February 2012
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Blue Light Causes Red Tide
Each year, phytoplankton blooms known as “red tides” kill millions of fish and other marine organisms and blanket vast areas of coastal water around the world. Though the precise causes of red tides remain a mystery, a team of researchers in the United States and Spain has solved one of the main riddles about these ecological disasters by uncovering the specific mechanism that triggers...
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“Q: Why shouldn’t you invite Schrodinger’s cat to a celebration?
A: He’s...”
– This is our Assistant Editor’s favorite joke ever.
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“We have landed on a world where the faint sun glints off methane lakes, seen...”
– Brian Cox, Why Quantum Theory Is So Misunderstood (via cuckoocuckoo)
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DOD Evaluates Future of Research Program
The Department of Defense funds basic research in a wide variety of scientific and engineering fields with a goal of exploiting new knowledge to enhance-and where possible, transform-future capabilities. DOD-funded research is known for high-risk endeavors that have led to paradigm shifts in the nation’s technical capabilities. The task force took on the task to both validate the quality of...
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“The thermometer was invented in 1607 by Galileo.”
– Fact from http://immenseknowledge.blogspot.com
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Cybersecurity Tools Would Strengthen Nation,...
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced a new partnership to establish the National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence, a public-private collaboration for accelerating the widespread adoption of integrated cybersecurity tools and technologies. The State of Maryland and Montgomery County, Md., are co-sponsoring the center with NIST, which will work to strengthen U.S....
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Mutated Protein Fails to Protect Against...
Purdue Univ. researchers revealed how a mutation in a protein shuts down a protective function needed to prevent the death of neurons in Parkinson’s disease, possibly opening the door to new drug strategies to treat the disorder. Fred Regnier, a professor of chemistry, and Jean-Christophe Rochet, an associate professor of medicinal chemistry and molecular pharmacology, led the team that...
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Cement has 97% Smaller CO2, Energy Footprint
Drexel Univ. engineers have found a way to improve upon ordinary Portland cement (OPC), the glue that’s bonded much of the world’s construction since the late 1800s. In research recently published in Cement and Concrete Composites the group served up a recipe for cement that is more energy efficient and cost effective to produce than masonry’s most prevalent bonding compound. Drexel’s “green”...
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Nevada Approves Tests of Driverless Cars
Nevada is envisioning a day when taxicabs might shuttle fares without a driver, or people with medical conditions that make them ineligible for a license could get around with a virtual chauffeur. The concept took a big step when Nevada became the first state to approve regulations that spell out requirements for companies to test driverless cars on state roads. “Then they have to take us...
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