Ability to determine mass sinks to a new low

What mass can the world’s smallest scale detect? A zeptogram, which is one gram times 10 to-the-negative-21st power, or about the mass of one protein molecule. How is this done? A small blade is vibrated in a magnetic field. When the particle to be weighed are placed on the blade, the frequency of the vibration changes, and the mass of the particle is related to the frequency. Link.

First soft dinosaur tissue recovered

The 70-million-year-old T. rex thighbone that was unearthed in Montana was too far from a road and too big for the helicopter to lift. So, the team of paleontologists cut it in half. And, to their surprise, inside the bone was soft tissue: blood vessels and cells preserved in deep layers of bone. Because soft tissue decays quickly, samples of dinosaur soft tissue have never before been recovered. “This is something I never dreamed I’d see”, says paleontologist Mary Scheitzer. The soft tissue sample will make it possible to more closely compare dinosaurs to modern living things. If fragments of DNA are found, they will reveal a lot of new genetic information. Link.

Star no longer steals planet's light

Astronomers have identified more than 130 planets beyond our solar system. But until recently, they have never actually seen one of these planets. This because, like Earth, extra-solar planets orbit a star, and the light from the star completely outshines the dim light reflected off a planet. So until recently, the only way to confirm that a planet orbits a distant star is by observing the affects of the planet’s gravity on the star. Light from the planet was recently detected by an innovative method. Light energy signals are gathered from the star when the planet is behind the star. When these signals are subtracted from the light energy signals that are gathered when the planet comes back out from behind the star, what remains is the pure reflected light from the planet. Link.

Nano-this, nano-that

An article from News@nature.com explains how single-celled bacteria are used to assemble parts of nano-machines, the super-miniature silicon chips that process information. The bacteria act as a sort of glue that binds nano-parts together. The bacteria are guided into place by small electric currents. The outer surfaces of the bacteria naturally contain proteins that stick to certain molecules. When nano-parts tagged with these molecules are placed in a fluid and washed over the area, the tagged parts stick to the right nano-spot. Link.

Science shows that the rich got richer

Economists will join physicists to discuss these issues next week in Kolkata, India, at the first ever conference on the "econophysics" of wealth distribution. Physicists are using new models based on simple physical laws to understand the distribution of wealth. Among these physicists is Victor Yakovenko of the University of Maryland, who analysed income data from the US Internal Revenue Service from 1983 to 2001. Data clearly show that the difference between rich and poor has greatly and quickly widened. In 1979, the richest 1% of Americans earned an average of 33.1 times as much as the poorest 20% of Americans. In 2000, the richest earned an average of 88.5 times as the poorest. Link.

Environmental news isn't all bad

The US Environmental Protection Agency's new Clean Air Interstate Rule (CAIR) will require that coal-burning power plants in 28 US states reduce their emissions of smog and soot. Because CAIR regulates the flow of air pollution between states, the rules affects 28 eastern and central states, but does not apply to larger western states like California, where pollution between states is not a critical issue. The goal of CAIR is to cut emissions of sulfur dioxide by 73% and nitrogen oxides by 61% by the year 2015. Atmospheric sulfur dioxide is a major cause of acid rain, and nitrogen oxides creates smog. By reducing rates of lung-related illnesses, the cuts are predicted to prevent 17,000 premature deaths and 700,000 lung-related illnesses every year.

Airline Air and Germs

In March 2003, when one passenger with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) infected 22 fellow passengers on a 3-hour flight from Hong Kong to Beijing. Some infected passengers were seated seven rows away. But, researchers at Tufts-New England Medical Center in Boston say not to worry. They conclude that on-board ventilation systems generally do a good job protecting airline passengers against infection. These ventilation systems completely replace cabin air about every three minutes. When working right, these systems clear 63% of airborne germs with each cycle. The ventilation systems in the airport terminals aren't as good as the ones on the planes, so in reality, your more likely to catch something while you're still on the ground. To reduce the risk of catching an infection on an airplane, health officials advise that you wash your hands frequently, and turn on the blowers above your seat. Link.

The Biggest Stars

How big can a star get? According to newly-published research from the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, the most massive a star can get is between 120 and 150 times the mass of our sun. The new findings really narrow the possiblities, because previously astronomers thought that stars could be anywhere from 10 to 1000 the sun's mass, while some astronomers have argued that there is no mass limit at all. "This will heat up the debate. It is a clear indication that there is an upper limit," says Pavel Kroupa at the University of Bonn, Germany. Knowing the upper limit of a stars mass will help astronomers make better predictions of the masses of other galaxies, and further our understanding of how stars are formed. Link.