Science news in brief

29-March-2009

Recent real science

Help with words in the podcast: press release, nutrition, efficiency, black hole, reflex, mammal, crustacean, consistent with, aquaculture, presumption, vertebrates, err, caution, upland, range, climate change, mechanism, complex, system, phenological mismatch, larvae, negatively correlated, hypothesis, abundance, mortality, trend, sensitive, prevailing, decline, vulnerability, desiccation, population, adapt, focused, inefficient, data, communication, transmit, pattern, recognition, fundamental, misconceptions, inherently, stimulus, tide, vacuum, humidity .

Help with words in the definitions: automatic, conscious, correlated, experiment, involuntary, life-cycle, media, prediction, reaction, tentative, variable

The research below, chosen from hundreds released this week, range from animal behaviour and nutrition to climate change, energy efficiency and black holes. There is a man who can tell us why we laugh and a sick gorilla which has had a brain-scan. There are also two interesting pieces of research on science learning and teaching. Have a look:

1
27-Mar-2009
Environmental Science & Technology
MIT: 'Alarming' use of energy in modern manufacturing methods

Modern manufacturing methods are spectacularly inefficient in their use of energy and materials, according to a detailed MIT analysis of the energy use of 20 major manufacturing processes.
National Science Foundation

2
27-Mar-2009
International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications
Statistical road safety

A forthcoming research paper in the International Journal of Intelligent Systems Technologies and Applications explains how eighteenth century mathematics could improve road safety in today's busy cities.

3
27-Mar-2009
Animal Behavior
Crabs' memory of pain confirmed by Queen's academic

New research shows that crabs not only suffer pain but also remember it.

4
27-Mar-2009
Journal of Experimental Biology
Quails get super fit by simply eating omega-3

Omega-3 fatty acids can make some birds fit by simply eating it. Semi-palmated sandpipers migrate over thousands of miles and build up for the ultramarathon by eating a diet rich in omega-3 fatty acids.

5
26-Mar-2009
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Study unravels why certain fishes went extinct 65 million years ago

Large size and a fast bite spelled the end for many fish during the last mass extinction 65 million years ago (the one that wiped out the dinosaurs). The same features characterize fish that are currently at risk of extinction – the hardest-hit species are the big predators.

6
26-Mar-2009
Gorilla gets MRI at Bronx Zoo

Talk about house calls! The Wildlife Conservation Society thanks The Brain Tumor Foundation and its "Road To Early Detection" campaign for their assistance in performing a brain scan on a gorilla at the Bronx Zoo.

7
26-Mar-2009
Clarke clarifies pattern recognition theory

What makes us laugh?

8
26-Mar-2009
Journal of Public Health Policy
Public transport users three times as likely to meet fitness guidelines

9
26-Mar-2009
Global Change Biology
Drop in daddy long legs is devastating bird populations

Research shows how climate change is affecting upland bird species such as the golden plover.

10
25-Mar-2009
International Journal of Science and Mathematics Education
Structure more effective in high school science classes, study reveals

Self-led, self-structured inquiry is a good way to train scientists at college and university. But it's not ideal for high school students.

11
25-Mar-2009
Educational Policy
Alternative teacher certification programmes do not meet expectations

Alternative teacher certification programmes have become widespread in the US as a way of attracting scientists into teaching. But these programmes are not meeting initial expectations, a new study shows. Some experience in a learning profession predicts better teaching in schools.

12
25-Mar-2009
Nature
Erratic black hole regulates itself

New results from NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory explain how a special class of black holes can shut off their high-speed jets. They suggest that these black holes can control how fast they grow.