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17 мая, 2012 18:01
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Общество
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Buried microbes exist at limit between life and death
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Look and learn, sloths: the microbes deep beneath the Pacific ocean take inactivity to new heights They are so slow on the uptake of nutrients from their environment that they barely classify as alive Their very existence could help define the limit between life and death Paradoxically, though, they may also be among the oldest living organisms...
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16 мая, 2012 17:00
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Общество
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Biological clock began ticking 2.5 billion years ago
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OUR core physiology relies on subtle organic timers: disrupt them, and effects range from jet lag to schizophrenia Exactly how and when life began keeping time is unclear, but a candidate for the original biological clock may solve the mystery Biological clocks are ubiquitous in nature, so the first clock should pre-date the evolutionary parting...
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13 мая, 2012 17:00
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Общество
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Americans would pay more for green energy
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If you think politicians are out of touch, you're right The American public would pay extra to get green electricity, but partisan politics means their elected representatives still won't legislate for it In his January 2011 State of the Union address, Barack Obama called for a national clean energy standard (NCES) that would see 80 per cent of...
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16 мая, 2012 12:09
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Общество
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The ancient American bones at centre of two lawsuits
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They may have been dead for more than 9000 years, but the future looks uncertain for two early Americans unearthed in 1976 below the University of California in San Diego Members of a local Native American tribe – the Kumeyaay – want to rebury the remains, which they believe are their ancestors In December, UCSD agreed to hand over the skeletons,...
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13 мая, 2012 09:00
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Общество
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Touch sensitivity is genetically linked to hearing
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DULL fingers? Blame your genes It has just been discovered that sensitivity to touch is heritable, and apparently linked to hearing as well Gary Lewin and colleagues at the Max Delbruck Center for Molecular Medicine in Berlin, Germany, measured touch in 100 healthy pairs of fraternal and identical twins They tested finger sensitivity in two ways:...
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16 мая, 2012 10:47
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Общество
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Making perfumes past and present
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Last year, Global Industry Analysts projected that the global fragrances and perfumes market will hit $33 billion by 2015 The company's report recognised the current trends for "celebrity inspired scents" as well as growth in the men's fragrance market But the production of perfume is an ancient industry, with techniques refined since ancient times...
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09 мая, 2012 09:20
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Общество
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Belle de Jour casts her forensic eye on sex
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The scientist and former call-girl blogger Brooke Magnanti has written a new book that challenges our notions about sexuality Your background is in forensic science Why did you decide to write a book about sex?I wanted to do something that could incorporate my background as a scientist as well as my interest in sex and sexuality After I came out...
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10 мая, 2012 18:00
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Общество
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Maya astronomical tables found daubed on wall
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Archaeologists have discovered a 9th-century Mayan house with astronomical tables inscribed on the walls The tables suggest that the Mesoamerican civilisation had advanced astronomy for over 1000 years, and that the information was widely available in Mayan society Until now our main evidence of Mayan astronomical knowledge came from books produced...
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08 мая, 2012 23:01
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Общество
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Water striders thrive on Pacific Garbage Patch
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For many marine animals, tiny pieces of plastic are a big problem But for one marine insect, they are a handy place to lay eggs Vast amounts of plastic have been dumped into the ocean over the last few decades Bottles and bags are obvious, but the majority is made up of fragments less than 5 millimetres across Much of this "microplastic" ends up...
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11 мая, 2012 14:47
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Общество
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Zoologger: Bug evolved a self-propelling corkscrew
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Zoologger is our weekly column highlighting extraordinary animals – and occasionally other organisms – from around the world Species: Synechococcus, many speciesHabitat: swimming inexplicably throughout the sunlit upper layers of the oceans, and many freshwater bodies Most people remember their first swimming lesson It involves splashing incompetently...
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09 мая, 2012 16:22
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Общество
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We are the improbable ape
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THE more we learn about our evolutionary journey from ape to human, the more astonishing it seems Around 35 million years ago, a gene involved in brain development duplicated itself in one of our ancestors Around a million years later it did it again The duplicate genes now play a crucial role in the design of our big, powerful brains (see "The...
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09 мая, 2012 10:02
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Общество
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Thank grandmothers for lower incidence of cancer
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If it weren't for caring grandmothers, almost every woman would have a gene that gives them up to an 80 per cent chance of getting breast cancer and a 64 per cent chance of ovarian cancer At least so says one researcher A US study last year found that women with either of the BRCA1 or BRCA2 "breast cancer genes" tend to have more children In fact,...
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11 мая, 2012 12:39
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Общество
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Thermostat protein could help burn off the flab
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Turning the body's brown fat into a furnace fuelled by unwanted flab might provide a new way to lose weight The main role of brown fat is to burn just enough fuel to keep body temperature constant This suggests that working out how the body controls the brown fat thermostat could lead to new drugs that order it to burn more energy than usual, gradually...
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11 мая, 2012 10:00
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Общество
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With no paper trail, can science determine age?
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GUESSING someone's age can be risky at cocktail parties, but what about when their future is at stake? For refugees, the difference between childhood and adulthood can be the difference between asylum, deportation or jail Thanks to international child protection laws, asylum-seekers are more likely to be admitted to wealthy nations if they are under...
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03 мая, 2012 18:00
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Общество
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Blonde hair evolved independently in Pacific islands
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Science can't yet tell us whether they have more fun – but it has uncovered a new genetic change that makes people blonde And contrary to long held belief, it seems golden hair hasn't simply been introduced across the globe by travelling tow heads, but instead evolved separately in different human populations Indigenous people of the Solomon Islands...
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03 мая, 2012 18:00
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Общество
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Zoologger: Jesus bugs evolved hooks for grappling eyes
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Video: Watch water striders pin down females for sex Zoologger is our weekly column on curious cosmic objects, from the solar system to the far reaches of the multiverse Species: Rheumatobates rileyiHabitat: Skittering around on water throughout North America Our eyes are precious and vulnerable We rely on them to understand and navigate the world,...
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04 мая, 2012 15:49
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Общество
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How to wake up a chick sleeping in its egg
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Their dads may be up with the sun, but it takes more than that to wake up a chick still in its egg Unhatched chicks aren't roused from slumber by random noise, but they do wake up if they hear a chicken danger call Evan Balaban of McGill University in Montreal, Canada, says we still don't know when fetuses begin to experience sleep cycles the way...
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03 мая, 2012 16:00
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Общество
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One gene helped human brains become complex
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When it comes to brain development, slow and steady wins the race A single ancestral human gene that made two copies of itself may have helped the evolution of our large brains 25 million years ago, as our ancestors were diverging from australopithecines Paradoxically, it seems the effect of the extra copies was to slow down individual brain development...
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04 мая, 2012 17:35
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Общество
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Fracking drives pronghorn herds out of Wyoming habitat
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Meet the latest player in the fractious debate over "fracking" for natural gas: the pronghorn Disturbance from drilling is causing the fleet-footed ungulates to vacate their prime wintering grounds in Wyoming In winter, pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) migrate from higher ground to the Upper Green River basin – which in recent years has experienced...
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04 мая, 2012 10:35
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Общество
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Brain sees metaphor and simile differently
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Aristotle concluded in the 4th century BC that "the difference is but slight" between similes and metaphors After all, the metaphor, "He's a bear in the morning," means the same as the simile, "He's like a bear in the morning" Our brains, apparently, do not agree Midori Shibata and colleagues at Hokkaido University in Sapporo, Japan, asked 24 men...
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