were found 2.2 miles (3.5km) underwater on the ocean floor, 124 miles (200km) off the coast of Crete, in an area with almost no oxygen.

The animals, named Loriciferans due to their protective layer, or lorica, were discovered by a team led by Roberto Danovaro from Marche Polytechnic University in Ancona, Italy.

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How Carbon Dioxide In The Blood Could Be Responsible For Near-Death Experiences

Towards the light: People who have out-of-body experiences on the operating table may have high levels of carbon dioxide in their blood

From The Daily Mail:

Some experience an out-of-body floating sensation, others an intense feeling of joy and peace.

Now scientists believe they have explained what causes the near death experiences reported by thousands of people on the operating table.

A study of heart attack victims has found a link between out of body experiences and high levels of carbon dioxide in the blood.

Read more ....

Wonder Lust: Trinity Test Site

Making the pilgrimage to ground zero (Image: Joe Raedle/Getty)

From New Scientist:

AT 15 seconds to 5.30 am on 16 July 1945, the world's first nuclear explosion turned 4 hectares of sand into glass and signalled the start of the atomic age. It happened at the Trinity site in the Jornada del Muerto desert of southern New Mexico.

It's hard to imagine a more isolated, desolate spot. Yet the site, part of the White Sands missile range, is open two days each year to pilgrims to this "ground zero" of the nuclear arms race. Aside from a bus that runs between the blast site and a historic ranch house where the bomb's plutonium core was assembled, visitors have to fend for themselves.

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Robo-Suit Will Help Aging Japanese Farmers Pick Crops ith EaseW

Robotic Suit Aids Farmers A postgraduate student at the Tokyo Agriculture and Technology University models a motorized exoskeleton developed to help aging farmers endure the strain of hard labor. AFP

From Popular Science:

Harvesting the bounty of the earth is harder than it looks, especially you're over 65 years old -- as two-thirds of Japan's farmers are. For those whose joints ache more with every radish pulled out of the ground, Shigeki Toyama, a professor at Tokyo Agriculture and Technology (TAT) University, has developed a motorized exoskeleton designed to boost the wearer's strength by 62 percent.

Read more ....

Hewlett Packard Outlines Computer Memory Of The Future

Image: 17 memristors captured by an atomic force microscope

From The BBC:

The fundamental building blocks of all computing devices could be about to undergo a dramatic change that would allow faster, more efficient machines.

Researchers at computer firm Hewlett Packard (HP) have shown off working devices built using memristors - often described as electronics' missing link.

These tiny devices were proposed 40 years ago but only fabricated in 2008.

HP says it has now shown that they can be used to crunch data, meaning they could be used to build advanced chips.

That means they could begin to replace transistors - the tiny switches used to build today's chips.

Read more ....

Did A Comet Trigger A Mini Ice Age?

A sudden plunge of global temperatures 12,900 years ago may have been caused by a comet impact, a British researcher argues. Credit: U.S. Geological Survey

From Cosmos/AFP:

PARIS: A sudden plunge of global temperatures at the dawn of human civilisation may have been caused by a comet impact, a British researcher argues.

Known as 'the Younger Dryas', it has been also called the Big Freeze and the Last Blast of the Ice Age - but for researchers trying to understand the Earth's ancient climate, it's one of the big mysteries of the field.

Read more ....

Space Skydiver Suit Revealed

From Discovery News:

Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner wants to attempt a record-breaking free fall from 120,000 feet above the Earth. It's not the kind of jump a person can do with a conventional sky-diving suit and helmet. After all, Baumgartner will break the speed of sound during his fall. He will need life-support.

Read more ....

Periodic Discussions: It's Going To Take A Long Time For Element 117 To Make It Onto The Periodic Table. Why?

From Slate:

A team of Russian and American scientists announced today the creation of several atoms of the previously unknown element 117. The discovery of "ununseptium" will eventually fill a longtime gap on the periodic table, although that formal change may not happen for years. In June 2009, element 112 was designated as an official element, more than a decade after it was first created. Sam Kean explained why changing the periodic table requires the scientific equivalent of a Supreme Court decision. His column is reprinted below.

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Scientists Explore Origins Of 'Supervolcanoes' On The Sea Floor: Ancient Goliaths Blamed For Multiple Mass Extinctions

JOIDES Resolution departing from Yokohama, Japan, on the Shatsky Rise expedition. (Credit: John Beck, IODP/TAMU)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Apr. 10, 2010) — "Supervolcanoes" have been blamed for multiple mass extinctions in Earth's history, but the cause of their massive eruptions is unknown.

Despite their global impact, the eruptions' origin and triggering mechanisms have remained unexplained. New data obtained during a recent Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) expedition in the Pacific Ocean may provide clues to unlocking this mystery.

Read more ....

Ancient Pre-Human Skeleton May Contain Shrunken Brain

The cranium of the newly identified species, Australopithecus sediba, was found at the Malapa site, South Africa. Credit: Photo by Brett Eloff courtesy of Lee Berger and the University of the Witwatersrand.

From Live Science:

A shrunken brain may potentially lie inside the fossil skull of a newfound candidate for the immediate ancestor to the human lineage, researchers now reveal.

This new species, dubbed Australopithecus sediba, was accidentally discovered in South Africa by the 9-year-old son of a scientist. Two members of this hominid were introduced to the world last week — a juvenile male and an adult female, who might have known each other in life and who could have met their demise by falling into the remains of the cave where they were discovered.

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The 10 Best Mathematicians

Pythagoras, from a 1920s textbook. Photograph: © Blue Lantern Studio/Corbis

From The Guardian:

Alex Bellos selects the maths geniuses whose revolutionary discoveries changed our world.

Pythagoras (circa 570-495BC)

Vegetarian mystical leader and number-obsessive, he owes his standing as the most famous name in maths due to a theorem about right-angled triangles, although it now appears it probably predated him. He lived in a community where numbers were venerated as much for their spiritual qualities as for their mathematical ones. His elevation of numbers as the essence of the world made him the towering primogenitor of Greek mathematics, essentially the beginning of mathematics as we know it now. And, famously, he didn't eat beans.

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Profile: Julian Assange, The Man Behind Wikileaks

Julian Assange

From Times Online:

They seek him here, they seek him there, but the founder of the whistleblowing website Wikileaks is as elusive as a modern-day pimpernel.

Julian Assange dreamt that one day the internet would streamline the leaking of state secrets. Last week his whistleblowers’ website posted its most explosive leak yet: a secret video shot by an American attack helicopter of Iraqi civilians and a Reuters photographer being mown down, apparently in cold blood.

Read more ....

Images Mark 20 Years Of Hubble Telescope

Hubble Telescope

From The Telegraph:

The most dramatic and significant images of the universe taken by the Hubble Space Telescope have been named to mark the iconic telescope's 20th anniversary in space.

In the two decades since its launch, the Hubble Space Telescope has transformed the way we see and understand our universe.

In pictures: 3D space pictures: stereo images of moons, galaxies and nebulae

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New Super-Heavy Element Discovered That Points Towards 'Strange Materials Of The Future'

From The Daily Mail:

Physicists have discovered a new super-heavy element that had been labeled a nuclear 'missing link' by scientists.

The element 117 is roughly 40 per cent heavier than lead and has been given the temporary name ununseptium, which refers to its atomic number.

Researchers believe the element points towards a concoction of more massive and stable elements that could be used to create strange and unpredictable new materials.

Read more ....

First Footage From World's Deepest Volcanic Vents

From New Scientist:

At this depth, the water is hot enough to melt lead, and the pressure it exerts means that every square centimetre has to withstand the weight of five hefty men.

"It was like wandering across the surface of another world," says Bramley Murton, a geologist at the National Oceanographic Centre (NOC) in Southampton, UK, who piloted the Hy-Bis underwater vehicle around these deep volcanic vents and filmed them for the first time.

Read more ....

Happy 50th Birthday To The Search For Extraterrestrial Intelligence!

SETI's Allen Telescope Array via SETI Institute

From Popular Science:

Celebrating half a century of no aliens

Fifty years ago today, on April 8th, 1960, a Cornell astronomy professor named Frank Drake pointed a radio telescope at the star Tau Ceti in the hope of hearing broadcasts from extraterrestrial intelligence. Naturally, he didn't hear anything out of the ordinary. But with this experiment, Drake began the decades-long search for aliens, known as the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence (SETI), that celebrates its 50th anniversary today. Over the last half century, SETI has failed at its initial goal of contacting aliens, but succeeded mightily in bringing new attention to astronomy, helping to develop cloud computing, and inspiring generations of new scientists.

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'World Needs A Barometer Of Life'

From The BBC:

The world needs a "barometer of life" to prevent ecosystems and species being lost forever, scientists have warned.

Existing schemes, they said, did not include enough species from groups such as fungi and invertebrates to provide a detailed picture of what is at risk.

Writing in the journal Science, the researchers said the barometer would increase the number of species being assessed from almost 48,000 to 160,000.

The data would help identify areas in need of urgent action, they added.

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CSN Editor On Vacation, Will Be Back Soon

Update: Taking Easter off with family. Will return on Monday, April 12.

Yup .... took a little vacation. Will be back soon.

US Launches Agency To Monitor Evereyone

Army Biometrics U.S. Army Staff Sgts. Jerrod McClure, foreground, and Aaron McFarland, 1st Battalion, 8th Infantry Regiment, input Iraqi's data into a biometrics system Dec. 15, 2008, in Nimrud, Iraq, as part of the application process for Iraqis applying to work on a road repair project in the city. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. JoAnn S. Makinano

U.S. Government Launches Official Agency to Manage Biometric Database -- Popular Science

All hail BIMA, the new U.S. biometrics agency.

Collecting fingerprints and other biometric data has long allowed law enforcement and the military alike to track down wanted individuals, solve cases, or just keep tabs on people. Now what was a U.S. government task force under the U.S. Army has officially become a full-scale national security agency in charge of biometrics, according to the Secrecy News blog run by the Federation of American Scientists.

Read more ....

Picking Our Brains: Can Ee Regenerate The Brain?

The nervous system has 10,000 different types of neuron (Image: Jean Livet)

From New Scientist:

YOU were born with all the brain cells you'll ever have, so the saying goes.

So much for sayings. In the 1990s, decades of dogma were overturned by the discovery that mammals, including people, make new neurons throughout their lives. In humans, such "neurogenesis" has been seen in two places: neurons formed in the olfactory bulb seem to be involved in learning new smells, while those born in the hippocampus are involved in learning and memory.

Read more ....

Bats Could Inspire New Radar Systems

Bats emit high-pitched sounds to locate obstacles and prey as they fly Photo: CORBIS

From The Telegraph:

Bats which have evolved to avoid having their echo signals blocked by interference could help scientists develop more efficient sonar and radar systems.

Bats emit high-pitched sounds to locate obstacles and prey as they fly, but when travelling in packs there is a risk the noises might overlap and interfere.

A similar problem arises when a bat chases a moth through thick foliage. Signals bouncing off the leaves can overlap and set up interference.

Read more ....

Could Toads Be Used To Warn Humans Of Impending Natural Disasters?

Man's best friend? Scientists believe toads have a sixth sense

From The Daily Mail:

The toad has long been a favourite magical companion of witches and wizards. Now it seems that the humble amphibians may have picked up some magical skills of their own.

Scientists have discovered that common toads have a sixth sense about natural disasters - and can predict when an earthquake is about to strike.

Read more ....

Better Military Technology Does Not Lead to Shorter Wars, Analysis Reveals

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 31, 2010) — It is generally assumed that military technology that is offensive rather than defensive in nature leads to shorter wars. Yet, a new doctoral thesis from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, shows that this assumption is not correct.

For long, researchers have thought that offensive military technology, such as armoured cars and attack jets, makes it easier to shorten the duration of a war. It is also generally perceived that when the offensive technology is more effective than the defensive technology, it is more advantageous to start a war.

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Which States Pay Highest Gas Prices

(Click Image To Enlarge)
Gas Prices as a percent of income varies by state. See how each state fares. Credit: Karl Tate/LiveScience

From Live Science:

Everyone grumbles when prices at the pump rise, but some drivers pay more depending on where they live. A new study shows how gas price spikes hurt the wallets of drivers in some states more than in others.

On average, Mississippi drivers spent more than 6 percent of their annual income on gas in 2009, compared to drivers in Connecticut and New York who spent just 2.5 percent of their income on gas. But a price spike similar to the one in July 2008 would have worsened the imbalance — Mississippi drivers would have seen driving costs shoot up to 11 percent as opposed to just 4.3 percent for Connecticut and New York. [See gas prices in your state.]

Read more ....

Undersea Search Resumes For France Flight 447

From Discovery News:

On June 1, 2009, Air France Flight 447 disappeared in turbulent weather en route from Rio de Janeiro to Paris. For the remainder of the summer, two major efforts were launched by search and rescue crews to find the remains of the plane and the 228 people who had been on board, with great hopes of also finding the two data recorders. So far, 51 bodies and 1,000 pieces of wreckage have been found, but not the data recorders, which only emit signals for 30 days.

Finding the so-called black boxes is key to understanding what happened to the airplane.

Read more ....

Can Common Herbs Extend Your Life?

From ABC News:

Cinnamon and Ginseng Stretch Life of a Worm; Will They Stretch Yours?

Most Americans have used herbal drugs during the past year, even though in nearly all cases there is no clear scientific evidence that they work. Now, an international team of scientists has found a way to collect that evidence, and even determine which components of very complex compounds are doing the work, and which aren't.

Read more ....

Greenpeace Issues Warning About Data Centre Power

From The BBC:

Greenpeace is calling on technology giants like Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo and Facebook to power their data centres with renewable energy sources.

Their electricity often comes from utility companies which generate power from burning coal, says the group.

Greenpeace estimates that data centres will use 1,963 billion kilowatt hours of electricity by 2020.

Read more ....

Mobile Nuclear Reactors Could Provide Power And Jet Fuel For Military, DARPA Says

Navy Aircraft Could nuclear-powered carriers use their reactors and seawater to provide jet fuel for their aircraft? U.S. Navy/Stephen Rowe

From Popular Science:

Making U.S. Navy carrier groups and Army bases more self-sufficient and energy-efficient could mean turning to mobile nuclear reactors. The Pentagon's DARPA scientists have put forth the modest proposal of deploying miniature reactors to convert hydrogen and carbon into military jet fuel, as well as providing power, The Register reports.

Read more ....

Oceanology: Tethered Antenna Keeps Subs In Touch

There's a sub below (Image: Brooke Ocean Technology)

From New Scientist:

ROBOTIC submarines have always had trouble when it comes to picking up GPS signals and communicating with their operators. That's because radio signals do not travel far underwater. If the submarines do not surface regularly in order to check their position, they run the risk of drifting off-course.

This problem could now be solved, thanks to a wing-like antenna that piggybacks on small submarines. The antenna ascends to the surface on a tether as and when needed, enabling satellite communications, including GPS readings. It can even carry a camera to serve as a kind of periscope for the sub's controller.

Read more ....

My Comment: The interesting line in this report is the last one ....

.... the US navy is interested in using autonomous submarines to watch for seaborne attacks ....

Nasa Astronaut Gets Ready For Blast-Off

From The Telegraph:

Technicians at a space centre in Kazakhstan have hoisted a rocket on to its launch pad ahead of Friday's blast-off.

A NASA astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts will be inside and will travel to the International Space Station.

NASA's Tracy Caldwell Dyson and Russians Alexander Skvortsov and Mikhail Kornienko are to blast off at 10.04am (0404 GMT) Friday for their six-month mission in the orbiting science lab.

Read more ....

The Male Brain: More Complex Than You Think

Coneyl Jay / Corbis

From Time Magazine:

Despite all that old talk about Mars and Venus, men and women are much more biologically alike than not. But differences in the way our brains are built shed light on everything from the way we flirt to the way we fight to how we raise our boys, says neuropsychiatrist Dr. Louann Brizendine in her provocative new book, The Male Brain. The author talked to TIME about sex, the daddy brain and why some men may be built to cheat.

Read more ....

Orca The Dolphin Killer

The six-ton hunter chased the female dolphin through the waves before slamming into her, flipping her 30 feet into the air

From The Daily Mail:

This is the shocking moment a killer whale leapt from the sea to kill an exhausted dolphin.

The six-ton hunter had chased the female dolphin through the waves before swimming up under her and slamming into her, flipping her 30 feet into the air and breaking her back.

The dolphin died almost instantly and the killer whale, or orca, and the rest of its pod then closed in to devour her and her helpless youngster, turning the sea red.

Read more ....

Spammers Turn To Social Networks

Photo: Fake friends: This screenshot shows real users who befriended a bogus Facebook user created by George Petre and colleagues. Credit: BitDefender

From Technology Review:

They get results by exploiting a social network's trusting environment.

As users have flocked to social networks, so, inevitably, have spammers. And according to a recent experiment, users are much more receptive to spam sent via a social network than over e-mail.

Read more ....

Scientists Reverse Alzheimer's-Like Memory Loss in Fruit Flies

In a new study, neuroscientists succeeded in preventing memory loss in fruit flies caused by brain plaques similar to those thought to cause Alzheimer's disease in humans (Credit: iStockphoto)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2010) — By blocking the cellular signaling activity of a protein, a team of neuroscientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory (CSHL) has prevented memory loss in fruit flies caused by brain plaques similar to those thought to cause Alzheimer's disease in humans. The study also resolves a long-standing controversy about the role of this protein, PI3 kinase, which was previously thought to have a protective function against the disease.

Read more ....

Bees See Color 3 Times Faster Than Humans

Bees have surprisingly fast color vision, about 3 to 4 times faster than that of humans depending on how it's measured, a new study finds. Credit: dreamstime

From Live Science:

Bees see color at about triple the speed that humans do, a new study finds.

The findings are the first to measure bumblebee color vision speed and show how it compares with that of monochromatic vision, or the "black-and-white" vision used to track motion.

Read more ....

Jupiter's Red Spot Has Warm Core

Bottom: Infrared picture of the Red Spot taken by VLT in Chile on 18 May 2008. Top: Visible-light image, which was obtained by the NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope on 15 May 2008. These images show the interaction of three of Jupiter's largest storms — the Great Red Spot and two smaller storms nicknamed Oval BA and Little Red Spot. Credit: ESO/NASA/JPL/ESA/L. Fletcher

From Cosmos:

SYDNEY: Jupiter's Great Red Spot is "extremely complicated", with a core that is warmer and spins in the opposite direction, scientists have found.

The Great Red Spot (GRS) is a storm three times the size of Earth, which spins mostly counter clockwise. It has persisted since at least 1831, and is the most recognisable feature on the striped planet.

Read more ....

10 Questions The LHC May Answer

From Discovery News:

It's been just over a year since the Large Hadron Collider, the world's most powerful particle accelerator, suffered a serious malfunction that shut it down only nine days after going online. But as of this weekend, the LHC is back up and running.

Scientists will use the collider to recreate conditions following the Big Bang, by accelerating beams of subatomic particles (protons and lead ions, called hadrons) around a massive underground racetrack.

Read more ....

'Allergic' to Electronics: Man Sues Neighbor Over Gadget Use

From ABC:

Santa Fe Man Said He Has 'Electromagnetic Hypersensitivity'.

No TV. No computer. No cell phone. Electronically speaking, he said, his home is more 1980 than 2010.

The Santa Fe man, 59, said, intellectually, he has no problem with technology. It's just that, physically, he can barely tolerate it, he said.

Read more ....

Climate Science Must Be More Open, Say MPs

Photo: Professor Phil Jones' scientific reputation is "intact"

From The BBC:

MPs investigating the climate change row at the UK's University of East Anglia (UEA) have demanded greater transparency from climate scientists.

The Commons Science and Technology Committee criticised UEA authorities for failing to respond to requests for data from climate change sceptics.

But it found no evidence Professor Phil Jones, whose e-mails were hacked and published online, had manipulated data.

Read more ....

Picking Our Brains: Nine Neural Frontiers

From New Scientist:

The human brain is the most astoundingly complex structure in the known universe. Yet we are starting to unravel some of its mysteries, thanks to advances in brain imaging, genetics, stem cell research and more. We explore the latest findings from the hottest topics in neuroscience.

Read more ....

Genetic Shock A Surprising Court Ruling In America May Loosen The Drug Industry’s Grip On Important Genes

From The Economist:

PERSONALISED medicine has proved an elusive dream. Since the decoding of the human genome, biotechnology companies have claimed that by matching a person’s genetic make-up with specialised treatments, they can tailor drugs to maximise benefits and minimise side effects. Alas, researchers have discovered that the link between a given person’s genetic make-up and specific diseases is much more complex than they had hoped. The tantalising vision remains out of reach.

Read more ....

A Slow Mind May Nurture More Creative Ideas

White matter writ large (Image: UCLA Lab of Neuro Imaging)

From New Scientist:

AS FAR as the internet or phone networks go, bad connections are bad news. Not so in the brain, where slower connections may make people more creative.

Rex Jung at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque and his colleagues had found that creativity correlates with low levels of the chemical N-acetylaspartate, which is found in neurons and seems to promote neural health and metabolism.

Read more ....

Threat Level Privacy, Crime and Security Online Isohunt Ordered to Remove Infringing Content

From Threat Level:

A U.S. judge is ordering Isohunt, one of the world’s leading BitTorrent search engines, to remove all infringing content. Isohunt’s operator said Tuesday that the decision would likely shutter the site, which has 30 million unique monthly visitors.

The injunction targeting Isohunt follows similar rulings against competing pirate sites like Mininova and The Pirate Bay, although the Bay has thus far eluded compliance.

Read more ....

Moral Judgments Can Be Altered

In a new study, researchers disrupted activity in the right temporo-parietal junction by inducing a current in the brain using a magnetic field applied to the scalp. They found that the subjects' ability to make moral judgments that require an understanding of other people's intentions -- for example, a failed murder attempt -- was impaired. (Credit: Graphic by Christine Daniloff)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 30, 2010) — MIT neuroscientists have shown they can influence people's moral judgments by disrupting a specific brain region -- a finding that helps reveal how the brain constructs morality.

To make moral judgments about other people, we often need to infer their intentions -- an ability known as "theory of mind." For example, if a hunter shoots his friend while on a hunting trip, we need to know what the hunter was thinking: Was he secretly jealous, or did he mistake his friend for a duck?

Read more ....

Mystery of Great Civilization's Destruction Revealed

The religious complex of Angkor Wat was center of a civilization that depended for irrigation on a vast network of canals, embankments and reservoirs. Credit: Charles J. Sharp.

From Live Science:

Climate change might have helped bring about the fall of the ancient Khmer civilization in Angkor, Cambodia, nearly 600 years ago, new research suggests.

Historians have given various explanations for the fall of the empire that stretched across much of Southeast Asia between the ninth and 14th centuries (801 to 1400), from land overexploitation to conflict with rival kingdoms. But the new study offers strong evidence that two severe droughts, punctuated by bouts of heavy monsoon rain, could have weakened the empire by shrinking water supplies for drinking and agriculture, and damaging Angkor's vast irrigation system, which was central to its economy.

Read more ....