http://www.physorg.com/ en-us Physorg.com internet news portal provides the latest news on science including: Physics, Nanotechnology, Life Sciences, Space Science, Earth Science, Environment, Health and Medicine. We've all experienced the feeling of not knowing where we are. Being disoriented is not pleasant, and it can even be scary, but luckily for most of us, this sensation is temporary. The brain employs a number of tricks to reorient us, keeping our confusion to a minimum and quickly pointing us in the right direction. Research has suggested that animals and young children mainly rely on geometric cues (e.g. lengths, distances, angles) to help them get reoriented. http://www.physorg.com/news150739570.html Medicine & Health Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:06:10 EST news150739570 Now, a pair of Scripps Research Institute scientists has taken a significant step toward answering that question. The scientists have synthesized for the first time RNA enzymes that can replicate themselves without the help of any proteins or other cellular components, and the process proceeds indefinitely. http://www.physorg.com/news150739469.html Chemistry Fri, 09 Jan 2009 16:04:29 EST news150739469 (PhysOrg.com) -- If you think you know what science is and how science works, think again. A new University of California, Berkeley, Web site called "Understanding Science" paints an entirely new picture of what science is and how science is done, showing it to be a dynamic and creative process rather than the linear - and frequently boring - process depicted in most textbooks. http://www.physorg.com/news150730593.html Other Sciences Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:36:33 EST news150730593 (PhysOrg.com) -- NASA and the National Science Foundation have successfully launched and demonstrated a newly designed super pressure balloon prototype that may enable a new era of high-altitude scientific research. The super-pressure balloon ultimately will carry large scientific experiments to the brink of space for 100 days or more. http://www.physorg.com/news150728447.html Space & Earth Fri, 09 Jan 2009 13:00:47 EST news150728447 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using cancer cells that were originally isolated from an anaplastic large cell lymphoma patient, two researchers, including a faculty member of The University of Texas at Austin's College of Pharmacy, have identified a novel regulatory mechanism in inflammatory signaling of immune cells that may prove beneficial in treating cancer. http://www.physorg.com/news150652358.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:52:38 EST news150652358 (PhysOrg.com) -- Using a simple chemical process, scientists at Cornell and DuPont have invented a method of preparing carbon nanotubes for suspension in a semiconducting "ink," which can then be printed into such thin, flexible electronics as transistors and photovoltaic materials. http://www.physorg.com/news150650570.html Nanotechnology Thu, 08 Jan 2009 15:22:50 EST news150650570 White people do not get as upset when confronted with racial prejudice as they think they will, a study by researchers at Yale University, York University, and the University of British Columbia suggests. This indifference helps explains why racism persists even as the United States prepares to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama, researchers say. http://www.physorg.com/news150646493.html Other Sciences Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:14:53 EST news150646493 Scientists have identified the structure of a key component of the bacteria behind such diseases as whooping cough, peptic stomach ulcers and Legionnaires' disease. The research, funded by the Wellcome Trust and the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC), sheds light on how antibiotic resistance genes spread from one bacterium to another. The research may help scientists develop novel treatments for these diseases and novel ways to curtail the spread of antibiotic resistance. http://www.physorg.com/news150646319.html Medicine & Health Thu, 08 Jan 2009 14:11:59 EST news150646319 American teens are embracing the subjects of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) with increasingly positive attitudes; yet many lack the necessary encouragement from mentors and role models in these fields, according to this year's Lemelson-MIT Invention Index. The annual survey, which gauges Americans' perceptions about invention and innovation, also reveals teens' altruistic intentions and feelings of preparedness to pursue careers in STEM fields. http://www.physorg.com/news150542652.html Other Sciences Wed, 07 Jan 2009 09:24:12 EST news150542652 A spreading pandemic of myopia among the world`s urban children may be avoided if children spend at least two to three hours each day outdoors. http://www.physorg.com/news150487968.html Medicine & Health Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:12:48 EST news150487968 (PhysOrg.com) -- Dwellings in colonies on the moon one day may be built with new, highly durable bricks developed by students from the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. http://www.physorg.com/news150396734.html Technology Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:52:14 EST news150396734 (PhysOrg.com) -- Observing and betting on cricket fights has been part of Chinese cultural tradition since at least the Sung Dynasty (A.D. 960-1278). This ancient practice has resulted in a detailed list of characteristics that Chinese practitioners think make for champion fighters. `Because money was involved, there was a strong incentive for the practitioners of this sport to observe their cricket fighters closely,` says Kevin Judge, a biology postdoctoral researcher at U of T Mississauga. http://www.physorg.com/news150396535.html Biology Mon, 05 Jan 2009 16:48:55 EST news150396535 A large number of North Atlantic right whales have been seen in the Gulf of Maine in recent days, leading right whale researchers at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) to believe they have identified a wintering ground and potentially a breeding ground for this endangered species. http://www.physorg.com/news150115302.html Biology Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:41:42 EST news150115302 (PhysOrg.com) -- Across the University of Colorado at Boulder campus students are sharing answers, checking their responses to questions against those of their neighbors and making adjustments to those answers in hopes of earning a better grade. http://www.physorg.com/news150114718.html Other Sciences Fri, 02 Jan 2009 10:31:58 EST news150114718 First an explosion as powerful as thousands of megatons of TNT rained meteorites down on North America. Then forest fires broke out across the continent, sending up a thick layer of soot and dust that blocked out the sun. A sudden ice age ensued, and some of the Earth's largest animals went extinct in a blink of geological time. http://www.physorg.com/news150097682.html Space & Earth Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:48:02 EST news150097682 Abundant tiny particles of diamond dust exist in sediments dating to 12,900 years ago at six North American sites, adding strong evidence for Earth's impact with a rare swarm of carbon-and-water-rich comets or carbonaceous chondrites, reports a nine-member scientific team. http://www.physorg.com/news150048795.html Nanotechnology Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:13:15 EST news150048795 (PhysOrg.com) -- A mosquito-borne virus that each year harms up to 100 million people and kills more than 20,000 is a step closer to being controlled after a breakthrough by Queensland scientists. http://www.physorg.com/news150048453.html Biology Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:07:33 EST news150048453 Undersea mountains several thousand meters high have been discovered subducted under a tectonic plate that constitutes the sea bottom off the Boso Peninsula in the southeastern part of the Kanto region, according to a survey by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology. http://www.physorg.com/news149842366.html Space & Earth Tue, 30 Dec 2008 06:52:46 EST news149842366 (PhysOrg.com) -- Given the sheer number of potential applications for carbon nanotubes, experts in the field of nanotechnology are developing effective ways to mass produce intricate nanoscale structures for electronics, sensing, energy and biomedical applications in a timely, cost-effective manner with a high level of accuracy. http://www.physorg.com/news149258907.html Nanotechnology Tue, 23 Dec 2008 12:48:27 EST news149258907 In March of 2008, in a speech addressing contemporary racial tensions in America, then-Senator Barack Obama suggested that there is a "chasm of misunderstanding that exists between the races." Could this be true? Is it more difficult for members of different races to understand each others' emotions and intentions? Psychologist Heather M. Gray from Boston University, along with Wendy Berry Mendes and Carrigan Denny-Brown of Harvard University, investigated whether the ability to detect a person's anxiety declines when perceptions are made across the racial divide. http://www.physorg.com/news149171397.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:29:57 EST news149171397 Parental education is a strong predictor of socioeconomic status and children's educational environment. Nevertheless, some children continue to experience reading failure in spite of high parental education and support for learning to read. http://www.physorg.com/news149171195.html Medicine & Health Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:26:35 EST news149171195 A greater commitment by science faculty to focus on science education could drive education reform at universities and K-12 schools, according to a new report by a team of five researchers from the California State University (CSU) system and one from Purdue University. http://www.physorg.com/news148832292.html Other Sciences Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:18:12 EST news148832292 If you spend the majority of your time among stores, restaurants and skyscrapers, it may be time to trade in your stilettos for some hiking boots. A new study in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, reveals that spending time in nature may be more beneficial for mental processes than being in urban environments. http://www.physorg.com/news148830480.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:48:00 EST news148830480 When you first notice a door handle, your brain has already been hard at work. Your visual system first sees the handle, then it sends information to various parts of the brain, which go on to decipher out the details, such as color and the direction the handle is pointing. As the information about an object is sent further along the various brain pathways, more and more details are noticed -- in that way, a simple door handle turns into a silver-plated-antique-style-door-handle-facing-right. Information about the handle also reaches the part of your brain responsible for planning movements (known as the pre-motor area), and it comes up with a set of motions, allowing you to turn the handle with your right hand and open the door. http://www.physorg.com/news148828835.html Medicine & Health Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:20:35 EST news148828835 Two new high-resolution transmission electron microscopes, co-financed by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation), are set to open up new opportunities for research in physics and materials science. The new research microscopes at RWTH Aachen University and the University of Ulm will enable exceptional, state-of-the-art developments in the field of electron optics in Germany and be available to a broad group of users. http://www.physorg.com/news148816641.html Physics Thu, 18 Dec 2008 09:57:21 EST news148816641 The fact that many cultures emphasize the concept of "noblesse oblige" (the idea that with great power and prestige come responsibilities) suggests that power may diminish a tendency to help others. Psychologist Gerben A. van Kleef (University of Amsterdam) and his colleagues from University of California, Berkeley, examined how power influences emotional reactions to the suffering of others. http://www.physorg.com/news148741381.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Dec 2008 13:03:01 EST news148741381 Interracial and interethnic interactions can often be awkward and stressful for members of both majority and minority groups. People bring certain expectations to their interactions with members of different groups -they often expect that these interactions will be awkward and less successful in establishing positive, long-lasting relationships than interactions with members of one's own racial or ethnic group. These expectations can cause people to interpret the vague comments and behaviors of others more negatively in intergroup situations, further confirming their negative perceptions of these interactions. http://www.physorg.com/news148736501.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:41:41 EST news148736501 We've all experienced a "good cry" -whether following a breakup or just after a really stressful day, shedding some tears can often make us feel better and help us put things in perspective. But why is crying beneficial? And is there such a thing as a "bad cry"? University of South Florida psychologists Jonathan Rottenberg and Lauren M. Bylsma, along with their colleague Ad J.J.M. Vingerhoets of Tilburg University describe some of their recent findings about the psychology of crying in the December issue of Current Directions in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science. http://www.physorg.com/news148735833.html Medicine & Health Wed, 17 Dec 2008 11:30:33 EST news148735833 New knowledge: Girls have a better sense of taste than boys. Every third child of school age prefers soft drinks which are not sweet. Children and young people love fish and do not think of themselves as being fussy eaters. Boys have a sweeter tooth than girls. And teenagers taste differently. http://www.physorg.com/news148653888.html Medicine & Health Tue, 16 Dec 2008 12:44:48 EST news148653888 A person's unconscious attitudes toward science and God may be fundamentally opposed, researchers report, depending on how religion and science are used to answer "ultimate" questions such as how the universe began or the origin of life. http://www.physorg.com/news148565439.html Medicine & Health Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:10:39 EST news148565439