Love, Sex And The Changing Landscape Of Infidelity

From The New York Times:

If you cheated on your spouse, would you admit it to a researcher?

That question is one of the biggest challenges in the scientific study of marriage, and it helps explain why different studies produce different estimates of infidelity rates in the United States.

Surveys conducted in person are likely to underestimate the real rate of adultery, because people are reluctant to admit such behavior not just to their spouses but to anyone.

In a study published last summer in The Journal of Family Psychology, for example, researchers from the University of Colorado and Texas A&M surveyed 4,884 married women, using face-to-face interviews and anonymous computer questionnaires. In the interviews, only 1 percent of women said they had been unfaithful to their husbands in the past year; on the computer questionnaire, more than 6 percent did.

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The Spread Of Polio

Polio Spreads to New Countries and Increases
Where It’s Endemic -- New York Times

Polio infections are increasing and spreading to new countries, according to case counts recently released by the World Health Organization.

Since April, outbreaks have been found in 10 countries beyond the 4 in which polio is considered endemic — Afghanistan, India, Nigeria and Pakistan. And in those four countries, the number of cases is more than double the number found by this time in 2007.

In Africa, cases have been found as far south as Angola and as far west as Ethiopia. Each detected case implies another 200 cases with few or no symptoms, experts say.

There have been outbreaks of both type 1 and type 3 polio, which frustrate W.H.O. plans, begun in 2005, to concentrate on a monovalent vaccine against type 1. Recent studies show that vaccine to be far more effective against type 1 than the old trivalent vaccine was. But it does not protect against type 3, and a new monovalent vaccine against that is being introduced. (Type 2 was eliminated in 1999.)

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Is NASA's Ares Doomed?

Saturn 5, Space Shuttle, Ares 1, Ares 5
(Image from Internet Encyclopedia Of Science)

From Orlando Sentinel:

CAPE CANAVERAL - Bit by bit, the new rocket ship that is supposed to blast America into the second Space Age and return astronauts to the moon appears to be coming undone.

First was the discovery that it lacked sufficient power to lift astronauts in a state-of-the-art capsule into orbit. Then engineers found out that it might vibrate like a giant tuning fork, shaking its crew to death.

Now, in the latest setback to the Ares I, computer models show the ship could crash into its launch tower during liftoff.

The issue is known as "liftoff drift." Ignition of the rocket's solid-fuel motor makes it "jump" sideways on the pad, and a southeast breeze stronger than 12.7 mph would be enough to push the 309-foot-tall ship into its launch tower.

Worst case, the impact would destroy the rocket. But even if that doesn't happen, flames from the rocket would scorch the tower, leading to huge repair costs.

"We were told by a person directly involved [in looking at the problem] that as they incorporate more variables into the liftoff-drift-curve model, the worse the curve becomes," said one NASA contractor, who asked not to be named because he wasn't authorized to discuss Ares.

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The Internet Is 5,000 Days Old -- What Will The Next 5,000 Days Bring

The Global Machine -- Ubiwar

Sue Thomas sent me this talk by Kevin Kelly, who probably needs little introduction to most Ubiwar readers. In this December 2007 presentation Kelly takes a look at the next 5000 days of the web (the web being approximately 5000 days old when he gave this talk).

He suggests that the web will be the global machine (”The One”) and this will entail different ways of interacting with information, and it with us. This is fascinating stuff, particularly for me, who seems to spend an awful lot of time these days considering ‘convergence’ and its effects on security and violence.

This is 20 minutes of anyone’s time well spent, and he’s a good speaker too, so it’s painless…

Science Says We Really Are What We Drink

From Time Magazine:

And now for some helpful scientific advice: When that IRS agent comes to your office to conduct an audit, offer him a cup of coffee. And when you're sitting down to do your holiday shopping online, make sure you're cradling a large glass of iced tea. The physical sensation of warmth encourages emotional warmth, while a chilly drink in hand serves as a brake on rash decisions — those are the practical lesson being drawn from recent research by two Yale-educated psychologists, published last week in Science magazine.

Encountering warmth or cold lights up the insula — a walnut-sized section of the brain — says John A. Bargh, a professor of psychology at Yale, who co-authored the paper with Lawrence E. Williams of the University of Colorado who received his Ph.D. from Yale earlier this year. And the insula is the same part of the brain engaged when we evaluate who we can trust in economic transactions, Bargh says.

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World Can Halt Fossil Fuel Use By 2090

From The New Scientist:

The world could eliminate fossil fuel use by 2090, saving $18 trillion in future fuel costs and creating a $360 billion industry that provides half of the world's electricity, the European Renewable Energy Council (EREC) and environmental group Greenpeace said on Monday.

The 210-page study [pdf] is one of few reports – even by lobby groups – to look in detail at how energy use would have to be overhauled to meet the toughest scenarios for curbing greenhouse gases outlined by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

"Renewable energy could provide all global energy needs by 2090," according to the study, entitled "Energy (R)evolution." EREC represents renewable energy industries and trade and research associations in Europe.

A more radical scenario could eliminate coal use by 2050 if new power generation plants shifted quickly to renewables.

Solar power, biomass such as biofuels or wood, geothermal energy and wind could be the leading energies by 2090 in a shift from fossil fuels blamed by the IPCC for stoking global warming.

The total energy investments until 2030, the main period studied, would come to $14.7 trillion, according to the study. By contrast, the International Energy Agency (IEA), which advises rich nations, foresees energy investments of just $11.3 trillion to 2030, with a bigger stress on fossil fuels and nuclear power.

Rajendra Pachauri, head of the IPCC, which shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with ex-US Vice President Al Gore, called Monday's study "comprehensive and rigorous."

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Are You Evil? Profiling That Which Is Truly Wicked

INTRODUCING "E": a computer character first created in 2005 to embody Bringsjord's working definition of evil. Courtesy of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

From Scientific American:

A cognitive scientist employs malevolent logic to define the dark side of the human psyche

TROY, N.Y.—The hallowed halls of academia are not the place you would expect to find someone obsessed with evil (although some students might disagree). But it is indeed evil—or rather trying to get to the roots of evil—that fascinates Selmer Bringsjord, a logician, philosopher and chairman of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Department of Cognitive Science here. He's so intrigued, in fact, that he has developed a sort of checklist for determining whether someone is demonic, and is working with a team of graduate students to create a computerized representation of a purely sinister person.

"I've been working on what is evil and how to formally define it," says Bringsjord, who is also director of the Rensselaer AI & Reasoning Lab (RAIR). "It's creepy, I know it is."

To be truly evil, someone must have sought to do harm by planning to commit some morally wrong action with no prompting from others (whether this person successfully executes his or her plan is beside the point). The evil person must have tried to carry out this plan with the hope of "causing considerable harm to others," Bringsjord says. Finally, "and most importantly," he adds, if this evil person were willing to analyze his or her reasons for wanting to commit this morally wrong action, these reasons would either prove to be incoherent, or they would reveal that the evil person knew he or she was doing something wrong and regarded the harm caused as a good thing.

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Humans Made Fire 790,000 Years Ago: Study

From News Daily:

JERUSALEM, Oct. 26, 2008 (Reuters) — A new study shows that humans had the ability to make fire nearly 790,000 years ago, a skill that helped them migrate from Africa to Europe.

A previous study of the site published in 2004 showed that man had been able to control fire -- for example transferring it by means of burning branches -- in that early time period. But researchers now say that ancient man could actually start fire, rather than relying on natural phenomena such as lightning.

That independence helped promoted migration northward, they say.

The new study, published in a recent edition of Quaternary Science Reviews, mapped 12 archaeological layers at Gesher Benot Yaaqov in northern Israel.

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Why Some People Have A Better Head For Languages

(Image from Baltic Media)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Oct. 26, 2008) — Learning a second language is usually difficult and often when we speak it we cannot disguise our origin or accent. However, there are important differences between individuals with regard to the degree to which a second language is mastered, even for people who have lived in a bilingual environment since childhood.

Members of the Cognitive Neuroscience Research Group (GRNC) linked to the Barcelona Science Park, have studied these differences. By comparing people who are able to perceive a second language as if they were native speakers of that language with people who find it very difficult to do so, they have observed that the former group is also better at distinguishing the sounds of their own native language. However, there is no difference between the two groups when they hear sounds that do not form part of the language.

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Space Tourist Enthusiastic About His Voyage

'Flawless' landing: Ground crew help U.S. space tourist Richard Garriott after the Soyuz capsule touches down (Photo from The Daily Mail)

'What A Ride!' Space Tourist And Russian Cosmonauts Return To Earth In 'Flawless' Landing -- Daily Mail

British-born space tourist Richard Garriott and his two Russian colleagues made a ‘flawless’ landing in Kazakhstan today, on their return from the International Space Station.

They avoided a string of mishaps that have plagued the Soyuz spacecraft on previous landings.

Cosmonauts Sergei Volkov and Oleg Kononenko, as well as American space tourist Richard Garriott, said they were ‘feeling well’. They were extracted from the capsule by a Russian recovery team.

Mr Garriott, the U.S. video game guru, who paid £17 million for his 10-day jaunt looked elated after his trip.

'What a great ride that was,' said Garriott.

Sitting in an armchair and wrapped in a blue blanket against the near-freezing temperature on the steppe, he smiled broadly.

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What Shortage of Scientists and Engineers?

From Tierney Lab/New York Times:

If the United States really has a critical shortage of scientists and engineers, why didn’t this year’s graduates get showered with lucrative job offers and signing bonuses?

That’s the question that comes to my mind after reading about Barack Obama’s plans to address the “shortage” we keep hearing about from blue-ribbon commissions of scientists and engineers. He wants to pay for the training of 100,000 more engineers and scientists over the next four years, as my colleagues Bill Broad and Cory Dean note in their excellent analysis of the presidential candidates’ plans to encourage technological innovation.

Now, I’m all in favor of American technological innovation, and I’m glad to see Mr. Obama promising to review the export restrictions that have been so damaging to the aerospace industry (and that were promoted by John McCain because of what he called national-security risks). I’m also all in favor of American scientists and engineers, especially the ones in my family. (My father is a chemical engineer; my brother is an electrical engineer.) I’d love to see American corporations and universities frantically competing to offer them the kind of salaries paid to M.B.A.’s and lawyers.

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Keyboard Sniffers To Steal Data

From The BBC:

Computer criminals could soon be eavesdropping on what you type by analysing the electromagnetic signals produced by every key press.

By analysing the signals produced by keystrokes, Swiss researchers have reproduced what a target typed.

The security researchers have developed four attacks that work on a wide variety of computer keyboards.

The results led the researchers to declare keyboards were "not safe to transmit sensitive information".

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Mars Astronauts Should Never Return To Earth, Says Buzz Aldrin

Some scientists fear a mission to Mars would be expensive and the astronauts would struggle to survive, much like in the film Red Planet (Photo from The Daily Mail)

From The Daily Mail:

The first astronauts sent to Mars should be prepared to never return to Earth, according to moonwalker Buzz Aldrin.

Like the European pioneers who set out for America they should set out knowing they will spend their lives there, the second man on the Moon said. Though presumably they would hope to survive longer than their first harsh winter.

In an interview the outspoken former astronaut said the Red Planet, which appears to have fast reserves of frozen water at each pole, has far greater potential for habitation than the Moon.

'It is nearer terrestrial conditions, much better than the Moon and any other place,' the 78-year-old said.

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Scientists Find Way To Erase Memories In Mice

(Photo from Reuters)

From Reuters:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It seems like a movie plot, but scientists have developed a way to erase specific memories in mice while leaving others intact and not damaging the brain.

By manipulating levels of an important protein in the brain, certain memories can be selectively deleted, researchers led by neurobiologist Joe Tsien of the Medical College of Georgia reported in the journal Neuron.

While some experts have suggested there could be value in erasing certain memories in people such as wartime traumas, Tsien doubted this could be done as it was in mice. Tsien also questioned the wisdom of wiping out a person's memories.

"All memories, including the painful emotional memories, have their purposes. We learn great lessons from those memories or experiences so we can avoid making the same kinds of mistakes again, and help us to adapt down the road," Tsien said in a telephone interview on Thursday.

The study focused on a protein called alpha-CaMKII involved in learning and memory. The scientists manipulated alpha-CaMKII activity in the brains of genetically modified mice to influence the retrieval of short-term and long-term memories.

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Investigation Of Changes In Properties Of Water Under The Action Of A Magnetic Field

From E! Science News:

Feng and Deng Bo studied the properties of water, and their changes under the action of a magnetic field were gathered by the spectrum techniques of infrared, Raman, visible, ultraviolet and X-ray lights, which may give an insight into molecular and atomic structures of water. It was found that some properties of water were changed, and a lot of new and strange phenomena were discovered after magnetization. Magnetized water really has magnetism, which has been verified by a peak shift of X-ray diffraction of magnetized water +Fe3O4 hybrid relative to that of pure water + Fe3O4 hybrid, that is, a saturation and memory effect. The study is being reported in the November 2008 issue of Science in China Series G- Physics, Mechanics & Astronomy because of its significant values in science and extensive applications in industry, agriculture and medicine. Water is the most common and important material in nature. However, what is water on earth? What properties does water have? They are both challenging problems, and need further study. The changes in properties of water under the action of a magnetic field are also an interesting and important question, which has not been solved yet, although it has been studied for about one hundred years. So in this work, authors collected and studied the light spectra of water and its features using the spectrum techniques of light for giving an insight into the features of molecular structure in water and seeking the mechanism of magnetization of water. . These spectra may embody the features of molecular, atomic and electronic structures of water, thus giving an insight into the structures of atoms and molecules in water and providing some accurate and credible data for the features of water.

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Distant Stars Send Good Vibes

Illustration of a stellar global oscillation shaking the whole star interior and thus carrying information on it. Yellow refers to maximum temperature variations due to oscillations. Credit: Aarhus University/S. Frandsen

From Cosmos Magazine:

PARIS: French astronomers have measured vibrations from distant stars for the first time, a technical feat that could also help answer questions about climate change caused by solar activity here on Earth.

Using an orbital telescope called CoRoT, launched in December 2006 by the European Space Agency, the researchers analysed oscillations from three stars that result from nuclear fusion which shakes the stellar interior. They report the find today in the U.S. journal Science.

The stars measured are all between 1.2 and 1.4 times more massive than the Sun, and located between 100 and 200 light years away. The study revealed that all three are much hotter than the Sun and have vibrations around 50 per cent more fierce, though still far less than had been predicted.

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Goce Gravity Flight Slips To 2009

From The BBC:

Europe's gravity mission has been bumped to next year because of ongoing technical problems with its launcher.

The arrow-shaped Goce satellite will map tiny variations in the pull of gravity experienced across the world.

The information will give scientists a clearer insight into how the oceans move, and provide a universal reference to measure height anywhere on Earth.

But concerns about the reliability of its Russian rocket mean a lift-off is now unlikely before February.

It is a frustrating delay for the Gravity Field and Steady-State Ocean Circulation Explorer (Goce).

The satellite was already two years behind schedule when it was sent to the launch pad because engineers had to work through immense technical difficulties in building it.

The super-sleek spacecraft was due to go into orbit on a modified intercontinental ballistic missile, known at the Rockot, from the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north-west Russia in the spring.

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No Money, No Spacecraft, Russian Producer Warns

The Soyuz TMA-6 spacecraft leaves the international space station on Oct. 11, as seen through a station porthole. The craft consists of three modules: from left, the service module with solar arrays, the descent capsule and the spherical orbital module. (Photo from MSNBC)

From Space Daily:

Russia's spacecraft producer Energiya will not provide any more Soyuz vessels for trips to the International Space Station unless funds could urgently be found, Energiya's president and general constructor warned Friday.

"We have vessels and funding for them for the next two trips, but I do not know what will happen with expeditions after that," Vitaly Lopota told reporters as quoted by the RIA Novosti news agency.

"We have no funds to produce new Soyuz craft. Unless we are granted loans or advance payment in the next two or three weeks, we cannot be responsible for future Soyuz production," Lopota explained.

The Soyuz is Russia's workhorse spacecraft that has carried out more than 1,600 flights, despite glitches that have bedevilled recent landings of the Soyuz capsule.

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Science Of Speed: Building The Fastest Car In The World

Computer-generated image of the BLOODHOUND SSC (super sonic car). If the vehicle achieves its target of 1,000mph (Mach 1.4), it will mark the greatest incremental increase in the history of the World Land Speed Record. (Credit: BLOODHOUND SSC image by CURVENTA)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2008) — World class UK research is helping to build the fastest car in the world thanks to the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

The BLOODHOUND SSC Project, led by Richard Noble OBE, is aiming to set a new world land speed record of a thousand miles per hour by 2011.

The challenge at the heart of the project is to create a car capable of 1,000mph – a car 30% faster than any car that has gone before.

An aerodynamics team at Swansea University – funded by EPSRC – is playing a vital role. Using Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD), the team has spent the last year creating the predictive airflow data that has shaped the car.

In time, the research could lead to better vehicle or aircraft design, improved fuel efficiencies, and even new medical techniques.

"From the nose to the tail, anything that has any kind of aerodynamic influence we are modelling," says researcher Dr. Ben Evans – who as a school boy watched the Thrust SSC record on TV.

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Searching For Intelligence In Our Genes

Photo from Scientific American

From Scientific American:

IQ is easy to measure and reflects something real. But scientists hunting among our genes for the factors that shape intelligence are discovering they are more elusive than expected.

* Researchers have powerful new technologies to probe genes and the brain, looking for the basis of intelligence differences among individuals.
* Their work is providing a new understanding of what intelligence is, while also revealing unanticipated complexity in the interplay between genes and environment.
* The more scientists learn about the role of genes in intelligence, the more mysterious it becomes, but the quest is still worth pursuing.

In Robert Plomin’s line of work, patience is essential. Plomin, a behavioral geneticist at the Institute of Psychiatry in London, wants to understand the nature of intelligence. As part of his research, he has been watching thousands of children grow up. Plomin asks the children questions such as “What do water and milk have in common?” and “In what direction does the sun set?” At first he and his colleagues quizzed the children in person or over the telephone. Today many of those children are in their early teens, and they take their tests on the Internet.

In one sense, the research has been a rousing success. The children who take the tests are all twins, and throughout the study identical twins have tended to get scores closer to each other than those of nonidentical twins, who in turn have closer scores than unrelated children. These results—along with similar ones from other studies—make clear to the scientists that genes have an important influence on how children score on intelligence tests.

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