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Wednesday, August 14, 2002 Today is ... 1777: Birth of Hans Christian Ørsted, physicist who discovered that electric current in a wire can deflect a magnetized compass needle 1886: Birth of Arthur Jeffrey Dempster, physicist who built the first mass spectrometer 1994: Hubble space telescope took pictures of the rings of Uranus   10:34:16 PM  Your views [] Fast-twitch muscles slow down Researchers have found a molecular switch in mice that can convert easily-fatigued "fast-twitch" muscle fibers into the lean, oxygen-fueled "slow-twitch" fibers that enable marathoners to run for hours.   4:32:03 PM  Your views [] Alfalfa plants can harvest gold Ordinary alfalfa plants are being used as miniature gold factories that one day could provide the nanotechnology industry with a continuous harvest of gold nanoparticles.     4:29:01 PM  Your views [] Silkworm silk can match spider silk for strength Silkworm silk has generally been seen as weaker then the silk from spiders. However, much depends on the preparation of the silkworm silk, especially how it is spun. By spinning silk at different speeds, it can be given different properties according to a paper to appear in tomorrow's Nature. Faster spinning creates stronger more brittle fibres while slower spinning leads to weaker but stretchier fibres. The maximum strength of the silkworm silk can nearly be made to equal that of spider silk.   4:22:20 PM  Your views [] Explanation of superconductivity in magnesium diboride Conventional models of superconductivity have been unable to explain how magnesium diboride superconducts. This was one of the most exciting discoveries for materials and condensed matter physicists in the past year with the discovery spawning an all-night magnesium boride conference session at the 2001 American Physical Society March meeting. The session consisted of nearly 100 papers, each restricted to just a few minutes to get through the volume. A paper in tomorrow's issue of Nature shows how superconductivity arises from first principles by examining the energy required to form charge-carrying pairs in the material. The technique suggests that other materials may have even higher superconducting temperatures than magnesium boride. The new materials would probably be based on carbon, boron or nitrogen. Read the LBL press release   3:58:46 PM  Your views [] Bedsharing neither harms nor helps The first long-term study into the effects of children up to age 6 routinely sharing a bed with parents finds there are no long-term consequences on development or behaviour. The results are published in the current issue of the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. The study, conducted by Paul Okami and colleagues at the University of California, Los Angeles, give pause to the advice of many doctors and the American Academy of Pediatrics. Okami followed a group of 205 California-born children since their birth in 1975. He reports, "[The study did] not support fears that bedsharing would lead to psychosexually troubled relationships later in childhood and adolescence, behavior problems and difficulties in peer and intimate relationships, or early childhood sleep problems." At age 18, there was no connection between bedsharing prand ability to relate to others, use of alcohol or drugs, self-esteem, violence or sexual activity.   10:31:35 AM  Your views [] < % radio.macros.weblogEditBox ()%>

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