Last year was supposed to be the year of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), but a faulty connection between two magnets quashed the machine's operations just days after it was powered up in September 2008....[More]
Restart of the Large Hadron Collider
Last year was supposed to be the year of the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), but a faulty connection between two magnets quashed the machine's operations just days after it was powered up in September 2008. After more than a year of repairs, retrofits and testing, the LHC's operators switched the massive collider back on in November of this year. In short order the machine began eclipsing world records, first accelerating beams of protons to unprecedented energies and then colliding those beams head-on, producing the most energetic collisions ever seen in a particle collider.
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In April news about a novel "swine flu" that was killing people by the dozens in Mexico swept around the globe, sparking anxious debate about the 1918 pandemic, the 1976 swine flu vaccine fiasco , and possible antiviral shortages....[More]
The H1N1 Pandemic
In April news about a novel "swine flu" that was killing people by the dozens in Mexico swept around the globe, sparking anxious debate about the 1918 pandemic, the 1976 swine flu vaccine fiasco, and possible antiviral shortages. Although H1N1 itself is not a novel combination, this strain of the virus appeared highly contagious and, unsettlingly, was felling the young rather than the elderly. Indeed, by June the virus had spread worldwide, prompting the World Health Organization to declare a global pandemic.
Despite early vaccine shortages, however, the influenza A 2009 H1N1 strain (as it is formally known) has so far proved to be about as virulent as the seasonal flu, having infected about one in six and killed some 10,000 in the U.S. as of November.
After some 4.4 million years in the ground—and another 15 years sequestered for close scientific scrutiny—the early human relative Ardipithecus ramidus was formally unveiled to the public and outside researchers in October....[More]
Ardipithecus, Our Last Common Link with Chimps
After some 4.4 million years in the ground—and another 15 years sequestered for close scientific scrutiny—the early human relative Ardipithecus ramidus was formally unveiled to the public and outside researchers in October. Described within a colossal 11 papers in Science, the in-depth analysis found "Ardi" to be an able upright walker and to have hands quite different from modern chimpanzees, solidifying the notion that the last common ancestor between humans and chimps looked little like either species does today.
Leaders from 193 nations gathered in the Danish capital this month to haggle over strategies to slow the warming of the planet. Despite a pre-conference release of stolen e-mails that seemed to be an attempt to derail negotiations, delegates agreed to a nonbinding accord developed by a core group of nations—including the U.S., China, India and South Africa—that, for the first time, extracts commitments from both developed and developing countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases....[More]
Copenhagen Climate Conference
Leaders from 193 nations gathered in the Danish capital this month to haggle over strategies to slow the warming of the planet. Despite a pre-conference release of stolen e-mails that seemed to be an attempt to derail negotiations, delegates agreed to a nonbinding accord developed by a core group of nations—including the U.S., China, India and South Africa—that, for the first time, extracts commitments from both developed and developing countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. Goals include cutting emissions to 50 percent of 1990 levels by 2050 and an establishment of a "climate fund" to help poorer nations, all aimed at keeping the average global temperature from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius.
Climate scientists and environmentalists say that the "Copenhagen Accord," which so far leaves out large parts of the world, falls far short of what's needed to tame climate change—a point not lost on some leaders. "Ultimately this issue is going to be dictated by the science," President Barack Obama said at a December 18 press conference. "The science indicates we are going to have to take more aggressive steps in future."
Disappointment and hope were ironically the two main reactions to the results of an AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand , announced this fall. Costing $105 million and enrolling some 16,000 subjects, the trial was the largest AIDS vaccine test to date....[More]
AIDS Vaccine Results
Disappointment and hope were ironically the two main reactions to the results of an AIDS vaccine trial in Thailand, announced this fall. Costing $105 million and enrolling some 16,000 subjects, the trial was the largest AIDS vaccine test to date. But what little protection the injections conferred, scientists have concluded, could have been statistically the result of chance.
Nevertheless, the trial has generated data that point to new avenues of investigation, and scientists have begun several experiments to put the Thai findings to work. For instance, researchers will examine trial volunteers for their immune responses and test whether subsequent booster shots can sustain any protective immune activity. Many authorities think that a vaccine is the best long-term solution to stop HIV, which infects some 7,000 people worldwide every day and 66,000 in the U.S. every year.
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The Hubble Space Telescope, one of the most productive astronomical observatories ever built, passed its 19th anniversary of reaching orbit in April, and the next month received a makeover that left the telescope looking sprightlier than ever....[More]
Hubble Servicing Mission
The Hubble Space Telescope, one of the most productive astronomical observatories ever built, passed its 19th anniversary of reaching orbit in April, and the next month received a makeover that left the telescope looking sprightlier than ever. In the course of five spacewalks from space shuttle Atlantis, the astronauts of the STS-125 mission repaired or replaced key scientific instruments as well as batteries and other mundane hardware on Hubble, leaving behind a tuned-up and enhanced observatory that NASA hopes will continue to work for five to 10 more years.
Epigenetics and the Passing of Acquired Traits to Offspring
The same year that celebrated Charles Darwin witnessed numerous reports that give a measure of credence to a scientist historically viewed as his competitor: French biologist John-Baptiste Lamarck....[More]
Epigenetics and the Passing of Acquired Traits to Offspring
The same year that celebrated Charles Darwin witnessed numerous reports that give a measure of credence to a scientist historically viewed as his competitor: French biologist John-Baptiste Lamarck. In the early 19th century Lamarck asserted that acquired characteristics can be transmitted to offspring. In this tradition, the science of epigenetics, which studies the ways genes are switched on through environmental influences (and can remain in that state over multiple generations) experienced a banner year.
In February researchers reported in The Journal of Neuroscience that exercise, social interactions and other forms of stimulation enhanced brain activity that promotes learning and memory in mice genetically engineered to have memory deficits. Offspring of these mice, moreover, experienced improved cognition through early adolescence.
A November report in the journal Endocrinology showed that the pups of pregnant mice fed a high-fat diet during pregnancy were longer than normal and insensitive to the effects of insulin, a trait that persisted into a subsequent generation.
Such persistent epigenetic changes are likely to apply to humans. Researchers have been studying how chemicals in the environment can alter epigenetic switches in our bodies and leave us vulnerable to diseases ranging from diabetes to cancer.
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Forty years after Apollo 11 first delivered humankind to the moon's surface, NASA again made headlines with a lunar mission, finally confirming the long-suspected presence of water ice deposits on the moon....[More]
Water on the Moon
Forty years after Apollo 11 first delivered humankind to the moon's surface, NASA again made headlines with a lunar mission, finally confirming the long-suspected presence of water ice deposits on the moon. The LCROSS mission slammed a spent rocket booster into a permanently shadowed polar crater in October, trailed by a shepherding spacecraft that observed the debris plume from the crash up close before plunging into the crater minutes later. Preliminary data from the spacecraft indicated roughly 95 liters of water ice in the plume. The month before LCROSS's lunar bombardment, researchers announced that they had found a much less concentrated water resource on the moon: molecular water, possibly coalescing from the solar wind, distributed across much of the lunar surface.
On May 29, the world's largest laser system was officially dedicated. Located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the stadium-size National Ignition Facility (NIF) required $3.5 billion and 12 years to build....[More]
The National Ignition Facility
On May 29, the world's largest laser system was officially dedicated. Located at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the stadium-size National Ignition Facility (NIF) required $3.5 billion and 12 years to build. Beams from 192 lasers will go past several energy-boosting "control points" over a total distance of one kilometer before converging, all within 30 trillionths of one second of one another, onto a pencil eraser–size pellet containing frozen hydrogen. The beams will heat the hydrogen to millions of degrees and trigger nuclear fusion with a net gain in energy. Actual ignition experiments begin next year.
The main mission of the NIF is to generate technical data necessary to maintain the U.S. nuclear arsenal without the actual detonation of nuclear warheads. But NIF designers also think that astrophysics studies will benefit because the system creates conditions similar to those in supernovae, black hole event horizons and the centers of gas-giant planets. And, of course, the NIF represents an enormous advance in inertial confinement fusion that could pave the way for a practical fusion reactor.
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LAWRENCE LIVERMORE NATIONAL SECURITY, LLC
Stimulus Funds for Science
The most prosaic event of 2009 may have the biggest impact. To deal with the pain of the deep recession, the U.S. committed $787 billion to jump-start the economy....[More]
Stimulus Funds for Science
The most prosaic event of 2009 may have the biggest impact. To deal with the pain of the deep recession, the U.S. committed $787 billion to jump-start the economy. Formally called the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the stimulus package sets aside a good chunk for science—some $21.5 billion for federal research and development and billions more in related infrastructure and administration. States are seeing hundreds of new grants. (Details can be seen at ScienceWorksForUS, a consortium of academic research institutions tracking stimulus spending.) Other targets for stimulus funds include various technology projects, such as boosting broadband access in the U.S. and creating a high-speed rail.
Renewable energy research is a major part of the stimulus funds, as well. And at least one benefit goes directly to individuals installing solar panels, wind turbines or other alternative-energy technology: Thanks to those funds, the federal tax credit of 30 percent of the cost of installation is no longer capped (the previous limit was $1,500).
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YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
really evolution theory was a good story , so finally this sarcasm collapsed by science. So why you insert that man made religion to other scientific developments???
truthi, You don't think clearly. How can you be so blind...open your eyes and look around...evolution is everywhere. You have to be sick not to see it. Very sorry for your type of person.
I don't understand the argument about evolution, it is an established fact that all living things evolve, whether you are virus or human. All lives are equal by the way.
Anyway, I am looking forward to hear more about the $3.5 billion laser system. Hope it'll bring about more exciting scientific discoveries.
Truthi: I can't understand your grammer. This is only partly my fault. Please do an English parse of the sentances in your submissions and submit the parses as addenda to your your submission.
Hi, to the best of my knowledge, it was not LCROSS that detected water on the moon. It was the ISRO mission Chandrayaan I that did. Could you correct this travesty of justice in your article please?
The Copenhagen meeting accomplished all it could. The warming data that was used as evidence was faulty. There is absolutely no evidence that man-made emmisions are the main cause of the warming trend that has been occurring for 10,000 years with minor spurts of cooling (such as that during the past 10 years in the U.S.). There are many causes of climate change. CO2 in the atmosphere is only one cause. A more significant cause of greenhouse gas is water vapor. Methane is also a major contributor. The driving force for change is the sun. It always has been and always will be. The sun drives the atmosphere, the ocean circulations patterns in conjunction with the position of the continents, and goes through many cycles of energy output. A greater concern to mankind should be the acidification of the oceans and its affect on the food chain rather than increases in worldwide temperatures. Although parts of the Antarctic ice sheet are shrinking, other parts are growing and sea level has not changed significantly for hundreds of years. Sea level has changed quickly many times in the geologic past with temperature fluctuations much greater than what we currently record. In conclusion, the Copenhagen meeting was an attempt by poor countries to fleese the rich countries of capital and independence in an attempt to create a world government. The socialist/communist trending government in the U.S. is falling right into the hands of these misfits.
12. Creationalist
in reply to Bops12:53 PM 12/29/09
You are so blind to anything contravening your beliefs. Look around you and you see only CREATION not evolution as you say. You are like many who find an arrow shaped flint and say, "Oh, we've found an old weapon!" But when you see a beautiful blue planet you refuse to admit it was created. Creationalist, Cambridge, England. G6YHF@YAHOO.CO.UK
Consider the water molecules found on the moon and the ignition project at Lawrence Livermore. By separting the hydrogen from the oxygen on the moon you would have a power source for and stations built on the moon.
i THINK PEOPLE LIKE THAT "TRUTHI" ARE LIVING PROOF OF EVOLUTION. ONLY, THEY ARE LEFTOVERS OF HOPLESS, DEAD BRANCHES OF IT. (in other terms: the exception that proves the rule). gerardcrow
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18 Comments
Add Comment#9 A 3.5 billion dollar pencil?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisreally evolution theory was a good story , so finally this sarcasm collapsed by science. So why you insert that man made religion to other scientific developments???
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisgood luck explaining endogenous retroviral insertions without evolution
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisin the future, please spare us your propaganda
yes your are right, evolution is pure propaganda for keeping top of pyramid
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thistruthi,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYou don't think clearly. How can you be so blind...open your eyes and look around...evolution is everywhere. You have to be sick not to see it. Very sorry for your type of person.
I don't understand the argument about evolution, it is an established fact that all living things evolve, whether you are virus or human. All lives are equal by the way.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnyway, I am looking forward to hear more about the $3.5 billion laser system. Hope it'll bring about more exciting scientific discoveries.
We can compare previous years to see development on science. But when we compare with spices we see anything changed.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI think that the supermassive black hole behind Sagittarius A (Sgr A*) and the stars rapidly orbiting it is the best story of the year.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTruthi:
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI can't understand your grammer. This is only partly my fault. Please do an English parse of the sentances in your submissions and submit the parses as addenda to your your submission.
Hi, to the best of my knowledge, it was not LCROSS that detected water on the moon. It was the ISRO mission Chandrayaan I that did. Could you correct this travesty of justice in your article please?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisThe Copenhagen meeting accomplished all it could. The warming data that was used as evidence was faulty. There is absolutely no evidence that man-made emmisions are the main cause of the warming trend that has been occurring for 10,000 years with minor spurts of cooling (such as that during the past 10 years in the U.S.). There are many causes of climate change. CO2 in the atmosphere is only one cause. A more significant cause of greenhouse gas is water vapor. Methane is also a major contributor. The driving force for change is the sun. It always has been and always will be. The sun drives the atmosphere, the ocean circulations patterns in conjunction with the position of the continents, and goes through many cycles of energy output. A greater concern to mankind should be the acidification of the oceans and its affect on the food chain rather than increases in worldwide temperatures. Although parts of the Antarctic ice sheet are shrinking, other parts are growing and sea level has not changed significantly for hundreds of years.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSea level has changed quickly many times in the geologic past with temperature fluctuations much greater than what we currently record. In conclusion, the Copenhagen meeting was an attempt by poor countries to fleese the rich countries of capital and independence in an attempt to create a world government.
The socialist/communist trending government in the U.S. is falling right into the hands of these misfits.
You are so blind to anything contravening your beliefs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLook around you and you see only CREATION not evolution as you say. You are like many who find an arrow shaped flint and say, "Oh, we've found an old weapon!" But when you see a beautiful blue planet you refuse to admit it was created.
Creationalist, Cambridge, England.
G6YHF@YAHOO.CO.UK
Hey, what about the sequencing of the Neanderthal genome??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisHey, and the draft sequencing of the Neanderthal genome??
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisConsider the water molecules found on the moon and the ignition project at Lawrence Livermore. By separting the hydrogen from the oxygen on the moon you would have a power source for and stations built on the moon.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisA.W. Glaze
I think that people like that "truthi" are the living proof of (our) evolution. Only, they are the hopless, dead branches of it.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisgerard
i THINK PEOPLE LIKE THAT "TRUTHI" ARE LIVING PROOF OF EVOLUTION. ONLY, THEY ARE LEFTOVERS OF HOPLESS, DEAD BRANCHES OF IT. (in other terms: the exception that proves the rule).
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisgerardcrow
Could it be that truthi's inability to spell or create a meaningfull sentence is shared by most people who don't believe in evolution?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this