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78 articles from SUNDAY 24.6.2012
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SUNDAY 24. JUNE, 2012
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23:30
Starwatch: The July night sky
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23:30
The study of our permanent flora would be much simpler if we knew the historical origin of all our plants
The sender of some flowers of the henbane, gathered at Rhos-on-Sea, comments upon the fact that the plant grows in profusion near the sites of old monastic houses in that neighbourhood, where along with other medicinal plants, it was formerly cultivated by the monks. I noticed it myself not long ago near the ruins of Penmon Priory. It might be added that it is found in and about the ruins of castles, where its narcotic properties may have been used for other than medicinal purposes. In some localities the interesting but evil-smelling henbane may be truly native; it has, for instance, been known for very many years along the Cheshire shore; but there is no doubt that in many places it is a relic of former cultivation. Some botanists sneer at those who constantly report the appearance of alien plants on sandhills, rubbish heaps, or in spots where they have strayed from gardens. But our permanent flora now includes an immense number of plants which at first found their way here by more or less artificial means; the study of geographical distribution would be much simpler if we knew the historical origin of all our plants. If the alien plant vanishes for ever after its first appearance the record has little value, but if, as frequently happens, it establishes itself, the knowledge of where it first appeared and whence it came is of great importance.
guardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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22:00
Roger Schafir (Letters, 22 June) is unfair to Alan Turing on several counts. Turing's 1936 proof that there are uncomputable statements is quite independent of Gödel's 1931 proof that arithmetic is not self-consistent. Both theorems are of profound philosophical significance, showing that the foundations of mathematics are built on clay.
Turing's 1936 paper also invented the concept of the universal computing machine, and in 1950, having laid down the design of the first full implementation of this, ACE, he addressed the question of how we would decide if a computer is intelligent. Because there is no possible logical test, Turing's test is indeed sociological, that the machine's replies to questions can not be distinguished from those of a human being by other human interrogators. While no computer has come close to passing this test, computers have become pretty good chess players and played a key part in the proof of major mathematical theorems like Fermat's last theorem and the four-colour theorem. They may not think, but they're pretty damned smart.
Turing led the team that broke the Enigma code, and it's been estimated that this shortened the second world war by two years. He deserves our admiration and it is tragic that he died unknown to the general public.
Prof Michael Rowan-Robinson
Imperial College, London• Further to Saturday's cryptic crossword and the Turing centenary, the true reject now seems to be Post Office engineer Thomas Flowers. Working class, possibly of Jewish extraction and not from a top university, he was never one of the in-crowd, but it was his obsessive enthusiasm and knowhow that made electronic computers a viable proposition?
Eva Lawrence
St Albans, Hertfordshireguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds
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22:00
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21:59
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21:24
See the Big Dipper in the Summer Night Sky
The celestial pattern of seven stars is one of the most prominent and recognizable in the sky. -
20:24
Climate change and the South Asian summer monsoon
The vagaries of South Asian summer monsoon rainfall impact the lives of more than one billion people. A review in Nature Climate Change (June 24 online issue) of over 100 recent research articles concludes that with continuing rise in CO2 and global warming, the region can expect generally more rainfall, due to the expected increase in atmospheric moisture, as well as more variability in rainfall. -
20:24Normally a material can be either magnetically or electrically polarized, but not both. Now researchers at the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen have studied a material that is simultaneously magnetically and electrically polarizable. This opens up new possibilities, for example, for sensors in technology of the future. The results have been published in the scientific journal, Nature Materials.
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20:24In what may prove to be a significant boon for industry, separating mixtures of liquids or gasses has just become considerably easier.
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20:24The Royal Bank of Scotland, Ulster Bank and NatWest were to take the unusual move of opening 1,200 branches on Sunday after a computer glitch hit millions of customers.
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20:24(AP) The more we study animals, the less special we seem. Baboons can distinguish between written words and gibberish. Monkeys seem to be able to do multiplication. Apes can delay instant gratification longer than a human child can. They plan ahead. They make war and peace. They show empathy. They share.
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20:24The study is the first to give a comprehensive projection for this long perspective, based on observed sea-level rise over the past millennium, as well as on scenarios for future greenhouse-gas emissions.
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19:50
Faster, cheaper gas and liquid separation using custom designed and built mesoscopic structures
In what may prove to be a significant boon for industry, separating mixtures of liquids or gasses has just become considerably easier. Using a new process they describe as "reverse fossilization," scientists have succeeded in creating custom designed porous substances capable of low cost, high efficiency separation.
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19:50Want to nail that tune that you've practiced and practiced? Maybe you should take a nap with the same melody playing during your sleep, new provocative research suggests. The research grows out of exciting existing evidence that suggests that memories can be reactivated during sleep and storage of them can be strengthened in the process.
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19:49With the development of a cell-free, biodegradable artery graft comes a potentially transformative change in coronary artery bypass surgeries: Within 90 days after surgery, the patient will have a regenerated artery with no trace of synthetic graft materials left in the body.
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19:49Boosting a protein pathway in the body's blood making system protects mice from otherwise fatal radiation poisoning. Scientists say their findings open the potential for new treatments against radiation toxicity during cancer treatment or environmental exposures -- such as in a nuclear explosion or accident.
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19:49A structure deep within the brain, believed to play an important role in regulating conscious control of goal-directed behavior, helps to optimize behavioral responses by predicting how difficult upcoming tasks will be.
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19:49The vagaries of South Asian summer monsoon rainfall impact the lives of more than one billion people. This review of the most recent research concludes that with continued rise in CO2 the region can expect generally more rainfall due to the expected increase in atmospheric moisture stemming from global warming, as well as more variability in rainfall. Regional projections for devastating droughts and floods, however, are still beyond the reach of current climate models.
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19:49Normally a material can be either magnetically or electrically polarized, but not both. Now researchers have studied a material that is simultaneously magnetically and electrically polarizable. This opens up new possibilities, for example, for sensors in technology of the future.
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19:49Researchers have zeroed in on a set of neurons in the part of the brain that controls hunger, and found that these neurons are not only associated with overeating, but also linked to non-food associated behaviors, like novelty-seeking and drug addiction.
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19:49Even if global warming is limited to two degrees Celsius, global-mean sea level could continue to rise, reaching between 1.5 and four meters above present-day levels by the year 2300, with the best estimate being at 2.7 meters, according to a new study. However, emissions reductions that allow warming to drop below 1.5 degrees Celsius could limit the rise strongly.
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19:48The blood-brain barrier may be poised to give up some of its secrets as researchers have created in the laboratory dish the cells that make up the brain’s protective barrier. The researchers describe transforming stem cells into endothelial cells with blood-brain barrier qualities.
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19:48Scientists say de novo somatic mutations in a trio of genes that help regulate cell size and proliferation are likely culprits for causing hemimegalencephaly, though perhaps not the only ones.
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19:48The use of genome-wide array analysis in parents whose children are suspected of having a genetic disease shows that the parents frequently also have previously undetected genetic abnormalities, a researcher said. Being aware of this is important to parents because it means that their risk of having another affected child is significantly increased.
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19:23
Sea rise faster on East Coast than rest of globe
From Cape Hatteras, N.C., to just north of Boston, sea levels are rising much faster than they are around the globe, putting one of the world's most costly coasts in danger of flooding, government researchers report.
Naposledy aktualizované zdroje
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National Geographic News (dnes, 15:17)
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BBC Science/Nature (dnes, 12:44)
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Technology Review Feed - Tech Review Top Stories (dnes, 06:23)
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ScienceNOW (dnes, 00:24)
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NASA (24. 5, 23:17)
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CBC - Technology & Science News (24. 5, 22:19)
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Sci-Tech Today (24. 5, 20:47)
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NYT > Science (24. 5, 17:19)
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EurekAlert (24. 5, 06:00)
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TIME (27. 7, 08:30)
