ESA’s Cluster satellites have flown through regions of the Earth’s magnetic field that accelerate electrons to approximately one hundredth the speed of light. The observations present Cluster scientists with their first detection of these events and give them a look at the details of a universal process known as magnetic reconnection.
On 25 January 2005, the four Cluster spacecraft found themselves in the right place at the right time: a region of space known as an electron diffu
Wind generators are great for producing electricity But lack of wind isn’t an insurmountable problem, according to a group of UA Engineering students. They’ve been experimenting with a design that doesn’t depend on the vagaries of natural wind. Instead, their design produces its own airflow by trapping heat from the sun and then allowing the heated air to escape through a chimney-like tower to an area of lower pressure and cooler a
The second phase of CERN openlab, a partnership between CERN and leading IT companies, was officially launched at a ceremony at CERN today. The industrial partners in this second phase are HP , Intel and Oracle . The second phase of CERN openlab builds on experience from the last three years, where the partnership produced many excellent technical results in the field of cluster and Grid computing. Activities for the start-up of the second phase of CERN openlab are based around a Platform Competenc
Patients will benefit from closer links between researchers, healthcare companies and doctors, thanks to £4.7m secured by a consortium of Yorkshire’s universities, health trusts and global companies. The money from the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF) was confirmed today.
It’s the first time this wide range of organisations has been brought together – as the White Rose Health Innovation Partnership (WHIP) – to boost innovation within the NHS and to make sur
The University of Hertfordshire and Bedford College are flying high with the first Foundation Degree in the country in Aerospace and Defence Systems.
The accessible degree will make successful students ideal candidates for aerospace, defence or satellite-related jobs in the future. It will also provide them with a flight plan which could take them up to a BSc Honours degree at the University of Hertfordshire or a Masters Degree at Cranfield University.
Students who enr
At least three people have been killed and an estimated 25 000 people have been displaced in Suriname as a result of flooding caused by torrential rains since 1 May. Approximately 25 000-30 000 square kilometres are currently under water, and the government has declared the southwest and central lowlands disaster zones.
In response to the crisis, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has called for helicopters to deliver relief supplies. According to media r
Academy-funded biosciences and environmental research projects have many different kinds of scientific and social impacts. Basic research in these fields promotes not only the advancement of science, but also many social objectives. This is clear from a report published by the Academy of Finland on 17 May on the impact of biosciences and environmental research. The report is one of the Academy’s SIGHT2006 publications on the state, level and impact of Finnish scientific research published thi
A model for assessing urban fine particle concentrations developed in a research project led by Professor Jaakko Kukkonen has substantially improved the methods used in urban air quality measurements. Funded by the Academy of Finland in 1999–2001, the project was among the first to develop methods for modelling urban air pollution through international cooperation. The project perfected the emission, dispersion and transformation models of road traffic emissions. Kukkonen’s research is one of t
In a recent issue of Science Magazine, the Major Atmospheric Gamma-ray ImagingCherenkov (MAGIC) Telescope has reported the discovery of variable very high energy (VHE) gamma-ray emission from a microquasar. Microquasars are binary star systems, composed of a massive ordinary star and a compact object, which can be either a neutron star or a black hole (see Fig. 1). The stars orbit around one another and, when they are close enough, there is a transfer of matter from the massive one toward the comp
As medical technology continues to advance, fertility procedures such as in-vitro fertilization and donor insemination are becoming more commonplace. However, a study in the May issue of The Journal of Pediatrics warns that, even after thorough screenings of sperm donors, genetic disorders can be transmitted to the conceived children.
Laurence Boxer, MD, and colleagues from the University of Michigan and the Severe Chronic Neutropenia International Registry investigated the cases of five
Although the act of breastfeeding is not “illegal,” women in various parts of the U.S. can be arrested for “public indecency” when breastfeeding their baby in public. As of November 2005, 12 states and Washington, DC had not enacted at least some kind of law regarding breastfeeding.
The U.S. Healthy People 2010 target is to increase the proportion of mothers who choose to breastfeed their babies for at least six months to 50%; the World Health Organization recommends that
For the first time anywhere, researchers at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem have succeeded in observing and describing how damaged DNA is naturally identified.
The research sheds new light on understanding this molecular mechanism and is likely to aid in research on diseases involving DNA damage, including cancer.
An article regarding the work of the Hebrew University researchers appears in the current issue of the scientific journal Cell.
The researcher
Human Security and Institutions also Crucial
At the 14th Session of the Commission on Sustainable Development (CSD-14) that took place in New York from 1 to 12 May 2006, the energy theme occupied the top position in the discussions. The pressing need for debate and action – with oil prices nearly tripling in the last two years – turned the spotlight on this UN event. Politicians and energy experts used this platform to address the energy challenge and accompanying security concerns
A team of researchers has achieved a long-sought scientific goal: using laser light to break specific molecular bonds. The process uses laser light, instead of heat, to strip hydrogen atoms from silicon surfaces. This is a key step in the manufacture of computer chips and solar cells, so the achievement could reduce the cost and improve the quality of a wide variety of semiconductor devices.
The technique was developed by Philip I. Cohen at the University of Minnesota, working with Vanderbi
Sulforaphane shown to inhibit the occurrence of hereditary colon cancer
Need another reason to eat vegetables? A new study at Rutgers shows that certain vegetables – broccoli and cauliflower, in particular – have natural ingredients that may reduce the risk of developing hereditary cancers.
A research team led by Rutgers’ Ah-Ng Tony Kong has revealed that these widely consumed cruciferous vegetables – so called because their four-petal flowers resemble crosses – ar
Halfway to the center of the Earth, at the boundary between the core and the mantle, lies a massive folded slab of rock that once formed the ocean floor and sank beneath North America some 50 million years ago. A team of seismologists led by scientists at the University of California, Santa Cruz, detected the slab by analyzing seismic waves reflected from the deepest layer of the mantle beneath an area off the west coast of Central America.
“If you imagine cold honey pouring onto a plat
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