TIZER'S SCIENCE NEWS

[Stanley]

I saw a report about this somewhere, I think it was embedded in a general piece about the way attitudes towards experimentation with genetically modified crops is under way again with a licence issued for a crop somewhere. I didn't realise the true significance.... Thanks for pointing it out Tiz.

[Stanley]

I know my brain works in peculiar ways at times but last night while I was sitting there chewing my food I pondered on the fact that if one had to write a computer programme to deal with this operation avoiding biting your tongue you'd be hard pressed! (I know, I should get out more.....)

[Bodger]

http://kottke.org/16/11/nasas-analysis- ... e-it-works
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[Stanley]

Yes I noted this as well Bodge. These things start as impossible and sometimes end up as practical once we have adjusted our view of the world. Newton was good but he wasn't infallible. Open minds and faith are the keys.....

[Tizer]

Three links to more information here:
A science magazine: LINK 1

A NASA article from April with more of the background: Link 2

And for anyone who wants to see the published paper and its conclusions: LINK 3

[Bodger]

http://www.disclose.tv/news/time_travel ... edium=paid

[Tizer]

This looks like it could be useful and a prototype is up and running - in Manchester!
`Cryogenic storage offers hope for renewable energy' LINK

[Stanley]

Interesting link Tiz. The ingenuity of our 'pesky' engineers and scientists is about my only consolation when I look at the problems of this over-populated world.
Then there is methane.... See THIS for an excellent BBC report on the sudden spike in methane emissions over the last two years. I wonder how big an element in this increase the warming of the permafrost and ocean sediments is.... Thank god we have scientists who are enquiring into this.....

[Tizer]

Great minds think alike! Before reading your post above I commented on the methane in another OG thread and said the same about the permafrost. It isn't mentioned at all in the BBC article.

[Stanley]

[Tizer]

`Satellites help discover a jet stream in the Earth's core' LINK
"A jet stream within the Earth's molten iron core has been discovered by scientists using the latest satellite data that helps create an 'x-ray' view of the planet. Lead researcher Dr Phil Livermore, from the University of Leeds, said: "The European Space Agency's Swarm satellites are providing our sharpest x-ray image yet of the core. We've not only seen this jet stream clearly for the first time, but we understand why it's there." "We can explain it as an accelerating band of molten iron circling the North Pole, like the jet stream in the atmosphere," said Dr Livermore, from the School of Earth and Environment at Leeds."

[Stanley]

I heard that report as well Tiz. Fascinating.
Here's something I stumbled across on Youtube LINK. I suspect that it will interest you with your leaning towards geology......

[Stanley]

Did you pick up the link?

[Tizer]

Yes, it's dramatic seeing houses floating past! Did you see the Helen Czersky TV programme on tornados where it showed a house lifted up into the sky?

[Stanley]

No, but it's on my list on iPlayer......

[Tizer]

Four years ago I said this would happen when the government announced it was closing its forensic science service and leaving it to private services...

Forensic science standards 'at significant risk' LINK
"The quality of forensic science work in England and Wales is at risk and could threaten the integrity of the criminal justice system, the regulator has said. Forensic Science Regulator Gillian Tully said some police forces were not committed to meeting the required standards, and there was a significant risk of DNA contamination. She wants statutory powers to enforce standards "as soon as possible". The National Police Chiefs Council said it had secured extra funding. The government's Forensic Science Service was closed in 2012. Since the closure, forensic science work has been carried out by private firms and police laboratories. This is the third time in two years that serious concerns have been raised about the work, with other critical reports from the National Audit Office and MPs on the Science and Technology Committee."

[Stanley]

And you were dead right Tiz. I've been watching the deterioration as well and couple it in my mind with the disaster of privatising the Court Translators. The same thing has happened in teacher training. At one time it was run by the universities but it was decided it would be cheaper and more efficient to outsource it and this is now seen as a disaster. The consequence is that a shortage of teachers is looming but being kept quiet. What does this mean for the teaching of science in schools during the early formative years? All part of the long term damage to the social infrastructure by austerity and the government retreat from responsibility. It makes me sick to see it...... Worse, what the fools can't see is that these changes will damage their quality of life as well. It reminds me of the late 19th century opposition to what was known as Municipal Socialism which was the better off people questioning the improvements in water supply and sewage disposal in the poorest quarters of the town rather than where they lived. They didn't understand that Cholera had no respect for income levels. It makes you wonder what our leaders are using for brains.....

[Tizer]

`Robotic sleeve 'hugs' failing hearts' LINK
"US scientists have developed a robotic sleeve that can help hearts pump when they are failing. The sleeve - made of material that mimics heart muscle - hugs the outside of the heart and squeezes it, mimicking the action of cardiac muscle. The early study, published in Science Translational Medicine, shows the concept works on pig hearts. The British Heart Foundation describes it as a "novel approach" that requires further trials."

[Stanley]

The robotic sleeve sounds sensible to me.....
See THIS for further evidence of the failure in teacher training I have been watching. It's a BBC report on the latest survey of secondary school standards and is abysmal. Another shocking example of the damage that government policies are doing to society. Now let's see, who was it who removed primary responsibility for teacher training from universities to private contractors who failed miserably. (Look at the Probation Service as well....) What effect does this have on the teaching of science in our schools when every sensible person agrees that improvement in this field is probably the most important aspect of education in a global economy?

[Bodger]

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 48221.html

[Tizer]

The dispute over metallic hydrogen is how science progresses -- `he's behind you'...`oh no he isn't'...`oh yes he is'. Claims and counter claims until there begins to be some consent on who is most likely to be right, and sometimes no consent at all. The trouble now is that the news media, especially web-based services, jump on the bandwagon immediately and declare a winner. It's like sports journalists declaring who has won a boxing match because one guy got in more blows in the first round.

[Bodger]

Thanks Tiz.

[PanBiker]

Did you see the report on the One Show on the paint used for the flightdeck of the Queen Elizabeth our latest aircraft carrier? The decks are normally painted with a high grip specialist paint which is designed for maximum friction on take off and landing. There was a problem though as the latest high tech fighters (Typhoon) have variable jets and can land vertically. The temperature of the downward thrust is such that it melted the deck coating. They went back to the drawing board and developed a spray on paint based on the same metallurgy used inside the high performance engines. It is basically alluminium coated with a thin film of titanium. The aircraft can now land with full vertical thrust with no damage to the flightdeck.

[Stanley]

No rush then.......

[Tizer]

`Australian scientists use soybean oil to create graphene' LINK
"Australian scientists have turned ordinary cooking oil into graphene, in a discovery they say lowers its cost to produce. Graphene, a strong carbon material, is just one atom wide and conducts electricity better than copper. Graphene is hoped to have numerous applications including in electronics, biomedical devices and water filtration. "One of the limiting factors in utilising graphene is the high price compared to other materials," said Dr Zhao Jun Han from Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO). "If we reduce the price, we can promote its application."