November 13, 2006, 8:34 AM CT

Sports cheats beware

Injecting performance enhancing corticosteroid hormones for other than medical therapy is banned, and tests exist that can detect injected hormones. Injecting synacthen, which stimulates the body to produce extra amounts of its own corticosteroid hormones is also banned. But until now there has been no test that could detect it in a blood sample.

That has just changed. Research published this week in Rapid Communications in Mass Spectrometry describes a method that can detect synacthen, even though it will only be found in incredibly low concentrations in a person's blood sample.

Synacthen is a protein, and researchers have developed a method that can specifically search for the minute traces of synacthen in a blood sample. Called immunological purification, this technique can find any synacthen molecules even though its concentration is 10,000,000 less than other proteins in blood plasma.

There are severe penalties for any person caught taking banned drugs. It is therefore very important that any test is able to be certain about its statement that a particular molecule is present in this case synacthen. To confirm that the immunological purification has pulled out synacthen, the protein is then subjected to a further two-stage test chromatography separation and mass spectrometric analysis. This lets researchers produce a chemical fingerprint of the molecule a fingerprint that uniquely identifies it.........

Posted by: Jim      Permalink         Source

November 10, 2006, 4:15 AM CT

Audio Telescope Heeds Call Of The Wild Birds

Scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Intelligent Automation, Inc. (Rockville, Md.) and the University of Missouri-Columbia have modified a NIST-designed microphone array to make an "audio telescope" that could help airports more efficiently avoid costly and hazardous bird-aircraft collisions by locating and identifying birds by their calls. The prototype system was described in a recent paper.*.

From chirps to trills, bird song commonly is soothing and restful--unless you're a pilot. Collisions with birds in flight, called "bird strikes," caused over $2 billion worth of damage to aircraft in the United States or U.S. aircraft abroad, since 1990, as per statistics from the Federal Aviation Administration. Worldwide, wildlife strikes --mostly birds--have destroyed more than 163 aircraft and killed more than 194 people since 1988.

Airports fight back with X-band radar and infrared cameras to monitor birds, but neither technology can distinguish between different kinds of birds, especially in bad weather. That's important because not all birds are equally hazardous to aircraft, and shutting down runways because of the proximity of unknown birds imposes its own costs in delays and increased aircraft congestion. The "audio telescope" proposed by NIST and IAI scientists is a one-meter-diameter concentric array of 192 microphones that would be mounted parallel to the ground to listen to the skies. By comparing the arrival time of sounds at different microphones, the array can determine the direction from which the sound came, even distinguishing simultaneous sounds coming from different directions. The scientists adapted mathematical algorithms designed to allow speech recognition systems to identify different speakers in order to distinguish different species by their calls. The system can tell a Canada goose from a gull or a hawk within a couple of seconds.........

Posted by: Kevin      Permalink         Source

November 8, 2006, 9:46 PM CT

Good Fences Do Make Good Neighbors

A new study led by a UC Irvine economist debunks a popular argument against urban sprawl - that living farther from neighbors decreases social interaction. In fact, the data shows that suburban living is better for one's social life.

Using data from 15,000 Americans living in various places across the country, scientists observed that residents of sprawling suburban spaces actually have more friends, more contact with neighbors and greater involvement in community organizations than citydwellers who live in very close proximity to each other.

"Our findings suggest the old proverb may be true: good fences make good neighbors," said Jan Brueckner, professor of economics at UCI and lead author of the paper. "This contradicts one of the common social and economic arguments against urban sprawl".

Among their specific findings were that for every 10-percent decrease in density, the likelihood of residents talking to their neighbors at least once a week jumps by 10 percent. And involvement in hobby-oriented clubs increases even more significantly - by 15 percent for every 10 percent decline in density. To measure these and other social interactions, scientists used data from the Social Capital Benchmark Survey and controlled for other factors such as income, education and marital status.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 7, 2006, 10:18 PM CT

Cold War Caper Revisted

Two Michigan State University scientists are the first to unlock the secrets of the invisible ink used by East Gera number of's secret police force, the Stasi, and in the process have mixed a batch of chemistry, history and mystery to teach students.

Kristie Macrakis, a historian of science, and Ryan Sweeder, a chemist, both of MSU's Lyman Briggs School of Science, teamed up to piece together the once-secret chemical formula for behind the Stasi's invisible ink.

"Secret writing is a classic method of communication for spies," Macrakis said. "This is a high-level formula. It's not just lemon juice. It's much more sophisticated."

The Stasi's technique of transferring top-secret messages worked like a piece of carbon paper. An agent would place a piece of paper impregnated with the chemical cerium oxalate between two pieces of plain paper. As the agent pressed down to write, the chemical was transferred to the piece of paper beneath.

The person on the receiving end of the message then developed the note with a solution of manganese sulfate, hydrogen peroxide and other chemicals. The process activated the cerium oxalate to reveal the hidden text. A successful reaction yielded orange writing.

"From a chemical standpoint, this is very cool," Sweeder said.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 7, 2006, 10:04 PM CT

Spectacular dinosaur skull comes back to Alberta

A "spectacular beast" is coming back to its original stomping grounds and making a new home at the University of Alberta--a coup that will allow its scientists to study the rare dinosaur skull up close.

"This is a very dramatic beast," said Dr. Michael Caldwell, a palaeontolgist who was instrumental in getting the skull to the U of A. "What we will have is a cast, but the specimen is one of a kind in the world. This is the last cast from the original mould and when you have a research quality cast where it is duplicated right down to a freckle, it doesn't get any better than that".

The fossils from this large herbivorous dinosaur were first found by the Sternberg family, who were hired by the Geological Survey of Canada to compete with Americans coming to Alberta to collect fossils. The Sternbergs gathered all kinds of bones, including the skull of Styracosaurus albertensis. "The specimen waccording tofect," says Caldwell. "And it's a big one--the skull is two metres long".

Styracosaurus had six long horns extending from its neck frill, a smaller horn above each of its eyes and a single horn protruding from its nose. It was a large dinosaur that could reach lengths of five metres and weigh as much as three tonnes. For almost a century, the original skull of Styracosaurus albertensis has been at the Canadian Museum of Nature in Ottawa. Now a cast of that specimen is on its way to Edmonton in a huge wooden crate on the back of a flatbed truck.........

Posted by: William      Permalink         Source

November 7, 2006, 7:39 PM CT

How about 'Die Another Day'?

A fascinating new study from the recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Research is the first to conceptualize sequels as the movie equivalent of brand extensions. According to traditional branding research, extension evaluations improve when the extension is perceived to be similar to the parent brand. However, Sanjay Sood (UCLA) and Xavier Drze (University of Pennsylvania) find that the effect of similarity reverses when it comes to movies. Compared to numbered movie sequels, the researchers found that named sequels performed better at the box office and had a longer shelf life.

"With intangible experiential goods, similarity is not valued because people tend to satiate on experiences," explain the authors. "In other words, consumers prefer sequels that are markedly different from the original movie because they do not want to see the same movie twice".

Each movie released by a Hollywood studio is a brand that has to be packaged and promoted effectively to consumers. Launching these brands is an expensive activity. In 2004, the average cost of bringing a movie to market was almost $100 million. With financial stakes so high, the studios have turned to sequels as a way to capitalize on the success of hit movies.

Two experiments demonstrate that the name of the sequel is an important indicator to potential moviegoers about the similarity between original and sequel. The researchers compared sequel evaluations for a numbered title (e.g., Daredevil 2) versus a named title (e.g., Daredevil: Taking it to the Streets). Evaluations improved with named sequels because numbered sequels were perceived to be too close to the original movie. In fact, for numbered sequels, consumers were not only quicker to judge the sequel but also less able to recall details about the sequel's storyline.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

November 7, 2006, 7:18 PM CT

Why We End Up Spending More

Ever go to a store intending to buy one item, only to leave with a cartful? Or walked out of a store after feeling you had been overcharged for something you needed? A groundbreaking new paper in the recent issue of the Journal of Consumer Research is the first to comprehensively outline "spillover effect" that is, the tendency for consumers to spend more on a shopping trip when something they were planning to buy is deeply discounted. Similarly, an unanticipated price increase, or a decrease in quality, on a planned purchase causes overall spending to go down.

"Results from two laboratory studies show that spillover effects can occur in response to both positive and negative changes in either the price or quality of a product," write Narayan Janakiraman (University of Arizona), Robert J. Meyer (University of Pennsylvania), and Andrea C. Morales (Arizona State University). "Positive changes increase total spending on other items and negative changes reduce it".

Positive surprises, like a sale on something you were planning to buy anyway, inflated overall purchasing. But both unexpected price increases and decreases in quality caused people to buy fewer discretionary items and to pass up other goods offered at attractive, discounted prices.

This challenges prior research on the effect that suggests that we mentally budget and react to feelings of diminished or increased wealth by shopping accordingly. Instead, based on their findings, the researchers argue that a more consistent root of "spillover effect" is attribution theory and our desire to reward or punish the retailer for shopping surprises.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 6, 2006, 9:00 PM CT

Kylie's Back!

Kylie Minogue's comeback is well and truly on the road. The princess of pop touched down at Sydney airport on Sunday to kick off her Showgirl Homecoming tour with a gig on 11 November and said she was "thrilled to be back".

Kylie had to postpone her world tour when she was diagnosed with breast cancer last year, but she has beaten the disease and can't wait to get back to work. "I travelled with pretty much all the band, the dancers, so we're on tour again, whoa!" she said to reporters, jumping up and down and clapping her hands. Last week Kylie spoke of the unstinting support her boyfriend Olivier had given her during her battle and said her ordeal has made her embrace her career even more.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

November 6, 2006, 8:51 PM CT

Recycling The Aloha Spirit

We are kicking off a week of island style shop reviews (just try to say that fast!) to brighten your chilly fall courtesy of Leigh, the island gal behind hapa | hale, a blog devoted to modern and fresh finds from Hawaii.

Muumuu heaven is the modern island girl's secret of what to wear on aloha friday. lucky for us, designer deb mascia discovered her passion for deconstructing vintage hawaiian wear and transforming more matronly muumuus into her signature flirty skirts that are being worn from hawaii to hollywood. you never have to worry about bumping into someone else wearing the same piece since everything at muumuu heaven is one-of-a-kind. and you can feel good that you are shopping consciously since the family run business participates in 1% for the planet and donates a percentage of their sales to help preserve hawaii's coral reefs.

Leight's pick: I can't get enough of the fun, asymmetrical style of muumuu heaven's lovely lei-d skirt. it's perfect for strolling to the farmer's market or dancing with your fella under the stars. lovely lei-d skirt.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 6, 2006, 8:35 PM CT

Sweater Girl Tote

With winter on its way the Sweater Girl Tote by Rafe has caught my eyes a few times at Anthropologie. I like the tassels and the metal hardware against the contrast of the grey knit and black leather.

More from Anthropologie:

Although its not shown on the web site I've seen the Wise Old Tote and the Big Love Tote on the Sale racks.

Not bag related, I picked up the Spray Can Skirt recently which should keep me warm (and colorful) all winter long.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source