strongRock Scissors Paper Custardbr //strongbr /br / br /Ok, forget the scissors and paper - this article is about rocks br /br / and custard.br /br / br /strongThe Sliding Rocks Of Racetrack Playa/strongbr /br / br /Racetrack Playa is a dry lake bed in Death Valley National Park.nbsp; It is famous for its sliding rocks.nbsp; Theories that the rocks have been moved by people or animals have been ruled out.nbsp; These rocks move according to some as yet unknown natural mechanism.br /br / br /img alt= src=/files/images/Runningrock.jpg /br /Image source: Wikimedia, Tahoenathan, GNU.br /br / br /The sliding rocks are few in number and are found mainly in the southeast.br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/rock_scissors_paper_custard target=_blankread more/a/p

A brand new result in Higgs boson physics has been presented by my old-time CDF colleague Wei-Ming Yao at the Moriond QCD conference two days ago. It is the combination of CDF and DZERO limits on the Higgs boson, and it constitutes a significant advancement in our knowledge of the standard model.br /br / The result is simple to state in a single sentence, although it will take me several pages to explain it acceptably. The Higgs boson is excluded at 95% confidence level in the 130-210 GeV mass range, em if there are four generations of matter fields/em.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/quantum_diaries_survivor/higgs_mass_limits_130210_gev target=_blankread more/a/p

Anyone can help discover new stuff in Galaxy Zoo- but why do people bother in the first place? In the podcast a title=Podcast on Galaxy Zoo target=_blank href=http://365daysofastronomy.org/2010/03/19/march-19th-why-go-to-the-zoo/Why Go to the Zoo?/a, Jordan Raddick responds with some unexpected insight into why people donate their time for opennbsp;science.br /br / Anyone can contribute to science these days-- and you don't even need to know any science!nbsp; You can run the SETI@home screensaver, to help try to tease out potential alien signals in radio data.nbsp; You can do protein folding, hunt for comets, search for solar flares, all from the comfort of your home.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/daytime_astronomer/crowdsourcing_science target=_blankread more/a/p

pEBOLA - CLINICAL SYMPTOMS:nbsp;/pbr / br / pEbola was discovered in 1976 in Zaire and Sudan.nbsp;/pbr / pThe virus called Ebola takes its name from the Ebola River, which flows into Zaire, where the virus was isolated for the first time.nbsp;/pbr / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/scientist/ebola target=_blankread more/a/p

A Penn State physicist is looking at how songbirds transmit impulses through nerve cells in the brain to produce a complex behavior, such as singing.br /br / The research will help scientists gain insight into how the human brain functions, which may lead to a better understanding of complex vocal behavior, human speech production and ultimately, speech disorders and related diseases.br /br / The findings were presented this week at the American Physical Society's March meeting in Portland.br /br / Songbirds are particularly well suited for studying speech production and syntax -- the rules of syllable or word sequence -- because there are more similarities between birdsong and human speech than one may initially think.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/songbirds_enlighten_study_speech_production target=_blankread more/a/p

Researchers have long been puzzled by large societies in whichbr /strangers routinely engage in voluntary acts of kindness and respect even though there is often an individual cost involved.br /br / Evolutionary forces associated with kinship and reciprocity can explain such cooperative behavior among other primates, but the same isn't true for large societies of strangers. br /br / A new study published today in emScience/em suggests that the cooperative nature of each society may be explained in part by religious beliefs and the growth of market transactions. The study also found the extent to which a society uses punishment to enforce norms increases and decreases with the number of people in the society.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/markets_and_religious_beliefs_why_strangers_cooperate target=_blankread more/a/p

Scientists at the University of California, San Diego are undertaking an expedition to explore the rupture site of the 8.8-magnitude Chilean earthquake.br /br / The team hopes to capitalize on a unique opportunity to capture fresh data from the event by studying changes in the seafloor that resulted from movements along faults and submarine landslides.br /br / The rapid response expedition, called the Survey of Earthquake And Rupture Offshore Chile, will take place aboard the research vessel Melville.br /br / img alt= src=http://www.nsf.gov/news/mmg/media/images/chile_quake1_f.jpg /br /emScientists will map the rupture site of the 8.8-magnitude earthquake in Chile.br /br /br / /empa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/geologists_set_sail_chile_earthquake_site target=_blankread more/a/p

Despite several social psychological theories that suggest otherwise, failing to meet educational goals does not result in depression, say sociologists from Floria and Kansas State Universities.br /br / Their study in emAmerican Sociological review/em indicates that making no attempt to achieve extravagant educational goals is, in fact, the way to encourage depression. br /br / The authors used two national studies of youth, the National Longitudinal Study and the Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (ADD Health), both of which track respondents over a period of time, to test whether unrealized expectations are associated with depression in adulthood. br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/crushed_dreams_dont_cause_depression_sociologists_say target=_blankread more/a/p

If the idea was ever in doubt, psychologists writing in emSocial Psychological and Personality Science /emsay they have confirmed that pretty girls make boys do dumb things. br /br / Specifically, they say the presence of an attractive woman elevates testosterone levels and physical risk taking in young men.br /br / For the study, young adult men were asked to perform both easy and difficult tricks on skateboards, first in front of another male and then in front of a young, attractive female. The skateboarder's testosterone levels were measured after each trick.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/what_makes_men_so_reckless_women_study_confirms target=_blankread more/a/p

Paleontologists have discovered a new raptor species in Inner Mongolia.  The exceptionally well preserved dinosaur, named Linheraptor exquisitus, is the first near complete skeleton of its kind to be found in the Gobi desert since 1972, and will help scientists work out the appearance of other closely related dinosaur species.br /br / A study documenting the find was published today in emZootaxa/em.br /br / Linheraptor is in the Dromaeosauridae family of the carnivorous theropod dinosaurs and lived during the Late Cretaceous period. In addition to Linheraptor and Velociraptor, theropod dinosaurs include charismatic meat-eaters like Tyrannosaurus rex and modern birds.br /br / img alt= src=http://www.ucl.ac.uk/news/news-articles/1003/linheraptorsquare /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/linheraptor_exquisitus_new_raptor_species_discovered_mongolia target=_blankread more/a/p

strongNASA IceBridge Mission Prepares for Study of Arctic Glaciers/strongbr /br / br /In a world where the blogosphere is filled with politically motivated versions of what is 'really' happening to the cryosphere it is good to know that real scientists are taking real risks to get real data.nbsp; I take my hat off to them.br /br / strongNASA IceBridge Mission Prepares for Study of Arctic Glaciers/strongbr /br / br /Press release March 18, 2010br /br / WASHINGTON -- NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, the largest airborne survey ever flown of Earth's polar ice, kicks off its second year of study when NASA aircraft arrive in Greenland March 22.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/nasa_icebridge_mission_prepares_study_arctic_glaciers target=_blankread more/a/p

strongBaird : The Wonder Of Television/strongbr /br / The following article was scanned by me from br /strongThe Wonder Encyclopedia For Children/strongbr /Odhams, 1933.br /br / Apart from minor adjustments to layout and removal of page references it is verbatim.br /I present it here as a view from the past, when television was a brand new scientific achievement being presented as a new wonder to children and using the latest photographic illustration techniques.nbsp; br /br / John Logie Baird describes broadcast television in his own words.br /br / -----------------------------------------br /br / strongTHE WONDER OF TELEVISIONbr //strongbr /Electric Eyes that Scan the World br /br / By J. L. BAIRDbr /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/baird_wonder_television target=_blankread more/a/p

P class=MsoNormalTextbooks are not mere non-fiction books. Whereas you can feel free to doubt what ispresented in a typical non-fiction book (mine excluded), textbooks are a record of the true facts and principles in a field. Textbooks, you see, should not be questioned. /pbr /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/mark_changizi/mind_hacks_over_stacks_facts target=_blankread more/a/p

img alt= align=center src=/files/images/Albrecht_von_Haller.jpg width=250 height=317 style=width: 250px; height: 317px; /br /nbsp;Now here’s an interesting chap.br /nbsp;br /The Göttingen Academy of Sciences [1] was founded in 1751 with Albrecht von Haller (1708 – 1777) [2] as the main driving force in the setting it up.nbsp; He had very definite views on what an academy should be. nbsp;The historian Morris Kline writes:–br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/beamlines/albrecht_von_haller_%E2%80%93_views_and_outcomes target=_blankread more/a/p

strongA Critique Of A Multiply-Published Article On Ice Sheet Collapse/strongbr /br / An article in AIG News, the emAustralian Institute of Geoscientists/em Quarterly Newsletter No. 97 August 2009, purports to state that collapse of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets is impossible.br /br / In this critique I demonstrate the writers' use of straw man arguments and other unscientific methods to support their arguments.br /br / I commence with the authors' abstract and conclusions.nbsp; The body of the text will be dealt with in due course.br /br / strongWhy the Greenland and Antarctic Ice Sheets are Not Collapsing.br //strongCliff Ollier and Colin Painbr /br / Abstract:br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/chatter_box/critique_multiplypublished_article_ice_sheet_collapse target=_blankread more/a/p

div class=almost_half_cell p“The Role of Abathur (the Third Life) in the Mandaean Story of Creation.”/pbr / /divpa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/scientist/third_life target=_blankread more/a/p

Genetic engineering may one day turn the Anopheles mosquito, the transmitter of malaria, into a natural 'flying vaccinator' for the disease, a new study in emInsect Molecular Biology/em suggests. br /br / Scientists have successfully generated a transgenic mosquito expressing the Leishmania vaccine within its saliva. Bites from the insect succeeded in raising antibodies, indicating successful immunization with the vaccine through blood feeding.br /br / The research, led by Associate Professor Shigeto Yoshida from the Jichi Medical University in Japan, targets the saliva gland of the mosquitoes, the main vectors of human malaria.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/flying_vaccinator_answer_malaria target=_blankread more/a/p

Early last month, the now-famous paper by Dr Andrew Wakefield that supposedly linked vaccines to the onset of Autism, was formally a target=_blank href=http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/full/340/feb02_4/c696retracted/a by the Lancet, the journal that published it back in 1998. This was a monumental decision, considering it was the conclusions drawn from this paper that launched the firestorm of debate around the safety of vaccines, and likely the cause of the current vaccine crisis. br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/rogue_neuron/autism_and_vaccines_why_people_still_believe_hype target=_blankread more/a/p

A 3,000-year record from 52 of the world's oldest Sequoia trees shows that California's western Sierra Nevada was drought-ridden and often on fire from 800 to 1300, according to a new study published in emFire Ecology/em.br /br / During those 500 years, known as the Medieval Warm Period, extensive fires burned through parts of the Giant Forest at intervals of about 3 to 10 years. Any individual tree was probably in a fire about every 10 to 15 years.br /br / Knowing how giant sequoia trees responded to a 500-year warm spell in the past is important, the authors say, because climate change will probably subject the trees to such a warm, dry environment again.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/tree_rings_reveal_fire_history_ancient_sequoias target=_blankread more/a/p

Dogs likely originated in the Middle East, according to a new genetic analysis published this week in Nature.br /br / The study reports genetic data from more than 900 dogs from 85 breeds and more than 200 wild gray wolves (the ancestor of domestic dogs) worldwide, including populations from North America, Europe, the Middle East and East Asia. Researchers used molecular genetic techniques to analyze more than 48,000 genetic markers. br /br / The data include samples from Israel, Saudi Arabia and Iran — but they have not pinpointed a specific location in the Middle East where dogs originated.br /br /br / pa href=http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_articles/dogs_came_middle_east_biologists_say target=_blankread more/a/p