Rodin's Thinker cast vandalised in Argentina 9 September 2011Last updated at 12:51 The sculpture is a popular tourist attraction in Buenos Aires A cast of Auguste Rodin's famous The Thinker sculpture has been vandalised in Buenos Aires. The bronze work, which is the third of 22 sculptures from the original mould, was spray-painted pink and given green hair and a shoulder tattoo. Last week government officials began cleaning the sculpture, blasting it with water to remove the paint. However art conservationists are now concerned it may have suffered more damage from the aggressive technique. Considered a masterpiece of late 19th century art, The Thinker is the French sculptor's most recognisable work. Exhibited on a plinth in the main square in the Argentinian capital, in front of the national congress building, the sculpture is a popular tourist attraction in the city. Patina damage The bluish-green patina that forms on the surface of bronze objects over time, due to oxidation, gives the metal artwork its unique look.
Home | Maximal Information-based Nonparametric Exploration Huge 'Ocean' Discovered Inside Earth Scientists scanning the deep interior of Earth have found evidence of a vast water reservoir beneath eastern Asia that is at least the volume of the Arctic Ocean. The discovery marks the first time such a large body of water has found in the planet's deep mantle. [The World's Biggest Oceans and Seas] The finding, made by Michael Wysession, a seismologist at Washington University in St. Looking down deep The pair analyzed more than 600,000 seismograms — records of waves generated by earthquakes traveling through the Earth—collected from instruments scattered around the planet. They noticed a region beneath Asia where seismic waves appeared to dampen, or "attenuate," and also slow down slightly. Previous predictions calculated that if a cold slab of the ocean floor were to sink thousands of miles into the Earth's mantle, the hot temperatures would cause water stored inside the rock to evaporate out. "That is exactly what we show here," Wysession said. The Beijing anomaly
Jelly batteries: Safer, cheaper, smaller, more powerful 10 September 2011Last updated at 08:45 By Hamish Pritchard Science Reporter The new lithium jelly battery is tougher than the rest A new polymer jelly could be the next big step forward for lithium batteries. The jelly replaces the volatile and hazardous liquid electrolyte currently used in most lithium batteries. Researchers from the University of Leeds hope their development leads to smaller, cheaper and safer gadgets. Once on the market, the lithium jelly batteries could allow lighter laptop computers, and more efficient electric cars. In 2006, Dell recalled four million laptop batteries because of concerns that they might catch fire. Battery size still dictates the size and weight of most laptops, say the developers of the new battery. Electronics manufacturer Apple got around the safety problem for their lightweight laptops with a solid polymer electrolyte, but in doing so, the power output of the computers suffered. Overheating is also an issue for electric cars. Thermal runaway
Musicovery Fish living in dark caves still feel the rhythm of life 10 September 2011Last updated at 02:17 By Leila Battison Science reporter Millions of years of evolution in the dark have led to this Somalian cavefish losing its eyes, scales, and pigmentation. A blind, cave-dwelling fish in Somalia knows what time it is, but its "day" is twice as long as ours. Most animals have an internal body clock, or circadian rhythm, that lasts around 24 hours and is modified by the light-dark cycle of a day. But an international team, whose research is published in the open access journal PloS Biology, shows that certain blind cave fish have a circadian rhythm that lasts almost two days. The cavefish, Phreatichthys andruzzii, has evolved for nearly two million years in the isolated darkness of caves beneath the Somali desert. Professor Nick Foulkes, of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology in Germany, said that this particular species was chosen "because it was such an extreme example, having been isolated from a day-night cycle for so long". Light sensitivity
Downloads | Maximal Information-based Nonparametric Exploration The MINE application You can download the MINE application, which computes MIC as well as other statistics from the MINE family, for use in both Java and R. Datasets The datasets analyzed in the paper describing MINE are available for download. These versions of the datasets have undergone all the curation described in the paper. WHO: Social, economic, health, and political indicators from the World Health Organization and GapMinder.Gene Expression: Spellman et al. yeast gene expression dataset (CDC15).Microbiome: Microbiome dataset of Turnbaugh et al. (2009).Baseball: Individual offensive statistics from 2008 Major League Baseball season. P-Value Tables We have pre-computed the p-values of various MIC scores at different sample sizes.
New emotion detector can see when we're lying 13 September 2011Last updated at 13:26 By Hamish Pritchard Science Reporter, Bradford Our faces betray a range of emotions; the thermal sensor even detects changes in blood vessels A sophisticated new camera system can detect lies just by watching our faces as we talk, experts say. The computerised system uses a simple video camera, a high-resolution thermal imaging sensor and a suite of algorithms. Researchers say the system could be a powerful aid to security services. It successfully discriminates between truth and lies in about two-thirds of cases, said lead researcher Professor Hassan Ugail from Bradford University. The system, developed by a team from the universities of Bradford and Aberystwyth in conjunction with the UK Border Agency, was unveiled today at the British Science Festival in Bradford. This new approach builds on years of research into how we all unconsciously, involuntarily reveal our emotions in subtle changes of expression and the flow of blood to our skin.
The Future of Evernote: From memory machine to time machine - TNW Insider Who uses Evernote? Anyone with a less than perfect memory who uses a computer, smartphone or tablet can appreciate Evernote. And for the luddites with the lined notepad, you can even use Evernote using Livescribe. A priest uses Evernote to compose his weekly sermon while one man uses it to keep track of his weekly sins. A veteran suffering from traumatic brain injury uses it daily to literally remember everything and is showing other veterans with similar disabilities how to do the same. A musician uses Evernote to compose songs, tracking snippets of melodies with audio recordings and jotting down lyrics and sketches as they tap him on the shoulder. Students keep track of their notes, teachers plan lessons, shoppers create shopping lists, travelers create trip plans and photo journals and journalists write stories. “The conversion percentage isn’t what I really care about,” says Libin. Evernote currently boasts a near 100% long-term user retention rate. “Skitch is huge.
'Wrong turn' father delivers baby in car in Aberdeen 16 September 2011Last updated at 01:42 Emily Pyrchala was born in her father's car A father-to-be had to deliver his baby daughter in their car after not reaching the maternity hospital in time. Pawel Pyrchala was driving his wife Anita to Aberdeen Maternity Hospital from their home in Ellon in the middle of the night. Mr Pyrchala - originally from Poland - took a wrong turn, and they ran out of time. So he delivered the baby girl - named Emily - in the front seat, before then driving to hospital where the umbilical cord was cut. When his wife's contractions had started getting stronger at home they began the drive into Aberdeen. Anita and Pawel Pyrchala are now getting to know Emily IT specialist Mr Pyrchala, 33, told BBC Scotland: "We were very close to the hospital, but it was dark. "I was listening to my wife, there was not any time to plan, I just did what I had to do, and grabbed the baby. "I gave her back to my wife and called the maternity ward."