Science & Environment - The best science and technology pictures of the week. Science & Environment - We’re all Martians, aren’t we? The notion that life on Earth has extra-terrestrial origins has provided fertile ground for scientists and science fiction writers alike. With one key difference. It’s the greatest story ever told. But any decent publisher would most likely reject even the latest draft of the complete chronological Book of Life. The problem isn’t the slow-paced character development, the convoluted plot or even the seemingly random way some of the leads get killed off.
No, the script’s Achilles’ heel is its opening pages. New evidence presented at a recent geochemistry conference in Florence has breathed new life into the old, and previously rejected notion that life may have only begun here after first starting on Mars. It’s an interesting theory, but shifting the origin of life to another world means having to explain how primitive life managed interplanetary travel. Either way, the notion of life on Earth having extra-terrestrial origins has provided fertile ground for science fiction writers. DP News. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Tokyo, ville olympique, niveau A2.
TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Tokyo, ville olympique, niveau B1. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Tokyo, ville olympique, niveau B2. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Le retour du Solex en France, niveau A2. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Le retour du Solex en France, niveau B1. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Le retour du Solex en France, niveau B2. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Thaïlande : une tablette numérique à l'école, niveau A2. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Thaïlande : une tablette numérique à l'école, niveau B1. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Thaïlande : une tablette numérique à l'école, niveau B2. Science & Environment - Why time travellers cannot kill Hitler. Our pick of the week’s science and tech stories, including the recruitment drive for hackers and the problem with going back in time to assassinate leaders.
Why you can’t travel back in time and kill Hitler Lauren Davis | i09 | 7 September 2013 All kinds of reasons, according to writers who have gamed this one through. For example, you may find you are part of a predestination paradox: “Katherine Heigl travels to 1889 Austria in order to kill the infant Hitler. She succeeds in killing the baby by jumping into a river with it, but Adolph’s mother buys another baby and raises it as her own.
And that baby grows into the Adolph Hitler that Heigl’s character set out to kill.” Geeks on the front lines David Kushner | Rolling Stone | 11 September 2013 US government and corporate recruiters vie to hire hackers, as cyberwarfare escalates. Mindless Adam Gopnik | New Yorker | 9 September 2013 On the reaction against neuroscience as the answer to everything. Plant Hopping Insect Uses Gear Mechanism to Jump. Evolution beat humans to the development of the gear mechanism. Researchers from the University of Cambridge discovered that the juvenile Issus, a common plant-hopping ivy-eating insect, uses an interlocking cog mechanism when it jumps. A scanning electron micrograph image of the intermeshing gears is pictured above. The Cambridge scientists used a combination of anatomical analysis and high-speed video capture to reveal the tiny gears.
They found that the juvenile Issus has "hind-leg joints with curved cog-like strips of opposing 'teeth' that intermesh, rotating like mechanical gears to synchronise the animal's legs when it launches into a jump. " The Issus loses its hind-leg gears on reaching adulthood. It is not known exactly why this happens. Co-author Gregory Sutton, now at the University of Bristol, says, "We usually think of gears as something that we see in human designed machinery, but we've found that that is only because we didn't look hard enough.
" Take a look: Did a hyper-black hole spawn the Universe? The event horizon of a black hole — the point of no return for anything that falls in — is a spherical surface. In a higher-dimensional universe, a black hole could have a three-dimensional event horizon, which could spawn a whole new universe as it forms. It could be time to bid the Big Bang bye-bye.
Cosmologists have speculated that the Universe formed from the debris ejected when a four-dimensional star collapsed into a black hole — a scenario that would help to explain why the cosmos seems to be so uniform in all directions. The standard Big Bang model tells us that the Universe exploded out of an infinitely dense point, or singularity. “For all physicists know, dragons could have come flying out of the singularity,” says Niayesh Afshordi, an astrophysicist at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics in Waterloo, Canada. On the brane In our Universe, a black hole is bounded by a spherical surface called an event horizon. Model discrepancy The picture has some problems, however. Popular plant database set to charge users. Getty A database that provides curated data on the model plant Arabidopsis is introducing subscription fees. As funds dwindle, scientists running The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) have made the decision to ask users to pay to access the database.
The move is the latest example of researchers charging users for access to a previously free data resource. It comes four years after the US National Science Foundation (NSF) said that it would wind down its $1.6 million in annual funding for TAIR, which provides genetic and molecular-biology data on the model plant thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) to 40,000–60,000 users per month. Eva Huala, director of TAIR, which is based in the Department of Plant Biology at the Carnegie Institution for Science in Stanford, California, said today in a statement e-mailed to users that companies will be asked to begin paying for access in October, followed by academics next year, and that a new non-profit entity will collect the fees. DP News. Motorbike Generates Electricity From Its Exhaust Gas. Sept 1, 2013 00:58Tetsuo Nozawa, Nikkei Electronics Atsumitec Co Ltd showed a motorbike equipped with the "Synergy Cell," which is made by combining thermoelectric conversion elements and a fuel cell, and the "Exhaust Gas Power Generation System," which is made by using the Synergy Cell.
The motorbike was exhibited at Innovation Japan 2013, which took place from Aug 29 to 30, 2013, in Tokyo. It can generate power of up to 200W, improving mileage by 2-3%, Atsumitec said. It was developed with help from a support program of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). The Synergy Cell consists of an SOFC (solid oxide fuel cell) tube and oxide-based thermoelectric conversion elements.
Both remaining materials, heat used for power generation Atsumitec combined the SOFC and thermoelectric conversion element, considering that they will produce a synergy effect at the time of using exhaust gas. Sony Announces Stylish, Compact Security Cameras. Sept 1, 2013 01:28Ikutaro Kojima, Tech-On! Sony Corp announced two types of business card-sized security cameras whose mass is about 110g.
They are the "SNC-CX600W" (connected via wireless LAN) and "SNC-CX600" (connected via an Ethernet cable) and measure 95 (H) x 61 (W) x 41 (D). Both of them are commercial cameras to be installed in shops, restaurants, condominium buildings, etc for security and marketing purposes. The stylish designs of the new products are less intimidating than other security cameras and suited for use in retail stores, office buildings, etc, Sony said.
The new cameras are capable of outputting 1,280 x 720-pixel (16:9) HD video with a frame rate of up to 30fps. Their horizontal angle of view is 120°, and they can take an image of a wide area even with a limited installation space in a shop, condominium building, etc. The SNC-CX600W supports IEEE802.11b/g/n wireless LAN and comes with an AC adapter. The SNC-CX600 supports IEEE802.3af (Power Over Ethernet). Genomes reveal roots of TB drug resistance. Andrew Aitchison/In Pictures/Corbis Courses of treatment against TB are becoming less and less effective as resistance to antibiotics increases. It is never a good time to come down with tuberculosis, but in recent years the outlook has become worse. Resistant strains of tuberculosis are on the rise, limiting treatment options despite decades of antibiotic research. In 2010, at least 650,000 cases of the disease were resistant to the two most effective frontline antibiotics, and in 2012, totally resistant and effectively untreatable strains of Mycobacterium tuberculosis — the bacterium behind the disease — were detected in India.
Now, two teams of scientists have published large catalogues of the mutations that confer resistance on M. tuberculosis after sequencing the complete genomes of hundreds of samples. Resistance map Murray’s team sequenced 123 strains from a worldwide collection and mapped the sequences on to an evolutionary tree. Drug barriers. Common nutrient keeps flies sharp into old age. Solvin Zankl/Visuals Unlimited/Corbis Molecules that help cells do their house cleaning chores can prolong the lives of fruitflies. Like humans, Drosophila fruitflies become forgetful with age. But at least their memory deficits can be reversed by eating a diet rich in polyamines, according to a study published online today1 in Nature Neuroscience. “There’s a great need for cognitive enhancers to keep us healthy into old age — now polyamines are offering a new approach,” says learning and memory specialist Ronald Davis at the Scripps Research Institute Florida in Jupiter, who was not involved in the study.
“There are reasons for optimism that this fly work will translate into human.” Polyamines — which include the graphically named putrescine, cadaverine and spermidine — are small molecules that are essential for cells to survive and grow. But their cellular levels decline with age. The team trained their flies to associate a particular odour with a mild electric shock. Technology - Robots: Is the uncanny valley real? For decades the golden rule in robotics has been that the more lifelike a creation, the more likely it crosses the line from cute to creepy. But questions are being raised as to whether this is really true. Mick Walters opens a door in his lab and points his computer’s camera towards the small, blurry, tan-coloured object he has just revealed. "This is Kaspar Two," he says. As the Skype connection catches up, an image of a robot in a baseball hat, a blue button-down shirt and striped socks appears. Kaspar Two is a robot child.
Kaspar has been created at University of Hertfordshire, UK to help children with autism understand how to read emotions and engage with other people, but it falls into what's often called “the uncanny valley”. For almost 30 years, the concept of the uncanny valley has acted as a golden rule for roboticists and animators. What's in a name? A link between what is almost human and what is creepy was proposed long before Final Fantasy, however. Spot of bother. Europas Männer sind um elf Zentimeter größer geworden - Wissen. Anzeige Forscher sprechen von einer "Wachstumsexplosion": Die Männer in Europa sind in 110 Jahren im Durchschnitt elf Zentimeter gewachsen. Die größten Europäer leben in einem unserer Nachbarländer. Europas Männer sind in der Zeitspanne von 1870 bis 1980 im Durchschnitt um elf Zentimeter größer geworden.
Diese einmalige "Wachstumsexplosion" beschreiben Forscher in den am Montag erschienenen Oxford Economic Papers. Als wichtigsten Grund machten die Wissenschaftler um den Ökonom Timothy Hatton Fortschritte bei der Krankheitsbekämpfung aus: "Wichtigste Quelle für das größere Wachstum war ein verbessertes Gesundheitsumfeld", schreibt Hatton in der Studie. Das Forscherteam stützte sich vor allem auf militärische und medizinische Unterlagen über junge Männer aus 15 Ländern Europas.
Die niederländischen Männer waren 1980 mit im Schnitt 1,83 Metern die größten Europäer. Ein neuer Ansatz zur Vereinigung von Allgemeiner Relativitätstheorie und Quantenphysik könnte bei der Erklärung des Urknalls helfen. Ein neuer Ansatz zur Vereinigung von Allgemeiner Relativitätstheorie und Quantenphysik 2. September 2013 Was im Urknall geschah, lässt sich mit der heutigen Physik nicht beschreiben. Quantentheorie und Relativitätstheorie versagen in diesem nahezu unendlich dichten und heißen Anfangszustand des Universums. Erst eine übergeordnete Theorie der Quantengravitation, welche diese beiden Grundpfeiler der Physik vereinigt, könnte Aufschlüsse über den Beginn der Welt bringen.
Wissenschaftler vom Max-Planck-Institut für Gravitationsphysik (Albert-Einstein-Institut) in Golm/Potsdam und vom Perimeter-Institut in Kanada haben auf diesem Weg eine wichtige Entdeckung gemacht. Bild vergrößern In einigen modernen Theorien der Quantengravitation, die die Allgemeine Relativitätstheorie und die Quantenmechanik zu. . . . © T. Der kontinuierliche Raum wird in Elementarzellen zerlegt In Einsteins Relativitätstheorie ist der Raum ein Kontinuum. Die Quantengravitation könnte jetzt offene Fragen zum Urknall klären. DP News. iPhone, réfrigérateur et communication scientifique.
Vous avez peut-être entendu parler de cette « étude » de Mark P Mills indiquant qu’un iPhone consomme plus d’énergie qu’un réfrigérateur: Bien que la charge d’une tablette ou d’un téléphone intelligent représente une quantité négligeable d’électricité, une heure de vidéo regardée par semaine consomme plus d’électricité sur le réseau que 2 nouveaux réfrigérateurs par an L’info très frappante a été reprise et amplifiée dans les media généralistes anglophones comme francophones. Quelques nuances sont assez vite apparues ici ou là , mais sans trop de détails ni de mise en contexte. C’est Peter Gleick, climatologue membre de l’académie américaine de Science, qui a retweeté la meilleure contre-analyse à laquelle j’ai pu avoir accès That claim an iPhone uses more electricity than a fridge?
False. Jon Koomey takes it apart. Peter Gleick (@PeterGleick) August 26, 2013 Ensuite, Mills utilise le chiffre de 2kWh/Go pour la consommation d’énergie sur le réseau. Mr. Audio – Technologie : les livres numériques (2’50’’) La plupart des maisons d’édition proposent désormais la version électronique de nombreux titres de leur catalogue, mais la vente des livres numériques, même si elle progresse rapidement, reste au total assez modeste comparée à celle des versions papier. Un retard dû à une conjonction de toute une série de facteurs. Reportage : Isabel Pasquier. qui permettrait de rattraper ce manque à gagner si toutefois il y en avait un – I.
P. – Aujourd’hui ce sont surtout les best-sellers qui dopent ce marché du livre numérique pour les lecteurs qui veulent lire tout de suite un roman mais sans le parfum du papier ni la petite musique des pages que l’on tourne. Télécharger le reportage audio (.zip)Télécharger la transcription (.pdf) Audio – Micro-trottoir : L’Étranger d’Albert Camus (2’19’’) Fiches pédagogiques du N°389 – septembre/octobre 2013.
Kongress zu Depressionen in Leipzig mit Harald Schmidt - Wissen. Anzeige Burn-out gilt als schick, Depression als Sache von Schwächlingen - darüber klagen Patienten beim Kongress in Leipzig. Harald Schmidt ist auch da und erzählt, wie er die finsteren Stunden seines Lebens meistert. Dabei geht es beinahe vergnüglich zu. Von Cornelius Pollmer, Leipzig An der Orgelempore im Gewandhaus zu Leipzig steht ein Sinnspruch Senecas geschrieben, demnach wahre Freude eine ernste Sache sei - res severa verum gaudium. Etwa 1300 Betroffene und Angehörige fanden sich im Gewandhaus zusammen, um über die Krankheit Depression zu sprechen, also über eine ernste Sache.
Schmidt gilt nicht gerade als neuzeitlicher Seneca, zumindest aber als Stoiker, und so sind bei einer Pressekonferenz noch vor Beginn des Kongresses gleich zwei Fragen zu klären: Warum übernimmt einer, dem allgelegentlich der dämliche Titel "Chefzyniker" verliehen wird, überhaupt eine Schirmherrschaft?
Last-minute reprieve for Canada’s research lakes. Moon mission to suck up lunar dust. Evidence found for planet-cooling asteroid. How soot killed the Little Ice Age. ENS Paris - Devenir Bénévole, Participer, Faire un Stage. Pdesperrier : Bonjour. Si le bénévolat... Connaissances requises pour devenir français : vers un assouplissement. Fukushima: Japan pumpt weitere Millionen in havariertes AKW - Wissen. Radioaktivität in Fukushima - Strahlende Ungewissheit - Wissen.
Sternenhimmel im September - Explosiver Senior - Wissen. Technology - Electric cars: A universal plug for all models? Wer sich beobachtet fühlt, ändert leichter sein Verhalten - Wissen. DP News. Ließ ein Meteorit Mastodon und Säbelzahntiger aussterben? - Wissen. Debatte um Beschneidung - Wo ist die "Koalition der Frommen"? - Wissen.
Millipedes Blamed for Train Collision in Australia. Tiny Gardiner's Frogs Hear With Their Mouths. Brazil delays stargazing pact. Forest management plans in a tangle. Some Rattlesnakes Reportedly Losing Their Rattle in South Dakota. Science & Environment - Is bigger always better? Grüne Gentechnik - Schluss mit der Scheindebatte - Wissen. DP News. Japanische Atomanlage Fukushima - Radioaktives Wasser tropft aus Leck - Wissen. Crop pests advancing with global warming. NASA Crashes Helicopter Fuselage in Safety Test. Hubble Spies a Cosmic Caterpillar. Harvard Researchers Invent Stretchable Transparent Speaker. Poorest Costa Ricans live longest. Monkey's alarm calls reveal predator location.
Floods spur mountain study. When physicists play Pictionary. - Seriously, Science? Fukushima: Strahlung auf neuem Höchstwert - Wissen. Sony Unveils New OLED Head-mounted Displays. Panasonic to Launch New HUD for Car Navigation Systems. Psychologie - Verbale Prügel schadet Kindern - Wissen. Technology - Boston: The start-up revolution reviving its tech cred. Health - Does milk settle an upset stomach? DP News. Researchers at odds over ethics of seal hunting. Deep-sea trawling must be banned. NASA ponders Kepler’s future. Meeresbiologie - Massensterben von Delfinen an US-Ostküste - Wissen. Systems ecology: Biology on the high seas. Can matter cycle through shapes eternally? Seven days: 30 August–5 September 2013. Gaming improves multitasking skills. Taiwan court clears academic in libel suit. Convergent evolution seen in hundreds of genes.
Easy route to stable silver nanoparticles. Scientists Say King Richard III Was Infected With Roundworms. Konica Minolta Releases Portable Ultrasound Imaging Device. Sharp Begins Operations of New White Goods Plant in Indonesia. L’Ecole communautaire en septembre-octobre. Auch eine Art Tierschutz - Schnitzeljagd auf der Weide - Wissen. Health - The vaccine patch that makes painful jabs obsolete. Technology - Why Bluetooth use is on the rise. DP News. Winterschlaf - Ein träumender Lemur - Wissen. Birds protect Costa Rica's coffee crop.
TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: Mes épaules. Eine Gaswolke in der Milchstraße erzeugt eine Fata Morgana des Quasars 2023-335. Tamu Massif is Largest Single Volcano on Earth. Reddish Honey in Utah Blamed on Bees Being Fed Crushed Candy Canes. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: La Chine se met au vert, niveau A2. TVMONDE / FLE / Enseigner.TV: La Chine se met au vert, niveau B1.