Podcasts

Fuel consumption and emissions can be reduced with new technologies.

A feasibility study completed by engineers from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory suggested that landfills are an excellent place to install photovoltaic systems that can sell electric energy. The land is flat, free of obstructions and of limited agricultural residential or industrial value. Payment on investment can be achieve in as little as 11 years.

Shortcoming also may help explain how propaganda has contributed to torture and genocide.

The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog, a new online database of habitable worlds. The database suggests over 15 exoplanets and 30 exomoons as potential habitable candidates.

Adolescent judo athletes that train in tropical climates may be in a persistent state of dehydration because they frequently restrict fluids during daily training sessions to maintain or reduce their body weight and are not given enough opportunities to drink.

Co-occurrence Patterns of the Dengue Vector Aedes aegypti and Aedes mediovitattus, a Dengue Competent Mosquito in Puerto Rico.

By Little E, Barrera R, Seto KC, Diuk-Wasser M.

Yale School of Public Health and Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, New Haven, CT, USA, eliza@elizalittle.com.

Ecohealth. 2011 Oct 12.

The topic of climate change has been in the news for quite some time. However, it is now known what its impact might be on Puerto Rico's coastal ecosystems. Scientist Ricardo Colón Rivera researches how climate change might impact the Humacao Natural Reserve.

According to a Spanish scientist, organic food is no healthier or better for the environment than non-organic foods.

From blue whales to earthworms, a common biological mechanism gives shape to living beings.

Amber is important for science. Its chemical composition and fossil preservation abilities allow scientists to identify what type of resin created any piece of amber and the type of flora that existed in a given area millions of years ago.

In Puerto Rico there are more than 250,000 residential septic tanks, especially in rural areas. There is a concern that if septic tanks were not designed properly and their construction did not take into account the porosity of the soil, they might be sending polluted water to both under-ground and above-ground fresh water sources.

Amit Varma, a Purdue associate professor of civil engineering, is leading work that could lead to safer steel structures such as buildings and bridges. The work is based at Purdue's Robert L. and Terry L. Bowen Laboratory for Large-Scale Civil Engineering Research. This lab is one of a handful of facilities where testing can be performed on full-scale structures instead of smaller-scale specimens, yielding more accurate data.

Participating in science fairs familiarize students with the challenges and rewards of scientific research.

A sample of Puerto Rican participants living in NY were asked about the knowledge and use of folk remedies for asthma. They documented widespread use of ingested and topical remedies and behavioral strategies for asthma, but they were significantly more likely to use behavioral strategies or perceive them as effective.

Stanford University researchers developed a method to “hear” sunspots in the early stage of development, about two days before becoming visible. This early detection allows scientists to predict when particle and radiation will be ejected from the sunspots, emissions that might impact electronic systems on Earth.

A group of scientists that included researchers from UPR-Mayaguez examined a stalagmite from an Utuado cave and discovered rain patterns in the western tropical Atlantic Ocean between the year 1200 to the present.

Successfully tested in Rwanda, an innovative hand-held lab-on-a-chip could streamline blood testing worldwide. This technology can diagnose infectious diseases like HIV and syphilis at patients' bedsides.

Rice University study shows house mice found unexpected ways to evolve resistance. Mice are adept at evolving traits that make them resistant to a particular rodent poison not only through point mutation but also through horizontal gene transfer.

A study concluded that both real and fake ionic bracelets reduce the perception of pain in a group of 600+ participants. This is a classic example of the placebo effect, a perceived improvement triggered by the brain, not the pseudoscientific product.

A balance between mitosis, cell reproduction, and apoptosis, cell death, is critical to human health. At the cellular level, death is essential for life.

Anesthesia helps many of us during our lives. But even though anesthetics have been used more than 150 years, doctors and scientists are still untangling its mysteries.

The first organisms to emerge after an ancient worldwide glaciation likely evolved hardy survival skills, arming themselves with tough exteriors to weather a frozen climate. Scanning electron microscopy images show a microscopic, oval-shaped shell 710 million years old. The surface of the shell is made up of tiny bits of silica, aluminum and potassium, which the organism likely collected from the environment and glued to form armor.

Puerto Rican architect Wilfredo Méndez Vázquez (School of Architecture, University of Puerto Rico) researches structural designs based on principles of biological adaptation for reinforced concrete morphologies to reduce the seismic vulnerability of concrete structures.

The Visible Paleo-Earth (VPE), the first collection of photorealistic visualizations of our planet from space in the last 750 million years, is released today by The Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (UPR Arecibo).

“Power Balance” manufacturers admit there is no scientific evidence that their bracelets improve energy, stamina, force, and flexibility, another classic case of pseudoscientific fraud.

The researchers estimate that about 1 million kids with asthma receive unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions in the United States each year.

Recently discovered worm with bone-eating lifestyle not exclusive to whale carcasses.

A study from the Federal Commerce Commission summarizes a number of false claims usually presented in weight-loss poduct marketing and the hard science that explain why the claim are scientiically implausible.

Companies looking to engineer an eco-friendly diesel fuel have more red lights in their path. According to Kansas State University researchers, making petroleum diesel completely green would not only bend the laws of physics, it would cost too much green.

The Aguas Buenas Cave System are threatened by over-development and pollution.

Thailandese scientists identify the biochemical composition of banana and plantain plant sap.

Scientists are excited about solving some of the mysteries surrounding our smallest and hottest planet; the findings are expected to broaden our understanding of rocky planets, more and more of which are being discovered in other solar systems.

European Space Agency’s Mars Express has returned new images of an elongated impact crater in the southern hemisphere of Mars.

A collaboration between Technische Universitaet Muenchen (TUM) and German auto manufacturer Bayerische Motoren Werke (BMW) clears obstacles to lighter, cheaper alternative to copper wiring.

An awareness campaign from the American Association of Physics Teachers aims at increasing enrollment in high school and college physics courses.

Researchers from the University of Murcia have studied the effects of contamination at petrol stations that is potentially harmful to health, which can be noted in buildings less than 100 meters from the service stations.

Year of the Turtle campaign is working to save these animals.

Touchscreens are “in” but the technology still has its price. The little screens contain rare and expensive elements. Researchers at Fraunhofer are coming up with an alternative display made of low-priced carbon and plastics.

The first large-scale, physics-based space weather prediction model is transitioning from research into operation. It will provide scientists and the general public with advance warning of solar storms.

A new study led by CU-Boulder Associate Professor Kenneth Wright, above, indicates a common sleep medication puts adults more at risk for nighttime falls and potential injuries.

Better satellite instruments are improving measurements of solar energy reaching Earth, scientists report in Geophysical Research Letters. Determining the contribution of solar fluctuations to rising global temperature could settle once and for all to what extent climate change is natural or man-made.

In research described as "a stark warning" to those tempted to start smoking, scientists are reporting that cigarette smoke begins to cause genetic damage within minutes — not years — after inhalation into the lungs.

When appendicitis strikes, open surgery reduces infection risk for some patients.

U. of I. entomology professor James Whitfield and doctoral student Josephine Rodriguez led the taxonomic part of a multi-disciplinary study of microgastrine wasps.

Galaxy Zoo webpage allows the general public to participate in real scientific research by classifying galaxies by shape and color.

Scientists who have determined how much carbon is stored annually in upper Midwest forests hope their findings will be used to accelerate global discussion about the strategy of managing forests to offset greenhouse gas emissions.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have transformed cells from human skin into cells that produce insulin, the hormone used to treat diabetes.

A team led by a Yale University astronomer has discovered the least luminous, most dark matter-filled galaxy known to exist.

Using computer simulations, scientists explore the melting behavior of ice at very high pressure, 100,000 to 500,000 atmospheres.

Insecticide malathion initiates chain reaction that deprives tadpoles of food source, indirectly killing them at doses too small to kill them directly.

Scientists from Interamerican University of Puerto Rico argue for a biopsychosocial model of health for the effective treatment of pediatric cancer and its impact on patients and family.

Scientists of the Soil Science and Geopharmacy Research Group of the University of Granada (Spain), directed by Rafael Delgado, have discovered and characterized a new type of atmospheric aerosols named 'iberulites', which could be useful for the study of relevant atmospheric reactions from Earth.

Honey may reduce healing times in patients suffering mild to moderate burn wounds.

Rice University students develop a 'BioBeer' that contains resveratrol, a naturally occurring compound that some studies have found to have anti-inflammatory, anticancer and cardiovascular benefits.

Dr. Walter Frontera is one of the first physicians of Puerto Rican descent who have been elected as member of the United States Institute of Medicine.

Engineers from University of Leeds spinout company Instrumentel Ltd have played a crucial role in the next attempt to break the land speed record.

Personal odor may someday be used to identify individuals.

A new nano-engineered anti-reflective coating developed by researchers boosts the amount of sunlight captured by solar panels and allows those panels to absorb the entire spectrum of sunlight from any angle, regardless of the sun's position in the sky.

A new study has found that children who are very distressed when their parents fight also have higher levels of cortisol, a stress hormone. This hormone has been linked to a wide range of mental and physical health difficulties.

"Green collar" jobs present the next frontier for U.S. manufacturing, says a new report from Duke University.

University of Alberta research has yielded a way to double the output of rice crops in some of the world's poorest, most distressed areas.

A team of scientists from across Europe are embarking on new research to develop a treatment for food allergy.

Scientists from the Hospital San Lucas School of Medicine in Ponce challenge the traditional belief that in Puerto Rico there are no venomous snakes. A case study of patients who were bitten by the Puerto Rican Racer (Alsophis portoricensis) suggests that it has a venomous bite.

Spanish researchers have found patterns of behavior that occur before earthquakes, allowing them to forecast medium-large seismic movements when certain circumstances coincide.

Smithsonian scientists issue call to action for archaeological sites threatened by rising seas and global climate change

A new study shows how an amphibious fish stays alive for up to two months on land. It's all in the skin.

African American, Native American, and Mexican American teens who do well in school suffer from a higher "nerd penalty" than white, Asian, and Hispanic youth, according to a new analysis.

A common roadside plant could have the right stuff to become a new source of biofuel, according to U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) studies. Scientists with the Agricultural Research Service (ARS), USDA's principal intramural scientific research agency, have found that field pennycress yields impressive quantities of seeds whose oil could be used in biodiesel production.

With a long professional career in Puerto Rico, the United States, Indonesia and Chile, Dr. Víctor Blanco is the first Puerto Rican to obtain a doctoral degree in astronomy.

The mathematical skills of boys and girls, as well as men and women, are substantially equal, according to a new examination of existing studies in the current online edition of journal Psychological Bulletin.

Scientists from University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez’ Chemistry Department study the use of shredded car tires to remove toxic substances from the environment.

Mayo Clinic physicians analize the ethical and legal permissibility of withholding or withdrawing life-sustaining treatments and palliative sedation, compared with physician-assisted suicide or euthanasia.

Astronomers used a clever technique to cull the data archives of NASA's Hubble Space Telescope to add 14 new trans-Neptunian objects to the catalog. Their method promises to turn up hundreds more.

Cow belches, a major source of greenhouse gases, could be decreased by an unusual feed supplement developed by a Penn State dairy scientist.

Powering homes with electricity collected from the air may be possible after scientists report solving a centuries old riddle about how moisture in the atmosphere becomes electrically charged.

University of Wisconsin scientists found that fetus nutrition in the last trimester and its exposure to infectious disease are associated with heart disease decades later, when they become senior citizens.

The way that humanity reacts to climate change may do more damage to many areas of the planet than climate change itself.

Engineering graduate student Zhixia Li from the University of Cincinnati headed a real-world project that every driver can relate to: the "yellow light dilemma." Are you, as a driver, more likely to stop or speed through a yellow light?

A new generation of intranasal drugs may replace the needle used to give local anesthetic in the dentist's chair for many procedures. The discovery, that could lead to noninvasive treatments for dental pain, migraine, and other conditions, was reported in the journal Molecular Pharmaceutics.

The discovery of nine new planets challenges the reigning theory of the formation of planets, according to new observations by astronomers. Two of the astronomers involved in the discoveries are based at the UC Santa Barbara-affiliated Las Cumbres Observatory Global Telescope Network (LCOGT), based in Goleta, Calif., near UCSB.

When people in your neighborhood get together to solve local problems using the scientific method, you are practicing "community science". This way of understanding the world has important individual and group benefits.

In a first-of-its-kind experiment, the unique conditions of spaceflight will be used to examine how cells remain healthy or succumb to disease, particularly in the face of stress or damage. 

A new technique developed by Princeton University engineers for producing electricity-conducting plastics could dramatically lower the cost of manufacturing solar panels. By overcoming technical hurdles to producing plastics that are translucent, malleable and able to conduct electricity, the researchers have opened the door to broader use of the materials in a wide range of electrical devices.

Echolocating bats use rapid-fire broadcast-echo pairs to navigate through forests of obstacles. Bats make subtle changes in the frequency of each broadcast to keep them from overlapping, confusing the bat and increasing the chance of collisions.

Showering and bathing wash medicated creams, ointments, and chemical in our sweat off the skin, down the drain, and into the environment.

Rolf Halden, associate professor in the School of Sustainable Engineering at Arizona State University and assistant director of Environmental Biotechnology at the Biodesign Institute has undertaken a survey of existing scientific literature concerning the hazards of plastics to human health and to the ecosystems we depend on. His findings, which appear in latest issue of the Annual Review of Public Health, are sobering.

Using NASA satellite data, scientists have found that groundwater levels in northern India have been declining by as much as one foot per year over the past decade. Researchers concluded the loss is almost entirely due to human activity.

A Canadian scientist found a chemical process to extract gallotannins from mangó seeds. These polyphenolic compounds have demostrated antibacterial properties that can have commercial applications.

Long denigrated as vestigial or useless, the appendix now appears to have a reason to be – as a “safe house” for the beneficial bacteria living in the human gut.

The complete asexuality of a widespread fungus-gardening ant, the only ant species in the world known to have dispensed with males entirely, has been confirmed by a team of Texas and Brazilian researchers.

Aquaculture accounts for 50 percent of the fish consumed globally. While the industry is more efficient than ever, it is also putting a significant strain on marine resources by consuming large amounts of feed made from wild fish harvested from the sea.

Study indicates need for further research to determine environmental, health impacts.

UV exposure has increased over the last 30 years, but stabilized since the mid-1990s
 The largest increases in UV have occurred in the southern hemisphere during summers. In the tropics, increases in UV have been minimal.

Could lead to even stronger synthetic materials.

A new study has found that increasing dissolved oxygen concentrations in alcohol may help to reduce alcohol-related side effects and accidents.

University of Liverpool scientists that viruses and bacteria evolved quicker when they interact and compete for survival.

Walking heels-first is less work than walking on your toes or balls of the feet.

Boston University bioengineers detail process

A new report from the National Academy of Science describes the benefits and challenges of integrating engineering fundamentals in the K-12 curriculum.

24 of world's 33 major deltas sinking, 85 percent have experienced severe flooding recently.

New vaccine delivery may be as effective against measles as traditional immunizations.

The increasing acidity of the world's oceans are definitive proof that the atmospheric carbon dioxide that is causing climate change is also negatively affecting the marine environment.

NASA will launch small research satellites for several universities as part of the agency's Educational Launch of Nanosatellite, or ELaNA, mission. The picosatellites, called CubeSats because of their shape, come from Montana State University, the University of Colorado and Kentucky Space, which includes Morehead State University.

A new report from the National Research Council lays out options NASA could follow to detect more near-Earth objects (NEOs) – asteroids and comets that could pose a hazard if they cross Earth's orbit.

Scientists are reporting the first evidence from human research that blueberries improve memory in older adults.

Many earthquakes and tsunamis have occurred in the northeastern Caribbean, where the movements of the Earth’s surface plates are rapid and complicated. Future such events pose serious hazards to the 3.7 million people who live in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Funding state-of-the-art buildings and equipment, including one in San Juan Puerto Rico, will enable advances in biomedical research and create new science jobs.

Scientists at the University of California, Davis, have identified the dominant odor naturally produced in humans and birds that attracts the blood-feeding Culex mosquitoes, which transmit West Nile virus and other life-threatening diseases.

Israeli and Asian scientists found a relationship between gambling behaviors and the activity of gen MAOA.

A UC Riverside-led study reports on the effects of biological oxygen production nearly 100 million years before oxygen accumulated in the atmosphere.

Pilot Study May Lead to Larger Effort to Reduce Turtle Bycatch.

A road trial of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), which could one day end up in every Australian driveway, is underway.

Solar wind generated by the sun is probably driven by a process involving powerful magnetic fields, according to a new study led by UCL (University College London) researchers based on the latest observations from the Hinode satellite.

A scientist from the Florida Institute of Technology discovers that local weather conditions determine coral reproduction.

Ecological markets offer a healthy, local, and fresh alternative when buying fruits, vegetables and more!

Platinum-catalyzed photosynthetic process creates high-yield sustainable source of hydrogen

Statewide analysis shows bystanders can save more lives when doing chest compressions only instead of mouth-to-mouth CPR.

Plants don't mind sharing space with their kin but when they're potted with strangers of the same species they start invigorating their leaves, a study by McMaster University reveals.

Deep sea teeming with species that have never known sunlight.

Eating giant snails could address malnutrition.

Homo floresiensis not diseased sub-population of healthy humans.

A genetic tool uncovers the species of tuna plated in sushi restaurants.

Research suggests that everyday germs may prevent diseases in adulthood.

A new study corroborates the link between olor and memory in humans.

The objective of this study was to assess the burden of endometriosis by obtaining Patient Reported Outcome (PRO) data describing the experience of living with this disease. Survey data
from one hundred and seven women with self-reported, surgically diagnosed endometriosis showed that living with endometriosis may be characterized by physical limitations that disrupt health, work and daily life.

The Habitable Exoplanets Catalog is a new online database of habitable worlds. The database suggests over 15 exoplanets and 30 exomoons as potential habitable candidates.

Adolescent judo athletes that train in tropical climates may be in a persistent state of dehydration because they frequently restrict fluids during daily training sessions to maintain or reduce their body weight and are not given enough opportunities to drink.

The Visible Paleo-Earth (VPE), the first collection of photorealistic visualizations of our planet from space in the last 750 million years, is released today by The Planetary Habitability Laboratory (PHL) of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo (UPR Arecibo).

Technische Universitaet Muenchen and BMW collaborates to clear obstacles to lighter, cheaper alternative.