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Sunday July 25, 2010
Mine, All Mine:
New Breakthrough in Data Mining
by Sir Thomas More
When you deal with companies, you aren't just a customer, but you're also a mass of information with many 'dimensions' within a computer database.
Researchers have devised a new method for simpler, faster 'data mining' -- a way to simply extract and analyse massive amounts of this data.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 08:28 AM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Saturday July 24, 2010
Spaceballs:
Buckyballs Found in Space
by Simon Magus
Astronomers have used Nasa's Spitzer Space Telescope to discover carbon molecules, known as buckyballs, floating in space for the first time.
Buckyballs were previously thought to float through space, but they had evaded detection until now.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 05:22 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Sunday July 18, 2010
Bless You:
Universal Flu Vaccine is Coming
by Simon Magus
A universal influenza vaccine -- so-called because it could potentially provide protection from all flu strains for decades -- could become available as a result of research by scientists from the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).
Current flu vaccines do not generate such broadly neutralising antibodies -- which is why they must be re-formulated each year to match the predominant virus strains in circulation.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 11:38 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Friday July 16, 2010
The Little Fish That Could:
Small Fish Thrives in Hostile Environment
by Sir Thomas More
Jellyfish thrived the oceans off the coast of southwest Africa when the sardine population collapsed.
Now another small fish is living in the oxygen-depleted dead zone and feasting upon the ecologically dead-end jellyfish.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 06:30 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Sunday July 11, 2010
Hope From Dope:
Cannabis Derivative Could Relieve Pain Without Euphoria
by Sir Thomas More
A new compound derived from cannabis might provide effective pain relief without the mental and physical side effects of cannabis.
The synthetic cannabinoid called MDA19 seems to avoid side effects by targeting one specific subtype of the cannabinoid receptor.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 11:40 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Saturday July 10, 2010
To Make An Omelette:
Cracking the Secret of Egg Shell Formation
by Siimon Magus
Researchers have applied computing power to crack a problem in egg shell formation.
The study may also give a partial answer to the age old question: “What came first the chicken or the egg?”
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 11:58 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Sunday July 04, 2010
Adaptation:
Tibetans Adapted to High Altitudes Within 3,000 Years
by Sir Thomas More
Tibetans have mutations in numerous genes related to how the body uses oxygen -- which are invaluable to the high altitude dwellers.
A new genetic analysis has revealed that the ethnic Tibetan population split off from the Han Chinese less than 3,000 years ago and rapidly evolved a unique ability to thrive in a low oxygen environment.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 11:37 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry
Saturday July 03, 2010
Birdbrained:
Humans & Chickens Share Brain Structure
by Simon Magus
Neuroscientists have traditionally believed that the brains of humans and other mammals differ from the brains of other animals, such as birds.
This so-called received wisdom has prevailed for over a century -- but a new study conducted at the University of California in San Diego (UCSD) shows that a region in the brain of a chicken concerned with analysing auditory input is similar to that of a comparable region in mammals.
Posted in: Science by bubblejam at 05:49 PM | Comments (0) | Email This Entry