Following is a summary of current science news briefs.
Scientists pin down historic sea level rise
LONDON (Reuters) – The collapse of an ice sheet in
Antarctica up to 14,650 years ago might have caused sea levels
to rise between 14 and 18 meters (46-60 feet), a study showed
on Wednesday, data which could help make more accurate climate
change predictions. The melting of polar ice could contribute
to long-term sea level rise, threatening the lives of millions,
scientists say.
S.Africa, Australia in celestial spat for new telescope
JOHANNESBURG/CANBERRA (Reuters) – Deadly rivals on the
rugby field, cricket pitch and in the underground mining
sector, South Africa and Australia are now squaring off in a
new contest: to win the right to host the world’s most powerful
telescope. The duo are finalists in a tender to host the
device, known as the Square Kilometre Array (SKA), which will
be 50 times more sensitive and 10,000 times faster than any
other telescope on the planet, according to the international
consortium funding the 2 billion euro ($2.66 billion) project.
”Speed of light” experiment professor resigns
ROME (Reuters) – The Italian professor who led an
experiment which initially appeared to challenge one of the
fundaments of modern physics by showing particles moving faster
than the speed of light, has resigned after the finding was
overturned earlier this month. Italy’s national institute of
nuclear physics INFN said on Friday that Antonio Ereditato had
stepped down as coordinator of the so-called OPERA experiment
but had no comment beyond saying it ”took note” of his
decision.
Studies show how pesticides make bees lose their way
LONDON (Reuters) – Scientists have discovered ways in which
even low doses of widely used pesticides can harm bumblebees
and honeybees, interfering with their homing abilities and
making them lose their way. In two studies published in the
journal Science on Thursday, British and French researchers
looked at bees and neonicotinoid insecticides – a class
introduced in the 1990s now among the most commonly used crop
pesticides in the world.
Maths and Olympics: How fast could Usain Bolt run?
LONDON (Reuters) – Usain Bolt, already the world’s fastest
man, could lop another 0.18 seconds off his 100 meter sprint
world record even without running any faster. It’s just a
question of getting a few conditions right – and doing the
maths. Luckily for the top Jamaican sprinter, John Barrow, a
professor of mathematical sciences at Britain’s Cambridge
University, has done the calculations for him.
Japan bees cook enemy in ‘hot defensive bee ball’
TOKYO (Reuters) – Don’t mess with Japanese honeybees. Not
only do they cooperate to attack their enemies, researchers now
say their brains may actually be processing and responding to
the threat. When confronted with their arch-enemy, the
aggressive giant Asian hornet, the honeybees will attack it by
swarming en masse around the hornet and forming what scientists
call a ”hot defensive bee ball” – a move unique to their
species.
In cancer science, many ”discoveries” don’t hold up
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A former researcher at Amgen Inc
has found that many basic studies on cancer — a high
proportion of them from university labs — are unreliable, with
grim consequences for producing new medicines in the future.
During a decade as head of global cancer research at Amgen, C.
Glenn Begley identified 53 ”landmark” publications — papers in
top journals, from reputable labs — for his team to reproduce.
Begley sought to double-check the findings before trying to
build on them for drug development.
”Tens of billions” of habitable worlds in Milky Way
LONDON (Reuters) – Astronomers hunting for rocky planets
with the right temperature to support life estimate there may
be tens of billions of them in our galaxy alone. A European
team said on Wednesday that about 40 percent of red dwarf stars
– the most common type in the Milky Way – have a so-called
”super-Earth” planet orbiting in a habitable zone that would
allow water to flow on the surface.
European cargo vessel docks with space station
PARIS (Reuters) – An unmanned European supply vessel
carrying more than six tonnes of freight docked with the
International Space Station (ISS) on Wednesday reinforcing
Europe’s role in the functioning of the ISS, space officials
said. European Space Agency (ESA) officials said the docking of
Europe’s third Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) was flawless
when it eased into place without any intervention from
astronauts in the space station.
Slices of Einstein’s brain show ”the mind as matter”
LONDON (Reuters) – We’ve pickled it, desiccated it, drilled
it, mummified it, chopped it and sliced it over centuries, yet
as the most complex entity in the known universe, the human
brain remains a mysterious fascination. With samples of Albert
Einstein’s preserved brain on slides, and specimens from other
famous and infamous heads such as the English mathematician
Charles Babbage and notorious mass murderer William Burke, an
exhibition opening in London this week is seeking to tap into
that intrigue.
