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news lite
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is human deforestation responsible for australia’s dry centre
“The earliest human colonizers are believed to have arrived in Australia
by sea from Indonesia about 50,000 years ago, using fire as a tool to hunt,
clear paths, signal each other and promote the growth of certain plants
[...]. Fossil remains of browse-dependent birds and marsupials indicate
the interior was made up of trees, shrubs and grasses rather than the desert
scrub environment present today.”
—
“ "Systematic burning across the semiarid zone, where nutrients
are the lowest of any continental region, may have been responsible for
the rapid transformation of a drought-tolerant ecosystem high in broad-leaf
species to the modern desert scrub [...] ”
A controlled burn in the interior ofAustralia. Image
credit: CU-Boulder
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#deforestation_300105 |
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can
detergents be reduced by degassing water?
“This layer of gas molecules causes larger bubbles to form between
hydrophobic surfaces. And the surface tension of any bubble bridging two
surfaces pulls the particles together.
“In effect, air bubbles act like a glue that prevents oily substances
from breaking up. This makes it harder for an oil droplet to detach from
a greasy stain and become dispersed in water. But if the tiny bubbles are
removed, that happens more easily.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#detergents_270105 |
on
genetic bottleneck and humans
“The researchers believe the high rate of mutations [in humans] is
seen because the hominid ancestor to both species went through an evolutionary
bottleneck, when its breeding population was limited to only about 10,000
individuals.
“This meant that the process of pruning out damaging mutations via
natural selection of the fittest mates was more difficult and slower. In
contrast, rats and mice have descended from a much larger population, leaving
them less susceptible to genetic diseases.
“Adam Eyre-Walker, a member of the research team at the University
of Sussex, UK, says the phenomenon is comparable to the genetic problems
experienced by severely endangered species, in which inbreeding can accelerate
extinction.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#genetics_3270105 |
new
us troops in iraq - robots?
“The US military is planning to deploy robots armed with machine-guns
to wage war against insurgents in Iraq.”
—
“Can be fitted with standard-issue M249 or M240 rifle
Has four cameras, night-vision and zoom lenses
Can travel over rocks and barbed wire
Batteries run for up to 4 hours at a time
Remote control unit has two joysticks and video screen
Costs $200,000 (£106,757) per unit”
—
“[...] there are plans to replace the computer screen, joysticks and
keypad in the remote-control unit with a Gameboy-style controller and virtual-reality
goggles.”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#robot_fighters_260105 |
is
the greenhouse effect even worse than believed?
“They know how much extra energy is being trapped in the Earth's
atmosphere by the extra carbon dioxide we have placed there.
“What has been surprising is that this extra energy has so far resulted
in a temperature rise of just 0.6 degree Celsius.
“This has led many scientists to conclude that the present-day climate
is less sensitive to the effects of carbon dioxide than it was, say, during
the ice age, when a similar rise in CO2 led to a temperature rise of six
degrees Celsius.
“But it now appears the warming from greenhouse gases has been offset
by a strong cooling effect from dimming - in effect two of our pollutants
have been cancelling each other out.”
—
“As things stand, CO2 levels are projected to rise strongly over coming
decades, whereas there are encouraging signs that particle pollution is
at last being brought under control.
“We're going to be in a situation unless we act where the cooling
pollutant is dropping off while the warming pollutant is going up.”
—
“Even the most pessimistic forecasts of global warming may now have
to be drastically revised upwards.
“That means a temperature rise of 10 degrees Celsius by 2100 could
be on the cards, giving the UK a climate like that of North Africa, and
rendering many parts of the world uninhabitable.”
related material
global warming
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#greenhouse_effect_250105 |
| new
transistor technology claim
“The new transistors are not only transparent, but they work extremely
well and could have other advantages that will help them transcend carbon-based
transistor materials, such as organics and polymers, that have been the focus
of hundreds of millions of dollars of research around the world.
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#transistor_210105 |
| psycho-economics
...
A poorly written, ‘keep in touch’ item. A scan
for specialists.
“ [...] Plato compared the human soul to a chariot pulled by the
two horses of reason and emotion, modern economics has mostly been a one-horse
show. It has been obsessed with reason. In decisions from how much to produce
to whether to save and invest, humans have been assumed to be coolly rational
calculators of their own self-interest. Over the past few years, however,
evidence from psychology has persuaded many economists that reason does
not always have its way [...].”
—
“ [...] In these, a subject chooses his own actions and also tries
to anticipate the choices of the other player. When players are doing the
best that they can to "win" the game by anticipating their opponents'
moves, their brains tend to show a high degree of co-ordination between
the "thinking" and the "feeling" regions. Economic equilibrium,
by this measure, is an identifiable "state of mind" [...].”
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#economics_180105 |
| claim
of 30% efficient photo-electric cell using infra-red
“Researchers at the University of Toronto have invented a flexible
plastic solar cell that is said to be five times more efficient than current
methods in converting energy from the sun into electrical energy.”
—
“ [...] everything that's warm, gives off some heat. Even people and
animals give off heat. So there actually is some power remaining in the
infrared even when it appears to us to be dark outside.”
related material
Replacements
for fossil fuels—what can be done about it?
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#photoelectric_160105 |
watching an ice
crash from space - maybe
This article has been transfered to Arctic
melting ice,sea levels
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#icebergs_120105 |
| v-8
fuel conservation engines: science
“Power-train engineers at DaimlerChrysler and General Motors
have perfected an affordable way to smoothly morph V-8 gas guzzlers into V-4
fuel misers and back again as required. Laying off the accelerator pedal shuts
down unneeded engine cylinders, which allows the remaining ones to operate
at higher thermal and mechanical efficiencies. The result is 6 to 20 percent
better fuel economy, depending on how the vehicles are driven.”
related material
transportable fuel
- a briefing document
the web address for the article above is
https://www.abelard.org/news/lite0501.php#v8_engines040105 |
