Science

AGU: Searching For Oldest Ice In Antarctica

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Robert Mulvaney (dressed in black) and the Beyond EPICA surveying team. Courtesy/British Antarctic Survey
 
AGU News:
 
Drilling engineer and ice core scientist Robert Mulvaney has driven thousands of kilometers over Antarctica in the past few years in a snow tractor, creeping slowly over one of the highest points of the ice sheet, near a location known as Dome C.
 
He’s looking for the perfect place to drill one and a half million years into the past. Gas trapped in the ice as it formed holds clues to Earth’s past climate and, Mulvaney believes, the atmospheric conditions that
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LANL Scientists And International Partners Create 3-D Image Of Heart RNA Structure For First Time

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The first 3-D images have been created of an RNA molecule known as ‘Braveheart’ for its role in transforming stem cells into heart cells. Courtesy/LANL

LANL News:

  • Work could lead to new strategies in regenerative medicine for heart conditions

Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory and international partners have created the first 3-D images of a special type of RNA molecule that is critical for stem cell programming and known as the “dark matter” of the genome. 

“As far as we know,” said corresponding author Karissa Sanbonmatsu, “this is the first full 3-D structural study of any Read More

Study: Deforestation Changing Animal Communication

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Howler monkey. Courtesy/UofW

University of Waterloo News:

Deforestation is changing the way monkeys communicate in their natural habitat, according to a new study.

This study, led by an anthropologist at the University of Waterloo, offers the first evidence in animal communication scholarship of differences in vocal behaviors in response to different types of forest edge areas.

Working in a tropical lowland rainforest in Costa Rica, the researchers examined how human-caused forest habitat changes have affected vegetation and, in turn, the rate and length of howling by the group-living Read More

Journey Into World Of Fractals At Nature Center Friday

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Explore the fascinating world of fractals at 7 p.m. Friday in the planetarium at the Los Alamos Nature Center. Courtesy/PEEC

PEEC News:

Journey into the never-ending world of fractals in an amazing tour of science, math and art at 7 p.m. Friday, Jan. 10 at the Los Alamos Nature Center.

Peter Polko will show the award-winning, full-dome planetarium show “Fantastic Fractals”. This show takes viewers on a tour of the fractals in nature and zooms through infinitely complex mathematical fractions.

Featuring original music, the show is both educational and highly entertaining and is appropriate Read More

Scientists In The Spotlight: Nathan Debardeleben And Linda Anderman At Bradbury Science Museum Jan. 11

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Nathan Debardeleben and Linda Anderman. Courtesy/LANL
 
LANL News:
 
Scientists in the Spotlight: Nathan Debardeleben and Linda Anderman will meet community members 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 11 at the Bradbury Science Museum.
 
Supercomputing Reliability
 
Nathan Debardeleben, with the Lab’s High Performance Computing Design Group, started designing, programming and tinkering at an early age. At the Lab, Debardeleben uses his knowledge to help build the latest supercomputers and keep them running in tip-top shape—no matter what the environment throws
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Science On Tap With Hisato Yamaguchi Jan. 13

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LANL scientist Hisato Yamaguchi examines a material for night vision goggles that is coated with atomic armor one atom thick. A piece of paper is 500,000 atoms thick. Courtesy/BSM
 
BSM News:
 
Science on Tap with Hisato Yamaguchi: a conversation about how this research at Los Alamos contributes to the Lab’s national security mission, at 5:30 p.m., Monday, Jan. 13, at projectY Cowork, 150 Central Park Square.
 
Yamaguchi studies initial corrosion processes using surface science techniques and synthesizes atomically thin, two-dimensional protection crystals for
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The Manhattan Project Electronic Field Trip Feb. 4

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Film crew at the replica guard gate in Los Alamos. Courtesy/BSM
 
BSM News:
 
The National WWll Museum in New Orleans is presenting the Manhattan Project Electronic Field Trip Feb. 4. This interactive streaming exploration will feature live polling and Q&A, so students can participate without ever leaving their classroom.
 
Answering student questions on-location at the WWll Museum will be Sharon Squassoni, research professor at George Washington University and member of the Science and Security Board at the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. The experience is geared
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Nature On Tap: Updates In Astronomy; Celestial Objects And Expansive Skies Monday, Jan. 6

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A black hole. Courtesy/extremetech

CREATIVE DISTRICT News:

The community is invited to join the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) and the Los Alamos Creative District for Nature On Tap at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Jan. 6 at projectY cowork.

This On Tap will feature a combination of science and cheer with Peter Polko and Felicia Krauss, who will take a light-hearted look at cosmology, the supermassive black holes at the center of galaxies, and the connection between the two in two 20-minute talks. 

Nature On Tap is sponsored by the Pajarito Environmental Education Center (PEEC) Read More

NMMSH: Free Telescope Workshop Jan. 4

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A telescope can help inspire a lifelong interest and appreciation in nature and science, but the first step is learning how to use it. Bring your new telescope and everyone interested to the free telescope workshop Jan. 4 at the New Mexico Museum of Space History. Courtesy/Air & Space Magazine
 
NMMSH News:
 
ALAMOGORDO — The New Mexico Museum of Space History education department is holding a free telescope workshop beginning 10 a.m. Saturday, Jan. 4 in the front classroom of the Tombaugh Building in Alamogordo.
 
The focus of the workshop will be on showing new telescope
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AGU100 Blogosphere: Llamas Could Help Replenish Plant Life After Glaciers Retreat

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Plot used to sample landscapes in the Andes and the Alps. Photo by Anaïs Zimmer/UT-Austin

A llama near the village of Patacancha in the Peruvian Andes. Photo by Lauren Lipuma

 
By ERIN MALSBURY
AGU100 Blogosphere
  • Unexpected gardeners might help plant communities colonize newly exposed land

The rapid retreat of glaciers from alpine regions around the world could result in widespread ecosystem losses, according to new research. Now, scientists are exploring a hairy solution to this hairy problem in the form of llamas.

As glaciers retreat with increasing speeds, they leave behind bare Read More