Science Odds and Ends

http://www.scientificamerican.com/artic ... 0&offset=8
World Changing Ideas
Ten thoughts, trends and technologies that have the power to transform our lives
By The Editors, John Pavlus, Tom Vanderbilt, Elizabeth Svoboda, Melinda Wenner Moyer and Matthew L. Wald
November 18, 2010

http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/r ... 1000628161
Amazon's Best Books of 2010: Top 10 Science Books

What would you add?

Sorry Joe - even I could see it only when I went from the Facebook link SciAm sent - they haven't officially published it yet (monday).
Here are the 10 (teaser!):
The Game of Life
Bringing joysticks and scoreboards into our daily routine may be the key to making us better people
by John Pavlus

Human Number Crunchers
When research is like a video game, computers finish second
by John Pavlus

Know-It-All Toll Roads
Building more roads won’t eliminate traffic. Smart pricing will  
by Tom Vanderbilt

The DNA Transistor
A new approach to DNA sequencing could revolutionize our understanding
of genetics
by Elizabeth Svoboda

A Killer Water Filter
Novel materials promise better access to clean water around the world  
by Melinda Wenner Moyer

A Wandering, Plant-Eating Robot
It gobbles up wood chips, leaves and other “biomass” and generates electricity
by John Pavlus

Borrowing Nature’s Code
Algorithms inspired by Mother Nature help us run our vast digital biosphere
by John Pavlus

One Hundred Tests
A cheap diagnostic warns couples against passing rare genetic diseases to their offspring
by Mary Carmichael

Gas from Trash
Modified microbes eat waste and “secrete” fuel
by Matthew L. Wald

The Importance of Junk DNA
Biologists continue to be surprised by what was once dismissed as wasted space
by Melinda Wenner Moyer

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... tml?ref=hp
A Greener Way to Make Plastic
by Robert F. Service on 25 November 2010

Chemical refineries are great at converting petroleum into gasoline and the building blocks of plastics and other consumer goods. But when it comes to sustainable starting materials, such as wood chips, corn stalks, or other plant "biomass," refineries are too inefficient to make the process commercially viable. Researchers have now given that efficiency a major boost, perhaps enough of one to allow us to leave petroleum behind.

A third route, known as pyrolysis, heats dried and ground biomass to about 550˚C in an oxygen-depleted chamber (so the biomass doesn't burn), producing a mixture of gases, liquids, and a gray, carbon-rich solid called coke. When the gases cool and condense, they combine with the liquids to form a mixture of oils. These oils are cheap: It costs only $1 to make oil through pyrolysis that has the same energy content as a gallon of gasoline. But they must be further chopped into smaller hydrocarbons before they are suitable for industrial use. In addition, oxygen-rich acids in the oil make it corrosive, so it can't be used in conventional engines and storage containers.

http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsid ... tml?ref=hp
How BP Clashed and Cooperated With Scientists
by Eli Kintisch on 22 November 2010

A detail-rich, 39-page working paper http://www.oilspillcommission.gov/docum ... condo-well from staff members of the oil spill commission says the government and BP have "much to take pride in" for their response to the crisis, given that "neither was ready for a disaster of this nature." It says, however, that the failure to get an accurate rate of oil flow early on may have "impeded" BP's efforts to have oil-collection equipment ready when needed.

A senior government official characterized BP's attitude prior to the increased supervision as "hope for the best, plan for the best, expect the best." One of the science advisors told Commission staff that, before the science team stepped up its oversight, BP had failed to consistently consider worst-case scenarios. Tooms of BP, on the other hand, expressed frustration to Commission staff about the nature of the science team's pushback, arguing that theoretical scientists consider risk differently than engineers, that BP had expertise in managing risk, and that the science team slowed the containment effort.

The commission staff members' final word on the role of the government:

At the time of the blowout, the government was unprepared to oversee a deepwater source control effort … to provide meaningful supervision, the government needs access to sufficient expertise in deepwater drilling and containment—through the Department of the Interior, the national labs, outside scientists, or otherwise. Thus, the Commission may wish to recommend that the government develop and maintain additional in-house expertise in petroleum engineering, as well as formalize procedures to make the best use of outside industry experts during an incident.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... tml?ref=hp
ScienceShot: Daylight Savings Hurts Test Scores
by Nathan Collins on 22 November 2010

For decades, scientists have debated whether spring and fall time changes affect everything from seasonal affective disorder to traffic accidents. The idea is that resetting clocks by "springing forward" and "falling back" can upset sleep patterns and with them the ability to concentrate. Now, it appears that these time changes might just muck up performance on the SAT, the U.S. college admissions exam, which is administered five times a year, including two dates that fall after daylight savings transitions. Using data from Indiana, where until recently individual counties could opt in or out of daylight savings, researchers found that scores in counties that changed their clocks were consistently 16.34 points—or 2%—lower than in counties that did not, they report online this month in the Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics. That may not sound like a lot, but it may be enough to keep you out of Harvard. So choose your test dates carefully, kids.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2 ... tml?ref=hp
Your Blood Holds Clues to Your Birthday
by Jennifer Carpenter on 22 November 2010

researchers report online today in Current Biology that they can estimate someone's age—give or take about a decade—simply by analyzing a drop of blood. If validated, the new forensic technique could revive police investigations that have hit a dead end. The blood-age test relies on a peculiarity of T cells, immune cells that recognize and fight microbial invaders. As a T cell develops, it cuts up some of its DNA and splices some of it back together in various combinations; that helps it generate unique cell-surface receptors that can recognize a wide variety of bacteria or other pathogens. Any leftover DNA forms a circle that is useless to the T cell.

Researchers can quantify how many circles exist in the blood, says Manfred Kayser, a forensic molecular biologist at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam. He and his colleagues have found that the amount declines with age because the body produces fewer and fewer new T cells as people get older.

Some books I'd add:
The Transforming Principle by Maclyn McCarty (goes well with The Double Helix - this is the first-hand account of the discovery that DNA was the inheritable material, not protein)
Chaos: Making a New Science by James Gleick
The Selfish Gene by Richard Dawkins
Ever Since Darwin: Reflections in Natural History by Stephen J. Gould