Top Ten Dinosaur and Fossil Finds: Most Viewed of 2009

Large, “lost,” or simply unusual, a bevy of prehistoric beasts were brought to life in National Geographic News’s most popular paleontology stories of the year.

10. Biggest Trilobite Sea Beasts Found … in SwarmsThe “remarkable,” yard-long, horseshoe crab-like arthropods roamed in swarms of up to a thousand animals, a May study suggests.

9. “Lost World” of Dinosaurs Survived Mass Extinction?An isolated group of dinosaurs may have outlived their doomed relatives by as much as half a million years, an April study suggested.

8. A Third of Dinosaur Species Never Existed?Young dinosaurs weren’t Mini-Me versions of their parents, evidence presented in October suggests—meaning that up to a third of dinosaur species may be misidentified.

7. Tiny “T. Rex” Found —150-Pound Species Came FirstNo heavier than a small man, Raptorex was Mini-Me to T. rex’s dinosaur Dr. Evil. But in this case, the tiny gave rise to the titanic, researchers said in September. • See pictures

6. Five “Oddball” Crocs Discovered, Including Dinosaur-EaterA “saber-toothed cat in armor” and a pancake-shaped predator are among five strange, dinosaur-era crocodile cousins discovered in the Sahara, archaeologists announced in November. Meet BoarCroc, PancakeCroc, DuckCroc, RatCroc, and DogCroc. • See pictures

5. AUSTRALIA DINOSAUR PICTURES: 3 New Species FoundFossils of a ferocious predator and two giant plant-eaters, named for an Aussie poet and his creations, have been unearthed in the outback, paleontologists announced in July.

4. NEW FOSSIL PHOTOS: “Graceful Weasel,” Jewel Bug, MoreA long-legged mammal, a sharp-toothed rodent, and an iridescent beetle are among the more than 6,500 Eocene-epoch fossils unearthed in Germany’s Messel Pit, scientists announced in August.

3. Biggest Snake Discovered; Was Longer Than a Bus The 60-million-year-old reptile was also heavier than a car, scientists said in February, adding that the fossil could shed light on climate change. • See pictures

2. Oldest Skeleton of Human Ancestor Found There was never a chimp-like missing link between humans and today’s apes, according to an October fossil-skeleton study that could rewrite human evolutionary history. Said one scientist, “It changes everything.” • See pictures

1. “Missing Link” Found: Fossil Connects Humans, Lemurs? The 47-million-year-old, exceptionally preserved primate fossil “Ida,” unveiled on May 20, was hailed by some as a major discovery in human evolution.The publicity frenzy made National Geographic News’s brief coverage our most viewed page of the year—and inspired a backlash as some experts, including one here at Nat Geo HQ, suggested Ida was more media event than milestone.

MORE MOST-VIEWED OF 2009
• Top Ten Discoveries of 2009: Nat Geo News’s Most Viewed
• Top Ten Photo Galleries of 2009: Nat Geo News’s Most Viewed
• Top Ten Space Finds of 2009: Nat Geo News’s Most Viewed
• Top Ten Archaeology Finds: Most Viewed of 2009
• Top New Species of 2009: Nat Geo News’s Most Viewed
• Top Ten Videos of 2009: Nat Geo News’s Most Watched

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091222-top-ten-dinosaurs-2009-fossils.html

LED traffic lights reduce electricity costs, but they can’t melt snow

Posted by hipstomp

Years ago I worked in an office where the oversized computers we used to run EMS CAD software ran so hot that they provided enough heat to fill the room in the winter, making the office pleasantly toasty.

Another old device that generated plenty of excess heat was traffic lights with incandescent bulbs. But it turns out, as snowbound municipalities are just now discovering, that that excess heat was very useful for melting accumulated snow. Now that everyone’s switched over to cooler-running LEDs, snow tends to pile up and obscure the lights, leading to a situation that’s annoying at best and dangerous at worst.

For now, local governments are coping by sending crews out in snowstorms to clean the lights off with compressed air and brushes, as no one’s yet stepped forth with a design-related fix.

And as the mercury continues to drop, I wish I had some of those old EMS boxes in my apartment right now–when it gets chilly in here I could run CAD, ask the machine to calculate a volume, then sit back and enjoy a blast of warm BTUs.

via autoblog

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/led_traffic_lights_reduce_electricity_costs_but_they_cant_melt_snow_15592.asp

Carbon Motors’ designs on a purpose-built police car survive the recession

Posted by hipstomp

“It’s got a cop motor…cop tires, cop suspension, cop shocks, it was a model made before catalytic converters so it’ll run good on regular gas.”

It’s been many years since Elwood Blues launched his 1974 Dodge Monaco police cruiser across Chicago’s 95th Street drawbridge and assorted police cruisers to impress his brother. In that time, automakers have continued doing what they did with the Bluesmobile: Ruggedizing existing stock cars into police-ready packages.

When news broke last year of Carbon Motors, a company that would build police-specific vehicles from the ground up rather than retrofitting “cop shocks” et al, we thought for sure that such an ambitious undertaking would die in the recession; so we were surprised to read, just this morning, that a deal for Carbon Motors’ proposed plant in Indiana is actually underway. And the Connersville location, a state and 250 miles away from Chicago, should be far enough from any Illinois Nazis to stay out of trouble.

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/carbon_motors_designs_on_a_purpose-built_police_car_survive_the_recession_15578.asp

California cops testing out head-mounted cameras

Posted by hipstomp

The Taser AXON is a “tactical networkable computer” that consists of a camera/microphone unit, a control unit and a small belt-mounted computer. Cops in California’s San Jose, beleaguered by charges of police brutality, has begun outfitting officers with the over-the-ear cameras in a trial launched last week, the first of its kind in the U.S.

In the pilot project, officers have been directed to switch on the camera as they are about to contact a civilian. The cameras, equipped with an audio recorder, align with the officer’s vision, and can be later switched to standby mode.Afterward, the officer can switch the camera to a “buffer” mode, where it still records limited segments of video, and a nonrecord mode. The officer may review the tape at any time, but it may not be erased. At the end of the shift, the device’s memory is downloaded onto a central server.

…Although officers are already bearing vests, weapons and radios, most of them welcome adding a camera to record their actions, [Police Chief Rob] Davis said. In addition, he said, “We’re making it so it has cachet.”

http://www.core77.com/blog/object_culture/cali_cops_testing_out_head-mounted_cameras_15575.asp

Giant Carp, 100 pounds, Could Devastate Great Lakes

CARPAL TUNNEL: Asian carp have been moving into the Great Lakes via the Mississippi and Illinois rivers. ISTOCKPHOTO/ENJOYLIFE2

Electrocution, poison no match for invader

By Taryn Luntz

Michigan has taken its fight against invasive Asian carp to the U.S. Supreme Court, suing Illinois to force the closure of Chicago-area waterways that provide the fish a pathway to the Great Lakes.

Experts fear that the invasive carp, which have been traveling up the Mississippi and Illinois rivers for decades, will devastate the $7 billion Great Lakes fisheries. The 100-pound fish have voracious appetites and rapid reproduction rates that could ravage native lake species.

Michigan’s lawsuit asks the high court to immediately close the O’Brien Lock and Dam in the Calumet-Sag Channel and the Chicago Controlling Works in the Illinois River, a stopgap measure aimed at keeping the fish at bay.

But the state also has asked the court to permanently sever the man-made link between the Mississippi River and the Great Lakes, a move long urged by environmental groups and opposed by the shipping industry.

“The actions of Illinois and federal authorities have not been enough to assure us the Lakes are safe,” Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox (R) said yesterday in a news release. “That’s why the waterways must be shut down until we are assured that Michigan will be protected.”

The lawsuit follows tests last month that showed the carp may have crossed an electric fish barrier on the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal that is meant to halt their advance, putting them within 6 miles of Lake Michigan.

Earlier this month, officials poisoned a 6-mile stretch of the canal to kill off the carp while the electric barrier was down for routine maintenance. The operation netted one Asian carp, discovered Dec. 3 just above the Lockport Lock and Dam, below the electric barrier.

Michigan’s suit attempts to reopen a century-old case spurred when Chicago reversed the flow of the Chicago River to direct its sewage flow toward the Mississippi River.

Noah Hall, a professor at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit, said the court is much more likely to take an existing case than a new one and that Michigan has a strong chance of prevailing if the case does move forward.

“This is not political grandstanding or some kind of publicity stunt,” Hall said. “This is a very solid case.”

The court likely would weigh the economic consequences for the shipping industry of closing the locks against the economic impacts of allowing the carp to enter the Great Lakes, which are projected to be much larger, Hall said.

The court’s ruling on the preliminary injunction, which could come as soon as next week or early January, will hint how it views the larger case, Hall said.

Reprinted from Greenwire with permission from Environment & Energy Publishing, LLC. www.eenews.net, 202-628-6500

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=asian-carp-invasive-michigan-great-lakes-mississippi-river

Sony Ships Reader Daily Edition To Rival Nook And Kindle

by Shawn Oliver

Remember Sony’s Reader Daily Edition? Sure you do. It just went up for pre-order around a month ago, and now Sony’s biggest Kindle rival finally has a shot at dethroning the king. Yes, these units have finally started to ship, but honestly it may be a bit late to take advantage of the holiday shopping crowd.

The good news is that pre-orders placed through Sony’s own site through December 20th should get their units before Christmas, but everyone else will likely have to wrap an IOU and hope that goes over well. It’s tough to judge just how in-demand this unit will be; Barnes & Noble’s Nook seems to have the buzz going its direction, with many pre-order participants having to receive a $100 “oops” payment for not meeting the original pre-Christmas shipping deadline.

Oh well, if you’re fuming, at least the Daily Edition will be sitting out there just begging for your business.

Key Facts

•           The new Reader Daily Edition is now shipping and pre-orders placed on SonyStyle.com through December 20 should begin arriving to customers’ homes before Christmas.

•           The Reader Daily Edition provides wireless access to Sony’s Reader Store from most of the U.S.

•           Wireless access is provided by AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network.

•           The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times, Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune are currently available on the Reader Daily Edition.

•           Sony has agreements in place with a host of additional magazine and newspaper publishers that will be available soon

•           The Reader Daily Edition’s seven-inch wide, full touch screen display provides intuitive navigation and comfortable layout of content, including newspapers and magazines, in portrait or landscape orientation.

For more details on the Reader Daily Edition please visit www.sonystyle.com; Sony’s online destination for book lovers – wordsmoveme.com; or the Sony Electronics Community, which includes a corporate blog, video, photos, polls and profiles.

http://hothardware.com/News/Sony-Ships-Reader-Daily-Edition-To-Rival-Nook-And-Kindle/

Next-Generation Lens Promises Wider View, Greater Detail

A close-up view of the new lens. (Credit: Duke University Photography)

Duke University engineers have created a new generation of lens that could greatly improve the capabilities of telecommunications or radar systems to provide a wide field of view and greater detail.

But the lens they fashioned doesn’t look anything like a lens. While traditional lenses are made of clear substances — like glass or plastic — with highly polished surfaces, the new lens looks more like a miniature set of tan Venetian blinds. Yet its ability to focus the direction of electromagnetic rays passing through it dramatically surpasses that of a conventional lens, the engineers say.

The latest advance was made possible by the ability to fabricate exotic composite materials known as metamaterials. The metamaterial in these experiments is not so much a single substance, but the entire man-made structure which can be engineered to exhibit properties not readily found in nature.

The prototype lens, which measures four inches by five inches and less than an inch high, is made up of more than 1,000 individual pieces of the same fiberglass material used in circuit boards and is etched with copper. It is the precise arrangement of these pieces in parallel rows, that directs the rays as they pass through.

“For hundreds of years, lens makers have ground the surfaces of a uniform material in such a way as to sculpt the rays as they pass through the surfaces,” said Nathan Kundtz, post-doctoral associate in electrical and computer engineering at Duke’s Pratt School of Engineering. “While these lenses can focus rays extremely efficiently, they have limitations based on what happens to the rays as they pass through the volume of the lens.

“Instead of using the surfaces of the lens to control rays, we studied altering the material between the surfaces,” Kundtz said. “If you can control the volume, or bulk, of the lens, you gain much more freedom and control to design a lens to meet specific needs.”

The results of his experiments, which were conducted in the laboratory of senior researcher David R. Smith, the William Bevan Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, appeared as an advanced online publication of the journal Nature Materials. This is the first demonstration of what was thought to be theoretically possible.

Recognizing the limitations of traditional lenses, scientists have long been investigating other options, including those known as gradient index (GRIN) lenses. These are typically clear spheres, and while they have advantages over traditional lenses, they are difficult to fabricate and the focus point is spherical. Additionally, because most sensing systems are oriented in two dimensions, the spherical image doesn’t always translate clearly on a flat surface.

The new lens, however, has a wide angle of view, almost 180 degrees, and because its focal point is flat, it can be used with standard imaging technologies. The latest experiments were conducted with microwaves, and the researchers say it is theoretically possible to design lenses for wider frequencies.

“We’ve come up with what is in essence GRIN on steroids,” said Smith, whose team used similar metamaterials to create one of the first “cloaking” devices in 2006. “This first in a new class of lenses offers tantalizing possibilities and opens a whole new application for metamaterials.

“While these experiments were conducted in two dimensions, the design should provide a good initial step in developing a three-dimensional lens,” Smith said. “The properties of the metamaterials we used should also make it possible to use infrared and optical frequencies.”

The researchers say a single metamaterial lens could replace traditional optical systems requiring vast arrays of lenses and provide clearer images. They could also be used in large-scale systems such as radar arrays to better direct beams, a task not possible for traditional lenses, which would need to be too large to be practical.

The research was supported by the Army Research Office’s Multiple University Research Initiative (MURI).

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by Duke University, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091220143915.htm

Faster, Cheaper DNA Sequencing Method Devised

A team of researchers led by Boston University biomedical engineer Amit Meller is using electrical fields to efficiently draw long strands of DNA through nanopore sensors, drastically reducing the number of DNA copies required for a high throughput analysis. (Credit: Figure copyright, Nature Nanotechnology, 2009)

Boston University biomedical engineers have devised a method for making future genome sequencing faster and cheaper by dramatically reducing the amount of DNA required, thus eliminating the expensive, time-consuming and error-prone step of DNA amplification.

In a study published in the Dec. 20 online edition of Nature Nanotechnology, a team led by Boston University Biomedical Engineering Associate Professor Amit Meller details pioneering work in detecting DNA molecules as they pass through silicon nanopores. The technique uses electrical fields to feed long strands of DNA through four-nanometer-wide pores, much like threading a needle. The method uses sensitive electrical current measurements to detect single DNA molecules as they pass through the nanopores.

“The current study shows that we can detect a much smaller amount of DNA sample than previously reported,” said Meller. “When people start to implement genome sequencing or genome profiling using nanopores, they could use our nanopore capture approach to greatly reduce the number of copies used in those measurements.”

Currently, genome sequencing utilizes DNA amplification to make billions of molecular copies in order to produce a sample large enough to be analyzed. In addition to the time and cost DNA amplification entails, some of the molecules — like photocopies of photocopies — come out less than perfect. Meller and his colleagues at BU, New York University and Bar-Ilan University in Israel have harnessed electrical fields surrounding the mouths of the nanopores to attract long, negatively charged strands of DNA and slide them through the nanopore where the DNA sequence can be detected. Since the DNA is drawn to the nanopores from a distance, far fewer copies of the molecule are needed.

Before creating this new method, the team had to develop an understanding of electro-physics at the nanoscale, where the rules that govern the larger world don’t necessarily apply. They made a counterintuitive discovery: the longer the DNA strand, the more quickly it found the pore opening.

“That’s really surprising,” Meller said. “You’d expect that if you have a longer ’spaghetti,’ then finding the end would be much harder. At the same time this discovery means that the nanopore system is optimized for the detection of long DNA strands — tens of thousands basepairs, or even more. This could dramatically speed future genomic sequencing by allowing analysis of a long DNA strand in one swipe, rather than having to assemble results from many short snippets.

“DNA amplification technologies limit DNA molecule length to under a thousand basepairs,” Meller added. “Because our method avoids amplification, it not only reduces the cost, time and error rate of DNA replication techniques, but also enables the analysis of very long strands of DNA, much longer than current limitations.”

With this knowledge in hand, Meller and his team set out to optimize the effect. They used salt gradients to alter the electrical field around the pores, which increased the rate at which DNA molecules were captured and shortened the lag time between molecules, thus reducing the quantity of DNA needed for accurate measurements. Rather than floating around until they happened upon a nanopore, DNA strands were funneled into the openings.

By boosting capture rates by a few orders of magnitude, and reducing the volume of the sample chamber the researchers reduced the number of DNA molecules required by a factor of 10,000 — from about 1 billion sample molecules to 100,000.

The research was funded by the National Human Genome Research Institute of the Institutes of Health and by the National Science Foundation.

Story Source:

Adapted from materials provided by Boston University College of Engineering, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

---

Journal Reference:

1. . Electrostatic Focusing of Unlabelled DNA into Nanoscale Pores Using a Salt Gradient. Nature Nanotechnology, Online December 21, 2009 DOI: 10.1038/natureNNANO.2009.379

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/12/091220143923.htm

On health-care bill, Democratic senators are in states of denial

By Dana Milbank

Tuesday, December 22, 2009

Formally, it is known as H.R. 3590, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. But this week, it has acquired an unhelpful nickname: “Cash for Cloture.”

As Senate Democrats finally complete their health-care legislation, those combing through the bill have uncovered many backroom deals that were made to buy, er, secure the 60 votes needed to “invoke cloture” — the legislative term for cutting off debate and holding a final vote.

It will take years to see how well the measure reduces costs and expands insurance coverage. But already, the bill has been a bonanza for wordsmiths.

First there was the “Louisiana Purchase,” $100 million in extra Medicaid money for the Bayou State, requested by Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.).

Then came the “Cornhusker Kickback,” another $100 million in extra Medicaid money, this time for Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.).

This was followed by word that Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) had written into the legislation $100 million meant for a medical center in his state. This one was quickly dubbed the “U Con.”

Earlier, when GOP staff member mistakenly thought the medical center was destined for Indiana rather than Connecticut, they named it the “Bayh Off” for Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.).

For Democratic leaders, this created an appearance problem. Fortunately, they had removed from the bill the tax on cosmetic procedures (the “Botax”) and replaced it with a tax on tanning (which would primarily impact House Minority Leader John Boehner of Ohio).

“I don’t know if there is a senator that doesn’t have something in this bill that was important to them,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) reasoned when asked at a news conference Monday about the cash-for-cloture accusation. “And if they don’t have something in it important to them, then it doesn’t speak well of them.”

Indeed, the proliferation of deals has outpaced the ability of Capitol Hill cynics to name them.

Gator Aid: Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.) inserted a grandfather clause that would allow Floridians to preserve their pricey Medicare Advantage program.

Handout Montana: Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.) secured Medicare coverage for anybody exposed to asbestos — as long as they worked in a mine in Libby, Mont.

Article Continues – http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/12/21/AR2009122102861.html?hpid=topnews

Venomous Dinosaur Discovered–Shocked Prey Like Snake?

Brian Handwerk
for National Geographic News

December 21, 2009

Jurassic Park was packed with pseudo-science, but one of its fictions may have accidentally anticipated a dinosaur discovery announced today—venomous raptors.

Though a far cry from the movie’s venom-spitting Dilophosaurus, the 125-million-year-old Sinornithosaurus may have attacked like today’s rear-fanged snakes, a new study suggests.

Rear-fanged snakes don’t inject venom. Instead, the toxin flows down a telltale groove in a fang’s surface and into the bite wound, inducing a state of shock.

In Sinornithosaurus fossils, researchers discovered an intriguing pocket, possibly for a venom gland, connected to the base of a fang by a long groove, which likely housed a venom duct, the study says. Sinornithosaurus fangs also feature snakelike grooves in their surfaces.

“The ductwork leading out of the venom gland gave the venom a way to travel to the base of the teeth, where the venom welled up in the grooves,” said study co-author paleontologist David Burnham of the University of Kansas Natural History Museum and Biodiversity Research Center.

“So when they sank their teeth into tissue of the victim, it allowed the venom, which was really enhanced saliva, to get into the wound.”

Dinosaur’s Venom Stupified Prey?

Turkey-size Sinornithosaurus, which likely had feathers, lived in the forests of what’s now northeastern China, and was a member of the family Dromaeosauridae, as was another Jurassic Park baddie, Velociraptor. Birdlike Sinornithosaurus probably used its longish fangs to put the bite on prehistoric birds, Burnham said.

Like rear-fanged snakes and some lizards, the dinosaur probably had nonfatal venom that could shock its victims into a defenseless stupor—allowing Sinornithosaurus to eat in peace.

Dragons, Dinosaurs, and Venom’s Shadowy Past

Burnham’s research was inspired by the 2000 find of another possibly venomous dinosaur fang and by a recent discovery that the today’s top lizard predator, the Komodo dragon, has a venomous bite that weakens victims so they can be eaten later.

Though believed to have descended from dinosaurs like Sinornithosaurus, today’s birds are toothless and so lack a venom delivery system (though some birds do have toxic skin and feathers).

But Burnham is more interested in where Sinornithosaurus’ venom ability came from than how it evolved.

“How primitive is venom really? Does it go all the way back to the archosaurs?” he said, referring to reptiles thought to have predated dinosaurs by 30 million years or more. “These are things people haven’t really tested yet.”

Findings to be published tomorrow in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/12/091221-venomous-dinosaur-venom-dinosaurs-snakes.html