SciAm Daily Digest

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Daily Digest

NEWS
Kepler Spacecraft Spots 5 New Exoplanets
NASA hopes that Kepler will eventually turn up habitable, Earth-like worlds

OBSERVATIONS
Obesity is now just as much of a drag on health as smoking
Findings from a 16-year survey of more than 3.5 million adults reveal that being overweight has taken the lead as contributing the most to preventable poor health in the U.S.

EXTREME TECH
Easy Flyer: A Land/Air-Capable Motorcycle May Be in the Offing
A California company hopes to sell a build-it-yourself kit by 2011

OBSERVATIONS
Where on Earth will we store all that captured CO2?
Try the U.S. east coast

CLEANTECHNICA
First Carbon Tariff Will Tax CO2 at the Border
The first carbon tax to reduce the greenhouse gases from imports comes not between two nations, but between two U.S. states

EXTINCTION COUNTDOWN
Genetic analysis reveals parasitic origin of contagious cancer devastating Tasmanian devils
The deadly facial cancer that puts Tasmanian devils at risk of extinction may have originated in another species

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Loopy Hearing Aid Idea Brings In Speech Loud and Clear
U.S. slow in adopting helpful hearing induction loops

CLEANTECHNICA
LED Lightbulbs with Remote Controls and Aimed Lighting
Energy-efficient lightbulbs are cool already, but they are getting a whole lot cooler. The new LED EcoBulb by Seokjae Rhee raises the green bar with innovative features to save more energy

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Animal Mimics: More Than Just Camouflage
A study finds that animals that use mimicry--for example, an insect closely resembling a twig--are indeed seen and ignored by predators, not merely missed by them as a camouflaged insect would be

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND
Brain-Training Software to Improve Your Driving Skills (Preview)
Could computer software based on cognitive science improve older drivers' skills?

CLEANTECHNICA
Glycerin Goes from Soapy Bauble to Biofuel Hero
Although high-grade glycerin is used to make products like soaps, cosmetics, foods and pharmaceuticals, vast quantities of crude glycerin are disposed of as waste. Now, a growing number of companies are scrambling to find uses for the abundant stuff

VIDEO
World's tallest building inaugurated
The Burj Dubai--200 storys tall, of which about 165 are inhabitable--is being officially opened in the Persian Gulf emirate

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Daily Digest

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND
Why Science Tells Us Not to Rely on Eyewitness Accounts
Eyewitness testimony is fickle and, all too often, shockingly inaccurate

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Alan Alda Looks for "The Human Spark"
The Human Spark, a three-part PBS series hosted by Alan Alda and debuting January 6th, looks at what makes humans the exceptionally unusual animals we are

NEWS
Follow-Up Observations Highlight Uncertainties in Exoplanet Research
Some proposed exoplanets have proved to be more massive objects such as brown dwarfs or stars, and some may prove not to exist at all
> Related: Kepler Spacecraft Spots 5 New Exoplanets

FEATURES
Could Re-Wilding Avert the 6th Great Extinction?
Biologists and conservationists aim to restore habitat while brokering a peace between people and predators
> Slide Show: Could Re-Wilding Avert the 6th Great Extinction?

MIND MATTERS
Idle Minds and What They May Say about Intelligence
When smarter people's brains are scanned while "at rest," long-distance connections appear stronger

OBSERVATIONS
Greening corporate executives
A new program teaches managers about the business of clean tech
> Related: How Do Various Business Decisions Affect the Environment? New Computer Software Tells You

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND
Eye Movement May Be Key to Retrieve Unconscious Memories
Where we look reveals memories we cannot consciously access

GREENWIRE
Genetically Modified Tobacco Could Smoke Other Crops as Energy Source
Researchers have successfully tested genetic manipulations to increase oil accumulation in the leaves of tobacco plants

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
The Next 20 Years of Microchips: Pushing Performance Boundaries (Preview)
Designers are pushing all the boundaries to make integrated circuits smaller, faster and cheaper

CLEANTECHNICA
Tata Nano's U.S. Version Coming in 3 Years, to Undergo Additional Crash Tests
Tata Motors announced at the Delhi Auto Expo that a Nano variant for the U.S. market could be ready in about three years

VIDEO
NASA satellite orb reveals current state of Earth science
NASA scientist Jack Kaye walked viewers through a decade of Earth observations from space during a presentation at the Copenhagen climate summit

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Daily Digest: Unfree Spirit: NASA's Mars Rover Appears Stuck for Good

Wed, January 27, 2010 12:16:39 PM

NEWS
Unfree Spirit: NASA's Mars Rover Appears Stuck for Good
Now designated a stationary science platform, Spirit's next order of business is bracing for a long, harsh winter

OBSERVATIONS
Apple's new gadget is a tablet, McGraw-Hill confirms
Apple will introduce a tablet computer Wednesday that will use the iPhone operating system

NEWS
Early Cometary Bombardment May Explain the Divergent Paths of Jupiter's Biggest Moons
Ganymede and Callisto, the two largest Jovian satellites, appear to have similar origins but have led very different lives

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Listening While Driving Is, What'd Ya Say?
Not only does talking interfere with driving skills, the act of driving makes listening a much harder task

OBSERVATIONS
What the small-brained hobbit reveals about primate evolution
In the course of primate evolution, brains and brawn haven't always been on the rise

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Fixing the Global Nitrogen Problem (Preview)
Humanity depends on nitrogen to fertilize croplands, but growing global use is damaging the environment and threatening human health. How can we chart a more sustainable path?

NATURE
Hiding place for missing heritability uncovered
Rare mutations linked to disease may hide in common variants

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND
Mixed Impressions: How We Judge Others on Multiple Levels
Researchers are developing a new understanding of how we judge people

EXTINCTION COUNTDOWN
Does the U.S. do a good job handling wild horses?: Yea or Neigh?
The government currently spends $60 million a year taking care of the animals, including $35 million to feed them. Where does the rest of the money go?

CLEANTECHNICA
U.S. Must Transition to Clean Power by 2012 or Miss the Chance
China currently holds the only mined sources of many of the rare earth minerals needed to build electric cars, solar panels and wind turbines. Reasonably enough, having developed the resources, China wants to keep them for its own needs

NEWS
Scientists link flame retardants and reduced human fertility
For the first time, scientists have found evidence that flame retardants ubiquitous in homes and in the environment may be reducing human fertility

CLEANTECHNICA
Whey to Go: Cheese-maker Installs Biogas Recovery System
A cheese company is installing a wastewater treatment system that will double as a biogas recovery plant, thus joining a growing number of cheese-makers that are generating their own sustainable energy to power equipment

VIDEO
Oil spill in Texas port after crash
Hazardous materials crews work to clean up a large oil spill in Texas waters following the collision between a barge and a tanker

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Daily Digest: Colorizing Dinosaurs: Feather Pigments Reveal Appearance of Extinct Animals

Thu, January 28, 2010 12:50:16 PM

Daily Digest

NEWS
Colorizing Dinosaurs: Feather Pigments Reveal Appearance of Extinct Animals
Long the range of the imagination, the coloration--and origin--of feathered dinosaurs and ancient birds has begun to be revealed through fossilized organelles

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Forcing Electrons into Superconducting Line
Researchers created a "pseudo gap", in which electrons in superconducting materials line up just before flowing resistance-free

NEWS
Bacteria Transformed into Biofuel Refineries
Synthetic biology has allowed scientists to tweak E. coli to produce fuels from sugar and, more sustainably, cellulose

OBSERVATIONS
Apple introduces the iPad and iBooks
The iPad, which marries a tablet computer with an electronic book reader, is less about cutting-edge technology and more about clever ways to package that technology to deliver a variety of content

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND
Jumping Neural DNA Key to Brain Plasticity?
Extra mutations in neurons may help explain the brain's plasticity

EXTINCTION COUNTDOWN
Genetic testing may become a new weapon in the fight against chimpanzee smugglers
A live chimpanzee can fetch $20,000 on the international black market. The animals are also often victims of the bushmeat trade

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Negating "Climategate": Copenhagen Talks and Climate Science Survive Stolen E-Mail Controversy
Release of stolen messages fails to undermine climate negotiations at Copenhagen

OBSERVATIONS
A face for politics: New study shows we can tell Democrats from Republicans in head shots
Subjects were even able to correctly identify college students as belonging to Democratic or Republican clubs based on their yearbook photos

CLEANTECHNICA
U.S. Asks World Bank to Stop Funding Coal-Fired Power Plants in Developing Countries
In an attempt to step up pressure on the developing countries to take up ambitious emissions reductions a high-ranking U.S. official has written to the World Bank asking it stop financing coal-fired plants

OBSERVATIONS
Running barefoot is better, researchers find
But what about those $125 high-tech running shoes with 648 custom combinations? A new study says, Toss 'em
> Related Video: The Barefoot Professor

EARTHTALK
You'll Go Blind: Does Watching Television Close-Up Really Harm Eyesight?
It seems the worst effects are not on one's eyes, and may come from watching too much television, no matter what the distance to the screen

IMAGE GALLERY
Eclipse Photograph Exposes Details of Both Sun and Moon
This composite of 31 images from the longest solar eclipse of the 21st century in July 2009 shows the sun's corona peeking out from behind the moon as well as the cratered, rayed surface of the moon itself

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Daily Digest: What Might Cause a Gas Pedal to Become Stuck?

Daily Digest

ASK THE EXPERTS
What Might Cause a Gas Pedal to Become Stuck?
Toyota, the world's largest automaker, has suspended sales of certain models and recalled millions of older ones as its engineers search for the elusive source of a sticky-and dangerous-accelerator problem

OBSERVATIONS
New large-clawed Jurassic dinosaur sheds light on elusive lineage
The dinosaur group that over the eons has brought us Tyrannosaurus rex and modern birds just got a new member in one of its more perplexing, birdlike families--the alvarezsauridae
> Related Video: China finds bird-linked dinosaur

NEWS
Is Water Vapor in the Stratosphere Slowing Global Warming?
A mysterious drop in water vapor in the lower stratosphere might be slowing climate change

60-SECOND PSYCH PODCAST
Sex Differences in Jealousy
Recent research attempts to provide a more nuanced look at the long-held view that men are more jealous of sexual than emotional infidelity

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Poisoned Shipments: Are Strange, Illicit Sinkings Making the Mediterranean Toxic?
Accusations fly over criminal dumping and scuttling of cargo ships carrying industrial and radioactive waste

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Asexual Solution to a Parasite Problem
Bdelloid rotifers, which reproduce asexually, clear parasitic infections by drying out to kill the freeloader

NEWS
Freeloading Flap: Mediterranean Seabirds That Scrounge Off Fishing Boats Have a Smaller Foraging Range
Shearwater birds around Spain's Balearic Islands fly shorter distances in their search for a meal during times they have access to fishery throwaways

60-SECOND EARTH PODCAST
Have Wallet Cards Helped Fish?
Or simply hurt trees and consumer's brains?

OBSERVATIONS
Are courtrooms and toxic torts the new side of public health?
Should public health experts understand and work with social, economic and political groups instead of merely promoting science?

EARTHTALK
Sewer or Septic?: When It Comes to Sewage, Most People Prefer to Share the Burden
Although shared sewers and private septic tanks each have environmental pros and cons, septic systems place the responsibility for proper installation, maintenance and use on the individual

OBSERVATIONS
The space shuttle's 2009 mission to Hubble: Coming soon to a theater near you
Last year's repair mission drew an inordinate amount of public attention and likely will again in March, when footage of the flight is released in a three-dimensional IMAX documentary, Hubble 3D, narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio

VIDEO
Caravaggio mystery may be solved
The cause of death of the Italian master Caravaggio may finally be determined after 400 years

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Daily Digest: Rotting Fish Spoil Ideas about Early Life-Forms' Simplicity

Daily Digest

NEWS
Rotting Fish Spoil Ideas about Early Life-Forms' Simplicity
Squashed fossils of the first boneless vertebrates suggest basal creatures, but real-time decay patterns hint they might have been less primitive than we thought
> Related Video: Predators provide eye in the sky for relief effort in Haiti

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Bees Can Recognize Human Faces
Bees can be trained to recognize human faces, and studying their brains could inform computerized efforts at facial recognition

OBSERVATIONS
Speculation about NASA's future swirls in advance of Obama's budget request
President Barack Obama is expected to deliver his budget request for fiscal year 2011 on February 1, but to hear many commentators tell it, the sky has already fallen on the U.S. space program

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SCIENCE TALK PODCAST
Cleopatra's Alexandria Treasures
Renowned archaeologist Franck Goddio talks with podcast host Steve Mirsky about his efforts to recover artifacts from the ancient cities of Alexandria, Heracleion and Canopus, with special attention to discoveries related to Cleopatra and her reign

OBSERVATIONS
Scientific American launches "World Changing Ideas" video contest
Continuing its cover story theme, "World Changing Ideas," which highlighted the power of science and technology to improve the world, SciAm is encouraging readers to submit video entries about innovative ways to build cleaner, healthier, smarter ways of life

NEWS
U.S. Commits to Greenhouse Gas Cuts under Copenhagen Climate Accord
U.S. plans to cut emissions 4 percent below 1990 levels by 2020--other countries such as China, India will submit plans, as well

EXTINCTION COUNTDOWN
An ugly truth: The future is dim for the world's homeliest fish
This gelatinous, inedible fish now risks extinction thanks to humans trawling marine murky depths for lobsters and crabs

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Mysteries of How a Star Is Born (Preview)
Making a star is no easy thing

NATURE
10 billion dollars pledged for "decade of vaccines"
Gates Foundation cash could save nearly nine million children

GREENWIRE
Genetically Modified Forest Planned for U.S. Southeast
International Paper and MeadWestvaco are planning to transform plantation forests of the southeastern U.S. by replacing native pine with genetically engineered eucalyptus

NEWS
Chemical Exposure Linked to Attention Deficit Disorder in Children
A study of New York City students found that phthalate exposure was linked to behavioral problems

NATURE
Mars rover Spirit (2003-10)
NASA commits robot explorer to her final resting place

CLEANTECHNICA
Carpet of Boron Nanotubes Could Lead to New Generation of Nanoscale Electronics
Boron nitride nanotubes have been tempting researchers with their promise of high heat tolerance, which makes them excellent candidates for components in the next generation of microscopic-scale, high-efficiency electronics

VIDEO
Predators provide eye in the sky for relief effort in Haiti
For the first time, the U.S. military's unmanned RQ-1 Predator aircraft are being used for a humanitarian mission--to support Operation United Response in Haiti

[Gawdzilla Sama]

Daily Digest: Phased Out: Obama's NASA Budget Would Cancel Constellation Moon Program, Privatize Manned Launches

Daily Digest

NEWS
Phased Out: Obama's NASA Budget Would Cancel Constellation Moon Program, Privatize Manned Launches
The president wants to scrap NASA's space shuttle successor, now in development, and relax the agency's focus on returning to the moon

60-SECOND SCIENCE PODCAST
Gunfight Tip: Faster to Draw Second
Reacting to a movement, such as being drawn on in a gunfight, is faster than initiating the movement

OBSERVATIONS
Low serotonin levels may prompt mysterious sudden infant death syndrome
Babies with this deadly deficit might not show any differences during waking hours, but in sleep, serotonin plays an important role in regulating temperature and breathing
> Related: Cot death victims make less serotonin

NEWS
Cold Comfort: Young Women with Cancer Can Freeze an Ovary to Keep Kids in the Picture
Radiation and chemotherapies that save young women from cancer can leave them infertile. But a novel procedure can keep motherhood on ice without delaying treatment

CLEANTECHNICA
Pentagon to Include Climate Change in Major New Defense Review
The U.S. Department of Defense will include an analysis of climate change in its Quadrennial Defense Review, a comprehensive strategic analysis

SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MAGAZINE
Better Broadband: New Regulatory Rules Could Change the Way Americans Get Online
An upcoming Federal Communications Commission decision should improve high-speed Internet access in the U.S., which has fallen behind other nations

NEWS
The Bigger Kahuna: Are More Frequent and Higher Extreme Ocean Waves a By-Product of Global Warming?
Increasing maximum wave heights off the Pacific Northwest coast may pose a greater threat than rising sea levels

NATURE
Haiti earthquake may have primed nearby faults for failure
Geologists say it's time to start preparing for the next big one

GREENWIRE
Obama Budget Increases Funding for Energy Research and Nuclear Power
The Obama administration would like to see more nuclear power plants, among other forms of new electricity generation

NEWS
Over the Top: Data Shows "Green" Roofs Could Cool Urban Heat Islands and Boost Water Conservation
Quantifying their urban climate change-mitigating effects is an important step in getting green roofing initiatives off the ground

THE GREEN GROK
Air Pollution Goes Round and Round
A new study suggests that T-shirts and electronics are not the only imports we get from Asia. Much of the increase in ozone over the western U.S. is being driven by pollution from there

VIDEO
Farmers protest over environment law
Thousands of Australian farmers rally in Canberra to demand compensation for complying with environmental laws, which they say affect their livelihoods