Science News.......
Life Science:
New Fossil Bug Species Found in
45-Million-Year-Old Baltic Amber
Over
99.9% of the species to have ever inhabited the Earth are now extinct. One member of an extinct bug species was
found trapped in a 45-million-year-old honey-colored, transparent piece of
Baltic amber. (Baltic amber is a
fossilized tree resin found near the shores of the eastern Baltic Sea in
Europe.) Living species of the same
genus, Aradus, commonly live on and
under the bark of dead trees, which could be an explanation why so many species
are well preserved in amber deposits.
The new species has been named Aradus
macrosomus. The specific name comes from the Greek words ‘macros’ (large)
and ‘soma’ (body), referring to the unusually large size of the bug.
http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-fossil-bug-species-baltic-amber-01962.html
http://www.sci-news.com/paleontology/science-fossil-bug-species-baltic-amber-01962.html
Earth Science:
Scientists Discover New Underwater Volcano on
Hawai’i
The Hawaiian Islands formed as the Pacific plate
moved over a source of volcanism (a “hot spot”). The islands formed successively, with each
island or submerged seamount in the chain successively older toward the
northwest, ranging in age from 7 million to 28 million years. As we know it today, the island O’ahu is the
remnants of two eruptions. But scientists have found that extending almost 100
km from the western tip of this island is a large region called the submarine
Ka’ena Ridge. It is that region that has
now been recognized to represent a precursor volcano to the island of O’ahu,
and on whose flanks the later volcanoes formed, creating the island as we see
it today.
http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-kaena-volcano-hawaii-01931.html
http://www.sci-news.com/geology/science-kaena-volcano-hawaii-01931.html
Physical Science:
Physicists Detect Energy-Carrying “Exciton”
in Metal
An
interesting fact about the reflection of light is that the photon (particle of
light) that gets reflected from a mirror is not the same photon that first hit
the mirror. The original photon gets
absorbed and an identical photon is created emitted in a process that involves
a kind of particle called an exciton. Excitons have been difficult to detect,
because they last for only one ten-thousandth of a millionth of a millionth of
a second! But now they have been
detected. The ability to detect excitons
in metals will help scientists better understand how light is converted to
electrical and chemical energy in plants and solar cells. In the future it may result in more efficient
methods of communication using light.
Astronomy:
Gas Dwarfs: Astronomers Identify New Type of
Extrasolar Planets
Our Solar
system hosts small, rocky terrestrial planets like Earth and Mars and large gas
giants like Neptune and Jupiter. But
it’s missing planets between about one and four times the size of Earth. NASA’s Kepler mission has recently discovered
that this type of planet is very common around other stars.
Science & Society
Gender Bias May Influence Hurricane
Preparedness
Hurricane
names help to make public safety messages memorable, but new research shows
that the choice of name may influence how people react to evacuation orders. Although the World Meteorological Organization
assigns the storms alternating male and female names, historical records show
that those with more feminine names had higher death tolls. Could people be avoiding evacuation because
they assume that female-named storms will be gentler? Researchers tested this idea with written
scenarios that described an upcoming storm and asked respondents how dangerous
they expected the storm to be and whether they would follow a voluntary
evacuation order. No matter which names
they used —Victor/Victoria, Christopher/Christine, or selections from the
upcoming hurricane name lists — respondents who read about male-named
hurricanes judged them as riskier and said they would be more likely to
evacuate than people who read about hurricanes with female names. The researchers say that this may reflect an
"implicit sexism" that gets in the way of understanding and
responding to public safety messages. A
new naming system perhaps based on animals or objects may be in order, they
suggest.
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