Preprint analysis quantifies scientific plagiarism
Nature: Physics papers reveal few serious breaches but some duplication.
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November 30, 2006Preprint analysis quantifies scientific plagiarismNature: Physics papers reveal few serious breaches but some duplication. The Supreme Court melts down over greenhouse gassesSlate.com: If there is anything stranger than writing up your story on global warming in a T-shirt … in late November … in the District of Columbia, I can't quite think what it is. In fact nothing about this morning's oral argument, in Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency, is normal. The justices are perhaps deciding, after all, the most urgent scientific question facing the planet: They are deciding Bush v. Gore's Movie. Scientists decode ancient astral computerSydney Morning Herald: A mysterious device salvaged from an ancient Roman shipwreck has astounded scientists who have finally unlocked its secrets. CERN takes next step towards completing the LHCWired: The elevator buttons in front of me, hand-labeled in black marker, speak volumes: "Sky," says one, the other, "Hell." Sky is the Swiss-French border, pastoral Geneva countryside in the shadow of soaring Alpine mountains. Hell is "The Machine" -- a 16.8-mile underground ring where, in almost precisely a year, superconducting magnets will begin accelerating atomic particles to within a hairsbreadth of the speed of light, and smash them into each other. November 29, 2006Astronomers discuss opportunities from planned return to moonInternational Herald Tribune: Astronomers are meeting this week to put together their wish list for deep-space astronomy projects when the United States resumes exploration of the Moon with a new crew vehicle, the Orion, and new Ares rockets. Silicon Nanowires to Reduce Size of MicrochipsAZoNano.com: Silicon nanowires can help to further reduce the size of microchips. Scientists at the Max Planck Institute for Microstructure Physics in Halle have for the first time developed single crystal silicon nanowires that fulfil the key criteria to this end. The researchers used aluminium as a catalyst to grow the nanowires. To date, scientists have usually deployed gold for this purpose. However, even traces of the precious metal have a drastically detrimental effect on the function of semiconductor components. This is not the case with other metals, which catalyse the process, but only at temperatures that would not enable economically viable processes. On the other hand, aluminium is an effective catalyst even at relatively low temperatures and does not impair the quality of electronic components Scientists foresee quantum computingMonsters and Critics: British physicists say they`ve proven, theoretically, how to build a simulator that can recreate the way atoms and particles behave in a quantum system. Energy Use Can Be Cut by Efficiency, Survey SaysThe New York Times: The growth rate of worldwide energy consumption could be cut by more than half over the next 15 years through more aggressive energy-efficiency efforts by households and industry, according to a study by the McKinsey Global Institute, which is scheduled to be released today. November 28, 2006Carbon emissions show sharp riseBBC: The rise in humanity's emissions of carbon dioxide has accelerated sharply, according to a new analysis. Build Your Own UniverseNPR: Is this a joke? No, say a bunch of physicists. One day, it may be possible for a person to create a universe!
Improving the violin through scienceThe New York Times: Some instrument makers and researchers are using science to deconstruct the vibrations and waves at work to create the distinctive sounds of violins and guitars. EPA global warming case to be heard by Supreme courtThe Christian Science Monitor: The agency argues that climate change requires a global solution, not federal regulations. The Supreme Court weighs in this week. November 27, 2006A Rare Material and a Surprising WeaponThe New York Times: If substantial amounts of polonium 210 were used to poison Alexander V. Litvinenko, whoever did it presumably had access to a high-level nuclear laboratory and put himself at some risk carrying out the assassination, experts said yesterday. On the Move to Outrun Climate ChangeThe Washington Post: As the Bush administration debates much of the world about what to do about global warming, butterflies and ski-lift operators, polar bears and hydroelectric planners are on the move. Dr. Nail VS The MonsterPopular Science: In 1995 a Clemson University graduate student named Ed Sutt took off for a spur-of-the-moment trip to the Caribbean. But beaches and rum drinks weren’t on the agenda for this civil engineer. Hurricane Marilyn had just torn through St. Thomas, and Sutt was part of a team examining how and why 80 percent of the island’s homes and businesses had collapsed in the storm’s 95mph winds. Nuclear's core businessNature: The job of cleaning up Britain's nuclear plants is up for auction — so who might profit from the newly privatized industry? Andrea Chipman reports. November 22, 2006Mars Global Surveyor 1996-2006The New York Times: The 10-year-old spacecraft - which gathered evidence of water in the planet’s past - has not communicated with flight controllers since Nov. 2. Spinning black holesScienceNow: Hurricane Katrina had nothing on GRS1915. This black hole seems to be rotating at least 950 times per second, hundreds of thousands of times faster than Katrina. The measurement marks the first time astronomers have been able to quantify the spin of a black hole so directly, and the findings could bring physicists closer to verifying the source of elusive cosmic phenomena known as gamma-ray bursts. Turning down the heatCosmos: The debate over global warming may have ended, but the conflict over how to cut emissions rages on. And those who are seeking a cure-all will be disappointed. Australia considers building 25 new nuclear power plantsThe Australian: Twenty-five nuclear power stations could be built on the doorsteps of the nation's major towns and cities by 2050 as an essential part of any serious and economically practical attack on carbon emissions. November 21, 2006A Free-for-All on Science and ReligionThe New York Times: Maybe the pivotal moment came when Steven Weinberg, a Nobel laureate in physics, warned that “the world needs to wake up from its long nightmare of religious belief,” or when a Nobelist in chemistry, Sir Harold Kroto, called for the John Templeton Foundation to give its next $1.5 million prize for “progress in spiritual discoveries” to an atheist — Richard Dawkins, the Oxford evolutionary biologist whose book “The God Delusion” is a national best-seller. Another step toward quantum computersZDNET: One day, we might use super fast computers based on quantum physics. But how these computers will read data? An international team from Germany and the U.S. has just shown that it's possible to read data stored as nuclear 'spins.' This new way of reading the spin of thousands of electrons is not the ultimate goal: a real quantum computer would need to read the spins of single particles. Still, this new method is far better than previous ones which only allowed to read the net spins of the electrons of billion of atoms combined. Reading votes to close physics departmentGuardian Unlimited: The University of Reading last night confirmed its controversial decision to close the physics department. ITER fusion project launched in FranceGuardian Unlimited: Officials from six nations and the European Union today signed an international treaty launching a £7bn nuclear fusion energy research project aimed at developing an emission-free energy source. November 20, 2006Kremlin grabs control of physicists companyThe Washington Post: Physicist Vladislav Tetyukhin and entrepreneur Vyacheslav Bresht, who rescued titanium manufactuer VSMPO-Avisma in the 1990s and converted it into a billion dollar company, have lost their battle to remain independent from the Russian government. Tetyukhin invented the process VSMPO-Avisma uses to smelt titanium in 1957. The Russian government planned its takeover of VSMPO-Avisma through Rosoboroexport, a state-owned arms export agency. VSMPO-Avisma is considered to be of strategic importance to Russia, as it is the world's largest supplier of titanium, which is used in both civilian and military aircraft. Since Rosoboroexport announced its interest in taking over VSMPO-Avisma, the company has been under a tax audit, and the prosecutor-general began an investigation into the share structure of the VSMPO-Avisma as a way of applying pressure to shareholders to sell their stake to Rosoboroexport at a cheap price. Tetyukhin was quoted in the financial times newspaper some months ago as saying "Why do their patriotic feelings show only now, when the company is making a profit, when it has been cleaned up and restructured?" According to the Washington Post, Rosoboroexport completed its takeover of VSMPO-Avisma last week when it acquired 66 percent of the shares in the company. At the same time, the tax audit and prosecutor-general investigation against the previous shareholders have been dropped. Tetyukhin, will retain a 3.8 percent stake in the company and Rosoboronexport has assured VSMPO-Avisma's international customers such as Boeing, which account for 75 percent of the company's $1 billion in annual sales, that they will continue to be a reliable supplier. As the Earth Shakes, a Machine Below the Bronx Takes NoteThe New York Times: Even earthquakes in Hawaii reach the seismic station at Fordham University, which has operated for almost 100 years. Warming Arctic trying to keep its cool, study findsLos Angeles Times: An international team of scientists Thursday reported that rising temperatures were steadily transforming the Arctic — warming millions of square miles of permafrost, promoting lush greenery on previously arid tundras and steadily shrinking the annual sea ice. More Letters in the Particle AlphabetScienceNow: Getting at the root of all existence isn't easy. For 75 years, physicists have been smashing atoms together in increasingly powerful particle accelerators, while theorists have been calculating what those collisions should be producing. The work has allowed scientists to unearth matter's most basic components. Now, physicists have added two more particles to the list and, with that, have taken science a step closer to unraveling the mystery of just what the universe is made of. November 17, 20069 Billion-Year-Old ‘Dark Energy’ ReportedThe New York Times: Astronomers have discovered that billions of years before a mysterious antigravity overcame cosmic gravity and sent the galaxies scooting apart, it was already present in space, affecting the evolution of the cosmos. Electronic Nuisance Changes Its WaysScience: On page 1121 of this issue of Science, researchers report the first-ever set of simple devices, akin to diodes, that steer a small excess of phonons in one direction. If the effect can be improved, it could lead to a novel form of computation based on phonons and to heat-steering materials that make buildings more energy-efficient, among other things. Thailand plans tsunami detection devicesMiami Herald: Thai and U.S. experts will install the Indian Ocean's first state-of-the-art deep-water tsunami detection buoy next month, two years after massive waves killed at least 216,000 people around the region largely without warning, a top official said Thursday. New robot can sense damage, compensateSeattle Post Intelligencer: Researchers at Cornell University in Ithaca, N.Y., built a four-legged robot that can sense damage to its body and figure out how to adjust and keep going. They report the development in Friday's issue of the journal Science. November 16, 2006Annan Faults ‘Frightening Lack of Leadership’ for Global WarmingThe New York Times: Secretary General Kofi Annan on Wednesday put the blame for global warming on “a frightening lack of leadership,” saying the poorest people in the world, who do not even create much pollution, bear the brunt of rising temperatures. Five-step check for nano safetyNature: The pursuit of responsible nanotechnologies can be tackled through a series of grand challenges, argue Andrew D. Maynard and his co-authors. The Ultimate "Flash Photography"ScienceNow: Smile and prepare to be vaporized! In what you might call the most violent snap-shot ever, physicists have used a blast of x-rays to determine the structure of a tiny object, even as the x-rays blew it apart. The "single-shot" technique marks an important step toward deciphering the structure of proteins by zapping just a single molecule--a potentially revolutionary technique that physicists hope to perfect with the world's first x-ray lasers, currently under construction in the U.S., Germany, and Japan. Physicists prove complaints about new basketball are validPhysics Today Online: This year the National Basketball Association switched from leather to synthetic basketballs to cut down on the amount of variation in behavior between balls used on the court. Unlike leather balls, the new synthetic balls--made out of a durable micro-fiber composite--do not require conditioning before use on the court, nor do they pick up moisture (a leather ball can gain 10% of its weight from moisture by the end of a game). A synthetic basketball has a designed surface that is supposed to be easier to grip than its leather counterpart. However, the NBA players have all complained about the new basketballs saying that don't react or feel as easy to use as the old leather balls. Now, Kaushik De and colleagues from the University of Texas, Austin Physics Department have proven that the players are correct. Tests carried out under laboratory conditions, show that the synthetic ball bounces 5 to 8 percent lower than a typical leather ball when dropped from 4 ft, and the new ball bounces 30 percent more erratically. Moreover, because the new balls do not absorb moisture, the surface of the basketball retains a thin layer of water, making them harder to grip by the end of the game. The physicists suggest some improvements to the design of the synthetic ball (making it able to absorb more water for example) while they continue carrying out their next set of tests, including aerodynamic drag experiments in a wind tunnel. MavBalls Update 12/12/2006: According to a report on NPR the NBA has decided to scrap the new basketballs because of complaints and the research carried out by UT Austin. November 15, 2006Kidnappers Strike Iraqi ScienceScienceNow: Gunmen abducted dozens of people working at the science and higher education ministry in Baghdad early today, only to release many of them late this evening, according to news reports. The attack, carried out by some 80 kidnappers, was one of the most brazen and massive kidnappings in the war-torn country to date, and was seen by some as another concerted effort by sectarians to undermine academic life in Iraq. Tesla's idea of transmitting power without wires revivedIndustrial Physics Forum blog: It's All About the Wireless Physics promises wireless power NASA Weighs U.S. Strategy for Moon ExplorationSpace.com: NASA is set to roll out next month a U.S. national strategy for lunar exploration, one that outlines both robotic exploration needs and the rationale for sending humans back to the Moon. Why the next Congress will be 'greener,' but only by a few shadesThe Christian Science Monitor: Fiscal restraints and newly elected moderates make radical changes in environmental policy unlikely, activists predict. November 14, 2006String Theory and Other Timeless NotionsNPR: Notes from a meeting of string theorists in Santa Barbara, Calif., where some mind-bending ideas are tossed around. For instance, are there parallel universes that have no time? Ancient Crash, Epic WaveThe New York Times: At the southern end of Madagascar lie four enormous wedge-shaped sediment deposits, called chevrons, that are composed of material from the ocean floor. Each covers twice the area of Manhattan with sediment as deep as the Chrysler Building is high. Martian gullies could be scientific gold minesMSNBC: Orbital probes watch for evidence of changing geology on Red Planet Call for post-Kyoto climate dealBBC: The Environment Secretary David Miliband has called for a binding global deal on reducing greenhouse gas emissions which goes beyond the Kyoto Protocol. November 13, 2006Rustlike Crystals Found to Cleanse Water of Arsenic CheaplyThe New York Times: A common mineral similar to rust fashioned into a powder of tiny crystals could provide a simple, inexpensive method for removing hazardous levels of arsenic from drinking water, researchers at Rice University in Houston are reporting today. Congress's sci-tech agenda to shift under DemocratsThe Christian Science Monitor: Global warming and stem-cell research are topics that will give bipartisanship on the Hill an early test. Quake study tests a home's strengthLos Angeles Times: The experiment will put a California-built house on top of a simulated 6.7 quake. Engineers want to see how it holds up. Galactic Building Block BustersScienceNow: If a castle is built with nearby rocks, you'd expect the stone walls to be made of the same stuff as any remaining boulders in the area. Likewise, if our Milky Way galaxy grew through the merging of smaller dwarf galaxies, you'd expect it to contain the same types of stars as the remaining dwarfs that have not been incorporated. But detailed observations of four of these dwarf galaxies show that this is not the case, indicating that theories about how galaxies form are incomplete. November 10, 2006Panel Prunes NSF Orchard to Make Room for GrowthScience: Two major U.S. radio astronomy facilities funded by the National Science Foundation may need to close by 2011 as part of a budget-cutting exercise to make room for new NSF astronomy projects. Huge 'hurricane' rages on SaturnBBC: A hurricane-like storm, two-thirds the diameter of Earth, is raging at Saturn's south pole, new images from Nasa's Cassini space probe reveal. Volcanic eruptions can destroy ozoneUnited Press International: Two studies by British scientists suggest volcanic eruptions can destroy ozone and create "mini-ozone holes" in the Earth's stratosphere. Exhibit Shows Earth As Seen From SpaceSan Francisco Examiner: Science and art merge in a stunning new Smithsonian exhibition featuring planet Earth as seen from above. Some of the satellite images show the home planet as only astronauts can see it, others taken with special i |