It should ring the bell for many of us. The implication is that either people enjoy music in a certain place and certain time or they are so obssessed with their daily life that don’t enen have time to enjoy the beauty around them.
Laser to zap space garbage
To get you started thinking about space junk:
NASA space scientist James Mason and his team of NASA Ames Research Center and the University of Space Research Association in California have recently proposed a new theory to deal with the pieces of debris in the low Earth orbit (LEO) that are colliding with each other to create more pieces. They discovered a possible method of using a laser beam to change the velocity of the junk’s orbit by focusing the beam on it to slow it down and change its orbit. This can stop the debris from colliding with communications satellites or the International Space Station.
Satellites and space junk in orbit around Earth CREDIT: ESA
The scientists mention that continual evaluation of the chances of a collision between two space debris of 5 cm or more in diameter would be needed using radar data from the US Space Surveillance Network. The junks on the path of collision would then be tracked by an optical telescope. One of them will be locked on and the release of the laser beam will occur. Just by using 5-10 kilowatts commercially available lasers mounted on 1.5 meter telescopes placed close to the poles, the risk of more than half of potential space junk collisions could be significantly reduced. The total cost of the scheme would be no more than $10m, making it a much cheaper alternative than other ideas such as direct removal of space debris.
The new paper could give insight into how we can avoid the Kessler syndrome, where if more and more space junk are be created and colliding with each other, the generations of debris could ultimately render space exploration and satellite launches impossible. This prediction was done by a NASA scientist in 1978 and new solutions have been presented since then a lot with multiple complications and high price tags. Moreover, other countries involved in space exploration saw the proposed methods as threats to their functional satellites.
Although a feasible theory, the scientists speculate whether this method could actually do the trick remains a topic of debate. Team member William Marshall points out that there are a lot of uncertainties in the model and space-debris models need to be run to be certain that the theory will be effective in the long term.
Posted in Environment, Physical Sciences, Science in the News
Tagged kessler syndrome, laser, low earth orbit, NASA, satellite, space debris
Humans and Monkeys: Are we even more alike than we think?
They are our closest relatives. We share over 93% of our genetic makeup and likely a common ancestor, yet it’s often thought that humans are the only animals capable of reason and original thought. Sure some monkeys such as chimpanzees and the like can use sign language and operate computers but those are all skills they’ve been taught by human researchers right? They wouldn’t have been able to teach themselves right?
Whilst it has been known for quite some time that humans are not the only primates capable of using tools, it was only in 2004 that researchers from Cambridge University uncovered definitive evidence that wild monkeys make use of tools to aid in their food gathering efforts. The techniques observed by the capuchin monkeys were relatively basic however it was the first solid evidence of non-human primates using tools without any instruction.
More recent research reported in the latest Royal Society Biology Letters, has ratcheted up our level of understanding of just how ingenious our fellow primates can be. Scientists from the Universidade Federal de Pernambuco in Brazil have discovered a new technique used by the blond capuchin monkey (Cebus flavius) to fish for termites out of trees that has never been observed in any other species before nor even thought of by humans!
The technique involves the capuchin tapping the side of a termite branch, before breaking off a branch and using a rotating motion to insert the stick into the nest to retrieve the insects. The tapping appears to set the members of the insect colony ‘on-alert’ enhancing the response towards the ensuing breakage. As soon as the break does occur the “soliders” of the termite colony swarm the damaged point and are easily retrieved by the monkey.
After observing this technique the researchers tried it out for themselves and found that it was indeed an extremely effective method of retrieving insects. Two aspects in particular increase its efficiency. As mentioned earlier the monkey taps the outer surface of the nest before burrowing in. This appears to place the hive on ‘alert’ and improves their response time to the eventual penetration by the branchlet. Additionally, while the rotating motion they used to burrow their way into the nest did not appear to increase the speed at which the insects were caught or the overall catch, it did markedly reduce the likelihood of breaking the stick allowing the monkey to re-use it over and over again.
It is not yet known, exactly how the monkeys discovered the technique, but the observation of such a novel method for food gathering is nonetheless an exciting discovery and provides a further demonstration of just how similar we truly are to our primate cousins.
Viegas, Jennifer (2011, Mar 5th). Monkey Invent New Fishing Technique Retrieved from: http://news.discovery.com/animals/blonde-capuchin-monkeys-fishing-110309.html
BBC NEWS (2004, December 9th) Tool use confirmed in monkeys Retrieved from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4083517.stm
Posted in Uncategorized
Diamonds are the cure to cancer???
Source:Chemical and Engineering News
Cancer treatment research is ever evolving and according to an article in Voice of America it seems like nanodiamonds maybe the result of all this new research. Nanodiamonds are tiny particles of carbon that are just a couple of nanometers in size and there are hopes that they will make cancer drugs more effective and decrease the use of chemotherapy.
According to Dean Ho at the Northwestern University, nanodiamonds attract water which allows it to bind to anti-cancer drugs. This is a very important property because generally tumors reject the drugs, but when they are attached to nanodiamonds they do not. In fact, they were better able to retain the drug for a longer period of time. Based on the studies conducted on mice, the use of nanodiamonds has shown to be more effective with fewer side effects. They were also able to administer the drugs at an elevated level without causing any harm to the mice while successfully reducing the tumors to their smallest size.
However, nanodiamonds are not just restricted to the use of cancer treatment. It can be used in other areas of medicine. For example, Dean Ho and his team found it very useful when used in conjunction with therapeutic drugs such as insulin which is used in wound-healing applications.
A lot more studies need to be done before this test can be tested on humans, but the fact that these nanodiamonds are made from the “byproducts of industrial explosions such as mining” means this technology will not cost much more than regular cancer treatment, which will come as good news for future society.
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With Age Comes Wisdom
Researchers from Sussex University have found that there may be some truth to the old saying “listen to your elders”, or at least in elephants there is. When comparing the leadership skills of matriarch elephants it seems that wisdom really does come with age.
Source: kenyatravelideas.com
In simulated crises, matriarchs over the age of 60 tended to assess threats more accurately than their younger counterparts. Researchers led by Karen McComb played recordings of various lion roars to 39 wild elephant families in Ambseli National Park in Kenya and judged how defensive they became after hearing the threatening lion calls.
Both the young and old matriarch elephants reacted more defensively to the calls of three lions than to the call of only one lion, showing that they could both accurately make threat assessments based on quantity. However, only the older matriarchs reacted more defensively to the calls of male lions than those of female lions. This strong reaction to male lions is an important awareness that can only be gained from experience. Although male lions do not often attach elephants, when they do the results can be devastating. It only takes a single male lion to bring down an elephant calf.
Source: hk.science.museum
You can watch a video here to see the defensive behaviour of the elephants after a lion call is sounded.
In the wild elephant herds can remain together for decades, so having a matriarch that can provide leadership as well safety is invaluable.
There seems to be a trade-off between old and young matriarchs. With a young matriarch the herd gains the strength and fitness of a young leader who can defend the group, but an older matriarch offers experience and wisdom to accurately assess danger to the herd. Given the choice wild elephants value experience over youth.
The original article can be found here.
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Posted in Biological Sciences, New and innovative science
Tagged age, elephants, lion calls, threat assessment
