ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 592
January 9, 2016
Artificial Pancreas Trials To Begin In The U.S.
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The human pancreas doesn't always work perfectly. S. K. Chavan/Shutterstock
In the U.S. alone, 1.25 million Americans suffer from type 1 diabetes, a potentially debilitating and life-changing condition. Every year, more and more people are diagnosed, and the only common treatment is regular insulin injections.
Wreckage Of Sunken Whaling Ships Discovered Off Alaskan Coast
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Over 1,200 whalers were forced to abandon their vessels after becoming trapped in pack ice in September 1871. This image was scanned from the original Harper's Weekly 1871, courtesy of Robert Schwemmer/Maritime Library.
The sunken remains of two ill-fated whaling ships have been found off the coast of Alaska, 144 years after they became crushed by pack ice, forcing all crew members to abandon their vessels. Though all were later rescued, the event marks one of the greatest catastrophes in the history of U.S whaling, and resulted in the loss of an entire fleet of 33 ships.
Psychedelic Studies Group Launched At Yale University
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Psychedelic research is currently experiencing something of a revival. dexterous simpson/Shutterstock
Academics at Yale University have founded a study group focusing on the use of psychedelic substances in the field of psychiatry and psychotherapy. The first meeting of the Yale Psychiatry and Psychedelics Group (YPPG) will take place on January 19, and the third Tuesday of every month thereafter.
Kepler Finds 100 New Exoplanets
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Artist's impression of Kepler with a distant solar system. NASA
Everyone can get a second chance, even broken space telescopes. Kepler, the planet hunting telescope, suffered a critical malfunction to its stabilizing system in May 2013. It seemed it was the end for the mission, but thanks to the clever men and women at mission control, they managed to reconfigure the probe and keep the search for exoplanets going.
Ancient Cretan City Had A Secret Afterlife
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Some of the Iron Age pottery found in Knossos, demonstrating the city survived as a center of trade after its empire was gone. Todd Whitelaw
Knossos, Europe's first great city, didn't simply disappear at the end of the Bronze Age as previously thought. Instead, it recovered and thrived as a center of trade despite having lost its place as a hub of world power.
Pluto’s Smooth Ice Field Possibly Explained By Manhattan-Sized Asteroid Impact
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Why is Sputnik Planum (to the right in this image) so smooth? NASA/JHUAPL/SwRI
Another week, another cavalcade of new data from Pluto. And among new images returned by New Horizons, a theory has been proposed for one of the dwarf planet’s strange ice fields – a Manhattan-sized asteroid striking the surface.
NASA Is Making Progress Toward Hybrid-Powered Airplanes
NASA’s endeavors inside the atmosphere don’t get nearly as much attention as their off-world missions, but they could have a big impact on our planet.
Researchers at the NASA Glenn Research Center are working on developing a hybrid plane that will function kind of like a hybrid car, relying on both fossil fuels and electricity to power itself through the sky. Scientists are working on all components of the hybrid system, developing new hybrid electric engines, but also working to improve small pieces, like insulation around the wiring in the aircraft.
“These systems use electric motors and generators that work together with turbine engines to distribute power throughout the aircraft in order to reduce drag for a given amount of fuel burned,” Amy Jankovsky, a NASA engineer said. “Part of our research is developing the lightweight machinery and electrical systems that will be required to make these systems possible.”
The researchers think that these advances could make flying up to 30 percent more fuel efficient. Considering that commercial airlines in the United States used over 8.9 billion gallons of fuel last year, that’s a huge chunk of gas saved, and a large reduction in carbon emissions.
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Event Horizon Telescope Prepares To Take First Black Hole Picture
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A simulation of what astronomer might see by looking at the event horizon by C-K Chan/D Psaltis/F Oze
Next year, astronomers will attempt something that has never been done before. They will try to photograph a black hole, but not just any black hole: Sagittarius A* – the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
Praying Mantises Wearing 3D Glasses Help Us Understand Insect Vision
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Newcastle University
Praying mantises are badass hunters. Although famed for their ability to catch prey many times heavier than themselves, there’s not much research on the efficiency of mantis vision, or indeed on insect sight in general.
January 8, 2016
What We’re Reading
Pull up your afghan and make yourself a cup of tea—there’s lots to read this week!
Something for everyone this week—weird weather, bird phylogeny, amateur paleontology, dinosaur sex and more (including not one but two stories about microbes!). What’s not to love?
Greenland Ice Loss Accelerates 110-Year-Old Record Reveals, Scientific American, December 17, 2015 — A study using direct photographic observation instead of model-based data has recently examined ice loss in Greenland.The record shows that ice sheet loss in Greenland has been underestimated by computer models.
Examination of Earth’s Recent History Key to Predicting Global Temperatures, NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies, December 18, 2015 — A new study shows that "[e]stimates of future global temperatures based on recent observations must account for the differing characteristics of each important driver of recent climate change." (Hat tip to The Whole Truth.)
Climate Chaos Across the Map, The New York Times, December 30, 2015 — News flash: multiple stressors contribute to higher risk and more extreme outcomes. We all know that when we’re tired, stressed out, eating poorly, and skipping our exercise routine, we’re more like to feel crummy, catch whatever is going around, and get well more slowly. Well, it’s the same with Earth’s climate and weather systems-if you combine global warming with an unusually powerful El Nino coinciding with an Arctic Oscillation, you get a whole series of weird and extreme weather events. This article lays out some of the complicated feedback loops involved in this season’s string of newsworthy weather stories.
“Plus ca change" and the Importance of Going Extinct, Extinct, January 4, 2016 — Derek Turner discusses Peter Sheldon's counterintuitive model for explaining evolutionary stasis on a new group blog devoted to the philosophy of paleontology.
Update on the Tree of Birds, The Panda’s Thumb, January 4, 2016 — Emily Thompson takes a look at two recent phylogenies of birds, asking, "what is the difference between these two trees and how they were constructed, and which is more accurate?"
Amateur Sleuths on the Dinosaur Trail, The New York Times, January 5, 2016 — What happens when fossils are found on public land? Thousands of fossils, thousands of acres, but the U.S. Forest Service employs just two field paleontologists. The story describes how volunteers have stepped up to excavate these priceless scientific treasures.
Behind a Shopping Center in New Jersey, Signs of a Mass Extinction, The New York Times, January 5, 2015 — Kenneth Chang reports on how local schoolchildren (among others) are digging up 66-million-year-old fossils. The site may represent the only known mass grave from the moment of the asteroid impacts that ended the age of the dinosaurs.
Poll: 70 Percent Believe in Climate Change, The Hill, January 5, 2016 — A new survey taken before the COP21 meeting in Paris found that 70% of Americans believe the climate is changing, though few (27%) agreed with the scientific consensus that human activity is responsible. There was expectedly a partisan divide, with few Republicans (18%) seeing climate change as a serious issue.
Iceman’s Gut Holds Clues to Humans’ Spread Into Europe, National Geographic, January 7, 2016 — Michael Greshko explains how a recent autopsy of a 5,400-year-old mummified human is continuing to offer insights into human evolution. Turns out the iceman not only had lactose intolerance, but he also likely had an inflamed gut—but that’s not even the most interesting part of the results.
Dinosaur Foreplay Left Mysterious Grooves on Rocks, Colorado Researcher Realizes, San Jose Mercury News, January 7, 2016 — Despite its horrid title, this little article is fairly interesting, in that it lays out a case about evidence for dinosaur mating behavior. Paired clawed-out depressions that can be the size of bathtubs may be evidence of a mating behavior similar to one used by some bird species, where males will engage in showy nest building like activities to attract and seduce females.
Virologists, Start Your Poliovirus Destruction! Virology Blog, January 7, 2016 — Vincent Racaniello writes about the bittersweet possibility of having to destroy his research stock of poliovirus, as the world progresses toward total eradication of the once-ravaging disease.
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