venus williams blog: Science

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Mike Byster, aka Human Calculator

genius math teacher MIKE-BYSTER

Mike Byster (C.V.), aka Human Calculator, is a math volunteer teacher in Chicago area. He has one of the fastest mathematical minds in the world, and can answer complex math problems in front of his students instantaneously. Mike created a system for solving complex math problems he calls "Mike's Math." The system uses a series of patterns and shortcuts that demystify how numbers work.

Link to ABC to read the full report of 'Mike's Math', or you want your children trained on "Mike's Math" seminars, please visit http://www.mikesmath.com

Ko San Selected as First Astronaut of South Korea

Ko San, an athletic talent who won a bronze medal in the national amateur boxing competition in 2004 , were picked up as South Korea's first astronaut by the country's Ministry of Science and Technology today on September 5. The 30-year-old computer engineer beat out Yi So-yeon, a 29-year-old female doctorate researcher during the final selection. Ko is set to fly on board Soyuz TMA-12 during an eight day trip to the International Space Station (ISS) in April 2008.

Ko was born in Busan and raised in Seoul. He graduated from Seoul National University and was a researcher at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology in the artificial intelligence and computer vision field, before being picked for the astronaut program of South Korea.

Update: Ko San was demoted to the back-up of Yi So-Yeon after he violated security protocol at a Russian training centre. Mar 9, 2008

Sources: Former Boxer Will Go to Space in April @ Korea Times

Biography of Yi So-yeon @ Spacefacts.de

Related reading: Ko San to Boost Korea’s Dream for Space Power @ Korea Times

Scientist J. Craig Venter Decoded Own DNA

Photo: Thor Swift for The New York Times

Scientist J. Craig Venter

, probably knows more about his own biology than any other human being today, because he has published almost all 6 billion letters, or 96 percent, of his own personal genetic code in the journal PLoS Biology. From the mapped genome, he's found genetic proof of links to blindness, alcoholism, lactose intolerance, substance abuse, hypertension, obesity, even the type of earwax and many more illness. Apparently, Mr. Venter wasn't bothered by these negative findings, instead he enjoys his life more than ever.

Sources: Mapping own DNA changes scientist's life @ CNN

In the Genome Race, the Sequel Is Personal @ NYT

Picture of Rare September 1 Aurigid Meteor Shower Illustration

Astronomers predict that an extremely rare Aurigid meteor shower will occur September 1st. Peter Jenniskens (photo), an expert on meteor showers who also works at NASA Ames Research Center, said that the shower will be visible by the naked eye from the western United States, especially in California, Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico, and the western provinces of Canada. Prime viewing time will be on Saturday, September 1, 2007, from 4:06 a.m. – 5:06 a.m. PDT.

The picture above shows an artist's illustration that depicts the vast Oort Cloud of comets, whose castoffs are expected to create a rare kind of meteor show tonight.

If you will have taken the photos of Aurigid meteor shower, don't hesitate to let us know and we'd like to post a link to them.

Source: NASA & Nationalgeographic

How Many Moons Does Mars Have?

The stunning picture from NASA, I think, clearly tells us that the red planet Mars has only two diminutive moons, Phobos and Deimos:

Mars' moons were discovered in August of 1877 by Asaph Hall at the US Naval Observatory using the large 26-inch Alvan Clark refractor. Recorded on this August 22nd, innermost moon Phobos and outermost moon Deimos are seen here against the planet's glare in a digital composite image. The picture consists of of a long exposure capturing the faint, city-sized moons and overexposing the planetary disk, combined with a well exposed image of the red planet, revealing dark markings on the surface and the white south polar cap. The images were taken by astronomer Johannes Schedler using an 11-inch Schmidt-Cassegrain telescope at his observatory in southeastern Austria.

p.s. Never previously in modern human history has Mars been as bright or as close to Earth as on the night of August 27, 2008.

Source: APOD & Astrobio

World's Oldest Human Footprint Found in Eygpt

Archaeologists in Egypt claimed to have found what they believe might be the oldest human footprint in history.

"This could go back about two million years," said Zahi Hawass, the secretary general of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. "It could be the most important discovery in Egypt," he said.

Archaeologists found the footprint, imprinted on mud and then hardened into rock, while exploring a prehistoric site in Siwa, a desert oasis.

Scientists are using carbon tests on plants found in the rock to determine its exact age, Hawass said.

Khaled Saad, the director of Prehistory Department at the council, said that based on the age of the rock where the footprint was found, it could date back even further than the renowned 3-million year-old fossil Lucy, the partial skeleton of a human, found in Ethiopia in 1974.

Source: Press TV

How the Space Shuttle Landing to Earth

As the Hurricane Dean with Grade 5 which already lashed Mexico Yucatan Peninsular possibly hits USA, and thus it may pose the threats for the shuttle Endeavor's safely landing in Florida. Before that bad scenario happens, you can have a good reading of BBC's How the Shuttle Returns to Earth

To return to Earth the space shuttle must make a series of complicated manouevres to align itself into the correct position to achieve a safe descent.
1. The shuttle flies upside down in orbit to control its heating.

2. To re-enter the atmosphere, the shuttle is turned tail first to the direction of travel, and fires its engines to slow its speed.

3. The orbiter is then flipped the right way up and enters the top layer of the atmosphere at about a 40-degree angle from horizontal with its wings level.

4. The orientation keeps its black thermal tiles facing the majority of the heat - as high 1,650C (3,000F) on the leading edges of the wings and nose.

5. As its speed drops, the shuttle starts to fly more like an aircraft, using its rudder and wing flaps for control. It banks sharply to slow its speed still further

6. The shuttle falls from a height of more than 360km at speeds that top Mach 30, and at an angle of 19 degrees, far steeper than that of a commercial aircraft. The spacecraft comes to a dead stop half a world a way from where it began the descent.

British Student Unearthed World's Oldest Chewing Gum in Finland

When excavating in a Neolithic area called “Kierikkikangas” (4.000 and 5.000 years before Christ) in Finland, the 23-year-old Sarah Pickin, from UK's Derby University discovered an unprecedented 5000-year-old “Chewing Gum”with tooth imprints on it. The world's oldest chewing gum is believed to be what Neolithic people used as an antiseptic. Link

Mira, the Dying Star with a 13-light-year-lond Tail

Using Nasa’s space telescope Galaxy Evolution Explorer, scientists discovered a stunning 13-light-year-old tail of the dying star Mira , which is located 350 light-years (A light year is about 6 trillion miles, the distance light travels in a year) from Earth in the ‘whale’ constellation Cetus.

Rocketing through our Milky Way galaxy at 130 km per second — literally faster than a speeding bullet — the star is spewing material (made up of oxygen, carbon and nitrogen) that scientists believe may be recycled into new stars, planets and maybe even life. Link

Photo 51

From Wikipedia

Photo 51 is the name given to an X-ray diffraction image of DNA taken by Rosalind Franklin in 1952 that was critical evidence in identifying the structure of DNA. The photo was taken by Franklin while working at King's College London in Sir John Randall's group.

The photo, shown by Maurice Wilkins to James D. Watson, was the critical evidence that led to the confirmation of the postulated double helical structure of DNA, published in a series of five articles in the 1953 issues of the journal Nature. Franklin and Raymond Gosling's own publication in the same issue of Nature was the first publications of this more clarified X-ray image of DNA.

Stem Cells Reduce Parkinson's Symptoms

US scientists have successfully eased the symptoms of Parkinson's disease in monkeys with the help of human stem cell transplants.

The researchers led by Dr. Richard Sidman at the Harvard Institutes of Medicine in Boston isolated stem cells from the brains of aborted foetuses, and grew them into large numbers in the laboratory.

They injected the cells into the brains of monkeys with a severe form of chemically induced Parkinson's disease.

Before the treatment, the monkeys could not walk unaided, struggled to use their hands, and sometimes were unable to move at all. However two months after the treatment, they started walking, feeding themselves, and move more normally.

It surprised the team that the stem cells - rather than replacing the damaged cells as anticipated - actually worked to protect them, preventing further deterioration.

"These results are from a very early stage pre-clinical trial using an animal model of Parkinson's," Dr Kieran Breen, Director of Research and Development for the Parkinson's Disease Society, however, cautioned, "Further trials are needed to establish whether similar results are seen in people who have Parkinson's." Source: Kerala | BBC | NS

Sweden Scientists Made Talking Paper

Digital paper that can speak to you has been created by scientists.

The prototype display uses conductive inks, which are sensitive to pressure, and printed speakers.

Researchers from Mid Sweden University have constructed an interactive paper billboard that emits recorded sound in response to a user's touch.

The key to the billboard's capabilities is a layer of digital paper that is embedded with electronics.
This is printed with conductive inks, which, when applied with pressure, relay information to a micro-computer that contains recorded audio files. Sound then streams out from printed speakers, which are formed from more layers of conductive inks that sit over an empty cavity to form a diaphragm.
This functional layer is sandwiched between a thick sheet of extra-strong cardboard and another sheet of paper that is printed with the billboard's design.
At present, the displays are expensive to produce, but the researchers are aiming to find ways of lowering the costs to make the boards easier to change and replace.

Apple Peel Might Protect Against Cancers

Cornell researchers have identified a dozen compounds -- triterpenoids -- in apple peel that either inhibit or kill cancer cells in laboratory cultures. Three of the compounds have not previously been described in the literature.

"We found that several compounds have potent anti-proliferative activities against human liver, colon and breast cancer cells and may be partially responsible for the anti-cancer activities of whole apples," says Rui Hai Liu, Cornell associate professor of food science. Liu is affiliated with Cornell's Institute of Comparative and Environmental Toxicology and is senior author of the study, which is online and published this month in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

With co-author Xiangjiu He, a Cornell postdoctoral researcher, Liu analyzed the peel from 230 pounds of red delicious apples from the Cornell Orchard and isolated their individual compounds. After identifying the structures of the promising compounds in the peel, the researchers tested the pure compounds against cancer cell growth in the laboratory. In the past, Liu has also identified compounds called phytochemicals -- mainly flavonoids and phenolic acids -- in apples and other foods that appear to be have anti-cancer properties as well, including inhibiting tumor growth in human breast cancer cells.

Source: Physorg

Polynesian Discovered New World Discovered Earlier Than Colombus?

Maybe! From LiveScience via

Popular history, and a familiar rhyme about Christopher Columbus, holds that Europeans made contact with the Americas in 1492, with some arguing that the explorer and his crew were the first outsiders to reach the New World.

But chicken bones recently unearthed at an archaeological site called El Arenal, on the south coast of Chile—dating prior to Columbus’ “discovery” of America and resembling the DNA of a fowl species native to Polynesia—may challenge that notion, researchers say.

While chickens aren’t native to the region, it was believed the local Araucana species found there now was brought to the Americas by Spanish settlers around 1500.

“Chickens could not have gotten to South America on their own—they had to be taken by humans,” said anthropologist Lisa Matisoo-Smith from the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Polynesians made contact with the west coast of South America as much as a century before any Spanish conquistadors, her findings imply.

“We had the chicken bone directly dated by radio carbon. The calibrated date was clearly prior to 1492,” Matisoo-Smith told LiveScience, noting that it could have ranged anywhere from 1304 to 1424.

DNA extracted from the bones also matched closely with a Polynesian breed of chicken, rather than any chickens found in Europe.

Video: Floating Magnet

Look at this magnet with no electrical resistance floats above certain gaseous materials.

Purple Fluorescent Frog

The purple fluorescent frog, of the genus Atelopus was discovered during a follow-up survey of the Nassau plateau in mid 2006 by Surinamese scientists. The frog is one of 24 new species found in the South American highlands of Suriname, but like the Amazon pink dolphins, they are all threatened by activities (e.g. illegal gold mining) of human beings. via SN

Miniature Clone Pigs Bred for Organ Transplant Experiments

A group of scientists from China Agricultural University, Tianjin Academy of Agricultural Sciences and two biotechnological companies jointly cloned six mini pigs in a Tianjin pig farm on May 24, two of which successfully survived.

The successful cloning of two Gottingen male pigs whose organs are similar in size to those of humans might bring the prospect of transplanting pig organs into people closer.

The two miniature male pigs whose birth weights were 0.55 kilograms and 0.6 kilograms were reported to be healthy at present.

Cloned Gottingen mini pigs are regarded as the best breed for carrying out medical experiments because there are many evident similarities between humans and this kind of pig with regard to the sizes of organs and physiological statuses of the two species. Source: Xinhua

Malaysian Scientists Make Viagra Alternative from Walnuts

Researchers at Malaysia's top higher institute Universiti Malaya (UM) has developed a tablet containing walnut extract which has shown potential as a local alternative to Viagra.

So far 40 volunteers had tried the tablet called “N-Hanz” and responded positively.

Accoridng to Prof Dr Kim Kah Hwi, one of the researchers at UM Faculty of Medicine Physiology Department, the tablet's efficacy was comparable to Viagra.

The N-Hanz tablet which has been approved by Malaysian Health Ministry takes about an hour for the effects to set in and it will last for about four hours.

Because the tablet made from walnut extract is not a drug, it is even safe for those with hypertension or diabetes, or those who had heart bypasses.

Wanna know about this miraculous 'viagra'? Check out the report on theStar!

Father of DNA Gets His Own Personal Genome Map

The Nobel Prize-winning scientist James Watson who helped discover the molecular structure of DNA made another breakthrough, this time as the subject of research., The 79-year-old became the first person to receive his own personal genome map, a breakdown of his DNA that could show illnesses he's predisposed to contracting.
"I knew I was risking possible anxiety when I saw it," said Watson, who was presented the map during a ceremony at Baylor College of Medicine. "But it's much more that if I don't sleep at night it's due to thinking about Iraq rather than about my genome."
Researchers say the mapping of Watson's DNA is the first step in making the sequencing of individual human genomes quick, affordable and a routine part of personal medical care.
The $1 million, two-month project was a collaboration between 454 Life Sciences Corp., a Connecticut company that specializes in DNA sequencing, and Baylor College of Medicine's Human Genome Sequencing Center.

Links: MSNBC | Photo: Xinhua

Kid's Longer Ring Finger May Predict Higher SAT Scores

To test the link to children's scores on the College Board's Scholastic Assessment Test, Mark Brosnan [of the psychology department at England's University of Bath] and his associates made photocopies of children's palms and measured the length of their index and ring fingers using calipers accurate to 0.01 millimeters. They used the finger-length ratios as a proxy for the levels of testosterone and estrogen exposure.

The researchers then looked at boys' and girls' test performances separately and compared them to finger-length ratio measurements. They found a clear link between high prenatal testosterone exposure, indicated by the longer index finger compared to the ring finger, and higher scores on the math SAT.

Similarly, they found higher literacy SAT scores for the girls among those who had lower prenatal testosterone exposure, as indicated by a shorter ring finger compared with the index finger.

The researchers also compared the finger-lengths ratios to all the children's SAT scores and found a relatively longer ring finger -- indicating greater prenatal exposure to testosterone --meant a wider gap in scores for math versus literacy (writing and critical reading).

Source: Xinhua