Punxsutawney Phil: The Groundhog Behind The Myth

From Live Science:

On Tuesday, Punxsutawney Phil will emerge from a little enclosure under an outdoor stump in the Pennsylvania town that bears his name to let us know if he sees his shadow, which will doom us to six more weeks of winter.

While this groundhog gets plenty of attention each Feb. 2, the other 364 days of the year America's most famous furry forecaster spends his time not in the ground but in an enclosure next to the children's section of the Punxsutawney Memorial Library with his "wife" Phyllis and a couple of other groundhogs.

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China Leading Global Race To Make Clean Energy

As China takes the lead on wind turbines, above, and solar panels, President Obama is calling for American industry to step up. Shiho Fukada for The New York Times

From The New York Times:

TIANJIN, China — China vaulted past competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world’s largest maker of wind turbines, and is poised to expand even further this year.

China has also leapfrogged the West in the last two years to emerge as the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels. And the country is pushing equally hard to build nuclear reactors and the most efficient types of coal power plants.

These efforts to dominate renewable energy technologies raise the prospect that the West may someday trade its dependence on oil from the Mideast for a reliance on solar panels, wind turbines and other gear manufactured in China.

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All Things Bright And Beautiful: What Photographer Found In One Cubic Foot

'It was like finding little gems' - just some of the creatures photographed by David Liittschwager for National Geographic. Photograph: David Liittschwager/National Geographic

From The Guardian:

David Liittschwager's amazing images – featured in next month's National Geographic magazine – capture Earth's ecosystems as never before.

Just how much life can you find in an ecosystem of one cubic foot? That is the question photographer David L­iittschwager set out to answer when he took a 12-inch metal frame to a range of different environments on land and in water, in tropical climes and temperate regions and began to chart the living organisms.

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Benevolent Hackers Poke Holes In E-Banking

Security could be lacking (Image: Frazer Hudson)

From New Scientist:

ONLINE banking fraud doesn't just affect the naive. Last year, Robert Mueller, a director at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation, admitted he'd come within a mouse-click of being a victim himself. Now the extent of the problem has been brought into sharp relief, with computer scientists warning that banking culture is increasing the likelihood that customers are using vulnerable systems.

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Yes, Yes, Yes, No, Yes! In Search Of The G-Spot

The yes-no G-spot debate might lose British males... but the French know where they're going. REX

From The Independent:

The Germans first stumbled on it; the Italians fervently tried to explain it; this month, the Brits poured cold water on it... now, the hot-blooded French have revived it, as only they can. Katy Guest examines the quest for the ultimate erogenous zone.

Sacre bleu – as they're all apparently panting over the Channel. Just when you thought it was safe to go back between the sheets, a group of researchers claim that they have found the G-spot – in France.

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Young Blood Reverses Signs Of Aging In Old Mice

Photo: Blood rebirth: Over time, blood stem cells (shown in green) lose their ability to replenish blood. Researchers have discovered that exposing old mice to circulating blood from younger mice restores this ability. Credit: Amy Wagers

From Technology Review:

A mysterious substance in blood rejuvenates blood-forming stem cells.

The antiaging power of blood might not be just the stuff of vampire stories. According to new research from Harvard University, an unspecified factor in the blood of young mice can reverse signs of aging in the circulatory system of older ones. It's not yet clear how these changes affect the animals' overall health or longevity. But the research provides hope that some aspects of aging, such as the age-related decline in the ability to fight infection, might be avoidable.

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Nasa Mission To Unravel Sun’s Threat To Earth

Scientists have designed a space probe to peer deep beneath the solar surface
and observe how sunlight is generated

From Times Online:

A new probe could help scientists predict the solar storms that cause chaos for us.

NASA is to embark on one of its most ambitious missions in an attempt to unlock the secrets of the sun.

Following its launch in nine days’ time, the US space agency’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) will spend five years in orbit trying to discover the causes of extreme solar activity, such as sun spots and solar winds and flares.

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How To Make The iPad A Better Music Device

Photo: The iTunes Music Store looks great on the iPad, but I'd like to see more features for music fans and musicians. (Credit: James Martin/CNET)

From CNET:

I was at Apple's iPad launch on Wednesday, and maybe it was just Steve Jobs' reality distortion field, but I don't quite understand why the haters are piling on. A lot of PC-centric commentators are dismissing the iPad as an overpriced gadget, wondering why it's lacking features that are standard on even the cheapest notebook computers, like Flash support, multitasking, USB inputs to connect peripherals, and video outputs (HDMI would be nice). These are legitimate complaints--for a notebook replacement. But the iPad isn't a notebook replacement, and I don't think users will carry it with them on business trips. (Apple's iWork demo confused matters, admittedly.)

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The Tell Tail Clue To A Happy Dog... They Wag It To The Left

Photo: Welcome sign: A wag to the left is friendlier than one to the right

From The Daily Mail:

Everyone knows that if a dog's ears are up and its tail is wagging vigorously, it is definitely pleased to see you.

Now, scientists using a robot have found that the way dogs use their tails is more subtle than we thought and that dogs that wag them to the left may be more friendly.

The animal psychologists discovered that when real dogs approached a life-sized black Labrador with a mechanical tail, they were less wary of it when it was wagging its tail on the left side of its body.

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Jupiter's Moons: Explanation For The Differences Between Ganymede And Callisto

Jupiter (right) and the Galilean satellites (right to left) Io, Europa, Ganymede, and Callisto. Cutaways show the interior states of Ganymede and Callisto after many impacts by icy planetesimals during the late heavy bombardment. Colors represent density, with black showing the rocky core (with a density 3 g/cm^3), blue showing mixed ice and rock (densities 1.8 to 1.9 g/cm^3) and white showing rock-free ice. (Credit: Southwest Research Institute)

From Science Daily:

Science Daily (Jan. 31, 2010) — Differences in the number and speed of cometary impacts onto Jupiter's large moons Ganymede and Callisto some 3.8 billion years ago can explain their vastly different surfaces and interior states, according to research by scientists at the Southwest Research Institute appearing online in Nature Geoscience Jan. 24, 2010.

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Magnesium May Boost Brainpower

From Live Science:

Mice given extra doses of a new magnesium compound had better working memory, long-term memory and greater learning ability.

Before you go popping heavy doses of magnesium, however, know that much more testing is needed. Though rodent brains work similarly to ours, animal studies do not always predict what will happen in humans.

"If MgT is shown to be safe and effective in humans, these results may have a significant impact on public health," said Guosong Liu, director of the Center for Learning and Memory at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China.

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NASA Budget For 2011 Eliminates Funds For Manned Lunar Missions

Photo: No one will be following in Buzz Aldrin's footsteps under the new budget, which effectively ends plans for lunar flight by 2020. (Nasa Via Associated Press)

From The Washington Post:

NASA's grand plan to return to the moon, built on President George W. Bush's vision of an ambitious new chapter in space exploration, is about to vanish with hardly a whimper. With the release Monday of President Obama's budget request, NASA will finally get the new administration's marching orders, and there won't be anything in there about flying to the moon.

The budget numbers will show that the administration effectively plans to kill the Constellation program that called for a return to the moon by 2020. The budget, expected to increase slightly over the current $18.7 billion, is also a death knell for the Ares 1 rocket, NASA's planned successor to the space shuttle. The agency has spent billions developing the rocket, which is still years from its first scheduled crew flight.

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I, Virus: Why You're Only Half Human

Part of our DNA (Image: Mehau Kulyk/SPL/Getty)

From New Scientist:

WHEN, in 2001, the human genome was sequenced for the first time, we were confronted by several surprises. One was the sheer lack of genes: where we had anticipated perhaps 100,000 there were actually as few as 20,000. A bigger surprise came from analysis of the genetic sequences, which revealed that these genes made up a mere 1.5 per cent of the genome. This is dwarfed by DNA deriving from viruses, which amounts to roughly 9 per cent.

On top of that, huge chunks of the genome are made up of mysterious virus-like entities called retrotransposons, pieces of selfish DNA that appear to serve no function other than to make copies of themselves. These account for no less than 34 per cent of our genome.

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Scientists Set For Nuclear Fusion Fuel Switch-On

From The Independent:

A pivotal step in the march towards fusion power, the "Holy Grail" of sustainable clean energy, could be taken this year.

Scientists in the US are preparing for the dramatic moment when the world's most powerful laser unleashes the nuclear force that lights up the Sun and achieves "ignition".

At that moment, 192 laser beams housed in a building the size of three football pitches will focus on a target the size of a peppercorn to trigger a self-sustaining fusion reaction.

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NASA's Next Space Suit

Photo: To infinity and beyond: David Clark Company, in partnership with Oceaneering International, is designing a new U.S. space suit for missions to the space station, moon, and Mars. It has interchangeable parts, so the arms, legs, boots, and helmet can be switched. The first configuration, shown here, is designed for launch, descent, and emergency activities, while the second design is meant for lunar exploration. Credit: Brittany Sauser

From Technology Review:

Engineers are developing a more flexible outfit--just the thing for a mission to the moon.

If NASA returns to the moon in 2020 as planned, astronauts will step out in a brand-new space suit. It will give them new mobility and flexibility on the lunar surface while still protecting them from its harsh environment. The suit will also be able to sustain life for up to 150 hours and will even be equipped with a computer that links directly back to Earth.

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Google’s ‘Don’t Be Evil’ Mantra Is ‘Bullshit,’ Adobe Is Lazy: Apple’s Steve Jobs

From Epicenter:

After a big public announcement of the sort Apple had this week for the iPad CEO Steve Jobs often takes time in the day or two afterwards to have a Town Hall at One Infinite Loop, making himself available for questions from employees bold enough to stand up and take one right between the eyes.

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Scientists Say Crack HIV/AIDS Puzzle For Drugs

From Reuters:

Study solves puzzle that eluded scientists for 20 years.

* Finding should help development of new HIV/AIDS medicines
* Allows scientists to see how Merck and Gilead drugs work

LONDON, Jan 31 (Reuters) - Scientists say they have solved a crucial puzzle about the AIDS virus after 20 years of research and that their findings could lead to better treatments for HIV.

British and U.S. researchers said they had grown a crystal that enabled them to see the structure of an enzyme called integrase, which is found in retroviruses like HIV and is a target for some of the newest HIV medicines.

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Egypt To Announce King Tut DNA Test Results

From Yahoo News/AP:

CAIRO – Egypt will soon reveal the results of DNA tests made on the world's most famous ancient king, the young Pharaoh Tutankhamun, to answer lingering mysteries over his lineage, said the antiquities department Sunday.

Speaking at a conference, archaeology chief Zahi Hawas said he would announce the results of the DNA tests and the CAT scans on Feb. 17. The results will be compared to those made of King Amenhotep III, who may have been Tutankamun's grandfather.

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Fans Hail First 3D Broadcast Of A Football Match As Better Than Being In The Stadium

Specs on: Football fans at a London pub watch the world's first live broadcast of a match in 3D

From The Daily Mail:

A moment of television history was made today as football fans watched the world's first broadcast of a match in 3D.

Sky Sports broadcast the Arsenal versus Manchester United game to nine pubs across the UK using the latest polarised 3D method.

Fans at the Railway Tavern pub in central London gave the new 3D viewing experience the thumbs-up.

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Archaeology In Jerusalem: Digging Up Trouble

Contested ground Workers at a site in East Jerusalem have uncovered bones and other evidence of early habitation. Yoray Liberman — Getty for TIME

From Time Magazine:

The Jerusalem syndrome is a psychological disorder in which a visit to the holy city triggers delusional and obsessive religious fantasies. In its extreme variety, people wander the lanes of the Old City believing they are biblical characters; John the Baptist, say, or a brawny Samson, sprung back to life.

Archaeologists in the Holy Land like to joke that their profession is vulnerable to a milder form of the syndrome. When scientists find a cracked, oversize skull in the Valley of Elah, it can be hard to resist the thought that it might have belonged to Goliath, or to imagine, while excavating the cellars of a Byzantine church, that the discovery of a few wooden splinters might be part of the cross on which Christ died. This milder malady is nothing new. In the mid-19th century, British explorers who came to Jerusalem with a shovel in one hand and a Bible in the other used the holy book as a sort of treasure map in the search for proof of Christianity's origins.

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