February 2nd, 2012
New research from Dr Schmitz at the University of California, reported recently by the BBC, suggests that contrary to what was believed - that most dinosaurs were diurnal - in fact some dinosaurs seemed to be active at a variety of times both during the day and at night.
Studies of the eyes of existing birds and reptiles with different daily activity patterns were compared with similar parts in dinosaur fossils. The results suggest that small, meat-eating dinosaurs were nocturnal while large plant-eating dinosaurs tended to forage both during the day and at night.
Dr Schmitz has been trying to determine just how big and light-sensitive dinosaurs’ eyes would have been. Finding this out would be an indication of whether they were active at night as well as during the day.
The reason why the larger animals needed to forage longer, that is both day and night, was in order to eat enough to support their enormous frames.
Dr Schmitz said “‘we have to do a lot more research to understand how nocturnality in mammals evolved”.
Tags: Animals, Science
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January 31st, 2012
This guitar is the size of a single blood cell and inaudible to the human ear, so is there any point in it?
Yes! Because it is an extremely cool idea, according to the researcher at Cornell University, Dustin Carr. Carr created the nano guitar as part of a fun project, to advertise nanotechnology. The point was to illustrate how incredibly precise and detailed nanotechnology had become.
Nanotechnology is sometimes seen as something to afraid of and it is true that the technology has been used to create surveillance cameras and listening devices smaller than a grain of sand, but the nano guitar is a lighthearted symbol of scientific optimism.
Tags: Science, Technology
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January 26th, 2012
When Fabio Capello, England’s Italian footbal coach, said he could manage the England team using just 100 words, scientists at Cambridge university carried out research to see if this was possible, reported a recent article.
The scientists used a supercomputer to analyse hundreds of thousands of football reports to see what were the most useful words to use to get your point across when trying to coach football players. Dominic Glennon, in the English language teaching department at Cambridge University Press, said, “‘I suspect Fabio needs more than 100 words to manage the England team effectively but we believe that Fabio’s statement is not far from the truth.”
The 100 words they came up with were:
1 – ball 2 – cup 3 – player 4 – Game 5 – Match 6 – Win 7 – Lose 8 – Play 9 – Team 10 – Goalkeeper 11 – Defender 12 – Fullback 13 – Midfielder 14 – Winger 15 – Striker 16 – Forward 17 – Defence 18 – Midfield 19 – Attack 20 – Pitch 21 – Goal 22 – Goalposts 23 – Crossbar 24 – Woodwork 25 – Box 26 – Touchlines 27 – Left 28 – Right 29 – Kick 30 – Pass 31 – Tackle 32 – Cross 33 – Dribble 34 – Shoot 35 – Strike 36 – Score 37 – Equalise 38 – Foul 39 – Defend 40 – Attack 41 – Header 42 – Touch 43 – Mark 44 – Dive 45 – Referee 46 – Linesman 47 – Assistant 48 – Offside 49 – Handball 50 – Free kick 51 – Penalty 52 – Corner 53 – Goal-kick 54 – Caution 55 – Suspension 56 – Yellow 57 – Red 58 – Cards 59 – International 60 – Tournaments 61 – Stages 62 – Competition 63 – Friendlies 64 – Qualifiers 65 – Group 66 – Quarter-finals 67 – Semi-finals 68 – Progress 69 – Final 70 – Shoot-out 71 – Tactics 72 – Training 73 – Formation 74 – Possession 75 – Pressure 76 – Defensive 77 – Attacking 78 – Patience 79 – Fitness 80 – First-half 81 – Second-half 82 – Half-time 83 – Injury-time 84 – Extra-time 85 – Physical 86 – Technical 87 – Clever 88 – Pace 89 – Skill 90 – Talented 91 – Fans 92 – Supporters 93 – Passion 94 – Spirit 95 – Pride 96 – Excitement 97 – Defeat 98 – Disappointment 99 – Humiliation 100 – Sack.
Tags: Sport
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January 24th, 2012
Female ducks not only use the colour of a mallard’s bill to select a mate, but also to determine the sexual health of that male.
Scientists have reported that markings on the bill show evidence of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and other sperm damaging infections in the male, which reduce the chances of successful mating. They report that males with more colourful bills have semen with superior bacteria-killing ability, so not only can the females identify males with stronger sperm, but close attention to bill colour may protect them from STDs too.
This may open the market for duck cosmetics!
Tags: Animals, Science
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January 19th, 2012
A study for the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) reveals that there are 5.34 rooms in modern British houses.
The number of rooms in a dwelling has changed considerably over the ages, from a single room in medieval times, where you, and everyone else in the household, slept, ate, washed and generally hung out.
As time, and technical advances were introduced, separate rooms for specific functions were introduced, such as the kitchen, bedroom and bathroom.
More recently, the demand has been for individual bedrooms for each family member, but this has been offset by the trend for combined lounge/dining-room or kitchen/dining-room.
Tags: History, Housing
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January 17th, 2012
Scientists at Milan University have been observing how dogs can distinguish generous humans from more selfish ones, and use this information to choose whom to approach when begging for food.
The study, which appeared in ‘New Scientist’ and was reported in ‘The Daily Mail‘, used 100 dog owners and pets, who together watched two researchers eating their breakfast. When a third researcher approached the table, one researcher willingly shared his meal, while the other rebuffed the newcomer.
Afterwards, the dogs were separately let off their leads, and over two-thirds chose the generous researcher over the mean one.
The study also found that the dogs appeared to respond more to the tone of voice being used, rather than just the act of giving or refusing to share the food.
Tags: Animals, Science
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January 12th, 2012
It was reported in the ‘Daily Telegraph‘ that the Chinese government regulator has banned TV stories about time travel because they are “frivolous” and do not respect history.
In a warning to TV production companies to avoid “incorrect” shows, the regulator criticised such shows that “casually make up myths, have monstrous and weird plots, use absurd tactics, and even promote feudalism, superstition, fatalism and reincarnation”, adding that such shows cause insult because they are “treating the serious history in a frivolous way, which should by no means be encouraged anymore”. It even included flashback scenes in the warning.
There is a current drive to produce “good quality, intrinsically Chinese” programmes.
But critics condemned the proposal and said it was the latest effort by Chinese censors to crack down on dissent.
Tags: Government, Television
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January 10th, 2012
Heard about the Jane Austen conference in Forthworth, Texas, in the Libby Purves’ Midweek programme on Radio 4? Apparently everyone turns up in bonnets instead of stetsons.
There is a group of powerful women running the conference and speakers find it quite daunting to speak there. The conference is sponsored by an underwear manufacturer. They give away thongs and black panties to participants. Professor Vickery, a historian, has investigated the many devotees of Jane Austen.
Do have a listen at this site.
Tags: History, Leisure
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January 5th, 2012
You all remember the advert for the paint company, with the long-haired dog bounding around our screens. It was so popular that even now most people refer to Old English sheepdogs as ”Dulux” dogs!
But do you know his name?
It was revealed that the first of the 4 dogs to appear in the role was called Dash. The adverts ran from 1961 for over 40 years, with Dash, who started in black and white, retiring in 1972.
His successor, Digby, also appeared in films, and was in turn replaced by Duke during the ’80s, followed finally by Pickle.
The adverts last appeared on our screens in 2003, but there has even been a campaign on Facebook for their return.
Tags: Television
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January 3rd, 2012
Researchers in Australia, after listening to hundreds of hours of recordings of whale songs gathered over more than ten years, revealed how a specific song pattern recorded in eastern Austrailia had passed to whale populations as far away as French Polynesia (6,000 km away).
These findings were reported in the ‘Current Biology’ journal. The research team, led by Ellen Garland from the University of Quensland, think the whales in the South Pacific may hear and learn songs during their annual migration to their feeding grounds in Antarctica.
‘These whales are very moblile, they can swim hundreds of kilometres in a day and their song carries very well underwater,’ said Peter Tyack, a biologist from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, USA.
Although there is still some debate over whether male humpbacks’ songs are directed at females or each other, most scientists agree that the song plays a role in reproduction.
Tags: Animals
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