Satellites Track, Improve French Wine Crop

Toasting to Technology: The cutting-edge system, Oenoview, combines satellite pictures and grapevine analysis to help French winemakers determine when their grapes, planted in varying conditions across sprawling vineyards, will be ready for picking.

From Discovery News:

Aug. 11, 2009 -- French winegrowers are reaping the benefits of satellite imagery to improve their grape harvests, in a fusion of cutting-edge technology and the ancient art of winemaking.

The Oenoview system -- initially developed to help grain producers -- combines satellite pictures and vine analysis to allow oenologists to determine when grapes planted in varying conditions across sprawling estates will be ready.

It conveys important information about the berries to winegrowers, such as the amount of water in the fruit and how much to prune back their vines.

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Swine Flu: How Experts Are Preparing Their Families

How will the health infrastructure cope? (Image: Raveendran/AFP/Getty

From New Scientist:

AS THE swine flu pandemic continues to sweep the world, what do public health officials, epidemiologists and flu researchers think will happen in the coming months? When New Scientist asked 60 of them, it turned out that half are concerned enough about the possibility of a virulent swine flu outbreak to take precautions such as acquiring a supply of Tamiflu for their families. Though most do not think it likely that a nastier strain will emerge, many are worried that if it did, their local hospitals and other parts of the health infrastructure could not cope.

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NASA Falling Short of Asteroid Detection Goals

The team says it is almost certain that a large Baptistina fragment created the 180km Chicxulub crater off the coast of the Yucatan 65 million years ago. The impact that produced this crater has been strongly linked to the mass extinction event that eliminated the dinosaurs. Image from The BBC.

From Wired Science:

Without more funding, NASA will not meet its goal of tracking 90 percent of all deadly asteroids by 2020, according to a report released today by the National Academy of Sciences.

The agency is on track to soon be able to spot 90 percent of the potentially dangerous objects that are at least a kilometer (.6 miles) wide, a goal previously mandated by Congress.

Asteroids of this size are estimated to strike Earth once every 500,000 years on average and could be capable of causing a global catastrophe if they hit Earth. In 2008, NASA’s Near Earth Object Program spotted a total of 11,323 objects of all sizes.

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Molecular Condom Blocks HIV

Imgae: Viral blockade: A gel, shown here stained blue, forms tendril structures at pH 7.4. The red dots are 100 nanometer particles, about the same size as HIV, which are trapped in these structures. Credit: Kristopher Langheinrich

From Technology Review:

A novel gel that filters out HIV could protect women from infection.

A polymer gel that blocks viral particles could one day provide a way for women to protect themselves against HIV infection. The gel reacts with semen to form a tight mesh that blocks the movement of virus particles. The material, which is still in early development, could eventually be combined with antiviral gels currently in clinical trials to provide a dual defense against HIV.

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New Planet Displays Exotic Orbit

Planets with retrograde orbits should be rare

From The BBC:

Astronomers have discovered the first planet that orbits in the opposite direction to the spin of its star.

Planets form out of the same swirling gas cloud that creates a star, so they are expected to orbit in the same direction that the star rotates.

The new planet is thought to have been flung into its "retrograde" orbit by a close encounter with either another planet or with a passing star.

The work has been submitted to the Astrophysical Journal for publication.

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When Did Humans Return After Last Ice Age?

Gough's Cave. (Credit: Copyright Natural History Museum)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2009) — The Cheddar Gorge in Somerset was one of the first sites to be inhabited by humans when they returned to Britain near the end of the last Ice Age. According to new radio carbon dating by Oxford University researchers, outlined in the latest issue of Quaternary Science Review, humans were living in Gough's Cave 14,700 years ago.

A number of stone artefacts as well as human and animal bones from excavations, spread over more than 100 years, shed further light on the nature as well as the timing of people to the cave.
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New Facebook Lite To Take On Twitter With Simplified Messaging Service

Battle: Facebook is currently testing 'Facebook Lite' a simplified version of the service which looks remarkably similar to Twitter

From The Daily Mail:

Facebook are currently testing a simplified version of its social network service aimed at countries where Internet bandwidth is limited.
The new system, named Facebook Lite, focuses primarily on messaging and user updates and looks remarkably similar to rival micro blogging service Twitter.
Industry experts are viewing the development as the latest in a series of moves from Facebook to take on Twitter.

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Meteor Show Reaches Dazzling Peak

From The BBC:

Skygazers are observing a dazzling sky show, as the annual Perseid meteor shower reaches its peak.

No special equipment is required to watch the shower, which occurs when Earth passes through a stream of dusty debris from the comet Swift-Tuttle.

Budding astronomers are advised to lie on a blanket or a reclining chair to get the best view.

The National Trust has released online guides to seven top Perseid viewing sites in the UK.

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Killer Whales Visit 'Social Clubs'

From BBC:

Killer whales create and visit social clubs just like people do, scientists have discovered.

Up to 100 fish-eating killer whales come together in the Avacha Gulf, off the coast of Russia.

But no-one knew why the whales form these huge superpods, when they normally live in smaller groups.

Now scientists report in the Journal of Ethology that these groups act as clubs in which the killer whales form and maintain social ties.

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The Long Legacy Of Peru's "Mine Of Death"

Image from Chemistry World blog

From Earth Magazine:

The Inca knew there was something sinister about the cinnabar they hauled out of the ground at Huancavelica in Peru hundreds of years ago. They called the mine the Mine of Death. Now, a new study has exposed a 3,500-year history of mercury pollution from the cinnabar mines, a much longer legacy than researchers had previously realized.

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Previous Post: Mercury pollution from ancient Inca mines -- Chemistry World Blog

You Deleted Your Cookies? Think Again

From Epicenter:

More than half of the internet’s top websites use a little known capability of Adobe’s Flash plugin to track users and store information about them, but only four of them mention the so-called Flash Cookies in their privacy policies, UC Berkeley researchers reported Monday.

Unlike traditional browser cookies, Flash cookies are relatively unknown to web users, and they are not controlled through the cookie privacy controls in a browser. That means even if a user thinks they have cleared their computer of tracking objects, they most likely have not.

What’s even sneakier?

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Planet Smash-Up Sends Vaporized Rock, Hot Lava Flying

This artist's concept shows a celestial body about the size of our moon slamming at great speed into a body the size of Mercury. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope found evidence that a high-speed collision of this sort occurred a few thousand years ago around a young star, called HD 172555, still in the early stages of planet formation. The star is about 100 light-years from Earth. (Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Aug. 12, 2009) — NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope has found evidence of a high-speed collision between two burgeoning planets around a young star.

Astronomers say that two rocky bodies, one as least as big as our moon and the other at least as big as Mercury, slammed into each other within the last few thousand years or so -- not long ago by cosmic standards. The impact destroyed the smaller body, vaporizing huge amounts of rock and flinging massive plumes of hot lava into space.

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Men Not Choosy In One-Night Stands

From Live Science:

It's no secret that men are more likely than women to jump into the sack. But a new study adds some twists to the rules of such casual sex.

The research suggests men are far less choosy about the attractiveness of a potential one-night stand. For women to be tempted into considering casual sex, the guy better be a hottie.

These results, based not on real-life encounters but rather on interviews, match with past research showing that men lower their standards when it comes to one-night stands. And it turns out, from the new study, women raise their standards.

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Mediterranean-Style Diet And Exercise 'Cuts Chances Of Alzheimer's'

From The Telegraph:

Following a Mediterranean-style diet and exercising regularly can cut the chances of developing Alzheimer's by as much as 60 per cent, a new study shows.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence that following a healthy lifestyle can offer protection against the devastating disease.

Experts warn that this is crucial because there are few ways to treat the condition once it develops.

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Are We On The Brink Of Creating A Computer With A Human Brain?

Professor Markram claims he plans to build an electronic human brain 'within the next ten years'

From The Daily Mail:

There are only a handful of scientific revolutions that would really change the world. An immortality pill would be one. A time machine would be another.
Faster-than-light travel, allowing the stars to be explored in a human lifetime, would be on the shortlist, too.
To my mind, however, the creation of an artificial mind would probably trump all of these - a development that would throw up an array of bewildering and complex moral and philosophical quandaries. Amazingly, it might also be within reach.

Read more ....

Google Reveals Caffeine: A New Faster Search Engine

The front end of the improved search engine looks no different. It is the back end technology which Google developers hope will noticeably index new content faster. Photo: AP

From The Telegraph:

Google has revealed project “caffeine”, a new test version of its search engine which it claims will be faster and more relevant than ever before.

In the face of increasing innovation and competition in the search market, Google is upping the ante by developing new technology which will speed up indexing search results and create a larger index.

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What A Shower! Catch Up On Meteors With Twitter

The Horsehead Nebula from 'Ancient Light: a Portrait of the Universe' by David Malin

From The Independent:

Astronomy becomes art in a new book of photographs which takes us to parts of the universe our eyes cannot normally see. The results are out of this world, says Hannah Duguid.

In 1609, when Galileo first looked at the universe through a telescope, he was limited by the boundaries of his vision. He could see only what his eye was capable of perceiving. It was not until the birth of photography in the mid-19th century that astronomy was able to progress.

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NASA Falling Short of Asteroid Detection Goals

The team says it is almost certain that a large Baptistina fragment created the 180km Chicxulub crater off the coast of the Yucatan 65 million years ago. The impact that produced this crater has been strongly linked to the mass extinction event that eliminated the dinosaurs. Image from The BBC.

From Wired Science:

Without more funding, NASA will not meet its goal of tracking 90 percent of all deadly asteroids by 2020, according to a report released today by the National Academy of Sciences.

The agency is on track to soon be able to spot 90 percent of the potentially dangerous objects that are at least a kilometer (.6 miles) wide, a goal previously mandated by Congress.

Asteroids of this size are estimated to strike Earth once every 500,000 years on average and could be capable of causing a global catastrophe if they hit Earth. In 2008, NASA’s Near Earth Object Program spotted a total of 11,323 objects of all sizes.

Read more ....

Last Female Space Shuttle Commander Leaves NASA

Astronaut Pamela Melroy

From Yahoo News/Space:

Astronaut Pamela Melroy, the last-ever female space shuttle commander, is leaving NASA's spaceflying ranks for a new career in private industry.

Melroy is a veteran of three shuttle missions. On her third flight, the STS-120 flight of Discovery in 2007, she became the second woman to command a space shuttle -a role reserved for astronauts who have been trained as pilots, rather than mission specialists.

Despite the significance of her achievement, Melroy said the distinction wasn't a big deal for her.

Read more ....

GM Claims Chevy Volt Will Get 230 MPG--But How?

The 2011 Chevrolet Volt General Motors

From Popular Science:

General Motors CEO Fritz Henderson says the EPA will certify the Chevrolet Volt with triple-digit mileage. How'd they come up with that?

General Motors calls the Chevrolet Volt an extended-range electric vehicle. That's because the only motive force comes from the electric motor; the gas engine only charges the batteries. In a press conference earlier today, GM's CEO Fritz Henderson said the Volt will have a city mileage figure of 230 miles per gallon--almost five times more efficient than a Prius. But considering the uniqueness of the Volt's powertrain, how did the EPA get that figure?

Read more ....