Culture | Science Codex

UCLA team creates virtual library of medieval manuscripts

Google "Edward the Confessor" and you'll get page after page of links to biographies of this 11th-century English king, to Westminster Abbey, which he founded and where he is buried, and to the Magna Carta, which was partly inspired by laws enacted during his 24-year reign.

But a completely digitized manuscript of the oldest surviving Anglo-Norman history of the king does not turn up — at least on the first 20 search pages — even though Cambridge University painstakingly scanned the sumptuously illustrated manuscript in 2003.

Adolescents involved with music do better in school

Columbus, OH—February 10, 2009—A new study in the journal Social Science Quarterly reveals that music participation, defined as music lessons taken in or out of school and parents attending concerts with their children, has a positive effect on reading and mathematic achievement in early childhood and adolescence. Additionally, socioeconomic status and ethnicity affect music participation.

Multiracial identity associated with better social and personal well-being

Stanford, CA—February 10, 2009—Many people assume that individuals who identify with one race should be better off than multiracial individuals who identify with a mixed race heritage. However, a new study in the Journal of Social Issues found that students who reported they were from multiple ethnic/racial groups were more engaged at school and felt better in general than those who reported they were from a single group.

Public support grows for spending on mass transit and infrastructure

Public support is growing for expenditures on mass transit and infrastructure and remains high for education and health care, according to a National Opinion Research Center survey at the University of Chicago that has been following spending trends for 35 years.

Link found between influenza, absolute humidity

CORVALLIS, Ore. – A new study by Oregon researchers has found a significant correlation between "absolute" humidity and influenza virus survival and transmission. When absolute humidity is low – as in peak flu months of January and February – the virus appears to survive longer and transmission rates increase.

Results of the study were published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

No joy in discoveries of new mammal species -- only a warning for humanity, Paul Ehrlich says

In the era of global warming, when many scientists say we are experiencing a human-caused mass extinction to rival the one that killed off the dinosaurs, one might think that the discovery of a host of new species would be cause for joy. Not entirely so, says Paul Ehrlich, co-author of an analysis of the 408 new mammalian species discovered since 1993.

"What this paper really talks about is how little we actually know about our natural capital and how little we know about the services that flow from it," said Paul Ehrlich, the Bing Professor of Population Studies at Stanford.

Scientists document salamander decline in Central America

Berkeley – The decline of amphibian populations worldwide has been documented primarily in frogs, but salamander populations also appear to have plummeted, according to a new study by University of California, Berkeley, biologists.

By comparing tropical salamander populations in Central America today with results of surveys conducted between 1969 and 1978, UC Berkeley researchers have found that populations of many of the commonest salamanders have steeply declined.

Accidental wireless

Following a rollover automobile accident, driver and passengers are usually unable to call for help. So, unless the accident occurs on a busy road, rescue is unlikely to arrive in time to save them. Writing in the International Journal of Intelligent Defence Support Systems, US researchers describe SAVE, which could solve that problem and reduce deaths on the roads.

New ORNL tool gets handle on cropland CO2 emissions

OAK RIDGE, Tenn., Feb. 9, 2009 -- For the first time, farmers have data that tracks at the county level on-site and off-site energy use and carbon dioxide emissions associated with growing crops in the United States.

This information is vital for examining changes in cropland production and management techniques and could play an even bigger role as more land is devoted to bioenergy crops, said Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Tristram West, lead author of a paper published on line in the Journal of Environmental Quality.

New technique boosts protein NMR imaging speeds

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance, or SSNMR, is a valuable tool to image and analyze the chemical makeup of proteins and other biomolecules. But the imaging process is time-consuming and requires large amounts of costly isotope-labeled sample for study.

Rise or fall of reef fish driven by both economy and ecology

Overfishing on coral reefs isn't simply caused by too many people, according to a new report published in the February 10th issue of Current Biology, a Cell Press publication. Rather, the researchers found that the biomass of fish found on coral reefs in the western Indian Ocean depended mostly on the complexity of the reefs themselves and the socioeconomic status of the people living on the shores.

American Chemical Society Weekly PressPac -- Feb. 4, 2009

ARTICLE #1 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Mars Rover device gets new mission on EarthAnalytical Chemistry

A Zen discovery: Unrusted iron in ocean

Iron dust, the gold of the oceans and rarest nutrient for most marine life, can be washed down by rivers or blown out to sea or – a surprising new study finds – float up from the sea floor.

The discovery, published online Feb. 8 in Nature Geoscience, connects life at the surface to events occurring at extreme depths and pressures.

The two worlds were long assumed to have little interaction.

Accidental discovery has potential for new applications in packaging

CLEVELAND – A recent discovery at Case Western Reserve University may help keep food and drugs safer and fresher longer and electronic equipment dryer and more secure than ever before – all at a lower cost.

Cracking a controversial solid state mystery

Scientists can easily explain the structural order that makes steel and aluminium out of molten metal. And they have discovered the molecular changes that take place as water turns to ice. But, despite the fact that glass blowers have been plying their trade since the first century BC, we have only just begun to understand what makes molten glass solid.