science

Plans from Peru—United Nations 196 Delegates Propose a Policy to Combat Climate Change

Medicine & Technology To say that 2014 was a year for change would be quite an understatement, but when it comes to climate change this year has perhaps been the most dynamic. From the UN Summit in New York held earlier this summer, to the nomination of a new Messenger of Peace (actor Leonardo DiCaprio), members of the United Nations (UN) have sought out an effective way to best approach the changing climate looming over future forecasts. This past Saturday, Dec. 13, these discussions came to a climax as negotiators from the world’s 196 countries who have been staying in Lima, Peru for the past two weeks haggled over the final elements to be implemented in a draft of a climate change deal that will potentially, for the first time in history, commit all nations in the world to limit emissions greatly impacting global warming.

Bouncing Philae Takes Award for Breakthrough of the Year

It’s no big surprise that this year when reporters and editors of the journal Physics World came together to award the top-10 revolutionary breakthroughs of the year, that the team would have many breakthroughs to consider for the year of 2014. And though perhaps not necessarily the most technically successful mission this year, on account of the vast distances between Earth and itself as well as it bouncy landing, the team narrowed down the prospective list down to one to name the November 12, 2014 touchdown of the Philae Lander to be the most historic moment of the year.

Strange Andromeda Transmission May be First Sign of Dark Matter

While the ever elusive “dark matter” was first proposed by Swiss astronomer Fritz Zwicky in the early 1930s, a team of European scientists this week believe that they may have detected the first ever evidence of dark matter in mysterious photo emissions of the X-ray spectra, emitting from the Andromeda galaxy, the Draco dwarf galaxy, and other galactic clusters far outside our own solar system.

Sugar May Be Worse for Blood Pressure Than Salt

Both sugar and salt have gotten bad publicity over the years as far as healthy diet is concerned. Sugary food consumption has been linked to diabetes and obesity, while excessive intake of salt and salty foods has been associated with cardiovascular illnesses, particularly high blood pressure. However, a recent study puts sugar in a worse light as it claims that sugar may increase blood pressure more than salt does.

Will Double the Dose Just Be Twice the Trouble?—Ebola Update December 2014

For the past few months, researchers in the field of pharmacology and immunology have frantically struggled towards finding an effective treatment or cure to the 2014 Ebola outbreak. But it’s not entirely new research begin with in the first place. Since the original outbreak of Ebola in West Africa during the 1970’s, researchers at labs worldwide have tried unsuccessfully to study and cure the pestilent virus. So with the help of a little new knowledge, a global need knocking down the door, and a strong basis in creation of vaccines, researchers today are able to look towards a potential immunization practice that may better safe than sorry.

Could Water Have Changed the Face of Mars, or Is the Habitability Question too Much to Bare?

While some parts of the nation are fighting Winter storms of snow and sleet, eyes this week are o water of the liquid variety. And more specifically, researchers and reporters are looking towards the molecule’s importance in developing life, as well as its origins story too. News this week of the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta Mission, revealed a recently published study reporting that the sustenance of our Earth and of all life, water, may in fact have not originated on comets from the Kuiper Belt as once believed. And what’s more, now that researchers have debunked false origin stories of the miracle molecule, they’re now beginning to question whether water alone can make a planet habitable for life, or if there are other mitigating conditions as well.

Can A Peripheral Anomaly Cause Hummingbirds to Crash?

For decades now, man has modeled their methods of flight from the majestic bird species that have conquered the skies. But what if there’s a glitch in birds’ programming that remains hidden in the secrets of aviation?

SHOCKER—Senate Committee Finds Waterboarding and Torture Methods to be Ineffective Against Terrorists

We may live in the 21st century, with many conventions in place to protect the rights of the general public, but if you’re a prisoner of war you’re likely to find that those same courtesies are not extended to you too. In fact, as it so happens, torture may be on your captor’s list of to-do’s. It’s been a long-awaited document, approached with some hesitation by the Senate’s Intelligence Committee, but on Tuesday, Dec. 9, the Senate released its torture report, recounting endless accounts of post-9/11 detention and interrogation programs initiated by the United States’ CIA in more horrific detail than you could imagine. But what’s worse, is that the report revealed that the tactics of torture likely had little to no efficacy, even when inflicting bodily harm to acquire intel.

Comet 67P/Churyumov Gerasimenko Reveals Origins of Water May Not be From Comets

After an arduous ten year journey throughout some tough terrain of space, the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Rosetta mission set records this past summer for being the first spacecraft to orbit a comet in mid-flight. And while many expected the mission to reveal a bit more insight into the behavior and composition of comets from the outer edges of our solar system, no one expected to learn exactly how Earth came to be so unique and the perfect host to life, only three planets away from our sun.

A Historian’s Paradise—Albert Einstein Archives Continue to Grow

Often referred to in academic circles as the Dead Sea Scrolls of physics, the remaining letters and writings of revered scientist Albert Einstein have been a major feat for archiving since Princeton University Press and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem inherited over 80,000 documents the late physicist wrote in 1986. But in spite of the sheer volume of works he left behind, that could be enough to overwhelm the senses, researchers over the past two decades have dedicated their lives and their careers to telling the true story behind the scientist’s brilliant brain.

Next Stop for Curiosity Rover? Lava Mound May Hold Answers to Ancient Martian Lava Flows

While NASA’s Curiosity Rover revealed a possible location for reoccurring lakes on the surface of the red planet last week, NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is finding even larger discoveries from its vantage point in the sky. Capturing new images with its HiRISE camera, one of six onboard instruments used by the orbiter, Reconnaissance has found evidence of one of the largest lava mounds found to date. And while it looks like a crispy pie pulled right from the oven, researchers say that the 1.2-mile wide circle of Martian crust is composed of iron-rich metamorphic rock, created thousands of years ago in a series of lava flows.

What’s Happening to All Our Giraffes? The Disappearing Species Faces Silent Extinction

In what perhaps may be the most shocking upset in the news this week, ecologist revealed last Friday, Dec. 5, that giraffes may be headed towards extinction – and it’s in part due to a lack of awareness of dangers facing the African species. While contemporary studies in Africa’s central savannahs have revealed the collected threats that human encroachment , habitat loss and black market poaching has posed to wildlife communities, researchers say that giraffes are amongst some of the hardest hit populations in the long list of black market species. And without significant change in the way giraffes are protected, they may disappear all together within a matter years.
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