One of the scariest stories to emerge late last year was the attempted suppression of two studies done on bird flu, which basically amounted to research done by two teams in the US and the Netherlands that essentially could have led to very dangerous, weaponized strains of the worrying pathogen.

Another interesting bit of this story is that this time, the censorship wasn’t the scary part. In late November, news emerged that government agencies including the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity (NSABB) were urging two scientific journals, Science and Nature, not to publish research that detailed how bird flu strains could be more efficiently spread- basically a scenario that totally ends in a disaster movie. The journals complied, and noted that the pressure was not “strong arming” to prevent the research from being published and that reasonable concern existed to keep the information under wraps.

It’s interesting that all parties involved are in agreement about how to handle the bird flu studies, and all refer to the results of the research as presenting unprecedented risk. After the requests from federal security and science agencies that the studies be handled differently, Science released a statement explaining the decision, as did Nature.

In Nature’s statement, the journal explains:

At the same time, these scientific results also represent a grave concern for global biosecurity, biosafety and public health. Could this knowledge, in the hands of malevolent individuals, organizations or governments, allow construction of a genetically altered influenza virus capable of causing a pandemic with mortality exceeding that of the ‘Spanish flu’ epidemic of 1918?

The statement continues:

The research teams that performed this work did so in a well-intended effort to discover evolutionary routes by which avian influenza A/H5N1 viruses might adapt to humans. Such knowledge may be valuable for improving the public-health response to a looming natural threat. And, to their credit and that of the peer reviewers selected by the journals Science and Nature, the journals themselves, as well as the US government, it was recognized before their publication that these experiments had dual use of concern potential.

Do you worry about the weaponization of viruses like bird flu?

Bird Flu Censorship Defended by Panel is a post from: The Inquisitr

IBM has managed to create a carbon nanotube transistor that is more powerful than silicon, and even smaller than it’s predecessor. When it comes to processors and transistors, silicon is the material of choice. The problem however is that once it reaches it’s physical limit, it no longer works and will just fizz off.

That limit is 11nm (nanometers) and scientists have been working on ways of either fixing that, or finding an alternative. Intel has also been doing much research into this area as they’re a top seller of processors.

Via ExtremeTech:

“IBM has demonstrated a nine nanometer (9nm) carbon nanotube transistor (CNT) — the smallest CNT ever made, and significantly smaller than any commercial silicon transistor. At 9nm, IBM’s transistor is also smaller than the physical limit of silicon transistors, which is around 11nm.”

“Beyond its diminutive size, the 9nm CNT is capable of switching at very low voltages (0.5V), thus consuming less power than its silicon counterparts — but it can also carry four times as much current, meaning a better signal quality and a wider range of applications.”

The benefit of this is very clear: More powerful connections and the ability to go incredibly small means far more powerful processors. Using this carbon nanotube transistor, albeit is a very long ways away, will allow for next generation processing.

While what we currently have now is very fast and impressive, what we’ll have in a decade (or less) will be many times beyond that.

Is IBM onto something here?

IBM Creates Transistor That Is Smaller And More Powerful Than Silicon is a post from: The Inquisitr

Data storage is always a topic of conversation when it comes to computers, laptops, tablets, and especially servers. IBM scientists are looking at a new experimental storage technique called magnetic memory.

With this new technique, they’ve figured out how to make it 100 times denser than hard drive storage already on the market which means that this could potentially pack in 100 times more storage in the same size.

Imagine something the size of a typical hard drive, but with the storage of 100TB or more. Very intriguing and could revolutionize data storage as we currently know it.

Via IBM:

“By taking a novel approach and beginning at the smallest unit of data storage, the atom, scientists demonstrated magnetic storage that is at least 100 times denser than today’s hard disk drives and solid state memory chips. Future applications of nanostructures built one atom at a time, and that apply an unconventional form of magnetism called antiferromagnetism, could allow people and businesses to store 100 times more information in the same space. ”

“The chip industry will continue its pursuit of incremental scaling in semiconductor technology but, as components continue to shrink, the march continues to the inevitable end point: the atom. We’re taking the opposite approach and starting with the smallest unit — single atoms — to build computing devices one atom at a time.” said Andreas Heinrich, the lead investigator into atomic storage at IBM Research – Almaden, in California.”

Very exciting research and if IBM can pull if off in a reliable package, we could see our next generation of data storage.

We Could Store 100 Times More Data With ‘Magnetic Memory’ Says IBM Scientists is a post from: The Inquisitr

Big news out of the scientific community today as two new prospective elements have been given names among the periodic table of the elements.

Previously known as elements 114 and 116 the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry today revealed them to be flerovium (Fl) and livermorium (Lv).

While the names have been selected science enthusiasts should be made aware that they must wait five months before they can be officially added, during that time the discussion is open for public comments. The elements were confirmed by the IUPAC in June.

The name Flerovium comes from Russia’s Flerov Laboratory of Nuclear Reactions where the element was first created.

The second element Livermorium was originally to be called muscovium (it was discovered in a lab in Moscow) but was later changed to represent the name of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. Livermore scientists were involved in the discovering of the element.

While for most of us outside of the scientific community it just means two more abbreviations to remember on a chart, it’s an exciting time for scientists who continue to advance their studies while developing new and exciting elements to work with.

What do you think of the names given to the two elements?

[Image via Shutterstock.com]

Two New Names Added To Periodic Table Of The Elements is a post from: The Inquisitr

Would you take part in a program titled Shark Attack Experiment LIVE? That’s the new show being used by one marine biologist to prove sharks are not the deadly man-eaters they are made out to be in movies and hysterical documentaries. They just want a cuddle really! Er, maybe.

Dr. Ryan Johnson has free dived with sharks countless times, and has now recruited a team of ‘shark angels’ – that’s ladies in bikinis to you and I – to prove sharks will not naturally attack humans.

The program will be broadcast live from shark-infested waters off the South African coast, and will see Johnson’s female volunteers swim freely amongst sharks, hopefully without getting nibbled. Johnson says he and his volunteers have baited the sharks constantly for three months. In that time, there has not been a single reaction from the hundreds of Great Whites who populate the area, just half a mile from Mossel Bay, a popular beach which hasn’t seen a shark attack in over two decades. The good doctor explains to ABC:

“This is what the element of live TV can do. You don’t see that three months of filming cut down to that 20 seconds of gory action, action, action. You’re actually gonna see what Great Whites are like, doing little sharky things, being calm and they’re stunning to watch.”

The inherent tension of such a show will undoubtedly drag in viewers (without the cynical measure of using women in bikinis), but what if it does go wrong and an attack occurs? It seems Johnson won’t even entertain the possibility:

“All of us on this crew are convinced that what we’re doing is responsible. We wouldn’t be doing this if we thought we were going to get bit. It’s a chance for us to put ourselves on the line and prove our theories.”

Johnson and his volunteers will also be tempting the animals with the smell of human blood and urine. Yeah, rather them than me.

Shark Attack Experiment LIVE will air Friday, November 25 on the Nat Geo WILD channel. Will you be tuning in like me to cheer Team Shark?

Shark Attack! Scientists Using Bikini-Clad Girls to Bait Sharks is a post from: The Inquisitr

Fossilized dinosaur teeth have thrown new light on the behavior of gigantic plant-eating dinosaurs called sauropods.

According to a study conducted by researchers at Colorado College, these huge beasts would migrate hundreds of miles from their home during dry spells to locate food and water. This is the first evidence that tells us some dinosaurs migrated to overcome shortages of seasonal food.

If you’re like me and find dinosaurs fascinating (and if you don’t, WHY?), you may be interested to know that dinosaurs lost their teeth and grew new ones every six months. The new growths would contain elements from the food and water consumed by each dinosaur, with elements differing by location.

So this is where the science comes in. This fresh study focuses on oxygen-18 isotopes in dinosaur teeth. The white coats found that the water and plants in low altitude regions of North America boasted relatively high levels of oxygen-18. It was already known that plants in high altitude locations contained lower levels of oxygen-18.

When measuring the levels of oxygen-18 in sauropod teeth in low altitude regions, scientists found the dinosaurs’ isotope levels were lower than the levels found in the basin. This would logically mean the dinosaurs had departed the basin at some point and returned later.

Says study researcher Henry Fricke:

“Sauropods in western North America were living in an environment that was seasonally dry, that has a pronounced wet season and a pronounced dry season. If you have an animal that needs to eat a lot and drink a lot, it’s going to have to move to access vegetation and to get water.”

Fricke estimates the dinosaurs probably traveled more than 350 miles (600 kilometers) to nom food and water from the highlands. He says: “They appear to show isotopes from the highlands, but they were found in the basin.”

So now you know.

Dinosaur Teeth Show Big Dinosaurs Trekked For Food is a post from: The Inquisitr

Fresh research into how we remember events could provide new forms of schizophrenia treatment, scientists have revealed.

Researchers from Cambridge University have discovered that a variation in one part of the brain could mean some people struggle to separate real and imagined memories. It is hoped this finding could help advance understanding of disorders such as schizophrenia. An inability to decipher what is real and what isn’t is a symptom of the disease.

The study was published in The Journal of Neuroscience, and saw 53 volunteers tested for their ability to distinguish real or imagined memories. Those with a larger paracingulate sulcus (or PCS) were superior at identifying real experiences from imagined ones. Here’s white coat Jon Simons, who led the research:

“The memory differences we observed were quite striking. It is exciting to think that these individual differences in ability might have a basis in a simple brain folding variation.”

The World Health Organisation has revealed schizophrenia affects 24 million people worldwide, yet little is known of what causes it. These findings could unlock the mystery behind the condition. Simons adds:

“We’ve found evidence that suggests this particular (brain) region might be reduced in people with schizophrenia, and that this could be the beginning of an explanation for why these people experience hallucinations.”

In the study, each volunteer received a brain scan to establish a presence or absence of PCS in the left or right brain. After that, they were shown word pairs, such as ‘Laurel and Hardy.’ Sometimes, these pairs were complete and sometimes the second word was blanked out.

The volunteers then had to recall if they had observed a complete pair, or completed the pair in their own mind.

Schizophrenia Treatment Could Get Boost From Brain Memory Discovery is a post from: The Inquisitr

Low levels of serotonin and increased aggression are linked, a new study has found.

Researchers at the University of Cambridge discovered our basic ape brains struggle to control emotional responses to anger when low on the chemical serotonin. Low serotonin levels are related to hunger or stress. Conclusion: stuffing your face can help solve tetchiness.

The study, explain the white coats at Cambridge, reveals why certain individuals are more prone to aggression. The findings appeared in the journal Biological Psychiatry , and could pave the way for new forms of treatment for psychiatric patients who suffer from aggressive or violent symptoms.

As Luca Passamonti, who worked on the research with colleagues at the Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit of the Medical Research Council in Cambridge, explains: “Although these results came from healthy volunteers, they are also relevant for a broad range of psychiatric disorders.”

30 volunteers took part in the study. On the serotonin depletion day, researchers would give each participant a cocktail of amino acids that lacked tryptophan, the building block for serotonin. On other days, known as ‘placebo days,’ they ingested the same mixture but with a standard amount of tryptophan.

The brains of participants were then scanned as they were shown faces with angry, sad, and neutral expressions. The results showed how low brain serotonin made communications between the frontal lobes and a structure known as the amygdala weaker.

Passamonti stated that the study could help explain the brain mechanisms of a disorder known as intermittent explosive disorder (IED):

“Individuals with IED typically can have intense, uncontrollable outbursts of violence which may be triggered by cues such as a facial expression of anger. We are hopeful that our research will lead to improved diagnostics as well as better treatments for this and other conditions.”

[Image]

Serotonin Levels and Aggression Linked [Study] is a post from: The Inquisitr

I think we all have spent the occasional sunny afternoon laying in a park staring up at the sky watching clouds drift by and seeing all kinds of shapes hidden in them. When it comes to taking, or looking at, photographs of clouds what we are seeing is really a very small view of them as most are taken from the ground looking up, or possibly through airplane windows; neither of which can truly capture their majesty.

Well photographer Rudiger Nehmzow isn’t one to just snap any old pictures of clouds and be happy. No, instead he goes up in a plane with a tank of oxygen, a jacket, and a belt to strap himself in so he doesn’t fall out of the open doorway that he is taking his pictures from.

Needless to say the images that he captures from four miles up in the air are breathtaking in their beauty. Here’s a few samples of his work along with a video of him in a plane four miles up taking those beautiful photographs.

via SlashGear

Clouds photographed in all their naked splendor from 4 miles up [Video] is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you ask 100 people what the saddest movie ever would be, you’re likely to get 100 different answers… or so you’d think.

Perhaps Bambi among Disney fans, or The Crow among goths, or Big Momma’s House among people who actually appreciate humor. All would be wrong, however, according to science. A recent delving into sad movies has determined the saddest movie of all time, and none of the above were pinpointed as the most sad movie ever.

Smithsonian Magazine wrote about the sad movie study this month, citing data from 1995 wherein scientists made the determination. It turns out that it was necessary to use a movie clip to induce sadness- as telling people their puppy was run over or that their grandma had succumbed to a disease is considered unethical. And out of all the clips used, one from the film The Champ starring Jon Voight and Ricky Schroder was most likely to get the waterworks going:

According to Smithsonian.com, scientific study has determined that the most reliable tearjerker of all time is 1979′s ‘The Champ,’ in which washed-up boxer Jon Voight returns to the ring in order to earn enough to retain custody of his son, Ricky Schroder. Particularly, the climactic scene where — spoiler alert! — the little boy watches his battered dad die (end spoiler). It’s a moment that makes Schroder and the hardened old men in the scene all bawl their eyes out, and it’s all but guaranteed to do the same to you.

Do you agree? What do you think is the saddest movie of all time?

Saddest Movie Ever Pinpointed by Science is a post from: The Inquisitr

Man, throw some dollars around that science will research just about anything under the sun, or in your bathroom.

Thanks to these overly inquisitive folks we know have a handy infographic to explain the advantages of the time word question: which way should we set the roll of toilet paper and what does it tell the world about us.

via CNET Crave blog

Are you over or under? The toilet paper infographic you didn’t know you needed is a post from: The Inquisitr

The notion of “deleting” bad memories has been somewhat of a pop-culture wishlist staple for a long time, and was a huge plot point in the Jim Carrey/Kate Winslet film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

In partially encouraging, partially terrifying news, scientists have identified a protein kinase in marine snails that could one day be instrumental in erasing bad memories from our recall, sparing the trauma of reliving the upsetting moments:

Scientists found they could erase long-term memories in the snails by inhibiting the activity of a specific protein kinase called PKM —molecules that chemically modify proteins.

“I think we will be able to alter memories someday to reduce the trauma from our brains,” said the study’s senior author, David Glanzman, a UCLA professor of integrative biology and physiology and of neurobiology.

It may seem that snail memories are far less complex than those of humans, but Glanzman says the similarities indicate promise in similar human circumstances:

“Almost all the processes that are involved in memory in the snail also have been shown to be involved in memory in the brains of mammals,” Glanzman said.

The study was published in the April 27th issue of Journal of Neuroscience.

Study: ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ could become reality is a post from: The Inquisitr

Because today is Obvious News Day, here’s another self-evident nugget of barefaced truthiness: playing games, watching TV, or meddling with gadgets right before you sleep can cost you hours of blissful dozing each week.

Reuters reports that a dependence on televisions, games, cellphones, laptops, and other gadgets can interfere with sleeping habits. Nearly two-thirds of those who use electronic devices in the hour before sleeping admitted to not getting enough sleep (he writes, while typing this up at 1am). That’s instantly recognizable to anyone who habitually plays games late.

This study was conducted by the Washington DC-based National Sleep Foundation, whose vice chairman Russell Rosenborg parped: “Unfortunately, cell phones and computers, which make our lives more productive and enjoyable, may be abused to the point that they contribute to getting less sleep at night leaving millions of Americans functioning poorly the next day.”

And here’s a bunch of other stuff they found out:

♦ Nearly 95 percent of people questioned used some type of electronics in the hour before going to bed
♦ Baby boomers, or people aged 46 – 64 years old, were the biggest offenders of watching television every night before going to sleep.
♦ More than a third of 13 – 18 year-olds and 28 percent of young adults 19 – 29 year olds played video games before bedtime.
♦ 61 percent also said they used a computer or laptop at least a few nights each week.
♦ One in 10 kids report they are being awoken by texts after they have gone to bed.
♦ 13-18 year olds were the most sleep-deprived group, with 22 percent describing themselves as “sleepy” … compared to only nine percent of baby boomers.

[Reuters, via Eurogamer]

Well, duh: Gaming and gadgets cause sleeplessness, says report is a post from: The Inquisitr

While this will most like drive surfing purest off the deep end of the incoming waves the geek in me just loves what they have done here.

It’s one thing to maybe chart the power of the waves that you’re riding but Tecnalia and Pukas have gotten together to create the ultimate geek driven surfboard you will most likely ever set your eyes on.

Here’s a part of what has been embedded on this magical surfboard (bite this Apple):

• embedded PC
• gyroscopes
• accelerometers
• compass
• GPS
• WiFi
• flash memory stick

The idea is that after that majestic ride all that data that was collected it stored on the flash memory and once you hit shore it is beamed via WiFi to a more power computer for all the number crunching.

Here’s a video of the board in action.

Pukas – Tecnalia Surfsens project from Pukas Surf on Vimeo.

via Engadget

[Damn Cool Dept.] The coolest electronified surfboard yet – VIDEO is a post from: The Inquisitr

It seems that every day that goes by we are discovering new and cool ways to do, or create, new things.

Such is the case of a discovery by scientists at Yale who have discovered a new material that has the strength of metal but can be formed into complex forms the same way we form stuff made from plastic.

Called bulk metallic glasses (BMG) these amorphous metals could totally revolutionize our society in the way that the development of synthetic plastic did when it was discovered. These BMG’s can replace the previous three steps it took to form complex metal shapes into one single step and be used to create everything from metallic bottles to biomedical implants that are twice as strong as steel and take less than a minute to mold.

Unlike the crystalline structure found in ordinary metals that makes them strong but also results in them requiring three separate steps for processing (shaping, joining and finishing), the metal alloys recently developed by the Yale team are amorphous metals known as bulk metallic glasses (BMGs), whose randomly arranged atoms and low critical cooling rate allows them to be blow-molded into complex shapes like plastics. This allows the researchers to combine the three traditional time- and energy-intensive metal processing steps into one blow molding process that takes less than a minute.

via GizMag

According to Jan Schroers, the Yale material scientist who lead the team this could lead to a whole new paradigm when it comes to shaping metals. At this point Schroers and his team have fabricated things like miniature resonators for microelectricalmechanical (MEMs) using this method, and this is really just the tip of the iceberg as you can see by the image below.

images courtesy of GizMag

[Damn Cool] A material with the strength of metal you shape like plastic is a post from: The Inquisitr

Have all those hours spent casually smashing up your car in Burnout or falling off Rainbow Road in Mario Kart affected your real-life driving skills? Yes! According to who? Science, that’s who.

A poll of 2000 motorists commissioned by Continental Tyres reveals that those who game are crappier drivers than those who don’t. The study, which questioned drivers aged between 17 and 39, found that gamers are twice as likely to run red light, run red lights, make insurance claims, and generally misbehave on the roads.

On the flip side, gamers statistically suffer less prang damage, and do pass their driving test quicker (though not in my case: after sixty-five hours of lessons, I gave up – to my eternal shame, that’s actually true).

“It seems that while gamers develop useful skills and are more confident, they need to apply some balance with a sensible assessment of risk,” tooted Continental’s Tim Bailey. “Playing computer driving games means good concentration levels and improved reaction times, however, they can take more risks than non-gaming drivers, possibly due to the lack of real consequences in games.”

As a gamer, I want to defend my brothers and sisters, but that does make sense. Also see aforementioned anecdote about me being inept in a car.

[Via Edge]

Study claims gamers make worse drivers is a post from: The Inquisitr

Robots are pretty cool and are destine to become a part of our everyday lives but the one thing that they have always had is either a metallic or some sort of synthetic rubber skin that covers a metal framework of some sort.

It’s the kind of thing that makes them stand out in a crowd to say the least so the idea that they could actually have a super intelligent skin that in theory could power itself is pretty cool, to say the least.

Well we are one step closer to that ideal thanks to the work of Stanford researcher Zhenan Bao and according to the story at Fast Company she is entering some pretty exciting territory

The latest advance has seen Bao adding a corrugated microstructure organic solar cell layer into the skin. The clever folding in this layer allows it to be stretched along two axes…by up to 30% beyond its original length. This lets her coat pretty much any human-like joint with the skin and still have it collect enough solar power to run its sensor array, even when the skin is stretched and distorted over complex joints like elbows. Cleverly, the flexible solar array is connected into a circuit via a liquid metal electrode, which conforms to the particular shape of the solar cell at any particular moment.

The new super-skin will give future android robots–which are coming to our homes and workplaces sooner than you may think–the ability to gather power from the sun at all times, have human-like touch sensitivity (which is vital if they’re to be integrated into our lifestyles), and to have super-human chemical senses that make them very useful workplace assistants.

This isn’t stuff that is way out there in the future either but rather with the way science is moving this is something that could happen within even my lifetime.

Very cool stuff or something we should be leaving well enough alone?

[Cool Dept.] Robot skin can stretch and soak up solar power is a post from: The Inquisitr

If you’ve got a panty-dropping weakness or can’t seem to keep it in your pants, a gene variant linked with thrill-seeking behavior could be responsible for promiscuous behavior, among other things.

Researchers have interviewed a whole bunch of hos, and discovered variant of a dopamine receptor gene called DRD4 may predispose a person to behaviors like cheating and hitting it and quitting it. Previous studies have linked the presence of the gene variant to all kinds of fun things like boozing it up, gambling and even watching totally awesome horror movies- as well as being politically liberal.

A new study collected data and DNA from 181 young adults (and collecting DNA from the DRD4 people was probably way more fun, amirite?) and analyzed it. One researcher who worked on the study explains:

“What we found was that individuals with a certain variant of the DRD4 gene were more likely to have a history of uncommitted sex, including one-night stands and acts of infidelity,” study researcher Justin Garcia, a postdoctoral fellow at Binghamton University, State University of New York, said in a statement.

“The motivation seems to stem from a system of pleasure and reward, which is where the release of dopamine comes in,” Garcia said. “In cases of uncommitted sex, the risks are high, the rewards substantial and the motivation variable — all elements that ensure a dopamine ‘rush.’”

The study indicated that those with the gene variant were twice as likely to commit acts of infidelity. However, Garcia cautions that it doesn’t “let transgressors off the hook,” and that the relationship between the gene and those behaviors is “associative.”

[Livescience via Fark, Image]

Researchers link promiscuity to your DNA is a post from: The Inquisitr

In a fascinating study to be published in the journal Neuron researchers at the Standford University of Medicine have found that the human brain contains more switches than all the computers on Earth.

They found this by spending the last few years working on a new imaging model called array tomography along with some novel computation software. This was done by stiching together image slices into a three-dimensional image that could be rotated, penetrated and navigated.

In the study they found that the complexity of human brain is actually far beyond anything that they had imagined. As Stephen Smith, professor of molecular and cellular physiology, has described it:

One synapse, by itself, is more like a microprocessor–with both memory-storage and information-processing elements–than a mere on/off switch. In fact, one synapse may contain on the order of 1,000 molecular-scale switches. A single human brain has more switches than all the computers and routers and Internet connections on Earth.

The following video, courtesy of the team at CNET news, explores the outer surface of a mouse’s cortex through all six layers and subcortical white matter to the adjoining striatum.

Our brains contain more switches that all the world’s computers is a post from: The Inquisitr

I am sure that many of the viewers that tune into the ever popular Discovery show The Mythbusters because they want to watch the antics of the main stars of the show: Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage. However I am equally sure than there is a large contingent of those viewer watch the show because of sexy geek Kari Byron and dream of her getting more show time.

Well their dreams have come true. Starting August 23rd Discovery will be launching a new science show called Head Rush starring Kari Byron. The show is aimed at middle school kids in an effort to get kids excited about science. Amazingly the show which will air from 4 to 5pm daily will have no commercial interruptions.

Here’s a couple video clips about the show.

via Geeks Are Sexy

Geeks around the world rejoice – sexy geek Kari Byron gets her own show is a post from: The Inquisitr