Culture | Science Codex

Renaissance capitalist: New research answers mystery about illegitimate daughter of pope

In popular legend, Lucrezia Borgia, Duchess of Ferrara (1480- 1519), stands falsely accused of poisoning her second husband. Victor Hugo portrayed her in thinly veiled fiction as a tragic femme fatale. Buffalo Bill named his gun after her.

But new research by USC historian Diane Yvonne Ghirardo reveals that the only sister of Machiavelli's Prince was less interested in political intrigue than in running a business, undertaking massive land development projects that "stand alone in the panorama of early sixteenth-century projects, not only those initiated by women," Ghirardo says.

Spookfish uses mirrors for eyes

A remarkable new discovery shows the four-eyed spookfish to be the first vertebrate ever found to use mirrors, rather than lenses, to focus light in its eyes.

Professor Julian Partridge from the University of Bristol, said: "In nearly 500 million years of vertebrate evolution, and many thousands of vertebrate species living and dead, this is the only one known to have solved the fundamental optical problem faced by all eyes – how to make an image – using a mirror."

Martian rock arrangement not alien handiwork

At first, figuring out how pebble-sized rocks organize themselves in evenly-spaced patterns in sand seemed simple and even intuitive. But once Andrew Leier, an assistant geoscience professor at the U of C, started observing, he discovered that the most commonly held notions did not apply.

And even more surprising, was that his findings revealed answers to NASA's questions about sediment transport and surface processes on Mars. Those results are published in this month's edition of Geology.

Risk management critical to corporate strategy

Dedham, MA – January 7, 2009 – With the consequences of the current financial crisis spreading to the real economy, lawmakers are exploring new regulations to govern the financial markets. The concern among market participants is that policy-makers do not fully understand how risk management does and should work, and how derivatives can be beneficial.

China's food economy benefits small, poor farmers

Beijing, China – January 7, 2009 – One of the most significant changes in China's agricultural economy over the past fifteen years has been the rise of horticulture. During this same time period, modern supply chains have also emerged. A new study in the Review of Agricultural Economics reveals that the recent changes in China 's food economy have contributed to an improvement in poverty reduction and betterment of small farmers. However, there exists a great challenge to ensure delivery of a safe product.

Four, three, two, one . . . pterosaurs have lift off

Pterosaurs have long suffered an identity crisis. Pop culture heedlessly — and wrongly — lumps these extinct flying lizards in with dinosaurs. Even paleontologists assumed that because the creatures flew, they were birdlike in many ways, such as using only two legs to take flight.

Now comes what is believed to be first-time evidence that launching some 500 pounds of reptilian heft into flight required pterosaurs to use four limbs: two were ultra-strong wings which, when folded and balanced on a knuckle, served as front "legs" that helped the creature to walk — and leap.

Interpretation time for screening digital mammograms: Is it efficient?

Digital mammograms take longer to interpret than film-screen mammograms, according to a study performed at The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

U of T physicists squeeze light to quantum limit

A team of University of Toronto physicists have demonstrated a newtechnique to squeeze light to the fundamental quantum limit, afinding that has potential applications for high-precisionmeasurement, next-generation atomic clocks, novel quantum computingand our most fundamental understanding of the universe.

Krister Shalm, Rob Adamson and Aephraim Steinberg of U of T´sDepartment of Physics and Centre for Quantum Information and QuantumControl, publish their findings in the January 1 issue of the prestigiousinternational journal Nature.

Tackling climate change with new permits to pollute

A new way to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and tackle climate change had been unveiled by leading economists.

Under the proposals, companies would buy what are in effect permits to pollute, but the price of those permits would be controlled because the government would retain enough, at a fixed price, to stop the cost increasing above that level.

Pneumococcal vaccine does not appear to protect against pneumonia

Commonly used pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccines do not appear to be effective for preventing pneumonia, found a study by a team of researchers from Switzerland and the United Kingdom http://www.cmaj.ca/press/pg48.pdf.

Flawed deposit insurance programs need reform, banking expert says

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Government insurance programs that safeguard bank deposits should be reformed to ease taxpayers' undue stake in propping up the nation's banking system, according to research by a University of Illinois finance professor.

George Pennacchi says the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., created during the Great Depression to halt bank runs, is supposed to protect savings through premiums paid by banks, but is effectively subsidized by the U.S. Treasury, putting tax dollars at too much risk.

IU physicist offers foundation for uprooting a hallowed principle of physics

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Physicists at Indiana University have developed a promising new way to identify a possible abnormality in a fundamental building block of Einstein's theory of relativity known as "Lorentz invariance." If confirmed, the abnormality would disprove the basic tenet that the laws of physics remain the same for any two objects traveling at a constant speed or rotated relative to one another.

Doubts make consumers more willing to reevaluate brands, study finds

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Most consumers crave a clear understanding of brand images, making them more receptive to new marketing messages if anything clouds their vision of companies or products, according to a new study by a University of Illinois marketing expert.

Sharon Shavitt says the findings are good news for companies seeking to retool the image of seemingly ingrained brands, such as McDonald's efforts to promote salads and other healthful menu options.

Lamin A/C deficiency is 'unnerving'

Mutations in the nuclear intermediate filament lamin A/C (LMNA) gene are associated with Emery-Dreifuss muscular dystrophy, but cause the disease by unknown mechanisms. Méjat et al. show that one mechanism involves the disruption of neuromuscular junctions.

The study will appear online on Monday, January 5, 2009 (www.jcb.org) and in the January 12, 2009 print issue of the Journal of Cell Biology.

6 North American sites hold 12,900-year-old nanodiamond-rich soil

Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth's impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets or carbonaceous chondrites, reports a nine-member scientific team.