In the News
Dying Speeches &Bloody Murder: Crime Broadsides Collected by the Harva
"Just as programs are sold at sporting events today, broadsides -- styled at the time as 'Last Dying Speeches' or 'Bloody Murders' -- were sold to the audiences that gathered to witness public executions in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Britain. ... The examples digitized here span the years 1707 to 1891 and include accounts of executions for such crimes as arson, assault, counterfeiting, horse stealing, murder, rape, robbery, and treason."From the Harvard Law School Library. Dust May Dampen Hurricane Fury
Writing in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, UW-Madison scientists discuss a surprising link between hurricane frequency in the Atlantic and thick clouds of dust that periodically rise from the Sahara Desert and blow off Africa's western coast. The Golden Compass: The Making of Philip Pullman's Epic F
Set in a world of shape-shifting animals and armored polar bears, Pullman's trilogy, His Dark Materials, has become wildly popular over the past decade, selling more than 5 million copies in the US alone. In the wake of the success of the Lord of the Ringsand Narniafranchises, it might seem like a no-brainer to use the books as the basis for another series of fantasy movies -- but this franchise comes with so many extra degrees of difficulty, it seems unbelievable that it ever got a green light. Engineers Develop Higher-energy Liquid Transportation Fuel From Sugar
Plants absorb carbon dioxide from the air and combine it with water molecules and sunshine to make carbohydrate or sugar. Chemical and biological engineers now describe a two-stage process for turning biomass-derived sugar into a liquid transportation fuel with 40 percent greater energy density than ethanol. Molecule repairs alcohol metabolism enzyme
About 1 billion people worldwide carry a genetic mutation that produces an inactive form of ALDH2, an important alcohol metabolism enzyme. When individuals with the ALDH2 mutation drink alcohol, the toxic compound acetaldehyde accumulates in the body. The inactive form of ALDH2 is linked to increased risk for cancer. Researchers found that an experimental compound restores the structure and function of the inactive enzyme, which suggests the possibility of a treatment for the enzyme defect. Flavonoid-rich Diet Helps Women Decrease Risk Of Ovarian Cancer
Frequent consumption of foods containing the flavonoid kaempferol, including nonherbal tea and broccoli, was associated with a reduced risk of ovarian cancer. The researchers also found a decreased risk in women who consumed large amounts of the flavonoid luteolin, which is found in foods such as carrots, peppers, and cabbage. Open Wide And Say 'Zap': New Way To Clinically Assess Condition Of Too
A group of researchers in Australia and Taiwan has developed a new way to analyze the health of human teeth using lasers. By measuring how the surface of a tooth responds to laser-generated ultrasound, they can evaluate the mineral content of tooth enamel -- the semi-translucent outer layer of a tooth that protects the underlying dentin. [Scary] Pregnant woman says 'maternal instinct' helped her kill attack
FORT MITCHELL, Ky. - A pregnant woman who killed her attacker said a maternal instinct helped her fight off the woman who investigators believe was after her unborn child."I do believe that I fought harder because it was for my child,"Sarah Brady told ABC's "Good Morning America"in interviews aired Sunday and Monday. "It is a maternal instinct to protect your child to the very end."Katherine Smith, 22, died Thursday after luring Brady to her apartment to pick up a package supposedly delivered to the wrong address. When Smith pulled out a knife and attacked the pregnant woman, Brady fought back, striking Smith on the head with an ash tray and stabbing her three times with her own knife, police said. Brady, 26, said she didn't know Smith before the two met at Smith's apartment and can't be certain why Smith wanted to kill her."I really am not sure what was going through her mind,"Brady told ABC. "The only thing I thought was that she was going to kill me and my child and that is the only thing that ran through my mind." 'Clusters' Of Earthquakes Yield An Ominous Scenario
The newest studies on the Cascadia Subduction Zone off the coast of the Pacific Northwest have identified a "clustering"of great earthquakes of the type that would cause a major tsunami, yielding a historical record with two distinct implications - one that's good, the other not. Physics' greatest hits for 2004
Assuming there will be no sudden pre-holiday rush to publish any groundbreaking research, the American Institute of Physics has revealed its choices of the biggest scientific achievements of the year.
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