ريتشارد دوكنز's Blog, page 762
April 4, 2015
Revealed: Why Your Pinot Noir Is Actually A Pinot Blanc (Or Was That A Pinot Gris?)
Photo credit:
Heard it on the (research) grapevine. Naotake Murayama, CC BY
The diversity within grapevine varieties is incredibly rich. This is good news for viticulturists – grape cultivators – and wine makers because it allows them to adapt their wine production according to the conditions in their vineyards and to the wines they want to make.
Pinot is one of the most ancient grapevine varieties and the Pinot family is an invaluable source for the production of a wide range of wines from around the world. There’s the Pinot noir from Burgundy, California or New Zealand, Pinot Meunier in Champagne, Pinot gris in Alsace or Pinot blanc in Italy.
Can Elusive Cancer Stem Cells Seed New Tumours Months After Chemotherapy?
Photo credit:
Lung cancer cells move in. Cancer by Shutterstock
There is a theory among doctors and researchers that has divided the field of cancer treatment in recent years. It suggests that within a tumour there is a small group of special cancer seed cells that are able to resist chemotherapy and bring about the return of the cancer many months after treatment has been completed. This “cancer stem cell” theory may explain the unfortunate relapses seen with many cancer suffers and the tragic consequences for the patient and their family.
Is Climate Change To Blame For Outbreaks Of Mosquito-Borne Disease?
Photo credit:
A changing climate may contribute to more mosquito-borne disease, but it doesn’t guarantee it. john dunstan/Flickr, CC BY-NC
The east coast of Australia is currently experiencing one of its worst outbreaks of mosquito-borne disease in years. Mosquitoes have plagued the summer and now there’s a dramatic increase in disease caused by Ross River virus, spread by the bite of mosquitoes.
March 29, 2015
TTA Podcast 212: CoExist?
What happens when ire meets insomina? Join your humble host for a late-night (and impromptu) rant about religion, reason, “proofs” for the supernatural and the often-claimed charge that everybody should simply hold hands, celebrate their differences and “coexist.”
March 28, 2015
Dozens Of Scientific Papers Withdrawn After Peer-Review Fraud Uncovered
Photo credit:
isak55 via Shutterstock
Scientific Publisher BioMed Central has withdrawn 43 papers, and is investigating many more, over what it calls the “fabrication” of peer reviews. Representatives of Journal editors have admitted the papers are the tip of a dangerous iceberg, and the scandal may to lead to an overhaul of how peer review is conducted.
What Are These Bizarre Formations At Meteorite Fall Sites?
Photo credit:
Snow carrots. Left, in situ. Right, the lowest part is shown upside down with sunglasses for scale / C. Lorenz
Instead of craters, when meteorites land on snow, they make snow carrots.
Early one February morning in 2013, a bright meteor and several flashes were seen near the Ural Mountains in western Russia. The 20-meter-diameter (65 ft) meteoroid broke apart in the atmosphere, releasing most of its energy about 20 to 40 kilometers (12 to 25 miles) up. A few days later, geologists collected 450 small fragments averaging 3 to 6 centimeters wide from an area 40 kilometers (25 miles) south of Chelyabinsk. They added up to 4 kilograms (9 lbs) of meteorites.
Baby Bats Learn Sounds by Mimicking their Moms
Photo credit:
An Egyptian fruit bat feeds on a persimmon tree in central Israel / Daniel Berkowic
Like people, baby Egyptian fruit bats mimic the noises and chatter their mothers and other adults make, according to a new study published in Science Advances this week.
4,200-Year-Old Egyptian Skeleton Shows Signs of Breast Cancer
Photo credit:
Destructive lesion in vertebral body of the 7th thoracic vertebrae of the man from 1200 BC. Rectangle indicates area of new bone infill of the spongiosa. Arrows indicate new bone formation / 2014 Binder et al., PLOS ONE
Researchers working in Egypt have uncovered the world’s oldest evidence for breast cancer so far. The 4,200-year-old skeleton belonged to an adult woman who lived at the end of the 6th Pharaonic Dynasty.
The Days on Saturn Just Got Shorter
Photo credit:
Saturn as seen by the Cassini spacecraft / NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute
A new calculation of Saturn’s rotation period cuts its day down by a few minutes. A single day on the sixth planet from the sun lasts 10 hours, 32 minutes, 45 seconds (plus or minus 46 seconds). The findings were published in Nature this week.
NASA To Study Identical Twins—One On Earth, The Other In Space
Photo credit:
NASA / Robert Markowitz. The takeoff took place yesterday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
NASA has launched their first yearlong crewed mission to the International Space Station!
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