Independent Science News | Food, Health and Agriculture Bioscience News Chaos Theory: A Brief Introduction | IMHO What exactly is chaos? The name "chaos theory" comes from the fact that the systems that the theory describes are apparently disordered, but chaos theory is really about finding the underlying order in apparently random data. When was chaos first discovered? The first true experimenter in chaos was a meteorologist, named Edward Lorenz. In 1960, he was working on the problem of weather prediction. Figure 1: Lorenz's experiment: the difference between the starting values of these curves is only .000127. When he came back an hour later, the sequence had evolved differently. By all conventional ideas of the time, it should have worked. This effect came to be known as the butterfly effect. The flapping of a single butterfly's wing today produces a tiny change in the state of the atmosphere. This phenomenon, common to chaos theory, is also known as sensitive dependence on initial conditions. From this idea, Lorenz stated that it is impossible to predict the weather accurately.
Sustainable Berkeley Lab Improbable Research Modelling the Relationship between the Food System and Health, Development, and the Environment | Future of Food The aim of this project is to develop the first integrated model of environmental sustainability, health and economic development. Such a model will allow for in-depth exploration of food production and trade scenarios. Global food systems are highly complex. They are both influenced by and have an influence on health, economic development and the environment. Under these conditions, the challenge is to find a sustainable method to feed the world’s increasing population, whilst considering the trade-offs and synergies between health, environmental sustainability and economic development. An initial goal of the project will be to conduct an audit of data sources that are relevant to this project, which will be used to construct a conceptual framework within which to build the integrated model. Sub-Project: Web-Based PRIME Model
A New Kind of Metal in the Deep Earth | Carnegie Institution for Science Monday, December 19, 2011 Washington, D.C.—The crushing pressures and intense temperatures in Earth’s deep interior squeeze atoms and electrons so closely together that they interact very differently. With depth materials change. Ferropericlase contains both magnesium and iron oxide. Compounds typically undergo structural, chemical, electronic, and other changes under these extremes. “At high temperatures, the atoms in iron oxide crystals are arranged with the same structure as common table salt, NaCl,” explained Cohen. “The results imply that iron oxide is conducting in the whole range of its stability in Earth’s lower mantle.” “The fact that one mineral has properties that differ so completely—depending on its composition and where it is within the Earth—is a major discovery,” concluded Geophysical Laboratory director Russell Hemley.
The Journal of Irreproducible Results The Most Studied Brain in the World was Scanned for a Year and a Half In Brief Stanford psychologist Russell Poldrack's 18-month study of his own brain reveals new relations between the brain and body. His study makes his brain the most examined in all the world. The Most Studied Brain Stanford psychologist Russell Poldrack climbed into an MRI machine and scanned his brain for 10 minutes Tuesdays and Thursdays. “Connectome” is the collective term describing the major networks between different functional areas of the human brain. Poldrack attempted to find answers to the following questions: How does a connectome map relate to your brain? Poldrack fasted and drew blood on Tuesdays for testing with metabolomics (chemical fingerprints in biological fluids) and genomics (gene tests). What We Learned Here are some of his most interesting finds: Poldrack plans to develop software that can illuminate the interaction between brain function and gene expression.
Soil Erosion Soil erosion is a natural process, occurring over geological time, and indeed it is a process that is essential for soil formation in the first place. With respect to soil degradation, most concerns about erosion are related to accelerated erosion, where the natural rate has been significantly increased mostly by human activity. Soil erosion by water is a widespread problem throughout Europe. The processes of soil erosion involve detachment of material by two processes, raindrop impact and flow traction; and transported either by saltation through the air or by overland water flow. By removing the most fertile topsoil, erosion reduces soil productivity and, where soils are shallow, may lead to an irreversible loss of natural farmland. Erosion rate is very sensitive to both climate and land use, as well as to detailed conservation practice at farm level. 4 Different Modelling approaches (PESERA, MESALES, G2, USLE) are presented in this section. G2 Model Soil Erodibility Rainfall Erosivity
Science Illustrated Meerkat Magic Some of the magic moment of filming meerkats for the BBC’s Planet Earth Live. Technology meets fashion This is what happens when fashion and technology come together — a look at the DVF Spring 2013 show through the eyes of the models, the designers and Diane von Furstenberg herself. All… Air traffic worldwide When you look up to the sky remember that at any given time there are between 9,000 and 13,000 aircraft in the air (according to the US Federal Aviation Agency, there are at… Birth of a planet Researchers use 3D models to better our understanding of how planets are formed. Bioengineers developed an artificial jellyfish Medusoid is the brainchild of professor Kevin Kit Parker and a team of researchers at the California Institute of Technology and Harvard University. Snow leopards found in den Mother snow leopards and their cubs have been filmed in their den in Mongolia’s Tost Mountains for the first time. The science behind Spiderman Higgs boson: the quest continues Untamed nature
WebElements Periodic Table of the Elements Soil Biology Why is Soil Biology Important? | What Regulates Soil Biology? | Measuring Soil Biology | Management and Soil Biology | Soil Evaluation of Biological Productivity The soil biota comprises an enormous diversity with reports suggesting there could be greater than 15 000 different species per gram of soil. Much of this diversity, largely from the microflora group, is yet to be classified, however genomic technologies are helping us identify previously unknown soil organisms. This diagram highlights how using genomic technologies based on DNA have exponentially increased the number of microbial organisms we have been able to identify. There are three levels of participation by soil biota in natural soil processes/functions: Ecosystem engineers (e.g. earthworms, termites & ants), Litter transformers (e.g. microarthropods) Micro-food webs (e.g. microbes and microfaunal predators). Ecosystem engineers Litter transformers Micro-food web processors Related Links Further information about Soil Biology.
This View Of Life THIS VIEW OF LIFE ARTICLE June 14, 2015 THIS VIEW OF LIFE ARTICLE May 20, 2015