Culture | Page 2870 | Science Codex

'Dodgy dossier' partly to blame for failure of war against malaria in the tropics

The war against malaria in tropical countries was fought and lost in the 20th Century on the basis of faulty intelligence, a 'dodgy dossier' which argued that the same methods used to tackle the disease in temperate countries would also work in the tropics.

Eradication failed in almost every tropical and sub-tropical country, because tactics that had been proven to work in countries such as the USA, Greece and Italy were also deployed in tropical countries, despite the existence of evidence that they would they not work, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.

U-M physicists' analysis leads to discovery of new particle

ANN ARBOR, Mich.---University of Michigan physicists played a leading role in the discovery of a new particle, the Omega b baryon, which is an exotic relative of the proton. It was detected for the first time in a particle accelerator at Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab) in Illinois, Fermilab has announced.

The heavy particle is scarce today, but scientists believe it was abundant soon after the Big Bang.

UC Davis researcher begins study of Osama bin Laden audio tapes

More than 1,500 audiocassette tapes taken in 2001 from Osama bin Laden's former residential compound in Qandahar, Afghanistan, are yielding new insights into the radical Islamic militant leader's intellectual development in the years leading up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Maths aids mayonnaise production

The subject of 'gas bubbles in liquids' has many applications in industry. Examples include separating oil from water in the oil industry, how ink drops behave in printers and the manufacture of products in the food industry, such as mayonnaise. 'This subject of course also applies to natural processes such as rainfall and boiling water,' PhD student Jok Tang adds.

Experiments

Boston physicists celebrate first beam for Large Hadron Collider

Waltham, MA–Scientists today sent the first beam of protons zooming at nearly the speed of light around the 17-mile Large Hadron Collider. The LHC, located at the CERN laboratory near Geneva, Switzerland, is the world's most powerful particle accelerator.

Private equity companies purchase nursing homes, but care does not suffer

BOSTON, Mass. (Sep. 10, 2008)—In recent years, private equity investors have increasingly targeted nursing homes as investment opportunities. Spurred by investigative reports and anecdotal evidence that these deals led to worsened quality of care, many companies have found themselves under increased federal scrutiny.

Terrorism: What the next president will face

Philadelphia, PA (Sept. 10, 2008) On the seventh anniversary of the September 11th attacks, what is the nature of the terrorist threat against the United States and other nations of the world and how should the next President address that threat upon taking office in January 2009? These questions are at the center of a special volume of The Annals edited by Richard A.

Giant honeybees use Mexican waves to repel predatory wasps

The phenomenon of "shimmering" in giant honeybees, in which hundreds—or even thousands—of individual honeybees flip their abdomens upwards within a split-second to produce a Mexican Wave-like pattern across the bee nest, has received much interest but both its precise mode of action and its purpose have long remained a mystery.

Bacteria stop sheep dip poisoning fish and bees

Bacteria can be used to break down used sheep dip, preventing bees and fish from dying because of soil and river contamination, scientists heard today (Wednesday 10 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.

Oil-eating microbes give clue to ancient energy source

Microbes that break down oil and petroleum are more diverse than we thought, suggesting hydrocarbons were used as an energy source early in Earth's history, scientists heard today (Wednesday 10 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin. These microbes can change the composition of oil and natural gas and can even control the release of some greenhouse gases. Understanding the role of microbes in consuming hydrocarbons may therefore help us access their role in the natural control of climate change.

Rice political scientists co-author report on ethnic/racial aspects of Taser use by Houston police

A new report co-authored by Rice political scientists Mark Jones and William Reed with colleagues at the University of Houston finds patterns and/or aberrations in the use of Tasers related to ethnicity, gender, race and geography.

MU anthropologist develops new approach to explain religious behavior

COLUMBIA, Mo. -Without a way to measure religious beliefs, anthropologists have had difficulty studying religion. Now, two anthropologists from the University of Missouri and Arizona State University have developed a new approach to study religion by focusing on verbal communication, an identifiable behavior, instead of speculating about alleged beliefs in the supernatural that cannot actually be identified.

Landmark study reports breakdown in biotech patent system

The world's intellectual property system is broken. It's stopping lifesaving technologies from reaching the people who need them most in developed and developing countries, according to the authors of a report released in Ottawa today by an international coalition of experts.

Putting a 'Korset' on the spread of computer viruses

Anti-virus companies play a losing game. Casting their nets wide, they catch common, malicious viruses and worms (known to the industry as "malware"), but it may take days before their software updates can prepare your computer for the next attack. By then it could be too late. And some insidious programs prove immune to anti-virus software, residing inside your computer for months or even years, collecting personal information and business secrets.

Catching the blood cell bus gives fatal yeast infection a clean getaway

Yeast fungus cells that kill thousands of AIDS patients every year escape detection by our bodies' defences by hiding inside our own defence cells, and hitch a ride through our systems before attacking and spreading, scientists heard today (Tuesday 9 September 2008) at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn meeting being held this week at Trinity College, Dublin.