Science
This is where articles related to Sciene are posted
19-square-mile ice sheet breaks loose in Canada
Two large sections of ice detached from the Serson Ice Shelf, shrinking that ice feature by 47 square miles — or 60 percent — and that the Ward Hunt Ice Shelf has also continued to break up, losing an additional eight square miles.
This comes on the heels of unusual cracks in a northern Greenland glacier, rapid melting of a southern Greenland glacier, and a near record loss for Arctic sea ice this summer. And earlier this year a 160-square mile chunk of an Antarctic ice shelf disintegrated.
5 Foods To Reduce Body Fat
(1) oils, (2) nuts and seeds, (3) avocado, (4) olives, and (5) chocolate.
Eating 1 serving of these foods every meal will reduce body fat, especially tummy fat.
___
The chocolate needs to be dark or semi-sweet chocolate in chunks or shavings.
A serving equals: 1/4 cup
___
Olives - Black olives, black olive tapenade, green olives, green olive tapenade
A serving equals 10 large olives or 2 tablespoons of tapenade
____
Avocado - A serving equals 1/4 cup
____
Nuts - Almonds, almond butter, Brazil nuts, cashew butter, chunky natural peanut butter, dry-roasted cashews, dry-roasted peanuts, dry-roasted sunflower seeds, hazelnuts, macadamia nuts, pecans, pine nuts, pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, smooth natural peanut butter, sunflower seeds, sunflower seed butter, tahini (sesame seed paste), walnuts.
A serving equals: 2 tablespoons
____
Canola oil, flaxseed oil, olive oil, peanut oil, pesto sauce, safflower oil, sesame oil, soybean oil, sunflower oil, walnut oil
A serving equals: 1 tablespoon
A Plane You Can Drive
 |
Classified as a light sport aircraft, this is cool. Well, if you like to fly, have $195,000 laying around, and have an empty spot in your garage. Will it be the future in transportation? Probably not. But still one of those fun ideas and products.
Although it does have some features similar to a car, the company makes clear that it is plane you can drive and not a car you can fly. Terrafugia calls its vehicle the Transition.
The Transition's power comes from a Rotax 912S four-cylinder engine, and Terrafugia says the Transition will do 80 mph on the ground and 115 in the air. It runs on regular unleaded gas, and with a range of 460 miles, delivers 30 mpg in the air. Tool around town and you'll get 27 mpg — roughly what a Honda Civic gets in city traffic.
Full Article From Wired
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2009/04/its-not-a-flyin.html
Ancient Whales Gave Birth On Land and other LA finds
LOS ANGELES (Feb. 18) - Scientists are studying a huge cache of Ice Age fossil deposits recovered near the famous La Brea Tar Pits in the heart of the nation's second-largest city.
Among the finds is a near-intact mammoth skeleton, a skull of an American lion and bones of saber-toothed cats, dire wolves, bison, horses, ground sloths and other mammals.
Reminder: Horses were extinct in the Americas until the Europeans reintroduced them to the continents, even though Horses actually originated in the Americas.
http://news.aol.com/article/fossils-found-near-la-brea-tar-pits/347859
Area 51 - Strange activity
Area 51 - Strange activity
Strange building taking place in Nevada Nuclear Testing area where nuclear detonations have taken place. This building is taking place in a heavily contaminated area. The area is radioactive.
Army Hospital May Have Spread Disease With Shared Insulin Pens Reservoir or Cartridge
The FDA posted a warning today against sharing the disposable insulin shots after the William Beaumont Army Medical Center in El Paso, Texas, last month said 2,114 diabetic patients may be at risk “as a result of incorrect procedures.” The sharing occurred from 2007-2009, the FDA said in a statement issued today.
The Army identified a second hospital that may have been sharing the shots as Fort Polk’s Bayne-Jones Army Community Hospital in Louisiana. “Less than 10” patients may have been exposed there, Davis said. Two types of insulin pens were used, he said, declining to identify the brands.
The shots carry multiple doses of insulin intended for a single patient. The hospitals reportedly replaced the needle for each shot as indicated, though they may have improperly used the same pens for multiple patients, according to the FDA. Even with a fresh needle, the pen reservoir or cartridge can still be contaminated with blood, the FDA said.
Austin Texas Fireball in the Sky Video
Chimp Who Knew Sign Language Dies
Washoe, the female chimpanzee who scientists say was the first non-human primate to learn sign language, passed away on Tuesday night. She was 42 years old.
Washoe was born and captured in West Africa, briefly used for research by the US Air Force, and finally adopted by psychologists Beatrix and R. Allen Gardner, who raised her in their home and treated her like a deaf human child.
She was then adopted by Roger and Deborah Fouts, the directors of Central Washington University's Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute. In her lifetime, Washoe mastered the use of more than 250 signs and even taught them to another chimpanzee. As reported by the New York Times, she shared something else with humans, particularly women: an obsession with shoes.
Dead Zones
“Ocean deserts” or “dead zones” are oxygen-starved (or “hypoxic”) areas of the ocean. They can occur naturally, or be caused by an excess of nitrogen from agricultural fertilizers, sewage effluent and/or emissions from factories, trucks and automobiles. The nitrogen acts as a nutrient that, in turn, triggers an explosion of algae or plankton, which in turn deplete the water’s oxygen.
According to the Ocean Conservancy, a dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico—where the Mississippi River dumps untold gallons of polluted water every second—has expanded to over 18,000 square kilometers in the last decade. Many other such dead zones have also undergone rapid expansion in recent years.
Deadly Laser Tag
Defense contractor Northrop Grumman is promising the Pentagon that it'll have weapons-grade electric lasers by the end of 2008. Which means honest-to-goodness energy weapons might actually become a military reality, after decades of fruitless searching.
Northrop's system combines a bunch of smaller lasers into a bigger one -- Death Star-style, sorta. In March, the company announced that it had completed the first of these eight "laser chains." Yesterday, the company said it had joined two of the chains together. What's more, the beam combo ran at peak power -- 30 kW -- "for more than five minutes continuously and more than 40 minutes total; and achieved electrical-to-optical efficiency of greater than 19 percent."
___
Probably not the kind of weapon some imagined that destroyed Atlantis or is wrote about in Science Fiction. Now where are my crystals. :-)
Drugs Reveal Another Possible Cause of Aging
This is an interesting article.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/11/mitochondria-dr.html
Electric Car VS. Fuel Cell
Major Point: In summer when people start turning on their air conditioners areas of America have their utility companies power grid fully tested and with those test as temperatures rise brown happen and power outages happen. Now consider if every American driver were to have an electric car added to the pull power from the grid. Elite Media does not makes this point but you better believe and the Power Companies and the Automobile Companies have fully been talking about it.
_____
Mitsubishi Testing Its Cute EV in California
The automaker has signed deals with Pacific Gas & Electric and Southern California Edison to add a few i MiEVs to their fleets in October. The three-year demonstration program will test the vehicles' drivetrains, reliability and usage on the grid. It follows similar deals with utility companies in Japan, where the car hits the market next summer.
It ditches the 64-horsepower engine in favor of a 47 kW electric motor and 330-volt lithium-ion battery. The battery charges in about 10 to 16 hours plugged into a standard 110 volt electrical outlet like the ones in your house. Plug it into a 220 and it'll charge in six to eight.
It is good for zero-to-60 mph in less than 9 seconds and a top speed of 82 mph. It is good for 75 miles on a charge.
______
For Cars to take 6 to 8 hours to charge and then the range is only 75 miles, that makes them less feasible. Also both Ford and GM have been working with the utility industry to see what impact having electric cars in mass will have on the grid. During the heat of summer many areas of the nation face blackouts because the grid can not support the number of air conditioners running. Can the grid support a huge number of house holds charging their electric cars. With Democrats like Al Gore increasing global warming with all their enviromental hot air, (yes, I do know George Bush Sr. was the asshole who reduced offshore drilling) the Democrats have not only worked to reduce oil exploration and cut into the "known oil reserve" but they have also hindered the power companies from expanding their grids. Here in Georgia a new coal plant is being hindered by the Democrats and the Courts.
_____
Fuel Cells
A fuel cell is an electrochemical device that combines hydrogen and oxygen to produce electricity, with water and heat as its by-product. As long as fuel is supplied, the fuel cell will continue to generate power. Since the conversion of the fuel to energy takes place via an electrochemical process, not combustion, the process is clean, quiet and highly efficient – two to three times more efficient than fuel burning.
There are many uses for fuel cells — right now, all of the major automakers are working to commercialize a fuel cell car. Fuel cells are powering buses, boats, trains, planes, scooters, forklifts, even bicycles. There are fuel cell-powered vending machines, vacuum cleaners and highway road signs. Miniature fuel cells for cellular phones, laptop computers and portable electronics are on their way to market. Hospitals, credit card centers, police stations, and banks are all using fuel cells to provide power to their facilities. Wastewater treatment plants and landfills are using fuel cells to convert the methane gas they produce into electricity. Telecommunications companies are installing fuel cells at cell phone, radio and 911 towers. The possibilities are endless.
Fuel cell vehicles have already proven much more efficient than similar internal combustion vehicles. Toyota has published their efficiency results showing their conventional gasoline vehicle having a tank-to-wheel efficiency of only 16%, while their FCVH-4 running on hydrogen shows a 48% tank-to-wheel efficiency - an amazing three times more efficient. GM has also announced that their fuel cell prototypes running on hydrogen have twice the efficiency of their conventional gasoline vehicles.
As fuel cell vehicles begin to operate on fuels like natural gas or gasoline, greenhouse gas emissions will be reduced by 50%. In the future, the combination of high efficiency fuel cells and fuels from renewable energy sources will nearly eliminate greenhouse gas emissions.
Because fuel cell vehicles operate with electric motors which have very few moving parts (only those pumps and blowers needed to provide fuel and coolant), vehicle vibrations and noise will be vastly reduced and routine maitenence (oil changes, spark plug replacement) will be eliminated.
Fuel cells also have a great advantage over battery powered electric vehicles because they eliminate charging time, allow a wide range of speeds, and operate as long as fuel is supplied.
_____
Fuel cells run on hydrogen, the simplest element and most plentiful gas in the universe. Hydrogen is colorless, odorless and tasteless. Each hydrogen molecule has two atoms of hydrogen, which accounts for the H 2 we often see. Hydrogen is the lightest element, with a density of 0.08988 grams per liter at standard pressure, yet it has the highest energy content per unit weight of all the fuels – 52,000 Btu/lb, or three times the energy of a pound of gasoline.
Hydrogen is never found alone on earth — it is always combined with other elements such as oxygen and carbon. Hydrogen can be extracted from virtually any hydrogen compound and is the ultimate clean energy carrier. It is safe to manufacture. And hydrogen's chemical energy can be harnessed in pollution-free ways.
Types of Fuel Cells:
Phosphoric Acid fuel cell (PAFC) - Phosphoric acid fuel cells are commercially available today. Hundreds of fuel cell systems have been installed in 19 nations - in hospitals, nursing homes, hotels, office buildings, schools, utility power plants, landfills and waste water treatment plants. PAFCs generate electricity at more than 40% efficiency - and nearly 85% of the steam this fuel cell produces is used for cogeneration - this compares to about 35% for the utility power grid in the United States. Phosphoric acid fuel cells use liquid phosphoric acid as the electrolyte and operate at about 450°F. One of the main advantages to this type of fuel cell, besides the nearly 85% cogeneration efficiency, is that it can use impure hydrogen as fuel. PAFCs can tolerate a CO concentration of about 1.5 percent, which broadens the choice of fuels they can use. If gasoline is used, the sulfur must be removed.
Proton Exchange Membrane fuel cell (PEM) - These fuel cells operate at relatively low temperatures (about 175°F), have high power density, can vary their output quickly to meet shifts in power demand, and are suited for applications, such as in automobiles, where quick startup is required. According to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), "they are the primary candidates for light-duty vehicles, for buildings, and potentially for much smaller applications such as replacements for rechargeable batteries." This type of fuel cell is sensitive to fuel impurities. Cell outputs generally range from 50 watts to 75 kW.
Molten Carbonate fuel cell (MCFC) - Molten carbonate fuel cells use an electrolyte composed of a molten carbonate salt mixture suspended in a porous, chemically inert matrix, and operate at high temperatures - approximatelly 1,200ºF. They require carbon dioxide and oxygen to be delivered to the cathode. To date, MCFCs have been operated on hydrogen, carbon monoxide, natural gas, propane, landfill gas, marine diesel, and simulated coal gasification products. 10 kW to 2 MW MCFCs have been tested on a variety of fuels and are primarily targeted to electric utility applications.
Solid Oxide fuel cell (SOFC) - Solid oxide fuel cells use a hard, non-porous ceramic compound as the electrolyte, and operate at very high temperatures - around 1800°F. One type of SOFC uses an array of meter-long tubes, and other variations include a compressed disc that resembles the top of a soup can. Tubular SOFC designs are closer to commercialization and are being produced by several companies around the world. SOFCs are suitable for stationary applications as well as for auxiliary power units (APUs) used in vehicles to power electronics.
Alkaline fuel cell (AFC) - Long used by NASA on space missions, alkaline fuel cells can achieve power generating efficiencies of up to 70 percent. They were used on the Apollo spacecraft to provide both electricity and drinking water. Alkaline fuel cells use potassium hydroxide as the electrolyte and operate at 160°F. However, they are very susceptible to carbon contamination, so require pure hydrogen and oxygen.
Direct Methanol fuel cell (DMFC) - These cells are similar to the PEM cells in that they both use a polymer membrane as the electrolyte. However, in the DMFC, the anode catalyst itself draws the hydrogen from the liquid methanol, eliminating the need for a fuel reformer. Efficiencies of about 40% are expected with this type of fuel cell, which would typically operate at a temperature between 120-190°F. This is a relatively low range, making this fuel cell attractive for tiny to mid-sized applications, to power cellular phones and laptops. Higher efficiencies are achieved at higher temperatures. Companies are also working on DMFC prototypes to be used by the military for powering electronic equipment in the field.
Regenerative fuel cell - Regenerative fuel cells are attractive as a closed-loop form of power generation. Water is separated into hydrogen and oxygen by a solar-powered electrolyzer. The hydrogen and oxygen are fed into the fuel cell which generates electricity, heat and water. The water is then recirculated back to the solar-powered electrolyzer and the process begins again. These types of fuel cells are currently being researched by NASA and others worldwide.
Zinc Air fuel cell (ZAFC) - In a typical zinc/air fuel cell, there is a gas diffusion electrode (GDE), a zinc anode separated by electrolyte, and some form of mechanical separators. The GDE is a permeable membrane that allows atmospheric oxygen to pass through. After the oxygen has converted into hydroxyl ions and water, the hydroxyl ions will travel through an electrolyte, and reaches the zinc anode. Here, it reacts with the zinc, and forms zinc oxide. This process creates an electrical potential; when a set of ZAFC cells are connected, the combined electrical potential of these cells can be used as a source of electric power. This electrochemical process is very similar to that of a PEM fuel cell, but the refueling is very different and shares characteristics with batteries. ZAFCs contain a zinc "fuel tank" and a zinc refrigerator that automatically and silently regenerates the fuel. In this closed-loop system, electricity is created as zinc and oxygen are mixed in the presence of an electrolyte (like a PEMFC), creating zinc oxide. Once fuel is used up, the system is connected to the grid and the process is reversed, leaving once again pure zinc fuel pellets. The key is that this reversing process takes only about 5 minutes to complete, so the battery recharging time hang up is not an issue. The chief advantage zinc-air technology has over other battery technologies is its high specific energy, which is a key factor that determines the running duration of a battery relative to its weight.
Protonic Ceramic fuel cell (PCFC) - This new type of fuel cell is based on a ceramic electrolyte material that exhibits high protonic conductivity at elevated temperatures. PCFCs share the thermal and kinetic advantages of high temperature operation at 700 degrees Celsius with molten carbonate and solid oxide fuel cells, while exhibiting all of the intrinsic benefits of proton conduction in PEM and phosphoric acid fuel cells. The high operating temperature is necessary to achieve very high electrical fuel efficiency with hydrocarbon fuels. PCFCs can operate at high temperatures and electrochemically oxidize fossil fuels directly to the anode. This eliminates the intermediate step of producing hydrogen through the costly reforming process. Gaseous molecules of the hydrocarbon fuel are absorbed on the surface of the anode in the presence of water vapor, and hydrogen atoms are efficiently stripped off to be absorbed into the electrolyte, with carbon dioxide as the primary reaction product. Additionally, PCFCs have a solid electrolyte so the membrane cannot dry out as with PEM fuel cells, or liquid can't leak out as with PAFCs.
Microbial fuel cell (MFC) - Microbial fuel cells use the catalytic reaction of microorganisms such as bacteria to convert virtually any organic material into fuel. Some common compounds include glucose, acetate, and wastewater. Enclosed in oxygen-free anodes, the organic compounds are consumed (oxidized) by the bacteria or other microbes. As part of the digestive process, electrons are pulled from the compound and conducted into a circuit with the help of an inorganic mediator. MFCs operate well in mild conditions relative to other types of fuel cells, such as 20-40 degrees Celsius, and could be capable of producing over 50% efficiency. These cells are suitable for small scale applications such as potential medical devices fueled by glucose in the blood, or larger such as water treatment plants or breweries producing organic waste that could then be used to fuel the MFCs.
H1N1 Flu in USA
Alabama 55 cases 0 deaths
Arkansas 2 cases 0 deaths
Arizona 435 cases 1 death
California 504 cases 0 deaths
Colorado 55 cases 0 deaths
Connecticut 47 cases 0 deaths
Delaware 60 cases 0 deaths
Florida 68 cases 0 deaths
Georgia 18 cases 0 deaths
Hawaii 10 cases 0 deaths
Idaho 5 cases 0 deaths
Illinois 638 cases 0 deaths
Indiana 71 cases 0 deaths
Iowa 66 cases 0 deaths
Kansas 30 cases 0 deaths
Kentucky** 13 cases 0 deaths
Louisiana 57 cases 0 deaths
Maine 14 cases 0 deaths
Maryland 28 cases 0 deaths
Massachusetts 135 cases 0 deaths
Michigan 142 cases 0 deaths
Minnesota 36 cases 0 deaths
Missouri 19 cases 0 deaths
Montana 4 cases 0 deaths
Nebraska 27 cases 0 deaths
Nevada 26 cases 0 deaths
New Hampshire 18 cases 0 deaths
New Jersey 14 cases 0 deaths
New Mexico 68 cases 0 deaths
New York 242 cases 0 deaths
North Carolina 12 cases 0 deaths
North Dakota 2 cases 0 deaths
Ohio 14 cases 0 deaths
Oklahoma 26 cases 0 deaths
Oregon 94 cases 0 deaths
Pennsylvania 47 cases 0 deaths
Rhode Island 8 cases 0 deaths
South Carolina 36 cases 0 deaths
South Dakota 4 cases 0 deaths
Tennessee 74 cases 0 deaths
Texas 506 cases 2 deaths
Utah 91 cases 0 deaths
Vermont 1 cases 0 deaths
Virginia 21 cases 0 deaths
Washington 246 cases 1 death
Washington, D.C. 12 cases 0 deaths
Wisconsin 613 cases 0 deaths
TOTAL*(47) 4,714 cases 4 deaths
Is Obama going to declare Satellites a Weapon
And then ban them as a Space Weapon. Will he give up his own Blackberry??????
____
Two years ago, China used a missile to destroy one of its own satellites in a test that raised worries about a new arms race in space. The incident may have created thousands of pieces of debris. Last year, the United States also destroyed one of its own satellites, saying its toxic fuel tank could pose a danger if it fell to Earth.
___
Saying you are going to ban space weapons sounds good, especially if you are a martian getting ready to invade earth and prefer earth not have space weapons. :-)
___
But the reality is much more complicated and dangerous than the naive campaign promise sounded when it became one of his peace nick sound bytes.
Mysterious Tubular Clouds Defy Explanation - Called Morning Glory Clouds
Article: Other Site: Wired: Mysterious Tubular Clouds Defy Explanation
Article: Other Site: Wikipedia: Morning Glory cloud
Just thought they looked cool. Nothing really to say, except, kewl. :-)
New Longevity Drugs Poised to Tackle Diseases of Aging
A growing number of scientists suspect that the breakdown of mitochondria is among the most important causes of cell-level changes that eventually cause the body's tissues to degenerate with age. The damage accumulates gradually until hitting some critical mass of malfunction, at which point diseases arrive rapidly. That may be why so many diseases first occur during middle age, and become steadily more common afterwards.
Repair and prevent this damage, say proponents of the mitochondrial theory of disease, and those afflictions can be averted.
Resveratrol, which also occurs naturally in red wine, didn't extend the maximum lifespan of the mice in an experiment, but it did protect them from the ravages of aging.
http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/11/two-mice-on-tre.html
Osr2 Gene and Tooth Regrowth
The Osr2 Gene
Think of the Osr2 gene as a control switch, a kind of gene that turns on and off the downstream actions of other genes and proteins. In that mesenchymal tissue, the Osr2 gene works in concert with two other genes to make sure budding teeth form in the right spot, said lead researcher Dr. Rulang Jiang, a geneticist at Rochester's Center for Oral Biology.
"It's almost a self-generating propagation of the signal" that leads to one tooth after another forming all in a row, he explained.
Knocking that molecular pathway out of whack causes either missing or extra teeth to result, Jiang showed in a series of mouse experiments.
Scientist May Be Seeing Light at the End of the HIV Tunnel
In a decade-long effort, Johnson, K. Reed Clark of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and their team developed immunoadhesins, antibody-like proteins designed to attach to SIV and block it from infecting cells.
Then they needed a way to get the immunoadhesins into the cells.
The researchers selected the widely used adeno-associated virus as the carrier because it is an effective way to insert DNA into the cells of monkeys or humans. That virus was injected into muscles, where it carried the DNA of the immunoadhesins. The muscles then began producing the protective proteins.
Scientists first tested the idea in mice and then turned to monkeys because SIV is closely related to HIV and would be a good test model.
A month after administering the AAV, the nine treated monkeys were injected with SIV, as were six not treated in advance.
None of the immunized monkeys developed AIDS and only three showed any indication of SIV infection. Even a year later they had high concentrations of the protective antibodies in the blood.
All six unimmunized monkeys became infected; four died during the experiment.
The next step is moving toward human trials, Johnson said. He said he is working with the International AIDS Vaccine Initiative in hopes of getting tests in humans under way in the next few years.
At the same time of this new development, contrary to what some are saying, studies continue and not everyone has given up on a more ordinary vaccine approach. A minority of HIV-infected individuals, called elite controllers, suppress the amount of virus in their bodies indefinitely, without needing drug therapy. Scientists are trying to determine the precise immune responses that protect elite controllers, in order to devise a vaccine that would replicate those responses.
There are documented cases of individuals who have been repeatedly exposed to HIV but have not become infected. These individuals, known as exposed seronegatives, were first described among female sex workers in Nairobi, Kenya. Some research has indicated that some of these exposed seronegatives have immune responses against HIV, suggesting the immune system is at least partly responsible for their protection. If it is, they may hold the key to an effective vaccine.
____
Nearly 7,500 people a day are infected with HIV. A vaccine with only 30% efficacy and 20% coverage could avert 5.5 million infections by 2015.
___
Don't become a statistic. Practice Safe Sex.
___
Scientists Create Human Sperm from Stem Cells
Scientists Create Human Sperm from Stem Cells
From Article:
Although the development once again raises the specter of creating humans in a petri dish or custom-designing egg and sperm cells for reproduction, lead author Karim Nayernia says that was not his team's intention. Rather, the experiment was a proof of concept that stem cells can generate any cell in the body - not only the dozens of tissues that make up the human body but also those egg and sperm cells that may give rise to altogether new bodies. "Other cell types don't generate the next generation," says Nayernia, a professor of stem-cell biology at Newcastle University. "This makes a very big difference between our study and the study of other cell types from embryonic stem cells."
It is worth noting that researchers could generate IVD sperm only from male embryos; when they tried using stem cells from a female embryo, they were unable to get sperm to mature past the spermatogonial stage. That suggests that genes located on the Y chromosome, which female cells do not contain, may be essential for triggering the maturation of the primitive sperm cell.
Article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/time/20090708/hl_time/08599190916400;_ylt=AkFnpk...
___________________________________________________
From Article:
Researchers at Newcastle University in England report they have coaxed the first human sperm cells from embryonic stem cells, in a remarkable demonstration of how quickly the field of stem-cell science is moving.
Nayernia's in vitro–derived sperm, or IVD sperm, are not exactly like naturally occurring sperm, though they do bear four important similarities to the cells created in the testes. They contain half the number of chromosomes of other human cells (somatic cells contain 46 chromosomes, but egg and sperm cells have only 23, since they combine their genetic payloads during fertilization); they possess a head and a tail; they contain proteins essential for activating the egg during fertilization; and they swim, or move as sperm do in seeking out eggs to fertilize.
Article:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1909164,00.html
_____________________
From Article:
Ethical storm flares as British scientists create artificial sperm from human stem cells
Using IVF techniques, the artificial sperm could be injected into eggs, allowing men who do not produce sperm to father children of their own.
However, British law forbids the use of lab-grown sperm or eggs in fertility treatment - a situation the researchers believe needs to change.
Lab-grown sperm could also shed light on the causes of infertility, leading to new treatments for the heartbreaking but little-understood condition that affects one in six couples.
Identification of a flaw in the sperm-making process could lead to the creation of a 'miracle pill' to boost fertility.
Professor Nayernia said: 'This is an important development as it will allow researchers to study in detail how sperm forms and lead to a better understanding of infertility in men - why it happens and what is causing it.
Article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-1198132/Ethical-storm-flares-B...
Scientists closer to invisibility cloak
WASHINGTON (AP) — Scientists say they are a step closer to developing materials that could render people and objects invisible.
Researchers have demonstrated for the first time they were able to cloak three-dimensional objects using artificially engineered materials that redirect light around the objects. Previously, they only have been able to cloak very thin two-dimensional objects.
The findings, by scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, led by Xiang Zhang, are to be released later this week in the journals Nature and Science.
The new work moves scientists a step closer to hiding people and objects from visible light, which could have broad applications, including military ones.
___
It is about time they come up with true camouflage
Space crash called "catastrophic," lots of debris
MOSCOW (AP) — The crash of two satellites has generated an estimated tens of thousands of pieces of space junk that could circle Earth and threaten other satellites for the next 10,000 years, space experts said Friday.
One expert called the collision "a catastrophic event" that he hoped would force President Barack Obama's administration to address the long-ignored issue of debris in space.
Russian Mission Control chief Vladimir Solovyov said Tuesday's smashup of a derelict Russian military satellite and a working U.S. Iridium commercial satellite occurred in the busiest part of near-Earth space — some 500 miles (800 kilometers) above Earth.
"800 kilometers is a very popular orbit which is used by Earth-tracking and communications satellites," Solovyov told reporters Friday. "The clouds of debris pose a serious danger to them."
Solovyov said debris from the collision could stay in orbit for up to 10,000 years and even tiny fragments threaten spacecraft because both travel at such a high orbiting speed.
James Oberg, a NASA veteran who is now space consultant, described the crash over northern Siberia as "catastrophic event." NASA said it was the first-ever high-speed impact between two intact spacecraft — with the Iridium craft weighing 1,235 pounds (560 kilograms) and the Russian craft nearly a ton.
"At physical contact at orbital speeds, a hypersonic shock wave bursts outwards through the structures," Oberg said in e-mailed comments. "It literally shreds the material into confetti and detonates any fuels."
Most fragments are concentrated near the collision course, but Maj.-Gen. Alexander Yakushin, chief of staff of the Russian military's Space Forces, said some debris was thrown into other orbits, ranging from 300 to 800 miles (500-1,300 kilometers) above Earth.
David Wright at the Union of Concerned Scientists' Global Security said the collision had possibly generated tens of thousands of particles larger than 1 centimeter (half an inch), any of which could significantly damage or even destroy a satellite.
Wright, in a posting on the group's Web site, said the two large debris clouds from Tuesday's crash will spread over time, forming a shell around Earth. He likened the debris to "a shotgun blast that threatens other satellites in the region."
Meanwhile, there's no global air traffic control system that tracks the position of all satellites.
The U.S. military tracks some 17,000 pieces of space debris larger than 2 to 4 inches (5 to 10 centimeters), along with some 900 active satellites. But its main job is protecting the international space station and other manned spacecraft, and it lacks the resources to warn all satellite operators of every possible close call.
"With the amount of spacecraft and debris in orbit, the probability of collisions is going up more rapidly," said John Higginbotham, chief executive of Integral Systems Inc., a Lanham, Maryland-based company that runs ground support systems for satellites.
Oberg said the limited accuracy of tracking data and computer calculations makes it impossible to predict collisions, only their probability. He said most satellites also have little fuel to escape what most likely would be a false alarm.
"The collision offers a literally heaven-sent opportunity for the Obama administration to take forceful, visible and long-overdo measures to address a long-ignored issue of 'space debris,'" Oberg said.
In January 2007, China destroyed one of its own defunct satellites with a ballistic missile at an altitude close to that of Tuesday's collision, creating thousands of pieces of debris which threatened other spacecraft.
Both NASA and Russia's Roscosmos agencies said there was little risk to the international space station, which orbits 230 miles (370 kilometers) above Earth, far below the collision point. An unmanned Russian cargo ship docked smoothly Friday at the station, delivering water, food, fuel, oxygen and other supplies as well as a new Russian spacesuit for space walks.
American astronauts Michael Fincke and Sandra Magnus are aboard the station along with Russian Yuri Lonchakov. The crew size will be doubled to six members later this year.
____
Imagine a world without satellites. A world without cell phones. A world without cable TV. A world where google can't get a satellite shot of you taking a piss outdoors. A world where you have to run miles and miles of cords to be able to talk on a phone while driving around. A world.
The 11 Dimensions of Reality
The 11 Dimensions of Reality