Culture | Page 2857 | Science Codex

'A dinosaur dance floor'

SALT LAKE CITY – University of Utah geologists identified an amazing concentration of dinosaur footprints that they call "a dinosaur dance floor," located in a wilderness on the Arizona-Utah border where there was a sandy desert oasis 190 million years ago.

The three-quarter-acre site – which includes rare dinosaur tail-drag marks – provides more evidence there were wet intervals during the Early Jurassic Period, when the U.S. Southwest was covered with a field of sand dunes larger than the Sahara Desert.

Where Hispanics live in the US may change over time

A study of residential patterns in America suggests that White and Black Hispanics born in the U.S. are more likely to share neighborhoods with native non-Hispanic Whites and African Americans, compared to foreign-born Hispanics -- a pattern consistent with immigrant assimilation. Hispanics from Mexico in particular integrate consistently with all ethnic groups over generations.

Real pilots and 'virtual flyers' go head-to-head

Stunt pilots have raced against computer-generated opponents for the first time — in a contest that combines the real and the 'virtual' at 250 miles per hour.

Using technology developed, in part, by a University of Nottingham spin-out company, an air-race in the skies above Spain saw two stunt pilots battle it out with a 'virtual' plane which they watched on screens in their cockpits.

Unnecessary regulation harming clinical research, say experts

Increasing bureaucracy is the biggest single threat to clinical research in the UK and urgent action needs to be taken, argue experts on bmj.com today.

European legislation introduced in 2001 was intended to simplify and harmonise the regulation of trials across the European Union. But it has led to long delays in approval, is "poorly coordinated, lacks inconsistency at all levels, and at times is completely illogical", write Professors Morris Brown and Paul Stewart.

Chinese Premier sees science as a key to development

During a two-hour meeting with the editor-in-chief of the journal Science, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao expressed hope for increasing investment in basic research, reducing energy consumption by 4 percent annually as economic gains continue, improving food safety, and leveraging science to help the poor.

Wen's conversation with Bruce Alberts is being published in the journal's 17 October 2008 edition. An editorial written by Wen, plus a news article on science and technology in China, also will appear in a forthcoming issue of Science.

6 of 9 presidential election forecasts predict Obama will win 2008 popular vote

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Most of nine forecast models developed by political scientists predict a victory for Senator Barack Obama over Senator John McCain in the two-party contest for the popular vote in the 2008 presidential election. Obama is predicted to win an average of 52% of the vote with an 80% probability that he will gain more than half the total two-party popular vote.

New hope for the red squirrel

A number of red squirrels are immune to squirrelpox viral disease, which many believed would lead to the extinction of the species, scientists have discovered.

Scientists led by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) have identified eight cases in which free-living red squirrels have survived infection with the squirrelpox virus by mounting an immune response. The research is published today in the Springer journal Ecohealth.

Ghostly glow reveals galaxy clusters in collision

A team of scientists, including astronomers from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), have detected long wavelength radio emission from a colliding, massive galaxy cluster which, surprisingly, is not detected at the shorter wavelengths typically seen in these objects.

21st century detective work reveals how ancient rock got off to a hot start

A new technique using X-rays has enabled scientists to play 'detective' and solve the debate about the origins of a three billion year old rock fragment.

In the study, published today in the journal Nature, a scientist describes the new technique and shows how it can be used to analyse tiny samples of molten rock called magma, yielding important clues about the Earth's early history.

Providing in-state tuition to undocumented immigrants increases college enrollment

New York, N.Y. – October 15, 2008 – Undocumented youth are not likely to go to college. Usually they do not qualify for financial aid and often come from low-income families with little ability to pay college tuition. A new study in the Journal of Policy Analysis and Management found that providing tuition subsidy in the form of in-state tuition increased the college enrollment and educational attainment of non-citizen, Mexican young adults, a group comprising a majority of undocumented individuals in the United States.

Entrepreneurial activity affected by degree of states' economic freedom

Louisville, KY – October 15, 2008 – A new study in the journal Entrepreneurship Theory and Practice examines how entrepreneurial activity and level of employment in U.S. service industries respond to changes in the degree of economic freedom among states. Researchers found that the relationship between entrepreneurial outcomes and economic freedom varies significantly by industry.

Plant-eating predator to fight superweed is not magic bullet

Plans to introduce plant-eating predators to fight a superweed spreading throughout Britain should not be seen as a 'magic bullet', says a world expert on Japanese knotweed at the University of Leicester.

Dr John Bailey of the Department of Biology has been researching the invasive weed since the 1980s. The research continues with PhD students Michelle Hollingsworth and Catherine Pashley. Research in the Leicester department established that the weed in Britain was a single clone- making it one of the biggest female organism in the world.

School voucher adoption affected by political decision-making

Odense, Denmark – October 15, 2008 – In many countries, school vouchers have come to be a controversial policy which allows parents to pay for the education of their children at a school of their choice, rather than the public school to which they are assigned. A new study in the journal Governance shows how the success of governments in introducing vouchers is highly correlated with these countries' different political institutions and traditions.

USC report examines candidates' technology policies

As the 2008 presidential election enters its final month, researchers at the Annenberg Research Network on International Communication (ARNIC) have found some sharp differences – and surprising similarities – in the two major candidates' positions on technology policy.

In areas such as media ownership and consolidation, open access to Internet content and intellectual property rights, ARNIC's report provides guidance for voters concerned about the future development of communication technology and the media.

Global warming threatens Australia's iconic kangaroos

As concerns about the effects of global warming continue to mount, a new study published in the December issue of Physiological and Biochemical Zoology finds that an increase in average temperature of only two degrees Celsius could have a devastating effect on populations of Australia's iconic kangaroos.