Hacking The Planet

Geo-engineering is a relatively new topics when it comes to the sciences. It is an attempt to rewire the Earth's atmosphere in order to reverse global climate change and help save our planet. Hacking the Earth's climate is a topic of major debate however, due to the fact that all of the techniques that have been developed so far might have either short term or long term consequences. The thought of the Anthropocene, which is the idea that we have entered a new geological era in which humans influence is a dominant feature, is both frightening and interesting to think about. The research on geo-engineering is growing rapidly, and hopefully much more will be discovered in the near future. It might save all of our lives one day.
http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/news/2013/12/hack-planet-geoengineering-research-ethics-explored

Valkyrie The Superhero Robot

The robot pictured is a humanoid robot named Valkyrie. It was made by NASA Johnson Space Center's robotics team. They were/are trying to create what their idea is of the best rescue robot for a disaster zone. So far it seems that they have created the most human friendly, lifelike robot of every team, and are well on their way to developing their hardware for the next challenge to all teams. The next challenge will be in two weeks, and it will involve all of the robots maneuvering through an obstacle course. The final challenge next December will be getting their robots to perform a group of tasks, just from downgraded communication systems that are already in them, because it is post-apocalyptic and the communication networks are down. The winning team will receive $2 million and get to begin developing the first robots to help build the first settlement on Mars.
http://www.csmonitor.com/Science/2013/1211/Meet-Valkyrie-the-superhero-robot

Creating Fuel from Carbon Dioxide

Scientists in Chicago have been studying how to create a faster and more efficient way to create liquid fuels from carbon dioxide. Usually, the carbon dioxide used comes from the burning of hydrocarbons. These scientists have found it more practical to actually create fuel by converting carbon dioxide and water into fuel. They have created a catalyst that produces the carbon monoxide at a rate ten times faster than the current standard, and is much more efficient. One problem they are trying to solve is finding the best way to create energy for these reactions to take place. They need to create an artificial "leaf" that could both collect energy from the sun and undergo the reactions at the same time, staying stable the entire time. If their work pays off, it could mean cleaner, more efficient fuel production, which could even lead to cleaner and more efficient fuel consumption.
http://www.technologyreview.com/news/522246/a-faster-and-more-efficient-way-to-convert-carbon-dioxide-into-fuel/

Europeans Among First to America?

Recently the genome of a 24,000 year-old boy was dug up at Mal'ta near Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia. What makes this boy different from others is that his genes actually matched Western European genes and Native American genes, but not East Asian. What this means is that Europeans had traveled much farther east at that time period than what was previously known, and this mixed culture of people was among the first to either cross the land bridge into Alaska. Another study that backs this research up shows that 1 of the five mitochondrial DNA lineages is found in both Native Americans and Europeans.
 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/21/science/two-surprises-in-dna-of-boy-found-buried-in-siberia.html?_r=0

Quantum Memory Storage

In the typical computer, bits of information are stored as a string of 1s and 0s. In a quantum system, "qubits" of information can be stored in a "superposition state" in which they can be 1s and 0s at the same time. What does this mean? It means that said qubits of information could perform multiple calculations all at once, speeding up everything tremendously. The main problem scientists have run into with quantum memory is that it does not hold its memory for very long at room temperature. Previously, the "world-record" had been about 25 seconds at room temperature and 3 minutes under cryogenic conditions. A new experiment however was able to keep it going for 39 minutes at room temperature, crushing the old record. There are many obstacles still to overcome in reaching the goal of being able to harness quantum memory storage, but this is definitely a great start.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24934786

Domestic Dog Origins in Europe?

Scientists have been vigorously testing the DNA of various species of both dogs and wolves in an attempt to uncover the exact location in which the dog evolved from the wolf. The most recent studies point to Europe, almost 18,000 years ago. This contradicts earlier studies which show that the modern dog branched off in either the Middle East or Asia about 15,000 years ago. The only problem with either of these studies is that paleontologists have found distinctly dog-looking fossils dating back to about 30,000 years ago. It is a difficult task finding the origin due to the fact that there are so many off-breeds of dogs, and many have interbred back with wolves once more. Further research will be done in hopes to uncover the true evolutionary branch of dogs and wolves.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-24946944

Astronomers Find Earth-like Planet in the Milky Way

Scientists have recently discovered a planet almost 400 million light years away that is similar to our home planet Earth. It is interesting because this planet is close in size, almost twice the mass, but made up of the same materials Earth is. The only problem with keeping life on Kepler 78b is that the planet only orbits its sun(which is also similar to ours) from less than 1 million miles away. The Earth orbits from a distance of about 93 million miles, a much safer distance for sustainable life. Kepler 78b's revolution or year also only takes about 8 1/2 hours, whereas Earth's lasts 365 days. Astronomers are fascinated by this discovery, some concluding that there may be many other planets similar to ours out there, with a fair chance that some could be in a similar orbit to ours also.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/science/space/astronomers-find-earthlike-planet-but-its-infernally-hot.html

Infant Math

Researchers have recently found that there could be a connection between an infant's early number sense and his or her later comprehension in mathematics. There was a test conducted with 46 6-month old babies in which each baby was set in front of two screens, each screen containing separate numbers of dots. One screen's number of dots changes while the other stays the same, just in different formats. The study shows that the babies payed more attention to the screen that changed in number than the one that stayed the same. Further studies were conducted when the babies were 3 1/2 years old in which a similar dots on the screen test was shown, and it concluded that the children that scored higher on the preference tests also scored higher on those tests. Future research may be done in order to better develop and understand the crucial years of learning and growth as a baby.

http://www.counselheal.com/articles/7311/20131023/infants-early-number-sense-is-vital-to-learning-math.htm

Standing vs. Sitting

Due to the advanced technology of our times, the average person is expected to spend about 19 hours a day sitting down and or laying down(sleeping). Recent studies have shown that prolonged sitting is actually damaging, slowing down heart rates and also decelerating the process of your body breaking down glucose. This leads to advanced risks of heart disease and diabetes. Researchers tested a group of people who normally work in an office all day and had them stand for 3 hours a day for a few weeks. They found that an average person burns about .7 calories extra per minute by standing. If someone were to persistently do this every day for an entire year, an extra 30,000 calories would be burned, an equivalent of 10 marathons!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-24532996

Higgs Boson- The God Particle

The Higgs boson is a never seen before subatomic particle which is believed to be the source of mass to all of the universe. Scientists say that all matter is made up from the foundation elementary particles like quarks and electrons, however there is just one piece missing: Where does the mass come from? Recently, physicists working deep underground in Geneva, Switzerland believe they have discovered what seems to be the Higgs boson particle. In order to do this scientists have been smashing together subatomic particles(protons) at high energies, and sift through the even smaller particles that appear when they collide. Scientists say that it may not be the answer to all of the questions of the universe, but it will fill a huge gap that has been missing in physics for over 50 years.

http://edition.cnn.com/2011/12/13/world/europe/higgs-boson-q-and-a/index.html?hpt=hp_c4

Real-Life Lightsabers

Recently a team of physicists from Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology have been researching the use of photons in a quantum supercomputer. Through their studies, they may have found a way to create real-life lightsabers. They were blasting photons through a cloud of cooled rubidium and in the process they discovered that the photons which do not usually interact with one another, actually clumped together to form a molecule of photons. They did not discover how to actually create lightsabers, but they say it is the first step by understanding the physics of it. Scientists and Star Wars fans alike throughout the world are thrilled about it.


http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-205_162-57605327/physicists-one-step-closer-to-creating-real-life-lightsabers/

Ohio Uses Last Lethal Drug for Execution

At approximately 10:30 AM this morning 61 year old Harry Mitts was pronounced dead at the Southern Ohio Correctional facility due to a lethal dose of the drug pentobarbital. Pentobarbital is a sedative that is used to relieve tension and relax patients that are being prepped for surgery, however in larger doses it can be lethal. Harry Mitts was convicted of the murder of his neighbor John Bryant and police officer Dennis Glivar. He was accused of being a racist due to racial slurs at the time of the crime, and also the fact that both victims were black and Mitts allowed multiple white people to go without shooting them. Mitts claimed that he was too intoxicated to be capable of doing such, however law enforcement found otherwise. The state of Ohio's supply of pentobarbital expires at the end of September, and will not be replenished because of the supplier not wanting to provide potential executioners. Ohio plans to have a new execution drug protocol take its place in October, with the next execution falling of November 14th.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/25/us-usa-execution-ohio-idUSBRE98O0ND20130925

Six Skeletons Found at the Bottom of an Oklahoma Lake

Two rusted over mud covered cars were found sitting at the bottom of an Oklahoma lake, with the skeletons of six bodies discovered inside. The vehicles were discovered by Oklahoma Highway Patrol's lake patrol division while testing out new sonar equipment. They detecting large metal objects and assumed them to be stolen cars, which happens every now and then. To their surprise, the cars could actually be from a missing persons cold case from over 40 years ago! Police say that one of the cars might have belonged to a then sixteen year old boy, a 1969 blue Chevy Camaro reported missing in 1970. DNA tests will be run with relatives of the teen, and they hope to bring closure to any friends and family.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/cars-skeletal-remains-found-feet-bottom-oklahoma-lake/story?id=20293329

Apple Losing Its "Wow!" Factor?

Since introducing the iPhone in 2007, Apple has been known as the world's most innovative phone company. Recently however, Samsung has caught up and the iPhone has just been treading water to stay alive in the smart phone business. With its seventh and eighth models being revealed on Tuesday, consumers hope to see more head-turning upgrades. There are rumors of a fingerprint scanner for a lock screen, but other then that Apple has not created much of a "wow!" factor since it first introduced the iPhone and the iPad. Some experts believe that Apple should lay off of the phone business for a while, and focus on different technology such as the iWatch or the Apple TV Set.

http://www.cnn.com/2013/09/09/tech/mobile/iphone-event-expectations/index.html

2020 Olympics in Madrid?

The International Olympic Committee is only three days away from choosing the site for the 2020 Olympic Games. The three contenders are: Tokyo, Madrid, and Istanbul. According to Wolfgang Maennig, a professor of economics at Hamburg University, Madrid seems to be pulling away at the top due to several potential hazards in the other contending cities. Tokyo faces the threat of possible radiation from the 2011 nuclear disaster, while Istanbul still remains at high civil unrest. Some experts believe that hosting the 2020 Olympics would be prosperous to Istanbul's economy, while others say it would be best for Tokyo with the most stable economy. Madrid however seems to be the most favorable site, and could very well be chosen as the host for the 2020 summer Olympics.




 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/04/2020-olympics_n_3869919.html