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Author Archives: Stephen Ornes

A smarter scan

By Stephen Ornes / February 5, 2013

Tiny patterns cut into this narrow copper strip filter microwaves. This new, simple technology makes it possible to take digital pictures faster, with less computer time required. And it could be used to help make airport scanners smarter, faster and cheaper. Credit: J. Hunt/Duke

Scientists introduce a cheap and smart new device that gathers data in a flash

Posted in Physics | Tagged airports, cloaking, Duke University, electromagnetic radiation, getinvolved, Houston, imaging, Imperial College, John Pendry, Kevin Kelly, materials science, metamaterials, Rice University, scanning, screening, security, technology, topstories

Home on the moon

By Stephen Ornes / February 1, 2013

Life on the moon — but not ours. This illustration shows two large moons orbiting a giant, gassy planet (in orange). Astronomers say the right type of moon could harbor alien life. Credit: R. Heller, AIP

Astronomers say rocky moons orbiting distant planets might support alien life

Posted in Space | Tagged aliens, astrobiology, astronomy, astrophysics, biology, exomoons, exoplanet, forces, Germany, getinvolved, gravitation, gravity, hot Jupiter, Leibniz Institute for Astrophysics, moon, Orbit, Potsdam, René Heller, Rory Barnes, solar system, stars, telescopes, topstories, University of Washington

Climate’s troublesome kids

By Stephen Ornes / January 30, 2013

During a climate event known as El Niño (shown on the left), the surface of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean warms along the equator (red). During a La Niña event (on the right), the same region cools (blue). Credit: NOAA

The recurring climate events El Niño and La Niña trigger long-lived changes to weather around the world

Posted in Weather & Climate | Tagged Benjamin Giese, buoys, Carmen Boening, climate, climate change, Columbia University, currents, drought, El Niño, ENSO, equator, feature, flooding, global warming, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, La Nina, Miriam Marlier, NASA, NOAA, satellites, Southern Oscillation, storms, Texas A&M University, topstories, trade winds, weather, wildfire

Sleeping in space

By Stephen Ornes / January 27, 2013

Long space flights may harm astronauts’ sleep patterns, a 520-day experiment found. Replacing fluorescent bulbs with blue lights like the ones in this photo may help avoid those problems. Credit: ESA

Volunteers face problems on a make-believe mission to Mars

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged attention, experiment, getinvolved, human space exploration, Jeffrey Sutton, Mars, Mathias Basner, Moscow, sleep, space, topstories, University of Pennsylvania

Baby brain, adult disease

By Stephen Ornes / January 24, 2013

Newborns with a certain version of a gene are more likely to have a smaller medial temporal lobe (blue spots). This brain region is also smaller in adults with Alzheimer’s disease. People with the gene version are three times more likely to develop the disorder, which affects memory.

Scientists find signs of Alzheimer’s disease in the brains of infants

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged Alzheimer’s disease, ApoE, brain, cells, gene, genetic variant, getinvolved, medial temporal lobe, memory, molecular genetics, nervous system, neurology, neuroscience, newborns, psychiatry, Rebecca Knickmeyer, topstories, University of North Carolina

Learning language before birth

By Stephen Ornes / January 22, 2013

A special pacifier helped researchers study how newborns respond to different vowel sounds. Scientists propose that babies start to recognize language before birth. Credit: C. Moon

Scientists find that newborns can recognize vowel sounds similar to those spoken by their parents

Posted in Brain & Behavior | Tagged American babies, babies, Christine Moon, getinvolved, language, learning, Pacific Lutheran University, pacifiers, prenatal development, psychology, Swedish babies, topstories, vowels

Getting a grip

By Stephen Ornes / January 18, 2013

Immerse your hands in water for a while, and wrinkles will form. Those wrinkles improve a person’s grip on wet, slippery objects, says a new study. Credit: Mitchio/Flickr

Wrinkled fingers seem to be an advantage in wet environments

Posted in Body & Health | Tagged 2AI Labs, Adaptation, England, evolution, getinvolved, Mark Changizi, nervous system, neurobiology, neurology, Newcastle University, skin, topstories

Hitting streaks spread success

By Stephen Ornes / January 11, 2013

These baseball all-stars played in 1937. Fourth from the left is Joe DiMaggio, who went on a 56-game hitting streak in 1941. That record has not been broken. Credit: Harris & Ewing

A baseball player’s hitting streak may boost teammates’ batting averages

Posted in Mathematics | Tagged baseball, batting average, computing, contagions, economics, engineering, getinvolved, hitting streak, Joel Bock, Naval Postgraduate School, Scalaton, software, statistics, success, topstories

Strong and slimy

By Stephen Ornes / January 10, 2013

Scientist Atsuko Negishi holds a hagfish in one hand and its slime in the other. She studies the ooze in the lab of materials scientist David Fudge, at far right. Credit: Andra Zommers/University of Guelph

Scientists spin threads from snotlike secretions of hagfish

Posted in Technology & Engineering | Tagged Atsuko Negishi, Canada, Douglas Fudge, fabric, getinvolved, goo, hagfish, material science, materials, mucus, National Museum of New Zealand, ooze, predators, proteins, slime, threads, topstories, University of Guelph

Less ice, more seawater

By Stephen Ornes / December 20, 2012

Meltwater on the Greenland ice sheet carved this canyon.

Credit: Ian Joughin

Shrinking ice sheets contribute to rising sea levels, large-scale study confirms

Posted in Earth | Tagged Andrew Shepherd, Antarctica, Arctic, climate change, earth science, England, environmental science, getinvolved, glacier, global warming, Greenland, ice sheet, icebergs, Penn State University, satellites, sea level rise, snow, topstories, University of Leeds

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