Culture

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--MIT engineers are using carbon nanotubes only billionths of a meter thick to stitch together aerospace materials in work that could make airplane skins and other products some 10 times stronger at a nominal increase in cost.

BEER-SHEVA, ISRAEL, March 4, 2009 – Ben-Gurion University of the Negev engineers have developed a technique to "denature" plutonium created in large nuclear reactors, making it unsuitable for use in nuclear arms. By adding Americium (Am 241), a form of the basic synthetic element found in commercial smoke detectors and industrial gauges, plutonium can only be used for peaceful purposes.

The Martian volcano Olympus Mons is about three times the height of Mount Everest, but it's the small details that Rice University professors Patrick McGovern and Julia Morgan are looking at in thinking about whether the Red Planet ever had – or still supports – life.

Using a computer modeling system to figure out how Olympus Mons came to be, McGovern and Morgan reached the surprising conclusion that pockets of ancient water may still be trapped under the mountain. Their research is published in February's issue of the journal Geology.

International environmental law on biological diversity is now being called into question in a dissertation at Uppsala University. Unclear legislation entails that biological diversity falls under an old legal system, and this negatively affects coordinated efforts, according to Aðalheiður Jóhannsdóttir.

On March 5 she will publicly defend her dissertation in environmental law. International environmental law involving biological diversity, the object of study, is called into question.

The first virtual reality headset that can stimulate all five senses will be unveiled at a major science event in London on March 4th.

What was it really like to live in Ancient Egypt? What did the streets there actually look, sound and smell like? For decades, Virtual Reality has held out the hope that, one day, we might be able visit all kinds of places and periods as 'virtual' tourists.

To date, though, Virtual Reality devices have not been able to stimulate simultaneously all five senses with a high degree of realism.

From geckos and iguanas to Gila monsters and Komodo dragons, lizards are among the most common reptiles on Earth. They are found on every continent except Antarctica. One even pitches car insurance in TV ads. They seemingly can adapt to a variety of conditions, but are most abundant in the tropics.

However, new research that builds on data collected more than three decades ago demonstrates that lizards living in tropical forests in Central and South America and the Caribbean could be in serious peril from rising temperatures associated with climate change.

AMES, Iowa -- A new study by psychologists from Iowa State University and Linfield (Ore.) College has found that TV ratings don't accurately reflect the aggressive content found in shows popular among children -- even cartoons.

The mentally ill don't get a fair shake in this country. Many employers don't want to hire them, and health insurers don't want to treat their illnesses. Even within their own communities and families, the mentally ill are often treated with contempt and outright anger. There have been many efforts to combat the stigma of mental illness, but with limited success at best. That's in part because the stereotypes are so powerful: Mental patients are either violently dangerous or docile and incompetent. We fear the first and disdain the latter.

Power holders often seem misguided in their actions. Leaders and commanders of warring nations regularly underestimate the costs in time, money, and human lives required for bringing home a victory. CEOs of Fortune 500 companies routinely overestimate their capacity to turn mergers and acquisitions into huge profits, leading to financial losses for themselves, their companies, and their stockholders. Even ordinary people seem to take on an air of invincibility after being promoted to a more powerful position.

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Scientists trying to understand why oaks are starting to disappear from North American forests may need to look just below the surface to find some answers.

Purdue University researcher Robert Swihart found that pine voles, small rodents that live underground, prefer oak roots to those of other commonly growing seedlings. The study identifies the rodents as a possible factor leading to high oak mortality rates that are threatening the resource base of the hardwood industry.

LEBANON, N.H. -- A Dartmouth-led study of young U.S. teens showed that between 11 and 20 percent own T-shirts or other items featuring an alcohol brand, and those who do appear more likely to transition through the stages of drinking from susceptibility, to beginning drinking, to binge drinking, according to a report in the March issue of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

A new Washington state program designed to help victims of domestic violence increase their knowledge of how to use technology safely and help minimize the risks that technology can pose when one is in an abusive relationship has been evaluated as highly successful.

DURHAM, N.C. -– Half of all Americans expect another country to emerge this century as the world's leader in addressing technological challenges that range from the economy to global warming, according to a survey of U.S. public opinion released Tuesday by Duke University.

Gifted youths already know what they want to be when they grow up. They usually choose to study applied sciences, but when they are asked why they made their choices, they are not able to explain.

The shift from electromechanical to digital technology generated a lot of opportunities for the gaming industry, but it simultaneously created a new set of prerequisites for success. Technological competence is not sufficient, it is also necessary to understand how the changed market functions, according to Mirko Ernkvist at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden.