History,science
Strong solar storm heading for Earth
08.03.2012 13:35
(Reuters) - A strong geomagnetic storm is racing from the Sun toward Earth, and its expected arrival on Thursday could affect power grids, airplane routes and space-based satellite navigation systems, U.S. space weather experts said.
The storm, a big cloud of charged particles flung...
Super-human brain technology sparks ethics debate
02.03.2012 12:26
(Reuters) - A British ethics group has launched a debate on the ethical dilemmas posed by new technologies that tap into the brain and could bring super-human strength, highly enhanced concentration or thought-controlled weaponry.
With the prospect of future conflicts between armies...
Oceans' acidic shift may be fastest in 300 million years
02.03.2012 12:23
(Reuters) - The world's oceans are turning acidic at what could be the fastest pace of any time in the past 300 million years, even more rapidly than during a monster emission of planet-warming carbon 56 million years ago, scientists said on Thursday.
Looking back at that bygone warm...
DNA data helps to flesh out "Otzi" the Alpine iceman
02.03.2012 12:21
(Reuters) - The first complete genome-sequencing of "Otzi," Italy's prehistoric iceman, is revealing a wealth of details about the man who roamed the Alps 5,300 years ago and could unleash a frenzy of activity among scientists thanks to open data.
Over the last 20 years, scientists...
New evidence suggests Stone Age hunters from Europe discovered America
29.02.2012 11:56
Independent: New archaeological evidence suggests that America was first discovered by Stone Age people from Europe – 10,000 years before the Siberian-originating ancestors of the American Indians set foot in the New World.
A remarkable series of several dozen European-style stone...
New amphibian family find for India
22.02.2012 10:30
BBC: A new family of caecilians, the most enigmatic branch of the amphibians, has been discovered in northeastern India.
The animals, which at first glance resemble worms, live in forest soil and are most closely related to an African group of caecilians.
The females incubate their...
Researchers Find New Species of Mini-Chameleon
21.02.2012 14:58
Der Spiegel: German researchers have discovered a previously unknown species of chameleon on Madagascar that is just one inch long from tip to tail. The tiny lizards are some of the smallest reptiles on Earth, but their future is uncertain.
The coral reefs and beach-lined inlets look...
Ancient plants back to life after 30,000 frozen years
21.02.2012 10:27
BBC: Scientists in Russia have grown plants from fruit stored away in permafrost by squirrels over 30,000 years ago.
The fruit was found in the banks of the Kolmya River in Siberia, a top site for people looking for mammoth bones.
The Institute of Cell Biophysics team raised plants...
Carnivorous plant doubles as bat hotel
17.02.2012 10:12
RT: A rare meat-eating pitcher plant has re-made its insect traps into night shelters for tiny bats to have their feces as reward.
The nepenthes rafflesiana elongate, a variety of the species also known as Raffles' pitcher plant, grows in Brunei’s muggy peat forests. It is remarkably...
Jurassic cricket's song recreated
08.02.2012 14:07
BBC: Night-time in the Jurassic forest was punctuated by the unmistakable sound of chirping bush crickets.
This is according to scientists who have reconstructed the song of a cricket that chirped 165 million years ago.
A remarkably complete fossil of the prehistoric insect enabled the team...
Pythons are squeezing the life out of the Everglades, scientists warn
02.02.2012 10:59
Independent: If you go down to the Florida Everglades today, you're in for a big surprise: in the past 12 years, 90 per cent of the wild mammals which once roamed freely through the National Park have gone.
Snakes are to blame, say scientists. Big ones. Specifically: an exponentially-growing...
Science decodes 'internal voices'
01.02.2012 10:40
BBC: Researchers have demonstrated a striking method to reconstruct words, based on the brain waves of patients thinking of those words.
The technique reported in PLoS Biology relies on gathering electrical signals directly from patients' brains.
Based on signals from listening patients, a...
Miracle material graphene can distil booze, says study
31.01.2012 10:32
BBC: Membranes based on the "miracle material" graphene can be used to distil alcohol, according to a new study in Science journal.
An international team created the membrane from graphene oxide - a chemical derivative of graphene.
They have shown that the membrane blocks the passage of...
Accumulating 'microplastic' threat to shores
31.01.2012 10:29
BBC: Microscopic plastic debris from washing clothes is accumulating in the marine environment and could be entering the food chain, a study has warned.
Researchers traced the "microplastic" back to synthetic clothes, which released up to 1,900 tiny fibres per garment every time they were...
Human 'cloning' makes embryonic stem cells
31.01.2012 10:24
BBC: A form of cloning has been used to create personalised embryonic stem cells in humans, say researchers.
Genetic material was taken from an adult skin cell and transferred into a human egg. This was grown to produce an early embryo.
Stem cells have huge potential in medicine as they can...
Testicular zap 'may stop sperm'
31.01.2012 10:19
BBC: A dose of ultrasound to the testicles can stop the production of sperm, according to researchers investigating a new form of contraception.
A study on rats published in Reproductive Biology and Endocrinology showed that sound waves could be used to reduce sperm counts to levels that would...
Model unlocks human impact on Africa's fire regimes
13.01.2012 10:54
BBC: A model has helped shed light on how human-started fires shaped Africa's landscape, researchers report.
Before human activity became widespread, most fires were caused by lightning strikes during the continent's wet seasons, they said.
As the human population expanded, more fires...
Invading cannibal ladybirds take over Britain's homes
09.01.2012 10:45
Independent: Asian interlopers devour native insect populations and exude chemical that could ruin your curtains
It started with the squirrels – Britain's native reds being ousted by their ruthless grey American cousins. Now another battle is unfolding, one which could be even more catastrophic...
Carbon emissions 'will defer Ice Age'
09.01.2012 10:14
BBC: Human emissions of carbon dioxide will defer the next Ice Age, say scientists.
The last Ice Age ended about 11,500 years ago, and when the next one should begin has not been entirely clear.
Researchers used data on the Earth's orbit and other things to find the historical warm...
Deep-sea creatures at volcanic vent
05.01.2012 11:01
BBC: Remarkable images of life from one of the most inhospitable spots in the ocean have been captured by scientists.
Researchers have been surveying volcanic underwater vents - sometimes called black smokers - in the South West Indian Ridge in the Indian Ocean.
The UK team found an array of...
Impossible crystals are 'from space'
05.01.2012 10:54
BBC:
Examples of a crystal previously thought to be impossible in nature may have come from space, a study shows.
Quasicrystals have an unusual structure - in between those of crystals and glasses.
Until two years ago, quasicrystals had only been created in the lab - then geologists found...
'The Hoff' crab is new ocean find
05.01.2012 10:49
BBC: UK scientists have found prodigious numbers of a new crab species on the Southern Ocean floor that they have dubbed "The Hoff" because of its hairy chest.
The animal was discovered living around volcanic vents off South Georgia.
Great piles of the crabs were seen to come together.
The...
English mistletoe is 'still under threat'
23.12.2011 10:00
BBC: The future of English mistletoe is still at risk because of disappearing orchards, experts have warned.
A national campaign began in 2009 to try to preserve the traditional Christmas shrub.
But there are fears it could disappear from woodland within 20 years as traditional...
Powys fossils 'shed new light' on ocean community evolution
23.12.2011 09:59
BBC:Scientists believe they have made a remarkable discovery of fossils said to be more than 450 million years old in a disused Powys quarry.
They think they are of a kind never before discovered.
The well-preserved organisms from the Ordovician period, which began about 495m years...
NASA Mars Rover Finds Mineral Vein Deposited by Water
23.12.2011 09:58
NASA: WASHINGTON -- NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity has found bright veins of a mineral, apparently gypsum, deposited by water. Analysis of the vein will help improve understanding of the history of wet environments on Mars.
"This tells a slam-dunk story that water flowed through...
Antlantida: Objevil její stopy Kolumbus?
23.12.2011 09:52
HistoryRevue: Pro staré Řeky byla Atlantida ideální minulostí. V dnešní konzumní společnosti může Atlantida sloužit jako očistná metafora budoucnosti. Proto hledání bájného kontinentu v posledních letech nabírá na obrátkách.
Příběh ideální civilizace šimrá představivost miliónů lidí na...
Který Faustův dům je ten pravý?
23.12.2011 09:51
21.Století: Mnoho evropských měst se pyšní domy, v nichž měl pobývat legendární německý mág Dr. Faust. Ale česká metropole Praha v tomto ohledu jednoznačně triumfuje – v minulosti se zde měly nacházet hned čtyři Faustovy domy! A to historici tvrdí, že Faust prý stověžaté město nikdy...
Pekelné tajemství doktora Fausta
23.12.2011 09:50
Enigma: Mýtus o tajemném doktoru Janu (Johannu) Faustovi, který uzavírá smlouvu s ďáblem a posléze za to musí krutě zaplatit, je vůbec jednou z nejznámějších legend ve střední Evropě. Velmi populární je i u nás – zejména pak v Praze, kde stojí i takzvaný Faustův dům. Co je na této pověsti ale...
Železný zázrak v Indii: Nerezne a splní každé přání!
23.12.2011 09:49
Epocha: V areálu mešity Kutub Minar v Dillí, hlavním městě Indie, stojí pod širým nebem sedm metrů vysoký železný sloup. To by asi nebylo ani nic divného, jenže tenhle sloup je tu přes 1600 let a ani na jednom místě nezrezavěl! Záhada? Přání bohů? Dar mimozemšťanů? „To je vůle samotného boha...
Genetické znalosti v dávných dobách
23.12.2011 09:48
Enigma: V posledních desetiletích zaznamenala genetika rychlý rozvoj. Revoluční poznatky z tohoto oboru umožňují vědcům bojovat proti zákeřným nemocem, ale také vytvářet nové organismy – od odolných rostlin se zvláštními vlastnostmi až po křížence zvířat, a možná i klony lidí. Mnohé ovšem...