9/8/10
Taimede tolmeldumisvõime on langenud?
Michael Marshall tutvustab New Scientistis uuringut, mis näitab, et taimede paljunemisvõime näib olevat langemas ka neis piirkondades, kus nende looduslike tolmeldajate hulk ei ole langenud ja mida ei ole kliimamuutused mõjutanud.
Many studies have shown that populations of pollinators are falling, but Thomson's is the best evidence yet that plants' ability to reproduce is being affected. Thomson's study site is pristine, local bees are not in decline and climate change does not appear to be affecting seasons at the site, leaving researchers casting around for an explanation.
Many studies have shown that populations of pollinators are falling, but Thomson's is the best evidence yet that plants' ability to reproduce is being affected. Thomson's study site is pristine, local bees are not in decline and climate change does not appear to be affecting seasons at the site, leaving researchers casting around for an explanation.
Asjade lõpust
John Horgan spekuleerib Scientific Americani septembrinumbrist inspireerituna erinevate lõppude teemal, võttes muuhulgas luubi alla näiteks maailma, matemaatika ja filosoofia võimaliku lõpu.
I grew up in the duck-and-cover era, when global nuclear war between the United States and Russia seemed not only possible but probable. The detonation of tens of thousands of H-bombs would mean, at the very least, the end of civilization, if not all of humanity and even all of life. Remember Carl Sagan's prediction of nuclear winter? Then, incredibly, the Soviet Union dissolved and the Cold War ended with scarcely a shot fired (how many people saw that coming?). Now, I've veered from pessimism to optimism. Sure, we've still got a few problems, but as David Biello notes, humanity is doing better than ever as measured by health, life expectancy and prosperity.
I grew up in the duck-and-cover era, when global nuclear war between the United States and Russia seemed not only possible but probable. The detonation of tens of thousands of H-bombs would mean, at the very least, the end of civilization, if not all of humanity and even all of life. Remember Carl Sagan's prediction of nuclear winter? Then, incredibly, the Soviet Union dissolved and the Cold War ended with scarcely a shot fired (how many people saw that coming?). Now, I've veered from pessimism to optimism. Sure, we've still got a few problems, but as David Biello notes, humanity is doing better than ever as measured by health, life expectancy and prosperity.
vaata veelSelgusid Bookeri auhinna finalistid
Alison Flood teatab Guardianis, et selgunud on maineka Bookeri raamatuauhinna mõnevõrra üllatavad finalistid, kelle seast kuulutatakse 12. oktoobril välja õnnelik võitja.
The Man Booker shortlist in full: Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America, Emma Donoghue's Room, Damon Galgut's In a Strange Room, Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question, Andrea Levy's The Long Song, Tom McCarthy's C.
The Man Booker shortlist in full: Peter Carey's Parrot and Olivier in America, Emma Donoghue's Room, Damon Galgut's In a Strange Room, Howard Jacobson's The Finkler Question, Andrea Levy's The Long Song, Tom McCarthy's C.
D-vitamiini nappus on seotud skisofreeniaga
Timothy McDonald tutvustab Discovery Channeli veebisiaidil uuringut, mille kohaselt tekib madala D-vitamiini tasemega organismis sündinud beebidel elu jooksul keskmisest kaks korda suurema tõenäosusega skisofreenia."For the babies who had very low vitamin D, their risk was about twice as high as those babies who had optimal vitamin D," said McGrath. "But the amazing thing was that the study that was based in Denmark, where low vitamin D is quite common, we found that if vitamin D is linked to schizophrenia our statistics suggest that it could explain about 40 percent of all schizophrenias. That's a much bigger effect than we're used to seeing in schizophrenia research."
Linnugripp on nüüd ka seagripp
Deborah MacKenzie teatab New Scientistis, et paari aasta eest maailmas palju paanikat külvanud gripi viirustüvi H5N1 nakatab nüüd ka sigasid ja on seega muutunud inimeste jaoks veel pisut ohtlikumaks.And there are worrying indications that H5N1 is already evolving. Nidom says that in one pig, the virus had developed the ability to bind to a molecule present in the noses of both pigs and humans. That's exactly the kind of change that could allow it to spread between people. "This shows we should keep a close watch on pig flu, as it can change rapidly," warns Osterhaus. The European Union is heeding the call and is funding a scientific collaboration called FLUPIG, to study how bird flu adapts to pigs and how pig flu spreads to people. It will meet for the first time later this month.
9/7/10
Kui ohtlik on bisfenool-A?
Denise Grady uurib New York Timesis, kui ohtlikuks tuleks pidada paljude plastiktoodete koostisesse kuuluvat kemikaali bisfenool-A (BPA), mida satub erinevates kogustes praegu sisuliselt iga inimese organismi.The mountains of data produced so far show conflicting results as to whether BPA is dangerous, in part because different laboratories have studied the chemical in different ways. Animal strains, doses, methods of exposure and the results being measured — as crude as body weight or as delicate as gene expression in the brain — have all varied, making it difficult or impossible to reconcile the findings. In science, no experiment is taken seriously unless other researchers can reproduce it, and difficulties in matching BPA studies have led to fireworks.
vaata veel
Meie peas kõlavad sõnad
David Robson uurib New Scientistis, miks ja mil määral kõlavad meie peas sõnad ning kuidas taoline verbaalne sisemonoloog aitab meil ümbritsevat maailma mõista ja selle tajumist mõjutab.Measuring the contents of people's minds is difficult, but it seems that up to 80 per cent of our mental experiences are verbal. Indeed, the extent of our interior monologue may vastly exceed the number of words we speak out loud. "On average, 70 per cent of our total verbal experience is in our head," estimates Lera Boroditsky of Stanford University in California. The sheer volume of unspoken words would suggest that language is more than just a tool for communicating with others. But what else could it be for?
vaata veel
Uuring: Aafrika kodusõdu ei põhjusta kliimamuutused
Mark Kinver tutvustab BBCs värsket teadustööd, mis näib lükkavat ümber viimasel ajal rohkem esiplaanile kerkinud teooria, mille kohaselt on kliimamuutused ja Aafrikas toimuvad verised kodusõjad omavahel otseses seoses."Climate variability in Africa does not seem to have a significant impact on the risk of civil war," said author Halvard Buhaug, senior researcher at the Peace Research Institute Oslo's (Prio) Centre for the Study of Civil War. "If you apply a number of different definitions of conflict and various different ways to measure climate variability, most of these measurements will turn out not to be associated with each other. He added that it was not too hard to find examples of where politicians were publicly making the link between the projected impact of climate change and the associated security risks.
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