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168,089 articles from ScienceDaily

NASA Report Explores Use Of Earth Data To Support National U.S. Priorities

The United States faces challenges in utilizing Earth science information to manage resources and protect public health, according to a NASA-sponsored report issued by the U.S. Climate Change Science Program. The report examines the computer-based decision support tools that many government agencies use to make predictions and forecasts in areas such as agricultural productivity, air quality,...

Engineers Develop Laser Solution To Power Plants Slowed By Slagging

The system relies on laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy to provide instant analysis of the elemental composition of coal as it is being burned. LIBS was developed by engineers at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., and at the Energy Research Company in Staten Island, N.Y. Slagging and related problems cost coal-fired power plants an estimated $2.4 billion each...

Beautiful Death: Halos Of Planetary Nebulae Revealed

Stars without enough mass to turn into exploding supernovae end their lives blowing away most of their mass in a non-explosive, but intense stellar wind. Only a hot stellar core remains in the form of a white dwarf; the rest of the star is dispersed into the interstellar medium, enriching it with chemically processed elements, such as carbon, that is found in all living organisms on Earth. These...

How To Differentiate Benign From Malignant Bile Duct Strictures?

The differentiation of benign and malignant strictures is difficult. Recently, a group of clinical specialists in Netherlands attempted to find possible criteria for differentiation of malignant from benign bile duct strictures. They found that except for vascular involvement which was associated significantly with malignancy, there were no conclusive features of malignancy on regular imaging...

Remote Brainwaves Predict Future 'Eureka' Moment

The brain mechanism underlying the eureka or "ah-ha" moment is poorly understood. What happens in the brain during that particular moment? Is that moment purely sudden as often reported by the solver or is there any (neural) precursor to it? Can we predict whether and when, if at all, the solver will hit upon the final eureka moment? New research addresses these questions by measuring brainwaves...

Air Pollution Can Hinder Heart's Electrical Functioning

Tiny particles of air pollution and black carbon, a marker for traffic exhaust fumes, may adversely affect heart function among heart attack survivors. Researchers say people with recent heart attacks and even healthy people should avoid being around heavy traffic after hospital...

70 Years Old And Going Strong With Down Syndrome And No Dementia

In the world of Down syndrome, 'Mr. C' is a rarity. A real person whose progress has been tracked for the past 16 years, at seventy, 'Mr. C' has well surpassed the average life expectancy of a person with Down syndrome, currently in the late fifties, but in the teens when 'Mr. C' was born. Further, 'Mr. C' does not exhibit clinical symptoms of Alzheimer's...


THURSDAY 11. SEPTEMBER 2008


Real-world Behavior And Biases Show Up In Virtual World

Americans are spending increasing amounts of time hanging around virtual worlds in the forms of cartoon-like avatars that change appearances according to users' wills, fly through floating cities in the clouds and teleport instantly to glowing crystal canyons and starlit desert landscapes. Simply fun and games? A new study shows that avatars responded to social cues -- and revealed racial biases...