Lava flows reveal clues to magnetic field reversals
The main magnetic field, generated by turbulent currents within the deep mass of molten iron of the Earth's outer core, periodically flips its direction, such that a compass needle would point south rather than north. Such polarity reversals have occurred hundreds of times at irregular intervals throughout the planet's history — most recently about 780,000 years ago — but scientists are still trying to understand how and why. "Right now, historic records show that the strength of the magnetic field is declining very rapidly. From a quick back-of-the-envelope prediction, in 1,500 years the field will be as weak as it's ever been and we could go into a state of polarity reversal... [more]
Source : University of Wisconsin-Madison
Earth's Magnetic Field May Reverse in 1,500 years
Plants in Forest Emit Aspirin Chemical to Deal with Stress
Aspirin Emmiting Forests May Help Agriculture
Plants in a forest respond to stress by producing significant amounts of a chemical form of aspirin, scientists have discovered. The finding, by scientists opens up new avenues of research into the behavior of plants and their impacts on air quality, and it also has the potential to give farmers an early warning signal about crops that are failing... [more]
Source : Ucar
Einstein fridge that uses no electricity
Fridge design can help global cooling
An early invention by Albert Einstein has been rebuilt by scientists at Oxford University who are trying to develop an environmentally friendly refrigerator that runs without electricity. It had no moving parts and used only pressurised gases to keep things cold. The design was partly used in the first domestic refrigerators, but the technology was abandoned when more efficient compressors became popular in the 1950s. That meant a switch to using freons... [more]
Source : Guardian
Tobacco giants paid millions to stars in Hollywood's 'Golden Age'
Tobacco giants paid movie stars vast sums for endorsements
Actors like Clark Gable, Spencer Tracey and John Wayne all advertised cigarettes as part of large scale deals struck with their studios. Remember the glamour days of smoking when such stars as Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall puffed their way into Hollywood legend? When images of John Wayne and Gary Cooper, cigarette in hand, symbolized virility? And Joan Crawford lighting a cigarette was the epitome of elegance... [more] & [more]
Source : Market Watch & Telegraph
The space elevator Japan hopes to turn sci-fi into reality
62,000 miles into space elevator to the stars
The finest scientific minds of Japan are devoting themselves to cracking the greatest sci-fi vision of all: the space elevator. Man has so far conquered space by painfully and inefficiently blasting himself out of the atmosphere but the 21st century should bring a more leisurely ride to the final frontier.
Up and down the 22,000 mile-long (36,000km) cables — or flat ribbons — will run the elevator carriages, themselves requiring huge breakthroughs in engineering to which the biggest Japanese companies and universities have turned their collective attention... [more]
Source : Timesonline
Fear linked to political beliefs
Political beliefs are heritable
We all like to think that our political views are shaped by our personal experiences and by deep reflection on the great issues of the day. Yet research suggests that they may also be influenced by our biology. An experiment in the US has revealed that a person's political leanings tend to correspond remarkably closely with physiological traits, indicating that nature, as well as nurture, could play a defining role... [more]
Source : The Australian
Crows smarter than apes
The Einsteins of the avian world
Scientists are studying whether animals look at the physical world in the same way as humans, and have discovered some birds are better at physical reasoning than apes. Much of the apparently sophisticated animal behaviour we see in the wild is actually based on simple associations. New Caledonian crows are famous for their complex tool manufacturing abilities. What kind of cognition are these tool abilities based on? The University of Auckland present conclusive proof that the crows’ tool skills are based on the ability to reason analogically... [more]
Source : The University of Auckland
Insect Pollination Worldwide Estimated At $217 Billion
The value of the pollination service provided by insect pollinators €153 billion
This figure amounted to 9.5% of the total value of the world agricultural food production. The study also determined that pollinator disappearance would translate into a consumer surplus loss estimated between €190 to €310 billion. The results of this study on the economic valuation of the vulnerability of world agriculture confronted with pollinator decline... [more]
Source : Science Daily
Stellar migration our star could be far from where it started in Milky Way
Our sun has moved far from where it was formed more than 4 billion years ago
A long-standing scientific belief holds that stars tend to hang out in the same general part of a galaxy where they originally formed. Some astrophysicists have recently questioned whether that is true, and now new simulations show that, at least in galaxies similar to our own Milky Way, stars such as the sun can migrate great distances.
Such stellar migration appears to depend on the galaxy having spiral arms that twist their way through the galaxy, as are present in the milky way... [more]
Source : University of Washington
