November 26, 2006, 6:40 AM CT

Women Preists Will 'Save Church From Sinking'

Whether or not ordained women have had a significant impact over the past decade, they will save the Church from sinking in the future, as per ESRC-sponsored research at the University of Manchester.

Dr David Voas, a senior researcher at the universitys School of Social Sciences said: Nearly half of all priests ordained in recent years have been women. Close to a quarter of male parish priests are 60 or older, and their average age is 54. Without women, the pulpits would become as de-populated as the pews in the years to come.

His comments are based on analysis of new statistics on women ministers from two sources: the Church of England itself, and the English Church Census 2005, conducted by the independent charity Christian Research, and substantially funded by the ESRC.

In a recent interview in the Catholic Herald, the Archbishop, Dr Rowan Williams, whilst emphasising that he still believed the Church of England had been right to create women priests, was quoted as saying: I dont think it has transformed or renewed the Church of England in spectacular ways. Equally, I dont think it has corrupted or ruined the Church of England in spectacular ways.

But as per Dr Voas, this apparent failure on the part of women clergy is not surprising. He said: The Church is far from being an equal opportunity employer. The glass ceiling is shatterproof: women are still not allowed to become bishops, and they are far more likely to be second class clergy.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 21, 2006, 8:52 PM CT

Historic Volcanic Eruption Shrunk the Mighty Nile

Volcanic eruptions in high latitudes can greatly alter climate and distant river flows, including the Nile, as per a recent study funded in part by NASA.

Scientists observed that Iceland's Laki volcanic event, a series of about ten eruptions from June 1783 through February 1784, significantly changed atmospheric circulations across much of the Northern Hemisphere. This created unusual temperature and precipitation patterns that peaked in the summer of 1783, including far below normal rainfall over much of the Nile River watershed and record low river levels.

The study provides new evidence that large volcanic eruptions north of the equator often have far different impacts on climate than those in the tropics. "While considerable research has shown that eruptions in the tropics influence climate in the Northern Hemisphere winter, this study indicates that eruptions in high-latitudes produce changes in atmospheric circulation in the Northern Hemisphere summer," said lead author Luke Oman, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, N.J. Using a sophisticated computer model developed by NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies, New York, the scientists linked the Laki eruptions to a cascade of effects that rippled across much of the Northern Hemisphere, altering surface temperatures that ultimately resulted in much below normal rainfall over the Sahel of Africa and record low water levels on the Nile River for up to a year. The Sahel is a stretch of land from the Atlantic Ocean to the "Horn of Africa" that includes the Sahara Desert and savanna areas with sparse vegetation.........

Posted by: Tyler      Permalink         Source

November 21, 2006, 8:32 PM CT

The Smell Of Money

It's not hard to recall the pungent scent of a handful of pocket change. Similar smells emanate from a sweat-covered dumbbell or the water emerging from an old metal pipe. Yet no one has been able to identify the exact chemical cause of these familiar odors.

Now, scientists supported by a National Science Foundation (NSF) MUSES award and the UFZ Environmental Research Center in Gera number of have shown that these odor molecules come not from the penny or the pipes, but from metal-free chemicals erupting into the air when organic substances like sweat interact with the metallic objects.

The researchers--Andrea Dietrich, Dietmar Glindemann, Hans-Joachim Staerk and Peter Kuschk, all from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg--published their findings in the Oct. 20, 2006, Angewandte Chemie International Edition.

"We are the first to demonstrate that when humans describe the 'metallic' odor of iron metal, there are no iron atoms in the odors," said Dietrich. "The odors humans perceive as metallic are really a body odor produced by metals reacting with skin".

Because the makeup of byproduct molecules depends on which organic substances are reacting, the scientists believe the findings could help identify problem odors in potable water or aid doctors searching for disease markers in sweat or other body fluids.........

Posted by: Sarah      Permalink         Source

November 21, 2006, 5:17 AM CT

Does student achievement spur national economic growth?

Educational policy discourse supports the idea that increases in science and mathematics achievement correlate to nation-wide economic gains. However, a thought-provoking new study from the American Journal of Education challenges the perceived causal links between educational achievement and economic growth. Francisco O. Ramirez (Stanford University) and his co-authors find that without the so-called "Asian Tigers," the correlation diminishes and all but disappears.

"This is a striking finding that calls into question the disproportionate attention (and envy) focused on those few countries with the very highest achievement scores," write the authors. "It is clear that education and its reforms are everywhere seen in light of their supposed economic effects. It is also clear that the areas of education given the most attention as relevant to economic goals have been science and mathematics, the new keys to economic growth".

Comparing national GDP data with international standardized test scores over two twenty-year periods (1970-1990 and 1980-2000), the researchers found that countries with high science and math scores do tend to grow somewhat more rapidly than other countries - but not when Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, and Taiwan are removed from the analysis, or in an analysis of the last two decades. Additionally, "Moving from the 'middle of the pack' to the top provides less of an economic boost," the authors write.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 20, 2006, 5:06 AM CT

Adolescent Girls More Active if Neighborhoods Have Parks

Adolescent girls who live within half a mile of a public park are significantly more physically active than other girls, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill researchers have found.

The study found that physical activity was higher for girls who lived within a mile of parks and showed highest levels among girls who lived less than one-half mile from a park, said Dr. Diane Catellier, a study investigator and research associate professor of biostatistics in the UNC School of Public Health. The researchers found that girls only got about 114 minutes a week of intense physical activity outside of school hours, or about 16 minutes a day.

Dr. Deborah Cohen, a senior natural scientist at RAND Corporation and lead author of the study, said the U.S. surgeon general recommends that all children and adolescents get at least 60 minutes of exercise a day. "We still have a long way to go in encouraging girls to be active".

The results appear in the November 2006 issue of Pediatrics. The study was led by the RAND Corporation, a nonprofit research organization. Researchers from UNC-Chapel Hill, the University of Arizona, the University of South Carolina and San Diego State University participated. Funding was provided by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

November 19, 2006, 9:17 PM CT

Shocking Games

The English have an entire line of "Shocking" games (not even going to try and psychoanalyze that). First up, there's the popular "Shocking Liar" based on -- from what I can tell -- lie detector science. Warm up questions are used to regulate your readings. Ready? ZAP! It says you lied. The game measures the 'lie levels," using a sequence of five LEDs going from red to green. Seems you weren't close enough to the truth.

Then there's the "Shocking Arm Wrestling". Let me tell you from experience that the first couple of times it's funny, but no adult is going to want to be shocked three times.

For the masochistic, there's always the classic. Place your finger in one of the four chambers, push the button and await your fate.........

Posted by: Gina      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 9:25 PM CT

Edible Food Wrap Kills Deadly E. Coli

Researchers have improved upon an edible coating for fresh fruits and vegetables by enabling it to kill deadly E. coli bacteria while also providing a flavor-boost to food. Composed of apple puree and oregano oil, which acts as a natural antibacterial agent, the coating shows promise in laboratory studies of becoming a long-lasting, potent alternative to conventional produce washes, according to a team of scientists from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the University of Lleida in Spain.

The study comes on the heels of the recent deadly E. coli outbreak in spinach and amid growing concern by experts that some produce-cleaning techniques may not be effective in destroying E. coli. The study is scheduled for the Nov. 29 issue of the American Chemical Society's Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

"All produce-cleaning methods help to some degree, but our new coatings and films may provide a more concentrated, longer-lasting method for killing bacteria," says Research Leader Tara H. McHugh, Ph.D., a food chemist with the USDA's Agricultural Research Service in Albany, Calif. As the films are made of fruit or vegetable puree, they also provide added health benefits such as vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, she says.

Researchers have known about the antimicrobial activity of plant-derived essential oils for some time, but McHugh says that her group is the first to incorporate them into a fruit- or vegetable-based edible food wrap for the purpose of improving food safety. Three years ago, she and her associates developed a similar edible food wrap, but without the antimicrobial properties.........

Posted by: Sarah      Permalink         Source

November 16, 2006, 4:21 AM CT

Neanderthal Genome Sequencing

The veil of mystery surrounding our extinct hominid cousins, the Neanderthals, has been at least partially lifted to reveal surprising results. Researchers with the U.S. Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) and the Joint Genome Institute (JGI) have sequenced genomic DNA from fossilized Neanderthal bones. Their results show that the genomes of modern humans and Neanderthals are at least 99.5-percent identical, but despite this genetic similarity, and despite the two species having cohabitated the same geographic region for thousands of years, there is no evidence of any significant crossbreeding between the two. Based on these early results, Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis last shared a common ancestor approximately 700,000 years ago.

In a paper reported in the November 17, 2006 issue of the journal Science, a team of scientists led by Edward Rubin, director of both JGI and Berkeley Lab's Genomics Division, reports the development of a "Neanderthal metagenomic library," which they used to characterize more than 65,000 DNA base pairs of Neanderthal origin. Their results not only provide new information about Neanderthals, but also point the way to a new strategy for studying aspects of Neanderthal biology that would never be evident from archaeological artifacts and fossils.........

Posted by: William      Permalink         Source

November 15, 2006, 9:44 PM CT

Listening To Gunshots May Save Lives

From the crack of a supersonic bullet, Montana State University electrical engineering professor Rob Maher is exploring how sound can be used for everything from saving soldiers from snipers to saving wilderness from noise pollution.

This fall, Maher presented the results of two years of research into gunshots at the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) Signal Processing Society's annual meeting in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Because of its intense energy and distinctness, a gunshot is "the perfect signal" with which to explore the uses of sound, Maher said.

"It produces what engineers call the 'impulse response' of the sonic environment," Maher said. "If we can't make sense of how a gunshot behaves, then it's unlikely we can do much with more complicated, or lesser quality, sounds".

Maher initially explored two questions with gunshots: First, could the sound of a gunshot on a 911 recording be associated with a specific weapon? The question has intrigued prosecuting attorneys for decades. Second, could the sound of a gunshot be used to determine the location of a hidden sniper?

Through a search of prior studies and his own research, Maher found the "acoustical fingerprinting" of a gunshot from a 911 tape was impossible.........

Posted by: Tom      Permalink         Source

November 13, 2006, 9:00 PM CT

When Jobs in the Nation Change

Dr. Arden L. Bement, Jr., the National Science Foundation director, meets with Rice University students tonight to discuss how the role of the scientist shifts in an ever-changing job market. The world is experiencing a tectonic economic shift in which an increasing number of jobs require some understanding of science and technology, and today, industries hungry for science and technology workers compete with each other for talent. When the nature of everyone else's job changes, so do the jobs of the scientist and engineer.

This event is being webcast live November 9, 2006, from Baker Hall on the campus of Rice University. The webcast will begin at 7 p.m. Eastern time and can be viewed at: http://webcast.rice.edu/index.php?action=details&event=812.........

Posted by: Mac      Permalink         Source