Posts Tagged ‘Stanford University’
Earth & Environment - Nov 11, 2009 18:09 - 1 Comment
Pacific white sharks stick to familiar waters
STANFORD (US)—The white shark may be the ultimate loner of the ocean, cruising thousands of miles in a solitary trek, but a team of researchers has discovered that white sharks in the northeastern Pacific Ocean have separated themselves into a population genetically distinct from sharks elsewhere in the world. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Nov 6, 2009 12:37 - 3 Comments
Humans host melting pot of ‘personal’ bacteria
U. COLORADO (US)—People carry “personalized” communities of bacteria around that vary widely from our foreheads and feet to our noses and navels, says chemistry professor Rob Knight. He’s part of a research team that has developed the first atlas of bacterial diversity across the human body. (more…)
Society & Culture - Oct 30, 2009 5:47 - 2 Comments
Race ends in dead heat; Einstein wins
STANFORD (US)—Racing across the universe for the last 7.3 billion years, two gamma-ray photons arrived at NASA’s orbiting Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope within nine-tenths of a second of one another. The dead-heat finish may stoke the fires of debate among physicists over Einstein’s special theory of relativity because one of the photons possessed a million times more energy than the other. (more…)
Earth & Environment - Oct 23, 2009 17:25 - 3 Comments
Totally clean and green by 2030?
STANFORD (US)—Most of the technology needed to shift the world from fossil fuel to clean, renewable energy already exists. A new report suggests that implementing that technology requires overcoming obstacles in planning and politics, but doing so could result in a 30 percent decrease in global power demand. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Oct 22, 2009 11:49 - 0 Comments
Sleep loss may speed up Alzheimer’s
WASHINGTON-ST. LOUIS (US)—Loss of sleep accelerates the buildup of Alzheimer’s brain plaques in a mouse model of the disease. The finding opens up new possibilities for Alzheimer’s treatment and emphasizes the long-term importance of treating sleep disorders. (more…)
Health & Medicine - Oct 19, 2009 12:44 - 0 Comments
Nanotags spot cancer early in mice
STANFORD (US)—A new biosensor chip has detected cancer tumors in mice earlier than any detection technology currently in use. The nanosensor is up to 1,000 times more sensitive and can be used to detect markers of diseases other than cancer. (more…)
Science & Technology - Sep 16, 2009 19:55 - 3 Comments
‘Tendons’ bring building in line after big quake
Schematic diagram of the rocking frame set up for shake-table testing. The steel-braced frame is shown in red. The white structure behind the frame simulates the weight of a three-story building. The inset shows the replaceable steel fuse, in yellow, at the base of the rocking frame. Behind and in front of the fuse are the vertical steel cables that pull the building back into plumb after an earthquake. During testing, the frame was sandwiched between two of the white structures. (Credit: Xiang Ma/Stanford)
Best of 2009 - Sep 15, 2009 5:00 - 3 Comments
BEST OF 2009: Not a monster. It’s Frankencamera
STANFORD (US)—A team of photo scientists is reinventing digital photography with the introduction of an open-source camera. Dubbed “Frankencamera,” the prototype will give programmers around the world the chance to create software that will teach cameras new tricks. (more…)
Society & Culture - Aug 31, 2009 13:12 - 1 Comment
Pay attention, multitaskers!
“When [multitaskers are] in situations where there are multiple sources of information coming from the external world or emerging out of memory, they’re not able to filter out what’s not relevant to their current goal,” says psychologist Anthony Wagner. “That failure to filter means they’re slowed down by that irrelevant information.”
Earth & Environment - Aug 19, 2009 14:56 - 0 Comments
Global fisheries launch a comeback
The cowcod rockfish population collapsed in the 1980s but is now showing signs of recovery. (Courtesy: Stanford University)
Science & Technology - Aug 17, 2009 4:00 - 0 Comments
Entire genome on the cheap
The lower cost of sequencing the human genome could help researchers understand how genes and mutations result in the traits that make individuals unique.
Earth & Environment - Aug 13, 2009 12:37 - 0 Comments
Toastier temps make for smaller sheep
Soay sheep graze on the Scottish island of Hirta. Their average size has been declining since 1985, and researchers suspect warmer temperatures are playing a role. (Credit: Tim Coulson)
Society & Culture - Aug 10, 2009 4:00 - 3 Comments
If nudged, most voters flip-flop
“Whether they identify themselves as liberal or conservative, many people are capable and perfectly willing to share the perspective of the other side,” says Christopher Bryan, who spearheaded the recent study. “It’s just a matter of prompting them to do so.”
Science & Technology - Jul 17, 2009 10:39 - 1 Comment
Twinkle, twinkle: Early stars came in pairs
This computer-simulated image shows the formation of two high density regions (yellow) in the early universe. The cores are expected to evolve into a binary—or ‘twin’—star system. (Courtesy: Ralf Kaehler, Matthew Turk, and Tom Abel)
Earth & Environment - Jul 10, 2009 14:36 - 0 Comments
Across the globe, fertilizing crops in the extreme
The environmental consequences of using inorganic fertilizers have persisted in the United States, says Laurie Drinkwater, an agroecologist who studies the Mississippi River Basin.
Earth & Environment - Jul 9, 2009 14:39 - 1 Comment
Plants save Earth from icy doom
“Our research supports the emerging view that plants should be recognized as a geologic force of nature, with important consequences for all life on Earth,” says coauthor David Beerling from the University of Sheffield.
Earth & Environment - May 18, 2009 14:37 - 1 Comment
Grow corn for electric cars—not ethanol?
STANFORD (US)—Using biofuel crops such as corn or switchgrass to generate electricity for running battery-powered vehicles is a far more efficient way of producing energy than making ethanol with them, according to a team of researchers including scientists from Stanford University. (more…)
Earth & Environment, Health & Medicine - Apr 27, 2009 11:15 - 0 Comments
Digging deep for clues to Asian water crisis
STANFORD (US)—Health experts have called the water crisis in southern Asia the largest mass poisoning in history. While more than 140 million people drink arsenic-contaminated groundwater each day—and thousands die each year from chronic exposure—the source of the poisoning has been difficult to trace. New clues found in an isolated region of Cambodia could help millions tap safer water sources. (more…)
