Science and Technology News
Science is the study of the world around us and is divided into a myriad of subdisciplines to allow a scientist to specialize in a specific set of knowledge. Science is characterized by its ability to be proven time and again through testable experiments and helps humans to explain the known universe. Some of the most commonly known disciplines include biology, chemisty, physics, geology and oceanography (earth sciences) and astronomy. In recent years science has been attributed to the pursuit of knowledge and not the actual knowledge its self.
The brain’s ability to retain memory may be related to the quality of sleep an individual gets after learning. Research from colleagues in New York and China show evidence that synaptic connections, or neuron pathways, require slow-wave phases of sleep (deep sleep) to effectively form memory connections in the brain. The study may change how we think about study habits for children and adult students.
Chemical weapons are among the most feared methods of warfare as their ability to inflict large scale death and destruction has classified them as weapons of mass destruction. Chemists now may have a more environmentally friendly solution to approaching cleanup efforts of chemical weapons and nerve agents by both military and civilian personnel.
Biochemists have struggled with improving efficiency of biofuel production from a plant’s biomass using chemical treatments. One breakthrough may be available soon with research by a plant biologist and biochemist to bioengineer trees containing cells that self destruct. Biofuels may become a more viable form of green energy as biotechnology improves their efficiency.
Physics research into cloaking and invisibility may prove to be a significant asset to military defensive strategies in the next decade. Scientists have discovered a new method to cloak an object from electromagnetic frequencies which can create a state of invisibility to some wavelengths. Using metamaterials, it is now possible to hide objects from certain electromagnetic frequencies.
Scientists from Harvard University and Seoul National University studying climate change and global warming discovered a pattern of increasing intensity and frequency of tropical cyclones throughout East Asia. Higher water surface temperature throughout the South China Sea are attributed to these conditions.
Science is responsible for most of the technological developments that have been implemented by humanity in our day to day lives. Many things which are often taken for granted such as our cell phones, automobiles, fuel and electricity were all devised and refined through scientific experiments. Scientific knowledge is typically classified in two manners, as a theory or law (proven to through repeated experiments to produce the same result).