Culture | Science Codex

Argonne scientists discover new platinum catalysts for the dehydrogenation of propane

ARGONNE, Ill. (March 13, 2009) — The process to turn propane into industrially necessary propylene has been expensive and environmentally unfriendly. That was until scientists at U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory devised a greener way to take this important step in chemical catalysis.

"Using platinum clusters, we have devised a way to catalyze propane not only in a more environmentally friendly way, but also using far less energy than previous methods," Argonne scientist Stefan Vajda said.

APS applauds Senate passage of FY09 omnibus bill

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The American Physical Society (APS) is elated that the Senate has approved the FYO9 Omnibus Bill, which will allow scientists to continue cutting-edge research that will lead to innovation, job creation and economic growth for the United States.

Performance pay is a good lesson for education, MU expert finds

COLUMBIA, Mo. – On Tuesday, President Barack Obama announced a new education reform, calling for a merit-pay system for teachers in hopes of improving student performance. As the nation's public schools spend $187 billion in salaries, based on the latest Department of Education data, University of Missouri researcher Michael Podgursky has found a link between teacher pay and student achievement.

Facemasks help prevent adverse cardiovascular effects caused by pollution

Diesel exhaust causes arteries to lose their flexibility. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that exposure to engine pollution resulted in arterial stiffness in a group of healthy volunteers.

Fledgling mantle plume may be cause of African volcano's unique lava

Nyiragongo, an active African volcano, possesses lava unlike any other in the world, which may point toward its source being a new mantle plume says a University of Rochester geochemist. The lava composition indicates that a mantle plume—an upwelling of intense heat from near the core of the Earth—may be bubbling to life beneath the soil of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The findings are presented in the current issue of the journal Chemical Geology.

Engineers crack ceramics production obstacle

Engineers at the University of Leicester have invented a new technique in the manufacture of ceramics that has the potential to save the industry time and costs while reducing wastage.

The novel method takes away the traditional 'trial and error' approach to manufacture of ceramics and instead applied new computer modelling techniques to the manufacturing process.

Researchers at the University of Leicester, led by Professor Jingzhe Pan of the Department of Engineering, focused on a critical step in the manufacture of ceramics known as 'sintering'.

Rice report shows lessons from Hurricane Rita not practiced during Ike

A new Rice University report released yesterday, exactly six months after Hurricane Ike slammed the Texas Gulf Coast, suggests that people did not practice the lessons learned from Hurricane Rita.

Facemasks help prevent adverse cardiovascular effects caused by pollution

Diesel exhaust causes arteries to lose their flexibility. Researchers writing in BioMed Central's open access journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology found that exposure to engine pollution resulted in arterial stiffness in a group of healthy volunteers.

Tobacco use will continue, possibly grow, during recession, Georgia State expert says

ATLANTA — Even though tobacco use is expected to kill 6 million people worldwide and drain $500 billion from the global economy each year — according to a new report co-authored by a Georgia State University tobacco expert — the recession will most likely do nothing to reduce use.

The third edition of The Tobacco Atlas, co-authored by Michael Eriksen, director of Georgia State's Institute of Public Health, lays out a comprehensive picture of global tobacco use, regulations, financial costs and health tolls.

'Peking Man' older than thought; somehow adapted to cold

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - A new dating method has found that "Peking Man" is around 200,000 years older than previously thought, suggesting he somehow adapted to the cold of a mild glacial period.

A dating method developed by a Purdue University researcher allowed a more accurate determination of the age of the Zhoukoudian, China, site of remains of Homo erectus, commonly known as "Peking Man." The site was found to be 680,000-780,000 years old. Earlier estimates put the age at 230,000-500,000 years old.

Blue sky research reveals trends in air pollution, clears way for new climate change studies

COLLEGE PARK, Md -- A University of Maryland-led team has compiled the first decades-long database of aerosol measurements over land, making possible new research into how air pollution changes affect climate change.

Using this new database, the researchers show that clear sky visibility over land has decreased globally over the past 30 years, indicative of increases in aerosols, or airborne pollution. Their findings are published in the March 13 issue of Science.

'Fridges and washing machines liberated women': researcher

The advent of modern appliances such as washing machines and refrigerators had a profound impact on 20th Century society, according to a new Université de Montréal study. Plug-in conveniences transformed women's lives and enabled them to enter the workforce, says Professor Emanuela Cardia, from the Department of Economics.

Female birds 'jam' their mates' flirtatious songs

When a single female is nearby, female antbirds will sing over the songs of their male partners in an apparent attempt to keep their messages from getting through, according to a new report published online on March 12th in Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Males respond to that interruption by singing a different tune.

The findings offer the first evidence that such "signal jamming" and "jamming avoidance" occur between mates, according to the researchers.

New research shows that your looks, creditworthiness may go hand in hand

New research suggests that a person's appearance may play a role in whether they are deemed trustworthy by financial lenders. The study is summarized in a working paper by Jefferson Duarte at Rice University's Jones Graduate School of Management and Stephan Siegel and Lance Young, both of the University of Washington.

'Climate change: Global risks, challenges and decisions'

Following a successful International Scientific Congress attended by more than 2,500 delegates from nearly 80 countries, preliminary messages were summed up. The conclusions will be published as a full report in June 2009. The conclusions were handed over to the Danish Prime Minister Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen today. The Danish Government will host the UN Climate Change Conference in December 2009 and will hand over the conclusions to the decision makers ahead of the Conference.

The six preliminary key messages are:

Key Message 1: Climatic Trends