Science News Digest 14th March 2011
In the science news this week, we take a look at the new 'green deal energy plan', scientists do some myth busting around premonitions, good news for space science, when the chips are down, sleep deprivation can be very costly and finally... talented youngsters win top accolades.
Ministers take steps toward tackling both environmental and employment issues in “green deal energy plan”
In efforts to increase energy efficient heating-systems, 1,000 apprentices will be trained in installing wall installation and cavity in homes and businesses. As part of the “green deal” energy plan, the cost of training the apprentices will be covered by the government for 16-18 year olds, with costs of training apprentices over 19 being shared between the government and businesses.
Under the “green deal” energy plan, no charge will be made for installations of homes. Instead, firms will be paid using the savings homeowners make on their energy bills. MP Chris Huhne told the BBC that he hoped the programme would generate and sustain over 100,000 jobs within just a five-year time frame, adding: "These apprenticeships are a perfect example of how government and business can work together to a low-carbon future.”
Head of climate action, Mike Childs, told the BBC. "Thousands of new green jobs could be created if we invested in the UK's vast green energy potential and slashed energy waste.”. Hulme revealed further efforts to tackle environmental issues, with his “carbon plan", which pinpointed high -priority issues including power generation.
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Can dreams really be premonitions?
Psychologist Richard Wiseman has revealed an explanation for reports of people having ‘foreseen’ events, usually disasters, in dreams. It’s not uncommon to hear someone comment that they had a dream eerily similar to an event that later took place. Claims of psychic powers, however, can actually be explained and, unsurprisingly, don’t include notions of paranormal abilities.
Wiseman told the Guardian that people have four dreams per night, on average. The majority of dreams are forgotten completely, however waking up during a dream increases the chance that specific details or fragments of the dream will be remembered. With four dreams per night, each lasting around 20 minutes, there are an incredible number of fictitious stories being dreamt up each year.
The explanation for ‘premonitions’ coming to people in dreams lies in the vast number of dreams, and the details they include, that each person has during their lifetime. When an event or situation occurs that somewhat matches a dream you had, suddenly the memory of the dream is awakened, and thus the link is made. Furthermore, given their surreal nature, memories of dreams are prone to being moulded into being more similar to events than they actually are. Wiseman comments: “The possibilities for matches are limited only by your imagination.”
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Space Science set to increase
Opportunities for space scientists to study ‘in the field’ are increasing as space tourism companies are set to provide cheaper and more frequent flights. Researchers will be able to repeat and tweak experiments, enjoying far more insight than ever before. They will also have more opportunity to identify certain conditions that produce additional information. Joshua Colwell, who is heading the project, told New Scientist: "It flies, it comes back, we look at the data and say, 'Oh, this points us in this direction. Then you can come up with a new set of parameters that you'd like to explore in another flight."
However, any increases in space tourism and further research of course rely on the success of vehicles managing to travel to and from space safely. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo managed to safely fly to, and return from, space three times in 2004. Alan Stern, who is leading the program at Southwest Research institute, told New Scientist: "I don't have any doubt that five years from now, multiple space lines will be operating large numbers of suborbital flights, it’s going to change things in ways we probably can't imagine."
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Sleep deprivation can reduce caution in gambling
Tiredness can increase recklessness when it comes to gambling and decision making, a study has shown. Professor Huettel, of Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina told the Independent. "This is the first time we've been able to show that we can relate sleep deprivation to a change in the way we tend to view things. One night's sleep deprivation is enough to change people's preferences when it comes to gambling on a likely outcome."
The findings result from a study in which 29 volunteers were tested under different levels of tiredness. The rested volunteers tended to be considerably more cautious when it came to gambling decisions, whereas the sleep deprived volunteers were more likely to concentrate on the possible positive outcomes and gamble accordingly. Casinos cater to sleep deprived gamblers impeccably, with free drinks, music, entertainment, bright lights and the notable absence of clocks. The longer the night goes on, the more likely gamblers are to take reckless decisions.
The finding is not specific to gambling alone, but may also indicate how financial advisors can be affected by the amount of sleep they’ve had in making decisions.
Professor Michael Chee of Duke University told the Independent: "Even if someone makes very sound financial decisions after a normal night of sleep, there is no guarantee that this same person will not expose you to untoward risk if sleep deprived,”.
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And finally.....
The new UK Young Scientist and UK Young Engineer of the Year were crowned in the finals of the National Science & Engineering Competition.
Hannah Eastwood from Coleraine in Northern Ireland has become the first ever female winner of one of the top titles with her project that explores how chromium can be removed from drinking water, in order to purify tap water and reclaim the metal for the steel industry where it is a valuable resource.
The UK Young Engineer of the Year title went to Andrew Cowan from Sutton in Greater London for his Search and Rescue Robot. This low-cost project includes a camera and fire extinguisher which allows the user to control the robot and view environmental information from a remote control panel.
Andrew is the only competitor in the competition to have ever won a core prize in each of the age categories over the last three years.
Ministers take steps toward tackling both environmental and employment issues in “green deal energy plan”
In efforts to increase energy efficient heating-systems, 1,000 apprentices will be trained in installing wall installation and cavity in homes and businesses. As part of the “green deal” energy plan, the cost of training the apprentices will be covered by the government for 16-18 year olds, with costs of training apprentices over 19 being shared between the government and businesses.
Under the “green deal” energy plan, no charge will be made for installations of homes. Instead, firms will be paid using the savings homeowners make on their energy bills. MP Chris Huhne told the BBC that he hoped the programme would generate and sustain over 100,000 jobs within just a five-year time frame, adding: "These apprenticeships are a perfect example of how government and business can work together to a low-carbon future.”
Head of climate action, Mike Childs, told the BBC. "Thousands of new green jobs could be created if we invested in the UK's vast green energy potential and slashed energy waste.”. Hulme revealed further efforts to tackle environmental issues, with his “carbon plan", which pinpointed high -priority issues including power generation.
--------------------------------------
Can dreams really be premonitions?
Psychologist Richard Wiseman has revealed an explanation for reports of people having ‘foreseen’ events, usually disasters, in dreams. It’s not uncommon to hear someone comment that they had a dream eerily similar to an event that later took place. Claims of psychic powers, however, can actually be explained and, unsurprisingly, don’t include notions of paranormal abilities.
Wiseman told the Guardian that people have four dreams per night, on average. The majority of dreams are forgotten completely, however waking up during a dream increases the chance that specific details or fragments of the dream will be remembered. With four dreams per night, each lasting around 20 minutes, there are an incredible number of fictitious stories being dreamt up each year.
The explanation for ‘premonitions’ coming to people in dreams lies in the vast number of dreams, and the details they include, that each person has during their lifetime. When an event or situation occurs that somewhat matches a dream you had, suddenly the memory of the dream is awakened, and thus the link is made. Furthermore, given their surreal nature, memories of dreams are prone to being moulded into being more similar to events than they actually are. Wiseman comments: “The possibilities for matches are limited only by your imagination.”
------------------------------------------
Space Science set to increase
Opportunities for space scientists to study ‘in the field’ are increasing as space tourism companies are set to provide cheaper and more frequent flights. Researchers will be able to repeat and tweak experiments, enjoying far more insight than ever before. They will also have more opportunity to identify certain conditions that produce additional information. Joshua Colwell, who is heading the project, told New Scientist: "It flies, it comes back, we look at the data and say, 'Oh, this points us in this direction. Then you can come up with a new set of parameters that you'd like to explore in another flight."
However, any increases in space tourism and further research of course rely on the success of vehicles managing to travel to and from space safely. Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo managed to safely fly to, and return from, space three times in 2004. Alan Stern, who is leading the program at Southwest Research institute, told New Scientist: "I don't have any doubt that five years from now, multiple space lines will be operating large numbers of suborbital flights, it’s going to change things in ways we probably can't imagine."
----------------------------------
Sleep deprivation can reduce caution in gambling
Tiredness can increase recklessness when it comes to gambling and decision making, a study has shown. Professor Huettel, of Duke University Medical Centre in North Carolina told the Independent. "This is the first time we've been able to show that we can relate sleep deprivation to a change in the way we tend to view things. One night's sleep deprivation is enough to change people's preferences when it comes to gambling on a likely outcome."
The findings result from a study in which 29 volunteers were tested under different levels of tiredness. The rested volunteers tended to be considerably more cautious when it came to gambling decisions, whereas the sleep deprived volunteers were more likely to concentrate on the possible positive outcomes and gamble accordingly. Casinos cater to sleep deprived gamblers impeccably, with free drinks, music, entertainment, bright lights and the notable absence of clocks. The longer the night goes on, the more likely gamblers are to take reckless decisions.
The finding is not specific to gambling alone, but may also indicate how financial advisors can be affected by the amount of sleep they’ve had in making decisions.
Professor Michael Chee of Duke University told the Independent: "Even if someone makes very sound financial decisions after a normal night of sleep, there is no guarantee that this same person will not expose you to untoward risk if sleep deprived,”.
--------------------------------------
And finally.....
The new UK Young Scientist and UK Young Engineer of the Year were crowned in the finals of the National Science & Engineering Competition.
Hannah Eastwood from Coleraine in Northern Ireland has become the first ever female winner of one of the top titles with her project that explores how chromium can be removed from drinking water, in order to purify tap water and reclaim the metal for the steel industry where it is a valuable resource.
The UK Young Engineer of the Year title went to Andrew Cowan from Sutton in Greater London for his Search and Rescue Robot. This low-cost project includes a camera and fire extinguisher which allows the user to control the robot and view environmental information from a remote control panel.
Andrew is the only competitor in the competition to have ever won a core prize in each of the age categories over the last three years.
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