voo rasante

Natália Correia

2010-10-10T17:40:00.000-07:00

Dão-nos um lírio e um canivete
e uma alma para ir à escola
mais um letreiro que promete
raízes, hastes e corola

Dão-nos um mapa imaginário
que tem a forma de uma cidade
mais um relógio e um calendário
onde não vem a nossa idade

Dão-nos a honra de manequim
para dar corda à nossa ausência.
Dão-nos um prémio de ser assim
sem pecado e sem inocência

Dão-nos um barco e um chapéu
para tirarmos o retrato
Dão-nos bilhetes para o céu
levado à cena num teatro

Penteiam-nos os crâneos ermos
com as cabeleiras das avós
para jamais nos parecermos
connosco quando estamos sós

Dão-nos um bolo que é a história
da nossa historia sem enredo
e não nos soa na memória
outra palavra que o medo

Temos fantasmas tão educados
que adormecemos no seu ombro
somos vazios despovoados
de personagens de assombro

Dão-nos a capa do evangelho
e um pacote de tabaco
dão-nos um pente e um espelho
pra pentearmos um macaco

Dão-nos um cravo preso à cabeça
e uma cabeça presa à cintura
para que o corpo não pareça
a forma da alma que o procura

Dão-nos um esquife feito de ferro
com embutidos de diamante
para organizar já o enterro
do nosso corpo mais adiante

Dão-nos um nome e um jornal
um avião e um violino
mas não nos dão o animal
que espeta os cornos no destino

Dão-nos marujos de papelão
com carimbo no passaporte
por isso a nossa dimensão
não é a vida, nem é a morte

Natália Correia

Descoberta primeira estrela gigante vermelha com carbono br e vapor de água

2010-09-03T01:49:00.000-07:00

Descoberta primeira estrela gigante vermelha com carbono br e vapor de água

Novo sistema planetário descoberto por portugueses - JN

2010-08-24T18:29:00.000-07:00

Novo sistema planetário descoberto por portugueses - JN

Tecnologia inovadora quer aumentar segurança nas ruas

2010-07-28T03:32:00.000-07:00

Tecnologia inovadora quer aumentar segurança nas ruas

Mapa do planeta Marte br com grande precisão

2010-07-27T02:40:00.000-07:00

Mapa do planeta Marte br com grande precisão

Vida

2010-07-21T03:45:00.000-07:00

A nuvem de cinzas do vulcão islandês Eyjafjöll, que parou os aeroportos europeus em Abril e Maio, pode ter gerado mais vida no mar, noticiou hoje a BBC News.

Uma equipa de cientistas está a recolher informação para perceber de que forma a erupção vulcânica afectou a biologia marinha no Atlântico Norte, ao ponto de provocar o florescimento de uma enorme quantidade de algas microscópicas.

A um mês de terminar a segunda expedição na região, os investigadores detectaram "níveis elevados" de ferro nas amostras de sedimentos recolhidas do oceano.

"Verificámos alguns níveis elevados [de ferro dissolvido] entre 20 a 40 metros de profundidade. [Isso] pode ser resultado das cinzas vulcânicas, mas temos de verificar melhor, a uma escala maior", assinalou Eric Achterberg, professor da Universidade de Southampton, no Reino Unido, que lidera a equipa de cientistas.

Os investigadores pretendem certificar-se de que as partículas de ferro contidas na nuvem de cinzas vulcânicas entraram no mar e causaram o aparecimento de uma extensa mancha de minúsculos organismos, conhecidos como fitoplâncton, que têm a capacidade de fazer a fotossíntese (processam o dióxido de carbono e produzem
oxigénio).

Para o efeito, estão a recolher amostras de ferro, e de outros nutrientes, das águas e da atmosfera e a monitorizar o crescimento biológico no Atlântico Norte.

A confirmarem-se as suspeitas, o fitoplâncton no Atlântico Norte poderá estar "a processar mais dióxido de carbono do que a quantidade habitual num ano normal", apontou Eric Achterberg.

A equipa de cientistas promete divulgar "dentro de meses" os resultados da investigação.

A expedição, que arrancou, numa primeira fase, na primavera, insere-se num projecto ambiental mais vasto de investigação da eficácia do fitoplâncton na absorção e sequestro de dióxido de carbono em águas profundas.

http://economico.sapo.pt/

'Rosetta' encontra-se amanhã com asteróide - Ciência - DN

2010-07-10T02:38:00.000-07:00

'Rosetta' encontra-se amanhã com asteróide - Ciência - DN

Torneira para poupar água criada em Aveiro - Ciência - DN

2010-07-10T02:37:00.000-07:00

Torneira para poupar água criada em Aveiro - Ciência - DN

"Ficámos aliviados por descobrir que o protão é mais pequeno" - Ciência - DN

2010-07-10T02:35:00.000-07:00

"Ficámos aliviados por descobrir que o protão é mais pequeno" - Ciência - DN

Wonder why we don't crash like computers?

2010-05-14T02:32:00.000-07:00

SCIENCE AND EDUCATION

Wonder why we don't crash like computers? Yale explains

By Ben Coxworth

16:55 May 11, 2010

Whether right or for wrong, the human brain is often compared to a computer, and vice-versa. They both receive data, process it, store it, and output new data. Unlike computers, however, the human brain doesn’t crash. Yes, people have nervous breakdowns, but that has more to do with psychological stress than with data management. Now, researchers from Yale University have figured out why our brains succeed where computers fail.

The research team compared the genome of E coli bacteria with the Linux operating system. Both of the control networks, it turns out, are arranged in hierarchies. In E coli, the molecular networks are arranged in a pyramid. A limited number of master regulatory genes sit at the top, controlling a wide range of specialized functions beneath them.

By contrast, Linux is more like an inverted pyramid - numerous routines are at the top, controlling a few generic functions at the bottom. This is because software engineers save time and money by building on existing routines, instead of starting systems from scratch. Such an approach makes the system vulnerable to breakdowns, however, as even simple changes to a generic routine can be very disruptive. To minimize problems, the generic components need to be continually fine-tuned by software designers.

The Yale scientists noted that in a living organism, generic components that need to be constantly updated would not be a good survival trait. Instead, over billions of years of evolution, the E coli bacteria has evolved many highly specialized modules. Together, these modules are ready to handle most eventualities, resulting in a much more robust network.

Pele artificial

2010-04-30T00:36:00.000-07:00

HEALTH AND WELLBEING

Scientists create artificial skin that stretches like the real thing

By Ben Coxworth

16:27 April 28, 2010

The University of Granada's fibrin-agarose artificial skin

Scientists at Spain’s University of Granada have created artificial skin with the resistance, firmness and elasticity of real skin. It is the first time artificial skin has been created from fibrin-agarose biomaterial. Fibrin is a protein involved in the clotting of the blood, while agarose is a sugar obtained from seaweed, commonly used to create gels in laboratories. The new material could be used in the treatment of skin problems, and could also replace test animals in dermatological labs.

The researchers started by obtaining plasma samples from human donors, and separating out the fibrin. They then added calcium chloride, to precipitate coagulation, tranexamic acid, to keep the coagulate from breaking down, and 0.1% agarose. The resultant material was grafted onto the backs of hairless mice, where its bio-compatibility with living organisms could be observed.

The mice showed no signs of rejection or infection, and healing of the grafted area began within six days - within 20 days, the wounds were fully healed.

Previously, artificial skin has been made from biomaterials such as collagen, polyglycolic acid, and chitosan. The fibrin-agarose skin, however, looks particularly promising. Prof. Jiménez Rodríguez, one of the researchers, stated "Definitively, we have created a more stable skin with similar functionality to normal human skin."

Living Cell Printing
Live Cell Printing for Cell Assays Living Cell Printing for HCA
www.digilabglobal.com/Printing_Cell

Beyonce & Jay-Z

2010-04-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

Ciência em português

2010-04-05T01:16:00.000-07:00

por Sandra Pereira, Publicado em 05 de Abril de 2010

A encriptação de dados actual baseia-se em algoritmos quânticos, num código. No caos, a mensagem transmite-se pelo ruído na fibra óptica

Se o bater de asas de uma borboleta no Brasil pode gerar um tornado no Texas, emitir uma mensagem no meio do caos também pode baralhar as pistas de um hacker. Com este pensamento baseado na teoria do caos, ou no "efeito borboleta" do meteorologista Edward Lorenz, Bruno Romeira, investigador na Universidade do Algarve, descobriu como tirar partido do caos para codificar dados na fibra óptica. Em teoria, pelo menos. O prémio de 12500 euros do programa Estímulo à Criatividade 2009 da Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian pode ajudar a criar um protótipo. Com o fenómeno do "phishing" (ataque informático para obter dados confidenciais) a crescer na internet, empresas e governos não olham a meios para proteger informações sigilosas.

É aqui que o sistema de Bruno Romeira pode fazer a diferença face aos actuais softwares de encriptação baseados em algoritmos (quânticos). No modelo de Romeira, há um emissor que emite sinais caóticos ao longo da fibra óptica para um receptor - que pode ser um computador em casa ou no escritório. Se um hacker quiser decifrar a mensagem secreta, terá de sincronizar emissor e receptor, já que neste sistema não há código--chave. A mensagem está dentro do ruído. E é indecifrável. As técnicas de sincronização estão ainda a ser apuradas por Bruno Romeira.

Este sistema "é mais complicado, mas é estável e garante mais confidencialidade do que os quânticos", explica o investigador de 27 anos. As vantagens da encriptação caótica são promissoras: "Tem menos componentes, baixo consumo de energia e é mais barata". "Se correr bem, poderá ser implementado nos escritórios", acrescenta Romeira, que está a trabalhar com a fabricante alemã Siemens.

Bruno Romeira imagina o seu futuro na liderança de um laboratório português. Não acredita que a fuga de cérebros dure para sempre. "Lá fora, é mais fácil obter financiamento, mas em Portugal começam a existir centros de investigação que contratam". O cientista traça um retrato optimista da investigação nacional: "Estamos cada vez mais equipados com massa crítica e começamos a atrair investigadores do exterior. Portugal está a começar a reunir condições para poder avançar na ciência".

E qual é o passo que falta dar para os portugueses se afirmarem? "Passar o potencial académico para as empresas e transformá-lo em produtividade", responde Romeira, acrescentando que o país devia apostar na propriedade intelectual. Quando a encriptação caótica funcionar na perfeição, o jovem promete não deixar escapar a patente.

Mistério?

2010-04-03T12:40:00.000-07:00

Bureau of Meteorology images show mysterious patterns on radar system

One of the radar images that show mysterious patterns. Image: Bureau of Meteorology Source: Supplied

THEY are the digital-age equivalent of crop circles - mysterious patterns appearing on the Bureau of Meteorology's national radar system without any explanation.

And the random images described as red stars, rings of fire and white doughnuts are sending online conspiracy websites into meltdown.

The anomalies first began on January 15 when an "iced doughnut" appeared over Kalgoorlie in WA.

Interference or something else? Tell us in the comment box below.

Satellite imagery showed there was no cloud over the area at the time to explain the unusual phenomenon but farmers' online comments claimed it was "unusually hot" all day.

It was followed by a bizarre red star over Broome on January 22 and a sinister spiral burst over Melbourne described by amateur radar buffs as the Ring Of Fire Fault.

The Bureau, which did not respond to repeated requests for comment, has acknowledged the anomalies on its popular website.

It has since posted a disclaimer above the national loop feed putting the images down to "occasional interference to the radar data".

"The Bureau is currently investigating ways to reduce these interferences," the disclaimer said.

Conspiracy websites, however, have lit up with dozens of breathless theories behind the strange anomalies from alien involvement, secret military testing to government weather modification.

One theory gaining traction online is the belief the US military has expanded its High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program.

Based at a remote research station in Alaska, the HAARP project involves shooting extremely high frequency radar bursts into the upper reaches of the atmosphere to see what happens after particles of the ionosphere are temporarily excited.

Ostensibly the research is to study the effects of solar flares on radio communications and improve missile detection and navigation systems.

But, unlike the failed cloud seeding experiments of yesteryear, conspiracy theorists claim HAARP is engaged in a sophisticated form of weather modification and that testing is also being done from a secret facility near Exmouth in Western Australia.

UK electrical engineer and crop circle expert Colin Andrews said Australians deserve an explanation.

"Until [the Bureau of Meteorology] make a formal and complete response to all the various strange patterns, one can only speculate about what is taking place," he said.

Mr Andrews urged people concerned by the bizarre radar symbols and strange weather patterns to contact the Bureau of Meteorology or a government representative.

Another theory suggests the anomalies appear before major weather events such as cyclones Olga and Paul and the violent storms which hit Victoria in recent weeks.

Others argue objects in the atmosphere emitting powerful radiation could be behind the mystery.

http://www.news.com.au/

CERN

2010-03-30T05:57:00.000-07:00

LHC research programme gets underway

Geneva, 30 March 2010. Beams collided at 7 TeV in the LHC at 13:06 CEST, marking the start of the LHC research programme. Particle physicists around the world are looking forward to a potentially rich harvest of new physics as the LHC begins its first long run at an energy three and a half times higher than previously achieved at a particle accelerator.

“It’s a great day to be a particle physicist,” said CERN¹ Director General Rolf Heuer. “A lot of people have waited a long time for this moment, but their patience and dedication is starting to pay dividends.”

“With these record-shattering collision energies, the LHC experiments are propelled into a vast region to explore, and the hunt begins for dark matter, new forces, new dimensions and the Higgs boson,” said ATLAS collaboration spokesperson, Fabiola Gianotti. “The fact that the experiments have published papers already on the basis of last year’s data bodes very well for this first physics run.”

“We’ve all been impressed with the way the LHC has performed so far,” said Guido Tonelli, spokesperson of the CMS experiment, “and it’s particularly gratifying to see how well our particle detectors are working while our physics teams worldwide are already analysing data. We’ll address soon some of the major puzzles of modern physics like the origin of mass, the grand unification of forces and the presence of abundant dark matter in the universe. I expect very exciting times in front of us.”

"This is the moment we have been waiting and preparing for", said ALICE spokesperson Jürgen Schukraft. "We're very much looking forward to the results from proton collisions, and later this year from lead-ion collisions, to give us new insights into the nature of the strong interaction and the evolution of matter in the early Universe."

“LHCb is ready for physics,” said the experiment’s spokesperson Andrei Golutvin, “we have a great research programme ahead of us exploring the nature of matter-antimatter asymmetry more profoundly than has ever been done before.”

CERN will run the LHC for 18-24 months with the objective of delivering enough data to the experiments to make significant advances across a wide range of physics channels. As soon as they have "re-discovered" the known Standard Model particles, a necessary precursor to looking for new physics, the LHC experiments will start the systematic search for the Higgs boson. With the amount of data expected, called one inverse femtobarn by physicists, the combined analysis of ATLAS and CMS will be able to explore a wide mass range, and there’s even a chance of discovery if the Higgs has a mass near 160 GeV. If it’s much lighter or very heavy, it will be harder to find in this first LHC run.

For supersymmetry, ATLAS and CMS will each have enough data to double today’s sensitivity to certain new discoveries. Experiments today are sensitive to some supersymmetric particles with masses up to 400 GeV. An inverse femtobarn at the LHC pushes the discovery range up to 800 GeV.

“The LHC has a real chance over the next two years of discovering supersymmetric particles,” explained Heuer, “and possibly giving insights into the composition of about a quarter of the Universe.”

Even at the more exotic end of the LHC’s potential discovery spectrum, this LHC run will extend the current reach by a factor of two. LHC experiments will be sensitive to new massive particles indicating the presence of extra dimensions up to masses of 2 TeV, where today’s reach is around 1 TeV.

“Over 2000 graduate students are eagerly awaiting data from the LHC experiments,” said Heuer. “They’re a privileged bunch, set to produce the first theses at the new high-energy frontier.”

Following this run, the LHC will shutdown for routine maintenance, and to complete the repairs and consolidation work needed to reach the LHC’s design energy of 14 TeV following the incident of 19 September 2008. Traditionally, CERN has operated its accelerators on an annual cycle, running for seven to eight months with a four to five month shutdown each year. Being a cryogenic machine operating at very low temperature, the LHC takes about a month to bring up to room temperature and another month to cool down. A four-month shutdown as part of an annual cycle no longer makes sense for such a machine, so CERN has decided to move to a longer cycle with longer periods of operation accompanied by longer shutdown periods when needed.

“Two years of continuous running is a tall order both for the LHC operators and the experiments, but it will be well worth the effort,” said Heuer. “By starting with a long run and concentrating preparations for 14 TeV collisions into a single shutdown, we’re increasing the overall running time over the next three years, making up for lost time and giving the experiments the chance to make their mark.”

More information

http://cern.ch/press/lhc-first-physics/

Contact

CERN Press Office, press.office@cern.ch
+41 22 767 34 32
+41 22 767 21 41

1.CERN, the European Organization for Nuclear Research, is the world's leading laboratory for particle physics. It has its headquarters in Geneva. At present, its Member States are Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. India, Israel, Japan, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, Turkey, the European Commission and UNESCO have Observer status.

Début du programme de recherche du LHC

Genève, le 30 mars 2010. À 13h06, des faisceaux sont entrés en collision à une énergie de 7 TeV, donnant ainsi le coup d’envoi au programme de recherche du LHC. Dans le monde entier, des physiciens des particules se préparent à une moisson potentiellement riche de données de nouvelle physique ; le LHC entame en effet sa première longue période d'exploitation à une énergie trois fois et demie supérieure aux énergies atteintes précédemment dans un accélérateur de particules.

« C’est un grand jour pour les physiciens des particules, déclare Rolf Heuer, directeur général du CERN¹. Nombreux sont ceux qui attendent ce moment depuis longtemps, et leur patience et leur persévérance ont fini par payer. »

« Avec ces énergies de collision record, les expériences LHC vont pouvoir aborder une vaste région à explorer ; on va commencer à traquer la matière noire, les nouvelles forces et les nouvelles dimensions, ainsi que le boson de Higgs, indique Fabiola Gianotti, porte-parole de la collaboration ATLAS. Le fait que les expériences aient déjà publié des articles sur la base des données enregistrées l’an passé est de très bon augure pour cette première période d’expérimentation. »

« Nous avons tous été impressionnés par les performances du LHC à ce jour, souligne Guido Tonelli, porte-parole de l’expérience CMS. Il est particulièrement gratifiant de constater à quel point nos détecteurs fonctionnent bien. Nos équipes de physiciens, dans le monde entier, analysent déjà les données. Nous allons bientôt nous attaquer à certaines grandes énigmes de la physique moderne comme l’origine de la masse, la grande unification des forces et la présence abondante de matière noire dans l’Univers. Nous devons nous attendre à vivre des moments exceptionnels. »

« C’est le moment que nous attendons et auquel nous nous préparons depuis longtemps, déclare Jürgen Schukraft, porte-parole d’ALICE. Nous comptons beaucoup sur les résultats des collisions de protons et, plus tard dans l’année, des collisions d’ions lourds, pour arriver à mieux comprendre la nature de l’interaction forte et l’évolution de la matière dans l’Univers primordial. »

« LHCb est prête pour la physique, souligne Andreï Golutvin, porte-parole de l’expérience. Un grand programme de recherche nous attend. Il nous permettra d’étudier en profondeur la nature de l’asymétrie entre matière et antimatière. »

Le CERN exploitera le LHC sur une période allant de 18 à 24 mois, avec pour objectif de fournir aux expériences suffisamment de données pour réaliser des avancées notables via des branches très diverses de la physique. Dès qu’elles auront « redécouvert » les particules de l’actuel modèle standard, préalable indispensable à l’étude d’une nouvelle physique, les expériences LHC partiront à la recherche systématique du boson de Higgs. Grâce à la quantité de données attendues (1 fb-1 dans le jargon des physiciens), la combinaison des données obtenues par ATLAS et CMS permettra d’explorer un large domaine de masses, et il y aura une chance bien réelle de découverte si la masse du Higgs avoisine les 160 GeV. Si la particule est beaucoup plus légère ou beaucoup plus lourde, il sera difficile de la découvrir pendant cette première période d'expérimentation.

S’agissant de la supersymétrie, ATLAS et CMS disposeront chacune de suffisamment de données pour multiplier par deux la sensibilité actuelle aux nouvelles découvertes. Aujourd’hui, les expériences sont sensibles à certaines particules supersymétriques dont les masses vont jusqu’à 400 GeV. Le LHC, avec 1fb-1, va permettre d’aller jusqu’à 800 GeV.

« Le LHC a de bonnes chances de découvrir au cours des deux années à venir des particules supersymétriques, explique Rolf Heuer, ce qui pourrait nous permettre de mieux comprendre de quoi est constitué environ un quart de l’Univers. »

Et même à l’autre extrémité – plus exotique – du spectre des découvertes possibles, cette première période d’exploitation du LHC doublera notre potentiel de découvertes. Les expériences LHC seront sensibles à de nouvelles particules massives indiquant la présence de nouvelles dimensions et ayant des masses allant jusqu’à 2 TeV (contre 1 TeV actuellement).

« Plus de 2000 doctorants attendent avec impatience des données des expériences LHC, souligne Rolf Heuer. Ils auront le privilège de rédiger les premières thèses à la nouvelle frontière des hautes énergies. »

À l’issue de cette période d’exploitation, le LHC sera arrêté pour que l’on puisse procéder aux opérations de maintenance usuelles et terminer les réparations et les travaux de consolidation requis suite à l’incident survenu le 19 septembre 2008 pour pouvoir atteindre l’énergie nominale de 14 TeV. Jusqu’à présent, les accélérateurs du CERN fonctionnaient selon un cycle annuel : ils étaient exploités pendant sept à huit mois et arrêtés quatre à cinq mois chaque année. Étant donné que le LHC est une machine cryogénique fonctionnant à très basse température, il lui faut environ un mois pour être ramené à température ambiante et un autre mois pour être refroidi. Un arrêt de quatre mois dans le cadre d'un cycle annuel ne se justifie donc plus. C’est la raison pour laquelle le CERN a décidé de passer à un cycle plus long avec des périodes de fonctionnement plus longues et des arrêts eux aussi plus longs en cas de besoin.

« Deux années d’exploitation continue ne seront pas de tout repos pour les opérateurs du LHC et les expériences, mais le jeu en vaudra bien la chandelle, précise Rolf Heuer. En commençant par une longue période d’exploitation et en concentrant sur une seule période d’arrêt la préparation des collisions à 14 TeV, nous augmentons la durée d’exploitation totale au cours des trois années à venir. Ainsi, nous pourrons rattraper le temps perdu et donner toutes leurs chances aux expériences d’imprimer leur marque. »

http://webcast.cern.ch/lhcfirstphysics/

Joelhos e ligamentos

2010-03-23T16:01:00.000-07:00

Biodegradable bone screw cuts down need for surgery

By Darren Quick

21:35 March 22, 2010

From the left: interferential screws made of polylactic acid, hydroxylapatite and medical stainless steel (Image: Fraunhofer IFAM)

Knee ligament damage is an injury all to common to sportsmen and women. The solution usually involves replacing the torn ligament with a piece of tendon from the leg, which is fixed to the bone by means of a titanium or stainless steel screw. Unfortunately, after a certain time another surgery is required to remove them. Now researchers have developed a screw that is bio-compatible and also biodegradable over time, making this second surgery unnecessary.

Biodegradable screws made of polylactic acid are already used in the medical field, but they have the disadvantage that when they degrade they can leave holes in the bone.

The researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Manufacturing Engineering and Applied Materials Research (IFAM) in Bremen developed a moldable composite made of polylactic acid and hydroxylapatite, a ceramic which is the main constituent of the bone mineral. This composite promotes the growth of bone into the implant. Depending on the composition the screws will biodegrade in 24 months.

The screws can be precision made using conventional injection molding methods, meaning there's no need for any post-processing such as milling.

Another advantage of the composite material is that it can be compressed at just 140 degrees Celsius – normally the powder injection mold has to be compressed at much higher temperatures of up to 1400 degrees Celsius.

The team says these screws are close to the properties of real bone. The prototype has a compressive strength of more than 130 newtons per square millimeter. Real bone can withstand between 130 and 180.

The researchers intend to develop other bioimplants using the same energy-saving process.

Arte

2010-03-23T11:12:00.000-07:00

#12 colinas azuis

2010-03-21T08:12:00.001-07:00

Manipulation mentale

2010-03-20T14:22:00.000-07:00

La recherche en mal de budgets

Manipulation mentale : peut mieux faire !

En moins d’un siècle, les techniques de contrôle mental ont progressé plus qu’aucun autre domaine de la psychologie. On ne doit pourtant pas en féliciter les pouvoirs publics ni les institutions universitaires et les grandes écoles, mais au contraire, déplorer le fait que l’industrie seule semble avoir à cœur de faire progresser le domaine. Retour sur l’odyssée d’une discipline mal-aimée.

Les recherches menées après guerre par des psychologues sociaux ou des psychiatres comme Louis Jolyon West, Stanley Milgram, Margaret Singer ou encore Robert Jay Lifton, sont tout à fait passionnantes, mais elle viennent bien tard, car à l’époque, le Raspoutine mondain des années folles, Georges Gurdjieff, en connaissait et en appliquait déjà l’essentiel.
Il est probable que cet homme ne savait pas écrire lui-même (il couvrait des pages entières d’une « écriture secrète » qui ressemblait terriblement aux imitations d’écriture que dessinent les enfants avant de savoir former les lettres), mais un de ses disciples, Ouspensky, a mis noir sur blanc et en détails l’avancement des recherches de Gurdjieff. Il l’a cependant fait en se refusant à bien séparer le dogme ésotérique farfelu des techniques avancées et systématiques mises en œuvre. Il faut dire que le dogme, loin de relever du seul folklore, est un des outils de la manipulation et que ces ouvrages n’ont pas été rédigés à des fins scientifiques mais dans un but nettement prosélyte, ce qui rend leur lecture un peu pénible pour qui n’a pas l’intention de devenir disciple. Pour certains, Gurdjieff est un misérable qui n’a pas hésité à ruiner ses adeptes, par avidité et par goût du pouvoir, et même, à en laisser mourir certains - Katherine Mansfield et René Daumal auraient sans doute vécu plus vieux sans les « traitements » infligés par le mage arménien qui prétendait guérir la tuberculose par l’ivresse alcoolique. Non content de ruiner des vies, il a exigé et obtenu de ses victimes qu’elles lui restent reconnaissantes et dévouées jusqu’au dernier caillot de sang qu’elles ont craché à sa santé... Cette manière de présenter Gurdjieff est un point de vue possible. Mais ce n’est pas le seul, car le bonhomme s’avère aussi être un formidable chercheur, un extraordinaire promoteur de la connaissance de l’humain par l’humain, un véritable scientifique, comme en témoigne la célèbre phrase qu’a dit le gourou à son ami C.S. Nott en 1931, en résumant ses années de travail : “ J’avais besoin de rats pour mes expériences ”.
Ce ne sont évidemment pas ses ridicules théories comme celle de l’Ennéagramme (très à la mode dans le domaine des stages d’entreprise) qui forcent l’admiration dans le travail de Gurdjieff, mais sa pratique empirique et instinctive (quoiqu’inspirée de gourous orientaux et, peut-être, de groupes évangélistes fanatiques) du contrôle mental. Avec ce praticien surdoué, la science fait un bond en avant et l’amateurisme des Témoins de Jéhovah, des anthroposophes et autres rosicruciens est rapidement oublié.

...Des résultats étonnants...

À l’époque où la psychologie sociale se penche sur la manipulation mentale, l’opinion publique a déjà découvert les résultats étonnants obtenus par les armées chinoises et coréennes sur des prisonniers de guerre soumis à un « lavage de cerveau » (l’expression se popularise à l’époque). Les services secrets russes, sud-coréens, américains, et bien d’autres, consacreront à leur tour d’importants budgets, parfois occultes et financés par le trafic de drogue (substances utiles à la recherche sur le cerveau et la volonté), à l’étude de ces phénomènes qui, une fois compris, leur permettront d’ailleurs de manipuler des groupes politiques ou religieux, d’endoctriner des terroristes, de contrôler des personnages publics importants, et autres applications utiles.

L’histoire ne s’arrête pas là et commence à intéresser des entrepreneurs : Lafayette Ron Hubbard, sans doute le plus célèbre d’entre eux, crée une méthode d’analyse psychologique basée sur une sorte de détecteur de mensonge, la « Dianétique », qui s’avère être une escroquerie dans son domaine de départ — la psychothérapie — mais qui se révèle extraordinairement au point pour vider les comptes bancaires, notamment sous le masque d’une religion ou d’une ONG, statuts fiscalement avantageux et garantissant certaines libertés face aux lois dans de nombreux pays. Le résultat laisse en effet songeur : on estime que le coût total d’une initiation scientologue revient à un demi-million de dollars, un record indépassable dans le domaine de la vente pyramidale — le modèle économique le plus adapté pour décrire cette organisation. Or au terme de cette série de stages, l’adepte est suffisamment vidé de toute capacité à réfléchir par lui-même qu’il est encore heureux qu’on lui livre les grands secrets de son organisation, pourtant disponibles sur Internet sans bourse délier et d’une bouffonnerie science-fictionnesque achevée (en résumé : le tyran intergalactique Xenu a envoyé sur terre des extraterrestres congelés il y a 75 millions d’années et les aurait fait exploser dans des volcans avec des bombes atomiques. Décidés à se réfugier dans les âmes (« thétans ») des terriens, ces êtres malfaisants seraient la cause de tous nos problèmes psychologiques). Dans d’autres créneaux, des chercheurs extraordinaires (Maharishi Mahesh, Claude Vorilhon, David Berg, David Koresh, Luc Jouret, Norman William, Jim Jones, et des centaines d’autres), poussent leur art à un degré de raffinement jamais atteint, explorant toutes les techniques possibles et imaginables.
Malheureusement, pour des raisons légales ou par égoïsme, ces chercheurs conservent l’exclusivité du fruit de leurs travaux et ne publient pas d’écrits théoriques exploitables par des chercheurs universitaires.

...Le progrès peut être partagé par tous...

C’est peut-être à ce stade que la recherche publique a un rôle à jouer. En dehors des armées et des services de contre-espionnage, les états se refusent à cautionner ce type d’expérimentations. Or de telles techniques peuvent profiter à l’économie de marché et donc, à chacun de nous. Songez : qui ne s’est jamais retrouvé face à un conseiller bancaire, à un agent immobilier, à un garagiste ou à un plombier, à accepter des produits inadaptés, soutenus par des arguments irrationnels mais suffisamment autoritaires ?... Ces techniques pourtant n’évoluent guère. Songeons aux profits formidables que feraient les banques ou les agences immobilières si elles décidaient des passer à une vitesse supérieure ! Il suffit de constater l’extraordinaire réussite de l’église de scientologie à ce sujet : bien que ses comptes soient tenus secrets, l’étalage de ses possessions matérielles (dans le domaine immobilier ou maritime) est suffisamment éloquent.
Et que dire des grandes religions traditionnelles, qui gagneraient tant à s’inspirer des méthodes de petits groupes plus agressifs ? Alors que les prêtres catholiques se contentent de boire un triste vin de messe chaque dimanche, sans le partager avec leurs paroissiens, des millions d’adeptes de nouvelles religions sont éblouis par les effets de psychotropes exotiques tels que l’ayahuasca et autres ibogas aux effets bien supérieurs : pas de crise des vocations ou des conversions avec de tels outils !

On se rappellera au passage d’une citation de James Redfield, dans La prophétie des Andes (The Celestine Prophecy), ouvrage que certains considèrent comme la Bible du mouvement « New-Age » : “ Nous voyons des gens comme ça de temps à autre ici, pas seulement des scientifiques, mais des simples curieux, qui ne comprennent pas le premier mot de ce que nous faisons...ce qui en dit long sur la difficulté que nous avons à nous comprendre entre scientifiques! ”

De nombreux gouvernements occidentaux ont récemment assoupli leurs rapports avec les « nouveaux mouvements religieux » (sectes), principaux promoteurs et usagers des techniques de manipulation mentale : exonérations fiscales, abandons de poursuites, abandon des tracasseries policières, etc.,... Le début d’une nouvelle coopération et d’une nouvelle impulsion ? On ne peut que le souhaiter et réclamer un rapprochement entre les universités publiques et l’industrie.

http://scientistsofamerica.com/

Écouter de la musique R’n’B

2010-03-20T14:19:00.000-07:00

Le téléphone portable serait hors de cause

Écouter de la musique R’n’B provoque des tumeurs cérébrales

Bien que cette version ait été officiellement tue par respect pour le secteur économique émergent des télécommunications, la communauté scientifique a longtemps attribué la vertigineuse augmentation du nombre de tumeurs cérébrales, notamment chez les jeunes, à l’usage du téléphone portable. La prestigieuse revue The New Auditionist propose une explication inattendue au phénomène : si le nombre de tumeurs du cerveau a été multiplié par quatre en dix ans, ce n’est pas à cause des système de communication mobile, c’est à cause de la musique R’n’B.

Justin Timberlake, R. Kelly et Rihanna seraient-ils à l’origine d’une des pires catastrophes sanitaires depuis l’épidémie d’encéphalite spongiforme bovine ? On est en droit de se poser la question. En effet, la courbe de l’augmentation du nombre de tumeurs cérébrales chez les jeunes, qui a subitement augmenté à la fin des années 1990 et n’a cessé de le faire depuis, est strictement parallèle à la courbe du nombre de titres de musique R’n’B mis sur le marché.
Le R’n’B est un genre musical récent assimilé à tort au « Rythm’n’blues », bien plus ancien et que l’on peut décrire comme étant la version noire américaine du « Rock’n’roll ». Le Rythm’n’blues est le genre musical auquel on peut rattacher Chuck Berry, Little Richard, Ike et Tina Turner ou encore le regretté Isaac Hayes.
Le R’n’B, bien plus récent donc, est né au milieu des années 1990 de la fusion du « Funk », de la « dance music », de la « soul music » et du « Hip-Hop ». Au premier abord, les deux genres musicaux semblent liés, mais ce n’est pas le cas et les chiffres en sont la preuve.
Le premier chercheur à s’être intéressé au phénomène, Larry Brenston, professeur de musique francophone à la faculté d’études musicologiques de Pasadena, s’est tout d’abord lancé sur une fausse piste : “ J’ai tout de suite pensé que la faute incombait aux paroles des chansons de R’n’B, qui sont très particulières, d’un mièvrerie extravagante et truffées de rimes ridicules. Mais en fait concernait presque exclusivement le R’n’B francophone et ne pouvait suffire à expliquer le problème. ”
La France fait en effet partie des pays qui se trouvent à l’avant-garde du mouvement musical R’n’B avec des artistes tels que Lââm, M Pokora, Shy’m, Ophélie Winter ou encore le groupe Tragédie.
Si ce n’était les paroles (explication neuropsychologique), c’était la musique (mécanisme neuromécanique). Un acousticien renommé s’est penché méthodiquement sur chacune des composantes d’un morceau musical : son rythme, sa mélodie, son timbre, ses harmonies et ses dynamiques. C’est bien sur ce dernier point que le R’n’B se distingue des autres genres musicaux. En effet, les producteurs d’albums de R’n’B ont pris l’habitude d’effectuer sur les morceaux qu’ils réalisent ce que l’on nomme une « compression dynamique », c’est à dire une atténuation du contraste acoustique à l’intérieur d’un morceau. Fréquences hautes et fréquences basses sont ramenées à un même niveau sonore, arasées, ce qui pose de nombreux problèmes tels que le besoin irrésistible, chez l’auditeur, de monter le son, ce qui n’arrange d’ailleurs rien. Bombardées de vibrations sonores de niveaux extrêmement égales, les oreilles, qui ne sont pas conçues pour cela, sont épuisées mais incapables de comprendre l’origine de l’agression dont elles sont victimes. Sans défenses, elles passent alors le relai au cerveau qui active un mécanisme de défense dans certaines zones bien précises. Cela ne fonctionne pas du tout et la situation ne peut alors qu’empirer, provoquant une prolifération anormale des cellules, ce que dans le langage courant les spécialistes nomment « tumeur ».

...Le R’n’B n’est pas très malin...

Fort heureusement, les affections provoquées par ce phénomène mécanico-acoustiques ne sont, le plus souvent, pas de nature maligne, c’est à dire que leur prolifération reste localisée et qu’une opération est possible. Il est dans ces cas possible de procéder à une ablation chirurgicale dans des conditions aujourd’hui extrêmement bien maîtrisées par le monde médical.
“ Opérer est souvent inévitable... ”, explique un médecin célèbre qui a préféré s’exprimer sous couvert d’anonymat “ ... mais la sécurité sociale ferait bien des économies en confisquant aux jeunes gens leurs lecteurs mp3 et en leur interdisant d’écouter les ritournelles de Usher, Alicia Keys et Beyoncé ! ”
De son côté, le syndicat français des producteurs de musique R’n’B prend acte de ces nouveaux éléments et promet de chercher des solutions pour l’avenir, afin de développer ce que certains nomment déjà un « public durable » mais recommande à ses ministères de tutelle (ministère de la culture et ministère de la santé) de ne pas prendre de mesures unilatérales, rappelant dans son communiqué que, je cite, “ des emplois sont en jeu ”.

http://scientistsofamerica.com/

Es Baluard. Joana Vasconcelos, Garden of Eden #2

2010-03-13T11:55:00.001-08:00

SEMANA CULTURAL PORTUGAL EN BARCELONA JUNIO '08

2010-03-13T11:52:00.001-08:00

Rainer Maria Rilke

2010-03-12T15:25:00.000-08:00

Letter One
Paris
February 17, 1903

Dear Sir,

Your letter arrived just a few days ago. I want to thank you for the great confidence you have placed in me. That is all I can do. I cannot discuss your verses; for any attempt at criticism would be foreign to me. Nothing touches a work of art so little as words of criticism : they always result in more or less fortunate misunderstandings. Things aren't all so tangible and sayable as people would usually have us believe; most experiences are unsayable, they happen in a space that no word has ever entered, and more unsayable than all other things are works of art, those mysterious existences, whose life endures beside our own small, transitory life.

With this note as a preface, may I just tell you that your verses have no style of their own, although they do have silent and hidden beginnings of something personal. I feel this most clearly in the last poem, "My Soul." There, something of your own is trying to become word and melody. And in the lovely poem "To Leopardi" a kind of kinship with that great, solitary figure does perhaps appear. Nevertheless, the poems are not yet anything in themselves, not yet anything independent, even the last one and the one to Leopardi. Your kind letter, which accompanied them, managed to make clear to me various faults that I felt in reading your verses, though I am not able to name them specifically.

You ask whether your verses are an y good. You ask me. You have asked others before this. You send them to magazines. You compare them with other poems, and you are upset when certain editors reject your work. Now (since you have said you want my advice) I beg you to stop doing that sort of thing. You are looking outside, and that is what you should most avoid right now. No one can advise or help you - no one. There is only one thing you should do. Go into yourself. Find out the reason that commands you to write; see whether it has spread its roots into the very depths of your heart; confess to yourself whether you would have to die if you were forbidden to write. This most of all: ask yourself in the most silent hour of your night: must I write? Dig into yourself for a deep answer. And if this answer rings out in assent, if you meet this solemn question with a strong, simple "I must," then build your life in accordance with this necessity; your while life, even into its humblest and most indifferent hour, must become a sign and witness to this impulse. Then come close to Nature. Then, as if no one had ever tried before, try to say what you see and feel and love and lose. Don't write love poems; avoid those forms that are too facile and ordinary: they are the hardest to work with, and it takes great, fully ripened power to create something individual where good, even glorious, traditions exist in abundance. So rescue yourself from these general themes and write about what your everyday life offers you; describe your sorrows and desires, the thoughts that pass through your mind and your belief in some kind of beauty - describe all these with heartfelt, silent, humble sincerity and, when you express yourself, use the Things around you, the images from your dreams, and the objects that you remember. If your everyday life seems poor, don't blame it; blame yourself; admit to yourself that you are not enough of a poet to call forth its riches; because for the creator there is not poverty and no poor, indifferent place. And even if you found yourself in some prison, whose walls let in none of the world's sounds - wouldn't you still have your childhood, that jewel beyond all price, that treasure house of memories? Turn your attentions to it. Try to raise up the sunken feelings of this enormous past; your personality will grow stronger, your solitude will expand and become a place where you can live in the twilight, where the noise of other people passes by, far in the distance. - And if out of this turning-within, out of this immersion in your own world, poems come, then you will not think of asking anyone whether they are good or not. Nor will you try to inte4rest magazines in these works: for you will see them as your dear natural possession, a piece of your life, a voice from it. A work of art is good if it has arisen out of necessity. That is the only way one can judge it. So, dear Sir, I can't give you any advice but this: to go into yourself and see how deep the place is from which your life flows; at its source you will find the answer to the question whether you must create. Accept that answer, just as it is given to you, without trying to interpret it. Perhaps you will discover that you are called to be an artist. Then take the destiny upon yourself, and bear it, its burden and its greatness, without ever asking what reward might come from outside. For the creator must be a world for himself and must find everything in himself and in Nature, to whom his whole life is devoted.

But after this descent into yourself and into your solitude, perhaps you will have to renounce becoming a poet (if, as I have said, one feels one could live without writing, then one shouldn't write at all). Nevertheless, even then, this self-searching that I as of you will not have been for nothing. Your life will still find its own paths from there, and that they may be good, rich, and wide is what I wish for you, more than I can say

What else can I tell you? It seems to me that everything has its proper emphasis; and finally I want to add just one more bit of advice: to keep growing, silently and earnestly, through your while development; you couldn't disturb it any more violently than by looking outside and waiting for outside answers to question that only your innermost feeling, in your quietest hour, can perhaps answer.

It was a pleasure for me to find in your letter the name of Professor Horacek; I have great reverence for that kind, learned man, and a gratitude that has lasted through the years. Will you please tell him how I feel; it is very good of him to still think of me, and I appreciate it.

The poems that you entrusted me with I am sending back to you. And I thank you once more for your questions and sincere trust, of which, by answering as honestly as I can, I have tried to make myself a little worthier than I, as a stranger, really am.

Yours very truly,
Rainer Maria Rilke

clouds

2010-03-12T15:20:00.000-08:00

Kumi Yamashita

memória

2010-03-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/mind/surveys/memory/

profecia

2010-03-12T14:12:00.000-08:00

Remote viewing Tibetan monks see Extra Terrestrial powers saving the World from destroying itself in 2012
N.K. Subramanium, Special Correspondent
December 26, 2004

Remote viewing is nothing new in Tibetan monasteries. For thousands of years remote viewing in the middle of other spiritual activities have dominated Tibetan culture. What some Indian tourists came to learn from a few Tibetan monasteries under the current Chinese rule is extremely alarming and fascinating.

According to these tourists remote viewers are seeing world powers in the course of self-destruction. They also see that the world will not be destroyed. Between now and 2012 the world super powers will continue to engage in regional wars. Terrorism and covert war will be the main problem. In world politics something will happen in and around 2010. At that time the world powers will threaten to destroy each other.

Between 2010 and 2012, the whole world will get polarized and prepare for the ultimate dooms day. Heavy political maneuvers and negotiations will take place with little progress.

In 2012, the world will start plunging into a total destructive nuclear war.

And at that time something remarkable will happen, says, Buddhist monk of Tibet. Supernatural divine powers will intervene. The destiny of the world is not to self-destruct at this time.

Scientific interpretation of the monks� statements makes it evident that the Extra Terrestrial powers are watching us every step of the way. They will intervene in 2012 and save the world from self-destruction.

When asked about recent UFO sightings in India and China, the monks smiled and said the divine powers are watching us all. Mankind cannot and will not be allowed to alter the future to that great extent.

Every human being though their current acts in life called �Karma� can alter the future lives to some extent, but changing the destiny in that large extent will not be allowed to that great an extent.

Monks also mentioned that beyond 2012 our current civilization would understand that the final frontier of science and technology is in area of spirituality and not material physics and chemistry. Beyond 2012, out technologies will take a different direction. People will learn the essence of spirituality, the relation between body and the soul, the reincarnation and the fact we are connected with each other are all part of �God�.

In India and China UFO sightings have increased in many folds. Many say the Chinese and Indian Governments are being contacted by the Extra Terrestrials.

In recent days most UFO activities have been seen in those countries who have indigenously developed Nuke capabilities.

When asked if these extra-terrestrials will show up in reality in 2012, the answers remote viewers are giving is: they will reveal themselves in such a way that none of us scared. They will reveal themselves only if they have to. As our science and technology progresses, we are destined to see them and interact with them any way.

According to the remote viewers, our earth is blessed and is being saved continuously from all kinds of hazards all the time that we are not even aware of. As our technologies progress we will realize how external forces saved us.

Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy

2010-03-11T14:03:00.001-08:00

Lapak Jhapak tu--Boot Polish

2010-03-11T07:53:00.001-08:00

Nuria Rovira Salat et les Musiciens du Nil

2010-03-11T05:12:00.001-08:00

L'homme qui plantait des arbres (The man who planted trees) - 27 Translation(s) | dotSUB

2010-03-04T11:47:00.000-08:00

L'homme qui plantait des arbres (The man who planted trees) - 27 Translation(s) | dotSUB

Alzheimer

2010-03-04T01:48:00.000-08:00

Investigação

Descoberto novo potencial na vinca para combater Alzheimer

04 | 03 | 2010 09.25H

Uma equipa de cientistas da Universidade do Porto descobriu um novo potencial terapêutico na raiz da planta vinca, que pode vir a ser utilizado como fármaco no combate ao Alzheimer, anunciou hoje aquela instituição de ensino superior.

Destak/Lusa | destak@destak.pt

A equipa de investigação, constituída por elementos da Faculdade de Farmácia da Universidade do Porto (no âmbito do laboratório associado REQUIMTE) e do Instituto de Biologia e Medicina Celular/Instituto de Engenharia Biomédica (IBMC.INEB), publicou os resultados do trabalho na revista científica "Phytomedicine".

Segundo explicou à Lusa a investigadora Mariana Sottomayor - que juntamente com Paula Andrade liderou o grupo de trabalho - a vinca é uma "planta medicinal que já é utilizada há muitos anos e que foi muito estudada", sendo dela extraídos alcaloides que são utilizados na quimioterapia para tratamento do cancro".

"O grupo de trabalho decidiu fazer uma reavaliação da planta já que esta também tinha muitas aplicações na medicina tradicional e não estava ainda esgotada", acrescentou a investigadora do Instituto de Biologia e Medicina Celular.

Segundo Mariana Sottomayor, o grupo de trabalho "verificou que na raiz da vinca havia uma atividade medicinal interessante que detinha uma molécula chamada serpentina - outro alcaloide - que inibe a degradação de um neurotransmissor e que portanto poderá ajudar no tratamento da doença de Alzheimer".

"Há agora um período de investigação para que a molécula possa ser utilizada como um fármaco eficaz", explicou a cientista, acrescentando que "aparentemente, parece ter um atividade mais potente do que os fármacos utilizados atualmente".

Segundo um comunicado da Universidade do Porto sobre o assunto, "até agora, já se conhecia o potencial da Vinca (Catharanthus roseus, originária de Madagáscar) na terapia de algumas formas de cancro".

“São necessárias toneladas de partes aéreas da planta para se obterem alguns miligramas de substâncias úteis, o que transforma o cultivo, bem como as substâncias obtidas, num processo complexo e com elevados custos associados", acrescenta o texto.

O documento realça ainda que “a perspetiva apresentada pelo grupo de investigadores segue uma abordagem profundamente diferente e em vez de se limitar às partes aéreas (caule e flores), a equipa procurou aproveitar todo o potencial medicinal da planta, olhando para outros produtos passíveis de serem extraídos", como é o caso da raiz.

Acrescenta ainda que "os autores destacam, em particular, a serpentina, que possui uma enorme afinidade e seletividade para um dos principais alvos no tratamento da Doença de Alzheimer".

"No futuro, espera-se que o seu aproveitamento possa vir a revelar-se útil no tratamento farmacológico desta doença e de outras afeções como a 'miastenia gravis'", conclui.

Debussy, Clair de lune (Twilight soundtrack? piano music)

2010-03-02T16:30:00.001-08:00

Poesia gráfica

2010-03-01T11:38:00.000-08:00

dreaming out loud


http://www.graphicpoetry.net/		w.c. pelon

A life in the trees is a longer one

2010-03-01T11:36:00.000-08:00

By Ed Yong

(via @Not Exactly Rocket Science @ScienceBlogs)

In The Descent of Man, Darwin talked about the benefits of life among the treetops, citing the "power of quickly climbing trees, so as to escape from enemies". Around 140 years later, these benefits have been confirmed by Milena Shattuck and Scott Williams from the University of Illinois.

By looking at 776 species of mammals, they have found that on average, tree-dwellers live longer than their similarly sized land-lubbing counterparts. Animals that spend only part of their time in trees have lifespans that either lie somewhere between the two extremes or cluster at one end. The pattern holds even when you focus on one group of mammals - the squirrels. At a given body size, squirrels that scamper across branches, like the familiar greys, tend to live longer than those that burrow underground, like prairie dogs.

These results are a good fit for what we already know about the lives of fliers and gliders. If living in the trees delays the arrival of death, taking to the air should really allow lifespans to really take flight. And so it does. Flight gives bats and birds an effective way of escaping danger, and they have notably longer lives than other warm-blooded animals of the same size. Even gliding mammals too tend to live longer than their grounded peers.

These trends make sense when you think about ageing in the light of evolution. Imagine a creature that never ages, say, a Tolkienesque elf. Even this potential immortal could succumb to a predator or a disease or an accident. The more time passes, the greater the odds that one of these external calamities will claim its otherwise never-ending life. This creature will therefore have a "statistical lifespan", an age by which it will probably have been killed.

Now think about the genes of this hypothetical immortal. A mutated gene that harms the creature early on in life, when it's still having sex and bearing young, has little chance of being passed onto the next generation. Such mutations will be weeded out by natural selection. However, mutations that harm individuals after their statistical lifespan are a different story because their carriers will probably have been killed before they experience any ill effects. Accumulating under the radar of natural selection, these late-acting genes are the ones that contribute to ageing.

There are many evolutionary explanations of ageing but almost all share this basic concept. And note that a central part of this concept is the threat of dying from predators, diseases and so on. If such threats are minimised, then an animal's statistical lifespan increases, more late-acting genes are exposed to natural selection and more will be weeded out. Based on this theory, you'd expect that species that can escape external threats, whether by flying off or by hiding in the branches of trees, can evolve to age more slowly and live longer. And that, of course, is exactly what Shattuck and Williams have found.

In fact, they showed that the link between long life and a treetop existence holds true for all but two groups of mammals. The first are the marsupials, including kangaroos, koalas and wombats, and the second are the euarchontans, a group that includes treeshrews, flying lemurs and primates, like monkeys, apes and ourselves. At first, this seems odd, for some scientists had thought that a life in the trees could actually explain why primates have such relatively long lives. But to Shattuck and Williams, these are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Both marsupials and euarchontans have experienced a long and persistent evolutionary history in the treetops. For other mammal groups, the occasional member may have evolved to negotiate trunks and branches, but Shattuck and Williams say that the marsupials and euarchontans started off in the trees. Their members have repeatedly descended back to the ground. For the euarchontans in particular, this long tree-based history may have meant that all primates are long-lived for their size.

Of course, if the species that returned to terra firma faced a greater threat from predators, evolutionary theory would predict that their lifespans would eventually contract. But ground-living primates have other defences. They're typically large and they live in big social groups (larger ones that tree-dwelling primates). These qualities may have provided them with the protection they needed to retain the relatively long lives that first evolved in the branches. For the moment, this is just a hypothesis, and it will need to be tested further.

Reference: Shattuck, M., & Williams, S. (2010). Arboreality has allowed for the evolution of increased longevity in mammals Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0911439107

All you need is love - The Beatles

2010-02-28T02:31:00.001-08:00

*Dastam Begir - Parvaneh Farid

2010-02-26T14:39:00.001-08:00

HOME (FR)

2010-02-26T13:55:00.001-08:00

Theo Jansen - Animaris Rhinoceros

2010-02-25T14:23:00.001-08:00

Theo Jansen - Kinetic Sculptor

2010-02-25T14:19:00.001-08:00

Casas de plástico

2010-02-25T13:50:00.001-08:00

Fernanda França Garrido na Madeira

2010-02-25T05:41:00.001-08:00

A Brief History of Pretty Much Everything

2010-02-15T11:48:00.001-08:00

Astronomia

2010-01-28T07:38:00.000-08:00

EUROPEUS DETECTAM PODEROSO FEIXE DE RAIOS GAMA VINDO DO ESPAÇO

Intensidade da descarga, provavelmente lançada pela interação entre estrela e buraco negro, é 100 mil vezes maior que outras conhecidas

Uma equipe de astrônomos europeus anunciou a descoberta de um feixe de altíssima energia chegado do espaço e que percorre nosso planeta com a regularidade de um farol, mas com uma intensidade 100 mil vezes maior do que o mais poderoso já observado até então.

Essa radiação gama é emitida por um sistema binário, chamado LS 5039, formado por uma estrela 20 vezes maior do que o nosso Sol e um companheiro muito compacto, que pode ser um buraco negro ou uma estrela de nêutrons.

Desde os anos 1960 se conhece a existência de sinais modulados provenientes dos confins do Universo que, durante certo tempo, foram associados a uma tentativa de comunicação por parte de hipotéticos extraterrestres.

Esse sinal é emitido geralmente por uma estrela anã que gira muito rapidamente em torno de si mesma, o pulsar, emitindo fluxos de partículas eletromagnéticas oriundos de seus pólos. Como a estrela gira sobre si mesma, este feixe de energia percorre o espaço do facho de farol e pode ser captado na Terra com uma freqüência regular.

Dos mil pulsares registrados até agora, dez deles emitem a faixa de raios gama, os mais energéticos, explicou Guillaume Dubus, do Laboratório de Astrofísica do Observatório de Grenoble. Mas nenhum se parece com a radiação do LS 5039.

A modulação do sinal dos pulsares está compreendida entre alguns segundos e alguns milissegundos. A modulação do sinal emitido pelo dLS 5039 é de 3,9 dias. A energia produzida assim é inédita e os cientistas ainda buscam hipóteses para explicar sua origem.

O LS 5039 é em si mesmo um conjunto muito excepcional, pois o buraco negro (ou a estrela de nêutrons) dá voltas em torno de seu companheiro a uma distância que não supera um quinto ou dois quintos da distância entre a Terra e o Sol.

Para o dr. Dubus, "a luz gama emitida pelo objeto compacto pode ser absorvida pela luz de seu companheiro", como a luz de uma lanterna na neblina.

Vista da Terra, a radiação gama dá a impressão de acender e apagar com uma assombrosa regularidade, correspondente às fases em que o corpo mais compacto se encontra "atrás" de seu imponente acompanhante.

Essa descoberta foi feita pelo observatório Hess (High Energy Stereoscopic System), instalado na Namíbia. Fruto de uma iniciativa franco-alemã, esse instrumento permitiu à pesquisa européia um importante avanço sobre os americanos no terreno da astrofísica das altas energias.

Os quatro telescópios do Hess varrem o céu para detectar os feixes de luz azulada emitidos quando partículas de energia muito alta vão se chocar contra as camadas superiores da atmosfera.

Ao serem analisados, podem constituir mapas do céu visto com energias 100 bilhões de vezes mais elevadas que a luz visível. O Hess permitiu que fossem descobertas mais de 40 fontes de radiação de alta energia, enquanto que eram conhecidas apenas dez delas antes de sua colocação em serviço.

Vida

2010-01-28T03:20:00.000-08:00

Statistiquement, il y a toutes les chances que la vie existe ailleurs que sur Terre, même s'il est encore très difficile de dire sous quelle forme, selon une conférence scientifique lundi à Londres.

"Il n'y a pas de preuve formelle que la vie existe ailleurs, mais il y a une très bonne probabilité pour que ce soit le cas", estime Baruch Blumberg, astrobiologiste au Fox Chance Cancer Center à Philadelphie.

"J'ai la conviction que les générations actuelles ont d'excellentes chances d'assister de leur vivant à la détection d'une vie extra-terrestre", affirme Martin Dominik, astronome à l'Université de St. Andrews, en Ecosse.

La vie a peut être démarré sur Terre grâce à des molécules de carbone et des poussières arrivées depuis l'espace interstellaire, rappelle de son côté Pascale Ehrenfreund, astrochimiste à la George Washington University, dans la capitale américaine.

S'il en est ainsi, "les premières briques de la vie - telles que nous les avons mises en évidence pour la Terre, devraient être répandues dans d'autres systèmes planétaires de la Voie lactée et dans d'autres galaxies", suggère cette scientifique.

La Royal Society britannique, l'un des berceaux de la science moderne, a pris le sujet suffisamment au sérieux pour y consacrer un colloque de deux jours à l'occasion de son 350ème anniversaire.

Il s'agissait moins de donner une réponse définitive à l'existence ou non des extra-terrestres que de dresser un tableau de notre quête d'une autre vie, et de s'interroger sur l'impact sur l'humanité d'une telle découverte.

Le président de la Royal Society, Lord Rees, a souligné qu'il fallait pour l'heure admettre notre ignorance. "Nous ne savons même pas comment la vie est apparue sur Terre, et encore moins s'il faut penser qu'elle est répandue ou non (ailleurs), ni où nous devons la chercher", a-t-il déclaré dans un entretien.

Grâce à des outils d'observation de plus en plus perfectionnés, notamment au télescope spatial Hubble, les astronomes ont détecté depuis 1995 plus de 400 exoplanètes, extérieures à notre système solaire.

L'une de ces planètes pourrait potentiellement héberger la vie, mais aucune bénéficiant des conditions favorables de notre planète bleue n'a encore été découverte à ce jour.

La Terre se trouve en effet à une distance suffisante mais pas trop éloignée du Soleil pour que de l'eau puisse s'y trouver en abondance sous forme liquide.

Si des formes de vie existent ailleurs que sur Terre, il est peu probable que celles-ci soient proches de ce que montrent les films de science-fiction, dont les créatures ressemblent invariablement au genre humain.

Pour Albert Harrison, psychologue à l'université de Californie à Davis, il est plus probable que la première vie extra-terrestre détectée soit de taille microscopique.

A l'intérieur même de notre système solaire, des bactéries pourraient être décelées dans le sous-sol de Mars, sur le satellite de Jupiter Europa ou encore sur une lune de Saturne, Encelade. Ces deux derniers astres pourraient en effet héberger des océans sous d'épaisses calottes de glace.

D'autres scientifiques pensent toutefois que l'apparition de la vie relève d'un concours de circonstances qui n'est pas prêt de se reproduire.

"A mon avis, l'origine de la vie est un pur coup de chance", a déclaré Simon Conway Morris, professeur de paléobiologie à l'Université de Cambridge.

"Je crains que nous soyons complètement seuls... Qu'il n'y ait rien du tout là-bas", explique ce scientifique.

Et si des extraterrestres venaient à nous contacter, rien ne dit qu'ils auraient les doux yeux d'E.T, le charmant extraterrestre du film de Steven Spielberg: il pourraient tout aussi bien être "agressifs et déplaisants", remarque-t-il.

Correr descalço

2010-01-28T03:17:00.000-08:00

Les sportifs qui courent pieds nus ou avec des semelles très fines posent en général leur pied sur le sol de manière beaucoup plus progressive que les coureurs chaussés et ménagent ainsi leur corps, selon une étude publiée mercredi dans la revue Nature.

Les coureurs sans chaussures ont l'habitude de poser en premier l'avant du pied. Et même ceux qui posent directement le plat ou le talon amortissent davantage l'impact avec leurs articulations que les sportifs équipés de chaussures de course, a constaté l'équipe de chercheurs issus d'universités américaines, kenyane et britannique.

Si, aujourd'hui, courir chaussé sur de longues distances est beaucoup plus fréquent, il n'en a pas toujours été ainsi.

"Le genre humain pratique la course de fond depuis des millions d'années, mais la chaussure de course moderne n'a été inventée que dans les années 1970", relèvent les chercheurs qui ont étudié la foulée de personnes courant au moins 20 km par semaine, les unes chaussées, les autres non, aux Etats-unis et en Afrique de l'Est, région d'où sont issus de nombreux coureurs de fond.

En 1960, l'Ethiopien Abebe Bikila remportait pieds nus le marathon des jeux Olympiques de Rome, après avoir échoué à trouver chaussure à son pied...

Bien à l'abri dans leurs chaussures de sport molletonnées, les trois quarts des joggeurs modernes encaissent pourtant à chaque foulée deux à trois fois leur poids lorsque leurs talons entrent en contact avec le sol.

Cette action étant répétée 600 fois par kilomètre, elle finit par provoquer des lésions chez 30% à 75% des personnes qui pratiquent régulièrement la course à pied.

Aussi, les bienfaits des chaussures assurant "protection et maintien du pied" sont-ils désormais contestés, et les fabricants commencent déjà à mettre sur le marché des modèles minimalistes.

"Les gens qui courent déchaussés ont une foulée très différente. En atterrissant sur le milieu ou sur l'avant du pied, ils n'encaissent pratiquement pas de choc" lorsqu'ils entrent en contact avec le sol, explique Daniel Lieberman, du département de Biologie de l'Evolution humaine à l'université de Harvard (Etats-Unis).

Chez le coureur qui atterrit avec l'avant du pied, "les muscles du mollet contrôlent l'abaissement du talon, et il peut pleinement tirer parti d'un stockage d'énergie élastique dans le tendon d'Achille et la voûte plantaire", détaille de son côté dans un commentaire également publié par Nature William Jungers, du CHU de Stony Brook, à New-York.

Pour autant, il ne sera pas aisé de changer d'habitude. "Courir pieds nus ou dans des chaussures minimales est amusant mais fait appel à des muscles différents", précise M. Lieberman. "Si vous avez utilisé le talon toute votre vie, il faut opérer une transition douce afin de renforcer les muscles de vos mollets et de vos pieds", met en garde ce scientifique.

iPad

2010-01-28T03:13:00.000-08:00

Apple a semblé commettre une rare gaffe marketing en baptisant sa nouvelle tablette informatique "iPad", qui à l'oreille des femmes anglophones fait immanquablement penser à des serviettes hygiéniques ("pad").

Du coup, par dérision, le mot "iTampon" est rapidement devenu le troisième sujet le plus discuté sur le site de microblogs Twitter après la fin de la présentation du patron d'Apple, Steve Jobs, donnnant lieu à d'innombrables commentaires plus ou moins grivois.

Parmi les moins salaces: "je me demande s'il a des ailettes?" ou encore "on peut faire plein de choses avec l'iTampon qu'on ne peut pas faire avec l'iPad, comme monter à cheval, faire du vélo ou nager"...

Carne de cão, carne de gato

2010-01-28T03:10:00.000-08:00

Les Chinois pourraient se voir privés prochainement de viande de chat ou de chien si les députés votent un projet de loi contre les mauvais traitements aux animaux, a annoncé mardi un quotidien régional.

La consommation de viande de chat ou de chien, répandue dans le pays car elle est censée favoriser une bonne température corporelle, pourrait valoir aux Chinois une amende de 5.000 yuans (500 euros) et jusqu'à 15 jours de prison, a rapporté le Chongqing Evening News.

Les "organisations" impliquées dans cette pratique ancestrale pourraient se voir infliger des amendes de 10.000 à 50.000 yuans, aux termes du projet de loi à l'étude depuis un an.

La cruauté envers les animaux et la consommation de chats et chiens restent largement répandues en Chine en dépit de l'arrivée de plus en plus d'animaux domestiques dans les foyers.

Des restaurants proposent de la "viande parfumée", autrement dit du chien, dans tout le pays et le chat est largement consommé dans le sud de la Chine.

Avatar, montanha

2010-01-28T03:06:00.000-08:00

Une ville du centre de la Chine a rebaptisé l'une de ses montagnes du nom de la superproduction américaine à succès "Avatar", retiré des écrans du pays dans sa version 2D.

Ce sommet majestueux dans la province du Hunan, connu jusqu'à présent comme "le pilier du ciel et de la terre", a été officiellement nommé "Montagne Alléluia Avatar", a annoncé la municipalité de Zhangjiajie dans un communiqué.

Le sommet aurait inspiré une montagne flottante qui apparaît dans le film de James Cameron, explique le texte.

Selon un journal local, un photographe serait venu directement de Hollywood en décembre 2008 pour prendre des photographies utilisées ensuite dans le film.

Depuis sa sortie début janvier, "Avatar" a battu en Chine le record du box-office, avec 80 millions de dollars de recettes, mais les autorités ont provoqué une polémique en décidant de retirer prématurément la version 2D des salles pour laisser la place au film "Confucius".

La décision des autorités de Zhangjiajie s'explique par leur volonté d'attirer les touristes avant le Nouvel an lunaire, grande période de vacances et de retrouvailles familiales, qui tombe cette année le 14 février.

La montagne appartient au site de Wulingyuan, classé au patrimoine mondial de l'Unesco et réputé pour ses pics et piliers de grès.

Pandemia

2010-01-25T00:48:00.000-08:00

Responsável europeu denuncia falsa pandemia
Hoje às 07:12

O presidente da Comissão de Saúde da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa encara a gripe A como uma falsa pandemia e diz que este é um dos maiores escândalos médicos do século.

No dia em que o Conselho da Europa discute o modo como a Organização Mundial de Saúde (OMS) enfrentou a gripe A, o presidente da Comissão de Saúde da Assembleia Parlamentar do Conselho da Europa lança duras críticas ao que aconteceu e garante que o mundo nunca esteve confrontado com uma pandemia.

O diagnóstico era falso e custou muito dinheiro. Só na Europa, foram gastos 5 mil milhões de euros com as vacinas para a gripe A.

Um negócio para a indústria farmacêutica, que Wolfand Wodarg considera escândaloso.

Este médico alemão, especialista em epidemiologia, afirma que as pessoas perderam a confiança na OMS e que este caso deve ser agora investigado pelo Conselho da Europa.

Wolfgang Wodarg critica o alarme desnecessário, lançado pela OMS, considerando que se ficar provado que houve manipulação é preciso tirar as devias lições.

Ouvida pela TSF, Maria de Belém Roseira diz que, até hoje, nada prova que estas acusações tenham razão de ser, admitindo, no entanto, que houve vários países que demonstraram alguma falta de bom senso na compra das vacinas.

Mas, em Portugal, há também quem partilhe das críticas do presidente da Comissão de Saúde do conselho da Europa.

É o caso de António Vaz Carneiro, professor na Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de Lisboa, embora afirme compreender a reacção dos vários governos, em função do que foi dito pela OMS, fala num falso alarme que não justificava as medidas que foram adoptadas.

Até hoje, a pandemia de gripe A matou cerca de 13 mil pessoas em todo o mundo, 94 em Portugal.

TSF

linhas

2010-01-16T07:37:00.000-08:00

Saúde

2010-01-16T00:50:00.000-08:00

Saúde

Cientistas portugueses conseguem avanço contra o cancro

Uma colaboração entre as universidades do Minho e da Califórnia identificou um gene que quando hiperactivo torna os tumores cerebrais mais malignos, uma descoberta que abre a possibilidade de criação de novos fármacos contra o cancro

A descoberta foi hoje publicada no Journal Cancer Research. Em declarações à Lusa, um dos investigadores, Bruno Costa, explicou que foi estudado um conjunto de genes «muito importantes durante o desenvolvimento embrionário e que se encontram alterados em alguns tipos de tumores».

Até agora, no caso dos tumores cerebrais, a única coisa que se sabia era que alguns desses genes estavam «sobre-expressos», ou seja, estavam activos, ao contrário do que acontece num cérebro normal (sem tumores).

Nesta investigação conseguiu-se mostrar que o gene HOXA9 quando «sobre-expresso» (ou hiperactivo) faz prever que os pacientes vão ter um «prognóstico pior relativamente aos outros pacientes com o mesmo tipo de tumor».

Nesta fase da investigação, está apenas a ser melhorada a capacidade de prever as respostas dos pacientes.

Mas «claro que este é sempre o primeiro passo também para a identificação destes alvos moleculares para o desenvolvimento de novas terapias», acrescentou Bruno Costa.

Neste caso de tumores mais malignos e mais agressivos e que fazem com que os pacientes morram mais cedo, poderão ser desenvolvidos fármacos específicos para inibir essa actividade, disse.

Os investigadores também decifraram o mecanismo responsável por essa sobre-activação do gene, que é por via da proteína PI3K, que é uma via «muito frequentemente alterada em diversos tipos de tumores humanos».

Assim, através das identificações do gene associado ao pior prognóstico e do mecanismo, podem-se conseguir outros alvos terapêuticos contra o PI3K.

Se inibida a sua função, também haverá inibição da sobre-activação do HOXA9 e, consequentemente, os tumores poderão tornar-se menos malignos.

O trabalho resultou de uma colaboração entre uma equipa do Instituto de Investigação em Ciências da Vida e Saúde, da Universidade do Minho, através de Bruno Costa e Rui Reis, e uma equipa da Universidade da Califórnia (EUA).

Lusa / SOL

Aves e migração

2010-01-13T01:56:00.000-08:00

Recorde
Migração de 70 mil km entre pólos

por SUSANA SALVADORHoje
Migração de 70 mil km entre pólos

Nos seus 34 anos de vida, a pequena gaivina do Árctico faz o equivalente a três viagens de ida e volta à Lua.

Mede entre 33 e 38 centímetros de comprimento e pesa pouco mais de cem gramas, mas é a campeã das migrações. Todos os anos, a gaivina do Árctico (ou andorinha-do-mar-árctica) faz uma viagem de 70 mil km entre o Pólo Norte , o local de nidificação, e o Pólo Sul. Na sua rota, sempre à procura do Verão, esta ave faz o equivalente a três viagens de ida e volta à Lua (cerca de dois milhões de km) durante os seus 34 anos de vida.

A longa aventura de norte a sul da Sterna paradisaea foi detalhada graças à monitorização de 11 espécimes, apetrechados com um dispositivo mais pequeno que um fósforo (ver caixa). Os resultados foram publicados ontem na revista científica Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

A viagem começa em Agosto ou Setembro, com a gaivina do Árctico a deixar a Gronelândia para chegar ao mar de Weddel, na costa da Antárctida. Aí passa entre quatro e cinco meses, antes de regressar novamente ao Norte, chegando a casa em Maio ou Junho.

O estudo permitiu descobrir que o caminho não é directo. Começam por fazer uma longa paragem no meio do Atlântico Norte, a mil quilómetros dos Açores. Aí alimentam-se de zooplâncton e peixe, ganhando forças para o resto da viagem. Seguem depois pela costa europeia e africana até Cabo Verde, onde podem optar por dois caminhos: continuar junto a África ou atravessar o Atlântico e fazer depois a costa brasileira. Os cientistas acreditam que o vento pode desempenhar um papel importante nesta escolha. A viagem para Sul é de 34 600 km e as aves fazem 330 km por dia. O regresso é mais rápido (25 700 km, 520 km por dia), apesar de as gaivinas do Árctico não seguirem o caminho mais rápido. Optam antes por fazer um grande "S" pelo meio do oceano, aproveitando os ventos favoráveis.

"É um feito impressionante para uma ave que pesa pouco mais de cem gramas", disse Carsten Egebang, do Instituto de Recursos Naturais da Gronelândia, o principal autor do estudo que conta ainda com cientistas da Dinamarca, dos EUA, do Reino Unido e da Islândia. "A nossa análise mostra que o comportamento das aves está directamente relacionado com parâmetros biológicos e físicos", indicou, lembrando que a "pausa" no Atlântico Norte é feita em áreas altamente produtivas. Um pouco mais a sul e não haveria comida suficiente.

Visual Effects: 100 Years of Inspiration

2010-01-09T05:24:00.001-08:00

Ciência

2010-01-06T04:02:00.000-08:00

Ciência
Telescópio espacial Kepler encontrou cinco planetas fora do sistema solar

PÚBLICO

O telescópio espacial norte-americano Kepler, enviado para o espaço a 6 de Março de 2009, encontrou os seus cinco primeiros planetas fora do sistema solar, foi ontem anunciado pela Sociedade americana de Astronomia, em Washington.

Os planetas – com tamanhos que variam entre uma dimensão semelhante a Neptuno e uma maior que Júpiter - foram chamados Kepler 4b, 5b, 6b, 7b e 8b e a sua descoberta resulta de cerca de seis semanas de recolha de dados desde que as operações científicas começaram, a 12 de Maio de 2009. Estes juntam-se aos 415 exo-planetas já detectados graças a outros telescópios desde 1995.

No entanto, são todos demasiado quentes para albergar vida, salientam os responsáveis pela missão. As temperaturas estimadas nos exo-planetas variam entre os 1200 e os 1648 graus Célsius.

“Estas observações ajudam-nos a compreender melhor como se formam e evoluem os sistemas planetários”, comentou William Borucki, do centro de investigações Ames da NASA (agência espacial norte-americana) e responsável principal pela equipa científica do Kepler.

“Estas descobertas também mostram que este instrumento científico está a trabalhar bem. Temos indicações de que o Kepler vai cumprir todos os seus objectivos”, acrescentou Borucki.

Jon Morse, director da divisão de Astrofísica da NASA, acredita que não faltará muito para o telescópio encontrar planetas mais pequenos com órbitas mais longas, “aproximando-se da descoberta do primeiro planeta análogo à Terra”.

Kepler foi lançado em Março do ano passado da base de Cabo Canaveral, Florida. Desde então, a missão observa de forma contínua e simultânea mais de 150 mil estrelas.

O telescópio, com um fotómetro que permite medir as intensidades luminosas, vai continuar a operar até, pelo menos, Novembro de 2012.

Ataque de Pánico! (Panic Attack!) 2009

2010-01-05T06:27:00.001-08:00

Ovo Estrelado dos Açores

2009-12-19T02:25:00.000-08:00

Ovo Estrelado dos Açores

Cientistas portugueses descobriram perto dos Açores uma depressão do fundo do Oceano Atlântico que acreditam ter origem no impacto de um meteorito, noticiou hoje a estação britânica BBC News.

A cratera é relativamente circular, com uma cavidade com seis quilómetros de largura e possui uma ampla cúpula central, tendo sido denominada "Ovo Estrelado" devido à sua forma distintiva.

Caso se confirme que a sua origem resulta do impacto de um corpo exterior, estima-se que a colisão tenha provavelmente ocorrido nos últimos 17 milhões de anos, a provável idade máxima do fundo basáltico da rocha submarina onde está a cratera.

"Para ter a certeza, precisamos de retirar amostras e fazer um perfil das camadas sedimentares, para determinar se existe realmente uma elevação central decorrente de um impacto", explicou Frederico Dias, da Estrutura de Missão para a Extensão da Plataforma Continental Portuguesa (EMEPC).

"É também necessário analisar os sinais consistentes com um impacto a alta velocidade", pormenorizou, como a acumulação de materiais rochosos e a existência de fragmentos de rocha de forma cónica, que se formam a partir das altas pressões associadas a fenómenos vulcânicos e ao impacto de meteoritos.

O investigador descreveu este provável impacto no encontro de Outono da União Geofísica Norte-americana (AGU), a maior reunião anual de cientistas ligados às ciências da Terra, que termina hoje em São Francisco.

O "Ovo Estrelado" foi inicialmente identificado a partir de informação reunida numa investigação hidrográfica, em 2008. Uma nova acção, que decorreu entre Setembro e Novembro deste ano, confirmou a sua presença.

A depressão está localizada a dois quilómetros de profundidade e a certa de 150 quilómetros do arquipélago dos Açores.

A sua origem vulcânica parece improvável, pois os investigadores não conseguiram descobrir a presença de correntes de lava na estrutura ou nas suas imediações.

Uma terceira expedição à área vai avançar no início de 2010 e retirar amostras do solo oceânico para análise com o auxílio de um veículo operado remotamente.

A EMEPC foi criada em 2005 e é responsável pela realização dos estudos técnicos necessários à apresentação de uma proposta de extensão da plataforma continental de Portugal, para além das 200 milhas náuticas.

Carl Sagan - 'A Glorious Dawn' ft Stephen Hawking (Cosmos Remixed)

2009-12-18T13:53:00.001-08:00

Bottle Bank Arcade - TheFunTheory.com - Rolighetsteorin.se

2009-12-13T12:14:00.001-08:00

Watch The Story - Shirin Ebadi - Part 1

2009-12-09T16:43:00.001-08:00

Please help the world - COP15 opening film

2009-12-08T01:47:00.001-08:00

O Povoador

2009-12-05T09:04:00.000-08:00

O Padre Português que
não precisou de Viagra
Por Manuel Luciano da Silva, Médico

Portugal vai celebrar, em 2039, novecentos anos de Indipendência. Com uma história de quase mil anos, Portugal é um país com muitos acontecimentos históricos, desde os mais dramáticos aos mais heróicos.

Citamos este exemplo verídico histórico, arquivado na Torre do Tombo em Lisboa (Arquivo Nacional Português) porque relata as aventuras sexuais dum padre de Trancoso (Beira Alta, Norte de Portugal).

Foi pai de 244 crianças: sendo 143 raparigas e 98 rapazes. Engravidou 46 mulheres diferentes, incluindo a própria mãe!

Foi condenado à morte, mas o Rei D. João II (Príncipe Perfeito) perdou-lhe a sentença porque entendeu que "naquela região o país precisava de aumentar a população e portanto o padre fez os seus actos a bem para a sociedade".

Aqui está o referido documento histórico.

Trancoso foi o local do casamento entre o Rei, D. Dinis e a Rainha Santa Isabel, in 1283.

Faz hoje, 17 de Março de 2004, 517 anos que a sentença foi pronunciada pelo Rei D. João II.

SENTENÇA PROFERIDA EM 1487 CONTRA

O PRIOR DE TRANCOSO

( Quando forem a Trancoso, vão à casa onde
viveu este padre, que é agora o restaurante O MUSEU )

Do Arquivo Nacional da Torre do Tombo

Autos arquivados na Torre do Tombo, armário 5,maço 7:

"Padre Francisco da Costa, prior de Trancoso, de idade
de sessenta e dois anos, será degredado de suas ordens
e arrastado pelas ruas públicas nos rabos dos cavalos,
esquartejado o seu corpo e postos os quartos, cabeça e
mãos em diferentes distritos, pelo crime que foi
arguido e que ele mesmo não contrariou,

- sendo acusado de ter dormido:

- com vinte e nove afilhadas e tendo delas noventa e sete filhas e trinta e sete filhos;

- de cinco irmãs teve dezoito filhas;

- de nove comadres trinta e oito filhos e dezoito filhas;

- de sete amas teve vinte e nove filhos e cinco filhas;

- de duas escravas teve vinte e um filhos e sete filhas;

- dormiu com uma tia, chamada Ana da Cunha, de quem teve três filhas,

- da própria mãe teve dois filhos.

Total: duzentos e setenta e cinco, sendo cento e quarenta e oito do sexo feminino e cento e vinte e sete do sexo masculino, tendo concebido em cinquenta e quatro
mulheres".

"El-Rei D. João II lhe perdoou a morte e o mandou por
em liberdade aos dezassete dias do mês de Março de
1487, com o fundamento de ajudar a povoar aquela
região da Beira Alta, tão despovoada ao tempo e
guardar no Real Arquivo da Torre do Tombo esta
sentença, devassa e mais papéis que formaram o
processo".

Esta sentença ficará arquivada na Torre do Tombo, Lisboa, Portugal

Ciência

2009-12-01T13:11:00.000-08:00

Plato in Space

Charles T. Rubin

Anathem is a big book about a big topic: nothing less than the nature of the universe and of intelligence within it. The novel certainly has its share of action—but as befits its topic it is even more filled with argument. Neal Stephenson seems most interested in exploring a proposition that can be stated fairly simply: like the laws of nature it discovers, intelligence itself is the same throughout the universe. If Pythagoras discovers his theorem here, the equivalent insight will be found elsewhere. If we have Platonists, empiricists, and logical positivists, similar schools of thought will be found wherever there is intelligence. Most science fiction involving contact with aliens, which is indeed the device that moves the plot of Anathem, is implicitly premised on at least some weak form of this proposition, though none that come to mind explore the question with quite the philosophical depth of Anathem.

One important aspect of the novel is likely to be of particular interest to readers of this journal, for on Stephenson’s world of Arbre, the relationship among science, technology, and politics is, as the book opens, radically different from what prevails in our world today. Stephensonis, in this novel as always, a thoughtful and therefore thought-provoking author, and in presenting us with the arrangements on Arbre he allows us to reflect on how the motives that drive scientific and technological development relate to what can be done about the problems that arise therefrom, and on how dealing with such problems will be influenced by what we think about historical progress.

Some four millennia before Anathem’s story opens, Arbre was much like Earth today. Science and technology flourished together and in full cooperation with business, military, and government; on Arbre this period is called the Praxic Age. But then, following two great wars and a genocide (the “harbingers”), came “the Terrible Events,” a planetary catastrophe. Details are sketchy, but global climate change and the creation of a more unstable climate are certainly part of the picture. In response to what were taken to be the proven dangers of unfettered scientific research, scientists were segregated (or segregated themselves; the point is to some degree contested) from the rest of society and thenceforward live under monastic-like discipline in carefully controlled cloisters. These are known as “concents” and the natural philosophers who live within their walls are called “avout.”

(The obvious similarity to “convent” and “devout” is part of Stephenson’s effort to make this world understandable and to suggest playful parallels and similarities between it and our own. Revered scientists are given the title “Saunt”—but whereas our “Saint” implies holiness, “Saunt” is derived from “savant.” The non-scientists outside the walls of the concents are said to live in the “Sæcular” world. Moments of what we would call “insight” are called by the avout “upsight.” Many specific concepts and characters from the history of Western philosophy are given new names—so the Agora of Athens becomes the “Periklyne” on Arbre, and Occam’s razor becomes “Gardan’s steelyard.”)

The discipline of the concents limits what the avout can possess (no technology from the outside world, for example), what they can study and with what tools, what kinds of plants they can grow, and how much contact they can have with the outside world and indeed with each other. The concents of which we hear most are subdivided into “maths.” One math opens itself to information from the outside world and from other maths once a year, another every ten years, a third every hundred years, and a fourth every thousand years. Fraa (“brother”) Erasmas (known as Raz), the narrator-hero of the book, is a late teen living in a math of “Tenners.” As the book begins, it is preparing for its once-a-decade opening. So far as we know, the way of life in each math is essentially the same, built around rituals that are performed in common but with each math segregated from the others.

Men and women avout work and live together and may form various kinds of attachments. However, while the point is made repeatedly that the differences between avout and those who live in the outside world are more a matter of nurture than nature, the avout food supply contains a birth-control agent to prevent any accidental or deliberate effort to breed super-scientists. While some of the “avout” move up from one math to another when the opportunity presents itself, clearly the concents can only perpetuate themselves by bringing in people from the outside—foundlings, excess children, or by-blows of the upper class. The biggest challenge would seem to be keeping the Thousander maths going, but we eventually find that they live unusually long lives, and that abandoned infants are sometimes sent into their math so that they will not contaminate it with outside knowledge.

The Concent of Saunt Edhar on which the first sections of the book focus, like others we later learn of, is divided not only by the maths, but by a variety of sects within the maths based on philosophical divergences or different foci of study. Like our academics, these avout are relentless sectarians. A further division within the concents stems from the fact that the avout do not have any access to computer technology and Arbre’s equivalent of the Internet, so the concent has various mechanisms and tools that the avout cannot run or repair themselves; for that they are dependent on tech-savvy custodians called Ita.

Formally supervising the whole system are hierarchs, avout who have greater contact with the outside world, and over the local hierarchs stands an Inquisition that travels freely. Avout who break the rules are ordered as punishment to copy and memorize while in solitary confinement material “crafted and refined over many centuries to be nonsensical, maddening, and pointless.” Worse still, an avout could be subjected to “Anathem”—expelled entirely from the concent and “Thrown Back” into the Sæcular world. We know for certain that mathic discipline is imperfect and we have reason to suspect, particularly in relation to the rarely-seen Thousanders, that it might even be less perfect than we directly observe. Nonetheless, on the whole it seems to operate effectively.

The result of all these measures is to slow the accumulation of scientific data, and to sever the link between science and technology. So there is on Arbre no “big science” as we know it and, it would seem, little laboratory work. Over the centuries that follow the Terrible Events, various additional restrictions are placed on the mathic world, such as a ban on genetic engineering. These accommodations result from the concents being sacked when the Sæcular powers that be get too worried about what is going on inside them. However, the avout are still “on tap” for these Sæcular powers, which can call them out as necessary to solve problems that require their expertise. Raz and the other avout at Saunt Edhar’s mostly seem to study astronomy and cosmology; we are led to believe they are making observations that would have otherwise required huge particle accelerators. They have little to work with except telescopes, chalkboards, paper (from genetically engineered trees that produce paper leaves), and pen—and their own minds, which they systematically develop through memorizing and participating in various forms of more or less Socratic dialogue.

Assessing the effects of the segregation of science on the rest of the world is made difficult by the fact that we see the world beyond the concent walls through Raz’s eyes, and he is certainly a prejudiced observer to begin with—although he becomes less so as his experience widens. Still, the worst one might say is that it is in many respects a somewhat degraded version of our own world today. The intellectual level of the outside world is not high, despite the fact that the one-year maths serve as colleges for the upper classes. Commercially and militarily motivated technological change occurs, even though the artisan class is not interested in the newest technology but in being able to comprehend, develop, adapt, and repair its own existing tools. The artisans we come to know best would be very unhappy to be as dependent on anyone as the avout are on the Ita. Mass culture is somewhat lower than our own, literacy more rare, religion (which from the avout point of view is part of the “Sæcular” world) perhaps more powerful at least in some time periods. (On Arbre, science and religion share a common father, which allows Stephenson to present what is, for a work of science fiction, a highly nuanced picture of the role of religion in life and its relationship to science. But this topic would be a fit theme for discussion all on its own.) Despite the fact—or perhaps because of it?—that there is a chemical in the food supply that makes people outside the concents feel good, the social and political world does not seem very stable—although the appearance of instability may reflect the telescoping effect of the very long view of history taken by the avout. Still, when Raz is called upon to leave his concent and travel on the outside, he observes a good deal more decaying than being built up. He himself notes that this kind of ebb and flow is cyclical, like the unstable climate.

What we can say for sure is that this strong division between the mathic and the Sæcular world proves to be highly stable; the arrangement has been in existence for well over three thousand years. What is required to have that stability is cutting off scientists from the outside world and to some extent from each other, cutting them off from most kinds of useful technology and technological development from them, and having a non-scientific culture that is more or less hostile to them by default. The scientists must believe that on balance their isolation is for their own good, and there must be a way for them to exercise their inquisitive minds. If, however noteworthy the subtle likenesses between concent life and our system of higher learning, we find it hard to imagine that the system Stephenson lays out could possibly come to pass in our world, that may just be because in our world the burden of guilt for “Terrible Events” we are still mostly imagining—from disastrous climate change to nuclear holocaust—has not yet been assumed by, or shackled upon, scientific shoulders.

But this stable arrangement contains both the good news and the bad news of Arbre’s history compared with our own. The “harbingers” of the Terrible Events sound suspiciously like our twentieth century. Assuming even a rough equivalence between Earth and Arbre years, Arbre represents a rather distant human future. The bad news is that Arbre, with only a few notable exceptions, has certainly not achieved anything like the extraordinary developments that science and technology seem to promise us today, let alone what science fiction routinely expects of so distant a future. With few exceptions, there is no radical extension of the human lifespan or of human capabilities. Arbre has not colonized and environmentally engineered other planets. The fact that Sæcular culture three millennia on is a somewhat degraded version of our own might even suggest that it is stuck in a kind of dark age. The good news is that there seem to have been no further “terrible events,” and even the last, longest, and worst of the sacks ended over eight centuries before the book opens.

So the mathic system “works” in the sense that the restriction of scientific research and its separation from technology creates the most stable age in Arbre’s history, even if everything is not all sweetness and light. We should perhaps not be surprised that such stability has costs of its own. But for the avout these costs are perhaps not as high as we might think. It is true that the sacks exact a terrible cost, particularly the last one. It is true that some avout chafe at restrictions and are disciplined or expelled for breaking rules. But the avout who actually engage in research (not all do so; the less able are shunted off into useful work around the concent) do so with ingenuity heightened by their limited resources and the intense focus that follows from their lack of distraction. Their discipline produces orderly habits of thought and action, along with a fair degree of comradely devotion to their brothers and sisters, sects, maths, and concents. Within the broad limits imposed on them, they seem to have freedom to choose to study whatever inquiries interest them, unmolested by disapproving non-scientists, and uninfluenced by commercial motives or external funding streams (although there is politicking among the various sects). Finally, they have a patience that comes from having a very long-term perspective on the significanceof their own contributions within the larger mathic effort at understanding the world.

Stephenson seems to think that a certain kind of person, with a certain kind of education, will find ways to answer the questions that interest him whatever the circumstances; for example, without calculating machines the avout have developed the ability to model calculations using songs. The fact that Stephenson calls the avout “theors” is also significant—their intellectual efforts are far more like the ancient science that was akin to contemplation than Baconian science directed at conquest, doing and making for immediately useful even if charitable purposes. This difference between theors and our scientists is only highlighted by the fact that the theors are the guardians of Arbre’s philosophical heritage. The intellectual and historical underpinnings of their efforts are very much a living part of what they do as theors—they are not just “gen-ed” add-ons, as they are for so many of our scientists-in-training. So we are not surprised when one character remarks that the avout spend their lives learning how to learn; they specialize without becoming narrow specialists. In the scheme of things, that is unlikely to strike many of us as the worst of fates, and suggests how the mathic system preserves what is best in the spirit of scientific inquiry as we know it.

That is not to say that the mathic system represents a model we should attempt to emulate in order to avoid our own version of the Terrible Events. But neither should we assume that the three thousand years of relative stability on Arbre made possible by the mathic system, including its costs, are just an arbitrary exercise of Stephenson’s imagination. We can see it as a thought experiment if we compare it with our usual way of doing things. On those rare occasions when those of our intellectuals who think at all about restraining developments in science and technology do so, they unsurprisingly think first in terms of the accustomed tools of a liberal democratic order that seeks to be minimally invasive in such matters: government regulatory oversight, or ethics norms voluntarily developed by professional organizations and adhered to by their members—classic parchment barriers. Stephenson would certainly not be the first to wonder whether such kid-glove measures are proportionate to the dangers threatened by greatly increasing our powers over nature and each other. His more thought-provoking contribution is the suggestion that such measures also may not do justice to the deep and abiding motive behind such research and development: the desire to know. Aristotle may be correct that all men desire by nature to know, but surely the passion is more powerful and developed in some than in others. Can government paperwork and ethics codes really provide a serious bulwark against those for whom the desire to know is their master passion?

Speaking broadly, we know that one of the tendencies of modern political arrangements is to make ethical restraint a matter of individual choice, at least to the extent compatible with public order and safety. Although Tocqueville’s concerns about the tyranny of the majority cannot be dismissed out of hand, liberal democracies rightly pride themselves on their avoidance of the ruthless enforcement of beliefs and norms of the sort found in secular or religious totalitarianism. Still, we know from one of Stephenson’s previous books, The Diamond Age (1995), that he is aware of the potentially corrosive moral effects of the very democratic principle “let each do as he pleases.” There is a sense in which modern liberal political arrangements wish to have ethical citizens without having an ethos, a publicly prescribed way of life for those citizens. This project would have seemed paradoxical or impossible to the ancients, who believed that ethics needed the careful support and habituation of institutions “with teeth in them,” to use Leo Strauss’s memorable phrase. And such a system is just what the mathic order represents. The discipline of the avout is written in a book but does not just happen from reading that book; it is lived and reinforced moment to moment by the very structure of their days, their possessions, their activities. If even then the system is imperfect and some avout place their desire to know above the rules of the community, then how much less restraint can we expect from less stringent measures within the framework of a more individualistic culture, and one where the already powerful desire to know will be freely mixed with other powerful desires the avout are less subject to—say, for material goods or public influence?

If part of friendship is avoiding discussing the defects of one’s friends, some friends of liberal democracy may feel it is not polite to confront this dilemma. Everybody understands, they might say, that neither fettered nor unfettered scientific and technological development is a free lunch, and that the costs and benefits of either course of action will be distributed unevenly. Our rather mild regimes of restraint stem from the judgment that on balance less control has larger benefits because it leads to more progress, and that the way you solve the problems of any one stage of historical progress is to press beyond them to the next stage. Progress may open the door to “terrible events,” but that just means we have to make progress all the faster in order to avoid them.

Viewed this way, progress is an infinite historical task, without a clear goal or purpose towards which to advance; one might wonder, then, why we call it “progress” and not simply “change.” But that we live in and should want to live in a progressive world is a crucial element of our narrative about ourselves. At various points in the story, Anathem suggests that a life well lived requires some such story to make it meaningful, some sense of purpose. Historical progress is the story that makes us reluctant to limit developments in science and technology. Stephenson’s treatment of the relationship of religion and science on Arbre suggests that, while it is dangerous to have no story at all, it is also problematic if one adheres dogmatically to the sole truth of one’s own story. Anathem raises questions about whether or to what extent this thing called progress really exists.

Anathem is filled with cycles; the analemma on the book jacket is a well-chosen graphic element. With their long-range perspective, the avout see cycles everywhere. Polar ice expands and contracts, cities grow and shrink, empires and beliefs rise and fall. The avout cyclically open and close their maths to the outside world, and inside the concent walls their days are structured by repeating rituals performed around a huge (non-digital) clock. They are aware that it is harder than it seems for something new to arise under the sun. A sect among them, the Lorites, specializes in pointing out when apparently new ideas are really just repetitions of old and otherwise forgotten ideas, and Lorites seem to have no lack of work to do. The intensely sectarian structure within the maths is testimony to just how hard it is to get beyond certain fundamental assumptions or predispositions.

Yet against this cyclical view of events, the book ends on an apparently progressive note. In order to be better prepared for future visitations by potentially hostile aliens with superior technology, Sæcular and avout have agreed to govern Arbre as two Magisteria. But here a complex and ambiguous aspect of the story must be noted. For it is not impossible that elements among the avout themselves helped bring about this crisis and, with the cooperation of a shadowy group of quasi-avout operating in the Sæcular world, shaped its course. We know for a fact that the Thousanders can manipulate the course of events (although in the cosmology of the book that is not the right way to describe their ability) and that such manipulation is crucial at a critical moment in the story; there are alternate timelines in alternate universes that have less happy outcomes. Raz at least is willing to take seriously the possibility that this shadowy group of avouts engineered the crisis by summoning the aliens, all with the intention of bringing the mathic age of scientific segregation to a close.

Nobody speaks against this new world order and some are clearly excited by it. As the book closes, we see Raz establishing a new concent. Predicated on this new avout-Sæcular cooperation, it will not be closed off from the world in the old mathic way. Yet it will still have walls, and the walls are already being laid out with an eye to their defensibility and with arched openings that could readily be turned into the closed gates that had defined the mathic concents. Diarchies are notoriously unstable.

Beyond that problem, ought we not expect that avout and Sæcular working together to meet some unknown contingency will develop very dangerous technologies? The timeline-manipulating Thousanders and their allies may have a good deal of work ahead of them if this second age of science and technology is not to end as disastrously as the first one. For us, it should be a sobering lesson if such godlike power is what it would take to maintain stability and prevent a repetition of the Terrible Events. Without that godlike power, it would seem, we should just expect that old patterns will be repeated.

The overarching metaphysic and cosmology of Anathem may suggest that this seeming anti-progressivism is not the last word. Raz is a member of a quasi-Platonic sect that believes that our ideas are reflections of Ideas; he joins their ranks despite the fact that they are widely looked down upon for holding what seems to be a suspiciously religious point of view (in our terms: the realm of Ideas sounds too much like heaven). Yet events more and more seem to vindicate their perspective, eventually allowing speculation that the universe in which Arbre exists may be a cosmos “closer” to the ultimate world of Ideas than the alternative cosmi from which the aliens prove to have come. It might be tempting, then, to see the cycles of Arbre as moments in a larger ascending spiral moving towards some ultimate truth.

Even if that view were correct, it would already be distinguished from historical progress understood as an infinite task without settled purpose or direction. However, it is not clear that the book’s quasi-Platonism makes the ascending spiral the appropriate image. Towards the very end of the book, when Raz’s views of at least some of Arbre’s religions have softened, he speaks of one preacher’s “amazing, exasperating sermons, filled with wisdom and upsight and human truths, fettered to a cosmographical scheme that had been blown out of the water four thousand years ago.” Yet perhaps a good Platonist should not be amazed or exasperated. Even if it is simply a human possibility—that is, possible always and everywhere—to grasp the truth, to have “upsight” into some of the truth does not mean upsight into all of it. To use the favorite example of the book, the Pythagorean theorem is an Idea that is true always and everywhere, and may be grasped always and everywhere, without complete knowledge of the whole of which it is a part. “Progress” occurs, one might say, when one moves from not knowing it to knowing it, but that progress has nothing to do with time or historical development; indeed an enigmatic Thousander suggests that time does not even exist, which would leave historical progress an illusion within an illusion.

In themselves, these are just the sort of arcane speculations that are quite suitable for science fiction. But as was the case with the obviously impractical concents, they are speculations that can make us wonder whether there are not equally arcane speculations upon which our more accustomed ways of thinking are built. The important truism that “you can’t stop progress” is easy enough to say, but understanding what it actually means is another matter—as is the question of whether it is true.

Anathem presents us with a familiar unfamiliar world and in so doing opens a door to asking such questions. We think we know the best ways, if necessary, to limit developments of science and technology, but Stephenson makes us wonder whether our easygoing ethical individualism is adequate to both our growing power over nature and ourselves, and to the force and dignity of the impulse to know that stands behind our science. We think we know what historical progress means, but Anathem makes us wonder whether progress without truth is anything more than change, and whether truth does not render progress superfluous. Is not wonder the beginning of philosophy?

Charles T. Rubin, a New Atlantis contributing editor, is an associate professor of political science at Duquesne University.

Charles T. Rubin, "Plato in Space," The New Atlantis, Summer 2009, pp. 59-68.

http://www.thenewatlantis.com/

walking man

2009-11-26T07:46:00.000-08:00

Estátua viva

2009-11-24T03:04:00.000-08:00

Aphex Twin - Gwelly Mernans

2009-11-19T00:14:00.001-08:00

Spot "Cinco razões para não usar preservativo"

2009-11-18T00:50:00.001-08:00

Earth Song - Michael Jackson (legendado em português)

2009-11-16T15:03:00.001-08:00

Espaço-tempo

2009-11-01T04:53:00.000-08:00

Einstein was right! Nasa Fermi telescope uncovers proof of famous space-time theory

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 1:44 AM on 01st November 2009

Racing across the Universe for the last 7.3-billion-years, two highly charged particles have arrived at Nasa's Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope within a second of one another. Excited scientists believe this could be evidence of Einstein's space-time theory.

The photons were launched on their marathon during a short gamma-ray burst, an outpouring of radiation likely generated by the collision of two neutron stars, the densest known objects in the Universe.

One of the photons possessed a million times more energy that the other but they arrived at almost the same time.
photons

In this illustration, one photon (purple) carries a million times the energy of another (yellow). Some theorists predict travel delays for higher-energy photons. Yet Fermi data failed to show this effect

In Einstein's vision of a unified space-time all forms of electromagnetic radiation, from gamma rays through to X-rays, are thought to travel through the vacuum of space at the same speed, no matter how much energy they have.

But in some new theories of gravity, space-time is considered to have a 'shifting, frothy structure' when viewed at a scale trillions of times smaller than an electron.

These new models of the Universe say this 'foamy texture' would slow down the higher-energy photon relative to the lower energy one.

The Fermi Telescope results showed this did not happen as scientists believe the nine-tenths of a second gap, when spread over more than seven billion years, is too small to be significant.

Professor Peter Michelson from Stanford University said: 'This measurement eliminates any approach to a new theory of gravity that predicts a strong energy-dependent change in the speed of light.'

The principal investigator for Fermi's Large Area Telescope (LAT) concluded: 'To one part in 100 million billion, these two photons traveled at the same speed. Einstein still rules.'

Professor Michelson's team has published a paper on the findings in the online version of the journal Nature.

More...

* Earliest star blast helps astronomers peer back to dawn of time

Physicists have yearned for years to develop a unifying theory of how the universe works. But no one has been able to come up with one that brings all four of the fundamental forces in the universe into one tent.

The Standard Model of particle physics is considered to have succeeded in unifying three of the four. These are the 'strong force' that holds nuclei together inside atoms and the 'weak force' that is responsible for radioactive decay and electromagnetism.

However gravity has always been the odd man out in this model. Though a host of theories have been advanced, none has been shown successful.

Albert Einstein's theories of relativity also fail to unify the four forces but the latest evidence suggests he was nearer to the truth than many modern theories.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1223853/Nasa-Fermi-telescope-uncovers-proof-Einsteins-space-time-theory.html?ITO=1490#ixzz0VbzlkcQ0

Espaço

2009-10-29T01:11:00.000-07:00

Um grupo internacional de astrofísicos detectou um corpo celeste que é o mais distante e o mais antigo registado até agora e confirmou que as estrelas já existiam quando o universo tinha apenas 600 milhões de anos.

Estas são algumas das conclusões de dois estudos publicados na revista cientifica Nature, que analisam a explosão de raios gama registada a 23 de Abril, que foi o mais distante observado até agora e que corresponde à explosão da estrela mais antiga e longínqua que se conhece.

Trata-se de uma estrela gigante que se apagou há 13 mil milhões de euros e cujo último esplendor chegou à Terra há apenas seis meses.

TSF

Christian the lion - Full ending

2009-10-23T01:17:00.001-07:00

Design: Arquitecto português ganha Prémio do Público em concurso do Museu Guggenheim de Nova Iorque - dn - DN

2009-10-21T22:48:00.000-07:00

Design: Arquitecto português ganha Prémio do Público em concurso do Museu Guggenheim de Nova Iorque - dn - DN

Futuro tentou sabotar o 'grande colisionador' - Ciência - DN

2009-10-21T07:39:00.000-07:00

Futuro tentou sabotar o 'grande colisionador' - Ciência - DN

Investigadores portugueses caracterizam genoma inédito

2009-10-21T06:18:00.000-07:00

Investigadores portugueses conseguiram fazer a primeira caracterização a nível mundial do genoma (transcriptoma) do mexilhão das fontes hidrotermais, permitindo criar a primeira base de dados sobre os genes deste animal, que vive no mar profundo.

«A criação desta base de dados, a primeira a nível mundial, é um grande salto evolutivo na investigação porque vai permitir perceber os mecanismos de adaptação do animal a condições extremas de sobrevivência», afirmou o investigador Raul Bettencourt, citado pela Lusa.

A investigação desenvolvida pelo Departamento de Oceanografia e Pescas (DOP) da Universidade dos Açores permitiu a aquisição de novos conhecimentos que podem vir a ter aplicação em áreas como a biotecnologia ou a medicina.

Em causa está a possível descoberta de genes com elevado valor biotecnológico ou de proteínas com propriedades anti-microbianas, que são utilizadas pelo animal para se defender dos microorganismos do meio ambiente em que vive.

No centro das atenções dos investigadores está o Bathymodiolus azoricus, um mexilhão que vive no campo hidrotermal Lucky Strike, a cerca de 1.700 metros de profundidade, na região da crista médio-atlântica, a 200 milhas a sudoeste do Faial.

Good Luck

2009-10-11T05:53:00.000-07:00

Be lucky - it's an easy skill to learn

Those who think they're unlucky should change their outlook and discover how to generate good fortune, says Richard Wiseman

Richard Wiseman
Published: 12:01AM GMT 09 Jan 2003

Psychology of luck: Prof Richard Wiseman has discovered the secret to good luck

A decade ago, I set out to investigate luck. I wanted to examine the impact on people's lives of chance opportunities, lucky breaks and being in the right place at the right time. After many experiments, I believe that I now understand why some people are luckier than others and that it is possible to become luckier.

To launch my study, I placed advertisements in national newspapers and magazines, asking for people who felt consistently lucky or unlucky to contact me. Over the years, 400 extraordinary men and women volunteered for my research from all walks of life: the youngest is an 18-year-old student, the oldest an 84-year-old retired accountant.

Jessica, a 42-year-old forensic scientist, is typical of the lucky group. As she explained: "I have my dream job, two wonderful children and a great guy whom I love very much. It's amazing; when I look back at my life, I realise I have been lucky in just about every area."

In contrast, Carolyn, a 34-year-old care assistant, is typical of the unlucky group. She is accident-prone. In one week, she twisted her ankle in a pothole, injured her back in another fall and reversed her car into a tree during a driving lesson. She was also unlucky in love and felt she was always in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Over the years, I interviewed these volunteers, asked them to complete diaries, questionnaires and intelligence tests, and invited them to participate in experiments. The findings have revealed that although unlucky people have almost no insight into the real causes of their good and bad luck, their thoughts and behaviour are responsible for much of their fortune.

Take the case of chance opportunities. Lucky people consistently encounter such opportunities, whereas unlucky people do not. I carried out a simple experiment to discover whether this was due to differences in their ability to spot such opportunities.

I gave both lucky and unlucky people a newspaper, and asked them to look through it and tell me how many photographs were inside. On average, the unlucky people took about two minutes to count the photographs, whereas the lucky people took just seconds. Why? Because the second page of the newspaper contained the message: "Stop counting. There are 43 photographs in this newspaper." This message took up half of the page and was written in type that was more than 2in high. It was staring everyone straight in the face, but the unlucky people tended to miss it and the lucky people tended to spot it.

For fun, I placed a second large message halfway through the newspaper: "Stop counting. Tell the experimenter you have seen this and win £250." Again, the unlucky people missed the opportunity because they were still too busy looking for photographs.

Personality tests revealed that unlucky people are generally much more tense than lucky people, and research has shown that anxiety disrupts people's ability to notice the unexpected. In one experiment, people were asked to watch a moving dot in the centre of a computer screen. Without warning, large dots would occasionally be flashed at the edges of the screen. Nearly all participants noticed these large dots.

The experiment was then repeated with a second group of people, who were offered a large financial reward for accurately watching the centre dot, creating more anxiety. They became focused on the centre dot and more than a third of them missed the large dots when they appeared on the screen. The harder they looked, the less they saw.

And so it is with luck - unlucky people miss chance opportunities because they are too focused on looking for something else. They go to parties intent on finding their perfect partner and so miss opportunities to make good friends. They look through newspapers determined to find certain types of job advertisements and as a result miss other types of jobs. Lucky people are more relaxed and open, and therefore see what is there rather than just what they are looking for.

My research revealed that lucky people generate good fortune via four basic principles. They are skilled at creating and noticing chance opportunities, make lucky decisions by listening to their intuition, create self-fulfilling prophesies via positive expectations, and adopt a resilient attitude that transforms bad luck into good.

I wondered whether these four principles could be used to increase the amount of good luck that people encounter in their lives. To find out, I created a "luck school" - a simple experiment that examined whether people's luck can be enhanced by getting them to think and behave like a lucky person.

I asked a group of lucky and unlucky volunteers to spend a month carrying out exercises designed to help them think and behave like a lucky person. These exercises helped them spot chance opportunities, listen to their intuition, expect to be lucky, and be more resilient to bad luck.

One month later, the volunteers returned and described what had happened. The results were dramatic: 80 per cent of people were now happier, more satisfied with their lives and, perhaps most important of all, luckier. While lucky people became luckier, the unlucky had become lucky. Take Carolyn, whom I introduced at the start of this article. After graduating from "luck school", she has passed her driving test after three years of trying, was no longer accident-prone and became more confident.

In the wake of these studies, I think there are three easy techniques that can help to maximise good fortune:

Unlucky people often fail to follow their intuition when making a choice, whereas lucky people tend to respect hunches. Lucky people are interested in how they both think and feel about the various options, rather than simply looking at the rational side of the situation. I think this helps them because gut feelings act as an alarm bell - a reason to consider a decision carefully.

Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine. They tend to take the same route to and from work and talk to the same types of people at parties. In contrast, many lucky people try to introduce variety into their lives. For example, one person described how he thought of a colour before arriving at a party and then introduced himself to people wearing that colour. This kind of behaviour boosts the likelihood of chance opportunities by introducing variety.

Lucky people tend to see the positive side of their ill fortune. They imagine how things could have been worse. In one interview, a lucky volunteer arrived with his leg in a plaster cast and described how he had fallen down a flight of stairs. I asked him whether he still felt lucky and he cheerfully explained that he felt luckier than before. As he pointed out, he could have broken his neck.

Hipopótamo

2009-10-01T14:21:00.000-07:00

Pictured: The baby pygmy hippo who's barely bigger than a lettuce leaf

By Daily Mail Reporter

Hippos kill more humans than any other animal - but this little fellow doesn't look like he could do too much harm.

A newborn baby pygmy from Rotterdam's Blijdorp Zoo, he's dwarfed by lettuce leaves as he has a nibble with his mum.

Much tamer and shyer than their aggressive cousins, pygmy hippos are now critically endangered, with less than 3000 remaining in the wild.

A newly born pygmy hippopotamus has a nibble with its mother in Rotterdam's Blijdorp Zoo

They're indigenous to the tropical forests of West Africa, and their primary threat is the loss of their forest habitat due to the timber industry. They're also hunted extensively for their meat.

The aptly named pygmy grows to just over 3ft tall - just one fifth of the size of the common hippopotamus - and is the only other species of hippo in the world.

Reclusive and nocturnal, the mammals are semi-aquatic and need to live near water to keep their skin moisturised and their body cool.

They sometimes even mate and give birth in water, and they secrete oils known as 'blood-sweat' to keep their hide waterproof.

Pygmy hippos are plant-eating mammals, feeding on ferns, broad-leaved plants, grasses and fruits they find in the forest.

Água na Lua

2009-09-24T14:56:00.000-07:00

It's Official: Water Found on the Moon
SPACE.com

Andrea Thompson
Senior Writer
SPACE.com andrea Thompson

Since man first touched the moon and brought pieces of it back to Earth, scientists have thought that the lunar surface was bone dry. But new observations from three different spacecraft have put this notion to rest with what has been called "unambiguous evidence" of water across the surface of the moon.

The new findings, detailed in the Sept. 25 issue of the journal Science, come in the wake of further evidence of lunar polar water ice by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and just weeks before the planned lunar impact of NASA's LCROSS satellite, which will hit one of the permanently shadowed craters at the moon's south pole in hope of churning up evidence of water ice deposits in the debris field.

The moon remains drier than any desert on Earth, but the water is said to exist on the moon in very small quantities. Finding water on the moon would be a boon to possible future lunar bases, acting as a potential source of drinking water and fuel.

Apollo turns up dry

When Apollo astronauts returned from the moon 40 years ago, they brought back several samples of lunar rocks.

The moon rocks were analyzed for signs of water bound to minerals present in the rocks; while trace amounts of water were detected, these were assumed to be contamination from Earth, because the containers the rocks came back in had leaked.

"The isotopes of oxygen that exist on the moon are the same as those that exist on Earth, so it was difficult if not impossible to tell the difference between water from the moon and water from Earth," said Larry Taylor of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, who is a member of one of the NASA-built instrument teams for India's Chandrayaan-1 satellite and has studied the moon since the Apollo missions.

While scientists continued to suspect that water ice deposits could be found in the coldest spots of south pole craters that never saw sunlight, the consensus became that the rest of the moon was bone dry.

But new observations of the lunar surface made with Chandrayaan-1, NASA's Cassini spacecraft, and NASA's Deep Impact probe, are calling that consensus into question, with multiple detections of the spectral signal of either water or the hydroxyl group (an oxygen and hydrogen chemically bonded).

Three spacecraft

Chandrayaan-1, India's first-ever moon probe, was aimed at mapping the lunar surface and determining its mineral composition (the orbiter's mission ended 14 months prematurely in August after an abrupt malfunction). While the probe was still active, its NASA-built Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3) detected wavelengths of light reflected off the surface that indicated the chemical bond between hydrogen and oxygen — the telltale sign of either water or hydroxyl.

Because M3 can only penetrate the top few millimeters of lunar regolith, the newly observed water seems to be at or near the lunar surface. M3's observations also showed that the water signal got stronger toward the polar regions.

Cassini, which passed by the moon in 1999 on its way to Saturn, provides confirmation of this signal with its own slightly stronger detection of the water/hydroxyl signal. The water would have to be absorbed or trapped in the glass and minerals at the lunar surface, wrote Roger Clark of the U.S. Geological Survey in the study detailing Cassini's findings.

The Cassini data shows a global distribution of the water signal, though it also appears stronger near the poles (and low in the lunar maria).

Finally, the Deep Impact spacecraft, as part of its extended EPOXI mission and at the request of the M3 team, made infrared detections of water and hydroxyl as part of a calibration exercise during several close approaches of the Earth-Moon system en route to its planned flyby of comet 103P/Hartley 2 in November 2010.

Deep Impact detected the signal at all latitudes above 10 degrees N, though once again, the poles showed the strongest signals. With its multiple passes, Deep Impact was able to observe the same regions at different times of the lunar day. At noon, when the sun's rays were strongest, the water feature was lowest, while in the morning, the feature was stronger.

"The Deep Impact observations of the Moon not only unequivocally confirm the presence of [water/hydroxyl] on the lunar surface, but also reveal that the entire lunar surface is hydrated during at least some portion of the lunar day," the authors wrote in their study.

The findings of all three spacecraft "provide unambiguous evidence for the presence of hydroxyl or water," said Paul Lacey of the University of Hawaii in an opinion essay accompanying the three studies. Lacey was not involved in any of the missions.

The new data "prompt a critical reexamination of the notion that the moon is dry. It is not," Lacey wrote.

Where the water comes from

Combined, the findings show that not only is the moon hydrated, the process that makes it so is a dynamic one that is driven by the daily changes in solar radiation hitting any given spot on the surface.

The sun might also have something to do with how the water got there.

There are potentially two types of water on the moon: that brought from outside sources, such as water-bearing comets striking the surface, or that that originates on the moon.

This second, endogenic, source is thought to possibly come from the interaction of the solar wind with moon rocks and soils.

The rocks and regolith that make up the lunar surface are about 45 percent oxygen (combined with other elements as mostly silicate minerals). The solar wind — the constant stream of charged particles emitted by the sun — are mostly protons, or positively charged hydrogen atoms.

If the charged hydrogens, which are traveling at one-third the speed of light, hit the lunar surface with enough force, they break apart oxygen bonds in soil materials, Taylor, the M3 team member suspects. Where free oxygen and hydrogen exist, there is a high chance that trace amounts of water will form.

The various study researchers also suggest that the daily dehydration and rehydration of the trace water across the surface could lead to the migration of hydroxyl and hydrogen towards the poles where it can accumulate in the cold traps of the permanently shadowed regions.

o povo votou outra vez

2009-09-24T14:08:00.001-07:00

Weather Geeks Champion New Armageddon-Worthy Cloud

2009-09-22T13:08:00.001-07:00

Weather Geeks Champion New Armageddon-Worthy Cloud

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Boston Dynamics Big Dog (new video March 2008)

2009-09-22T11:51:00.001-07:00

BigDog has been developed by Boston Dynamics - a robotics company - in response to a request by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency to carry soldiers' equipment across rough terrain. BigDog has four legs allowing it to traverse areas that wheeled or tracked vehicles cannot move across and carries a laser gyroscope and stereo vision system. If the Skynet-like vision of a four-legged military robot tramping through woodland in the snow is not frightening enough, then the segment when BigDog is pushed off balance and staggers drunkenly sideways is surely one of the creepiest things ever to appear on YouTube.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

Beagle Escape!!! (w/music)

2009-09-21T07:52:00.001-07:00

Ovation TV | Jackson Pollock

2009-09-20T09:16:00.001-07:00

Surrealismo

Surreal experiences

2009-09-20T08:57:00.000-07:00

16 September 2009
Surreal experiences boost brain power
by Kate Melville

Psychologists at the University of California - Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia have found that exposure to surrealism, by say, reading a book by Franz Kafka or watching a film by director David Lynch, enhances the cognitive mechanisms that oversee the implicit learning functions in the brain. The research was reported in the journal Psychological Science.

"The idea is that when you're exposed to a meaning threat - something that fundamentally does not make sense - your brain is going to respond by looking for some other kind of structure within your environment," said researcher Travis Proulx. "And, it turns out, that structure can be completely unrelated to the meaning threat."

Meaning, explains Proulx, is an expected association within one's environment. Fire, for example, is associated with extreme heat, and putting your hand in a flame and finding it icy cold would constitute a threat to that meaning.

In the study, the researchers asked a group of subjects to read an abridged and slightly edited version of Kafka's The Country Doctor, which involves a nonsensical - and in some ways disturbing - series of events. A second group read a different version of the same short story, one that had been rewritten so that the plot and literary elements made sense. The subjects were then asked to complete an artificial-grammar learning task in which they were exposed to hidden patterns in letter strings. They were asked to copy the individual letter strings and then to put a mark next to those that followed a similar pattern.

"People who read the nonsensical story checked off more letter strings - clearly they were motivated to find structure," said Proulx. "But what's more important is that they were actually more accurate than those who read the more normal version of the story. They really did learn the pattern better than the other participants did."

Importantly, the researchers have identified the beneficial effects of unusual experiences only in implicit pattern learning. It remains to be seen whether or not reading surreal literature would aid in the learning of studied material as well. "It's important to note that sitting down with a Kafka story before exam time probably wouldn't boost your performance on a test," noted Proulx.

He added that the element of surprise was critical. "If you expect that you'll encounter something strange or out of the ordinary, you won't experience the same sense of alienation. You may be disturbed by it, but you won't show the same learning ability. The key to our study is that our participants were surprised by the series of unexpected events, and they had no way to make sense of them. Hence, they strived to make sense of something else."

Source: University of California

It

2009-09-20T08:46:00.001-07:00

It’s Better In Somalia

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RTP - CONVERSA DE ESCRITORES

2009-09-17T14:54:00.001-07:00

RTP - CONVERSA DE ESCRITORES

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Astronomia em português

2009-09-17T14:43:00.000-07:00

A existência de vida noutros planetas.

Portugal tem astrónomos que participam em projectos internacionais que em breve confirmarão a suspeita. Tem outros que desenvolvem instrumentos para telescópios e sondas que vão cartografar a nossa galáxia, saber do que são feitos os astros.
Sabia que o ferro que lhe tinge o sangue é anterior a si, ao planeta? A maternidade? As estrelas. E já pensou que na nossa essência primitiva somos extra-terrenos, à procura de vida extra-terrestre?
Portugal também teve astrónomos que foram citados por Newton, reis que decretaram a construção de observatórios astronómicos e matemáticos que calcularam nos astros as rotas dos oceanos.
A astronomia faz universalmente parte de nós, da nossa história e cultura, desde o Neolítico.
É nesse tempo que começa a história dos ANOS-LUSOS contada à velocidade de 7 mil anos por hora.

Art:21 | Elegy for Robert Rauschenberg

2009-09-16T12:54:00.001-07:00

Ilusões de óptica

2009-09-14T14:12:00.000-07:00

http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/~akitaoka/index-e.html

debate do js js

2009-09-14T13:39:00.001-07:00

A Verdade da Política de Manuela Ferreira Leite

2009-09-14T13:33:00.001-07:00

A cobra que faz rir

2009-09-14T13:16:00.000-07:00

Snake that grew a foot out of its body Photo: CEN/Europics

Dean Qiongxiu, 66, said she discovered the reptile clinging to the wall of her bedroom with its talons in the middle of the night.

"I woke up and heard a strange scratching sound. I turned on the light and saw this monster working its way along the wall using his claw," said Mrs Duan of Suining, southwest China.

Mrs Duan said she was so scared she grabbed a shoe and beat the snake to death before preserving its body in a bottle of alcohol.

The snake – 16 inches long and the thickness of a little finger – is now being studied at the Life Sciences Department at China's West Normal University in Nanchang.

Snake expert Long Shuai said: "It is truly shocking but we won't know the cause until we've conducted an autopsy."

A more common mutation among snakes is the growth of a second head, which occurs in a similar way to the formation of Siamese twins in humans.

Such animals are often caught and preserved as lucky tokens but have very little chance of surviving in the wild anyway, especially as the heads have a tendency to attack each other.

Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here

2009-09-12T06:03:00.001-07:00

Astronomia

2009-09-12T02:29:00.000-07:00

Um português na elite mundial da astronomia

por Alfredo Teixeira

Nuno Santos, professor e investigador do Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, ganhou uma bolsa de quase um milhão de euros para encontrar planetas sósias da Terra.

Descobrir um planeta igual à Terra é o grande desafio de Nuno Santos, investigador do Centro de Astrofísica da Universidade do Porto, premiado com uma bolsa do European Research Council - ERC Starting Grant 2009. Um objectivo no qual, actualmente, está concentrada toda a comunidade científica mundial. Tanto a americana NASA como a europeia ESO (Observatório Europeu do Sul) desenvolvem projectos numa competição que faz lembrar os tempos da Guerra Fria pela conquista do espaço americano e soviético.

É nesta pesquisa que entra o investigador português a quem foi agora atribuída uma bolsa de quase um milhão de euros para desenvolver uma investigação de ponta que permita a detecção e estudo de outros planetas semelhantes à Terra a orbitar estrelas parecidas com o Sol.

Neste momento, Nuno Santos encontra-se no Chile, mais propriamente na localidade de La Silla, no deserto de Atacama, onde está instalado o telescópio HARPS do ESO, local onde habitualmente investigadores europeus fazem as suas pesquisas pelo universo e colocam em prática os estudos que cada um vai desenvolvendo nos seus países. Por isso, confessa Nuno Santos, "esta bolsa vai servir para reforçar e consolidar a equipa que existe no Centro de Astrofísica do Porto e desenvolver uma ciência que permitirá descobrir e estudar um planeta parecido com a Terra".

Ao mesmo tempo, abrirá caminho para o projecto Expresso (Echelle Spectrograph for Rocky Exoplanet and Stable Spectroscopic Observations) da Agência Espacial Europeia (ESO) e que tem também por objectivo detectar planetas parecidos com o nosso, capazes de albergar vida.

A bolsa foi atribuída pelo European Research Council (ERC) e Nuno Santos foi um dos 219 contemplados num universos de 2503 candidaturas. "Este dinheiro vai ainda permitir contratar investigadores internacionais para trabalharem no Porto e atribuir bolsas para estudantes portugueses desta área", explica o astrónomo. O trabalho desenvolvido nos últimos anos por Nuno Santos acaba assim por ser reconhecido, sendo de referir que a equipa do investigador, juntamente com astrónomos franceses e suíços, foi responsável, em Abril de 2007, por uma das maiores descobertas científicas dos últimos anos: o Gliese 581, uma estrela--anã vermelha em volta da qual orbita um planeta potencialmente habitável fora do sistema solar.

Desde logo, o Gliese 581 despertou a atenção mundial pela sua semelhança com a Terra. Apelidado pelos astrónomos de "Super-Terra", este planeta extra--solar possui um diâmetro 50% maior do que o da Terra e dista de nós 20,5 anos-luz.

"Era quase garantido lá existirem temperaturas amenas, faltava saber é se tinha água capaz de suportar vida", diz Nuno Santos. Meses depois, a esperança era desfeita. Afinal a "Super-Terra" não estava suficientemente longe da sua estrela para que a existência de gelo ou água fosse possível.

Nos últimos anos, outros três sósias da Terra foram encontrados na órbita desta estrela-anã vermelha. Mas estes planetas tinham características que tornavam impossível qualquer forma de vida semelhante à terrestre.

Para Nuno Santos, a bolsa agora atribuída "é um reconhecimento pelo trabalho e um estímulo para o futuro". O investigador prevê que este incentivo comece a dar resultados já a partir do próximo ano.

Dolorosa indiferencia (Painful indifference) Sokurov, 1987

2009-09-10T01:30:00.001-07:00

The Lonely Voice of Man - Sokurov (1987) passage

2009-09-10T01:28:00.001-07:00

Did You Know?

2009-08-28T05:16:00.001-07:00

Ciência

2009-08-21T08:34:00.000-07:00

Publicado na revista “Cell”

Português descobre gene crucial para transformar células adultas em estaminais embrionárias
20.08.2009 - 17h40 Teresa Firmino

José Silva anda às voltas com o mesmo gene há cinco anos e agora descobriu como é que esse gene consegue fazer com que células adultas, perfeitamente diferenciadas como as da pele, regressem a um passado distante – levando-as a transformar-se em células estaminais embrionárias.

O biólogo português, 35 anos, do Centro para a Investigação de Células Estaminais da Universidade de Cambridge, em Inglaterra, publica hoje a descoberta na edição online da revista norte-americana “Cell”.

O gene alvo de tantas atenções é o Nanog, que, em gaélico, remete para a expressão “terra dos sempre jovens”. Foi descoberto em 2003, por outro cientista, e no ano seguinte José Silva começou a dedicar-lhe atenção.

O que tem para contar inclui vários tipos de células. Ao contrário das células adultas, que já se diferenciaram, tornando-se pele ou coração, por exemplo, as estaminais dos embriões originam todos os tipos de células (mais de 200) de um organismo. Por essa razão, os cientistas querem aprender tudo sobre elas, para depois as transformar em qualquer tipo de célula e tratar as mais variadas doenças, como a Parkinson, Alzheimer ou diabetes.

Se a obtenção dessas células puder evitar a criação e destruição de embriões – produzindo estaminais a partir de células adultas –, contorna-se uma série de problemas éticos. Mais: podem-se gerar células compatíveis com qualquer doente a partir de células do seu corpo.

Em 2006, José Silva percebeu que o Nanog tem um papel importante na reprogramação das células adultas, pois faz com que voltem a ser estaminais embrionárias.

Nessa altura, o investigador procedeu à fusão de células diferenciadas (da pele e do timo) com células estaminais do cérebro (nos adultos também há células estaminais, mas têm alguma especialização; as células estaminais do sangue só já dão as várias células sanguíneas e nunca do coração, por exemplo).

Era a primeira vez que se identificava um gene específico envolvido na reprogramação das células. Mas faltava dar o grande passo: levar uma célula adulta, sem fusões, a transformar-se em estaminal.

Seria uma equipa japonesa a dar esse passo, em 2006, ao descobrir que é possível programar células adultas como estaminais embrionárias. Para tal, a equipa de Shinya Yamanaka, da Universidade de Quioto, usou quatro genes (nenhum era o Nanog) e mostrou que são essenciais para a reprogramação celular. Convertidas à força, por assim dizer, ficaram conhecidas como “células estaminais induzidas”. A equipa de Yamanaka mostrou que tal é possível fazendo nascer ratinhos criados com células adultas da pele.

No entanto, o que se passava durante essa conversão manteve-se às escuras, até agora. “A biologia desse processo era uma caixa negra. Os quatro genes são importantes para iniciar o processo que leva à geração das células estaminais induzidas, mas o que acontecia era um ponto de interrogação”, diz José Silva.

O biólogo suspeitava que o Nanog desempenharia um papel importante, talvez fosse até o protagonista. Foi ver se era mesmo assim.

Maestro de vários genes

Descobriu duas coisas, que publica agora na “Cell”. Primeiro, o Nanog é absolutamente necessário para reprogramar as células adultas em células estaminais induzidas, num pratinho de laboratório. Segundo, no próprio embrião, o Nanog é necessário para o seu desenvolvimento normal. Sem o gene, o embrião não consegue formar células estaminais, de onde surgirá todo o organismo, pelo que é inviável. As células do embrião ficam retidas num estádio intermédio, sem chegarem a estaminais.

O artigo de José Silva recentra a descoberta de Yamanaka, também entre os autores deste trabalho. Assim, os quatro genes parecem iniciar o processo de proliferação de células no embrião, ainda antes de aparecerem as estaminais (ao fim de cinco a seis dias de desenvolvimento do embrião humano). Só depois de entrarem em acção é que o Nanog surge em cena, como um maestro que conduz uma orquestra. Mas sem outros genes, a transição das células (tanto do embrião como das adultas) para estaminais não é possível.

“É o Nanog que faz com que as células pré-estaminais do embrião se tornem estaminais. Mas para exercer a sua função, o Nanog precisa de outros genes”, frisa José Silva.

No trabalho dos japoneses, além dos quatro genes, o Nanog entrou em acção sem que a equipa o soubesse. Se tivesse bloqueado a sua actividade, não se teria conseguido criar ratinhos a partir de células adultas. Os ratinhos que José Silva criou durante as suas experiências provam como o Nanog é essencial.

Rachmaninoff plays Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini

2009-08-19T06:54:00.001-07:00

Descoberto elemento crucial para formação de vida num cometa

2009-08-18T22:46:00.001-07:00

Descoberto elemento crucial para formação de vida num cometa
Ontem

Cientistas da NASA descobriram glicina, um elemento fundamental para a formação de vida, em amostras do cometa Wild 2, trazidos para a Terra pela sonda Stardust, informou hoje, terça-feira, a agência espacial norte-americana.

A glicina é um aminoácido usado pelos organismos vivos para produzir proteínas e esta é a primeira vez que se encontra num cometa", afirmou Jamie Elsila, do Centro de Voos Espaciais da NASA.

"A nossa descoberta apoia a teoria de que alguns ingredientes da vida surgiram no espaço e chegaram à Terra através do impacto de meteoritos e cometas", refere um comunicado do Laboratório de Propulsão por Jacto (JLP) da NASA.

Carl Pilcher, director do Instituto de Astrobiologia da agência espacial, considera que a descoberta também confirma a hipótese de que os blocos básicos da vida abundam no espaço e de que a vida no Universo é mais comum do que se crê.

Os resultados da investigação foram apresentados numa reunião da Sociedade Química dos Estados Unidos realizada em Washington, no passado fim-de-semana, e serão publicados proximamente na revista Meteorites and Planetary Science, segundo o JPL.

A sonda Stardust passou através de uma densa nuvem e de gases que rodeavam o núcleo de gelo do Wild 2, em Janeiro de 2004.

O engenho espacial continha uma malha com uma substância absorvente que capturou esses pós e gases, que se desprendeu da sonda numa cápsula que regressou à Terra em Janeiro de 2006.

As análises revelaram imediatamente a presença de glicina nas amostras, mas como esse aminoácido existe também na vida terrestre, pensou-se inicialmente que a malha estaria contaminada.

No entanto, novas investigações em que foi usado o método de análise isotópica excluíram essa possibilidade.

A descoberta de aminoácidos nas amostras do cometa é assombrosa e profunda", descreveu Donald Brownlee, professor da Universidade de Seattle (Washington) e investigador principal do projecto.

JN

Gripe A

2009-08-18T12:34:00.001-07:00

Um novo método de diagnóstico desenvolvido por investigadores brasileiros da Universidade Federal de Pernambuco detecta o vírus da nova gripe (H1N1) no tempo máximo de cinco minutos e poderá ser utilizado em larga escala a baixo custo.

"É uma técnica usada para fazer diagnóstico totalmente diferente das técnicas usuais", disse à Lusa o físico Celso Pinto de Melo, que lidera a investigação em Pernambuco.

"Apesar de uma grande sofisticação, esse procedimento demora de três a cinco minutos. É um teste rápido e barato. É possível aplicá-lo e dar a resposta ao paciente se ele está ou não infectado, adiantou.

Ainda em fase de testes de laboratório, o cientista acredita que este método democratizaria o diagnóstico e causaria um "impacto muito grande".

Apenas quatro laboratórios estão autorizados no Brasil a fazer os testes de diagnóstico da H1N1: o Adolfo Lutz em São Paulo, a Fiocruz no Rio de Janeiro, o Evandro Chagas no Pará e os laboratórios centrais Lacens do Paraná e Rio Grande do Sul.

No caso de pacientes do estado de Pernambuco, os exames são levados para o Pará e levam mais de dez dias para terem a confirmação do resultado.

"O tempo de dez dias é apenas útil para dados epidemiológicos. Não há muito a fazer: ou o paciente já foi medicado com tamiflu e melhorou ou evoluiu para óbito", argumentou.

Pinto de Melo explicou que a nova técnica consiste num trabalho com polímeros condutores com nanopartículas metálicas que apresentam intensa fluorescência.

A investigação teve início há três anos e meio, quando a equipa de cientistas viu a possibilidade de usar este método para algum tipo de diagnóstico.

"Vimos que, graças à enorme luminescência de material, poderiam ser feitos testes com fragmentos com vírus ou bactérias em pequenas concentrações e desde há dois anos que estamos a trabalhar com o diagnóstico da dengue e o HPV (papiloma vírus humano). E os testes foram muito positivos", destacou.

O grau de fiabilidade para o diagnóstico do HPV aproxima-se dos 100 por cento e da dengue supera os 70 por cento.

O teste consiste em recolher o material genético do paciente (secreção nasal ou sangue) e, numa lâmina, juntar a uma substância de composto metálico fluorescente. Para confirmar a doença, a lâmina fica a brilhar em contacto com o fragmento de RNA que transmite a carga genética do vírus.

"Se o paciente é suspeito de ter a doença, a lâmina fica brilhante e o teste é positivo", destacou, acrescentando: "Queremos fazer para o H1N1 o que já está a ser feito com a dengue e o HPV".

O laboratório da instituição já está em contacto com as autoridades públicas de Pernambuco para articular acções com vista a utilizar este método. Melo garantiu que é possível que, a partir da próxima semana, esta técnica já possa ser utilizada.

Mas, para ser implementado a nível nacional é necessário o cumprimento de uma série de exigências e protocolos de segurança do Ministério da Saúde e da Agência Nacional de Vigilância Sanitária (Anvisa).

Se os testes provarem fiabilidade, admitiu o investigador, o método será usado para uma larga gama de doenças como a leishmaniose e a hepatite. A possibilidade de salvar vidas também é maior, reconheceu.

Celso Pinto de Melo considerou viável implantar este sistema a nível nacional, até o final do ano, caso a Anvisa e o Ministério de Saúde manifestem interesse.

A grande vantagem seria a rapidez e a facilidade do diagnóstico que não ficaria restrito aos quatro laboratórios.

"Poderia ser feito em postos de saúde e hospitais com um preço de custo de dose a 75 centavos de real" (pouco mais de 28 cêntimos do euro), concluiu.

PCP Festa Popular 2009 - Baguim do Monte

2009-08-17T08:56:00.001-07:00